I’ll go get Kyle,” Mike bade Lex and
Clover hastily, hoping he would get to chat with Blade. “It seems he doesn’t
remember the Magmalians are on the watch for us.” Clover was sitting opposite
Lex. The boy looked like he had just finished battling a creature more dreaded
that Trium for a hundred years. He was dirty and bruised, and his hair was more
ragged than a ruffian. His head hung down droopily. Clover touched his face
softly with her warm, gentle hand, and raised his head. She looked into his
eyes, and she felt a strange feeling, a fluttering sensation.
“When you
were taken…” she whispered. Tears flooded her delicate face. Lex raised his
hand slowly and feebly held her smooth neck. “I felt so lost,” she told him. He
stared deep into the infinite depths of her green eyes.
“I’ll die
before I let you get taken again,” he promised.
The wind howled as they stared at each other for a moment that felt much longer
than it was.
“Won’t you
kiss me before they return?” she finally asked, smiling slightly.
“The very
thought of it was what kept me alive in that hell hole,” he confessed. Her eyes
widened and her heart hammered her chest even harder. Their heads slowly drew
closer together like faint, averse magnets. Lex closed his eyes and tasted her
lips. They felt a strange feeling of completion and satisfaction, and there was
no slight doubt. It felt right, perfect. He caressed her lips with his, and he
felt a sweet bliss that he had long imagined.
They moved
apart urgently as they heard nearing footsteps. The moon suddenly showed
itself, and shone brightly through the small holes in the cave. “It’s time we
leave this place,” Kyle said, barely entering the dim cave.
“Magmalian
soldiers are on their way here for certain,” Mike said. Clover stood quickly,
offering Lex her hand. He grabbed on to it with a smile made faint by his
weariness, nearly pulling her down on him as he stood.
“We’ll
avoid using the main roads,” Kyle told the group, “no doubt soldiers are on
patrol.”
“That’s
right. We should head to Central River through pathways we make ourselves,”
Mike added, “the current will lead us out of Magmalian grounds.” Kyle nodded,
seeing the river clearly in his head, having studied his map thoroughly.
Mike led
the group through a wet, grassy pass. Kyle constantly checked his map and
compass every now and again with no complaint of being led the wrong way.
Though he never said it, he looked up to Mike in more ways than one, not that
he was anywhere near the ‘Legend of Zakashi Village’ in Kyle’s esteem anyway,
who had defeated quite easily the strongest of Magmalian soldiers. Small,
thorny scratching shrubs made the path tedious and seem much longer than it
was. “I can’t go on,” Lex panted after a short while, and crouched in the low,
wet grass.
“We’re almost
there, Lex,” Mike assured, “and we can’t stop here anyway.” Lex nodded, not
finding the energy to argue. Kyle helped him to his feet; he could see the
hunger printed out on the boy’s face. “SHH!” Mike shushed them, and went down
low, signalling to them to do the same. They followed Mike’s order, thinking he
might have spotted soldiers nearby. Mike pointed easterly. They looked and saw
a man in huge, heavy boots, long dirty trousers, a tattered shirt and a straw
hat walking in their direction. He was only a few yards away, and seemed to be
following the trail they left behind. “Fisherman,” Mike whispered, “maybe his
boat’s stashed away near the river bank. It must be hell to bring a boat back
and forth through this thick bush of thorns.” They stayed low until the
fisherman turned and leisurely walked out of sight. “Come,” Mike whispered, and
signalled to them, carrying them through more chunky bush. After a few minutes
of slow, militant movement, the four reached over to the bank of the river.
“Wow…”
Clover mused and stared as the river took her by surprise. As far as their eyes
could see ahead, crisp water calmly reflecting and rippling the pleasant
moonlight gently flowed.
“Let’s find
that boat,” Kyle reminded.
“So we’re
just gonna steal this man’s boat?”
Clover asked, sounding quite reproachful.
“Hey, we
murdered the queen, princes; what’s stealing a boat?” Mike said, almost
laughing.
“Get with
the program, sis,” her brother came in quickly, grabbing and shaking her head
slightly. “Lex, come with me. Sis, go with Mike.” Kyle set up the search teams,
and they went searching for the boat.
After less
than ten minutes of search, there was an announcement of good news. “Over
here!” Mike called. Hearing his voice from the distance, the other team moved
as fast as Lex’s feet could manage to walk. They gathered around the small
canoe that sat comfortably in high grass around ten meters from the river. They
rallied quickly and used their strengths to push and pull the boat into the
water. Mike went in first and quickly examined it for leaks. Lex climbed on
board, and helped Clover up, then Kyle followed quickly. Mike grabbed up the
two paddles that sat in the boat, handing one to Kyle.
“The
river’s about half a mile across,” Mike said, sounding like a tour guide. Well
he almost always sounded that way. “Even if we don’t row too hard, the current
should get us there by sunup.” In just a little while, even with their slow
rowing, the shore was minimizing into the distance. Kyle felt a burn in his
muscles that he didn’t imagine rowing a small boat could inflict. He breathed
heavily, trying to conceal his aching and tiredness, but Mike knew well that it
was his first time rowing a boat.
Lex plopped
his head onto Clover’s lap with a heavy sigh and closed his eyes. Clover smiled
and rested her head on her brother’s shoulder, watching Lex drift into sleep.
Miles away
from the quietly moving boat, meters up from the ground, a door was opened
abruptly. Prince Azar looked at his father, and for the very first time, had
pity for him. His face looked drab and sombre; it didn’t have the choleric look
it usually took on when things weren’t going his way. Instead, he looked like a
sad, grieving man who hadn’t the power to simply command ‘off with their
heads!’ The man’s father had married a witch six years before, and was more
attached to her than Azar thought possible. Usually, he would marry young
virgins, then after a year or two of serving at his side as queen, another
would be married, each ex-wife becoming a concubine that couldn’t even speak to
him directly. Azar walked up to his father, who sat on his bed, not looking up
at his son.
***
“I’ve been
doing some more reading, father,” he began. The angry look he knew his father
to have when annoyed returned as Azar opened his mouth. The youth never before
preferred to see that look, but this time he thought it more bearable than the
pitiful, sorrowful countenance he wasn’t used to. “These writings confirm where
this power I have been seeking rests! Can you believe it?! It’s here!” Azar ranted in an exhilarated with
wild hands. His eyes glowed with zeal and eagerness to find this treasure he
long read about and searched for. “Tomorrow I will set out for this hidden
treasure!” he continued, “And I will find those who did this, the ones who
murdered your wife!” he tried to get through to his father, “Just imagine,
father, how much more powerful my magic will become when I amplify it with this
legendary power!”
“You foolish boy!” Oziah
raged suddenly, his face contorted and warped even further than usual, “There is
no demon sitting in a gold jar! It’s a goddamn story! That is all it is! You are hopeless, Azar!” The
look of disgust and disappointment took over his face, an expression the prince
was accustomed to seeing. “You are of age to take my place on the throne, but
you are still a child! Always chasing after treasures these stories tell you
about! These great Kizer and Oga you read about every night might have been two
fishermen who wrote these stories when they had nothing bloody better to do!
There is only one true treasure!” the man flared.
“And what—”
“Get out,
you imbecile!”
Azar tightened
his fists suddenly, and red mana flared up about them. “Get out!” the man
blasted, looking even frightened, “You are her son, Azar! That wretched power! She gave it to you!”
The mana
disappeared, and Azar’s resembled that of a man who returned home after a day’s
work to see his house missing and a garden of lilies in its place. His muscles
grew weak. Oziah turned his head away from his son. “I met her twenty-four
years ago… I married her… I loved her. She bore me a son… you, Azar.” He
glanced back up at the frightened boy. “The same year you were born, I passed a
decree that officially made sorcery illegal and punishable by death…” he spoke
with a grim tone of regret, that Azar never heard him use before. “When I
passed the decree, she must have wanted to run away with you, as you would
expose her before long… Even infant warlocks show signs of sorcery every now
and again. She didn’t master the technique of teleportation back then, and the
queen was not allowed outside of the tower, so she could not bring you away.
Still, leaving you behind, she fled the palace, leaving you for your own
safety. Once I had signed that decree with my signet ring… not even I could go
back on it. Still, she knew I would never kill my own son, my own blood and
bone, but she thought I would have her killed.”
The king
looked down at the aging ring on his right hand that he had took from his
father’s hand after his death. He looked at it like it was an awful curse mark
that he was burdened by fate to carry. “I raised you. When you were still a
babe, I had the council revisit the decree. I made another, making sorcery
legal under very particular conditions. Decrees took time to process, but I
ensured this one got by in less than a year, so my son would not be killed by
my own law. I raised you. I knew what you were… Sorcerers are barely human,
Azar… but I loved you, for no matter what you were, what you are… you are my
son… Two years ago, your mother spaceshifted into my chamber. She told me she
had returned to train with her elder sister, and had become more powerful a
witch than ever. I took her into my arms again, and loved her still, and
married her again. By then you were sixteen years old.”
Azar’s face
remained pale, and he said nothing for quite some time. “You… you lied to me…”
he said in a tone that could be mistake by a person who had just began
listening as calm. “You told me a long time ago that my mother had died… and
was watching over me from heaven.” His voice grew shaky and his eyes became
moist.
“What was I
supposed to do, Azar?!” the man blasted, guilt and regret heavy in his voice,
“I couldn’t
tell you your mother ran away!”
“That’s
only because I’d eventually figure out she left because of your decree! I would have to realize it was your fault!” Azar raged, mana flaring up about his fists again,
brightening and heating the room immensely. “And even when she returned, you
hid this from me?!”
“I didn’t
want you to grow up hating your father!”
“Your
father… was he really a wizard, then?”
“He was.
That is why your magic climbs levels so quickly.” Azar glared at his father,
still trying to come to grips with the idea that his mother was the woman who
was murdered. Miriam, as far as Azar knew, met his father two years ago and her
father took her as queen. It was custom that the King would change queen every
few years, so Azar never bothered to grow attached to any of these women.
Instead, he grew attached to the old books his grandfather left behind. “My
son… Pour your hatred upon those who killed your mother…” the king beseeched.
***
As Lex
drifted into sleep on the quiet boat, the familiar voice spoke to him in a
clear whisper, Ghost Town… As the
boat drifted northerly across the gentle river, Mike and Kyle joined their
companions in sleep. The soft, smooth current gave them pleasant dreams through
the night.
Time passed
slowly, and the first rays of morning sun woke Lex. He raised his head from
Clover’s lap slowly, then stared at her for a little while. He grabbed his
stomach as it barked loudly. It reminded him just how hungry he was when he had
slept the night before. He caught Clover quickly as Kyle got up, making her
fall from his shoulder. The boy stood upright, but his eyes were still closed.
“Kyle?” Kyle made two dreary steps. Lex’s eyes widened in fright as he watched
the boy step overboard. The loud splash and sudden splatter of water woke Mike
and Clover. Clover jumped out of Lex’s arms in fright. Lex rushed over to the
struggling, gasping Kyle, and stretched his hand down. Kyle grabbed on to Lex.
Mike and Clover helped pull him back up on the boat. Lex burst into laughter
suddenly, rolling on the floor of the boat, unable to contain his amusement.
Mike and Clover, just understanding what had happened, joined in the laughter.
Kyle, the most confused of everyone, was laughing with his friends. He tried to
speak, but the constant laughter didn’t allow it; he hadn’t sleepwalked in
quite some time, and of all the times to resume such a strange habit…
“Is there a
Ghost Town on you map, Kyle?” Lex
asked, just recalling the name of the place. Kyle and Mike glanced at him,
still rowing.
“It’s a
little distance northeast,” Mike answered before Kyle could speak.
“Not really
a little distance,” Kyle added,
remembering accurately its position on the map.
“Well, it’s
only a few days journey. Quite a lonely place though. Last time I checked, the
population density there’s like… one person per ten square miles! It’s about
seventy miles away.”
Kyle took
out his map and estimated the distance. “Actually, it’s around a hundred miles
from here,” Kyle said, sounding glad to make the correction.
“A hundred
miles from Magma Town,” Mike
corrected, “we’re actually at Waterloo now.” Kyle looked back his map,
impressed and more so annoyed with Mike’s accuracy. Clover rushed over to Kyle’s
map, taking a little time to recognize the familiar places. Her eyes lit up.
“Waterloo’s
like…. far away from Magma Town!” she said, “We got this far overnight?!”
“That’s
right; we covered nearly thirty miles. This river is the biggest on the
continent, but even a small boat can go across it in a night. We’ll soon see
land.”
“How could
you possibly know so much?!” she asked, musing at Mike’s knowledge.
“Heh!” He
grinned. “Well, I travel.”
“By
yourself?”
“Not
anymore, princess,” he answered, still smiling. Clover smiled back.
“So where’s
your family?” she questioned, “Your parents?”
“Well, I
dunno about my parents,” he said, not sounding reflective or sombre, “but I
think I know my family!”
Warm,
friendly conversation took them across miles quickly, and Lex even began to
forget just how hungry he was. “What’s the matter with this ‘Ghost Town’
anyway?” Kyle asked, like he was thinking about it for a while.
“Right!”
Lex just remembered, then his face contorted with deep thought. “The other
half… of the spirit…” he said, sounding like he was trying to recover some old
memory pushed to the deep recesses of his mind. Their faces wrinkled with
confusion. “That’s right… I never told you,” Lex said, looking up at them. His
mind went back to the time old man Ben showed him the strange vial, and opened
it in front of him. “That demon your grandfather told you about in the stories,
Trium’s little brother…” He wondered how to phrase the next part of the story.
“He had a portion of the demon hidden in the house back at the village.” The
listeners’ eyes widened as they tried to understand. “The night before… old man
Ben died… he gave me that portion of the demon…” Lex looked over at Clover, who
was shaking like she was staring through a translucent ghost. Her body fidgeted
like she was very afraid, or all her warmth had left her blood. Kyle’s mind
flashed back to the blackness in Lex’s eyes he saw back at Smoke Hill, then to
the black ice that Lex used to trap Rhino. Clover just remembered the strange
black hands she was now sure she saw come from the black ice and grab the
soldier that were chasing them back in the alley at Magma Town. Mike’s face was
very different from those of the siblings, though; he looked more intrigued
than frightened.
“While I was
in prison,” Lex continued, “the spirit spoke to me… And I heard its voice again
while I was asleep.”
“It speaks
to you?” Mike asked in a musing whisper, grinning with excitement, having met
such a demon many times in old stories.
“It told me
that the other half of his power is in Ghost Town…” Clover and Kyle were still
speechless. “And we must hurry to it!” Lex asserted, just remembering an
important detail.
“Hurry?”
Kyle asked.
“We’re not
the only ones after it!”
“We’re after it?! You had some dream and now
we’re after it?!” Kyle stood with
clenched fists with an expression Lex didn’t quite expect.
“Listen,
Kyle, we’re not the only ones going for it!” Lex told him, “This demon speaks
to me! It must have been what saved our asses back at Smoke Hill!”
“And it
nearly got you killed back in the alley!” Clover came in.
“It’s not
the enemy!” Lex defended, “Remember, it’s this power that I must use to defeat
Trium!”
“Lex, when
were you planning on telling us all this?!” Clover asked, sounding vexed and
even betrayed.
“I’m sorry,” Lex said softly, “I just didn’t
see the perfect time.”
“This is
totally badass!” Mike blasted, standing and grinning, nearly losing his
balance, “So who are we running against to get this treasured power?!”
“… The
Prince of Magma Town,” Lex said hesitantly, almost under his breath.
“This is
beyond epic!” Mike raved, his imagination running wild. He had a crazy look on
his face. “So you must be the boy from the prophecies!” he continued, then
laughed wildly and uncontrollably, “Just imagine when Kyle becomes even
stronger than Blade, and Clover is even stronger than the queen and her sister
were, and Lex captures the other half of the legendary demon! And I become strong enough to tear down
a mountain with one blast!” His wild gesticulations made Clover giggle. Lex
grinned, hoping the others would think like Mike did. “We have no time to lose,
then!” Mike asserted, “We must beat the prince to the demon, and become as
strong as we possibly can so we can crush Trium when he returns!” he declared.
“There’s
land!” Clover announced, pointing in the direction they were slowly drifting
in.
They looked out onto the distant shore. Mike and Kyle grabbed the
paddles and got to work. They noticed three girls at the bank catching water.
The boys grinned as they saw the ladies drop their buckets suddenly and fixed
their clothes and hair in a hurry. They were wearing elegant cream dresses that
reached them just above their knees. As they neared the shore, the faces of the
smiling girls became clearer and more definite, and they certainly weren’t
bad-looking. Clover stared at the girls ahead with ambivalence. She had always
wanted to make friends with girls her age, but she had her reasons for being of
two minds. “Just when I thought today couldn’t get any better!” Mike rejoiced,
grinning.
Points: 26330
Reviews: 767
Donate