Children of the Sun and Moon (14 page)

Eric was about
to ask him what he was talking about when the mountain started to
shake. This is when he noticed the dwarf had been chanting
something. All of a sudden, an opening appeared within the wall of
the mountain.

“Now that is
something I did not expect to see,” was all Eric could come up
with.

Koral almost
fell off her horse when she heard the rumbling. The elves, on the
other hand, weren’t bothered in the slightest. The dwarves told the
group to dismount and take only their sleeping packs inside. Darly
and Mekken exchanged glances at this, but Glavlin assured them it
was safe. Koral was not happy to be leaving Swift, but realized she
didn’t want him to be a part of whatever was waiting for them in
the days ahead.

When they
started through the doorway, it was apparent the horses wouldn’t
have been able to travel through the tunnel. It looked as if the
area was carved by hand. The floor was very uneven, but the walls
were unbelievably smooth. Eric reached out and touched the wall,
quickly snatching his hand back. It had begun to glow. The goblins
hid behind Eric, shielding themselves from what they thought was
going to be an attack. The dwarves with them all began to laugh,
and the sound echoed so strongly the group thought the mountain
would come down on top of them.

“Don’t ye be
worryin’,” laughed Grund. “It be a spell. Lights the walls when one
who not be a dwarf touch it.”

Koral was
amazed. “How is it the Maget have not destroyed you?” she
asked.

“It be too hard
fer 'em to find us. None but Naned can open the doorway in,” he
stated, pointing to the dwarf who had spoken with him earlier. “It
be his family who created the doorway into the mountain and it be
only his family blood which can let ye in.”

Koral thought
it was quite ingenious of the dwarves to come up with that kind of
system. It explained why there were eleven other dwarves with him.
No one would know for sure which one could open the doorway.

The group felt
as if they travelled for nearly an hour. It was dark and musty,
which was starting to annoy Eric. Koral was feeling quite
uncomfortable as well, but hid it. She didn’t want to insult the
dwarves by saying or doing something wrong. Eric, on the other
hand, was just about to start complaining when he noticed a light
ahead. “We be at Xamblers,” stated Naned.

Koral and Eric
stood in awe. They had never seen anything so magnificent in their
lives. It was an entire underground city. Even Klayhern was small
compared to this. The homes and roads were carved completely out of
the stone surrounding it. A river flowed through the centre of the
city, and Grund informed them this was part of the River Rage.

“We must have
travelled a long way,” stated Eric, his voice

barely above a
whisper.

All Koral could
do was nod. She couldn’t believe the magnitude of this city. It
appeared to go off in all directions forever. Koral was making
herself dizzy by trying to look everywhere at once. She was trying
to absorb it all, and turning too quickly she bumped into Adora.
The act stunned Koral for a moment; she had forgotten the girl was
still with them. It looked as if everyone had forgotten, judging by
his or her expressions. Koral apologized and moved back over to
Eric. The encounter had made her suddenly realize just how foreign
this place was. What a moment ago was awe-inspiring was now
ominous. Koral huddled close to her brother; the feelings were so
strong it was giving her a chill. They travelled into the city and
when they were coming near to a very large building, the twins
could see a garden area, with many different types of plants and
vegetables.

The group
stopped and the twins could hear the elves mumbling to
themselves.

“Ye need to go
from here on yer own,” stated Naned.

Grund nodded
and opened the door for the group to go inside. “This should be
interestin’,” he muttered to himself, and closed the door behind
them.

“My queen, we
are with the dwarves. We have also found Prince Eric.”

Malena smiled,
“Well done Moray. Lakin will be sending out General Traug and his
little Magima within the next few days, I am sure. If you can, try
to speed up your group. We cannot have Lakin’s lackey catching any
of you.”

Moray smiled,
“We are about to go in and meet with the council. I am sure they
will let us pass through.”

“Wonderful! Let
me know when you exit from the mines. I will pass the information
to Lakin stating you were denied, and have to travel the long way.
That should through Traug off.”

Moray smiled
again. Nothing pleased him more than seeing his queen smile. “When
will I be able to shed this form?” he asked.

“I am sorry, my
dear, but you must remain in that form until the end of this
journey. Only then will we be able to make sure the prophecy turns
out in our favour.”

Moray’s smile
faded. “As you wish.” Then his mirror clouded over, and he followed
his fellow travellers into the meeting.

CHAPTER TEN

Duke Selwell
Dubar could not believe his good fortune. For years, he, along with
Baron Lychen, had been trying to find a way to sway the king’s
loyal subjects. Raising taxes, making longer work hours, giving
little in return and all under the king’s seal. None of it ever
worked. It was as if the people of the Central Lands just would not
believe their king would be the one behind it. It was almost too
easy; it ended up being his own family which would spell his doom.
The duke knew there was no way the people could remain loyal to him
now.

When the
courier pigeon arrived, telling him the king had been placed under
house arrest for harbouring those who possessed magic, Dubar had
fainted. It was not the fact that the king was under house arrest,
which made this so wonderful. It was the fact he had known four
people in his household possessed magic. Now, the king was
vulnerable. He was only left with his oldest daughter and his two
guards. Dubar knew all along Korben would be a problem, but none of
it mattered now. So long had he desired the throne, so long had he
tried to take it. As always, though, King Jeremy’s loyal subjects
overthrew his ideas, and that was all about to change.

Today, as he
did every day, Dubar opened the secret door into the throne room.
It was treason to enter here when the king was not in residence,
although Jeremy had long forsaken this castle. Today, as every day,
he seated himself on the throne. Slowly he lowered himself into the
wood and gold seat, his extremely round body barely fitting. That
didn’t matter to him though; it felt so right sitting here.

For nearly
twenty years, he had been in charge of this castle, and the south
Central Lands. It disturbed him that even after all these years;
his people would treat him as just another duke. Yes, they were his
people, not the king’s, and it annoyed him whenever Jeremy would
visit. The people would swarm the castle to see him, drinking up
his every word, praising him at every mention of his name. When
their own duke, who walks among them every day, would usually be
snubbed and ridiculed. Dubar didn't realize it had to do with the
fact he raised the taxes, he was well fed while many starved or
that he rode through the town in a carriage, ignoring those who
wished to speak to him. In his mind, it was all because of Jeremy!
Duke Dubar felt the city folk deserved to be treated like the
disgusting dogs they were, and every time Jeremy visited, he took
it out on his people. All this would change soon enough, though.
Once he was king, the people would either treat him with the
respect he deserved or die in the dungeons. Moreover, no one would
ever be allowed to mention the name Jeremy Traven. If they did,
they would be killed on sight.

Dubar opened
his eyes and came out of his daydream, smiling. Baron Lychen was
due to arrive within the next month to discuss plans, and the
ambassador from the Eastern Lands was due to arrive at about the
same time. He wondered how the good baron would react once he found
out the Emperor of the Eastern Lands was interested in helping them
overthrow Jeremy. In Keenley, it wasn't unusual to see travellers
from the Eastern Lands. This city was the only place they were able
to trade. With it being the only area along the Sea of Arran with a
port, it had served the kings of the past well. The Easterners were
a ruthless bunch of cutthroats, and it was decided long ago they
were not welcome in the Central Lands anymore. Dubar was well aware
of the Easterners abilities, and planned to use them a lot in the
coming coup. Getting up from his seat, he moved back towards the
secret doorway. It would not do to be seen leaving here.

Slowly he made
his way back to his rooms. When he had first discovered there was a
passageway leading from his room

to the throne
room, he had considered it a sign. A sign the goddess of the stars
approved of his desires for the crown. He was positive Almena
wouldn't have shown him the way otherwise and refused to look at it
any other way. He did not realize his current set of rooms was used
to house the king’s personal bodyguard.

Within moments
of him re-entering the room, there was a knock on his door.

“Enter,” he
shouted, upset he was being disturbed before morning meal.

The page
entered cautiously. Although Dubar was not a very imposing man, the
page knew the temper his duke possessed. He was short, overweight
with salt and pepper hair cropped short in the most unflattering
way. The only thing interesting at all about Dubar’s appearance was
his eyes. An unusual dark green, which most found difficult to look
straight into. Slowly the page approached, afraid if he moved too
quickly his duke would be offended.

“Well, what is
it?” Dubar snapped.

“A mmmessage,”
stammered the page, handing him the paper. “From Maget Tower.”

Duke Dubar had
been expecting this. Smiling, he reached out to take the parchment.
“Thank you,” he said in his most soothing voice. “You may leave
now.”

Relieved, the
page turned and ran out of the room.

Dubar held the
parchment, his hands shaking. He hoped what was written inside
would make him temporary ruler, giving him the power of the king.
He was mistaken.

My dear Duke
Dubar,

By now, you are
aware of the situation regarding King Jeremy. It was with great
regret that the Order had to put the king under house arrest, but
we thought it was in the best interests of the kingdom. It would
appear that Prince Eric and Princess Koral are indeed the twins
from the prophecy.

Selwell paused
in his reading. This was perfect. Everyone will be so distracted
from this; they will not see the war coming. Of course, he was a
bit concerned with Baron Lychen. Why hadn’t Allen mentioned this
little bit of detail? Ignoring his doubts, he read on.

Although it is
dictated that you should become temporary ruler until the King is
either cleared or charged formally, we have decided not to grant
you this. With the prophecy being involved, it was the Order's
decision that we be placed in charge of the Central Lands. Again,
this will only be temporary. Once the twins are captured or
stopped, ruling will then revert to you. I hope you understand our
position.

On another
note, all of the Magima there are to return immediately to the
Tower. The soldiers can remain in your care. Please inform them at
once.

Your humble
servant,

General
Traug

Duke Dubar was
stunned. Control would revert to the Order, and he would still be
the pathetic duke. However, he thought to himself, if he could
catch the twins, the power would be his.

His musings
were interrupted by another knock at his door. “Yes, what is it
now,” he snapped, angered again.

He put his
temper in check when Vernia, a very powerful Magima, entered. “I
was hoping to find you at morning meal, my duke,” she purred.

Her appearance
always shocked him. She was unusually tall, with blonde hair and
the bluest eyes. Although blonde hair was not uncommon, hers was so
bright it sometimes appeared white. Her eyes always felt as if they
were piercing into your very soul.

“I am sorry,”
he said, once again trying to be in control. “I have had many
things to do this morning and have not yet left my quarters.”

Vernia smiled a
knowing smile and Dubar thought she might know his little secret.
As if sensing his uneasiness, she continued speaking. “I understand
we have been recalled back to the Tower.”

Dubar was
annoyed; he had just finished reading that letter. “I received a
letter of my own,” she stated quickly, again as if sensing his
uneasiness.

Dubar eyes her
suspiciously. “Yes, they wish you back.”

“Then my
brethren and I will leave immediately.” Then she bowed low, turned,
and was gone before Dubar could make a sound.

“Good
riddance,” he muttered. He never did like having so many Magima
staying here and was not at all sad to see them go. The growling in
his stomach told him his morning meal was long overdue. He quickly
composed a response to the letter, sent it off to the general, then
headed to the great hall to eat.

There was so
much planning to do, and Selwell was not sure where to start.

After the
morning meal, he decided to ignore his regular duties and went
straight back to his rooms. He advised the guard outside his office
door that he did not want to be disturbed by anyone except Captain
Moore. Selwell had sent word he wished to speak to the Captain of
the City Guard, who was also once a Maget soldier, and assumed he
should be arriving shortly.

The guard
nodded, but Dubar was already shutting his door.

“So much to do,
so much to do,” he twittered to himself. The Magima had already
left, and in secret, one less group to worry about, so he was free
to scheme uninterrupted. He had just finished laying out the
papers, which held their previous plans, when Captain Moore
arrived. Dubar loved the air surrounding the captain. He carried
his head high, averting his eyes for no one. His six-foot five,
tanned frame alone was daunting, never mind the well-toned muscles
and shaved head. His eyes were soft, a deep, soothing brown, and
his face was kind. The people of Keenley loved their Captain Jacob
Moore. “If only they knew the truth behind those eyes.” Selwell
thought.