Children of the Sun and Moon (34 page)

Koral and Eric
were about to start asking him questions but Gillock put up his
hands. “She is fine, and with your father,” he said to them. Both
relaxed and sat back to listen to the rest of what he had to say.
“I will not bore you with all the details, but there are some
things you must know. Duke Dubar is planning to start a war with
your father and the crown is the goal. He was going to use your
mother and the fact your family possesses magic to persuade the
Tower to help him. Lucky for the king, General Traug has renounced
his position within the Order and has joined him. I can only assume
it's the reason why the Easterners were here was to join up with
the fight. I fear the fact they have sailed off is only going to
delay the inevitable.”

Everyone sat in
silence, taking in all Gillock was saying. Nak broke the silence.
“Whenz youz finishes quests, troublez comes.”

“What do you
mean?” asked Eric.

“Myz queenz.
Shez wants thronez. Wez meantz stops youses butz Nak changez minds.
Queenz banishs ussses,” replied Dilmek.

“Iz haves
magicz toz gets usses throughz voides,” stated Nak.

“I had known
some type of magic was going to be needed to get us all through the
passageway which takes us into the Void,” said Gillock. “Is it a
spell?”

“Amz spellz,”
he replied.

“I see. Malena
put a spell on you so you could always travel between our world and
the Void. It must have been a very complex spell.”

“Peoplez diedz,
demonses cames, cutz me. Myz bloodz mixedes withses demonses ands
deadz. Monthsez tookz.”

It was clear by
the tone of Nak's voice he was not at all happy about what was done
to him, and to create the spell. Gillock could sense the sadness in
his voice.

“You speak a
word, and all those with you are able to travel into the Void. Is
this right?” asked the wizard.

Nak nodded.
“Youz knowses spellz?”

“Yes,” said
Gillock. “And it's a horrible one.”

Everyone waited
to see if Gillock was going to elaborate but it became apparent,
after several moments of silence, he was not. Gillock was not
planning on saying anything more about the spell. Instead, he was
thinking about whether or not he should let Koral and Eric know
about Brin, but decided against it.

“We should eat.
It is two days travel across the desert and we will need to make
sure to make camp during the hottest part of the day and travel
during the evening,” said Glavlin.

Malena sat
looking at the nothing which was her view from the window in her
chambers. By now, Moray would have run off to Lakin, and she had no
idea what that meant. For many years, demons had been her allies,
doing her dirty work all the while helping her become more
powerful. In the beginning, she had desired to rule the Central
Lands, but that quickly changed once she realized the powerful
nations which existed beyond the Unmoving Mountains, Deaths
Boundary and even to the east through the Cyprian Forest. Her
dreams turned to ruling all of Melarandra, and it started with
finding the Wizards School. She now realized if she had kept her
desires small, she probably wouldn’t have been found out, and
banished to the Void. She still had no idea how Gillock had managed
to surprise her, and cancel her powers, but it no longer
mattered.

Destroying
Gillock was still on her mind, as was ruling the Central Lands.
Malena observed what was going on beyond the Unmoving Mountains,
and saw the chaos there. War was happening, and looked to destroy
the realm. Perhaps she could use it to her advantage.

Malena had lost
Moray, Lakin was no longer her ally, but she now had Vernia. She
also knew once she was free more allies would be easy to gather.
More determined than ever, Malena knew she must be patient. Eric
and Koral would be entering the void within a few days. Once they
had completed their quest she was going to push ahead with her
plans. Figuring all of her plans were finally going to come into
being she could not help but be happy. Clearly, the gods were
finally on her side. Smiling to herself, she decided to retire for
the evening. Only a few more days.

The Central
Lands knew few gods. Ademorna, Almena and Allorethna were the main
ones. Three brightest stars in the sky. The Earth Mother was a
story, and most thought her to be a myth. The gods of other
creatures were never discussed, so it had become common thought
that they didn’t worship anything. The Central Lands were wrong.
Other lands had their own gods, and all were closely watching Koral
and Eric on this quest. What those gods did not realize was that
something even darker was watching as well. The gods existed high
up in the heavens, but the lower levels held beings as well. Not as
powerful as the gods, but they were strong enough to overpower
Melarandra should they be set free. The demonic realm, know to some
as Holison, was gaining strength. Malena's usage of demons over the
years had helped them greatly. Every time she had performed the
spell, they had leached a little of her magic. The demons were
patient. Exiled to the lower levels, demons hated the gods, save
one.

Lakin had
created a small connection between his tower and the lower levels,
allowing small amounts of magic to seep into the demon realm. It
was partly because of all this Lakin was sitting in his study, very
worried. He had received word the queen had somehow escaped. This
wouldn’t have bothered him if it hadn’t been for the bumbling fool
who was Duke Selwell Dubar. He had wanted permission to send out
the soldiers to try to find her. Lakin knew she was probably
already back in Klayhern with her husband. The only way she could
have escaped was with Gillock's help and he would have gone right
to the castle. He had sent word back that Dubar could, but to do it
quietly. Lakin was sure the request was probably too difficult for
Dubar to get right.

Sitting at his
desk, he rubbed his temples. Lakin knew it wasn’t going to be much
longer until he could rid himself of the fools who surrounded him.
Thinking about how much he was going to enjoy getting rid of them
all made Lakin relax. Suddenly a bright flash followed by a black
mist appeared in his room. Moray slowly formed himself, keeping the
elf appearance. The demon was not sure how Lakin would take him in
his actual form.

“Good even,
Lord Lakin,” came the hissed voice of the demon.

Lakin knew what
stood before him was not an elf, but had no idea why a demon had
come. “I was not expecting a visitor from the lower levels,” he
said, keeping his voice calm.

“You have been
working with the higher denizens of my realm, but they did not send
me. I was summoned by Malena many years ago and have been working
with her. Of course, she thought it was to help her with her
designs. I now find her to be useless to me and have left her side
to join you.”

The demon kept
pacing, and it was beginning to irritate Lakin. “Do you have a
name?”

The elf smiled,
showing razor sharp teeth. “Moray,” he hissed.

“Well, Moray,
why have you decided to join me?”

The demon
stopped pacing, and actually sat down. “Like I had stated, I no
longer felt Malena was useful. You're creating quite the army, and
leaching magic into the lower levels to help us become stronger.
Soon we should be able to create a breach and again appear on this
world. You aim to rule this world, and I want to be beside you.”
The voice had been so matter-of-fact that for a moment Lakin
thought the elf whose body he was in, was once again showing
through.

“I know you
have the oldest daughter of the king here with you. I'm positive
she does not know your true goals so therefore I will remain as an
elf. But should at any time I feel she is going to betray us, I
will change and kill her without a thought.”

The statement
surprised Lakin. He was not sure why the demon had spoken as he
did, but the tone of voice was so sinister Lakin had no doubts the
demon would do exactly that. It made Lakin wonder if the demon
wanted to rule with him, or to rule alone.

“She is my
claim to the throne, nothing more,” stated Lakin.

“I see,” hissed
Moray. After a few moments of silence, he added, “I will take my
leave now. Perhaps I will make a proper appearance in the morning.
Easier to have me around if it appears you actually asked me to the
Tower.”

Lakin was going
to voice his agreement, but the demon was already gone. Wondering
if things had improved, he decided to go to bed. The next few days
were going to be interesting.

Lakin awoke to
the sound of arguing just outside his door, and as he got out of
bed to put his robe on he realized it was Brin and Vernia. “I am
looking forward to this ending,” he muttered to himself.

“If anyone is
going to tell him he has a visitor it will be me, not you,”
exclaimed Brin.

“Who's here to
see me?” asked Lakin.

Brin turned
with a start. She had not even heard the door open. “There is an
Elf!” she spat out the word like it was poison.

“Ah yes, I was
hoping he would arrive today,” came Lakin's reply, surprising both
Brin and Vernia.

“He's waiting
in the main chamber downstairs,” said Vernia, smirking. “Would you
like me to assign him a room?”

“Yes, and bring
the elf to my study.” Then he turned and went back into his room,
shutting the door.

Brin was
shocked, but didn’t want to show her confusion to Vernia. So
pushing her way past the witch, she headed to the library. Quiet
would help her thoughts now. Running down the stairs, negative
thoughts plagued her. She burst into the library and went over to
the table she had claimed as her own. Many books on the Central
Lands and Melarandra littered the table. She sat down hard, placed
her elbows on the table, and rested her face in her hands.

Brin knew there
was an elf prisoner in the lower levels of the Tower. Lakin had
said he was there for his crimes, but must be kept alive for
purposes he still hadn’t told her. Being in the cell with the elf
Brin had felt the sadness and pain he was experiencing. This new
elf was much different. He appeared cold and cruel. She pondered
this for many minutes and then came to wonder if this was how elves
truly were. There were many stories of them in the books which sat
before her. Brave, strong and fierce fighters was how one tale
described them, but they were also quiet, calm and very in tune
with the world around them. They could talk to animals and it was
said their singing could cast a spell on anyone, including the
forest around them. Had Brin read these stories a few years ago,
she would have hidden the books away, thinking they were showing
magic was not all bad. Now, she had been wondering if maybe Lakin
was right. Some magic should not be allowed, but not all should be
banished. Sitting back in her chair, she smiled. That was why the
elf was here. Elves were a necessary evil, but having one in the
tower would make it easier to find others and eliminate them.
Again, she was seeing the genius which is Lakin, and got up to go
about her daily chores, once again a happy follower of Lakin and
his Magima.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

The morning
came, and all in the group had a sense of trepidation. The desert
was vast, and appeared to go on forever. There was also the fact
that in two days they would be at the end of their quest. It was
the end, but a beginning as well, and everyone had their own
worries as to what was coming.

“We should be
off,” announced Darly.

Everyone agreed
and they headed into the desert.

The goblins had
gotten the group up long before the sun had even come up,
explaining this was the best time to start travelling. Within a few
hours, everyone understood why. It was still two hours until they
were breaking for lunch and to shelter themselves from the
scorching afternoon sun, and all but Gillock, Maeve and the goblins
were sweating and weak. The elves were faring better than the
others were, but it was clear Koral, Eric, Grund, and Drundle were
not going to last for long. Gillock passed around a water skin, and
had them all wrap their heads with towels he had soaked. (Koral
made a mental note to ask Gillock where he had gotten so much water
from.) They pressed on and after what felt like forever, they
stopped.

Gillock pulled
a giant tarp and poles from his pack. “I will set up a shelter to
spend the afternoon hours in. I suggest you all get some sleep
during this time. I'm hoping to move as far as possible through the
evening.”

Gillock and the
goblins had the makeshift shelter up in a matter of minutes while
Maeve tried to help everyone get settled. When it was ready,
everyone slowly made their way inside, and welcomed the shade it
brought. The welcome was short lived as a breeze, which had been
welcomed at first, but since had picked up causing their meal to
have sand in it.

Not long after,
the dwarves began to grumble and you could feel a change slowly
happening in everyone. The shade was nice, but you could still feel
the heat, and Nak knew it would not be long until tempers became
short. The breeze was causing more problems as it was blowing sand
around causing it to get into everything. They were supposed to get
some sleep after the meal, but Grund did not think it was going to
happen, for him at least.

“Sand in me
food. Sand in me pants. How do ye think I be sleepin'?” he hollered
at Gillock.

Gillock’s reply
was to stand up and move outside of the shelter. He then began to
pull down the covering until the sides were drawn. He left one side
open and said it was needed for airflow. The breeze was no longer a
factor and although the heat was stifling, the group found they
actually could relax and possibly get some sleep. Grund maintained
his grumbling, but it was no more than a mumble and it made Eric
smile. It was good to know there was something in this world which
Grund was not prepared to deal with.