Journey to Rainbow Island (18 page)

Finally, Romeo awakened.

Blackness.

He felt around him. Under the thin layer of sand all was hard, cold rock. Though his mind was foggy, he remembered being placed in some sort of cave or cavernous dungeon. There was no light at all; even when he held his hand an inch from his face, he could see nothing.

He did not know where he was, but he did remember how he had gotten here. The beast had snatched him from Rainbow Island too quickly for him to react or flee. The trip had been like a nightmare. He felt his neck and shoulders, remembering the pain—excruciating pain from the talons of the dark beast.

He shuddered, remembering the ugly dragon, and stared into the dark. As he lay there, listening to the sounds of the cave, he could just make out the far-off but distinct sound of trickling water. He tried to stand but felt wobbly on his feet. How long had it been since he had eaten? It was pitch black in every direction.

In the distance, however, it seemed there was a slight flicker of light. He started walking toward the speck of light but he could not see at all, and the ground was rocky and slick with moisture. His head collided with a stalactite, and before he knew it, he was on the ground again.

All went completely black.

And then he was out of the cave, with warm sun on his face. A glowing light hovered above him, just overhead, and then transformed into a shimmering man dressed all in white. It was One, whom Romeo had first seen in Yu-ning's cave, just before he was kidnapped! It was a bright day, and he could feel the sweet breeze and smell the Island's tropical aromas. He was on Rainbow Island.

“Romeo, can you hear me?” One was standing in front of him, radiating light in brilliant, pulsating rays. The white sand beach was just beyond One, and the gentle, clear turquoise waters of Rainbow Cove beyond that.

“Yes, One, I can hear you. Where am I?”

“You are in the lair of the obsidigon and his master, in a place called Baggul Island.”

“What am I doing here?” said Romeo.

“Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you, Romeo,” said One, the light pulsating so brightly that Romeo had to shield his eyes from its intensity. “You have no earthly power that can defeat the obsidigon.”

“Then how can I escape, One?” cried Romeo.

“By using your light, Romeo. The light within your heart is not an earthly element, but a divine one. The obsidigon, who is made only of hatred, cannot comprehend this light, because he does not possess it. For a century the obsidigons were not seen on the face of the earth. But the warlock who kidnapped you was able to conjure this creature from the last remaining skull known to humankind.”

“But why would they want to steal the Seven Sacred Crystals?” Romeo asked.

“Because greed and lust for power are ominous forces,
and left unchecked, they can bring chaos to the entire world. Hobaling once lived in an idyllic empire ruled by a beautiful, benevolent Empress. But he was thirsty for power, and knew that the only way to defeat the Empress was to use a force thought dead and gone to humankind—the Darq power of the obsidigon. Hobaling heard rumors that the last known obsidigon skull was kept in a secret hall in the Imperial Palace of the realm. He went so far as to seduce a daughter of the royal court to marry him, so he could gain entrance to the Imperial Palace.

“Hobaling was patient,” added One. “He waited, biding his time, and earned the trust of the imperial court. For three years he played the role of a loyal member of the court, slowly gaining access to the most private and secret parts of the palace—places where even some members of the royal family had never been. Late at night he would enter the hidden catacombs and passages under the palace, searching and searching for his prize.”

“And he was searching for the last obsidigon skull?” asked Romeo.

“Yes, Romeo. The Empress's grandfather, Emperor Ming, secretly took it from the battlefield, after the Emperor's army defeated the obsidigons in the last battle of the Great Obsidigon War. And though Hobaling did not know for certain that the Emperor had brought the skull back to the palace, he had a strong feeling that he had. And so he devised a plan to infiltrate the royal household and find the skull.”

“But why did the Empress's grandfather take the skull in the first place?” Romeo asked.

“The ego of man,” said One. “The skull was a tempting trophy for a triumphant emperor—a memento to treasure in
secret, and a reminder of the Emperor's crowning victory. So the Emperor returned with the skull hidden in his private luggage, and kept it hidden in a dark room deep in the catacombs below the Imperial Palace at Tunzai.”

“But how could an army of mere men defeat such powerful creatures?” asked Romeo.

“Ah, now that is where the story turns, Romeo. These were no mere men. Well, yes, they were flesh and blood, just like you, but they had something that the obsidigon horde did not comprehend.”

“What was that, One?”

“The light of eternal love, Romeo; the light that dwells in each one of us, and is there to guide and empower us—
if
we are able and willing to let the light shine. It was the divine lights of 10,000 warriors that destroyed the obsidigon army, and forever rid the world of their sickening darkness.”

“But if Hobaling has the obsidigon, why did he also need to steal the sacred crystals of Rainbow Island?” Romeo said.

“Greed is a deceptive mistress, Romeo. Hobaling was seduced by the power he held in his hands and wanted even more power. So he stole something of which he has no understanding: the Seven Sacred Crystals. He thinks that by capturing the crystals, he will be able to kill the light and subdue all the kingdoms of the world. And the crystals
are
powerful, Romeo. They are more powerful than most humans know. Placed in the wrong hands, their pure energy can be manipulated in terrible, deadly ways. That is why the obsidigon kidnapped you, Romeo.”

“I don't understand, One. Why would he kidnap me? I am not powerful.”

“My dear boy, you
are
powerful.”

“But how, One? What is my power?”

“Your power, Romeo, is revealed by—”

There was a loud screech—a horrible, unearthly scream louder and more disturbing than anything Romeo had ever heard. He realized he was awake. Blackness again. No more One.

Had it all been a dream?

Romeo's head pounded from where he had hit it on the stalactite of the cave. He lifted his hand to feel his head and realized that he could actually see his hand! As he peered into the gloaming of the dank cave, he could make out—just barely—the floor, littered with rocks, mineral deposits, and sharp stalagmites. And in the distance, some 300 feet away, he could see a small keyhole of light—an exit from the cave.

Dizzy, but able to stand, he was determined to make it to the mouth of the cave before the light faded. He carefully made his way across the cave floor, and, in the weak light, was now able to see the enormity of his subterranean prison. The cave was at least 200 feet high and 100 feet wide.

In the distance, behind him, he again noted the sound of water. He decided to follow the sound, as his need for water was stronger than his need for light. As he walked, the sound of the water grew louder, leading him downward, toward the middle of the cavernous hall. At the bottom was a small stream that ran downhill from where he stood, deeper into the bowels of the cave. He knelt down and drank deeply of the icy cold water, and rubbed it on his throbbing forehead, which was painful to the touch.

He stood up without any dizziness, feeling refreshed from the spring water, and headed back up the gentle incline in the direction of the light. Ahead of him the cave entrance
was getting closer, and he realized the brightness he was seeing was sunlight. As he approached the light source, he saw that it was coming from around a bend in the cave tunnel. He was now about fifty feet away from the place where the tunnel turned and where the light was streaming in. As he approached the turn, intent on peeking around the corner to discover the source of the light, a foul, disturbing odor hit him like an avalanche. So strong was the smell that he had to concentrate just not to lose whatever food was left in his stomach. How many days had he been in this cave, anyway?

Slowly he crept near the bend in the tunnel, and as he did, the light seemed to fade again. He peered around the corner, and his heart sank as he saw that a gate blocked the tunnel about ten feet away. He turned the corner and quietly crept up to the bars of the gate; peering down the tunnel, he saw that a large black rock blocked the exit to the cave.

But now the rock was moving. And as it moved, light burst through from the outside world, blinding Romeo. After days of lying in the dark, his eyes adjusted slowly; finally, as he blinked desperately to see what was before him, he recognized a large shape: there, scuttling down the tunnel toward him, light streaming in from behind, was the obsidigon, whose skin resembled black obsidian rock, but with fine, sharp scales.

Romeo pulled back, confident the creature had not spotted him. He began to retreat backward, putting distance between himself and the gate, the stench of the creature approaching swiftly from the other side. As he backed up, his heel hit a flat rock, which skidded across the floor and hit the wall of the tunnel. The sound reverberated throughout the
cave, echoing momentarily. Romeo froze, closed his eyes, and hoped the foul monster had not taken notice.

Though Romeo had backed around the corner so the gate was no longer in his line of sight, he could see the long shadow of the obsidigon dancing before him on the opposite wall of the cave, growing larger as the creature approached.
Is the gate locked?
Romeo wondered. And then he had a strange thought:
I'd rather be locked in here than face that disgusting beast!

He paused, standing still. Then he noticed that the light had faded. Was the sun setting, or was the dragon again blocking the light from coming in through the tunnel? Curiosity in an eleven-year-old boy is a powerful force, and Romeo was no exception. He couldn't resist the temptation to peek around the corner and see what was what. He quietly approached the spot where the cave bent right, and peered around the corner. As he did, there was a flash of movement, and the shadows danced again on the wall. There in front of him the dragon moved swiftly, its neck whipping around as the massive head turned back toward the gate. The dragon's jaundiced left eye was staring right at him.

Romeo was so startled that he stumbled backward and began to run back into the large chamber of the cave, no longer concerned about the noise he was making. As he ran, he heard the terrible call of the obsidigon, the sound so piercing it forced him to his knees, his hands shoved against his ears in a vain attempt to block out the shrill screech.

Well, there's no escape in that direction,
he said to himself, shaken by his confrontation with the dragon. As he retreated further into the darkness, his mood seemed to darken along with the fading light of the distant tunnel. He was utterly
alone, and was now beginning to wonder if One's visit had been real, or just a fevered dream—meaning nothing.

Sensing the boy was gone, the obisidigon left the gate and made its way back to the main chamber. Hobaling was standing over the same dark pool of water where he had conjured the obsidigon. “I see you were having a bit of fun with the boy, yes?” Hobaling said, cackling at the dragon. The obsidigon only smiled, revealing his sharp, bloodstained teeth, his yellow eyes shining with recognition.

Hobaling turned back to the pool of water, staring into its black depths. “We will finish what my grandfather and the last Great Obsidigon Horde failed to do—light and dark cannot exist together—as the light fades, our destiny and strength grows, and the Darq powers will reign,” the warlock exclaimed.

“We must spread the darkness not only through the air, but also through the sea,” he told the obsidigon. He bent down at the edge of the pool and placed various elements into the water—bits of dried animal flesh, hoofs, roots, and bones—as he began to recite an ancient incantation. He took a long, curved knife (the very blade that had killed Jacob's mother many years before) and removed three scales from the back of the obsidigon. He tossed them into the water, one by one, and as he did, the water began to boil.

Hobaling scooped out a large bowl of the dark boiling liquid, exited the cave, and descended a long, narrow set of stone steps carved into the face of the cliff. The staircase wound down hundreds of feet to a large flat rock just above the raging sea. There, with the waves crashing about him, he knelt down, closed his eyes, mumbled indecipherable words, and slowly poured the black liquid from the large bowl into
the frothy waves below. As he did, a dark circle of water began to spread outward from where the liquid fell into the sea, like drops of black ink falling into a basin of water.

Under the water, various fish began to writhe and transform into twisted, evil creatures, their teeth growing long and sharp, and their eyes turning yellow. The dark pool of water began to expand and move slowly away from the sea cliffs, out toward the open ocean.

The circle of water seemed alive as it moved as one away from the island. The transformed creatures—barracuda, sharks, and other fast-swimming fish—could be seen darting out of the Darq pool, their silhouettes just below the surface, swimming north, south, east, and west, as if on a mission.

From his rocky ledge just above the crashing waves, the warlock stood and screamed in a high, haunting voice, “Yes, Darq hunters, seek out and destroy creatures of light. Go now!”