The Destiny of Amalah (108 page)

‘I am just glad that you are back,’ he said.

‘I must rise,’ she said. ‘There is much to do.’

‘No you will not,’ he said, as he gently pushed her back down into a lying position. ‘Nightfall has come and with exception of the guard on security duty; the day’s work is done.’

‘But Michael...’ Amara said, beginning to protest.

‘Amara no,’ Michael said firmly. ‘The days work is done, there is nothing for you to do and I insist that you do nothing, at least for tonight.’

Amara did not have the strength or the desire to argue and so she lay back and conceded to Michael.

‘Alright,’ she said quietly.

‘Alright,’ he said softly. ‘Ellora will want to see you and so will Garrick, so I will send for them now, if you wish,’ he said, changing the subject.

‘Yes, please.’ She said.

Michael rose to his feet and left the room. He sent word to Ellora and Garrick and a few minutes later, he returned to Amara’s room and sat by her side. Minutes later, Ellora came rushing in and she ran to Amara’s bedside and screamed her name excitedly as she entered.

‘Amara, Amara,’ she yelled happily as she came to the bed.

Amara smiled and called her sisters name and held out her arms and Ellora ran into them and hugged her sister tightly.

‘I was so afraid,’ Ellora said suddenly.

‘There is no need to be now,’ Amara said reassuringly.

‘How do you feel?’ Ellora enquired.

‘I feel fine, but strangely, a little tired.’

‘That’s because you didn’t have a real sleep,’ Ellora said. ‘Although it certainly looked like it,’ she said on reflection.

Amara, Garrick and Michael laughed at Ellora’s comments and she too laughed a little.

‘It’s good to see you Empress,’ Garrick said, feeling rather overcome. He went over to Amara and they hugged each other and Garrick smiled at her. ‘You gave us all a real scare,’ he said, as he squeezed her shoulder.

‘It’s good to see you too Garrick,’ Amara said smiling weakly at him.

Garrick and Ellora took chairs and sat around Amara’s bed and the four of them talked a while and when Amara grew tired, Garrick and Ellora bid her goodnight and left. A few minutes later Michael rose to his feet and kissed Amara on the forehead before he bid her a goodnight. Michael turned to leave, but Amara called after him.

‘Michael.’

‘Yes,’ he said as he turned around to face her.

‘Don’t leave me,’ she said, feeling rather vulnerable and afraid.

Michael strode quickly back to Amara’s side when he saw the expression on her face and he looked at her searchingly.

‘Amara, what is it? What’s wrong?’

‘I just don’t want you to go.’ She said rather emotionally, not quite knowing why she felt so scared and alone.

‘Then I won’t,’ he said tenderly.

Michael held onto Amara’s hand and she smiled at him. ‘Hold me,’ she said.

He nodded his head and climbed into the bed next to her. She pulled the quilt from under him and threw it over him so they were both under it and he gathered her into his arms and he held on to her and she held onto him. Neither one of them spoke and after a while, they fell asleep in each others arms.

***

Imogen and Michael had been right all along, Rakan had fallen into a state of unconsciousness; just as Amara had and his whereabouts were protected by magic – Salwar’s magic. Rakan awoke shortly after Amara and when he had, he saw Adriel’s incorporeal form staring down at him. Rakan was puzzled to see the old man looking over him and he wondered what was going on.

‘Adriel, what…?’ he said, still dazed and confused.

‘You don’t remember?’ Adriel asked.

‘Where am I?’ Rakan asked, as he tried to look around but everything past Adriel was a blur.

‘In Salwar’s realm,’ Adriel said.

Rakan stared at Adriel and blinked a few times before he looked around the room again, but this time he could see and he saw that he was in a well-lit cave that looked as though it had been lived in.

‘This looks familiar,’ Rakan said.

‘It should be,’ Adriel said curtly. ‘This is a cave in Amalah.’

‘I thought I was in Salwar’s realm,’ Rakan said, confused by what Adriel was saying.

‘You are – you are in both,’ Adriel began. ‘Suffice to say that you are in Salwar’s realm, no one and nothing can find you here: not man and not magic, but when you leave this cave, you will once again be in Amalah.

‘I don’t understand…’ Rakan began but Adriel cut him of.

‘You don’t have to,’ he said impatiently. ‘All you need to know is that you will not be found here and when it is time for you to leave here you will be in Amalah.’

Rakan nodded his head and tried to sit up, but when he did he felt dizzy and so he lay back down again, groaning with frustration. He put his hand to his head and closed his eyes and then tensed his eyelids and forehead. Adriel looked on as Rakan creased his brow and made movements with his face and when Rakan opened his eyes again, he was slightly irritated to see that Adriel was still looking at him with the same cold hard stare.

‘What?’ Rakan snapped.

‘Well, well, young Rakan,’ Adriel began in his icy tone. ‘As grand as your plan was young man, it failed, and failed miserably.’

‘What happened?’ Rakan asked as he sat up.

‘Rufus, Waldon, Luxor, Kenaz and Li Ang.’

‘Who?’

‘Bryce, his name is Li Ang, anyway; they are all captured along with your entire army.’

‘No.’

‘Yes – they are. If they are not dead they are in captivity.’

‘How?’

‘Magic! That which was used to transport you to Lansten’s school of sorcery was used to capture your army. Only the barrier is stronger and impenetrable from the inside. You may enter but you may not leave and once inside, no magic will avail you.’

‘What will they do?’

‘I do not know; they are captured with no means of escape.’

‘No. I mean the people of Amalah; they cannot maintain them in that magical prison forever, they simply cannot.’

‘You have a point,’ Adriel said, nodding his head slowly. ‘But what will you do?’

‘I do not know,’ Rakan replied.

‘Well you had better,’ Adriel said as his tone suddenly became threatening. ‘You had better know for your own sake and the sake of your fledgling brethren. You defied me and Salwar and took things into your own hands and if you do not rectify matters, the blood boiling incident in Equer will be regarded as a pleasantry.’

Rakan rose to his feet and glared at the old man. ‘I care not for your tone Adriel,’ Rakan said defiantly. ‘The six of us brought the world to its knees and yours and Salwar’s role was minuscule. If the two of you want this world so badly then I suggest you take it by yourselves. Or, you help more than you have been doing and as for the blood boiling incident – well, Adriel you should hope and pray that Salwar kills me when he is done, for whatever I suffer, you will suffer threefold – I swear it.’

‘Don’t you threaten me boy,’ Adriel said, as his temper rose.

‘You of all people Adriel should know that I
never
make threats.’

Adriel was now seething and he was about to attack Rakan when he heard Salwar’s beckoning voice.

‘Stop,’ Salwar bellowed. ‘Both of you stop,’ he commanded again. Adriel and Rakan fell to their knees and paid their respect to Salwar.

‘Get up,’ he ordered them.

The two men rose to their feet and looked at Salwar and glared at each other whenever they could steal a glance of each other.

‘Rakan, I see that you have failed,’ Salwar began.

‘It is not over yet,’ Rakan said.

‘You are wrong, the force that holds them cannot be penetrated by human magic from the inside, nor can it be opened from the outside.’

‘Then you help us,’ Rakan said. ‘We as humans have done all we can do and if you wish to take this any further, then you and Adriel will have to help,’ Rakan insisted, as he raised his voice.

‘You do not want to incur the wrath of the gods,’ Salwar warned.

‘Do you?’ Rakan asked. ‘I am but a mere mortal and I know I defy them and their works – and I do so openly, but I ask you mighty Salwar, a god in your own right – will you not risk incurring their wrath also?’

Salwar looked at Rakan, he was unsure of whether to toss him down into a pit of fire or to throw him into the magical prison that was holding his friends captive. As Salwar contemplated Rakan’s words, he decided to do neither.

‘You will have my help,’ Salwar said. ‘Twice I will help you Rakan and if you fail me after that then you and your five brethren will also suffer the same fate and there will be no room for anymore words.’

‘I understand,’ said Rakan calmly.

‘Adriel – the cloak,’ Salwar said.

Adriel held onto the cloak that Rakan was wearing and he closed his eyes. He began to chant a powerful and deep incantation and when it was complete; he opened his eyes and smiled a short smile at Rakan. Rakan looked on him expressionlessly and Adriel moved his eyes downwards to the floor. He looked up again at Rakan for a few seconds and nodded downwards motioning for Rakan to look too. Rakan looked down and saw another cloak at his feet and he looked at Adriel and Salwar.

‘The cloak possesses the same power as the one you wear,’ Adriel said simply.

‘Now I will help you,’ Salwar said.

Salwar stepped forward and touched Rakan on the forehead very gently and as he made contact, Rakan began to feel strange.

‘I restore all your power and energy,’ Salwar said. ‘And I increase it by as much as you can handle.’

‘Thank you mighty Salwar.’

‘Don’t thank me – finish what you have started,’ he growled. ‘Now we go.’

‘Where?’ Rakan asked.

‘To the temple,’ Salwar said.

Salwar, Rakan and Adriel teleported to the temple of the gods and when they arrived, it was the dead of night and there was no one in the vicinity who could see them.

‘
Shield!
’ Adriel commanded and the three beings became invisible to the human eye.

‘I thought you were in a dungeon in the palace,’ Rakan said to Adriel.

‘I have just released him from his prison, for he is needed in physical form here,’ said Salwar.

‘Why are we here?’ Rakan asked, looking around the temple.

‘So I can help you for the second and final time,’ Salwar replied.

‘How?’

‘’In there,’ Salwar said. ‘Is where the gods write many answers to the universe. They come and they go and they write it all down. It is not visible to the human eye, nor understandable – yet. On one of the monoliths, the god Zarab wrote an answer to time and space and now, I am going to take that answer.’

‘Why?’

‘To give to you.’

‘Why don’t you use it?’ Rakan asked.

‘Because I know that once I remove the Rock of Zarab, the gods will know and they will return to the temple to stop me.’

‘But I cannot yield it,’ Rakan said.

‘Not yet,’ Salwar replied. ‘But one day you will and when you can, you can change time, in this world and other worlds.’

‘There are other worlds?’ Rakan said in shock and surprise.

‘Yes, there are other worlds, but only one temple.’

‘Take the rock and do with it what you will, but be careful for the gods may be upon you.’

Salwar looked at Rakan and then at Adriel and commanded them to remain on the outside of the temple. He entered the temple and stood much taller than the monoliths and once inside, he began to bellow out his incantation that only Rakan and Adriel could hear. Salwar placed one of his giant palms on the top of one stone and placed his other hand on the opposite stone. As he continued to work, the giant monoliths began to illuminate and glow brilliant white and a powerful surge of energy then began to circulate and the stones began to vibrate and then he began to speak in an old and dead language:

‘Reveal.
Reveal the words of the gods, to me, a god who is worthy
Show to me the writings of old, show to me the works of all gods.
I command you, reveal yourself to me, great monolith.’

As Salwar was chanting, the writings of the gods began to appear on the monoliths and when he had finished; their full works and their words to that day were revealed to Salwar. Salwar was only interested in Zarab’s works and he hurriedly read through the writing on the wall. As he was reading the walls, he was aware of lightening striking in the sky and he knew that the gods above were aware of his presence and he knew that they were coming for him. He read even faster and when he finally came to Zarab’s writings, he smiled to himself.

He found the section that gave the answer to time and grinned broadly. He took one hand away from the top of the monolith and it glowed a fantastic white and he inserted his hand into the monolith just above the beginning of Zarab’s answer. He moved his hand horizontally across to the right, then down, across, up and across again; until he was back where he had started. As Salwar had moved his hand, he had burned through the rock easily and now, he was pulling out the slab and as he removed it the lightening grew more ferocious and the strikes more numerous. Salwar gave one last pull and then in a perfect rectangular slab, the Rock of Zarab came out of the temple of the gods and into Salwar’s hands. Salwar took the rock and stepped out of the temple and quickly gave it to Rakan.