Defenders of Kron - The Black Dragon (18 page)

“A Werewolf!” exclaimed Ony “Then why are we following him, he is a dark creature, he will take us to our doom”

“I don’t think so Ony, remember a Werewolf had saved us in the forest before. May be we should learn to trust them. They may not be what they seem” Dan said.

Aaron looked at Flynn, Flynn had gone white. He remembered that Flynn’s father had turned into a Werewolf too. Aaron realized instantly how Billy knew about the wolf attack on the village.

His heart leaped, he wanted to trust Billy but he was not sure. What if he was helping the Dark lord? What if he gets them into more danger than they already are in?

The screeching of the birds now increased. Hundreds of them were now following them. The party tried to move as fast as they could but the birds overtook them.

“Get off me you filthy bird” Aaron heard Belster scream in pain. A bird had sunk its teeth in his right arm. His golden white robe sleeve’s had turned red but nobody could afford to stop now. Sandra came closer to Belster from behind and grabbed onto the bird. Belster screamed again, Sandra finally got hold of the cat sized bird and threw it away with all her strength. It didn’t return.

“Faster, there are more coming!” Sandra screamed. She was restless. They couldn’t see Billy anymore. He was nowhere to be seen. He was out of their sight.

“He tricked us. That scoundrel” shouted Ony.

But they couldn’t stop now. A cloud of vampire birds were forming above their heads. Their screeching was unbearable. They could dive down any moment and finish all of them in no time.

“I can’t take it anymore” Flynn said covering his ears and letting go the reins of his horse.

“Stop!” Dan said loudly and everyone pulled hard on their reins. “Nobody move an inch”

They were standing at the edge of a cliff. It went thousand of feet steep down. Everyone held their breath, they didn’t move.

‘
Billy has betrayed us’
Aaron thought sadly ‘
He has brought us to our deaths
’

“Wait” said Jane suddenly. “This is not what it seems to be. Billy has brought us to the right place.”

She then reached inside a small purse that was dangling at her belt and took a handful of white powder from inside it. Holding her hand in front of her mouth, she blew on the powder. As the tiny particles of the white dust flew in front of them, a town covered in snow appeared where there seemed to be a cliff. There were tall buildings and carts with horses moving about everywhere.

“Welcome to Witch Valley!” Jane smiled looking back at everybody and rode into the town.

“Of course, the Witch Valley is hidden from the eyes of the passerby!” said Belster. “It is hidden by magic, and can be made visible only by magic” he smiled to himself.
Flynn looked in astonishment. “I love magic” he said.

Aaron jumped after Jane on his horse and everyone else followed. The deadly birds were out of sight as soon as they stepped inside the town. The people in the town looked happy and welcoming. There were songs in the air, like some kind of festival was going on. Jane rode happily and finally stopped in front of a huge house.

As she was about to get off the horse, Aaron reached there too. “Jane, where are you going?” he asked.

“I am going home!” she grinned at Aaron and ran inside.

“Home? Aaron thought ‘
This would mean I can meet people who knew my mother?’
Aaron smiled to himself.

The big house was mostly white with big windows and doors. Aaron tied his horse close to where Jane had tied her horse, at a lamp post.

From inside, came many cheering voices. By the time everyone else was done unloading their bags from the horses, a lot of women came out and greeted them. They felt quite awkward as the women were all dressed in similar clothing of long colorful cloaks and hats and were extremely cheerful.

The women took their luggage, some took the horses to the stables. The others escorted the group inside. Inside the house they gave special attention to Aaron, they brought him many candies to eat and showered him with kisses. He didn’t know what was going on; he couldn’t see anyone else as these witches circled him.

“Give me way!” he heard a voice very much like Jane’s, but much more mature. From inside the crowd appeared a lady in a simple blue evening dress.

“Oh! My god, look at you! So grown up, so handsome” Aaron blushed as the lady said.

“Come, come. I will show you to your room” she held Aaron’s hand and pulled him though the crowd. The other women growled as they were unwilling to let go off him.

They reached a large room through the passage. The lady closed the door to make sure no one else could enter the room. Inside the large room was a small bed and many chairs. The curtains were red and the floor was stark white.

Aaron sat down on one of the chairs looking confused about what had just happened.

“Oh dear! Did they bother you?  Pardon my friends dear, they are just happy to see you..” she said with a smile.

“Happy to see me? Why?” asked Aaron.

“Because you are kind of a legend here” she said, sitting next to him.

“A legend? What do you mean?” Aaron asked in astonishment.

“Well, you are the boy the world has been waiting for. The one who will destroy the Evil Force forever as told in the prophecy!” she said.

“The prophecy? You know about the prophecy?”

“Yes, everybody knows about the prophecy here, we have been waiting for you for years...”

“But how do you know that the boy is me? It could be anyone.”

“Your mother told us, she could see beyond, you know!”

“You knew my mother?” Aaron asked with eyes full of hope.

“Yes, I knew her very well!” she said, but her simile drifted away. “Aaron, I am Analda, the chief witch of this Dormitory.”

“Can you tell me more about my mother?”

“Of course, do you what to see the house you lived in as a kid?”

Aaron gave a happy nod, the lady walked up to one of the windows and parted a thick curtain. She pointed to an old burnt house which was in ruins. Aaron was disappointed.

“What happened there?” but before she could say anything he said “No, don’t tell me, I know” he closed the curtain and sat back on the chair.

“Aaron, your mother was not the only one to lose her family. All of us in this dorm have lost our families in the fight against the Evil Force. We now live together with our names and identities changed so that the spies of the Dark Lord cannot recognize us.”

Aaron felt bad for her and the others. They were living a life in hiding and it is definitely not a good life.

She added “This has to end Aaron. Many have given their lives to fight and to stop the Dark Lord. We want our lives to be normal again, so that we do not have to live in fear anymore. We have all our hopes on you. We know that you will stand against him and will be able to bring peace to the world again” There was much hope in her eyes, as if she was waiting for him to come and save them.

Aaron was not sure if he can do what she was asking him of. He felt that it was becoming quite difficult for him; people seem to have too much expectations of him.  First, he was suppose to become a Defender and now he had to stand against the Dark Lord, all by himself. It was impossible. There was no way he could do that. He was just a boy and the Evil Force would crush him in seconds. He could hardly hold onto his life and run at the sight of the Evil creatures of the Dark Lord. How would he stand a chance against the Dark Lord Himself?

The door opened and Jane came in.

“So, you have met my mother!” she threw her arms around the lady. “See mother, didn’t I tell you he looks just like his mother?”

“Yes dear, he does” Jane’s mother smiled.

“You know Aaron, your mother and my mother were best friends when they were Alfadon’s students” Jane said looking at her mother.

“Honey, how many times I told you that you should call him Grampi. We are the only family he has left” said Jane’s mother. She then turned to Aaron.

“He always loved me and your mother like his own daughters.” She took a deep breath and continued “We were all crushed when your mother was killed Aaron, but we cannot change what has happened dear. We have to move forward. That is how life is”

Jane sensed the mood of the room deepening and quickly changed the topic of conversation “Mother, when will the food be ready? I am getting very hungry.”

“I will check on that dear” she got up and gave Aaron a warm hug. It felt like a hug from his own mother. Her faint memories came back to Aaron’s mind.

Chapter 15

In the Underground Market

After her mother was gone, Jane sat next to Aaron.

“Aaron, please don’t mind what my Mother said. She has been through so much; she has lost her husband and her son. Life is not very easy for her” Jane sank into her chair.

“I understand!” Aaron said.

“Here, in Witch Valley, we have a lot of hope on the prophecy. My mother believes that the boy in the prophecy is you and you are the only hope for the world. But that doesn’t have to be necessarily true” said Jane. Aaron felt some pressure lift off his chest.

There was a light knock on the door. Jane opened the door and saw Flynn standing there with a big smile on his face.

“Come in” she said.

Flynn walked in to realize that Aaron and Jane were speaking.

“Er...l am sorry. Did I come at a wrong time?” he gulped.

“No, I was just leaving” said Jane as she walked out.

“You should come and see outside, this place is amazing” Flynn couldn’t hide his excitement anymore. He pulled Aaron out of the room and into the road outside in no time.

The snow that was there before was gone now. The streets were empty now. Aaron saw the trees around them. They were laden with different kinds of fruits. Flynn plucked a few fruits and stared to eat them. Then he came to Aaron and handed him a purple fruit from one of the trees.

“This tastes like peaches, but in fact it tastes ten times better! Try it!” he said walking away. Aaron followed him, the town looked somewhat similar to their own village except that the houses were made of stones and bricks. And in the place of farms, they had big gardens full of beautiful smelling fruits and flowers.

Flynn stopped at a creek where they stayed for many hours and talked about their journey. Their hunger disappeared as they ate all kinds of fruits and rested near the flowing water.

“Let’s go further. I heard there is a big market where we can buy magic supplies” Flynn’s eyes glittered.

“But, we do not know any magic to use them” said Aaron.

“So what? We could always buy something that can do magic on its own” he grinned.

Flynn didn’t stop to say anything further, he ran towards the east and Aaron reluctantly followed him. After asking directions to a few witches, they found the market of Witch Valley. The whole market was underground. When finally they got there, various vendors surrounded them. The vendors wanted to sell them all kinds of things.

“Lizard Eyes. Its wonderful for beauty charm” a woman with warts all over her came too close to Aaron.

“Frog guts, they make the best curses” a man with one eye appeared in front of Flynn.

“Lamps, lamps! you never know what can come out of it, if you rub them” another man with all black teeth and tattered clothes came up from behind them.

“No thanks!” They hardly managed to speak. They then ran for their lives.

The market was overcrowded and the pungent smell was overbearing. They got a headache, but there was no way they were going the same way they came in. Many freaky looking people were sitting there at the entrance. They started to walk along the rows of shops which were filled with many strange things. The spices that can cook themselves, knifes that can throw themselves, clothing that can be worn in many different ways, brooms that fly and animals that talk. They found many shops selling potions. Some shops had shrunken heads as pendants. And some shops had bones of mythical creatures for magical cures.

“In Here!” Flynn said as he went inside a tiny passage.

“Wait! Flynn it’s not safe there” Aaron tried to stop him but he was already gone. Aaron tip toed behind him into the passage. It was quite dark inside and took him several minutes to adjust his eyes to the darkness.

“Flynn where are you?” he whispered loudly.

Surprisingly, the passage was quite long and spacious on the inside.

“What brings you here my boy?” a lady’s voice spoke from a dark corner.

Aaron was startled “I… I am looking for my friend” he managed to utter.

“Are you, really?” suddenly the room filled with light and he saw a lady wearing colorful clothes with a smooth face sitting in front of a crystal ball.

“Come child! My crystal tells me you are destined to be here. You have come for something big. Something dark that dangles in your future” the lady signaled him to sit. Aaron did as she said.

“What do you mean?” he asked hesitantly.

The lady closed her eyes and began to mutter some chants. The room became icy cold. Aaron folded his arms to shield himself from the cold.

Her voice began to change “Aaron Ridwik, the boy the world was waiting for. The boy in the prophecy. The boy who will destroy the evil force at last.”

The lady’s voice now completely changed into a Man’s voice. “The boy who couldn’t even save his own brother and uncle. Your Father and Mother have died in vain fighting against me and now your brother will have the same fate”

The room went completely dark in an instant. The lady’s eyes started to glow white and her crystal ball was showing a storm of bright red and black clouds. Aaron held on to the chair he was sitting on.

“You think you can defeat me boy? The mighty Zorath? You fool, I will destroy you and all those Defenders who are fighting against me. I will rule the whole world very soon and the likes of you will rot in hell”

Aaron’s chair tipped over and fell on the floor. The pendent of the Sicil stone fell out of his shirt and suddenly, there was a flash of light that filled the room with bright white light. Aaron opened his eyes, but now, he was alone in the room. There was no lady or a crystal ball. He was fallen on the floor with his pendent still glowing.