Deliverance (9 page)

“Stay away! You must let me do this!”
Malcolm then turned his attention to the others, “Listen to me,
everyone. I am using my own life energy to split the Eye into five
pieces! I will spread them throughout the kingdom, and you must
find them before the king does!” he then spoke directly to Crystal,
“You must learn the ways of a holy mage, Crystal! You have the
blood that runs through you! It will be essential to destroy the
Eye once it is fused together again! You must find the power of
light!”

With that, Malcolm glowed even brighter, and
with an explosion of energy, the Eye of Gaull shot through the
ceiling and into the sky. The red beam shot up and then five
separate beams split apart in different directions. When Crystal
looked again, Malcolm was gone, and only his staff remained on the
ground.

The blast had knocked everyone off of their
feet, but Bogdan managed to regain his footing faster. He stumbled
around looking for the Eye, but discovered it was gone.

“That damned mage did it! The Eye is GONE!”
he yelled. He then saw the pillar, “Saitar! Get over here and
transport me and the pillar out of here!”

Saitar then rose and ran to Bogdan’s side.
Thaddeus attempted to stop him, but grew dizzy when he tried to
stand. Saitar put on hand on the pillar and the other on Bogdan,
and with a flash, they both disappeared in a cloud of smoke with
the stone prison.

CHAPTER 5

The battle outside in the city ended not
long after Bogdan and Saitar escaped. Some of the mages along the
city wall saw the king and Saitar appear outside of the city and
order the surviving troops to retreat back to Cartigo, and then he
and Saitar disappeared again. The death toll was fairly high, but
in the end, it still seemed that the mages and the rebels held
their own very well.

“The damage outside is massive!” Elder
Leldor told the rebels, “It will take months to rebuild
everything!”

The elders met Crystal as she and Gavril
emerged from the chamber where the Eye of Gaull had been. The seal
of the chamber had been broken after the Eye had burst through the
ceiling, so the sealed door now stayed open. Crystal delivered the
good news that Bogdan failed to acquire the Eye to the elders, but
she regretfully informed them of Malcolm’s death, Saitar’s
betrayal, and finally how the Eye was separated into five shards
and how Malcolm spread them across Cierith.

“How terrible! The high elder was such a
good man!” cried Bredewig.

“He will indeed be missed. He was as kind as
he was wise, and not many men can have that said of them. And may
Saitar be cursed for the rest of his life!” Halmez said.

“Of course, if it had not been for Elder
Bredewig, there would have been many more deaths,” Leldor pointed
out.

Bredewig looked over his thick glasses and
with a stutter, replied, “W-what? B-but I—”

“He’s right, Elder Bredewig.” agreed Ydon,
“If you had not told us of the threat, things would have ended much
worse. You may very well have saved hundreds, if not thousands of
lives today.”

The plump little elder then smiled nervously
and adjusted his glasses.

“I am confused about something else the high
elder said before he died, though,” said Crystal.

“What is that?” asked Orwynn.

“Well, he told me that I needed to obtain
the powers of a holy mage. He said that it was the only way to
destroy the Eye of Gaull after fusing the shards back together,”
Crystal told them.

“But, how can you become a holy mage?” asked
Orwynn, “You weren’t born one, and there are none left.”

“I . . .” Crystal paused, and everyone
stared at her waiting for her response. She finally ended with,
“Let’s just say I have it in my blood. Some of my ancestors were
holy mages, and maybe Malcolm believed I had the potential to use
holy magic.”

“Well, to our knowledge, no mage has become
a holy mage later in life, but perhaps the High Elder knew
something we did not,” stated Halmez.

Suddenly, the group heard Taryn yell from
inside the chamber, “Crystal! Gavril! Come QUICK!”

Crystal and Gavril, followed by the
remaining elders, dashed into the chamber. Upon entering, they all
looked at the two halflings, who then pointed to a pillar on the
side of the room. The blast the high elder caused had knocked
Prince Blaze out cold off to the side of the room and the other
rebels had just pulled a pile of debris off of him. The prince
still lay on the floor abandoned and out cold.

“Who in the world is that?” asked Ydon.

“I can’t believe his father just abandoned
him!” said Crystal, ignoring the elders’ questions. She rushed over
to him, knelt beside him, and felt for a pulse on his neck.

“He’s still alive,” she confirmed.

“Then allow me to dispose of him! The elders
can have his head!” Sigurd growled.

“No,” replied Crystal.

“What do you mean, ‘no’?” Sigurd retorted,
“He has caused nothing but trouble for Cierith for years! He's more
valuable dead”

“Killing isn't always the answer, Sigurd!
Bogdan raised Blaze to fight for him and worship him and then, at
the drop of a hat, abandoned him! I can’t imagine the torment the
prince felt when his father said those horrible things. I say we
take him to our hideout and persuade him to join us,” Crystal
announced.

“WHAT?!” exclaimed all of Crystal’s friends
at once. She did not stir or look offended by their protests, but
expected this reaction.

“Think about it. He knows the Daldussan
army’s battle tactics and the rest of Bogdan’s secrets! He could be
very helpful to our cause! If we can convince him how much his
father could lose by it, maybe he will agree to join us,” explained
Crystal.

Everyone paused momentarily, but the silence
was suddenly broken by a moaning sound. Crystal quickly turned
toward Blaze and realized that he was waking up. When he saw her,
he suddenly became alert and attempted to grab his sword and
strike, but with a quick flick of her hand, Crystal flashed a fog
in Blaze’s face that instantly knocked him out again.

“Whoa! What did you do?” asked Maryn.

“Don’t worry. It was just a simple sleeping
spell. He’ll be out for a few more hours, but he won’t have any
more damage than a headache when he wakes,” Crystal explained. She
then stood and faced the other rebels.

“Crystal, if you feel it is the right thing
to do, I will stand behind your decision to bring him to the
hideout.” Gavril stated, “However, what will you do if the prince
refuses to join us? We can’t let him see the way to our hideout and
then reveal where to find it.”

“I will keep casting the sleep spell on him
until we get there. If he refuses to join us, then I will cast the
spell again and we can bring him to a village where he can start a
new life. After all, I doubt he will return to his father after
what happened today,” Crystal stated.

“Then if you are sure it’s the right thing
to do, we will honor your decision,” Gavril humbly replied.

“Thank you,” she replied.

Halmez then stepped forward and spoke, “Well
then, I would personally like to thank you and the rebels for
coming to our aid. If you had not arrived, I believe that we would
have fallen to the king’s army.”

“As would I, and I am certain that the other
elders agree. As promised by the High Elder, you have the
allegiance of the City of Magi,” said Orwynn.

Crystal smiled. “I thank you, elders, for
your kindness. Should Bogdan threaten you again, send a message and
Deliverance will be there.”

“And should you and the rebels need our
assistance, call for us and we will help,” reply Leldor.

The elders and rebels then exchanged
handshakes and the rebels began preparations for the journey
home.

****

“How could this have happened?!” yelled
Bogdan. As soon as he told the troops to retreat from the City of
Magi, Saitar transported Bogdan as well as the stone pillar into
his throne room in Cartigo. No sooner than stepping out of the
smoke after arriving, however, did the king begin to angrily vent
out to everyone who could hear.

“All we have to do is find the shards, my
king.” said Saitar, trying to calm the king down, “We can track
them down easily! If the rebels go after them, which they most
likely will, we can trap them as well!”

“Will you hush for a moment!? It’s your
fault that Blaze was left behind!” Bogdan countered.

“M-me?! But . . . but,” Saitar
stuttered.

“You should have teleported him too! Now
he’s been left with the rebels!” the king yelled, “What’s more, he
knows all of our secrets! So if the rebels coax it out of him, they
will gain a major advantage over me! I must have Blaze brought
back. I’ll keep him in the dungeon for the rest of his life if I
have to!”

“Shall we put a bounty on him? I have heard
stories of many legendary hunters who could track him down without
breaking a sweat,” asked Saitar.

“No,” replied Bogdan, “I do not want the
public to know of this; I will send my best warriors to find him
privately. You and my generals can lead the search.”

“Yes my King,” replied Saitar.

“And as for the rebel leader . . .” Bogdan
said, trailing off.

“My Lord?” asked Saitar.

Bogdan brushed his dark hair behind his head
nervously and said, “I can’t put my finger on it, but I KNOW I have
seen that woman’s face before.”

“I doubt she is anyone important,” replied
Saitar.

“Maybe, but something is still not right
about her.” replied Bogdan, “Anyway, begin your search for Blaze
immediately. I will round up my best soldiers to accompany you, and
as soon as my generals arrive with their troops, I will order them
to do the same.”

“Yes, sir,” replied Saitar, who then bowed
and left the room.

Bogdan then walked to the throne and sat
down, exhausted. He rested his forehead in his palm, trying
desperately to remember who the woman was, if indeed his suspicions
were true. The girl was young, so she could very well have been a
child when he took the land. Could she have been a citizen in
Cartigo? Maybe she had been the child of a servant, or even . .
.

No, it was not possible. The girl that came
to his mind had indeed escaped the night he killed her parents, but
a soldier who claimed responsibility for killing her brought her
blood covered doll to him, and he was rewarded handsomely. She
couldn’t possibly be alive. The young princess of Cierith was dead,
as was the rest of the royal family.

Bogdan was sure of it.

****

Blaze awoke in a small, shabby room. He
groggily scanned his surroundings, trying to figure out where he
was. His head started to spin as he sat up and tried to remember
what happened before he blacked out. Slowly but surely, it all
started coming back to him.

Blaze remembered being led through a dirty
tunnel and finding the Eye of Gaull with his father. He remembered
the rebels ambushing them, a big fight, the High Elder showing up,
and then . . .

Blaze was abruptly overcome with a sense of
anger and confusion when he remembered his father’s words, “I don’t
need him anymore,” and “he is useless.” Even though his blood
boiled with anger, he calmed down enough to remember a bright flash
of light, which is where his memory seemed to end.

Where was he now, then? His head throbbed
with pain, so he figured that he couldn’t be dead. This wasn’t his
bedroom, nor was it the dungeon in the castle. The room was indeed
old and run-down, but this would pass as a first class inn compared
to the castle dungeon.

Still angry and confused, Blaze emerged from
the bed he lay on to discover that his armor and weapons were gone.
The only clothing he wore was his long-sleeved gray tunic, his dark
red vest, and his gray trousers and black boots. Even angrier now,
he marched straight to the door of the bedroom and turned the knob,
but it was locked. He shook it violently and eventually started
pounding on the door.

“Hey! What’s going on here?! WHERE AM I?!”
he yelled. He banged on the door repeatedly and eventually backed
up and attempted to kick the door down.

After the third kick, Blaze heard a stern
voice on the other side of the door say, “If you will stop making
such a fuss, I will open the door!”

Blaze then backed off and snapped, “Fine,
I’ve stopped, now what the HELL is going on here?!”

The door opened slowly. Even if Blaze tried
to make a break for it, he wouldn’t have gotten past the three
rebels who held out their swords to him, blocking the doorway. The
prince then recognized the middle one as the old man he fought in
the chamber.

“Rebels? What is this? I’m your prisoner
now?” Blaze barked resentfully.

“Not a prisoner, yet.” the old man remarked,
“My name is Gavril Fletcher. You are here on our leader’s
orders.”

Blaze then remembered the woman who fought
his father and asked rudely, “And what the hell does she want with
me?”

“I will let her explain that,” replied
Gavril. He then turned to the other two rebels and ordered, “Find
Crystal and tell her that the prince has awakened. I can handle him
from here.”

“Yes sir!” the rebels replied and then
obediently turned and exited the room and closing the door behind
them.

Blaze rolled his eyes, and muttered, “So
what, I’m her pet now?”

“Don’t trifle with me, Prince.” replied
Gavril, pointing his sword at him, “All Crystal has to do is give
the word and within a second I can decapitate you and never have to
deal with you again.”

“I’m petrified,” Blaze growled with gritted
teeth.

“Sit down,” ordered Gavril, gesturing to the
wooden chair in the corner of the room. When Blaze didn’t budge, he
raised his voice, “SIT DOWN!” He held his sword against Blaze’s
neck.