Empress Aurora Trilogy Quest For the Kingdom Parts I, II, and III Revised With Index (Quest For the Kingdom Set) (51 page)

Marcus rose
the next morning with the firm resolve to explore the caves near the mountain
to find the orange stones Bimo spoke of. But everything seemed to conspire
against him to prevent his doing so.

First, it was
decided that intense prayer was necessary to prepare for the events of the
evening. So Marcus and the others spent the morning in solemn prayer and
introspection, searching their own hearts for any darkness that might ensnare
them and cause them to fail in the battle to come.

In the
afternoon, they were honored with a visit from Yudo and Intami who wished to
make their further acquaintance, although they had had ample opportunity over
the past few days which they had not availed themselves of. They spent the
whole of the afternoon grilling the young people on their personal histories
and inquired about their native lands and customs, with Bimo to facilitate
between them. Taking into account that there were six of them and everything
had to be said twice, it was a lengthy process.

Then Yudo and
Intami felt the need to relate the customs and history of their own land in
excruciating detail, with Bimo repeating their words through translation.
Marcus did not quite believe that purely friendly intentions inspired this
visit, especially when Intami bored holes into their souls with her piercing
black eyes as though determined to read the secrets of their hearts.

Either she
suspects we are going to hunt for the stones, or the Astra have inspired this
visit in order to prevent our hunt, Marcus thought. But either way I do not
trust this lady!

He glanced at
Felix, who was discreetly stifling a yawn at the tedious recital, some of which
they had already heard from Bimo in more succinct detail. He caught his eye and
lifted one eyebrow, but Felix merely shrugged his shoulders.

Only when the
hour for dinner came upon them did Yudo and Intami rise to take their leave.
There was, they informed them through Bimo, a great celebration to take place
at sundown. A time when they all gathered on the mountaintop when the moon rose
to its full. They hoped that their guests would join them, as it would be an
honor for them to join the villagers in their festivity.

“We will
expect you, Bimo,” Yudo announced as they left the hut.

Bimo flinched
but did not reply.

“What am I to
do?” he asked of Marcus. Then he sighed, with the air of one who knows that any
choice he made would bring pain to another.

The sun was
beginning to set. Marcus and Felix announced to the others that they wished to
take a walk but would join them later on the mountain. Then they left the hut,
being certain that no one followed.

Not even to
Kyrene did they confide their quest. It would not be right, they told each
other, to expose her or the others to danger if their taking of the stones were
discovered. Marcus suspected that the penalty for such an offense would be
death, as the stones were regarded as sacred; if he faced such a risk, he would
not ask his friends to share in that penalty.

They followed
the shoreline until they were out of sight of the hut. Then they veered sharply
inland and headed for the mountain.

Because they
had been confined to the shore during their stay, they were not aware of the
lush foliage and strange wildlife that thrived in the heart of the island.
Large plants with fan shaped leaves grew along a narrow path, and indeed
threatened to take it over as they nearly obscured it from view. Long ropy
vines trailed from some of the trees that were encased in a green slimy growth,
promoted by the abundant rain that fell on the island.

As they
struggled uphill along the path, beating back the huge leaves and occasional
vines, they heard strange calls from various animals, none of them exposed to
their eyes. The sounds were unsettling and prickled their skin as they
listened. What creature, for instance, made that low growling sound, so much deeper
than that of the ordinary dog one kept for a pet? And how large
was
that
bird that shrieked loud enough to wake the dead? How wide its wingspan, how
large its talons and beak? And what manner of animal shrieked repeatedly as
though it spotted some terror they could not see?

“Where do you
suppose these caves are, Marcus?” Felix panted as he swatted back a vine and
crushed a small insect exploring his forearm.

“I do not
know,” Marcus confessed.

Then
realization smote him.

“Of course,
how obtuse I am!” he smacked his forehead in consternation. “Felix, we hid the
boat in a cave along the beach. We need to walk to the beach, not inland at
all!”

Felix groaned.

“You are
right. I also had forgotten. We must retrace our steps then. I will not be
sorry to bid farewell to this jungle!”

Marcus
pondered for a moment, and then shook his head.

“No, we must
not be seen in the open, I fear. Let us continue, but go around the mountain
and down to the beach instead of climbing further.”

They changed
their course at once, and worked their way down to the bottom of the hill. Then
they stayed partially screened by the outer trees and walked in a sideways
direction.

Finally, they
saw the mountain ahead of them. And at its foot, they spotted a slight opening.

They sauntered
slowly in its direction, chatting as they strolled, in the hope that a stray
passerby might believe they were merely taking a walk.

When they
reached the foot of the mountain and the small opening, Felix casually turned
and looked around as though admiring the sunset.

Marcus darted
into the cave, quickly followed by Felix, who kept a lookout for intruders.
Marcus struggled to explore the interior, but the waning light failed to
illumine the darkness.

“Felix!” he
whispered. “You have the vision of a lynx. Can you see anything?”

Felix entered
with a backward glance outside. Marcus took his post at the mouth of the cave
while Felix gazed intently at the smooth rock wall.

“It is
difficult to see much,” Felix murmured. “Perhaps if I ran my hand over the
surface, I may detect a different texture.”

He put both
hands over the wall and ran them down the length and breadth of it.

“Hurry, Felix,
the light is waning!” Marcus cried.

“No, not
here,” Felix said as if to himself. “No, that is merely a crack in the rock.”

Marcus stifled
a scream of exasperation.

“Wait!” Felix
exclaimed. “There
is
something! It is smooth and somewhat glassy and
protrudes from the face of the wall.”

Marcus flung
caution aside and rushed to examine it. He too felt an obtrusion, and now as
the sun flared to a ball of flame, he saw a faint orange glow.

“You found
it,” he breathed. “The Rays of the Sun!”

They scoured
the floor of the cave and found several jagged edged rocks. These they tapped
gently on the wall above and below the orange stone. Repeatedly they pounded,
until it at last broke free.

Marcus rolled
it in his hand, marveling at the guidance of Dominio.

“We have
succeeded, Felix! Only one more object to obtain for the Empress!” he exulted.

“You forget,
my friend,” Felix reminded him. “We have the evening ahead of us yet, and will
no doubt be called on at some point to show the error of their ways to our
island hosts, something I do not think they will welcome from their guests.”

“Yes, Felix,”
Marcus felt chastened. “In my joy I did forget. And Bimo will need our support
if he speaks out against his own people.”

And in his
heart Marcus wondered what kind of reception awaited them if such an occasion
arose.

They left the
cave and headed back for the shoreline, where they continued their apparently
aimless stroll. As they walked they prayed for Bimo to be strengthened for the
celebration to come.

“What shall we
do with Bimo?” Felix asked Marcus.

“What do you
mean?” Marcus returned.

“Well, we will
need to continue our journey in order that you may complete your task. But Bimo
will need instruction and guidance, even as we did. What would we have done
without Xenon to mentor us?”

It was a
question that caught Marcus unprepared. He was disconcerted to realize that he
had given no thought to Bimo. And yet he knew Felix had spoken the truth: Bimo
could not be left to struggle on his own.

“I do not
know, Felix,” Marcus answered candidly. “What you say is true, yet the decision
is really Bimo’s to make.”

They soon
arrived at the hut and joined Bimo and their companions who were preparing to
leave for the celebration. Marcus found the atmosphere somewhat tense; Dag
paced the floor of the tiny hut, while Cort kept picking up objects aimlessly
only to drop them. Elena was pale and chewed her bottom lip, and Kyrene moved
her lips silently as she stared into space.

Marcuse
realized she was praying and thought it a good idea to join her.

“Let us come
together, shall we?” he said as he extended his hands.

They gathered
around him and clasped hands with one another.

“Be of good
cheer,” Marcus reassured them. “Dominio has never abandoned us, even when men
are angry with us, and seek to kill us. Trust in His faithfulness and cling to
one another. If we stand together nothing can tear us apart or bring us down.”

Kyrene nodded
agreement.

“Yes, let us
praise Dominio for His faithfulness. He delivered us from a sentence of death
in Jytte’s Land.”

“And protected
us from the wrath of the Khalaman,” added Felix.

“And saved our
lives in Trekur Lende,” Cort piped in.

“Yes! Yes,”
Marcus encouraged them. “If Dominio is for us, who can stand against us?”

“No one!” they
shouted in chorus.

All except
Elena who dropped her eyes and smiled demurely.

“Come, it is
time to leave,” Bimo announced.

The sun had
set completely and they made their way with care to the mountain. Bimo led them
on a more direct route than that which Felix and Marcus had taken earlier. A
footpath that rose from the beach and up the mountainside climbed to the summit,
where Yudo and Intami stood in the center of a circle made by those who lived
in the huts. The little band of friends slipped in behind the circle and
quietly observed.

Yudo and
Intami were adorned in long garments the color of flames on a winter night, the
orange stones clasped around their necks. Intami shot a glance at Marcus that
did not bode well for him; possibly it was an offense to arrive late for the
celebration.

The moon had
now risen to its full and hung in the ebony sky like a silver white pearl.
Strange, Marcus thought, but it seemed larger and closer here in this land than
in Valerium. There were no clouds to obscure its brilliance, making it easy to
see everything surrounding them in vivid detail.

The top of the
mountain was not grassy as it was lower down the slope, but formed of some
smooth black stone that glistened in the clear moonlight. There was also a
rumbling noise, and intense heat they did not at first notice in their haste to
reach the summit. Now they became aware of it, and also an orange glow that lit
the sky above the crater of the mountain, casting an unearthly light that lent
a sinister air to the ceremony. Yudo and Intami suddenly appeared menacing,
their features sharper, and their eyes hooded and malevolent.

Intami raised her
arms skyward, and her robe rippled like a river of flame. She lifted her eyes
to the crater and began to speak in a low voice whose vibration mingled with
the rumble of the gaping hole in the mountaintop.

“Sacred Diono,
we call on you,” she intoned, as Bimo whispered in translation. “Hear our cry,
and grant us life!”

A small girl
wearing a robe similar to those worn by Yudo and Intami walked solemnly toward
them. In her hands she carried a small basket, and from it Yudo drew the
flaming flowers Marcus and his friends had noticed on their arrival. He handed
them to Intami.

She walked
slowly to the top of the mountain.

Marcus heard
Bimo catch his breath sharply, and turned to find his friend pale, his large
dark eyes riveted on Intami. She raised the flowers of flame over her head and
spoke. But Bimo refused to translate her words for his friends.

“For it would
be sacrilege to Dominio as Intami is offering worship to a false god,” he
explained.

Suddenly, the
deep rumble rose in volume, and Intami threw the flowers into the glowing
crater. She laughed in exultation, but before she could speak, the ground
beneath her feet crumbled, and she fell into the yawning hole of flame.

Her screams
chilled Marcus and his heart stopped for one terrifying moment as he beheld
Intami’s fate. But there was no time to ponder for the rumble increased to a
deafening roar as a fountain of orange glowing flame erupted from the crater.

The villagers
screamed and began to scramble down the slope toward safety.

Marcus,
however, to his own astonishment, found himself prompted to stop them and
speak.

“Wait!” he
shouted.

To his utter
amazement, Marcus found himself speaking the language of the Cahyala. Truly,
this was a miracle from Dominio! Emboldened, he proceeded to speak.

“You believe
that your god Diono accepted your sacrifice. Yet, I tell you that he does not
exist, and the death of Intami was in vain!”

Murmurs broke
out among them as they heard the words of Marcus. Judging by the glares cast at
Marcus, his statement was not only understood, but not well received.

He continued
speaking as the rivulets of flame streamed down the mountain side.

“I serve the
One true God, Dominio. And I tell you He has conquered the flame, for it was He
who created it. He can stop the flow of fire, and show you He is greater than
Diono!”

The murmur now
became an angry buzz as the villagers listened.

Marcus found
himself wondering just how he would escape death if they chose to vent their
anger upon him. He took a deep breath and found words spring to his mind and
spill from his lips.

“In the name
of Alexandros, I command the fire to stop its flow!”

A loud crack
sounded overhead as a torrent of rain fell from the sky. Like a river it fell,
blinding them, beating on their bodies. For several minutes each one present
forgot about the challenge that Marcus had flung at Diono, as they hunkered
down where they stood in an effort to shield themselves from the pelting rain.

When it at
last ended, there was no trace of fire to be seen. Where moments before a flow
of flame had cascaded, there was now only shards of some glassy black stone to
be found.

Marcus
blinked, and then turned in jubilation to his friends.

Felix shouted
and clapped him on the shoulder. Dag beamed as Kyrene laughed and raised her
hands to Dominio. Bimo hugged Cort and Elena closed her eyes and exhaled
slowly.

But the
villagers did not share in their joy. They muttered in angry tones among
themselves and cast menacing glances at the Alexandrians.

Then they
picked up the glassy black stones and weighed them in their hands.

Felix was the
first to assess their situation and act.

“Run!” he
shouted as he acted on his own counsel.

The others
followed him, sprinting as rapidly as they could, the villagers racing behind
them.

“To the boat!”
Felix yelled as he led the way.

The villagers
were gaining on them quickly and just as they reached the foot of the mountain
one of them threw a stone that caught Elena on her shoulder.

She cried out,
and Dag pushed her unceremoniously in front of his large body.

“Oh, Dominio,
come to our aid!” Kyrene implored.

The heavens
above them opened up once more, and the rain returned in greater intensity than
before. It caught the villagers by surprise as they put down their stones to
shield themselves.

For Marcus and
his friends, however, the rain impeded their progress as it blinded them and
made the sandy beach a stretch of muddy grit that shifted beneath their feet.

It was Bimo
who came to their aid.

“Hold hands
and follow me!” he shouted above the roar of the rain.

They grasped
at one another’s hands and ran abreast behind Bimo. He led them to the cave
that Marcus and Felix had discovered earlier, from which they had removed the
sacred stones.

“In here!”
Bimo shouted.

They crowded
in behind him, and shook themselves. Water flew as they slapped their clothes
and stamped their feet.

“Ah,” Dag
sighed. “This is good. But they will come soon.”

“No,” Bimo
smiled as he shook his head. “Come.”

He walked to
the back of the cave, where they could faintly detect a narrow slit, just large
enough for a man to enter sideways. A shelf of stone protruded next to it, and
Bimo ran his hand over the top of it. From it he took a wooden pole and a
bundle of old rags. He wound the rags around the pole and handed it to Felix,
who stared at it blankly.

“Hold this,
please,” Bimo smiled into the puzzled eyes of his friend.

He stooped to
the floor of the cave and picked up two stones, which he proceeded to rub
together until they sparked in the blackness. Gradually they produced a flame
which Bimo applied to the rags. He then took the torch from Felix.

“Quickly!” he
prompted them. “We have little time for the torch to last!”

They followed
him into the narrow opening, squeezing themselves through the slit. They were
surprised to find themselves in a tunnel, just large enough for two to walk
abreast. They each grabbed the hand of the one next to them and followed Bimo.

The tunnel was
cold and damp, and in the torchlight they glimpsed beads of moisture along the
walls. They walked rapidly, saying nothing as they followed their guide along
the stony passage. The tunnel wound its way for a considerable distance until
at last they came out into moonlight on a beach. The rain had ended once again.

“Where are
we?” Marcus inquired.

“You are on
the beach where we found you when you arrived on the island,” Bimo explained.
“I found this tunnel years ago and it became my special place, known only to
myself.”

Marcus glanced
around, then gestured with his arm to the others.

“Over there is
the cave where we stowed the boat,” he said.

Indeed, it was
a mere ten yards from where they stood.

“How
providential that we stowed it here!” he laughed.

The others
joined in his elation until Bimo put up a hand to stop them.

“Yes, it was
the hand of Dominio who led you here,” he agreed. “But you must leave now or
the villagers will find you. And they will not leave you alive.”