*
Annora couldn’t believe they’d travelled all that way to find an empty village. Castle Town was in ruins. The wooden frames of houses and shops stood charred from fire. Bricks littered the ground, and the pavement was cracked and crumbled. It was quiet and not a single person or monster was in sight.
“Ummm … I didn’t expect it to be this quiet and empty,” said Avery, feeling uncertain as they trotted down the cobblestone path on their steeds.
“Me, neither.” Annora had expected the place to be overrun by monsters. She expected to hear people screaming and fleeing the village while their houses were on fire. By the looks of it, they had arrived too late to witness this, which made their job a lot easier.
They reached the end of the street in a breeze. Still, the silence made Annora uneasy, as though there was something lurking in the shadows waiting to pounce on them when they least expected it. In front of them was a moat filled with an inky black liquid. It was bubbling like molten tar but radiated a kind of coldness, which sent a shiver down Annora’s spine.
“The drawbridge is up. We’ll have to swim,” Avery said, looking down at the inky liquid.
Panic seared through Annora’s body. Her stomach fluttered and her knees buckled. Avery caught her.
“My gosh! Are you okay? You looked terrified and started to collapse. What happened?” Avery looked stressed.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I think I had a panic attack. I …” Annora hesitated. “I’m scared of the water.”
“Really?” Avery looked surprised. “You dived into the freezing lake and saved me.”
“Because I was scared for you!” Annora said, sobbing. “If you went for a relaxing swim in the lake and you asked me to join you, I would’ve been too scared.”
“But why are you scared?” he asked.
“My mother,” sobbed Annora, harder than ever, “She drowned in the lake near my house. When I was about six, we went swimming in the lake together. I told her to swim as far as she could. She swam further than that. She couldn’t touch the bottom. The lake dragged her under.” She was now sobbing so hard she sank to the ground.
“Wow. I had no idea,” said Avery with his eyes wide.
“Not … many … people … do,” she replied between sobs.
“A wise person once told me that instead of running away from your fears, you have to face them,” said Avery, watching Annora wipe her eyes. “And there is no better way to do that than swim across a moat of strange bubbly black liquid.”
Annora couldn’t help but smile. She stood up and tied Raven to a fencepost and watched Avery do the same to his horse. Then she turned to face the moat.
“Let’s do this!” she said determinedly.
She stepped in slowly after Avery. The liquid felt cold but dry somehow as it seeped into her skin. Annora grabbed onto Avery’s shoulders as they got deeper and deeper, until the liquid reached their necks. Everything felt cold. The liquid sank through their flesh, penetrating their bones. Shadows clouded their minds. There was no reason to live. They should just let the darkness drag them under. Then Annora felt something solid. She pulled herself onto it and crawled out of the darkness. Her fingers and toes were stained black from the dark liquid. She looked to the side and saw Avery’s were the same.
“That felt horrible!” Annora shuddered, wringing the liquid from her hair.
“Agreed,” shivered Avery.
It took them a couple of seconds to get back onto their feet.
“Let’s move,” said Annora fiercely, staring at the throne room ahead.
Avery gave a slight nod in agreement. They strode towards the throne room in silence.
*
“Ah! I thought you’d be arriving soon.”
As Annora and Avery walked into the throne room, they were greeted by a tall man with his back turned to them.
The man turned around slowly. He wore velvet robes of deep purple, which flowed longer than his arms like wings. On top of his head balanced a dark helmet covering the top half of his face, so the only thing they could see was his dazzling white teeth and his pale chiselled jaw.
Zander was here.
“I knew you’d return, young Prince Avery.” His voice was deep and soothing as though he’d cast a calming spell on it. “When you fled to find a sword and a stone to defeat me, I knew you wouldn’t come home with what you needed. Instead of coming home with a stone and a stone, you came with a stone and a mere farm girl.” He chuckled heartily. “But what you didn’t know is that the legendary sword is here in the castle. My henchmen are looking for it now.”
Phew, Annora thought. That means he doesn’t know we have the sword.
“So, bring it here, boy,” continued Zander. “Bring me the gem.”
Zander flicked his wrist slightly and Avery’s scar across his left eye glowed deep red. Avery reluctantly took the packaged gem out of his pocket and handed it to Zander.
“Avery! What are you doing?” shrieked Annora, lunging to grab Avery’s arm.
Avery went to open his mouth but, with another flick of Zander’s wrist, kept it shut.
Zander laughed cruelly. “You really expected me to let him escape unscathed? That cut on his left eye is cursed. I cursed it!” He laughed gleefully. “Now with the flick of my wrist, he’ll do whatever I bid. Sit! Stand! Do the Hokey Pokey! Now turn around!’
Avery did each of these movements with a mixed expression of shock and embarrassment.
“Now, for the highlight of the day …” Zander carefully opened the package and slipped his fingers through the gem as though it was made of air.
He pulled something small out of the centre and set it on the floor. He muttered something Annora couldn’t understand and his hand lit up with black fire. The fire flickered as he set down the small thing from the centre of the gem and the fire snuffed out of his hands as it caught alight.
“And now for the last step, blood from the Lestarian Princess!”
Zander flicked his pinkie finger and the throne in the centre of the room turned around slowly, revealing a skinny, unconscious girl, no older than sixteen, tied by ropes to the back of it.
“Sarai!” gasped Avery.
It was hard to tell that Avery and Sarai were related. While Avery’s hair was short and blond, Sarai’s long black hair flowed around her waist. Avery was short and muscly while Sarai was tall and bony.
Zander strode over to the throne and pulled out a long, thin needle. He flicked his wrist so Avery wouldn’t move or speak. Zander shoved the needle into the pit of Sarai’s elbow and she let out a shrill scream. Zander removed the needle and Sarai became unconscious once again. He dropped the blood on the small thing from the inside of the gem and the fire instantly turned from black to dark red. The small thing grew and grew and grew to the size of a large human. It was a shapeless black cloud with three red eyes that contained no pupils.
“The monster that wreaked havoc on Lestaria one thousand years ago, imprisoned in that gaol for so long by the old Lestarian king. Heed my call. Unite with me and we shall rule!” bellowed Zander.
The cloud moved towards him, engulfing him in a black tornado. His robes were ripped to shreds, his helmet rolled off his head. The tornado disappeared with wisps of black smoke.
Where Zander once stood, there was now a horrific creature. It had a gorilla-like stance, but its body was lean and almost human-like. Its skin looked like polished black stone and its human-shaped head was the same. It had no face, just the three red eyes with no pupils like the ones in the cloud.
Avery stood up. Whatever was left of Zander had no control over this power. The creature tilted its head towards Annora, its eyes gleaming like jewels.
Jewels …
“Avery! The gem!” Annora cried, pointing to the stone lying discarded on the ground.
The creature charged for her, and she dived out of the way.
Avery lunged for the gem, wincing as it burnt his fingers, and forced it into the hole of the sword. There was no reaction. The creature saw what Avery was doing and charged at him. Avery sidestepped it and plunged the sword into its back. The creature did not howl or shriek. It did not give any recognition it had just been stabbed. It just walked straight through the sword.
‘It’s no use!” shouted Avery, dodging the creature as it charged at him. “It’s like it’s a shadow!”
Annora frowned. They must be missing something.
“Think, Annora! Think!’ she muttered to herself.
Then it clicked. The engraving on the sword. The key to drowning darkness is to bring the light. She remembered the dark centre of the gem and realised she had to light it. Fire was the only option. But how would she start one? Then Annora remembered how hot the gem was and Zander’s shredded robes on the ground.
“Avery!” she called “Grab some of Zander’s robes and press it to the gem!”
“Why?” panted Avery, as he attempted to stab the creature again.
“Just trust me!” she shrieked.
Avery lunged for the shredded robes and pressed the material to the gem and instantly it caught fire. The blade glowed golden and shone through the dark room.
“Now, Avery! Now!” cheered Annora.
Avery sidestepped the creature and stabbed the sword into its side. Instead of the sword passing through it, the creature evaporated into light.
Avery dropped the sword in exhaustion and Annora ran into his arms, crying with tears of joy. They’d done it! They’d defeated Zander!
*
Annora was enjoying a quiet life at Norville ranch. It had been three months since the Zander incident and many things had changed. She managed to make the medicine out of the moonlily Doctor Fickleberry had given her and heal her father, who was running the ranch again. Avery visited her regularly and brought his sister, Sarai, along. Avery was the king now, as his father had been killed by Zander.
Annora smiled to herself. For the first time since her mother had died, she felt like life couldn’t get any better.
