The Second Prophecy (Part 1 of the Dragdani Prophecies) (21 page)

“
Is that
safe? I mean, you said that the assassin was tracking Phazes,” said
Helen.

“
Yes I’m sure
that Jaucal has left a small and safe window open for me. For he
would not risk exposing Peter’s whereabouts to the assassin,” said
Delsani reassuringly.

“
Don’t forget
to send someone for Dorana,” Helen said.

The Wizard
nodded as he Phazed back to Dorminya, and Helen went straight for
the phone in the living room. However, as she was about to pick up
the receiver, she saw that it was off the hook. She knew it had
been Peter, for the phone had always fascinated him, and he was
always picking up the receiver and talking into it. She reached for
the receiver, though as she picked it up the front door bell
rang.

Helen put the phone down just as Peter got up
and ran to the door.

“
NO PETER
WAIT!” Helen shouted to the boy. She was afraid; she knew that it
could be anyone or thing. The assassin perhaps.

Peter pulled
back the small curtain and took a peek out of one of the thin
windows at the side of the door just as Helen came up behind hot on
his heels.

“
IT’S AUNTIE
JOAN,” shouted Peter gleefully.

“
All right
there’s no need to shout. I’m not deaf,” said Helen.

Peter was jumping up and down wildly.

“Calm down,” said Helen as she opened the
door.

“
Hi,” said
Saren, “I tried to phone, but your phone was engaged.”

“
Yeah, I just
found that out and was about to call you,” said Helen, “Come on
in.”

“
Thanks,”
said Saren, “what’s wrong, Helen?”

“
Something
serious has happened. Actually, a couple of serious things have
happened.”

“
Well,
I kind of figured that when
I found this,” said the Witch as she held up an opened letter. But
before they could say anything else, Peter started pulling Saren by
the arm. “Come on Joan,” he said.

Helen was
glad that Peter had come to her rescue, for she had no idea how to
tell her best friend that her sister was dead.

However, Helen knew that she only had a few
minutes before Saren would want to know everything.

“
Let me
guess, cartoons are on,” laughed Saren. And when Helen failed to
give even a faint smile, her friend knew that whatever had happened
was not just serious but disastrous. Only ten minutes after sitting
down with Peter, Saren made an excuse about helping Helen clean up
the kitchen.

Poor Peter
, thought Helen.
Every time he thinks he has someone
to watch cartoons with him, he’s always left sitting on his
own.

They went
into the kitchen and Helen told Saren all that Delsani had told her
before the letter showed up. Then it was time for the part of the
conversation that Helen had been dreading. She broke the news as
gently as she could.

“
Is that the
letter?” asked Saren as she pointed at the piece of parchment on
the table.

Before Helen
could confirm or deny it. The letter was in Saren’s hand and she
was reading it. She cried aloud when she got to the end. Helen ran
forward and wrapped her arms around her friend.

After Saren
had calmed a little, an explosion sounded in the living room. Helen
and Saren ran in and saw the room was almost completely dark. The
only source of light was the television. Then they saw a tall and
very thin man standing in front of the T.V. where the boy had last
sat. The man changed in front of their eyes. From someone with a
deep tan, he changed to pure white. His nose shortened, his mouth
widened to show thin sharp teeth, his ears vanished into the sides
of his head, his fingers grew longer and were now like thick twigs,
and his fingernails grew to six-inch razors.

It was no
longer a man. It was some deformed, rank creature that stood
staring at the women with its black, cold eyes.

“
It’s him
isn’t it?” said Helen. “It’s the Druid’s Assassin.

“
Where is the
one?” it grated in a harsh voice.

Helen and
Saren said nothing, and they both felt a sense of relief shoot
through them, for now they knew that the creature had not found
Peter.

“
Where
is the one?
” it
repeated.

Again Helen
and Saren said nothing. It was then they heard a loud snarling
growl. It sounded as though it came from the ceiling. The three of
them looked up at the same time. They saw two wide blue Dragon eyes
staring straight at the creature. It was Peter, observing the
monster, watching its every move. The boy’s fangs and claws could
be seen glimmering against the faint flickering light of the
television. He leapt from the ceiling onto the creature and began
hitting and pounding it with his fists. He jumped to the ground and
landed on his feet, grabbed the creature by one of its thin white
arms and flung it into the coffee table that sat beside the
couch.

In the
seconds that followed. The room grew dark. They could not see Peter
or the creature. For a second. They thought they saw a dim, blue
light, but as quickly as it came it was gone.

In a moment
of desperation and fear for Peter’s life, Helen began feeling for
the light switch. She thought that if she could not see Peter. Then
he also could not see her. And Peter’s fear of the dark might give
the assassin the advantage over him.

However,
Peter could see through darkness with his Dragon eyes and was
acting on pure instinct alone. He did not even know that Helen and
Saren were in the room. He was concentrating purely on the
assassin.

When Helen
hit the
switch. The light seemed dull to
the women’s eyes. But they could see Peter standing in the middle
of the floor. The light may have been dim, but it was enough to
distract Peter. He stood blinking at the two women by the kitchen
door.

As the boy
stood there for only a second, Helen and Saren saw a dark shape
rise behind him. They knew it was the assassin, who appeared to be
missing his left arm. Saren guessed that the blue light they had
seen was Peter throwing an energy ball.

Helen and
Saren shouted to Peter. He turned, but the assassin slashed his
face with its long sharp fingernails. Peter fell down onto his left
knee, and the creature kicked him in the face and sent him flying
past the two spectators. Helen squealed and ran to him.

Saren fumbled
in her pocket for her talisman. She quickly found it and fixed it
to her hand, held it up and shouted
,
“LETH-DEROY!” Light burst from the talisman and there came a sharp
squeal as the darkness was driven back.

The assassin
was on its knees swaying to and fro. Its strength seemed to dwindle
without the shadow around it.

The Witch had
realized that the shadow consuming the room was Ulicoth getting
closer to their location. She knew that if the shadow was allowed
to cover the room completely. The Dark Lord would send thousands of
his creatures to ensure Peter’s demise, and then all would be lost
for the alliance. She stood her ground, but the darkness was again
growing stronger.

Just then,
Helen and Peter (who was fine and completely healed) saw smoke
rising and twirling round. When it cleared, a male Wizard and a
Warlock stood in front of them. They were Ves-guards, both wearing
light blue capes with the right side over their shoulder and held
by a silver brooch with a blue stone. Their helmets were red, as
were their shin guards. Their breastplates and mail shirts were ash
grey. Pressed into their breastplates were images of Dragdani’s
Dragon with a wand beside his right wing. At its other wing was a
talisman to mark the new Joint Council.

The
Ves-guards pointed a wand and talisman at the creature. Helen did
not see the rest, for she looked away and pulled Peter closer to
her and turned his view away as well.

She heard shouting and saw flashes of
light.

Then suddenly
there was nothing.

“
It’s all
right,” said the Wizard. “That thing’s gone.”

Helen looked
and there the Wizard was staring down at them. She looked across
the room and saw a pile of salt were the assassin once
stood.

Saren still
stood with her talisman on her hand trying to fight back the
shadow. The Warlock Ves-guard was standing with her and was ready
to help. Although there were now two fighting it, the darkness
still slowly pushed forward.

The Wizard
Ves-guard joined them, and the shadow slowed a little but still
came.

“
LET
PETER GO, HELEN!
” shouted Saren. “He
might be able to drive it back!”

However Helen
was not holding onto him
; he held onto
her.

It seemed
that now the creature had been destroyed, Peter’s powers were again
being suppressed, for his hair was turning dark brown again, and
when Helen looked into his eyes. The green was beginning to fade
back to hazel brown. He passed out shortly after that.

Saren saw
this and began to despair. The shadow seemed to get stronger in
that instant. A sound rose up, a sound of laughter it seemed. It
came from the darkness itself. For it had felt the drop in power
when the suppression spell went to work on the small boy again, and
it knew that now there were none left there that could thwart its
mission. However, a booming, stern and commanding voice rose up
over the laughter like an explosion of words.

“Still you try to fight even after your
puppet is gone,” said the voice.

The shadow
gave a shriek as though the voice had caused it great pain. All in
the room felt joy run through them; they knew that voice, as it
belonged to Jaucal. The darkness started to shift, swirling in
parts and fading in others. Then out of it stepped Jaucal and
Delsani, closely followed by the rest of the Council and five other
Ves-guards.

“
What’s the
matter? Don’t tell me the Dark Lord Ulicoth is afraid of an old
Wizard,” said Jaucal. “Come now, don’t be shy. I know this trick of
yours. Talk if you will, or have your days of weakness not left you
yet?”

“
I’m sure
that you are not just an old Wizard, for you are Jaucal, the great
and powerful Grand Wizard of the Order of Lanisic, also known as
the old fool. Only a fool would dare to challenge the Lord of
Dempmage and think that they would live to jest,” said Ulicoth’s
refined, cold voice through the shadow. “Why not just give me the
boy? There’s no point in trying to hide him. If I found him once, I
will find him again.”

“
The
Grand Wizard I am, and though
I have made mistakes, I am no fool,” said Jaucal clearly. “I would
not hand over the foulest smelling Orslat in our world’s history to
you. I know your mind, and it is not to kill Drago son of Jastark,
but to raise and teach him as your own student.”

Ulicoth
said nothing for a
moment.

“
Perhaps I
was wrong about you. Maybe you are not as simple as I had
originally thought,” said Ulicoth, recovered from the blow.
“However; your lucky guess will not change your fate -”

“
You’re
admitting that you were wrong, Ulicoth. If you ask me, some things
have already changed,” laughed Jaucal, who felt Ulicoth was losing
their battle of words already.

“
IF YOU WILL
NOT HAND THE BOY OVER, I WILL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO ORDER HIS
DESTRUCTION! AND THAT SHALL BE ON YOUR HEAD, AND YOURS ALONE, OLD
ONE!” shouted Ulicoth angrily.

“
As you
yourself pointed out, I am Jaucal Grand Wizard of the of the Order
of Lanisic and the Council of Wiz-Wit. I am holder of the Scepter
of Sevlter, and I will not be told what to do by Salith’s
underling,” said Jaucal proudly and loudly. “You have made the
mistake of thinking you have power here, as you can frighten all
others, but I and Delsani, son of Furolt, see through you,” said
Jaucal.

“
Delsani, son
of Furolt,” said Ulicoth, “so you are also here?” he said,
addressing Delsani directly.

Delsani said nothing.

“
I heard that
you were the one who persuaded our old friend John to join us at
Kealhal. It truly is unfortunate that he couldn’t handle the
pressure and lost his head,” laughed Ulicoth. “You know, I was
disappointed that I was unable to add your head to my extensive
collection. However, there is plenty of time for that, and I will
get you. I will never forget the night at Kealhal, when you cost me
most of my armies, not to mention my great victory. And don’t
worry, my old friend, I will put your head with your wife’s. After
all, you have spent too much time apart.” Again he laughed. “Oh, by
the way, John left something behind I’m sure you’ve noticed,
something that looks like a silver Dragon.”

Then to the
surprise and even shock of the others, Delsani laughed also. Even
Ulicoth was taken aback by the Wizard’s reaction to his harsh
words; the laugh was loud and extensive.

“
You really
are pitiful, aren’t you, oh great and powerful Dark One of
Dempmage,” said Delsani mockingly. “Like a child afraid of a weary
stranger on a dark night. And perhaps the reason for this is the
simple fact that you know your time will soon be up. For your
attempt to abduct the boy has failed, and I’m glad to say there is
something else of yours that has recently failed. The news of it is
riding back to you as I speak. I do hope you like it, for I and
many of my comrades went to a lot of trouble, and we think that it
was some of the best work that we’ve done as of late.” the Wizard
laughed again.