"Jeesuz! Jeesuz! Jeesuz!" cried Schroeder, standing on a truck and peering into long black binoculars. "We're outnumbered twenty-to-one."
"But look at those little guys!" shouted Thomas. "There's Charlie, leading the Miriens into battle. C'mon! We've got to help!" He jogged forward, pulling a Mirien sword from his belt, and the others followed and the battle was engaged in the rising light of day, with the Dark Lord circling overhead, black wings arched in silent flight, screeching defiance.
But it was hopeless, and Schroeder knew it and Gloria cursed the loss of the amulet and Clayton thought of his brother trapped in the Abyss and Peter moaned with despair.
CHAPTER 16
God of the World
Gordon scrambled to the dark interior, following the screams into the depths of the cave, Sandra Brickle's screams, of fear, of terror, and he found her standing before a towering creature, a spider of gargantuan proportions with a hundred arms, glowing in the darkness. He pulled her back and the spider rose up and a hundred glowing arms arched up and down and fell upon them both.
"The snake!" cried Sandra. "It's going to kill us! We're going to die, right here in -"
But Gordon dragged her to the mouth of the cave and together they stumbled down the rocky slope and then cowered in a crevice in the side of the Mountain of the Mune.
"I think we're safe here, for a while," groaned Gordon, gasping for breath, holding Sandra to his chest. She had her eyes closed, clinging fiercely to him, but he frowned and said: "A snake? You saw a snake?"
She looked up with fear in her face, tears in her eyes. "Didn't you see it? It was huge, and it was -"
"No! A spider! I saw a spider!" Gordon leaned back and took a deep breath. "You saw a snake. I saw a spider." He held her head in his hands, looking deeply into her frightened eyes. "Sandra, that was neither snake nor spider. That was the King of Light!"
He jumped to his feet, Sandra falling to the side, then he scrambled out and up the steep cliff, once again to the cave. Sandra cried out in vain for him to stop, but he entered the cave and went directly to the deepest area and stood defiantly before the dark wall. Then, from out the darkness, a spider rose with arms all shaking with anger and red eyes piercing.
"I know that you are neither snake nor spider," shouted Gordon, "but the King of Light, preying upon the fears of man, appearing as a nightmare creature, to frighten us, to -"
Gordon stopped, for the spider vanished and the cave glowed with a pale light that grew in intensity until it was blinding and he held his hand over his eyes, waiting. Then he heard a deep voice, at once vibrant and melancholy:
"You have come, unbeckoned, to the World of Sharlain."
Gordon closed his eyes. "Can you, uh, shine just a little less, please?"
Sandra entered as the light subsided and saw Gordon speak to the far wall which vibrated with a dancing Light.
"We'd like very much to leave, but I understand that Eba-evin, the Prince of Darkness -"
"Eba-evin is the prince of nothing."
"Well, okay, the prince of nothing is planning to invade my world and, I understand, is right this minute marching to battle with my people."
"The battle ensues at this moment, and your people do not fare well."
"At this moment? My God, can't you -"
"I am not your God, nor am I a God of your world."
"But, you created the World of Sharlain, did you not? You are Mune, are you not? Sharlain, born of your breath, and you can't stop this senseless bloodshed between your people and mine?"
There was a long silence.
"They are not my people. A world have I created for my pleasure, but it has given me little pleasure and if it chooses to destroy itself I will not mourn its passing."
"But what about my world? My people? Can you do nothing to stop the battle?"
"My creations, in battle with the creatures of another God? I find it amusing. "
Gordon groaned noticeably and Sandra crept to his side.
"I understand," said Gordon. "You have no control over the creatures of another God."
"They are in my world! I control all that happens in my world!"
"I see, but you are afraid to anger the Gods of my world."
"Afraid? I fear no other Gods!"
"Aah, then you refuse to stop the battle because it is beyond your powers to do so, or because your armies may lose, or perhaps because Eba-evin is now in control -"
There was a flash of light, blinding, searing, and when they opened their eyes Gordon and Sandra were standing on a mountain top, gazing across a grassy plain strewn with the bodies of black beasts and bloodied dragons and dead soldiers of several armies and the sky grew dark and the sounds of battle ceased and all eyes turned toward a darkness which came swiftly from the Mountains of Mune, and the warriors of Arden fell to their knees and the armies of Woller cried out in fear and the figure of Eba-evin plummeted to the ground to land with a scream, wings flailing in anger.
In the silence that reigned came a distant rumble and Daniel of Woller ran to his queen and spoke to her. "The King of Light! I know it! He is angry!"
Katherine gazed sadly at the approaching cloud, then at Daniel. "We are too late. We cannot now return to the world of Man. The end is come."
Eba-evin stared defiantly at the approaching blackness and screamed his rage and leaped again into the air and soared, spiraling, circling, waiting. Then came a great bolt of yellow light rising silent from beyond the approaching blackness, and descending, jagged and bright, then the crash of thunder as the bolt flew at the Dark Lord, and he vaporized before the horrified eyes of his armies.
Then there was again silence and all stood motionless and the black cloud spread over the standing armies and slowly dropped to the grassy plain and it was night, blacker than any had seen, and then a miracle: the skies became filled with stars and all fell to their knees in awe.
Then the Miriens began to sing:
When the stars appear the story begins anew.
And the birds shall sing, the sky shall blue.
The Ardens joined the song, slowly at first, then their voices rising in chorus to the star-filled heavens.
Flowers and laughter amid fields of grain.
For the world begins again, the World of Sharlain.
And with that there was a blinding flash of light and the armies of Man were no more, but on the grassy plain were Miriens and Ardens, joined in song, and men of Woller singing, and dragons of Monash circling in wild abandon, and Beasts of Filope winging their way home, crying with joy.
And the world grew bright, and a red sun rose into a blue sky and birds wheeled overhead, and the grasses waved as wheat in the plains and a golden glow appeared over the Mountains of Mune and all was well and good in Sharlain.
CHAPTER 17
Home
Thomas Barclay knocked on the door and stepped back as it opened. Gloria smiled and held out her hands and Tom hugged her and lifted her off her feet.
"Well Thomas, you're early as usual, and the sandwiches are waiting in the kitchen."
Tom rushed to the kitchen and had barely time enough to wolf down three ham and cheeses when Clay and Gordon walked into the kitchen, followed by Peter and Gloria Jacobs. Tom gulped, coughed, pieces of cheese hanging from his lips, and they all laughed and carried the trays to the living room which was lit with a subdued and warm light.
Gloria spoke first. "I guess the King of Light decided to start all over again, a new Sharlain, all lovey-dovey and peaceful."
"Yeah, and he sure got rid of us in a hurry, that I guarantee," mumbled Tom between bites of a tuna sandwich. "I mean, the whole army, or what was left, just poof and there we was, all back home."
There was a moment's silence, then Clayton spoke up, softly. He told them of his release by the young woman Choo-lai and his words held such warmth that they all knew that he longed to see her again.
"It's all over now," said Gordon
. "I even went with Peter to Dan's house, but the opening into Sharlain is no more."
"Just a pile of rubble and concrete blocks in the basement," added Peter Jacobs, stroking his hair, "and beyond that, good old Mother Earth. No more hole in the wall, no entry into the Mountain of the Golden Tower."
They were silent for some time. Gloria turned to Clayton.
"Choo-lai ... did you love her?"
"Gloria!" cried Peter. "What kind of question is that?"
"No, it's okay," said Peter. "I guess I do love her, in some strange way, and I would have made love to her had the occasion arose. She was very kind and risked a lot by freeing me. I hope she's safe."
"Must be," coughed Tom, wiping his mouth. "They're all friends now, the Ardens and the little guys and dragons, everybody." He looked at his feet. "You know who I miss?"
"The Ghost of Chalma," suggested Gloria with a wry smile.
"Well, yeah, she was really neat. And she was beautiful, I guarantee. I mean, I never seen anybody that beautiful." He coughed lightly. "But it's Charlie I miss. He was a brave little guy and treated me royally when I was there, in his mountain. Did you see the blood on his shirt?"
"It was just a scratch," suggested Clayton. "I saw him go under a beast, swinging that little sword of his, then come out fighting, with just a little blood, nothing to worry about."
Gloria put her hand on Gordon's arm and they all looked at her as she spoke. "How's Sandra?"
Gordon blushed. "Fine, she's just fine. A little frightened, a little tired, weary, needs to rest -"
"That's not what you told me," grunted Clayton with a knowing grin. "Why, the beautiful and talented Sandra Brickle told me just yesterday -"
"Enough," Gordon said, giving Clayton a frown of mock anger. They all laughed.
"Okay, so she's not so tired or weary. God knows where she gets that energy. After what she's been through she should be tired, don't you think?" He was looking at Gloria, expecting her agreement. She nodded and grinned. "But, right to the very end, she actually believed it was all a dream."
"So, when are you two gettin' married?" grunted Tom.
Gordon blushed only slightly, but all saw and smiled.
"We'll wait till Fall, then we'll decide," he muttered.
"And the beauties of bachelorhood?" asked Peter.
"What beauties?" Gordon groaned. "It's boring, frustrating and damned lonely."
Clayton Chaplain was gazing out the window. He said something, but no one heard. They all looked at him and waited. He said: "I saw Choo-lan fall, on the field. I think he died." They all knew what he was thinking. "That leaves Choo-lai without a keeper." He turned and saw that they were staring at him. All looked sad. All except Gloria who rose from the sofa and walked to his side.
"Want to go back, lover?" she said quietly.
Clayton looked up and saw that Gloria was smiling at him, her hand in the pocket of her jeans. He smiled weakly then stared again out the window. Gloria bent to kiss him gently on the cheek and he turned to her.
"If it were possible, I would seriously consider it," he said sheepishly. "Chief of Security now seems a rather pale and bland life. Paper work, reports to read and write, administrivia ..." He gazed again out the window as though deep in thought. "You know," he continued, "she was really quite beautiful. I suspect she's very lonely now. I haven't stopped thinking about her ..." His voice trailed off.
Gloria sat beside him, pulling her hand from her jeans.
"If believe you're right. She is lonely. I can just see you and Choo-lai, living in peace and tranquillity, love and admiration, without the fumes of the city, the pollution, the noise and frustrations ..." She raised her hand. "We may slowly kill ourselves, destroy this tiny planet, but you and Choo-lai can live an idyllic life of bliss ..."
Before he had a chance to speak she held it up and the amulet shone brightly, even in the dim light.
"Hey! Where did you find -" began Peter Jacobs, jumping to his feet.
"The amulet! Great jumpin' fires of -" cried Tom, flakes of tuna falling from his lips.
Clayton reached out, cautiously, and Gloria carefully placed the amulet in his hand.
"It was just where it should be," said Gloria, still looking at Clayton. "Right where I left it when we last entered Sharlain. Remember? We all held hands, a giant ring of soldiers and equipment, out in Champlain field, each person touching a tank or rocket launcher and his neighbor, then I rubbed and said the words and we all jumped triumphantly into Sharlain. But the amulet wasn't pinned to my sweater and it fell to the ground. Luckily, I found it last week in the field, same place. Just a little muddy from the rain."
They all grinned at Gloria, then noticed Clayton. He stared curiously at the amulet, then at the group about him, then sucked in his breath and closed his eyes and began eagerly rubbing the glowing ring.
"Borgo-nom achewan. No-nopawno agerwan."
Then Clayton Chaplain vanished.
But there was no surprise nor was there any fear or concern or anything but pleasure in their faces. Indeed, they all smiled at the empty sofa where he had sat and there was a long moment of silence.
They talked until nearly one o'clock in that morning, then, one-by-one, they went home. The weekly poker games would start in earnest next Thursday at Tom's house and Tom was pleased. He had a great idea for curried bacon and chicken sandwiches.
CHAPTER 18
The Story Ends
The old man leaned back and closed his eyes, and the green-haired youth smiled and carefully lifted the wine goblet from the withered hand. Turning to his sister he whispered, quietly, slowly, so that his father would not awaken.
"Do you believe all that he has said?"
The young girl giggled and pulled the green curls from her brow.
"Not one thing," she said. "Father began the story with a game. From that moment I was lost."
"Poker," said the young lad. "It was a game of poker, and the discussion of ghosts began with that game."
"Do you know of such a game? I do not, and I understood little after that."
The boy stood and offered his hand to his sister and he drew her to her feet, then caressed her hair and kissed her gently on the cheek.
"You are young and cannot accept that which is strange, or different, yet, I believe all that he has said." The boy smiled and looked again upon the sleeping man with hair so white, yet tinted green at the feathered ends which fell upon his shoulders. "Now he sleeps and we must go, so that he may rest before the morning comes."
Together they left the hut and wandered across the clearing lit by fires. The boy stopped and gazed into the dark sky and wondered at the sky filled with points of light, and a white sphere risen from beyond the trees to rest brightly in the heavens. Then he continued and entered the hut of his mother and there he put his sister to bed and left once more to gaze at the night sky.
Did he believe all that was said?
No.
But he loved his father and would not show his disbelief, not to him, not to his sister, not to his mother. Yet, the old man was dying and death was not common among the Ardens.
At the sound of footsteps he looked about, and saw Choo-lai. She knelt beside him, beautiful as he always remembered her to be, and together they gazed at the brilliant night sky.
"It was once dark, you know," she said gently.
"Yes, father has told me of the days before stars."
"And the sky is now filled with light ... because your father was so brave."
"Yes," he said quietly.
Then she rose and walked to the hut where her husband was dying, and the boy waited, but she stayed only a moment then returned to her son. He saw the dull glow of the ring on her finger, then, in the dim light of distant fires, he saw her face. She was crying and he hung his head, and knew.
His father, Man, master Clayton Chaplain, had died.
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