Richard Tuttle - Army of the Dead

“She needs help,” shouted Marak.

“I am right beside you,” Rejji said softly. “I will go find some healers.”

“How?” Marak gazed up in confusion.

“The doors are back,” pointed Rejji. “Stay calm. I will be right back.”

Tears flowed from Marak’s eyes as he cradled Lyra’s body and rocked back and forth. He knew enough magic to heal a wound, but he could not comprehend what was happening to Lyra’s body. He felt useless.

* * *

“The door won’t open,” scowled Xavo as he stood with Princess Alastasia and Lady Mystic outside the door leading to Dobuk’s domain.

“Stand aside,” ordered Lady Mystic.

Xavo glanced at his partner and nodded as he moved to one side of the doorway. Lady Mystic extended both fists towards the door. The air shimmered for an instant as the magical projectile slammed into the door, but nothing changed. Lady Mystic tried again, but to no avail. The door would not budge.

“It has been a long time since the doors to the throne room disappeared,” sighed Xavo. “Lyra will be dead by the time we reach Dobuk. She might already be dead for all we know.”

“I don’t know what else to try,” Lady Mystic said defensively. “We have tried brawn, and we have tried magic. I do not know what else to do. If we do not distract Dobuk, all is lost. There is no mage alive who is stronger than my father.”

Princess Alastasia frowned at Lady Mystic. While her words may have been true, it was not helping the situation for Xavo to hear them.

“Let me try,” the elven princess said.

Lady Mystic shrugged and shook her head as if the suggestion was ludicrous, but she moved away. Xavo looked curiously at the elf.

“What can you do, MistyTrail?” asked Xavo. “I thought elven magic was mostly healing?”

“Elven magic focuses on life forms of all kinds,” explained Princess Alastasia, “even dead and dormant life forms.”

“Necromancy?” frowned Xavo.

“Not exactly,” the elf shook her head. “Although the magic in theory would work on higher life forms, I am hoping to manipulate the wood in the door. If I can control it, I can cause the door to open a hole for us to pass through.”

“Try it,” Xavo urged. “Nothing else seems to work.”

Princess Alastasia moved close to the door to Dobuk’s chamber. She placed her right hand flat against the door and felt the wood.

“The door is ancient,” the elven princess remarked.

As she placed her left hand on the door to begin her casting, the door suddenly swung open. A look of surprise came over her face as she turned and stared at Xavo. Lyra’s father’s eyes brightened immediately. He pushed the elf aside and burst into the room ready to strike the moment his eyes landed on the Great Demon. Lady Mystic hurried in behind him, but Princess Alastasia remained outside as they had agreed.

After several minutes of silence, Princess Alastasia peeked around the corner of the doorway. She saw Xavo and Lady Mystic standing still. They were staring at the plain walls of a very small room.

“We spent all this time on the wrong door?” she asked as she entered behind Xavo and Lady Mystic.

“This is not the wrong room,” Lady Mystic shook her head in confusion. “This is where Dobuk resides.”

“Or did,” corrected Xavo. “It is clear that he resides here no longer.”

A distant cry for help split the silence of the empty room. Princess Alastasia cocked her ears and listened. Another cry was heard and she clutched Xavo’s arm in excitement.

“That is Rejji’s voice!” exclaimed the elven Princess. “He must be outside of the throne room for us to hear him.”

The three mages turned and raced out of the room.

Princess Alastasia raced along the corridor with Lady Mystic and Xavo falling behind. The young elf rounded the corner and saw Rejji leaning over the railing and shouting for help from those below.

“You are alive!” exclaimed the elven princess as she slid to a halt. “What is the matter?”

“It is Lyra,” the Astor responded anxiously as Lady Mystic and Xavo rounded the corner. “She is hurt, and Marak doesn’t know what to do.”

Princess Alastasia turned and ran into the throne room with the rest of the group right behind her. She saw Marak cradling Lyra and crying. She rushed to his side and saw Lyra shaking uncontrollably.

“What happened?” she asked.

“She used that ancient Sakovan spell,” answered Marak. “I fear that Vand was stronger than her. I don’t know what to do for her.”

“The spell she used on me?” Xavo asked as he looked across the room and saw Vand’s corpse.

“Yes,” nodded Marak. “She used it to immobilize Vand so that Rejji and I could attack him. Her magic was no good against him.”

“Clever,” Lady Mystic nodded appreciatively as her eyes drifted towards her father’s head. Her face clearly showed the shock of loss, but there were no tears in her eyes. “It is finally done then.”

“Someone go outside and summon Avalar,” instructed Princess Alastasia as she eased Lyra away from the Torak. “I will do what I can while we wait for him.”

Xavo nodded and immediately hurried out of the room. He stood by the railing over the atrium and wove an air tunnel to the lower levels.

“The Star of Sakova is wounded on the top level,” Xavo announced as he moved the air tunnel around the building. “We need healers immediately, especially King Avalar.”

Lyra’s father repeated the message several times and was rewarded with shouts from below. He watched as elves and Chula shamans scurried up the stairs towards the vine ladder that the elven princess had created. Xavo felt a presence near him and turned to see Lady Mystic standing beside him.

“That is why Dobuk was gone when we entered the room,” she said softly. “With Vand dead, there was nothing for him to stay around for.”

“He will reappear somewhere with another stooge,” frowned Xavo. “The world should not have to go through this again.”

“You know,” Lady Mystic smiled, “a short while ago I would have said it was inevitable, but now I am not so sure.”

“What do you mean?” squinted Xavo.

“I have always seen our mission as a form of suicide,” confessed Lady Mystic. “I was willing to die with you to save your daughter’s life because I love you and I would not want to live without you.”

“It was a suicide mission,” Xavo responded, his voicing showing confusion as to what his lover was trying to say.

“It was indeed,” Lady Mystic continued, “but it doesn’t have to be that way any more. I thought Vand was indestructible, but your daughter and her friends proved differently.”

“I do not understand what you are saying,” frowned Xavo. “Of course it is no longer a suicide mission. Vand is dead. It is over.”

“Is it?” questioned Lady Mystic. “You just said that Dobuk will find another fool and try to confront Kaltara once again. That means this is not over.”

“Are you suggesting that we try to find Dobuk and defeat him?” inquired Xavo. “You must be mad. He could be anywhere in the world. He could possess someone else tomorrow, and we would never know.”

“And he is invincible,” Lady Mystic nodded with a smile. “I know all that, but I no longer believe that he cannot be beaten.”

“You are serious,” gasped Xavo. “It would take the rest of our lives just to find the Great Demon.”

“Do you have something better in mind?” grinned Vand’s daughter. “We would be together for the rest of our lives and see places that no man has ever seen before.”

“You have a point,” Xavo nodded thoughtfully. “As long as I know that Lyra will be alright, there is really nothing else to keep us here. Neither one of us would fit in very well in any of the countries that we know of, but I think your thoughts about actually killing Dobuk are mere fantasy.”