Wayne Batson - The Final Storm

A idan searched for Gwenne’s image in the thunderclouds. But the aircraft banked hard to the right and threw him back into the seat. No, not into the storm! Aidan thought urgently. He grabbed the armrest and tried to pull himself back up to the window.

“Aidan!” his dad yelled. “Aidan, sit back!”

The airplane was steering directly for a massive black cloud fortress. Lightning rippled across the cloud, turning it the color of an ugly bruise. And there in the center of the massive thunderhead was a hollow of darkness.

The plane began to shudder and bounce like a speeding boat on rough surf. Lightning lit up the cabin. Passengers shrieked and gasped. The engines screamed, and the plane banked back to the left. Everything shook. It felt as if the cabin would break apart under the strain.

Then, just as suddenly, the plane leveled out. The lights came back on. Hundreds of passengers sighed.

“You okay?” Aidan’s dad asked.

Aidan wasn’t sure. He wasn’t hurt, but he didn’t feel okay exactly either. “I saw Gwenne,” he whispered.

“What?”

“When the lightning flashed, I saw her in the window. She looked scared, Dad. I think she’s in trouble.”

“You’ve been thinking a lot about Antoinette being in The Realm, and Gwenne is her Glimpse. They look alike… maybe-”

“Dad, I saw her,” Aidan replied. “Something has gone terribly wrong. The clouds outside… the storm-it wasn’t normal.”

“This is your captain speaking,” came a tinny voice from the speakers. “Sorry about the bumps back there. The thunderstorm to our south intensified. We’ve, uh, adjusted our course to keep our distance.”

“Well, duh!” someone said in the seat behind Aidan. “That sounds like a plan!” The passengers nearby laughed nervously.

“We will be beginning our initial descent into the Baltimore/ Washington area in about a half-hour,” the captain continued. “We don’t anticipate any more problems.”

“That’s a relief,” said Aidan’s dad. The other passengers buzzed with conversation. A little blond girl in the next row tugged at her mother’s sleeve. Aidan nodded and turned to look back out of the window. Intermittent bright flashes of lightning illuminated the dark clouds bubbling in the distance.

Why did I see you, Gwenne? Aidan wondered, closing his eyes and picturing her beautiful pale face. Was it a foretelling as so many of his visions had been? Had something happened to Antoinette in The Realm?

A strange noise from the rear of the plane interrupted Aidan’s thoughts. It reminded him of the buzzer for the dryer that lets you know when the cycle was done. He turned, unclasped the seat belt, and looked back over the headrest. A muffled boom followed. Then a sharp cracking sound. The plane shook. Some of the passengers cried out. A businessman’s laptop skittered into the aisle.

“Aidan, sit down and put your seat belt back on,” said Aidan’s father in a quiet but commanding voice.

Aidan sat down hard and clasped his seat belt. He looked up at the flight attendant, who was still buckled into her own seat behind the cabin. An older gentleman had gotten up and peppered her with questions. Finally she ushered him back into his seat. She belted herself in again and grabbed an intercom mic. The last thing Aidan saw, before the curtain hid her from view, was her colorless and terror-stricken face.

“Dad?” Aidan asked. But suddenly, there was another cracking sound from behind. And then the hissing sound of air from all around. Passengers became frantic, looking from face to face for answers. The lights flickered, and the plane lurched forward with such force that Aidan hit his head on the back of the seat in front of him. He fell backward, disoriented and frightened. There were screams and people shouting at one another. Aidan turned and saw his father slumped in his seat, his head flopped down at his chest.

“Dad!” Aidan yelled. He grabbed his father’s shoulder. “Dad, wake up!” The airplane began to shake. Aidan gently lifted his father’s chin and tilted his head back. A welt was already forming in the center of his dad’s forehead. “Dad, oh no! Please be okay! Dad!” But his father did not answer. The plane lurched again. The lights went out and did not come back on. Aidan heard the plane’s engines whining, and the plane dipped down.

This can’t be happening! Aidan thought. We’re going to crash. Lightning flickered and lit up the cabin. The other passengers were frantically grasping at their seat belts, their chairs-they too had come to the grim conclusion that the airplane was going down.

A ntoinette heard the jangle of keys, followed by a metallic click and the groan from the hinges of the chamber door. “Kearn!” she called out to the darkness.

“Yes, m’lady,” Kearn replied, stepping forward into the moonlight. “I have brought you something to eat, but a moment, please. This darkness will never do.” Kearn placed a tray on the one chair in the chamber and disappeared into the hallway. He returned bearing a large torch, which he placed in a holder on the wall.

“There, now we can look upon each other.” He grinned as he placed the tray on the floor by Antoinette’s cell. “Please, eat, m’lady.”

“I’m not your lady!” Antoinette growled.

“Be that as it may,” he replied, “you must have something. The meat is cured, the bread is fresh-it is all unspoiled. The mug is full of water from snowmelt. You will find it quite refreshing.”

Antoinette was starving. Well, if they wanted me dead, they could’ve done that long ago, she thought. She reached through the bars and grabbed a piece of bread. At first she took only a tentative nibble. The bread wasn’t just good-it was fantastic. Feathery-light texture, sweet, and still warm! Antoinette tore off a large hunk and jammed it into her mouth. She kept eating until the plate was clear.

“Excellent, Antoinette!” Kearn laughed. “Now it is time for a little exchange of information.”

Antoinette eyed Kearn suspiciously.

“Nay, m’lady. I guess your mind,” Kearn said. “Fear not. I have not come to pry from your lips King Eliam’s secret battle plans, for they matter little to my master.”

“Then why are you here?” Antoinette asked pointedly.

Kearn’s eyes flickered red. He stood and paced near the cell. “I am… troubled,” he whispered. “Your actions thwart every reasonable explanation! You hunted me across a hundred leagues, and yet when I was snared, you did not kill. Thrice you placed your life in jeopardy to save mine-even when I made it perfectly clear that I serve Paragor and no other. Tell me, are all the beings from the Mirror Realm so stubborn?”

Antoinette actually laughed. “No, I’m about the most stubborn person I know.”

“I doubt it not,” Kearn replied. “But there is also courage… and strength. The very mention of my name strikes terror into the hearts of my foes, yet you stood up to me… to me! And while I can dispatch most knights five at a time, I could not defeat you without guile. Even though you are my enemy, I do respect your strength.”

“It is not my strength, Kearn,” Antoinette replied.

“Nonsense!”

She stood as best she could, hindered by the chains around her ankles. “I have strength and skill because King Eliam willed for it to be so. While most other girls in my world were playing with dolls, I was taught to fight with a sword. And I have the advantage. I attack without fear, for I know that if I die, I will go to the Sacred Realm Beyond the Sun.”