Wayne Batson - The Door Within

Aidan continued yelling as he ran toward the guarded tent. “We cannot hope to win! The Knights of Alleble will kill us all! Run away! Hide yourselves in the caves! Find holes that you can defend. It’s our only hope!”

The guards around the big tents already had their swords drawn when Aidan arrived. Once again, his helmet had slid down over his face. Aidan quickly adjusted it and began shouting at the guards, “What are you doing? Haven’t you heard? The full army of Alleble is attacking! They’re everywhere-ten thousand more than our force. And they bring upon us a wave of fire!”

The leader of the guard objected, “But what about the prisoners?”

“Let the prisoners burn!” Aidan commanded. “Are they worth your lives? Look!”

The guards turned just in time to see the first wave of blackhorne crashing into their camp! Only in their minds, it was a battalion of fierce Alleb warriors coming for them. Screams of agony arose from the camp’s front lines as many Paragor Knights were trampled and crushed.

Seeing this, the guards bolted away from the tent, heading directly for the caves!

Aidan looked up as well, and he realized with horror that his plan had a major flaw: He, Gwenne, and the other prisoners were right in the path of the stampeding blackhorne!

Knowing he could be trampled at any moment, Aidan ran to the tent and ducked inside. There, bound and gagged, were Gwenne and five Mithegard Knights.

The King of Mithegard was not one of them. Aidan wasn’t sure if he should cry for joy or sorrow, but he knew there was no time for either. He took his sword and cut the bindings off Gwenne and the others.

“Sir Aidan!” Gwenne shouted, spitting out her gag. “Praise the King! I thought you were dead!”

“Not dead yet!” Aidan barked. “But if we don’t get out of here, we all may be killed. There’s a huge stampede of blackhorne heading right for us! We need to get to the caves beneath the mountains!”

“Blackhorne?” Gwenne said, staring at Aidan.

“Where are the other Glimpses from Mithegard?” Aidan asked.

“There are nearly seventy spread throughout the big tents.”

“So few?”

“Many were killed on our journey,” Gwenne said through grit- ted teeth. “They were dragged and trampled to death.”

“We’ll save all we can,” Aidan said. “We’ve got to go, now!”

The seven of them ran out of the tent into a chaos even worse than the slaughter at Mithegard. Enormous blackhorne were running wildly everywhere, stomping and crushing. Many Paragor Knights had already been killed, but those who were still alive were fleeing toward the mountains.

It was no trouble finding swords for Gwenne and the five Mithegardian Glimpses. Weapons littered the ground. Together they went from tent to tent, slashing the bindings and releasing the prisoners. At last, they could find no more.

“All the Paragor Knights are heading to the caves,” Gwenne said anxiously. “We can’t go there!”

“Yes we can!” Aidan replied. “It’s a long story, but we don’t have any choice. There are over a thousand blackhorne heading our way, and behind them is a raging fire-look!”

Gwenne looked at the horizon and saw the orange glow. She also saw the dark tide of terror-stricken beasts still crashing into the camp. Without another word, Aidan, Gwenne, and the others sprinted toward the caves. The blackhorne bounded by them on both sides, several times knocking one or more of them to the ground. They continued on, following the hundreds of Paragor Knights fleeing frantically toward the caves.

At last they bounded up the slight hill and over the lip of the cave entrance. Aidan swiftly led Gwenne and the others to a corner of one of the caves where he thought they could safely wait. They waited and watched as hundreds more Paragor Knights poured in through the many cave openings. The Paragor Knights were so frightened that they didn’t even notice Aidan, Gwenne, and the other Mithegard Knights. They ran for cover, to save their own necks.

Row after row of Paragor Knights entered the caves and disappeared in Falon’s endless tunnels. Their screams echoed everywhere as they ran, but for some of the Paragor Knights, their screams stopped abruptly… for Falon had come upon them in the dark.

I n all my long years, I have never had such a splendid feast,” said Falon, curling back part of her serpentine body so she could scratch her back on a row of stalagmites. “And now, young Aidan, I will take you and your friends back to my stair. I can carry many on my lengthy frame, and it is the least I can do since you have fed me for the next ten years!”

It was hours after sunup, and the once-menacing army of Paragory was no longer a threat to anyone-except, perhaps, to Falon, who, after such a large meal, might expect a hefty case of indigestion!

Falon laughed a deep, throaty laugh as Aidan, Gwenne, and the other Glimpses scrambled up her legs to find a spot for the ride. Aidan looked back at the survivors, and was content to be alive and reunited with Gwenne.

Falon again traveled through the tunnels and caverns beneath the Black Crescent, slower than before, because this time she had a very full stomach and more than seventy passengers holding on for dear life. The trip allowed Aidan time to let his mind wander over all he had learned. Gwenne explained how she had been captured when a squad of Paragor Knights found the trapdoor leading to the cellar in which she had been hiding. Fighting fiercely, she had wounded several enemies, but in the end, Gwenne had been taken captive. Lord Rucifel had planned to use her as a hostage to bargain with the King of Alleble.

The other Mithegard Knights had been captured during the huge battle at Mithegard or caught trying to flee the city. Had Aidan not rescued them, they were destined to become slaves beyond the Gates of Despair.

Everyone stared in amazement as Aidan recounted his ordeal and how he had tricked the enemy army.

“That was a brilliant idea, Sir Aidan,” said Gwenne. “They thought Alleble had emptied, that the bulk of our army was attacking. Lantern spiders, indeed! Absolutely brilliant.”

“It was so brilliant that it nearly got us all killed,” Aidan replied. “Those blackhorne could have trampled us just as easily as the enemy. I don’t know what influence King Eliam has on beasts in the wild, but I bet he had something to do with our not getting run over.”

“That may well be, Sir Aidan,” she said, her eyes glassy. “But still it was the bravest thing I’ve ever seen.”

It had been an incredible victory, but for Aidan it was still a hollow victory, for no one had seen or heard from King Ravelle of Mithegard, the Glimpse of Aidan’s father. And of the twelve who originally set out from Alleble, Aidan only knew for sure that he, Gwenne, and Kaliam still lived. Aidan did not yet have the heart to tell Gwenne this or of what befell Captain Valithor as the castle of Mithegard was burning.

Falon finally dropped the knights off at the bottom of the long stairway back to the surface just a few miles outside of Mithegard. Not a single ray from the sun reached all the way down the stairs, so Falon gave Aidan and his friends a few torches to light their way. Aidan turned and looked at the gigantic mortiwraith. When roused, her appearance was terrifying, but at peace she was a beautiful, radiant creature.

“Falon, thank you for everything,” Aidan said. “If it wasn’t for you…”

“’Twas a benefit to us all, young Aidan,” she replied, shaking her head. “Finally, I have repaid good Sir Valithor for the kindness he showed me long ago. And in the repaying, I have gained a friend, I think.”

“Several friends!” Gwenne replied, correcting Falon. “We all are grateful for what you have done. We will make sure that everyone in Alleble knows that you are a hero-not the evil creature written about in the legends.”