David Gemmell - Dark Prince

'How can I open the Gateway?' Alexander asked.

'I don't know,' admitted Chiron, moving between the pillars and examining the stone handles. 'The Guardians of the Gates possessed stones of Sipstrassi, nuggets of power. I too have several, but my store of them is far away and therefore of no use to us. But one thing is certain — this Gateway was once aligned to other portals. At some point in time these alignments were severed.'

They examined the Gateway for another hour, but weariness overtook Alexander and he lay down between the pillars to sleep. He dreamt of Pella and his father's palace, and of Parmenion. The dream was full of anxiety and fear, for a dark mist hovered at the edge of his vision and always he refused to turn his head and look at it. It hung there, never moving, black and forbidding.

At last Alexander could bear it no more and he spun… to find himself gazing on a mirror within a frame of smoke.

His own reflection gazed back at him.

'You are not me,' he said.

'You are not me,' the mirror replied, then the image laughed and horns erupted from its temples to curl back over its ears. 'You cannot open the Gateway without me,' said the Chaos Spirit. 'You know that, don't you?'

'Yes,' Alexander admitted.

'What will you offer me to help you?'

'Nothing,' said the boy.

'Nothing? The people of the Enchantment will tear you to pieces if you fail them.'

'Exactly,' said Alexander, his voice growing in confidence. 'Only you can prevent it.'

'Why should I?'

'Come, you do not need me to answer that. Where are you without me?'

'It would not kill me,' the Spirit told him. 'It would merely mean more waiting until another vessel is ready.'

'But you are impatient,' the boy pointed out.

'That is true,' admitted the Spirit. 'But I ask again, what will you give me?'

'We will strike no bargains,' said Alexander. 'It is enough that we return to our own world, there to continue whatever battles await.'

'I will have you, you know,' the Spirit whispered. 'Just as my brother in this realm had Philippos. Ah, what joys await, Alexander. And you will share them. You should not hate me; I am here to bring you your heart's desire.'

'At the moment my desire is to be rid of this place.'

'Then it shall be so. You have seen the pillars and the maps upon them. But look to the uppermost carvings. They are star maps. You must align these, as well as those of the earth below. When the original settings are duplicated, the Gate will glow into life. Think of it like a man standing between two mirrors, each facing away from him. As they turn there will come a point where he is perfectly reflected in both. When this happens, the Gateways will draw together and become one. Then the second world will be open to the creatures here.'

'But that might send them to our world. I don't want that. They would suffer there as they suffer here. Indeed it would be worse, for at least the people here have known of them always. In Greece they would be feared, hated and slaughtered.'

'Once they existed — even in Greece. How else did you come by your fables? And as for despair — that is a feeling they will know wherever they are,' the Chaos Spirit explained. 'It is their nature, for they are incomplete. The old gods used them — created them — for their own pleasures. They are like left-over toys, Alexander. The war was everything to them. Winning it was the death of them. However, we shall help them, brother, you and I. We will find them a world where they can fight anew.'

'You can do this?' Alexander asked.

'We can do it,' answered the Spirit. Together we can do anything. Never forget that. Now let us begin.'

Alexander awoke. Chiron lay beside him, asleep and snoring. The prince rose and gazed up at the left-hand pillar.

'Climb it,' ordered the Chaos Spirit.

It was not difficult, for the carvings made good hand- and foot-holds. Alexander scaled the pillar, traversing to the front. Just above his head was a carved sphere surrounded by smaller globes. 'Touch your hand to the central stone,'

said the Spirit. Alexander did so and, like the maps earlier, the stones began to shimmer and move. 'It is realigning itself,' said the Spirit. 'Now climb the second pillar.'

Alexander did so, but did not reach out when ordered. 'What is the matter, brother?' the Spirit asked.

'How can I trust you? For all I know you will send these creatures to a world of doom and dread.'

'Indeed I would,' admitted the Spirit. 'But you are Iskander, the promised one. You will not send them there.'

'I do not understand you.'

'Your coming was foretold, young prince. The Gateway has been waiting for you. The alignments are already set, awaiting you. Can you not see? In this you are merely an instrument of destiny. The last man to pass these Gates deliberately misaligned them. Only your hand can make the magic flow.'

Yet still Alexander did not move. 'What more can I say to you?' asked the Spirit. 'Tell me how I can convince you.'

The prince did not reply. Slowly his hand reached out to touch the stone globe. The pillar began to vibrate, almost shaking Alexander loose. Swiftly he climbed down, stepping back from the Gateway. The grey stone began to shine, and a strange smell like burning leaves filled the air, acrid and unpleasant.

Chiron awoke and scrambled to his feet, moving back to join Alexander. 'You solved the mystery?'

'I believe so.'

The stones shone more brilliantly now, silver in the moonlight, the maps and carved script glowing with flames that licked out from the cuts in the stone. The globes were also aflame, like miniature suns, and the hillside was bathed in light.

The Gateway itself began to shimmer, and through it could be seen a plain between mountains and a distant forest lit by glorious sunshine. Alexander stepped forward, intending to pass through the Gateway, but Chiron's hand gripped his shoulder. 'No,' whispered the magus . 'It is not yet open.'

The creatures of the Enchantment moved out from the tree-line. Alexander turned to look at them. They were moving slowly, their eyes gazing in awe upon the gleaming portal. This moment, he knew, had been in their dreams for centuries. For them, this was the culmination of all their hopes. In a great half-circle they spread out at the foot of the hill: centaurs, dryads, nymphs, tall men with huge wings growing from their shoulders, dark-skinned Vores, reptiles, minotaurs; a seething, silent mass, edging forward.

The sunlight of another world bathed the scene in gold, shining upon the faces of the host. And no one spoke. Not a sound came from the creatures of the Enchantment.

Alexander's mouth was dry, and he felt the weight of their expectation like a boulder upon his heart.

Closing his eyes, he sought out Thena; she was sitting alone at the centre of the woods. Alexander felt her sorrow, but then it was as if an iron mask had fallen into place, shielding her.

'What do you require of me?' she asked him.

'I need you to make a journey,' he told her. Her spirit flowed from her. Keeping his eyes closed, his concentration total, he watched with his spirit as the seeress passed through the shimmering Gateway. She returned within moments.

'It is a world of savagery and pain,' she told him.

Once more Alexander climbed the right-hand pillar, touching his fingers to the stones.

Now the Gateway changed colour again, this time shining like polished gold. The view between the pillars altered, becoming a pale blue ocean lapping against a beach of white-gold sand. 'Travel there,' Alexander told Thena.

'There is no need,' her spirit told him. 'I can feel the Enchantment. It is pure and born of joy.'

The woods were silent as Parmenion, Philip and Attalus rode between the trees. The moon was high, her silver light bathing the woods and glistening from stream and rock. But there was no sign of life as the trio rode ever deeper.