Speculative Fiction

Golden Door Chapter 26 The Broken Heart, part 1 of 2

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

Beth, Chris, David, and James all entered the annex room at roughly the same time. It looked much bigger than they expected for a small room off the main banquet hall in the Castle of Avalon. Then again, the banquet hall itself was a huge room, built to accommodate all the residents of a castle that was big enough to almost be a small city, with more rooms and buildings than could reasonably be counted.

The annex proved a long room, almost like a hall, with a big fireplace on one end and bookcases on the other. Along the long wall where the door was located, tapestries alternated with instruments of war, like swords and shields, long spears, and suits of armor. The other long wall appeared to be all windows, with two glass doors that let out to a stone-built balcony. Beyond the balcony, a sculpted garden stretched out to the horizon and the setting sun.

Mama hugged each of her children as they came in, while the lords and ladies of the dais went to sit at the semi-circular table on the fireplace end, though near the center of the room. When Mama went to join the dais, she sat in one of the two empty seats in the very center of the semi-circle. Everyone imagined the other empty seat would remain empty. It had to be for father, though the Kairos, Lady Alice might sit there.

Lady Goldenvein, the goblin queen sat to Mama’s left hand and took Mama’s hand to comfort her. Beside Goldenvein, her husband, Lord Deepdigger seemed deep in thought. Next came Lady Biggles and Lord Noen of the dwarfs, who spoke quietly with each other. To Mama’s right hand, after the empty chair, Lord Oak and Lady Ivy, king and queen of the fairies were followed by the elves, Lord Galadren, which is “Strongheart”, and his wife, Queen Lisel.

“Children.” Lady Lisel was the first to speak. “It seems it is time to talk with you.” She waved for them to come forward, and Beth, with a look to her brothers, came to the center of the room where seven chairs had been set up, facing the dais. Chris came with her and Davey and James, with a little push from behind, sat in the four chairs facing their mother and the table. The elders of the little ones sat behind the young people. Mrs. Aster of the Fairies sat behind Beth. Mrs. Copperpot of the dwarfs sat behind James. Professor Deathwalker of the “dark elves”, which is to say, “goblins”, sat behind the Chris. Inaros of Constantinople, the oldest elf on record, and one presently confined to a wheelchair, rolled up to sit behind David.

“Did you enjoy the day in Avalon?” Lady Ivy asked abruptly, and the children all nodded and smiled, but voiced nothing.

“I imagine you are wondering why you are here,” Lord Oak glanced at his wife and began, haltingly. He looked down to the table where he worried his hands. “Your father is fine, though fading, as you know… Lady Alice, one of your father’s future lifetimes may herself be too sick to attend…well…” He looked up to see the children nod, sadly. They understood, but said nothing, and Lord Oak looked away. He seemed at a loss for words. Strongheart, the elf king took up the telling.

“The plain truth is we need your help,” he said, bluntly, before he explained. “You see, at the beginning, when the steady progression of days turned to history, old Cronos and the Kairos got together to instill some small part of themselves in a common thread, like the threads of fate, only more so, not less. It was not yet woven, of course, because history was not yet written.” He stopped. It felt like he was giving a speech and he needed something to wet his lips.

“We call that thread the Heart of Time,” Lord Noen said, from the far end of the table.

“Think of it more like a crystal,” Lady Biggles added for her husband. “Think of it like a heart shaped crystal, red in the center inside, and glowing, like the beating of a real heart.”

“We all saw the Heart of Time,” Chris said, softly, and the others nodded. They saw it broken and knew it had missing pieces.

“Of course,” Lord Noen breathed, and Lady Biggles kindly patted his hand.

“As long as it was kept safe and beating, time continued in an orderly way,” Stongheart added.

“History is built on that,” Lord Oak said, trying to regain his place.

“Only now it is broken,” Goldenvein spoke in her chilling goblin voice.

“There are missing pieces,” Lord Oak continued.

“We must put the heart back together or things in life, in the world…” Lady Ivy interrupted her husband.

“In your world,” Goldenvein interrupted the interruption.

“…Will begin to fall apart,” Ivy finished.

“Alice by herself cannot hold life together, forever,” Lady Biggles added her two cents.

“History is in danger of being swallowed up in a confusion of time.” Lord Oak came to a stopping point, and everyone looked at the children to see if they were following along.

“I am very confused,” Beth admitted.

Davey took that as his chance. “I don’t understand,” he said, turning to the others.

“What are you suggesting?” Chris asked. He didn’t get it either, exactly, though he suspected something might fall on them.

James yawned while the people at the table looked at each other. He stepped into that moment of silence. “Where did the pieces of the heart go?”

Strongheart nodded, thinking the children were at least understanding something. He pointed at Professor Deathwalker. The others waited for the professor to speak.

Deathwalker stood behind Chris and pulled out a piece of paper. “Skipping over all the math and scientific rationale, blah, blah, blah,” he said, a comment which the members of the dais found funny for some reason. “The consensus is the pieces have moved into the future, a piece to each future life of the Kairos, whoever he or she might be.”

Golden Door Chapter 25 Sunshine, part 2 of 2

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The room, big as a football field, had model trains, miniature villages, towns, and cities, mountains, forests, lakes worthy of the name great, and people to scale that appeared to move like real nineteenth-century people. The boys had soldiers that would really fight on the battlefield, and all magically protected, so Warthead the ogre could not accidentally knock things over, or crush things. Grubby, could not cheat by moving things when the others were not looking. All the same, the dwarf twins, Picker and Poker, complained that Grubby was cheating. They could not prove it, but they said he would hardly be worthy of being an imp if he did not at least try to cheat.

“So what if he does?” James said. He watched his green uniformed troops load up on the freight train. The girls and baby dolls waved and cried. James would have to think about that. “This is still the best game I ever played,” he said. He felt sure of that.

“Picker and I are thinking of making an alliance,” Poker said.

“Grubby has Warthead assisting,” Picker added, to suggest Grubby had two on his team working together, as if Warthead might be a help rather than a hindrance.

“I don’t know,” James shook his head. “Blue and Gray usually don’t go together, especially with Civil War soldiers.”

“But we have to do something to beat Grubby’s redcoats,” Picker complained.

“I said James would not be interested,” Poker said. “His green coats are not losing.”

“James…” The elderly dwarf, Mrs. Copperpot called from the door.

“Supper?” James wondered out loud. Ever since he gained a dwarf constitution and endurance, he found he could always eat something. In truth, he gained more or less everything from what some called the middle ones: dwarfs, imps, gnomes, and even some ogre strength. He could find Warthead easily because he stunk so bad, but he could find Grubby, Picker, Poker, or even Mrs. Copperpot, just by taking a great whiff of air and thinking about them, even if they hid in a labyrinth. The train room seemed like a labyrinth, but James could sniff and find what he needed, wherever it might be. It felt like a sixth sense.

“James…”

“Coming,” he hollered. He glanced at Picker and Poker and started off, knowing right where the door was in that great room. Right now, Mrs. Copperpot was calling, and he thought it best to go to her rather than her come out and maybe disturb or mess up the playing field.

James saw Lady Biggles and Lord Noen standing by Mrs. Copperpot and the door. James only saw the dwarf king and queen a couple of times, and briefly over the last few days. He wondered what was up, but he naturally turned to Mrs. Copperpot to explain.

“Lady Alice wants all of us in the Annex room by the banquet hall,” she said.

“Will there be food?” James asked.

Mrs. Copperpot let out her old grin. “You are my good eater, James.”

~~~*~~~

David ran up the slide at super elf speed and hid behind the pirate wheel. Oren and Alden might not find him right away.  Just to be safe, David got small, to stand about six inches tall, so he could squeeze between the wooden boards. He let his elf ears and elf senses focus, to listen for the boys. He heard the animals in the petting area scuffling about, and the birds up in the tree house area.

David never got to go on the playground in the sixth grade, or in the fifth grade. He hardly got to go in the fourth grade, and now that he would be going into the seventh grade in the fall, playgrounds were supposed to be for the little kids and beneath him. But honestly, he enjoyed all the climbing, swinging, and running around. And now that he had been granted every gift an elf might have, included the sure footedness of a mountain goat, and he could run around at super speed, he honestly wanted to run around all day. Besides, this playground was the equivalent of a dozen of the best city playgrounds, a dozen school playgrounds, a dozen of the best back-yard playgrounds, and a good dozen fast food playgrounds, and without ever repeating.

“The best theme park ever,” he said to himself, and squeezed back into the space between the wood as a tram moved along the wires overhead. He looked further up to the treetops, where Galadriel might live, or maybe it looked more like an Ewok village. David felt uncertain about the roller coaster, but he did not mind the treetops.

“David…”

David heard Floren, Oren’s big sister and daughter of King Strongheart and Queen Lisel.

“What?” David said, softly without vacating his hiding place. He knew her good elf ears would pick it up, even if he risked Alden and Oren hearing him, and maybe zeroing in on his position.

Floren answered. “Your mother and Lady Alice want you in the annex beside the banquet hall.”

“Come on boy. Don’t dawdle.” David heard the words of old Inaros, one who David since discovered, at fifteen-hundred-years-old, was the eldest elder elf in recorded history.

“Coming,” David said, and he wiggled out from between the wooden boards and returned to his regular size. He spied Oren and Alden sneaking up past the gangplank, and they showed unhappiness at being found out by the look on their faces. Whatever they planned, it was probably a good surprise. “Hold that thought,” David said, and raced off at super speed. Oren and Alden followed, matching his speed.

David saw Strongheart and Lady Lisel with Floren, by the door to the game room where all the old videogames and pinball machines were kept. Inaros was there, too; but he sat in a wheelchair that Floren pushed. David paused, and felt bad about seeing Inaros in a wheelchair, but it prompted another thought in his mind.

“My dad?”

“Resting comfortably,” Strongheart said.

“Fine, as far as we know,” Lady Lisel added. “This is not about that, as far as I know.”

David nodded. He accepted that. He put a hand on the back of Inaros’ wheelchair and walked beside the elf, while Floren pushed.

~~~*~~~

Beth got small as a fairy. She folded her wings in tight to her back and slid down the best water slide, ever. She came behind Holly, and Mistletoe followed her, Mistletoe’s betrayal long since forgotten. It took a long time to get half-way down a mountain, but they ended in a large pool of fresh water that connected to the sea. Mermaids frolicked in the pool.

Zinnia, Daffodil, and Hyacinth came behind. Daffodil said the trip was too scary for her and she had to have one in front and one behind. Needless to say, they were all screaming by the time they reached the pool, and the mermaids paused to laugh.

Beth had to come down the mountain in her fairy size, because sometimes the chute was only a few inches wide. She only got big again, her wings disappearing, when she came to the pool. She had her fairy weave clothing shaped into a nice bikini, and it automatically grew when she grew, so no worries there. She flew gently to a small beach where they had towels. She could fly in her big size, and she smiled at the thought. Flying, generally was a heady feeling. All fairies could fly big, though that was not a well-known fact, but they flew much slower than in their regular, small size with wings. For Beth, though, being big felt most natural, so she stayed big most of the time.

Holly, who had yet to get big in front of Beth, rushed to her shoulder, even though Beth’s hair was soaking wet. “Let’s do it again,” Holly shrieked in Beth’s ear. Beth instinctively put a hand to her ear against the volume of the shriek but smiled. Fairies tended to be very one-tracked, and especially the younger ones. She knew at fairy speed they could get back half-way up a real mountain and at the start of the slide in less than a minute. Even in her small size, it would take Beth a little longer, because she was still so new at this flying business, and she was not an actual fairy. But for her, three times down the slide was enough. She wanted to join the mermaids and get some late afternoon sun.

“Come on-y.” Holly tugged on her hair.

“Now, wait a minute,” Beth said. “Before we go anywhere, I think you should get big so I can see you in your big size.”

Holly backed off and flitted back and forth a few times. She thought about it, as Mistletoe stepped out of the water in her big size and said, “No chance of that happening.” Holly flew in a gentle backflip, as Daffodil gladly got big and stepped up on Beth’s other side.

“Now, Holly. I’ve been little, so I’ve seen you like you really are. Besides, now that I have fairy eyes, I can see both distance and small things really well.”

“Better than eagle eyes,” Daffodil said.

“You have everything a fairy has,” Mistletoe suggested.

“Not magic,” Beth said.

“Maybe you do,” Hyacinth said as she and Zinnia fluttered up.

“We don’t know about that,” Zinnia added, and in a way that suggested the girls talked about it.

“Okay,” Holly said suddenly. Her little mind made up. She got big and stood there, her wings gone, looking for all the world like an eleven-year-old girl. She almost looked like a stick figure in her little bikini, but Beth got a great big smile and stood, reached out and hugged her.

“You look beautiful,” Beth said.

“Too skinny,” Holly said, with a shake of her head as she backed up. She glanced at her sister, Mistletoe. “But maybe one day,” she said, without spelling out her hope.

“Beth.” Mrs. Aster flew up and interrupted. “You are needed at the castle.” Mistletoe stood as her mother and father Lord Oak and Lady Ivy, the fairy king and queen flew up.

“Nothing bad, I hope,” Daffodil said as she also stood.

“Not that I know of,” Mrs. Aster said. “Your mother and Lady Alice want to see all the children together.” Beth rolled her eyes for Mistletoe, but Lady Ivy caught it.

“Now Beth,” she said. “You will never stop being your mother’s child.”

Beth knew that was true, but she still wished her mother would let her grow up and be an adult, eventually. She turned to the girls. “You will have to do the slide without me.”

Daffodil shook her head. “I think I’ll stay here.”

“I’ll stay with you,” Mistletoe said.

“I’ll watch them,” Hyacinth said, and flew off.

A small Holly already shouted “Yipee!” and she and Zinnia were already zooming up the mountain.

Beth looked at Oak, Ivy, and Mrs. Aster. She looked at herself, got small again so she could fly with some speed, and followed them toward the castle.

Golden Door Chapter 25 Sunshine, part 1 of 2

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

Mrs. Aster returned to her small fairy form and fluttered up to Beth’s ear. She sat gently on Beth’s shoulder, like Holly, but without all the tugging on Beth’s hair. David helped Inaros stand and walk. The elf appeared very old, sad, and frail. Mrs. Copperpot slipped one arm around James. He did not mind. He needed her kerchief to blow his nose.

Deathwalker opened the tower door and squinted. The sun came out. “Likely give me a migraine,” he mumbled, and Chris heard, and tried to laugh.

“Seems solid enough,” Inaros said, as he stomped several times on the ground. That thought made David smile.

“Thinking about college?” Deathwalker asked Chris. He pointed to the buildings across the stream. “Avalon Castle University,” he named it.

“Professor?” Chris asked and turned the word on Deathwalker almost like an accusation.

Deathwalker looked away. “Yes…well.” He coughed. “Retired. Don’t make more out of it than you hear. I said, in the underworld we don’t hold much with titles…”

Mrs. Copperpot closed the tower door and stepped over to the spring. James followed. The spring still bubbled out of the ground, but the water looked dark, almost blood red. James imagined it as the color of the dirt but got a shock when Mrs. Copperpot touched the spring water three times, gently, with her cooking spoon.

A young woman appeared on the surface of the water. She looked like she had been beaten raw. She looked cut everywhere, and while most of the cuts had scabbed over, blood still dripped from plenty of places. The woman squinted out of bruised and puffy eyes.

“Oh, my dear,” Mrs. Copperpot said, softly, as everyone gathered around.

The woman on the water slowly licked her lips and tried to speak. “I’m all right. Everything will be all right now,” she said, and vanished again.

“Oh, my dear,” Mrs. Aster repeated Mrs. Copperpot’s words. Then, Beth spoke from the heart.

“We have to go and save our friends from the soldiers.”

“And Mama,” David added.

“Even Warthead, and Grubby,” James barely breathed the words.

Everyone turned their eyes to the woods. They moved slowly, carefully, and quietly through the trees, not knowing what to expect. The forest gate proved to be open. Chris, at least, imagined some of the soldiers may have followed them into the woods.

“Warthead wandered off,” James spoke up. He realized Warthead had not been there when they escaped in the rain, though he did not notice at the time.

“Shh,” Chris hushed James; a very rare occurrence for James who normally spoke whisper soft.

David put his own hand to his own mouth. He was about to say something that would have come out the opposite of whisper soft, that is to say, in his normal voice.

They hid behind the trees and felt stymied, until Mrs. Aster spoke. “Let me fly to the top of the wall and spy out the area.”

“Wait,” Beth said, a bit loud, as Mrs. Aster vacated her shoulder.

“Beth, dear, you’re too big,” Mrs. Aster responded. “You’ll be spotted.”

“Wait. Just wait a minute.” Beth thought about having everything that the fairies had. She concentrated, before she remembered the fairy light, and just let it happen. She got small, fairy size, and she had bumblebee type wings that beat rapidly to keep her aloft. Her fairy weave clothes shrank with her, so she did not appear there naked, and she smiled while everyone around her gasped, except Davey, who said “Wow” a bit loud, though muffled by the hand that still covered his mouth.

“It doesn’t feel natural,” Beth admitted to Mrs. Aster.

“Natural for you will still be your big size,” Mrs. Aster said through her smile. “Now, are we ready?” Beth nodded and followed the elderly fairy to the top of the wall where they crouched down to peek.

Inaros and David watched with their good elf eyes until the two spies disappeared. Inaros drew in his breath, and David uncovered his mouth and let out a loud, “Hey!”

“Over here,” someone called from the gate. David saw little Mickey O’Mac next to a dirty kid and standing beneath a monstrosity that made Davey want to scream and throw-up at the same time.

“Grubby. Warthead.” James waved and ran to meet them, Mrs. Copperpot waddling behind.

“Redeyes? Crusher?” Chris sounded concerned.

Deathwalker squinted and used his hand to shade his eyes, even standing in the shadows of the trees. “Don’t worry. They probably slipped into the Bailiff Tower as soon as the blasted orb came out.

Chris looked toward the sun and imagined what that might be like to look with his goblin eyes. He decided not to test out his theory.

They entered the gate, and discovered the soldiers had all been put to sleep. No doubt, it was an enchanted sleep, because more than one continued to snore despite the movement and noise of conversation all over the courtyard. As he walked, Chris saw James with two bearded boys, the dirty kid, and a monster that had to be an ogre. Chris figured trolls were more frightening and ogres were more disgustingly ugly. He swallowed the bile that came into his throat from looking at the beast and looked elsewhere.

Chris saw a bunch of lights flying around one bench in a dizzying dance. Mrs. Aster hovered there, not getting into the middle of that madness. Then he saw his sister, Beth, get big again. She had no wings, and looked normal, apart from the two lights that appeared to want to play with her hair.

Chris followed Deathwalker across the courtyard and almost bumped into David. David raced around the courtyard with two boys, at super speed. They paid no attention to the good-looking young college age, maybe high school senior age girl—elf girl, that stood with her hands on her hips, yelling at them. Chris grinned. Yelling at Davey usually did no good.

Chris worried about Silverstain but paused at the door to the Bailiff’s Tower. His mother came out with all the ladies of the Dias still talking about everything and nothing. He paused to give his mother a quick hug, but then rushed in to where the dark elves waited.

“Silverstain?” he asked.

Watcher limped with his leg bandaged. He had a wan look on his face. Stalker stood quietly in the corner with his shoulder bandaged. Redeyes ran up, his arm in a sling, and he explained. “Crusher and Silverstain are in the hospital. Silverstain is in intensive care, but Doctor Burns said she should recover.” Redeyes tried to sound hopeful. Chris dropped his head and found some tears.

~~~*~~~

Three days later, Chris and Redeyes sat in Silverstain’s hospital room playing chess and talking about video games. Redeyes praised his first-person shooter VR game that had not yet been invented on earth. Silverstain made faces which made Chris laugh. Crusher sat in the corner and laughed once in a while as well; but then he ate something that looked like a bloody mess. As he said when Chris looked up. “It would take more than one blinkin’ arrow to interrupt a troll’s appetite.”

“Chris.” Mama stuck her head in the door. “We need to talk.” She looked upset.

Chris got right up. “Is Dad okay?” he asked. The four children had only been allowed into their dad’s room for a few minutes each day. He was never awake.

“Fine,” Mother said. “Doctor Burns says he is fine, but he is hardly conscious. He may slip into a coma if the trouble with the heart of time is not repaired.” Mother held her tears and stepped out into the hall. Chris noticed Goldenvein, the goblin queen stood there to give his mother a hug and comfort. Maybe Lady Goldenvein was there because Silverstain was her daughter, but Chris found it odd that of all the ladies from the dais, including the elf queen, the dwarf queen, and the fairy queen, his mother chose the goblin queen as her best friend.

“I have to go,” he told Redeyes and Crusher. He looked at Silverstain. She would be in months of therapy before she walked again. Chris wanted to cry, but she looked at him to say he should do his duty, and she would be fine.

“Everyone has been sent for,” Mother said, as Chris shut the door behind him. “Lady Alice wants to meet us in the first annex off the banquet hall. She doesn’t want there to be a scene.”

Chris could only nod. He removed his frightening aspect as they walked. He could make himself look like a goblin. In fact, he had been gifted with everything a dark elf might have to live in the dark and underground, but somehow, he felt for this meeting he ought to be just Chris—an ordinary almost sixteen-year-old human.

Lord Deepdigger, the goblin king, and Professor Deathwalker waited by the elevator at the end of the hall. Deathwalker waved as they approached.

************************

MONDAY

The children are being gathered. The story is not done. The Heart has been broken. It has to be fixed or time might yet come to an end. Until Next Time, Happy Reading

*

Golden Door Chapter 24 Ashtoreth

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

Beth found herself behind a tree in the rain. The fairies had vanished. She stood alone, and the dragon crawled toward her, spewing fire along the way. Beth felt like screaming. She looked at the river, but it looked like only a stream. Despite the rain, it appeared to be drying up. Beth felt the scream building up in her belly. Beth panicked and took to the sky.

The dragon stretched its wings and followed. Beth flew as fast as she could, but she knew it would not be fast enough. She turned out of desperation. The dragon breathed, and the fire almost reached her. Beth thought of the little something extra gift given to her by Nimbus. She raised her hands, and her little bit of lightning shot out and struck the dragon in the nose. She knew it would not damage the dragon, but it did cause the dragon to turn down. It flew beneath her.

Beth knew the dragon would circle around and be right on her again. She also knew she did not have the strength to do that more than maybe once or twice more. To be sure, she did not know what to do, and her panic neared incapacitating proportions. Then she began to fall. Suddenly, she could no longer fly, and the ground looked very far away. At last, she screamed, but as she took a breath, she heard a voice.

~~~*~~~

Chris stood alone at the front gate. He could not remember rightly, but he could not imagine the others running off with the dogs. As he thought of the dogs, the three-headed dog came out of the shadows. It barked at him, in stereo, and he backed up slowly, like one might back away from a rabid animal. The dog stretched the chain with which it had been tied to the gate. It leapt and leapt, snapping the chain, while Chris raised his hands and avoided saying, “Nice doggy.”

The chain broke.

Chris turned and ran as all three heads snapped at him. He vaguely remembered the gift of Crystal, the oread of the mountain. Just then, he did not care how many alarms he set off. Chris swerved in his run, the dog nipping at his rear. He thought as hard as he could and slipped right through the castle wall.

He heard the three-headed dog crash into the wall and hoped at least one head got knocked unconscious. He threw his hands to his knees to catch his breath as he heard the crash again and again. He heard digging along with the growling and howling of an animal determined to get in. Suddenly, one of the stone blocks in the wall fell out. Chris heard the growl and wondered how many times he could go through the walls before he tired out. Somehow, he imagined it was not as many times as Cerberus could break through the walls. As one of the dog heads poked through the wall, Chris set himself to run, when he heard a voice.

~~~*~~~

James saw the wolves run off. Everyone got carried away from the basilisk at the postern gate. James figured that, like the bear, they did not realize he had gotten down from his wolf.

James ran into the forest. He heard the basilisk follow and saw that great bulk moving out of the corner of his eye. He ran from tree to tree, telling himself not to look in the eyes. He feared he would soon catch up with the rest of the snakes, if not the spiders, or if the bats did not swoop down on him from overhead.

He heard the crunching of leaves and bushes, but the basilisk did not appear to be in a big hurry. It felt like a nightmare, and the basilisk appeared to want him frightened to death before it ate him. James felt the fear intended to freeze him in panic, but his feet did not give him that choice. He kept moving and thought of the gift of the dryad. He figured the serpent would smell him out easily enough, and the glamour would not hide him. But then, he remembered that movie, and he surrendered.

James stopped running. He took on the glamour of a phoenix. Sadly, it was only a glamour and not real. He could not fly up and peck out the basilisk eyes. He got surprised when the basilisk stopped and appeared to hesitate. James figured he was dead, but then he heard a voice.

~~~*~~~

David felt the tentacle of the giant squid wrap around his middle. He screamed and hit the tentacle. He kicked and did everything in his power to break free. The naiad made it so he could breathe underwater. He knew he would not drown; but now the squid began to tighten its grip. David felt the air being squeezed out of him. When he saw the clacking maw of the creature, he felt absolute panic wash over him, but then something penetrated his mind and heart. It felt like something he rarely felt. It caused an interesting word to come out of his mouth.

“No.” Then he shouted what filled his heart. “Angel said, do not be afraid.”

David found himself standing again in the tower, facing the Heart of Time, breathing heavily, but safe from the monster. James, Chris, and Beth, all repeated, “Angel said, do not be afraid.” They all returned to the tower room if they ever left. Ashtoreth looked very surprised, angry, and unhappy.

They all heard the Thump! by the door. They all looked, and Ashtoreth’s eyes went wide with fear of her own. The Golden Door arrived, and the elders could move again. They stepped up beside the door as the door opened to reveal the purest light, a light impossible to look into, not from its brightness, but from its purity and holiness.

“No,” Ashtoreth shouted, as everyone heard the thunder. A knight covered in plate armor and riding a perfect white horse rode out of the door. Ashtoreth screamed. She grabbed the Heart of Time, pulled it from the three-pronged stand, and smashed it on the floor. She began to run, but since she had nowhere to go, the knight’s lance quickly touched her, and Ashtoreth and the knight vanished in a brilliant flash of light.

For one brief second, everyone stared at the crystal, shattered all over the floor.

“Get the pieces…” everyone shouted at the same time. The children scrambled and the elders rushed forward to grab piece after piece of the broken crystal. No one said, “God help us. History is going to end. Maybe the whole universe is going to end…” But they all thought similar things.

Beth gasped, as a piece she reached for vanished in front of her eyes. They all gathered as much of the crystal as they could, but then stood for a second, arms full of shards of the shattered heart, unsure what they could do with it. They looked at each other with blank stares, hoping someone could think of something.

Angel stepped out from the Golden Door. Angel rose both hands, like a moment of praise, and all the pieces everyone gathered vacated their arms and lifted into the air, up over their heads. Even the little bits and slivers that still covered the floor rose and joined the mass of pieces. The pieces of the heart began to spin, and the light covered it all. It stopped spinning all at once, and they saw the light of the heart throb once again, as the Heart of Time settled gently back into the three-pronged stand.

“It is missing some,” Inaros said, and they all saw the missing chunk of time. The Heart of Time throbbed like before, but the light did not appear as bright as it had been.

“But where is the rest of it?” Beth asked, and every eye turned to look at Angel, who stood patiently.

“One, two, and three times, and I will see you again,” Angel said. “This day is not over. The future can be restored.” Angel appeared to smile directly at all four children at the same time before he stepped into the light of the Golden Door, and the door closed and vanished.

Father appeared where the door had been, and while everyone smiled to see him, and Davey let out a little shout, he could only see the missing chunk of the heart. He fell to his knees as in prayer and began to weep. The people, old and young, went to him. They knelt with him, hugged him, and wept with him.

“The future,” he breathed. “Time is in jeopardy…” Their father faded and disappeared from their arms. The children tried to hold on, but it became like he was never really there.

Golden Door Chapter 23 The Tower

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The tower stood, a cathedral-sized building in the middle of the forest. Chris remembered his view of the inside that he saw on the white-wall screen behind the Golden Door. It did not seem cathedral sized on the inside, but then his eyes stayed focused on the Heart of Time and the demon goddess. Chris looked up and had another thought. Then again, the height of the tower may have made it appear not so wide, something like an optical illusion.

Deathwalker put his claw up on Chris’ shoulder as he spoke. “Though the sky is dark, even goblin eyes could not see the top of the tower.” Beth looked up. “Not even fairy eyes, even if the sun was out and it wasn’t raining.”

The group moved slowly along the outside wall of the tower, looking for the door. The bushes and brambles resisted them until the forest ended abruptly on the edge of a manicured lawn. They saw the spring of water that bubbled out of the ground in that place. Beth followed the stream that came from it, with her eyes, and imagined it eventually left the castle at some point to meander down the hill, where it became the small river that flowed into the sea. She remembered that river as one of the first things she saw when she and the boys came into Avalon.

“The poor naiad of the spring,” Mrs. Aster said, with a sad shake of her head. “The water is still running fresh and clean, but no one really knows what happened to her. Some fear the worst.”

“I am grateful for the river,” Beth responded. “I thought about jumping into it when the dragon attacked.”

“Avalon Castle University,” Inaros said, leaning on David’s shoulder and pointing with his walking stick. David looked at the buildings across the lawn, and the footbridge across the stream, which said there were paths through the grass, even if he could not see them in the rain. “Some of the best and brightest minds in Avalon teach and study there.”

“Some?” Chris asked, as he and Deathwalker stepped up.

“Well,” Inaros drew out the word. “Some of us are retired.”

“Here it is,” Mrs. Copperpot garnered everyone’s attention.

“The door,” James whispered, and it looked like a medieval wooden door, with black-painted, wrought-iron decor, hinges, and handle, though it otherwise looked like a regular, human-sized door.

“I assume it is locked,” Inaros said.

“No doubt,” Deathwalker agreed and rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

Mrs. Copperpot held up her cooking spoon. Mrs. Aster pulled out her wand and spoke. “I don’t know the combination.”

“I don’t either,” Mrs. Copperpot agreed.

“I am not sure regular magic would work in any case,” Inaros mused.

“Why are we going in there?” David asked the elf. “Isn’t that where the demon is?”

“We have to,” Chris said. He looked determined.

“We are all there is who can do it,” Inaros told David in as calming a voice as he could muster.

Deathwalker agreed. “As the Kairos said a million times, there isn’t anyone else.”

“Well, we must do something,” Mrs. Aster said, with a look at the sky, where it began to rain harder and harder.

“Before the ground beneath our feet starts to break apart,” Mrs. Copperpot agreed.

Beth agreed with that statement. “We must do something.”

“Maybe all four together?” Deathwalker suggested.

The elders began to argue about it while James reached for the handle. He opened the door, easily. “It’s unlocked,” he said.

Everyone stopped and stared at him for a second before the talking started again.

“Be careful. Quiet. Don’t make a sound. Hush. Shh!”

They stepped into the tower, and the door slammed shut behind them. They got surprised for a long second with the silence of the sanctuary before they heard the voice of pure evil.

“Welcome.”

Something struck the four elders, and they froze where they stood, like stone statues, unable to move a muscle. The children got lifted an inch from the floor and rushed forward against their will, while the voice continued.

“Children. How my husband used to love to eat the children.” The Ashtoreth demon cackled, a true witch’s laugh and the children got deposited at the four corners around her.

The Heart of Time throbbed in front of them, the light getting bright and dim, and bright again, reminiscent of a true heart beating. It rested securely in the three-pronged stool, or table, a crystal about twice the size of a basketball; both smaller, and in some sense bigger than they imagined.

Ashtoreth appeared not far from being a corpse, with her gray green, rotting, wrinkled skin, and black circles around her eyes, which gave her gaunt face a skull-like appearance. She had a few strands of hair left. They grew around the two-great bull-like horns that projected from her forehead. She moved by gliding in a circle around each child, examining them closely. Her sunken, bloodshot eyes showed only death. Her sharpened teeth clacked the whole way, and her mouth drooled, David thought about the idea of eating the children. Her claws with nails like daggers reached out but did not touch.

The children tried not to look. They held their breath, and none of them screamed, though they all wanted to.

 Ashtoreth stopped by the Heart of Time where the children of the Kairos let their eyes rest. It was the only other thing in the room they could focus on, besides the demon-witch. The demonized goddess appeared to smile and spoke about the heart like a child showing off her favorite toy.

“Trapped in this glow is the entire record of human history. Sadly, I have not yet found a way to disrupt that history and change it. But I will, if given enough time. My will be done.” The witch laughed again. “I hear your thoughts, but this tower and crystal were the first things made in this unnatural disruption in the natural chaos of these heavens. It will stand and continue long after the castle, the islands and all are destroyed and returned to the hell they should be.”

Ashtoreth walked once around the crystal, looking alternately at the crystal and the children, which caused the children to turn their eyes to their own feet and the mosaic floor beneath them. Ashtoreth laughed again, and clacked her teeth, seemingly in anticipation of something.

“I saw myself in here, when I escaped this place and walked again for a time on the earth. That happened a thousand years ago, but nothing there was to my liking. The gods abandoned you, but everything there became faith.” Ashtoreth expressed pure disgust. “It was unbearable. After a thousand years in hiding, I found my way back into this place, and I will change the history of all things to my liking. My will be done.” She repeated herself and stopped walking. She appeared to think. “But children, it is not enough to consume your flesh. We would have your souls. Fear is the key. You must be frightened to death.”

Ashtoreth waved her hand, and each of the children found themselves in a different place.

Golden Door Chapter 22 A Taste of Freedom, part 2 of 2

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Beth spied Mistletoe, crying, and she guessed the enchantment on her broke when she finally remembered to say the words, even though Mistletoe had not been there to hear the words spoken. Beth felt glad. She really wanted Mistletoe to be her friend, with Holly, of course, and the others who were all there comforting Mistletoe in her distress at having betrayed them.

Chris saw Heathfire and Broomwick sitting with an elf girl and thought about Silverstain. He hoped she was all right. David saw Floren sitting on a bench with a couple of older kids, and Owen and Alden sitting on the ground in a circle with some youngsters. James saw the youngsters, Picker, Poker and Grubby, and remembered they left Warthead outside to guard the gate to the courtyard. He hoped Warthead was all right, but then something definitely felt wrong. Picker, Poker and especially Grubby were quiet and behaving. Before he could voice his concern, they were all out the door and the door slammed shut behind them.

Several marines stood and pointed their rifles at the group. “You are under arrest,” the captain said. “You are surrounded, and my men have orders to shoot if you give any trouble.” He pointed out two machine guns set up on the perimeter where they pointed down on the courtyard. “Sit and keep quiet while we wait for the rest of your people.”

“Aren’t you supposed to read us our rights?” Chris couldn’t help himself. One soldier slapped his mouth.

“No telling what these men are seeing, or who they think we are,” Inaros said by way of caution, but he directed his voice, as elves can, so only the young people heard him.

Chris touched his bloody lip, but thought fast and grabbed Deathwalker, and dragged him to sit on a bench beside the wall. Mrs. Copperpot and Inaros followed the motion, so David and James went with them. Beth ran to give Mistletoe a hug, but that just made her cry harder.

“Captain,” one marine came up with his hand out. “I think it is starting to rain.”

The captain looked up at the dark sky. “I’m not surprised,” he said. “It’s been threatening since we got here.”

“Letting ordinary humans into the castle of Avalon is the last straw,” Deathwalker griped and shook his head.

“But how do we get away from them?” Mrs. Copperpot asked, and kindly did not add, “without the young people getting hurt.”

“I was thinking,” Chris spoke up. “Deathwalker and I could transition through the wall.”

“Not without a distraction,” Deathwalker said. “And that won’t help the others any.”

“You can do that?” David asked his brother, but Inaros spoke right away.

“David and I could run out before they could react, but not with the door closed.”

“We may be able to help with that,” Mrs. Copperpot said, and she turned to James. “Dear, how do you feel about deer?” James did not understand until she added, “I think a yearling with nice white spots.” James nodded, and one second, he was James, and the next a young deer stood in his place, and it tapped one front paw like it was anxious. Mrs. Copperpot quickly became a mother deer, and they seemed to come out from the bushes and stand by the door. Mrs. Copperpot even took her front hoof and scratched at the door, while James kept an eye on the marines.

“Hey, captain,” a marine noticed even as David practiced directing his voice to Beth.

“Beth. Come here right now. We need you to escape with us.” Beth looked across the courtyard and frowned at her brother, like she was not about to do what her twelve-year-old brother told her, and David should know better than to shout across the whole yard.

Inaros put some command in his directed voice. “Now!” and he made sure Mrs. Aster heard as well.

“Now,” Mrs. Aster insisted, and Beth reluctantly got up, still thinking it was her twelve-year-old brother being stupid. It had begun to drizzle, so Beth put her hands over her head against the rain and walked, slowly. Mrs. Aster chided her.

“Beth, your brothers are bright and have some good ideas. You have a terrible attitude. You should listen and pay attention to what is going on outside of your own mind. Like you should have listened to what the glorious one told you to say.” Beth felt properly scolded, but then the sky opened a little more and it began to rain.

“Marine,” the captain yelled just in time. The marine lowered his rifle. “We don’t shoot women and children,” the captain did some scolding of his own. “You two, get that gate open and let the deer out.”

As the marines opened the gate, the rain came harder. Shortly, there was a flash of lightning that lit up the courtyard and struck close. The thunder rolled across the courtyard.  People screamed and gave the appearance of panic as they stood up and ran around. Picker, Poker, Grubby, Owen and Alden were masters of wreaking havoc, but in this case, the fairies, especially Zinnia and Holly, gave them a contest. The marines were not concerned about their prisoners but determined to get them to settle down and be quiet. The captain began to look at the rooms at the back of the courtyard, under the colonnade walkway to see if they were suitable to hold the prisoners.

“Now,” someone said, though no one was sure exactly who.

Chris and Mister Walker leaned back and transitioned right through the courtyard wall. The two deer created a bit of a distraction of their own, hesitating on going out until a very small Inaros and David raced by and out the door. The deer followed. Mrs. Aster shot up to the top of the wall and became miffed that she had to shoot back down.

“Beth fly! Now, hurry!” Beth stared at the fairies in their distress. Even as her feet left the ground, it took another second for the words to penetrate. Then she glanced quickly at the marines and flew as fast as she could. One marine saw and took a shot, and fortunately missed as Beth topped the wall and raced out into the garden beyond, which proved more like a little forest. She did not get far, however, before Mrs. Aster really yelled at her.

“That is three times you have not been paying attention. You need to start paying attention to what is going on before you get everyone killed.” They reached the others, and the others heard. “Being a teenage girl is absolutely no excuse. You need to listen to your brothers and listen to your elders and keep up before you have everyone’s blood on your hands.” Mrs. Aster really steamed.

“I’m sorry,” Beth said to the fairy. “I’m sorry,” she told everyone else. “It’s just everything is so new and strange and different. It is not what I expected. I can’t keep up.” She began to cry, and Mrs. Aster looked to bite her tongue, like she wanted to say tears were no excuse and did not make anything better. But Chris stepped up to hug his sister.

“Okay. I’m stubborn and stupid,” he admitted the part he had not told his mother.

Then David was not about to miss out on a hug. And finally, James came up and tugged on Beth’s sleeve.

“We need to go,” James said.

“Young James is right,” Mrs. Copperpot agreed.

“Yes,” Inaros said, with a look to the sky, though all he could see was tree branches. “It is raining harder. We have temporary shelter under the trees, but it is beginning to come in torrents.”

“Well,” Deathwalker clapped his hands while Beth wiped her eyes. “We appear to have no choice. We must go to the tower.”

“We must do what we can,” Mrs. Aster agreed, reluctantly.

“Before the whole island reverts to the natural chaos of the second heavens,” Inaros said, and Mrs. Aster looked at him like she was not going to say that part.

They started to walk, and James spoke. “You mean we have to face—”

“Don’t say her name,” Mrs. Copperpot interrupted. “You say her name and she will hear us and know where we are and where we are going.”

James held his tongue, but David heard enough to worry.

************************

MONDAY

Beth, Chris, David, and James, together again, enter the tower where the Heart of Time is kept. They must confront Ashtoreth. Monday. Until then, Happy Reading.

*

Golden Door Chapter 22 A Taste of Freedom, part 1 of 2

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Noen and Strongheart got their men ready to form a wall with a fist of men at the front to punch their way up the stairs. The elves brought all their globes to eye level and prepared to flash the lights in the faces of the ghouls as they ran with the hope that it would keep the enemy off balance or at least interfere with their aim. Between ducking and returning fire from behind a dozen obstacles, it took considerable time to organize the effort.

David came out of his sad state with the words, “I want to go home.”

“Me too,” James admitted.

“And you will,” Inaros assured them both. “As soon as we can get you and the women out of range of the ghouls. “David, are you ready to run fast?” David nodded, and as he thought about it, he almost grinned.

“Are we ready?” Strongheart shouted up and down the line.

“Ready as ever,” Noen mumbled at Strongheart’s shoulder, but he paused when he heard sudden moans, groans, and shouts in the ghoul line. The ghouls blocking the stairs suddenly began to fall, and they all heard Beth and Chris shout from the staircase. “Angel said, do not be afraid!” A great light, the combined lights from all the fairies shot across the underground room. The elf lights flared in response and added to the brightness, thought the elf lights seemed small by comparison. No one waited. Strongheart did not even have to yell, “Go!”

“Come along James.” Mrs. Copperpot took James’ hand like they were still strolling in the woods, but they put up glamours to make themselves appear like piles of lost and forgotten things and walked a spritely pace, slightly bent over to make themselves even smaller than they were. Inaros and David simply ran like the wind, and it seemed to James that two rockets flew by him on route to the stairs.

All the Lords of the Dias hugged their wives, but briefly. “We have to rout out the ghouls,” Lord Noen explained.

“Go to the antechamber on 2B,” Strongheart suggested to his wife. “You should be safe there for the time being.”

“Ashtoreth must be mad letting ghouls inside the castle wall,” Deepdigger growled.

“Her madness was never in doubt,” Lord Oak said. “Are we ready?”

Inaros spoke before the others could answer. “One for all, and all for one.” The elf, goblin, fairy, and dwarf looked at one another, nodded and yelled the charge as they raced back down the stairs and around the corner.

“This way,” Mother was at the top of the stairs on the third-floor landing. She had hugged Chris and Beth but was anxious to get away from the fighting. The children all wondered how their mother had the least idea where she was going since she had such poor eyesight, especially in the dark. The widely spaced torches could not be helping her much. Yet she led the crew to the second floor and turned right at the top of the stair, like the antechamber on 2B was as familiar as the living room.

“Everybody in,” Lady Lisel encouraged the group. The room proved a long hall, with tables along the walls with vases of flowers and bowls of fruit ripe and ready for eating. There were oriental rugs here and there across the wood floor, and sections of chairs with plenty of coffee tables, end tables and reading lamps, looking haphazard, but clearly organized. One long wall looked full of books, with a door at each end and a grandfather clock in the middle of the wall to break the uniform bookshelves. The short walls on each end had tapestries, beautiful and intricate in detail. One detailed the untarnished forest and fields and the other showed the shore and the sea, with water that looked wet enough to flood the room. The other long wall had tall windows, and several glass doors that led out onto a brick balcony, though no one could say exactly where they let out in the castle since from another perspective, the room was still two stories underground.

“I don’t like the look of that sky,” Mrs. Copperpot mused, as she looked out those windows, and the elders agreed with her. The young people, meanwhile, thought to inform the various women on the disposition of their children and friends. Chris had a hard time talking about Silverstain. Mother stood right there to hold Lady Goldenvein’s hands and comfort her.

“I’m sure she will be all right,” Mother said.

“I don’t know,” Chris admitted his own serious concern, and Beth balked.

“We left them all in the courtyard,” she said. “We can’t just abandon them.”

“Who knows what might be attacking them even now,” Chris agreed.

“Worried about Silverstain?” Deathwalker asked Chris, gently.

Chris kept a straight face as he turned his eyes toward the others, and in particular Beth, in case she should get the notion he had a girlfriend. “And Redeyes and the others.”

“And Grubby,” James said.

“Oren, Alden, Floren and Mickey O’Mac,” David named them all.

“And Warthead,” James added.

“I am sure the ogre is just fine,” Mrs. Copperpot smiled for James.

“Still, the young people have a point. We might fetch them,” Mrs. Aster agreed.

“And we will be moving away from the fighting,” Deathwalker pointed out.

“But the children don’t have to go,” Mother said.

“Actually, the children are the ones who must go,” Mrs. Aster countered.

“The young people know the children and will follow them,” Deathwalker explained. “Where we might have fallen under the enchantment.”

“The young ones might not trust us, in case we are enchanted,” Mrs. Copperpot agreed.

They all looked at Inaros, and he spouted, “2B or not 2B …” Deathwalker and Mrs. Aster took him by the arm and dragged him out the door. The children and Mrs. Copperpot followed.

“We’ll be right back,” Beth assured her mother.

“Hey David.” Chris put on his frightening aspect complete with cat eyes, little horns, sharp teeth, claw-like hands, and serpent tongue. He tapped his brother on the shoulder. David turned and screamed, and then he hit his brother while Chris ducked and laughed.

James immediately put on a glamour of his lion and roared at Chris, but he just made David scream louder.

“Chris!” Beth interrupted them. She started glowing slightly against the darkness of the stairwell and floated over to get between them and shake her finger at them all. “Cut it out.”

“So much for the element of surprise,” Deathwalker said from the top of the stairs.

“If you are finished playing around, we have to try to be quiet,” Mrs. Aster added.

The boys all got quiet by then, staring at their sister. Beth nodded and floated to the top of the stairs. David turned and raced to the top in a second, so he could grin and say to his brothers, “What took you so long.”

“Hush now,” Mrs. Copperpot hushed them when they all arrived on the first floor and walked down the hall to the courtyard door. “Quietly,” Mrs. Copperpot added when they arrived. Deathwalker gave her a look that said he knew that much. He cracked the unlocked door and stuck his head out, Mrs. Aster floating over his shoulder where she could see for herself. Everyone sat there, quietly, on park benches or on the ground, now and then looking up at the overcast sky. The dome over the castle kept out the weather, but it looked to be pouring up there. In fact, it looked like the whole island might be tearing apart.

Golden Door Chapter 21 Guards in the Deep, part 2 of 2

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“She wouldn’t,” Mrs. Copperpot looked dumbfounded. “She let ghouls into the castle? That is the most awful, ridiculous, never should happen thing I can imagine.”

“To me!” Strongheart stepped out the door, and the elves and dwarfs came running.

“Maybe a full hundred,” one of the elves reported.

“We have to stick together,” Noen said as he and Strongheart began to yell orders and set their warriors in battle formation.

The women paused at the door, except for Queen Ivy. She went to James with a word. “Let me have Seabass a minute.” James hardly knew what to say in the face of all that beauty. He held out the cat and was surprised Seabass went willingly to this stranger, though he supposed after a time in close quarters she was no longer a stranger. Ivy assured James when he saw Seabass go invisible. “Your kitty is fine and should be safe.”

“Can you make me invisible?” James asked, and Ivy let out a smile as Mrs. Copperpot grabbed James’ hand and pulled him to the door.

“What’s Wrong?” David asked his mama. She said nothing but turned first to lady Goldenvein.

“I am sure Deepdigger is fine.” She patted the goblin’s hand as she took the Lady’s arm.

Goldenvein nodded, stood, and looked like she might be holding back tears. “And your children,” she said. “I know you are worried about them.” Mama said nothing as the two women came out from behind the table, arm in arm, but David thought the look on his mother’s face was far more frightening than the goblin face.

“David,” Inaros called, and David went to him.

“We will have to fight our way back to the stairs as a unit,” Strongheart said, and he dressed his troops once more while he waited on the scouts he sent out.

Inaros willingly sacrificed his knees as he knelt to talk to David and more face to face with James. “Ghouls can make you see things that aren’t there. They say where there is one, there are ten, and where there are ten, there are a hundred.”

“A hundred ghouls?” David spouted, but he did try to keep his voice down.

“Maybe not. We don’t know. But you have to be careful about what you sense. They can fool your ears as easily as your eyes.” James looked up and Inaros caught the unasked question in the young man’s face. “I don’t know about touch and smell. I tried not to ever get that close to one, and I certainly never tasted one.” Inaros leaned on his cane to get back up. David helped him.

Two elves and two dwarfs showed up at the front and one of the elves spoke. “They are coming down the stairs and out from behind the piles of forgotten things. It looks like a whole compliment.”

“There aren’t that many,” one of the dwarfs objected. “We should make for the stairs.”

Noen smelled something. He scooped some dirt off the floor and tossed it at the dwarfs with a few words. One of the dwarf scouts revealed himself to be a seven foot, green creature with big, sharp teeth and claws. It did not live long. David and James watched, fascinated, while the ghoul deflated and shrank and seemed to melt until there was only a green and purple smudge left on the floor. Mama did not watch. She covered her eyes.

“Now, with care” Strongheart said, and they started to move. “Women and children keep to the middle.” That was not always possible as they had to navigate now and then around the support poles and the occasional pile of forgotten stuff. A few ghouls braved the elves and dwarfs that formed a circle around the women and children, but those ghouls were quickly shot down. The dwarfs had crossbows. The elves had regular bows, but they were uncanny marksmen.

Shy of the stairs, all of the torches in the room went out.

“Get down. Hit the dirt.” Noen and Strongheart yelled at the same time. A number of elves and dwarfs leaned over the women and children, and just in time. Some hundred arrows came in their direction. The elf armor and dwarf chain rejected most of them, but some took a hit and were wounded, a few badly.

“To cover!” Strongheart yelled. Noen did not yell. He already scurried behind a support beam. James David, Inaros and Mrs. Copperpot got behind a pile of forgotten stuff even as elf lights, little globes of pure light, began to rise toward the ceiling and the second volley of arrows came from the ghouls.

James saw the grin on David’s face, a poor imitation of Chris’ grin, but he also saw the wide, unblinking eyes so he knew it was a grin of fear, not happiness. James felt it, but distracted himself by examining the pile, curious as to what stuff might be forgotten. There were lots of clothes in that pile. James pulled out some broken guitar strings and one pick. He also pulled out a number of disposable butane lighters, a few of which still had some life in them. He stuck two working ones in his pocket and dug deeper beneath the clothes. He found a cheap plastic ring with a spider on top and slipped it on his finger.

 “I remember these. Halloween rings.” He held it up to his brother. “Hey, Davey. Look what I found.” David looked briefly, but his expression did not change much before he went right back to grinning and staring off into space. “Earth to Davey,” James mumbled.

“Mexican standoff,” Noen shouted from behind his pole.

“They stick their heads up and we can pick them off,” Strongheart shouted back, and James looked to the side because Strongheart crouched just on the other side of Mrs. Copperpot.

“They outnumber us,” Inaros leaned over and said to the elf Lord. “They can wait us out.”

“And how long can you keep those fairy globes aloft?” Noen shouted back.

Strongheart paused to stroke his chin. He felt surprised the ghouls were not already trying to attack the globes, magically. Maybe the ghouls knew the globes took energy which would become exhausted in time and they were content to conserve their own energy and wait things out. “You need to come here. Be prepared when the lights flash.” Strongheart yelled and lowered the globe he controlled to eye level. Several nearby elves saw what he did and lowered their globes as well. He waved to his men and gave some kind of signal. “One, two, three, go.” Strongheart yelled and all the globes at eye level flashed like photographer’s bulbs, guaranteed to give any watching ghouls a vision of spots and hopefully a headache.

Noen moved fast and arrived before the arrows started again. “We have to find a way to get to those stairs,” he said.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Strongheart quipped.

“I mentioned we needed an elevator in this tower,” Mrs. Copperpot said, grumpily. “Too bad no one listens to old ladies, no matter how well she cooks.”

“We listen good grandmother,” Noen said. “But right now, that is not helping.”

“James. David.”

James heard the voice and turned to look. It looked like his dad, standing off to the side, waving to him like he wanted him to go quietly in that direction.

David looked and shouted, “Dad!” He tried to get up, but James grabbed him and yelled at him.

“It isn’t Dad. It’s a ghoul.”

Normally, David would have broken James’ grip in no time, but this time, for some reason, James found more than enough strength to hold his brother back. Inaros noticed when David shouted. He squinted, and it did not seem to James that he was seeing James’ and David’s father. Mrs. Copperpot looked and said, “James, don’t be fooled.”

Strongheart looked and shot an arrow with the words, “God forgive me.”

Noen let lose a crossbow bolt and said, “Aye.”

David saw his father struck with both deadly projectiles and Dad reached a hand to his chest. He saw his father transform into a ghoul and begin to melt. David stopped struggling and put his head in his hands. James marveled at his own strength and looked again at the cheap plastic spider ring on his finger. He let his imagination run for a bit.

“They have compromised our flank,” Noen noted the obvious.

“What can we do?” Mrs. Copperpot asked, a bit of worry in her voice.

“Pray for a miracle,” Inaros responded. “That was what Captain Van Dyke always said.”

Golden Door Chapter 21 Guards in the Deep, part 1 of 2

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Strongheart and Inaros guided David, Floren, Alden, Oren, and the elves safely to the Bailiff’s Courtyard. Mickey O’Mac stayed off to the side most of the way where he could keep an eye out for possible intruders or obstacles, but they found the way easy going and saw no sign of activity.

“Too easy,” Mickey decided. “We dare not let down our guard.”

“Most of the Castle under the Sea has been emptied,” Strongheart said. “And with the air bubble in place, the mermaids and water sprites seldom visit. Most of what is here is up on the castle walls looking for you on the outside.”

“And here we are on the inside,” Inaros said with a big elf grin. “I take it the women are in the deepest rooms.”

“Yes,” Strongheart nodded. “The fourth floor down, in a small room off the area that is one wide open, room but for the basement column supports. It is the room where they keep the forgotten things. There is bedrock beneath them so they can’t dig out and the bedrock is enchanted so the dark elves like Lady Goldenvein can’t go to ground and escape.”

“Go to ground?” David wondered.

“Dark elves, trolls and such avoid the light,” Floren explained quietly in David’s ear. “The sun can even turn some to stone, so when the sun comes up, they sink into the ground and they can move through the dirt and rocks until they find a cave, or maybe a basement, or anyway a place where they can rest until nightfall.”

“How can they make their flesh move through solid matter?” David’s scientific curiosity started acting up.

Floren scrunched up her face. There were all sorts of possible answers. Magic was a good one, but one David would never accept on face value. In the end, Floren told him, “Let us just say the flesh of the little ones is more flexible in one way or another than the mud and dust flesh of normal mortal humans.”

“Boy.” Inaros spoke and David looked up. “We have to go now and rescue your mother.”

“Is my father here?” David asked. He presently thought of his father and had in that moment the slightest glimpse of what it might be like to have responsibility for all these little ones, as Floren called them. He thought, no wonder his father lived so many lifetimes. One life could not possibly handle them all.

“Your father is somewhere, I am sure, but ladies first.” Inaros kept one hand on his cane and held his other hand out so David could step up beside him. David imagined the old man would need help with the stairs, assuming there were stairs.

“Floren.” Strongheart also spoke, but to his daughter. “You need to keep Oren and Alden here. You should be safe if you stay quiet in the courtyard.”

“Quiet? Oren and Alden? Father, by myself?” Floren certainly sounded like a teenager.

“I’ll stay and help,” Micky decided.

“Two of my soldiers will stay with you, so you boys better behave until we come and get you.” Strongheart gave them a stern look before he turned with Inaros, David, and a dozen elf warriors and went into the tower. David heard Floren behind him until the door closed.

“Sit! Stay!”

Mrs. Copperpot said Warthead had to stay outside the gate and not come into the courtyard. “All the halls in the castle have an enchantment that stretches them to accommodate to the big ones, like ogres,” she explained for James. “But Warthead is too young. Picker, Poker, and Grubby, you too. Stay here.”

“Hey!” Grubby protested.

“Will four of my men be enough?” Lord Noen asked.

“I’ll stay and help,” Pug volunteered. “My world is full of forest and grasslands. You know I am not much for buildings and underground positively gives me the creeps.”

“Thank you,” Mrs. Copperpot thanked the gnome before she turned to the boys with the kind of fire in her eyes that caused the big ogre to look at his feet and caused Picker and Poker to look away. “Four guards had better be enough.” Grubby also looked away, but he whistled softly as if to say he was not listening. “Now, come along James.” Mrs. Copperpot held out her hand for him.

James moved under the old dwarf’s protective wing, but he could not help the words that came out in his softest voice. “I’m too young for this, too.”

When Lord Noen led them in they saw the light from the torches in the hall reflected off good steel and heard the voice of Strongheart. “Friend or foe? Whom do you serve?”

Lord Noen signaled his dwarfs to put down their weapons. “We serve the Kairos. Strongheart?”

“Noen?” Strongheart stepped out from the shadows down the hall. “It is good to see you free of that wicked one’s domination.”

“More like damnation,” Noen said with a ruddy grin that sprang up beneath his full beard. “I must say, I am glad to see you. I can use the help setting the women free. No telling what is down there or what kind of guards she may have in this place.”

Strongheart returned the smile and gave the shorter man a hearty slap on the back. He did not say anything, but he looked like he would not mind having a band of dwarfs at his back.

“James!” David noticed first and shouted.

“Quiet,” Inaros scolded, and David nodded, but nothing would keep him from his brother. He hugged James and James, not the touching type, nevertheless hugged him back.

“You won’t believe what happened to me,” David began, still too loud.

“Quiet,” Mrs. Copperpot repeated the word. “You will just have to tell him later. Right now, we need to be quiet.” She hushed David and David quieted.

“Later,” David whispered.

“Me too,” James agreed. At least, unlike Davey, James always seemed to whisper.

They came to the stairs, and it would be four long flights down. They stopped on each floor and looked around but found nothing and no one. David at least hoped that was a good sign, but Inaros and Mrs. Copperpot looked more worried at each stop. At the bottom of the stairs, they came to a wide room with pillars spaced equally in every direction. The pillars made it impossible to tell how big the room really was, but James and David got a good idea from the echo, especially when Inaros placed his hand over David’s mouth.

Strongheart signaled with his hands. He placed several elves to guard the stairs and along the path without a word. Noen mirrored him with his dwarfs. The last two elves and two dwarfs they told to guard the door and then tried to figure the lock. Strongheart risked a whisper.

“They are in here?”

Inaros put his hand to the door as if feeling for what might be inside. He nodded while Noen took a great whiff of air with his bulbous dwarf nose and whispered, “Yes, and I smell something else, too. We best hurry.”

Mrs. Copperpot grabbed Inaros’ hand, and Strongheart and Noen added what they had as well so the old dwarf woman could use her cooking spoon to the greatest effect. Nothing happened at first and Inaros gritted his teeth and leaned into it. Then the lock popped with a great sound that echoed everywhere. The door opened but squeaked, loudly every inch of the way. Whatever might be in that big basement room certainly knew they were there, and where they were, too.

The women all sat around a table, playing Rook, and sipping tea. It seemed a small room, but there were mats, pillows, and blankets on the floor, and a bathroom behind a back door. There also appeared to be a sink and stove in the corner with clean dishes in the drain. In all, the women made it work.

David saw his mama quietly watching the game. She sat between the goblin and the bearded dwarf wife. David felt amazed his mother was not totally freaking out, but she stood so he could run to her, and hug his mama, and cry a little. Noen went straight to his wife, Lady Biggles. Strongheart also caught Lady Lisel in a big hug and added a brief kiss. Lady Goldenvein, the dark elf stayed seated, but Ivy, the Fairy Queen stood and dropped Seabass the cat from her lap.

“Oak?” Ivy asked.

“No sign of him yet,” Inaros said. “But Beth is with him, and Chris is with Deepdigger.”

Seabass went straight to James and let out a “meow.” He had always been a verbal cat, and James picked him right up and heard him softy purr.

“We must go,” Lord Noen said to everyone, even as they heard a word shouted from the distant stairs.

“Ghouls!”

************************

MONDAY

David and James with the women need to escape the ghouls and get to a place of safety. But the place of safety turns out to not be so safe. Until Monday, Happy Reading

*

Golden Door Chapter 20 Beth Above It All, part 2 of 2

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

It did not rain in the castle. Beth could see out the door that it still rained buckets outside, but in the castle, even in the open courtyard where they hid, there was not a drop. The sky still looked dark and dreary overhead, and she thought she saw some lightning up top, but she heard no thunder and felt no rain.

“What happened to the rain?” Beth interrupted the argument.

“There’s a bubble around the castle keeping out the worst of the collapse,” Mrs. Aster said in nearly her normal voice. “Come on.” She took Beth’s hand again and pulled her to a colonnade at the side of the yard where they could walk quietly in the shadows.

“Where are we going?” Beth asked.

“I thought we should first find my father,” Mistletoe whispered in Beth’s ear. “But apparently our first duty is to free the prisoners from the dungeon. Ow.”

Holly had slapped her sister’s nose when Mistletoe got too close to Beth’s ear. “I’m sitting here, if you don’t mind.” Holly grabbed two clumps of Beth’s wet hair and stood.

“Oh!” Mistletoe sounded perturbed. “Why don’t you get big and use your own feet like the rest of us.” Beth felt the back-and-forth wiggle Holly gave in response. She had to imagine the thumbs in Holly’s ears, the fingers waving wildly and the tongue sticking out at her sister.

“Quiet.” Mrs. Aster was not interested in fairy foolishness. She was being as serious as an old fairy can be. She led them through numerous inner gates, from courtyards to gardens of all sorts, one of which looked more like a forest than a garden inside a castle. They only cut through two buildings, and that was only briefly from one door to another, though in one they had to climb some stairs. At last, they came to a wall with another sturdy gate, and Mrs. Aster repeated herself. “Quiet.” Holly had been whispering about the scenery. Daffodil, Zinnia, and Hyacinth all whispered. At least Mistletoe stayed quiet, though Beth wrongly imagined she was still mad at her sister.

Beth did not understand how quickly fairies could change from one emotional state to another. It seemed like their small fairy bodies could only hold one emotion at a time, and their little fairy minds could not hold on to conscious memories for long. They flitted from one thought to the next and one feeling to the next at the blink of an eye, especially the young ones.

“Shh!” Holly shushed everyone, though they were already quiet. Mrs. Aster spoke.

“This is the main courtyard in front of the Bailiff’s Tower. Avalon does not have a dungeon, exactly. But the tower has lower rooms without windows and heavy doors that can be locked securely from the outside.”

“Tower of London?” Beth suggested and Mrs. Aster nodded.

“The thing is, those lower rooms are one of the few things that exist in only one castle, in a sense. After we arrive, we will find ourselves in the Land Castle and no longer in the Castle in the Sky. Beth nodded though she did not understand, exactly. Mrs. Aster pulled her wand out again, and this time she tapped twice and paused before she tapped once more on the door. The lock turned.

It proved a big cobblestone court with benches here and there, and a water fountain in the middle which had been turned on. Beth thought that odd. She saw more than enough water pouring down outside the castle bubble. They took a few steps. Everything seemed quiet until they were all in the yard and committed. Two dozen fairies flew in to surround them, changed to their big form, and held out their swords and sharp looking spears. Several held bows with arrows ready.

“You are all under arrest.” The fairy that stood between them and the tower door spoke.

“Lord Oak,” Mrs. Aster named the speaker.

“Father,” Mistletoe said, and smiled. She stepped away from the group and toward her father. She kissed him on the cheek before she spoke again. “The Kairos’ daughter, just like I promised.”

“My good daughter.” The man returned her kiss and turned to his troops while Holly stayed hidden in Beth’s drying hair and whispered in Beth’s ear.

“Mistletoe, betrayers! Mistletraitor!”

“Bring the human girl and old Mrs. Aster.” The man still spoke. “Half of you men stay here with Mistletoe to guard the rebellious fee. I’ll decide their punishment later.” He turned to his daughter. “These two will go to the dungeon with the others. You don’t mind keeping an eye on your friends until I get back. Do you?”

“Father.” Mistletoe smiled for him. “I could never be friends with traitors.”

Mrs. Aster whispered in Beth’s other ear. “Now would be a good time to say what angel told you to say.”

“What was that?” Beth asked.

“Didn’t the angel give you some words to speak?”

“Not that I can remember.”

“Move them,” Lord Oak said, and Beth found the butt end of a spear shove her from behind.

“Beth. You must remember for yourself. I can’t say the words. It won’t work if I say the words.”

Beth and Mrs. Aster stepped inside the tower and got driven to the stairs where they began the long descent to the basement level. Beth thought hard. “I know the angel said a number of things, but I don’t remember him saying anything special.”

“I do,” Mrs. Aster said. “I was hovering over Mister Deathwalker’s shoulder, listening. I distinctly heard the angel say, “Tell them Angel said…” But that is all I heard.”

Before Beth could answer, they came to a large open space, a wide landing where three great halls went in three directions while the stairs continued down. A goblin stood at the top of the stairs, and Beth would have been deathly afraid to look at it if Mrs. Aster had not just reminded her of Mister Deathwalker.

“If you are coming to help free the queens, you must hurry,” the goblin spoke in a voice that sent chills through Beth’s body, wherever the chills felt like going, but Beth ignored them as she shouted her response.

“They are enchanted. Run!”

The goblin was not slow. He saw the spears and the swords come out and ran down the next set of stairs, shouting.

“Traitors ahead of us,” Lord Oak said. “Be on your guard.” Beth and Mrs. Aster were shoved to the rear while Lord Oak and a half-dozen fee started down the stairs their weapons ready.

“Beth. You have to remember and say the words to make the magic work,” Mrs. Aster whispered sharply before a guard pushed her with a word.

“Quiet.”

At the next landing, the goblins were waiting in the hallways surrounding the landing, hidden in doorways and behind the tables and tapestries. The fairies stopped on the stairs when an arrow struck the bottom step.

“Oak!” A voice rang out in the hall. “We should not be fighting each other.”

“Deepdigger, I give no quarter to traitors.” Lord Oak kept his men up the steps where they argued about how to get past the enemy. The fairies could get small and fly faster than the goblins could react but getting Beth down the stairs posed a bit of a problem. Lord Oak wanted to keep them talking while they thought. “What have you to say for yourself?”

Instead of Deepdigger’s voice, Christopher’s voice rang out loud and echoed in the halls. “Angel said do not be afraid.”

“Chris!” Beth responded. “Ow!” She got hit on the head for crying out.

Chris’ words had no effect on the fairies, and he quickly figured the problem. “Beth. You have to say it. Angel said do not be afraid.”

“Do not be afraid,” Beth mumbled. She honestly did not remember being told to say that and was not surprised it meant nothing to the fairies.

“Beth. You have to say the whole thing, the exact words. Angel said do not be afraid.”

Beth opened her mouth and found a fairy hand in her face to keep her quiet. She reached up and found her own hand full of blue, electric sparkles which caused the fairy hand to hesitate, and she shouted. “Angel said do not be afraid.” She was willing, and now that Chris prompted her, she remembered that was what the angel told them to say.

The stairs were a dangerous place to say those words. Several fairies fell to their knees. Several tumbled down the stairs, including Lord Oak who moaned and put a hand to his head. Deepdigger and Deathwalker ran up, and Deepdigger took Oak by the arm.

“Oak. Oak,” he said. “We have to set the women free.”