Chapter Seven

7 - The Flame

Tably came back with a grin, saying his father had agreed.

                They started walking out.

                After a while of talking they realised Tably had seen a lot of the south of Doria whereas Rhias had more lived in the Highlands and up north.

                "I heard Lord Gendon is trying to get the minotaurs to fight with him," Tably said. "That would give him a huge advantage. He has a pretty good army, doesn't he? Spirits... minotaurs..."

                "Are minotaurs all that large?" Melissa asked anxiously.

                "Massive, I've heard," Tably said. Melissa dropped her eyes to the ground and felt worried.  Jesse knew it but he didn't reach out to her as he normally would have done as he was trying to make a good impression on Tably (and prove to Rhias he was better than her).

                As he was the only one who knew the way, and their map had been destroyed, Tably was leading them.

                "We will reach a small village soon," he said. "I'm not sure what it's called... sometimes we come visit it if we run out of supplies."

                It did not take long until it came into sight.

                When they reached it they walked through the streets for enjoyment. The children had not really been to a Dorian village yet, for Miradel was only a place for sleeping, feasting and lounging around, and not for shopping, selling and a more peasany way of living.

                Some of the food stalls set up around had fruits, vegetables and other types of food that the children had eaten in Bidham, but some of it was new and interesting-looking.

                There was the buzz of talk from all the people walking around, but overall the place did not have a happy vibe. The people all seemed wary of each other and secretive, and there seemed a threat hanging over them all, as if they all expected some evil to burst in. Of course, they were rightly wary but none of the children knew that yet.

                Melissa pulled the others over to a shop window where they were selling large delicious looking chocolates and said wistfully that she wished they had enough money to buy some.

                They went inside another shop as the sun was beginning to set to look at maps to see exactly how long it would take to get to Orstina and then on to Silvadale Castle. Melissa and Jesse started shivering and they felt something nudge the side of their consciousness, but they tried to ignore it.

                Suddenly they heard screams and banging and a loud disturbance going on outside.

                They looked out to see spirits zooming around, knocking over stalls, flipping people over and causing havoc. The four children ducked down as some flew past the window.

                "What are the spirits doing here?" Melissa cried as more and more could be seen streaking into the little village, destroying everything in their path.

                "They are attacking the village," Tably groaned. "We've to get out now."

                They burst out of the shop, ducking as a spirit whizzed over their heads. They saw two materialise a little way down the lane into the tall beings and draw swords of mist that, although they were formed of weak substances, seemed to do just as much damage as any heavy metal weapon.

                "Quick! Down the other end of the street!" yelled Rhias, and they all ran down.

                Then more spirits appeared up that end - they were trapped.

                "What will we do?" Jesse cried, grabbing Melissa to stop her from running any further.

                "Come on, into the centre of the village!" the spirits seemed to be shouting to all the people scurrying around. They were shepherding everyone to the big space at the centre of the markets. The children had no choice but to follow.

                "What can we do?" Melissa cried, staring around wide-eyed.

                "Wait and see what happens," Rhias said as the spirits tried ordering people into one line.

                After only a few minutes they had everyone standing, quietly shaking in one long line, all facing the spirits who were in their human forms, jeering at them.

                Then a large golden carriage pulled by giant horses, larger than any the children had ever seen, came trundling into the midst of the spirits. They parted for it and bowed low. There was a dead silence. Even the little village children who had been wailing before had fallen silent.

                Jesse and Melissa guessed who was in it, but dared not say it. Two spirits floated forward and pulled the door open.

                Inside the carriage was darkness. Then they saw someone or something moving inside.

                The first thing Jesse and Melissa saw of the infamous ruler Lord Gendon was his bright red sword which they remembered Hanni telling them was called The Flame. He held it forwards and then his hands could be seen on the side of the carriage. Big, thick and gloved. Then he pulled himself out and they looked upon the man who they had heard so many bad things about. He definitely did not look like he had come from Bidham. His huge muscles on his arms and legs were very prominent. He was wearing massive boots with straps, leather, clasps and almost everything else on them. His brown hair was swept across his face and he stood taller than any other person (except for the willowy spirits).

                He started pacing up and down the line, staring un-blinking into each face. When he got to one man the man leapt forwards with a silly-looking weapon compared to The Flame and jumped onto Lord Gendon with a cry of, "For the true king of Doria!" Lord Gendon uttered a louder yell and slashed the man down with his sword before he'd even got half way to him. There was a horrible silence.

                "There is no king of Doria," Lord Gendon spoke out to them all. "You all know he died years ago! Let that be an example to you all!" He stepped over the man's body and continued down the line.

                The children were shocked. This tyrant had just killed a man. Their hearts were racing very fast as he drew nearer. When he got to Rhias first she stared into his eyes in a defiant way no other villager had yet. Then he came to Tably, who had a muscle twitching in the back of his neck.

                Then he stared into the faces of Jesse and Melissa. He stopped, and stared at them for a little longer. The children were starting to panic, many wild escape plans running through their heads.

                "You are not Dorian," Lord Gendon growled low. They stood still with fear.

                All the villagers were looking down the row to them with frightened expressions. Then Lord Gendon lifted The Flame once more with a battle cry. The children screamed and fell back. Then suddenly Tably leapt in the way and had aimed and fired an arrow into Lord Gendon's thick arm.

                He roared in anger and ripped it out. There was no sign of blood or any damage. He lifted his sword once more, trying now to attack Tably. Tably jumped out of the way and ran fast away from him. The other three ran as fast as they could after him.

                "Get them!" Lord Gendon Roared. "Bring them to me! I must have them!"

                The spirits soared after them, once again after poor Jesse and Melissa. They leapt over the rubble and destruction the spirits had caused and ran out of the village.

                Ahead of them, for the first time ever, they saw the glistening sea, stretching out endlessly.

                "Follow me," cried Rhias, "I have an idea!" They all ran after her. They drew closer and closer to the water and the spirits were on hot pursuit. No-one dared look back. Melissa at one point thought she could feel cold hands try closing over her arm - she screamed and ran faster.

                They came to the water's edge and Rhias kept running into the icy cold wetness.

                "What are you doing?" Jesse yelled," You've doomed us all! We can't go much further!"

                "Just follow me!" Rhias cried, now getting deeper and deeper, struggling against the waves.

                They all waded after her, waiting for the cold misty hands to grab them, to pull them back. But they never came. When the children got out to where they could only just stand up, they turned back to look at the shore.

                The mists were hovering on the shore. They dared not come any further, for after all, as Hanni had said, they were only made out of vapour.

                "You can't stay out there forever," one of the mist people shouted out after them.

                "And you can't just wait there forever either," Rhias called back. "Lord Gendon will be waiting. He will be angry when you take so long!"

                They looked uncertainly at the raging waves.

                "That's right, you stay away, you weak so-called servants of Lord Gendon!" Tably shouted.

                The spirits roared out in anger, and then one by one started edging into the water.

                "No!" the first one cried out. "Don't come in! I'm being swept away!"

                And he was. Jesse and Melissa could see his misty-form did not stay whole in the water and he cried out in pain. The spirits battled to get back to shore until a big wave crashed over the lot of them. When it was gone, the spirits were no more.

                The children shivered in the water. "Is - is that it?" Melissa asked. "Are they destroyed? Dead?"

                "I think so," Tably said quietly. They stood there for a second, regaining their courage, then they trudged back in.

                They hastily lit a fire to ward away any more spirits that might come. Rhias seemed very pleased with herself and Melissa hugged her in affection. Jesse wished he had come up with the idea.

                "I don't get it..." Tably said slowly. "Lord Gendon was not hurt at all by my arrow..."

                They were all in silence for a moment, trying to work it out.

                Tably offered to keep watch, and the rest of them went to sleep. The next day they kept walking, and Tably said offhandedly that he was never too tired to walk.

                The day was overcast and in the afternoon it started raining. It was very heavy rain when finally they reached the walls of Orstina and Rhias knocked three times on the door.

                A hooded figure wearing a grey robe and holding a lantern answered the door, looking very annoyed at being called out in the rain at dinner time.

                "Who are you?" he asked sharply, but without anger.

                "My name is Rhias," Rhias piped up automatically, "and this is Tably, Melissa and Jesse. We need a place to stay. We have travelled a long way to find the wisdom of the landpaters. Um... could we talk to Raynar?"

                "What?" He scoffed, "Raynar? What gives you the authority to seek his council?"

                "These are the children that he foresaw," Rhias explained.

                The man looked at them in silence for a moment from under his cloak. "Well, why didn't you say so?" He beckoned them in.