Ben and Lucy: The Sunken Kingdom

Roscoe’s fever continued raging, all the while Adrienne sat by his bed. She stayed with him through the hours as he fought off the transformation. The herbs that Eloise had directed Adrienne to brew and give to Roscoe appear to be working. Adrienne wondered if it was too late for Roscoe? He had already shown signs of the transformation. His body was now disfigured. His left arm twisted and grotesque. The natural curve of the arms and legs did not appear correct anymore. Something was off, but if one did not look too closely one would not fully recognize the changes. She continued to comfort Roscoe. Her feelings toward Ben has subsided and now they were deepening for Roscoe.

Adrienne studied his features. Strong cheekbones. Sandy blonde hair, eyebrows that were thick but lightly colored so they would blend into his skin. She watched his breathing. His lips were close enough to touch. She placed her fingers gently on his lips, tracing the outside of his mouth. She stirred inside. The room was suddenly warm and she got flushed. She drew her hand away.

Roscoe stirred. The fever was dissipating. Roscoe’s eyes opened. They were deep blue. Looked directly into Adrienne’s. No sound but a deep connection was made. She was an angel to him. A slight smile flashed across his face. Then a grimace. His body felt at odds with itself. Where was he? He looked around, the images around him looked odd. His vision had changed. He lifted his head up. There she was in front waiting for him to arise. He smiled. She smiled back.

“How are you my dear” she asked gently.

Roscoe was confused. He could felt his body but it did not move in the same manner as before. Then he looked at his hands. He was horrified. He had changed. His body was not his own. What had happened when he was asleep? He looked about. He closed his eyes again and blinked hard. When he opened them again, his fate was the same. His body had transformed.

“That creature did this to me.” He said in disgust.

“You are not pleased to be alive?” Adrienne asked quietly. Her disappointment was easy to hear in her words.

“No, I am glad to be alive, but what happened?”

“You have been given a gift my dear.”

“A gift? What am I going to do now? Look at me!” He demanded of her.

“You can be with me forever now.” Her smile tried to calm him.

Miwa’s eyes warmed his heart. Maybe he was too quick to reject his new body. Paddy moved his body and felt the new power inside. Maybe she was right. He had never felt right with the way he was. Now maybe people would treat him differently. Oh he knew they would treat him differently. He was now powerful. He smiled back at her. He knew that theirs was a bond that was strong the minute they saw each other. He stood up, stretched and then without any thought flew into the air. She followed him. The two rose above the ground and soon he could see the entire countryside. Quickly he grew accustomed to his new body. He was no longer human. He was a Dragon!! Paddy and Miwa flew into the clouds.

The wind felt clean and crisp across his face. The view from up above was breathtaking. Paddy drank in the sights. He could now see for miles and miles. Miwa flew close to him.

“How are you my love?”

“Fantastic.” He gleamed with joy.

He looked into Miwa’s eyes and saw only love. He was stirred. She directed him down onto a plain. Paddy landed next to her. His fears and shyness had disappeared now that he was a dragon. The two held and caressed each other. The lovers moved about the plain, nothing was on their minds except themselves. The sight of two dragons mating was not seen for centuries. Yet no one was there to see.

After enjoying the peak of mating Paddy looked over to Miwa and smiled.

“Incredible.” Paddy exclaimed.

“Yes, my dear. Now we must leave this place. It seems we have attracted some attention.” Miwa directed Paddy’s eyes to the fields around. Villagers were now grouping together and beginning to make their way toward the dragons. Kindness was not in their eyes. Swords were upraised.

“Why do they attack us?” Paddy responded angrily.

“We must go before something bad happens.” Miwa pleaded with Paddy.

“Ok, but I don’t like running again.”

The two mammoth creatures quickly flew into the air, their wings creating strong wind currents blowing the villagers down and destroying homes nearby. Paddy was not happy about being forced to leave.

“We are dragons, we should never bow down to them!” His voices was agitated.

“Oh my dear, soon we will not have to. For now we must retreat and prepare for the battle with the Terrordons.”

“What do have to do with them?” Paddy questioned.

“My dear, do you think that once we have been seen that they will allow us to go our merry ways?” Miwa sadly responded.

“Let’s fly back to the mountain. They will not follow us there.”

“I saw the Terrordons by the lake. Are they gathering there?” Paddy questioned.

“Shamus has control of them now.”

“He plans to use them to attack the Sunken Kingdom, doesn’t he?”

“If he has not already begun.”

“They won’t stand a chance.” Paddy quickly understood.

“We need to help them.”

“Paddy we must not engage the Terrordons yet. You are not strong enough.” Miwa sad calmly.

“If we wait too long then my friends will die.” Paddy was resolved as he flew toward the lake.

“If you attack too soon then you will not be of any help. They must defend for themselves a little while longer.” The two dragons flew up into the sky, heading back to the mountains. The villagers now had something to talk about besides the Terrordons.

Shamus was getting impatient once again.

“Why have they not surrendered yet?” He shouted in dismay.

“Maybe they are afraid we will kill them all?” Angus said without catching himself.

Angus held his breath waiting to see what Shamus did next. Shamus also waited. He was thinking what to do next. He looked at Angus sternly. Angus prepared himself for the worse. Shamus then smiled.

“Perhaps you are right. Maybe we need to send them a message.” Shamus turned toward the soldier next to them.

“Come her boy!” He commanded.

A young man barely of age stepped up cautiously. A tall thin wisp of a man. Shamus smiled to himself.

“What is your name?” He barked.

The young man trembled before his leader.

“Gerhard, sire.”

“Well Gerhard, would you like to be my messenger?” Shamus asked calmly.

“It would be an honor sir.” Gerhard was amazed that he was being picked. Pride swelled inside.

“Of course it would.” At that Shamus grabbed the boy by the neck.

“Now Angus tie this message to this boy and drop him into the water but first tie him to a stone and have your Terrordon drop him in the middle. That he will make sure he will find his way down to the center of their Kingdom. ” Shamus smiled at his command.

Angus grabbed the struggling boy and did as his master directed. The boy would drown half way down but the stone would make sure he would find his way to the kingdom.

“Keep the stones coming. It should not be too long before they either surrender or the Kingdom itself crumbles. Then we will no longer need for them to surrender. They will have to come to the surface, or drown. Ha ha ha.” The evil lord chuckled. His voice carried across the lake.

The stones kept crashing upon the ceiling of the castle. Each time the heavy blocks hit the dome the entire structure shook.

“We got to stop Shamus. The Kingdom will not hold for much longer.” Pierre shouted as particles dropped onto the floor below.

“Shamus is waiting for us to come to the top. He will kill us all!” A maiden spoke out.

“Why can’t we escape through the tunnel as we did when we went through the mountain?” Pierre asked.

“That might be treacherous but at least some would have a chance.” Pierre added.

“We don’t have enough time for all of the people to get out.” Growler resounded sharply.

Growler had estimated the population to be in the hundreds if not thousands of inhabitants below the surface. It would take perhaps a week for the entire population to get through that small doorway, if Eloise could even keep it open for that long, wherever she was.

“I fear the castle will not stand for that long.” Growler knew there had to be another way. Growler began to devise another route.

Ben looked at Lucy. Concern was on her face. Eloise and Charnac had shown them the sphere of Isar and now they were about to see the Thrones of the Twins. This was too much for her. She began to tremble.

“Lucy, everything will be ok.” Ben tried to comfort her.

He held his twin sister. They were together and that was the best thing he could think of in this place. He looked into here eyes and tried to calm her fears. She was the one who would always speak to him during thunderstorms back home and now he was the brave one.

“What happens next?” he turned toward Eloise.

“We must first perform the ceremony of Danises”. Charnac spoke first.

“What is that?” Ben asked.

“We must first sit the globe of Isar upon the throne in the Cradle of Energy.”

Eloise pointed to a structure in the center of the room. A giant snake coiled up with its head stretching to the sky. Its jaws wide open, the fangs out and in place to hold a sphere. Charnac carried the Globe of Isar toward the snake. Ben and Lucy watched in silence as Charnac placed the globe onto the snake’s fangs. At once the globe began to glow. The colors changed from blue to red to green to yellow, finally settling on green. Ben and Lucy’s eyes were as big as saucers as they watched the globe transformed.

The chamber grew hotter and hotter. Ben and Lucy were both sweating heavily. Eloise and Charnac continued to concentrate. The ceremony was going along well from what Ben was feeling. Eloise smiled occasionally throughout. Ben checked out Charnac, he too was smiling. Things were going well. Lucy was not convinced. Ben could see her concern showing on her face. He stared at her until she noticed him. As she looked at her brother he smiled confidently. This is what they were there for. Better or worse they were making a difference in this world. He was proud as he had never been before. Power surged through him. Lucy smiled back. She felt it too.

“Angus! More boulders immediately. We need to increase the pressure on the fools below.” Shamus had grown impatient.

After the first wave of men that came to the surface. Shamus had expected another wave even if the first was thrown back in their faces. The boulders must be causing havoc on the palace and the domes surrounding it., but now no one had appeared from the depths. Not even after his last message. The skinny boy probably resting on the dome his dead eyes staring directly into their eyes. Shamus was pleased with himself.

“Keep the men closer to the surface. Every man needs to be on the rim of the lake.” Shamus bellowed.

Angus was weary of this tactic. Something did not feel right. Reluctantly Angus gave the command for all the men to guard the edge of the lake but he began to distant himself with the edge. After each command he moved further away, appearing that he needed to oversee from a distance. In fact the water disturbed him. Something was happening beneath the water and he did not like it. He watched the Terrordons dropping the boulders one after one. How could the palace survive the siege?

The walls shook. The ceiling was coming apart bit by bit. Small pieces falling here and there. The pieces were growing in size. Growler was concerned. He looked around him. Everyone was tense. He needed to do something but what? There was no way out but up and there awaited Shamus. Eloise and Charnac were now locked away doing who knows what with Ben and Lucy. Action was needed, not only for himself but to keep the others’ mind off the boulders crashing down. He and Pierre had come up with nothing so far.

“Baggy go gather up the team. We need Adrienne as well as Joliet.” Growler barked.

He turned toward Pierre. Pierre understood his tactics as well and joined in.

“Max, go with him and quickly. We need to prepare ourselves.” For what Pierre did not know.

He smiled at Growler. Growler returned the favor. Desperate times had come upon them once again. The two old friends had many battles behind them and now would this be their last? Each was pleased to be side by side.

In a few minutes Max and Baggy returned. Joliet and Adrienne were with them.

“Good, now we all have to get the rest of the people prepared. We will have to make a try to surface and overwhelm them in one place. Draw their attention. The rest will escape while we keep their forces occupied.” Growler turned toward the girls.

“It is our only chance. Joliet and Adrienne you will lead the people out of here while the rest of us will draw their attention.”

“Oh, no I don’t. ” Joliet said defiantly.

“There is no argument Joliet. We need to save the people and escape. The only way to do that is to draw Shamus to one side of the lake and allow the others to escape on the other.” Growler was in no mood to argue.

Joliet was about to argue. Growler’s focused on hers. She was convinced. Her response never came. Pierre had seen this before and knew there was no way of changing Growler’s mind. He was a force that would not be denied. If only this force could stop Shamus. We would soon see. Pierre prepared himself for the assault on the surface. Shamus would be waiting.

Joliet gathered the inhabitants on the south end of the palace courtyard. Thousands filled the yard. She instructed the old men, women, and children to stay on this side and asked the strong to follow Pierre to the North side of the palace. This party was smaller but still a force to be managed. Joliet thought to herself that most of these would die soon. She quickly turned away and headed back to the south.

The north party was taking shape. Growler instructed those that were arriving to fall into ranks. Each side of the palace had portals that could be accessed to lead into the lake. Never had the portals handled this much traffic. The evacuation needed to be carefully staged if anyone had a chance to escape Shamus. The plan was to overrun a portion of the forces and draw the others away from the south, once that was done then there was a possibility of success. How much success Growler did not know. This was a risk but anything was better than sitting under a dome being pelted and doing nothing. This was a grim action. At best the northern party would be slaughtered, the southern party could escape. After that they would be on the run and who knows how far they could get before Shamus would run them down. Growler believed at least a chance would be better than waiting for the palace to come crashing down upon them. In that scenario Growler saw no survivors.

Adrienne had wanted to stay by Roscoe’s side. She had to help in the escape plan however. She felt guilty for what was now occurring. She had given Shamus the information to attack. A mistake she would never be able to make good for already there were casualties. Eloise had told Adrienne that it was not her fault. Shamus had very persuasive talents. Eloise had told her that a girl her age was easy for Shamus. This agitated Adrienne’s pride. She was strong enough that no one should be able to persuade her. Adrienne knew that Joliet would never had been convinced to sell out her people like she had. Adrienne had always been impressed by Joliet’s conviction, often she thought that Joliet was hard-headed, now she decided to be “hard-headed”.

Roscoe and he would survive if she had to will it herself. Roscoe stirred in his sleep. the pain was coming again. Adrienne had prepared the maiden for the thrashing and yelling that would come. Roscoe’s body was fighting with itself now. Adrienne wondered if the medicine that Eloise prepared would be strong enough to fight Sylvester’s venom. She cried knowing that she may never see him again.

The last of the preparations were made. The North party was ready to head out. Growler looked back at Mattie. He had not looked at her this way in many years. She remembered the look. He had it when he would go into battle or when he and Pierre would venture out on one of their journeys back when they were younger. The power inside him was a rage. Her love for him swelled in her heart.

“Not to worry old man. I will keep my eye on you.” Pierre teased Growler.

“Ha. More like I will have to drag you along.” Growler’s retort did not have the usual sting.

“Come on you valiant lot. Let’s give Shamus something to shake in his boots about. Damn those Terrordons!” Pierre shouted.

The rest of the party joined in. Growler led the party into the north tunnel. The tunnel would lead them all the way to just below the north side of the lake just under the surface of the water. The tunnel is invisible to those on the outside so the party will at least have some sort of element of surprise. Growler turned to his village guide. A strong able man still being dwarfed by Growler. The guide was older than Growler and quite a bit smaller, everyone was smaller than he. Average height about six feet tall. Medium build, slightly overweight but not completely out of shape. The age old issue than all men face. The battle of the bulge. He was slightly greying around the temples and there were highlights of white in his beard which covered his face evenly. He had been wearing the beard for many years. The man’s eyes were hazel and were filled with energy. Growler liked this man, hopefully they could keep the relationship going after the assault on the surface. Too little time.

Growler instructed the man, Elliot Standish, to lead a group of twenty men. Once at the opening of the tunnel he would lead his men straight up to the water’s surface. They would use breathing tubes to remain slightly below the surface and would perform a reconnaissance to determine the proper place for the thrust. Growler wanted the area to be limited with Shamus’s men. Hopefully Growler’s little band could overrun the men waiting at the surface, if just for a small amount of time for Shamus to deploy more and divert his attention from the south.

Elliot led his troop into the tunnel. The width of the tunnel allowed the pack to be four wide. The men disappeared quickly. As they did the next troop assembled and prepared for their journey as well. This continued for over one hour as the men made their way into the air tunnel. They would assemble there and await for Elliot to return.

On the southern end Joliet was coordinating the other parties. The first group was a fighting group. Growler did not expect Shamus to allow his men to fully withdraw. There had to be some men left to battle with. Growler did hope that since the main thrush of men were surfacing in the north that Shamus would pull troops to help. Growler was betting on this. If he was wrong he would be sending many women and children to their death. The first group had to be fighters to make way for the others. These fighters would also need to help lead the women and children and others past the lake an into the southern woods. Getting past Shamus would only be the first obstacle.

Joliet tensely directed the men and shouted often to the children and old folks to stay in line. They responded slowly, their behavior tested Joliet.

“Come on people. This will save your lives, get a move on!” She shouted.

Needless to say this did not help matters much. Joliet had contempt for most of them. She had always thought the kingdom folk were soft inside their walls and relied too much on Eloise and her guardsmen. The people slowly ventured into the southern tunnels. They were hesitant to move on. Some even stopped and did not move. One old man and his wife turned back around and headed for their home.

“We will not head out to our doom, going through that tunnel. We will stay here in the palace. Eloise will protect us.” Joliet shook her head at this.

She let them return without comment. It was not worth her effort. Let them die under the lake if they wish. She turned back toward the others. Thankfully many more were moving toward the exit. The past few hours made them all realize that soon the palace would collapse under the bombardment from Shamus and the Terrordons.

Ben’s eyes were wide open when the globe in the center of the room began to levitate. Lucy gasped as images of battles and atrocities filled the room. Emanating from the globe, the history of Zhunanium was being told and this globe was projecting them. The ancients passed before their eyes. The names of the players were not known to Ben nor Lucy but they knew this was the history that Growler and Charnac had spoken about. The two kids looked over at Charnac. He gave a confident smile to reassure them.

Eloise as their eyes revealed was deep in concentration. It seemed that the globe was in her control now and she was using all her energies to command its movements. Sweat was running down her face. The walls began to glow a deep blue. As the blue began to turn to green Ben thought he felt the floor move. He looked back over to Lucy. Their hands tightened.The color of the walls were now yellow. Their chairs now began to rise from the floor, as they did the floor turned orange and then finally red. Then suddenly the floor broke away. Beneath where the floor had been lava flowed. The tile floor was now liquid. The heat rose from beneath them now. Still they hovered above it all.

“Concentrate all of you. I need your help.” Eloise commanded.

“You must focus, children you know in your heart what to do. Close your eyes and open your minds.” Charnac was now speaking to them. “Quickly, if Eloise loses her concentration any more we will fall into the fire below.” Ben and Lucy exchanged glances toward each other and then closed their eyes together. They did know, somehow they knew this was the only way for them.

The first men hit the surface of the water. As Growler had hoped, there was no one there. Elliot had returned quickly with his men. They had found a place where Shamus’ force was thin.

“Quickly to the shore before they see us. Once on dry land we can fight them.” Growler said with confidence.

The place was exactly as Elliot had reported. The weeds had grown tall here. His men could assemble and use the element of surprise to gain an advantage on Shamus, at least until he knew they were there. Growler and Pierre also knew that once they were discovered Shamus could unleash the Terrordons upon them and would finish them quickly. The two had been in desperate spots before and somehow had always survived. This would be another test of their courage and luck. The first twenty men had all surfaced and still no contact with Shamus’s force. Growler could not believe their luck. something must be up. He wondered did Joliet send her people through too early and was Shamus now busy slaughtering them instead. He knew they had to meet Shamus’s men soon or their plan would be ruined. The attention must be drawn away from the South end of the lake.

“Come on men let’s move out.” Growler bellowed.

The men all fell in line behind the giant of a man. As the remaining men assembled on the shore, the cries from the other areas of the lake began. Pierre was the first to realize that the cries were not coming from the southern side but from the east. He turned to Growler.

“Why would there be action on the east. Who else would be there? Do you supposed that Joliet got the directions off?”

“I hope not, if she did they will all be massacred. We need to get moving” Growler’s voice was leaden with concern.

Growler led the way toward the cries. As they turned a corner they came across some of Shamus’s men. Pierre’s arrows whistled through the air. Pierre allowed one to escape. They needed the alarm to be sounded.

The team continued and ran into more men. As Growler anticipated the ambush was a success. Shamus’s men were overwhelmed and were soon driven back. More forces had to called soon.

“Now we have them on the run, we must make sure we don’t get caught in a trap ourselves.” Pierre spoke.

Growler signaled Pierre to take a few of his men and spread out away from the lake. Pierre extended his path out from the lake. No resistance and no sign of Shamus. Pierre was concerned for the health of the others. His pace soon quickened. The trees around them grew taller and also began to spread out more. Pierre kept his eyes and ears alert. He signaled his men but made no sound. A man next to him began to ask a question, Pierre quickly belted him. Then he held his fingers to his lips. No sound, he knew they still needed the element of surprise. Where was Shamus? The cries from the east began to be louder and louder. Suddenly Pierre saw in the sky a Terrordon. He ordered his men to fall flat on the ground. He motioned them to remain still. He needed to investigate himself. To his left there was movement. He raised his sword, ready for battle. The trees burst away. Growler stepped through, he was smiling.

“Pierre, call your men over here. We have some well needed allies.” Growler motioned Pierre to move his men behind some rocks and into a well hidden cave along the lake’s edge. The same cave that Paddy had hid in. Suddenly the sound of birds filled the air. Parmesis had returned and with him the mighty Owls of the north. The famed Owls were giants with talons a foot long. The Owls were ripping Shamus’ men apart. As anticipated the forces were being averted away from the south. The Terrodons and the Owls were now engaged. Growler turned to his men and commanded them to attack them men. He wanted the Owls to be free to fight the Terrordons. This offensive would surely divert the action to the North side of the lake. The south should be open for Joliet and her villagers. A smile grew across Pierre’s face as he joined the battle.

Ben’s vision began to reveal a battle scene. He could now see giant birds attacking many men. He then saw Growler. He was now seeing the battle as it exploded into view. Brutal scenes where men were being torn apart, blood everywhere. Pierre battling another soldier. Hand to hand combat. Ben tensed.

“Focus Ben! Try not to let the visions divert your focus.” Charnac was now directing Ben. Charnac was seeing the same visions, as all of the four were now doing.

“Ben and Lucy direct your focus back into the lake. Go deep into the water.” Eloise now was leading the kids.

“I see it. I am entering the water.” Lucy exclaimed.

“Yes, you two are the key to us seeing the Palace. Make sure you focus on the Palace.”

“But they are fighting up top.” Ben replied.

“Ben, try to allow the events on the top to play out and focus on the Palace. The sake of all of us rides on this.” Charnac said abruptly.

Ben and Lucy then refocused themselves on the palace. The images of the lake grew more detailed and the view became clearer. The images passed through the water and into the palace itself. Down further into the rooms. Ben could see the details on the floor. The markings on the walls. Lucy started to smell the flowers. Down the visions led them. Down the flights of stairs they had traveled before, through the main hall. Instead of the hallway that led them to where they currently were, the vision led them down into the floor. Down into the bedrock. Ben and Lucy were confused but knew they had to follow the vision. Where were they going? The vision began to shine in brilliant red.

“Ok, Ben and Lucy, you will now see images that may disturb you. Disregard those, we must get past them.” Eloise alerted the young ones.

As their journey continued into the ground the images revealed hidden passages and creatures that had lived in the lake. Grotesque creatures sprang into view. Lucy jumped in her seat, Ben tightened his grip on her. Lucy withheld and the journey continued. Down they all went.

“Ok, we are near the end. Hold tight.” Charnac began.

“As we near the end we will now need to use of your minds to move things.” The images changed into colors.

“Look for the red colors. That will lead us to where we need to be.” Charnac continued.

“I see purple and green.” Lucy added.

“Move away from that. That is tempting you away from where we need to be.”

“I see the red area to the right.” Ben mentioned.

“Yes, follow that, Everyone focus on the right.” Charnac’s voice revealed his anticipation.

“Now we are almost there. See down below. We are right on top.” Charnac continued the instructions.

“As we rest on the red. Now start to imagine breaking the red stones apart. We need to shatter them and their hold on the palace.” Charnac waited as the red color started to shake.

“That is it. Concentrate.”

The red stones began to shake with ever more energy. The strain was beginning to grow more intense. Lucy started to struggle. Her breathing was heavy. Sweat was dripping down her forehead. She gritted her teeth. The pain pulsed through her. Almost unbearable. Her head bursting with pain. Then it was suddenly gone. The red color broke apart and shattered into millions of little pieces. It was replaced with a brilliant blue color.

“Excellent you two. We are not through yet. Still we have three more to break up.” Charnac continued to coach.

Charnac continued to instruct them through two more levels of rock and stone. The same process continued as before. Each time the pain in Lucy grew. As they progressed onto the third section she began to moan. Again they broke the stones apart. Charnac instructed them to take a few moments to rest. They continued to hold hands and keep their eyes shut, but they did not search for the last red spot immediately. Ben felt Lucy’s hand tremble in his. He squeezed hers gently to reassure her. He felt her hand relax a bit. He knew they were almost there. Just hold on.

The air was filled with feathers and screeching. The Owls were now battling the Terrordons in full force. Replacements were joining the Terrordons. Growler knew this was drawing forces away from the South. Something still bothered him. This appeared too easy. Shamus is smarter than this. What does he have up his sleeve? Growler began to think about the situation. What was he missing. He looked across the battlefield. They were all out in the open. The tall trees were now small bushes. That is it. Shamus is drawing them into the open. He turned quickly to Pierre. Through the battle, Growler finally made eye contact with Pierre. Fall back quickly back into the trees. Pierre suddenly realized the situation as well. He commanded his men to retreat. They needed to draw Shamus toward them not the other way around. Slowly the battle began to drift back toward the trees. The Owls were circling above them. The tactic was working. Growler’s men drew back further.

Suddenly there was a crash of trees behind them. What Growler had feared was now happening. Shamus had laid a trap and now his forces were springing it into action. The trees around them exploded as creatures advanced from within. These were not men, nor Terrordons but something more dreadful. Sledgtonigs began to move from the trees. Shamus had unleashed the foul creatures. Growler knew now that they were originally other creatures transformed. Growler and Pierre knew they had been had. Now they must act to survive.

“Back to the cave!” shouted Pierre. The creatures came at them. The Owls began to lose the air battle. Parmesis ordered them back to the cave as well. There the team could hold them off for awhile until they could figure out a new game plan. The ground they had won was now surrendered back to Shamus and his foul creatures. The Sledgtonigs were breaking down the defenses. The owls which had beaten back the Terrordons, had little affect on the Sledgtonigs. The Owls all flew into the opening as well. Pierre and Growler order the men to fortify the cave barring the entrance with stones. Shamus’s force stopped outside the cave. Parmesis, Growler and Pierre gathered to brainstorm.

“Ok, Shamus now has us trapped. What do we do now?” Pierre challenged Growler.

“At least we are safe in here for now and hopefully Shamus has his attention on us. Joliet now needs to get the rest to safety beyond the hills to the south.” Growler added his face falling upon Pierre’s.

Joliet had finally gotten the last of the villagers out of the air tunnels on onto shore. A short march through the reeds and further south over the hills and they were free and safe. Joliet could hear the battle on the other side of the lake. Strange screeching noises. She was curious and angry at being given the duty of handling the people instead of fighting. She began to lead the villagers through the reeds. The ground was soft and the air was foul. Some of the children began to complain.

“Shut up! We are to make no sounds. Parents keep the children quiet or we will all pay.” Joliet was in no mood to be nice.

The path was slow but finally they made it through the reeds. The lake was now disappearing behind them. Joliet relaxed a little after about an hour and no sign of Shamus’s men. The horde came upon an open field of high grass. Joliet knew they would be sitting ducks but there was no sign of any trouble. She began to lead them through the fields. Slowly the villagers crept through the grass. Some of the children had never been up top so the air and the sounds of the wind alarmed them. Joliet continued to move up and back down the line encouraging the people onward. Things were going smoothly.

As the last villagers entered the grasslands suddenly they were attacked from all sides. The few men who had weapons circled around the women and children. They were being attacked by wolves. The wolves kept their distance but encircled the villagers. Joliet and the men did not advance either. Joliet wondered why the wolves did not attack completely, it was if they herding the villagers. She could not afford to attack and leave a gap in the defenses. She had led them into a trap. Her anger boiled up to the top. There was only one way, up. She quickly instructed the villagers to continue to move along the trail that led up. The wolves were on three sides, only this way there had been no wolves. If this was a trap then maybe she could buy some time and see if Growler and the others could gain success. The climb was hard but the wolves stayed their distance. As the last villagers left the flat road the wolves remained on the ground level. Something made them not want to continue following the villagers. Joliet smiled a bit. Whatever lay ahead must be better than staying and being eaten by wolves. She instructed the last men to build torches and barricade the path up. Joliet’s only hope was that they were not walking straight into the Terrodons nests. She would have to deal with that when they got there.

After Joliet had cleared the bottom and was out of sight. Angus and his men came out of the woods. Angus smiled. He thought to himself. We have them now. Shamus will be pleased that the trap worked so well. They are heading to a mountain top cage. No escape but back down this thin path. Shamus will have his day with them and he will be pleased with us. Angus thought of his reward. Shamus would finally be thankful of his work. A small smile grew upon his face.

“Barricade the cave! Instruct the Terrodons to drop the boulders in front of the cave’s entrance. We will trap them inside” Shamus commanded from the sky.

Shamus was now riding one of the Terrordons.

“There is no escape from that cave except through the Dragon. She will not allow them to pass. They will be burned alive.” Shamus glee was spilling out of him.

As the last boulder dropped in front of the door sealing the prisoners inside Shamus chuckled to himself.

“Now let’s get back to the hill and see what Angus has captured.”

“What do we do now?” Pierre asked Growler as the entrance to the cave closed down in darkness.

The Owls eyes adjusted to the dark within moments. Growler instructed his men to light a fire within the room. The Owls were able to see in the dark and retrieve the dry elements to be used for the fire. Soon the large room was filled with firelight. The air was heavy but the fire grew in intensity. There must be air coming in from somewhere Pierre thought. As the room grew lighter his view of the room increased and he was able to see a tunnel in the back of the cave. At the entrance to the tunnel he held some loose dirt, he let the dirt fall and as he expected the dirt fell into the tunnel. A draft created by the warm air from the fire would lead them out.

“Growler, here is the way out.” Pierre began to led them through the tunnel.

Pierre was cautious as he went. He had been in a tunnel before and he knew that anything could be waiting for them. Shamus wanted them in this cave for a reason, just what that was he did not really want to find out. The tunnel was too tight for the Giant Owls to pass. Growler promised he would return for them as soon as he could. The leader, Almesis understood. They were to stay in the great hall and the men would explore the caves.

Ben and Lucy prepared themselves for the final obstacle. The previous two were hard and Ben and Lucy were both covered in sweat. Charnac paused and stole a look to Eloise. Eloise smiled back. Ben and Lucy fully understood now how strong the connection was between those two. Ben and Lucy had that strength as well. The power of twins. They smiled at each other.

“Let’s do this” Ben exclaimed.

“Very well, young one. This will require your utmost concentration.” Eloise commented.

“Let’s get started.” Charnac instructed them.

“Focus on the center of your sight view. No matter what you see remain focused on the center. Remember these are only images you will always be right here in this room hand in hand with us all. The bond between us must not be broken.” Charnac was firm.

Ben and Lucy prepared for the final challenge. Charnac soon began.

“Close your eyes and remove any thoughts from your head. Focus on me and what I am saying. Find the center and remain there. We must break through this barrier. Then the curse will be lifted.” Charnac continued to instruct them.

The team focused on the images as they began to appear in each one’s head. The four of them sat in their places with eyes closed. Charnac was eager to continue and immediately began to instruct the team.

“Now see the images in the center. You should see a dome. Do you all see it?”

“Yes, I see it.” Lucy responded first.

“It’s yellowish green.” Ben added.

“Yes, that is it. Now focus hard and see if you can penetrate the outer surface.”

“Ouch. I feel a sharp pain in my head.” Ben was the first to say.

“Me too, it’s now burning.” Lucy added.

“That is it. You will have to endure the pain. You can cry out, but whatever you do don’t break the focus.”

“Ben, it hurts so much. ” Lucy was screaming

“Hang on Lucy, we need to do this to get back home.” Ben responded.

“I see it cracking. There a little red dot on the top.” Eloise noted.

“Yes, continue.” Charnac was sweating as they all were. The heat was intense and the fire was burning within their foreheads.

The red dot began to intensify. The heat in the room also rose. The dome was cracking. Steam rose from the red color circle in the middle of the floor. The image of the dome was now falling apart as the pieces fell away the red light got more and more intense. Lucy began to moan louder.

“Hang on Lucy.” Ben was the first to say.

“It’s so bright, it hurts.” Lucy cried with tears streaming down her face.

“Almost there Lucy, keep your focus. Look beyond the light.” Charnac coached.

The dome finally burst into pieces. Lucy screamed and let go. The four all let go and were thrown away from the center of the room. A force blew their chairs over. All was dark.