Ross Lawhead (47 page)

Gád, satisfied that his cut was clean, rubbed some balm onto another sheet of cotton and removed a roll of bandages from the box. “Niðergeard is a hostile occupying force in this land, a malignant dictatorship. They want to control us, make us live in the past with them, give up our identities, our hopes and dreams—make us something less than human. Deny us of our basic humanity, our chance to be glorious.”

“I know what you're try—” Freya began, but was cut off again.

“Would you help me with this?” he asked. “Could you hold this bandage, just behind the shoulder here? It's rather hard to reach . . .”

Freya cautiously rose and helped Gád bandage himself.

“Let me ask you a question. Was it
your
idea to come here? To go on some sort of mysterious quest underneath the surface of the earth?”

Freya didn't answer, but Gád didn't need her to.

“Of
course
it wasn't,” Gád continued, winding the bandage around his chest with difficulty. “Imagine asking that of a
child
. They tricked you. They blindfolded you with their lies, told you all sorts of fantastic tales until your head started spinning, and when you were all mixed up, they took off the blindfold and pushed you where they wanted you to go. I do give them credit for their cleverness— but the fact remains that they perpetuate a sick, twisted, perverted doctrine designed to extinguish all of the brilliant and wonderful flames of humanity. The truth will always come out—I believe that. And
that
is why I stand against Niðergeard, for the sake of all the people in this world who are powerless to do so.”

The two regarded each other silently. Freya sat staring at Gád, who had raised his hands and now held them steepled beneath his chin.

“It won't work,” Freya said, now uncertainly. “My friends are going after your heart right now, as we speak. If you're trying to twist my mind around, or anything, it won't work.”

Gád pinned his bandage down and settled back into his chair with a sigh. “Yes, I understand that.” He shook his head. “Fortunately, I have prepared for all of this, and they are doing precisely what they must do in order to help me. Indeed, let us see how they're getting on.”

A remote control appeared in Gád's hand and he pointed it at the antique television across the room. He pressed a button and there was a click, a hum, and a bluish-white picture appeared on the screen.

2

The canal that Daniel and Ecgbryt traveled along sloped down, down, and down, just as the banks beside them rose higher above their heads. The muddy, foul-smelling water rushed ahead of them, sloshing around their calves as it passed. So far the water hadn't risen, just kept getting faster. It was slow going, since the brickwork underfoot was slippery with sludge. Daniel wondered if they were on the right track, but this felt right. He felt a tug inside of him, as if an invisible fishing line were pulling his rib cage forward.

Then they saw the lights. At first they became aware of a blue glow growing around them. As they walked they saw the edge of a wall ahead of them come into sharp relief by the dim blue light. As they got closer, Daniel was aware of a kind of sizzling sound, and when they rounded the corner of the illumined wall, they could see where the light was coming from; in two long rows on each side of the wall were odd-looking orbs stuck on the end of black poles about a foot in height. They gave off a gentle radiance.

Daniel stared into one of the orbs and could just make out the shape of a slowly moving flame, but nothing else.

“Enchantments,” Ecgbryt stated.

“I'll say,” Daniel replied.

They walked cautiously between the strange lights, which made an odd buzzing sound, but no heat. The glow seemed to get in behind the eyeballs and sit in the back of the head. Daniel shuddered but kept going, trying to find comfort by telling himself they were probably on the right track if they were starting to see magic lights guiding them.

They turned another corner and were met with an incredibly strong wind blowing across them. It forced Daniel to blink several times to close his eyes, and when he opened them again, he saw they were at the entrance to an enormous and magnificent cavern shaped like a pyramid. It looked almost half a mile to the other side. The stream they were following emptied into a pool of many levels— about a dozen concentric squares. They could see down almost to the bottom because the blue orbs of light were placed on each step, fizzing gently underwater and still giving off the radiant blue glow. On the ground around the square pool, tall buttresses and columns supported a roof that mirrored its depth and dimensions. Everything was covered in glazed tiles, mostly white but patterned with other colours.

At the far end of the pool, a large column rose like a lectern in a church. Unlike all the other surfaces they could see, this was pure blue stone that was tinged with ripples of white. Light from a hole in the ceiling fell upon its centre and upon a large, manyfaceted box made of crystal that threw the light in all directions.

“This must be it!” Daniel said in an excited whisper to Ecgbryt. “That must be the soul box!”

Then came a scraping sound from both sides of the room. Daniel turned in horror as he heard the distinct and familiar scrabbling sound, and the first of the yfelgópes came into view.

“Hurry, Daniel,” Ecgbryt cried. “We must run!”

They started around the pool at a sprint. Daniel's hand found his sword as Ecgbryt unslung his shield and hefted his axe.

3

“Ah, good,” said Gád. “They've arrived. Let's see if we can . . .” He pressed a couple more buttons on the remote control and the image shifted, zoomed in, and panned to the right. Freya realised that she was seeing a fight taking place—inside of what looked like a giant pyramid.

She picked out Ecgbryt first, the enormous knight swinging his axe at a cluster of yfelgópes. He was mostly just knocking them into the pool in order to move forward as fast as possible. He was standing in front of and trying to protect Daniel, who was following behind him, sword drawn. Occasionally Daniel would stab or slash at an yfelgóp who had rebounded off Ecgbryt but not fallen into the pool.

“Well,” said Gád, “that's going nicely.”

“Nicely?” Freya asked, worried now. “What is it? Is that room some sort of trap?”

“No, not at all. If they do fight their way through my warriors and make it to the box, they will hold power over my soul.”

“So aren't you worried about them getting through?” Freya asked.

“Worried? No, not in the least!” Gád said, smiling warmly at her. “In fact, nothing would make me happier. Do you think that I've truly, earnestly been trying to stop you? You were never in any real danger coming here. Did you think you were?”

Gád was wiping the blood off of his hands with a rag. “No, my dear, the truth is that I want everyone to succeed. That's the whole point of being on this earth, isn't it? To succeed? I
want
Daniel to be a hero. I
need
him to be one. The world needs heroes who are willing to fight and even kill for what they believe. His actions will help me to free millions of people all over the world. People just like you, who want to be free but don't know how to—who don't even know that they
aren't
free!”

“So it
has
all been a trap,” Freya answered hotly.

“My dear, that's what I've been trying to tell you,” said Gád.

“But it's not
my
trap. You have been under
their
control far longer than mine. In fact,
my
control releases you from
theirs
. You've let

Niðergeard rule your life since before you even heard its name. But it doesn't have to be that way now.”

“How can I trust you? How do I know you're telling the truth?”

Gád shifted in his chair and pointed across the room. “Do you see that door over there? It's just like the one you came into the room by. That door will lead you out of these caves—continue straight on until you see the light of day and feel the fresh air on your face. It's not locked. There are no guards on the other side. All you have to do is turn the handle and leave, at any time. That door will lead you home.”

4

The blue column was now looming over Daniel. He could see a stone staircase that led up it. The yfelgópes weren't coming as fast now; the two had managed to create a little circle of protection around them, which the yfelgópes were reluctant to enter. Some had dived into the pool and were swimming across to try to meet them on the far side, but their weapons and scraps of armour made it hard for them.

They raced onwards. Ecgbryt dealt easily with the yfelgópes before them and then they had a clear stretch to the column. Sprinting as hard as they could across the tile floor, they sprang over the corner of the pool and made for the towering stone column at a dead run.

Daniel could feel something pushing him onwards—this must be how heroes felt when they were performing amazing deeds. There was no doubt inside of him; his thoughts were clear. He knew exactly what he had to do and how to do it, and as he reached the first of the stone steps, he knew that he
would
do what he came to do.

“Go, Daniel!” Ecgbryt shouted. “Get to the box!” He kicked an yfelgóp that was climbing out of the pool back into it.

Daniel's feet pounded up the steps, taking two at a time.

He arrived breathless at the top. The crystal box was nearly as big as he was. He could see something black fluttering around in it. There was a small doorway secured only by a latch. He flicked it open and peered inside.

In the box was a creature that had a bulbous, fleshy body, long spidery legs, and wide, flat insect wings. It had a stubby head and a long, pointed, needle-like mouth. It was jumping around like a fish out of water, banging into the sides of the box. Its legs weren't strong enough to hold it, and it was too heavy to fly. Its fleshy abdomen pulsed steadily, like a heart—exactly like a heart. This was Gad's heart—an ugly, black, fluttering thing. The sickness in Daniel's stomach deepened when he opened his eyes and looked down from the high tower to see Ecgbryt fighting some distance below him.

This isn't what heroes do
, Daniel thought, pressing his lips firmly together.
They don't flinch at the last
. He seized control of his emotions, tensed his muscles, and turned back to the box.

Heroes are strong
. He forced his hand to grip the door's latch.

Heroes fight against all odds
. He sheathed his sword and drew the stone knife that Ealdstan had given him.

Heroes destroy anything that is evil
. Without thinking about it any longer, he flipped open the door, spotted the fluttering heart thing, and plunged the knife into it.

5

Freya looked across at the door. “Do you mean it? This leads out of the caves?”

“Absolutely.”

“What if we kill you?”

“Then you can still leave, obviously.”

Freya turned and looked at Swiðgar, lying motionless just outside the door they came in by. “And what about Swiðgar?”

“It's too late for him,” Gád said. “He's dead. I'm sorry. You may have thought of him as a friend, but in time you will come to realise that he was your jailer. You will have to leave him here.”

“You said you'd help him!”

“I was not fast enough, I'm sorry. We talked too long. It was self-defense, if it helps to look at it like that.”

Freya choked back tears. She could cry for him later. She thought about what Gád had said about sunlight and fresh air. She went to the door and tried the handle. It moved easily in her hand. “But what about the people in Niðergeard?” she asked, turning.

“Do you
really
care about them? Freya, you are free. Do you understand? This is what
you
wanted for this. Daniel gets to be a hero, and you get to go home. You both win. You both get what you—”

Gád jerked in his chair. His body tensed, rigid, his muscles fighting against each other, as if having a seizure, his head banging from side to side. It took Freya a moment to realise what was happening, and then it struck her—Daniel must have done it.

She stood, unsure what to do. Wringing her hands, she looked towards the large door that Gád had told her was the exit. Did she dare?

Gád made heaving, vomiting motions but expelled nothing. He looked in unimaginable agony. For long moments he rolled and writhed on the floor, and then finally became still, curled up in a ball, panting.

Exhausted, Gád pushed himself up and stood, swaying, just in front of Freya. His eyes were half-closed, and he seemed not able to see her. He turned and walked to a small table set next to the wall, which had a pitcher on it. He poured clear liquid from that into a small tumbler and took a drink—a few sips at first, and then the whole glass. He clutched at his throat as if it hurt him and then started to laugh.

“I forgot how painful living could be.”

“What just happened?” Freya asked.