The Destiny of Amalah (109 page)

‘Go now!’ he commanded them. ‘Unless you wish to incur their wrath,’ he said, looking and pointing up to the sky at the ever increasing lightening.

Adriel and Rakan looked up at the lightening sky, turned on their heel and fled and Salwar returned to the monolith and as he returned, three of the gods had already appeared. Salwar turned to leave the temple but they had entombed themselves and him, into the temple; Salwar tried to get some distance between himself and the gods but more of them had appeared by now. Out of curiosity, Rakan had turned back and walked towards the temple again and Adriel shouted at him.

‘Rakan, what are you doing?’ Adriel shouted.

‘I am seeing what becomes of Salwar,’ Rakan replied.

‘We must leave – now!’ Adriel commanded.

‘You go where you like Adriel,’ Rakan said.

‘I command you,’ Adriel screamed.

‘You command no one,’ Rakan said with contempt. ‘Your god now faces the other gods and I am sure he is bound to lose, so that leaves just the two of us Adriel – how powerful do you think you are? More importantly – do you think you are powerfully enough to go up against me?’ Rakan asked. ‘Now that I have cloak?’

‘Yes,’ Adriel spat. ‘
Exussum!
’ he yelled and on his utterance fierce flames shot form his hands and shot towards Rakan.

‘
Contego!
’ Rakan shouted back and raised his hand and the flames stopped short of it.

‘You are going to have to do much better than that,’ Rakan said with complete contempt.

‘Don’t worry, I will…’ Adriel began.

‘
Gelo,
’ Rakan shouted before Adriel finished his sentence, and with his utterance, Adriel froze on the spot and Rakan looked on in approval.

‘
Convello!
’ Rakan commanded in a powerful voice and as said the word, the frozen Adriel shattered into a thousand pieces and scattered along the ground, and then he was no more.

Rakan looked on, satisfied with his achievement and then he turned to the temple of the gods and listened to what they were saying. Some of what they were saying was beyond his comprehension but most of it was in English and Latin, which he understood perfectly. Rakan heard the rumbling and chaos from the temple but he could not see inside, for the gods had blocked all humans from their sight. The rumbling in the cave continued and the ground beneath him shook, but after a while, all became still and quiet and then a masculine voice spoke.

‘Salwar; once a god who lived among us, cast out from the heavens in shame. You defy us and defile the earth that we made a sacred place for humans. What say you?’ the god asked.

‘I say nothing to you – to any of you.’

‘Regardless,’ said the god but then he was interrupted.

‘Where is my rock?’ Zarab asked.

‘I know not,’ Salwar replied. ‘I simply removed it, concealed it from your sight and gave it to a human,’ Salwar said indignantly.

‘You gave the rock to a human?’ another god bellowed.

‘Indeed I did,’ Salwar answered as a smile now crossed his lips. ‘Will you interfere?’

‘No,’ replied one.

‘No,’ replied them all.

The gods talked amongst themselves in panicked and hushed tones and they sometimes turned to stare at Salwar, who was now bound in the centre of the temple.

‘That was beyond unforgivable,’ a female god said. ‘Do you know what you have done?’ she asked him.

‘I know,’ he replied smugly.

The god who had begun talking to Salwar began again: ‘We are all agreed Salwar, that what you have done is unforgivable, not to mention irreparable. You know we cannot and will not intervene in human affairs. Long ago we cast you out of the heavens, we cast you out in the hope that perhaps one day, with the passing of millennia’s you would redeem yourself – you have not. You are not fit to be called a god but alas, you were made as one and yet, you behave worse than any human. You have become more bitter and arrogant as each moment passes and you are hell bent on destroying that which we created.’

‘You can no longer be allowed to do so,’ the female god interjected.

‘No you cannot,’ continued the masculine god. ‘From this day on and for all eternity, we cast you out of earth realm and we cast you out of any realm where humans dwell.’

‘No!’ Salwar screamed.

‘Yes – it will be so. Wherever humans dwell you may not enter. Now we cast you down to the depths of wherever it is that you have made a home for yourself.’

Salwar began to roar with objection and as he screamed, the ground beneath him fell away and gave birth to a black abyss. Salwar hovered above the space but the other gods used their powers together and forced him down into it. As soon as a screaming Salwar entered the abyss, it took hold of him and dragged him further and further down for miles on end until he was out of their sight and when they were satisfied he was gone; the gods sealed the ground and began to talk among themselves.

Rakan had heard all that went on and when he knew that Salwar was no longer the focus of their attention, he turned and ran, for he did not want to stand before them. Rakan ran as fast as he could for about two miles with the Rock of Zarab firmly in his grasp and when he felt safe within the woodlands he stopped. It did not take him long to gather his breath and when he recovered, he teleported himself back to the cave where he had awoken in Adriel’s care and sat down. He gathered his thoughts and he thought of Adriel being destroyed and then Salwar being banished and then he remembered the god’s words.

‘We cast you out of any realm where humans dwell.’

As Rakan remembered those words, a smile appeared on his face and it grew wider and wider, and then it turned onto a laugh as it dawned on Rakan that he was now truly free of Salwar, and he would be for as long as he lived – they all would be, he thought to himself.

Rakan Stood up and paced around the cave and thought to himself. He thought and thought until the beginnings of a plan formulated in his mind and he continued to pace, until the plan was fully formulated in his mind.

When Rakan was happy, he covered the Rock of Zarab in a black silk sack and placed it on the ground; he began to speak in the deep and powerful voice he used whenever he was using magic.

‘Soil of the earth, earth that lives,
I command you, house this Rock, until another comes and calls on it.
Take forth the Rock of Zarab.
Take forth now.’

As Rakan finished, the ground began to rumble and the earth under the Rock of Zarab began to crumble. Rakan bent down and placed a piece of quartz inside of the black silk sack and closed his eyes and spoke powerfully:

‘See the quartz, see the Rock.’

The quartz rock began to glow from inside the sack and they both began to sink into the ground, Rakan remained on one knee until the rock and the glowing quartz disappeared from sight. He took out a square piece of leather and his oils and he began to draw a map of where he was. He drew in the caves and the surrounding trees and took steps, which he counted from the Rocks location, to the edge of the cave and to the nearest trees on the east and west side. When the map was complete, it was sparse but accurate and it held no identifications as to its location.

As he stood up the ground began to return to normal and by the time he returned to the makeshift bed as the ground looked as though it had never been disturbed. Rakan looked at the spot approvingly and then lay down on the bed to catch a few hours sleep before the new day arrived. He rested his head on the cushion and as he thought of his new found freedom, he smiled to himself and drifted off into a deep sleep with thoughts of his plans for everyone in Amalah.

***

When the new day arrived in Amalah Amara and Michael awoke in each others arms. They kissed and made love and then rose to face the new day together.

The first matters of the day which played on everyone’s mind was the disappearance of Adriel and what to do with the prisoners; as such, Amara and Michael met with Ellora, Garrick and the remaining council. Those also in attendance were the three warriors: John, Callan and Hemi. The three sorcerers: Zach, Imogen and Hassan and the three seers: Dale and Yakira of the council and Joaquin. When the meeting began they all welcomed the Empress back warmly and then got down to business immediately.

‘Garrick informs me that Adriel has escaped from his prison,’ Amara told everyone in the room.

There were gasps of collective shock and many of the heads shook in disappointment that the war they had fought, had not brought matters to an end. All eyes remained on Garrick and Amara and it was Garrick who spoke next.

‘I have guards scouring the nations as we speak, if Adriel is going to make a move, I am sure he will make it in Amalah and with Rakan by his side, as the two of them have been in league with each other for the longest time.’

‘I do not think that Rakan works with Adriel any longer,’ said Dale. In fact I do not think that Adriel is of this world any more,’ she told the others.

‘You mean he is dead?’ Callan asked.

‘I would say so but I cannot be completely sure,’ said Dale. ‘However I would say that Adriel is dead, or that death is very soon going to be upon him.’

The council relaxed a little more but they still looked to Amara and to Garrick, to decide what would happen next.

‘We cannot rest until we have confirmation of Adriel’s death or he is back in custody,’ Garrick said. ‘I will therefore keep the guard on search until this matter is resolved.’

Amara looked at Garrick and nodded her head in agreement before she spoke again. ‘The question remains,’ said Amara. ‘What do we do with the prisoners –they cannot remain this way indefinitely?’

‘It is the only prison that will hold them all,’ said Callan.

‘Send them away?’ said a council member.

‘Wherever we send them they will return,’ said Amara

‘Wherever we send them on this world,’ Dale said thoughtfully.

‘What do you mean Dale?’ Garrick asked.

‘I mean they cannot remain in our world,’ Dale said.

‘We cannot execute them Dale,’ Amara said horrified.

‘Why not?’ Yakira asked.

‘If we execute them in cold blood we become them,’ Amara said earnestly. ’We cannot do that – we simply cannot,’ she insisted.

‘I know that Empress,’ Dale said evenly. ‘And I do not for one minute suggest their execution.’

‘Then what do you suggest Dale of Parades?’ Amara asked.

‘I suggest we send them to another world, one from which they cannot return.’

The room went silent and all eyes were on Dale. Dale kept her gaze steady and then she looked around at those who stared at her until her gaze came back to Amara.

‘Is there another world beyond this one?’ Amara asked the young seer.

‘I sense that there is,’ Dale replied.

‘It would take the most powerful and darkest of magic’s to send them to another world,’ Thaddeus said anxiously.

‘Indeed it would,’ agreed Imogen.

‘If the gods created this world and others, I am certain that we will need their permission to tamper with them,’ said Ellora, warning the others.

‘I agree,’ said Garrick. ‘What you are saying is beyond our power – or should be beyond our power.’

‘Then we will call on them,’ Amara said rising to her feet.

‘When?’ Garrick asked.

‘Now,’ she answered. ‘Dale, do you have any idea of how we will fare?’ Amara asked.

‘No, I do not Empress,’ Dale replied solemnly.

‘A god walked among us and interfered in our affairs, contrary to their own law,’ Ellora said raising her voice. ‘He cast us into despair and darkness and the gods remained silent. We defeated him and his army, now we ask for their help; which, on this one occasion we are at a loss, they should give it to us – unless…’ Ellora trailed off.

‘Unless they have abandoned us,’ Garrick said, thinking of his youngest son as he uttered the words.

‘They do not abandon us dear Garrick,’ Dale said softly.

He looked at her with an expression that was a mixture of pain and bewilderment and she held his gaze with her own which was constant and reassuring and when the moment was passed a small thin smile passed Dales lips which Garrick acknowledged and Dale then turned her attention back to the Empress.

‘What choice do we have?’ Dale asked.

‘None,’ Amara said. ‘We call on the gods. Thaddeus, will you call on the seven most powerful sorcerers that you know?’

‘Yes Empress.’

‘Good, then call on them. Tell them to dress for a ritual to the gods and tell them to meet us at the temple immediately – yourself included.’

‘Yes Empress. Consider it done,’ Thaddeus said, as he rose to his feet and made his way out of the Crest Room.

‘Zach, Imogen and Hassan, will you help us?’

‘Yes,’ they replied.

‘Good, then it is settled. Everyone, we will meet at the temple of the gods and call on them and decide the fate of the prisoners from there. This meeting is adjourned,’ Empress Amara said with authority.