Chapter Six

When I awoke after what seemed like twenty-four hours sleep, my whole body was numb and aching. I sat up and looked around the room. Arumag was watching me.
         “I am so very sorry for startling you James, I have been watching over you. You seem to have been dreaming very heavily, perhaps you have seen too much?”
         I didn’t care about my dreams.
         “What…?”
         Arumag raised his hand and I instantly knew that I should be quiet and listen to what the old man had to say.
         “I am worried, James.”
         “Worried? Why?”
         “I am worried about what will become of you, when those who have sworn to protect you, are gone.”
         I was confused, and I had every right to be. Arumag seemed calm, but deep down I knew he was scared. If Arumag was scared, then it obviously was something very serious. He still, however, wasn’t making much sense at all.
         “Gone? What do you mean?”
         “What I mean, James, is, I regret to say that I can feel Death watching over us this very second, like a tiger, waiting for the right moment to pounce. Normally that would be when its prey was least expecting it, and even though I am expecting it, it doesn’t mean I can escape.”
         “You’re worried, aren’t you? About Sam being here?”
“Yes, partly.”
Arumag didn’t look like he was going to say anything else. I laughed. If that was all that Arumag was worried about then there was not much point me worrying.
“He’s fine. There’s nothing to suggest he’s on their side.”
         “And there’s nothing to suggest he’s on our side. It’s no laughing matter James. Daemon could manipulate Sam into telling them our location, they perhaps already have!”
Arumag was getting more panicky now. I could see fear burning like a flame in his eyes. He was not the cool, calm and collected Arumag I once knew, it was like, he had transformed into a man that had nothing left to look forward to in life, and was fighting a battle with himself that he knew he could not win. I decided I should go along with Arumag, to make him feel better. I still didn’t believe him about Sam, but I didn’t like seeing him like that.
“Well let’s get out of here then.”
“Now we come to the part at which I am worried. As much as I have tried, there is no way at present for me to ‘magic’ myself out of here. It is impossible. If I could, we would be having this conversation elsewhere.”
         “Well let’s just leave through the main door then.”
“Also impossible. I cannot open it. It seems someone with great magical power has placed an unbreakable enchantment upon that door, which only they can destroy. I believe, that Sam, is being given some sort of reward, for allowing Daemon to half-possess him, until he has helped them enter our haven. It is my firm belief that now a powerful wizard such as Daemon has shared his soul with Sam, he will be able to do magic forevermore, and powerful magic at that.”
         When Arumag had stopped speaking, he looked at me with his bright green eyes, still burning with fear, and looked into mine. I could only assume what he must have been thinking. I knew that this was all down to me; I had endangered everyone here at the castle. But no, I was tricked. It was Sam. He had done all of this. He was going to suffer, I was going to make him pay! He was going to be punished…
“James, there is something else I need to explain to you; something urgent.”
Urgent? I was worried. How could anything be more urgent than this?
“I regret that we have not had enough time with each other for me to teach you how to properly defend yourself. Of course, you have proved to yourself – and everyone else – that you are extremely talented, and I am more proud of you than you would ever begin to know. However, you still do not know enough. You do not know how to defend yourself with the use of magic. I must ask you James, do you remember K?”
         Of course I remembered K. He was the one that taught me how to fly, how to make small things move with my mind. I owed a lot to him. And then he had abandoned me.
“Yes, of course.”
“When I am gone, seek him out.”
“Gone?”
         “Yes James, gone. When the enemy come calling, for they surely will, I will die. It is a certainty, for it has been foretold. A prophecy I heard long ago is the reason I know this. ‘The day will come when a young traveler will betray the leader of the side to banish evil. The enemy will maim the great one, and his heir will be sapped of his heroic strength. Only when his faithful servant returns to his aid once more will the great one be returned to his full glory. The war will resume and the legend will unfold. If the great one’s true heir shalt fail to find and return his master, there is little hope left, for all of humanity.’ Daemon will half-banish me. I will not be quite alive, but not yet dead. I do not know how long it will be before I die completely, but I do know, that if Andrew kills you, we will all cease to exist, and Daemon and Andrew shall be kings in their world of the dead and the evil. You must not die James. You are all that we have left. Many men will die tonight in trying to save you. Do not try and stop them James, it is for the greater good. It is your health and your health only that can save this world from the cesspit of evil it is sure to become once I am gone. There will be those that think me dead and buried, but it is not so, they will rise up to the only power left and in my absence the dark side will be the most powerful it has ever been, but let none of this stop you James, you are good, you are strong, you are a hero, you will prevail, you are WonderBoy! Promise me you will find K and tell him everything I have told you tonight.”
“Yes master, I promise.”
“Good, be prepared James, they are coming.”

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When the noise finally came that meant that the door was open, I was prepared, physically, but not mentally. Nothing could have prepared me for the day that lied ahead. Most men were gathered in the entrance hall. Arumag knew that only the enchantment upon the door would be lifted, so the only exit of the castle was the giant door at the front. I was sitting in my room when I heard it. There was the creak of the hinges first, then an ear ringing explosion that sent shock waves throughout the whole castle. The door had been blown off its hinges and hundreds of men were pouring in. By this time I was at the top of the staircase, looking down in disbelief at how so very badly outnumbered we were. So many men below were fighting, and what was more, Daemon and his followers were winning. Every few seconds someone fell down.
I had been standing at the top of the staircase for merely two minutes before hatred rose up inside of me. I looked down at the door and in came Andrew. Daemon looked up at me and laughed insanely. He pointed towards me and said something to Andrew. I didn’t hang about. I raced down the stairs, careful to save my energy, but Andrew was too fast. He had reached the foot of the stairs. He looked at me menacingly and said,
“It’s time to die James. The day of the new world is coming, and the likes of you will never stop me!”
He raised his hands to perform the complex bit of magic that I knew he would eventually use to try and kill me. Before he got the chance to complete his task, I kicked him in the head and sent him off balance. I didn’t have it in me to kill him, I was too scared, and if nothing else, he was still the boy I once knew as my friend. I waited till he hit the floor and I towered over him.
“Goodnight Andrew.”
         I lashed out with my foot on the top of his skull and he was out cold. I looked around and could see no sign of Daemon or Arumag. There was nothing I could do now, it was going to happen, if I liked it or not. I raced to the entrance and had to step over so many bodies that it brought tears of despair to my eyes. All of this for a war that could never end? No, it would end, I would end it, I would avenge the lives of these poor souls who gave their whole life to the creation of a better world. They would not have died in vain, they would find peace in the afterlife, and if I could find a way, I would bring them all back so that they could see the world that I had helped create. That was an if, a very big if.
I continued on towards the exit, still stepping over bodies. There was one more till the exit. I leapt over not looking at the fallen soldier’s face. A hand shot up and tripped me as I flew through the air. I landed on my knees and looked back in horror. My father lay there, sprawled over the dead body of his arch-rival, Michael. I looked at my father for a few seconds, he mouthed something that looked to me like, ‘help me.’ I duly obliged. I lifted my father onto my shoulders, and in the midst of all the fighting I was able to carry him out to the yard at the end of the grounds. I turned back to look at the castle for what could possibly have been the last time, and saw figures at the top of the tallest tower. I knew this to be Arumag and Daemon. The black hooded figure moved slowly towards the man dressed in all white, and Arumag was falling, slowly and graciously. Daemon lifted his hands to perform the curse that would end Arumag’s life, and I knew this to be my last chance. I kept hold of my father tightly, and imagined the waiting room in the hospital I had visited merely days before. When my life had been normal.

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         When I arrived in the waiting room I felt weak, and light headed. The young girl on the desk looked up and let a little scream of shock at the sight of us. I looked down at my father and realized he was bleeding so very heavily. It was too much, I threw up to the side of me and the girl came running over.
         “Quick! Help us!”
         She looked down fearfully at my father and then looked at me. She looked as if she was about to question what on Earth had happened, but it seemed she decided against it, and merely nodded. She ran out of the room and returned moments later with three doctors dressed all in white. They lifted him and the girl said that I should follow. I started to walk and fell clumsily to the floor. Perhaps I relied too much on my powers before. My muscles ached and I barely noticed when the girl lifted me to my feet and supported me while I slowly walked towards the room that held my father. When we reached the door I pushed and walked slowly to my father’s side. He was lying very still, too still, and was bleeding heavily. I knew then that it was too much for him to handle, and weakened without his powers he would not survive. I held his hand and squeezed tightly as if that would awaken him and make everything all right again. The doctor put his hand on my shoulder, and began speaking to the other men in the room. He was asking them to leave. No, ordering them to leave. They followed his orders and left quickly.
         “What on earth happened? Is it magic?”
         “I don’t know, I found him like this.”
         “You’re him, aren’t you?”
         “What?”
         “The great one.”
         “No, that’s Arumag.”
         “Not any more, he must be perished, I have no powers.”
         “You have no powers?”
         “Of course not, he was the source of magic to us all, I take it he is dead then?”
         “Yes, well sort of, it’s complicated, but I’m going to bring him back.”
         The man shook his head.
         “Can’t be done m’ boy. You should rise to the only source of power we have left, Daemon. That way you might stay alive.”
         “I somehow doubt it.”
         “You are a fool.”
         The man left the room and the girl looked at me and said nothing.
         “What is your name?”
         “Loreli”
         I didn’t feel like I should say anything else. I looked down at my father. I suddenly felt so alone. Arumag was gone, as well as my other protectors, my father was soon to follow, and my mother was nowhere to be found. I had no-one, no-one except Loreli, who wouldn’t want to take the road I was walking, so I would have to do it alone, with or without the help of ‘K’.
         My father awoke within seconds of these thoughts. He looked weak and when he tried to sit up he laid back down seemingly in agony. He held my hand tightly, and began to speak to me.
         “I’m sorry we’ve not spent much time together James. You’ll make me even more proud in the end James. If there was one thing in my life that I ever did right then it was to be your father. We will see each other again James. There will come the day when the whole world is at peace, when Daemon will be banished and we shall all live in harmony. I know this because I have faith in you. This world can go one of two ways, it can become a living hell for all of its inhabitants, or it can become heaven on Earth. I know this for it has been written. That is up to you James. Find your mother, she will explain everything, she will help you find ‘K’. How I wish it was me helping you on your heroic path. I’m afraid that is not possible James. I have not much time left, I can already see the light, but I am not walking towards it yet, not until I have said what I need to. Forget about Andrew, without Arumag you cannot win. You need him, he is your priority. Never give up James, when you get down, for you surely will, think of me and remember the good times we shared when you were a small boy, think of the good, not the bad, and it will see you through. Remember, with every dark cloud, there is a silver lining. Look for the silver lining, and for every place there isn’t one, make one. I’m leaving now James, someone is calling. Goodbye, good luck. I love you!”
         My fathers grip loosened and I felt numb. The pain was gone. Tears were filling my eyes as I thought not only of my father’s words, but of the memories we shared and the good times passed. I had already lost him once, and now I was losing him again. It was too much to cope with. Something took hold of me and I found myself screaming that it couldn’t be happening, not to me, not something else, I just wanted a normal life, I didn’t want to be special, I didn’t want to be the saviour of the world, I just wanted to be James Poole, a nobody. There was nothing I could do about it. Losing my father just made me more determined to fight Daemon and the power hungry men that followed him. And as for Andrew, when the day finally came for the final showdown, that boy would suffer my wrath, and I would kill him, and the whole world would be as it should, warm, happy and full of love and families. If I found a way of bringing back all that had lost their lives fighting for this cause, then the sooner the better.
         I looked into Loreli’s eyes, and she was watching me intently. She took my hand and whispered for me to follow her. I followed her meekly through a long corridor to an empty room. I sat down and stared up at the ceiling.
         “I know it’s hard. I lost my father a few years ago. There are bigger issues though, that’s how you deal with it.”
         “What are your issues then?”
         “The same as yours. My father died for the same reason as yours did. That will not all be in vain. I know where you’re going, and I’m coming with you, it’s what my father would have wanted.”
         It seemed I was not going to change her mind on this.
         “Are you sure? You know what lies ahead for me? Daemon will show no mercy. It is a long and difficult road ahead, and it will not be very comfortable either.”
         “I know, and that’s what makes it all the more exciting.”
         “Well, if you’re sure. And I suppose I could use the company.”
         “That’s settled then.”
         “Yes, speaking of settling, I have a score to settle with a boy by the name of Sam, a father to bury, and a mother to find. Those are our immediate goals.”
         And so I lay there still, looking at Loreli, and knew that in the end, I will have been grateful for her company, but she was just one more complication in the Gordian knot of complications.