Tedi rose early and looked around in the pre-light darkness of the campsite. He was sure that he had heard something, but nothing seemed amiss. Suddenly, he heard it again and looked towards the sound. Someone was doing something just outside the clearing. Gently, he nudged Arik awake and held his finger to his lips. Arik took a few moments to acclimate himself to his surroundings in the dark. Slowly the boys tiptoed towards the sound, always keeping the trees between them and the mysterious person in the woods.
Arik, who was the quieter of the two boys, used a hand signal to tell Tedi to stay back and continued slowly forward. After gaining a few more trees, Arik stiffened and shook his head. Cautiously, Arik turned around and retraced his steps back to Tedi. He signaled for Tedi to follow and led the way back to their sleeping areas. “It’s Garth,” Arik whispered, “and he is digging graves. He is just finishing the second grave, but I can see two more outlined in the dirt.”
“We have to tell the newcomers,” Tedi whispered. “Maybe with their
… their powers, they can help us escape.”
Arik nodded his head in agreement and the boys headed across the clearing to where Fredrik and Niki were sleeping. The first light was already appearing when the boys reached Fredrik’s side. Gently, Arik shook him and held his finger to his lips so Fredrik did not shout.
“We have trouble," Tedi said softly. “Get your friend up quietly and quickly.”
Fredrik half rolled and half crawled the short distance to Niki’s blanket and simply put his hand over her mouth. Niki’s eyes popped open widely and she stared up into Fredrik’s face. When Fredrik was sure that she understood his warning, he withdrew to a sitting position.
Niki sat up and looked around and saw the other two boys. “What is going on?” she whispered.
“Garth is digging four graves,” Tedi explained softly. “We may need your special talents to get us out of here before he discovers that we are awake.”
“Are the Dark Riders really camped close to us?” Fredrik asked softly.
When Arik nodded his head, Fredrik continued, “That would not be a good idea. Kalina is correct that they would detect us if we cast anything major or more than one minor spell. We should just sneak off and hope to lose them both.”
“You will never lose Garth by sneaking off,” Tedi assured the newcomers. “He can track the wind through the branches of a tree by the scent it left behind. And for some reason, I expect that he would follow us until he found us, no matter how long it took.”
“Even so,” Niki interrupted, “if we got enough of a lead on him, we could use magic to stop him cold once we were away from the Dark Riders and their witch.”
Arik smiled and nodded his head. “That just might work,” he agreed.
Just then, the door to the wagon opened and Kalina stepped out. She looked around the campsite and her eyes stopped on the four children. “It is good to see the four of you getting along so well,” she commented,” but it is time to start the day. Arik, get the fire started. Tedi, get water for coffee. Has anyone seen Garth this morning?”
Four quickly shaking heads met Kalina’s blue eyes. “Very well,” she said. “Fredrik, observe Arik and the fire so you will know what to do in the future. Niki, you can help me with the food.”
Arik quietly started building the fire and Tedi nervously grabbed buckets and headed off towards the stream. Niki followed Kalina as though she was going to be prepared for cooking instead of the breakfast. Fredrik walked over to Arik and whispered, “We will have to play along until the right moment and breakfast will be welcome if we have to spend days on the trail trying to shake Garth. He can’t really do anything until all four of the graves are done, anyway, and you said he had completed only two.”
Kalina and Niki quickly had breakfast going with more of the strange, large eggs and slabs of bacon. The smell of the campfire and the cooking bacon lured Garth out of the woods and he came over and sat by Kalina. The four others huddled together on the other side of the fire and everyone ate in silence.
Finally, Garth put his empty plate down and looked across the campfire at the others. “Today is going to be an unusual day,” he began. “As you can see we are eating earlier than normal and there will be no practice sessions. Arik and Tedi, you two have a special task ahead of you. I need you two to finish digging some holes for me, very large holes.”
Tedi and Arik looked at each other with their mouths hanging open. “I am not feeling well today,” Tedi quickly blurted out.
“Perhaps it was something we ate or the effects of the magic last night, but I don’t feel really well, either,” Arik got out.
Garth looked at the two boys suspiciously as well as the almost concealed grins of the other two children. Something was going on with the four of them that he did not understand, but he would not allow it to get in the way of the plan he had for them this morning. “It is unfortunate that you two do not feel well,” he said slowly, “because it will make the digging appear worse than it really is, but make no mistakes, you two will finish the digging if it kills you.”
Niki leaped to her feet, spilling her plate and her second helping of food on the ground. Placing her hands on her hips, she glared at Garth and Kalina. Fredrik slowly rose and placed his hand on her shoulder, but this time it was in a show of support rather than a reprimand.
“Niki is right,” Fredrik stated clearly. “We both have powers that we would prefer not to use right now because of the Dark Riders, but we will if we have to and damn the consequences. You are not going to order Arik and Tedi to dig their own graves.”
Arik and Tedi also rose and placed their hands on the hilts of the swords they had managed to get on while doing their breakfast chores. Kalina stood with a smile on her lips, but Garth rose with a scowl on his face.
“They are not digging their own graves,” Garth said flatly, “they are digging yours. I have already finished theirs. If you children are quite finished with your mutiny, I will describe my plan.”
The scene around the campfire appeared frozen and nobody spoke. Niki, who would have already attacked by now, felt patience and reassurance from Fredrik’s hand on her shoulder. Arik and Tedi knew the minute they drew their swords, Garth would strike them down. They had been practicing two on one with Garth for several days now and they knew they were not even close to being ready to take him on.
“The Dark Riders will most certainly be here this morning,” Garth continued. “If any of you are seen, we will have to do battle and destroy them all. The graves that you speak of are holes for you to hide in. I have already cut strips of wood to hold canvas over the holes, so that the dirt piled on top of you will be very thin. You will be able to easily get out if something should happen to Kalina and myself. I have cut long reeds for you to breath through and the excavated dirt will be spread evenly over the ground just before I reposition the horses to ring the area. The Dark Riders will not give it a second glance.”
Fredrik and Niki looked stunned and the two boys from Lorgo sported deep red faces as they sat back down. Kalina went around and refilled the coffee mugs as Fredrik and Niki also sat back down.
“Niki cannot stand enclosed spaces,” Fredrik stated. “We will have to devise something else for her.”
Garth nodded thoughtfully and resumed his seated position. “Just as well,” he finally said. “We have already wasted too much time arguing about the two incomplete holes. I think I can arrange to strap the two of you up underneath the wagon so that you will not be noticed. The only danger is if they ask us to move the wagon. The strapping would hurt severely and perhaps even break if we had to move it over any distance. It will have to do, though, and we had better get to it.”
Arik was sent off to arrange a string line for the horses that would screen the two holes, while Garth slid under the wagon and began fastening leather straps that would hold Fredrik and Niki tight to the floor of the wagon. Kalina and Niki cleaned up the campsite and removed all traces of anything that might indicate that there were more than two people here. Tedi and Fredrik worked to spread the dirt that was extracted from the two holes.
Everything took around two hours and after the children were all secure, Garth collected his black stallion and the white mare and tied them gently to the side of the wagon. Less than half an hour later, three Dark Riders rode into the campsite and stared at Garth and Kalina who were sitting idly at the campfire.
“What brings gypsies this far inland?” asked one of the Dark Riders.
Garth looked up lazily from his cup of coffee. “Lack of people chooses our path,” Garth said. “If you wish a moment’s rest on your journey, you may have a cup of coffee before you depart.”
One of the Dark Riders dismounted and walked over to Garth while the other two let their eyes roam over every inch of the campsite. “I am called Klarg,” the Dark Rider announced as he sat by the fire and waited for Kalina to get him a cup of coffee. “Have you seen any people come by this way?”
“We are gypsies,” Garth stated. “We have not even seen you come by.”
Klarg did not smile at Garth’s remark, but seemed to be studying the man in black. “You are rather well armed for a gypsy. Do you not fear traveling alone?”
“The world is an unsettled arena,” Garth reflected. “We all know fear from time to time, but fear does nothing to change the facts. You travel this same land with only three of you and you are also well armed. This only shows that we both know that to travel this land in small numbers requires at least a show of strength.”
“I do not care for riddles, gypsy,” Klarg stated impatiently. “Where have you traveled from? Have you been near the coast?”
“We have been here for some time now,” Garth answered. “I have seen the coast before, but not on this trip. There are too many people along the coast and bandits congregate where people live.”
Klarg chewed his lip and stared back at his men. One of the Dark Riders nodded towards the woods at the far side of the clearing and Klarg’s eyes followed the direction indicated. Even from where he was, he could see the stand of horses once he knew where to look. Klarg rose and walked across the clearing to the horses. He stared at the string of horses and returned to the campfire.
“You have many horses, gypsy,” Klarg declared, “and unless my eyes grow weary, I recognize some of them as having belonged to associates of mine. How is this possible?”
“All things are possible,” Garth stated dryly. “We have been fortunate on this trip to run across horses roaming free. Some of them did, indeed, have saddles. Gypsies are known for taking what other people abandon. If your associates care to claim their horses and come to us, we will be glad to return their animals for the cost of caring for them. For that matter, we will gladly sell you the horses and you can deal with your associates as you like.”
Klarg snorted at the comment of the gypsies finding the horses. Gypsies were well known for stealing horses and reselling them to their previous owners. The occupation of horse thief suited this armed man more than traveling gypsy, but he would let Wolinda decide.
“You two will accompany me to our camp,” Klarg stated authoritatively. “We shall let others decide what to do with you.”
Klarg’s two men immediately became alert to the possible outbreak of trouble. Garth casually stood up and turned towards the two men.
“We will favor you with our company,” Kalina said, “but we will not be gone from our wagon for a great period of time. There may be bandits around and we do not give up our belongings easily. You will assure us that the questions will be asked quickly so that we may return in a short span of time.”
Klarg did not reply, but waited for the gypsies to mount up. “You will respond to Kalina,” Garth prompted, “or we will not travel with you. You have assurances to give.”
Klarg snorted, “You are assured.” Klarg silently laughed at the gypsies’ demand for assurance. Any fool who took the word of a Dark Rider was a fool indeed.
Garth and Kalina untied their horses from the side of the wagon and mounted them bareback. Klarg led the procession while his two men rode behind Garth and Kalina. Several moments after Fredrik heard the horses ride out of the campsite, he undid the straps holding him tight to the bottom of the wagon. Fredrik looked around the campsite from under the wagon before quickly undoing Niki’s straps and the two of them stretched their muscles. Fredrik jogged over to the horses and peeled back a small section of canvas from each of the holes. Arik and Tedi climbed out and inhaled deeply.
“I will never feel comfortable breathing through a tube,” Arik quipped. Looking around he added, “Where are Garth and Kalina?”
“The Dark Riders took them away,” Fredrik said. “They asked about the horses and whether they had seen anyone since camping here.”
“You were able to hear the conversation?” Tedi asked, shivering with the thought of being that close to Dark Riders.
“All of it,” Fredrik declared as the three boys headed towards the wagon. “Garth and Kalina certainly sounded pretty calm in front of the Dark Riders. I’m not sure if they will be coming back.”
“Where is Niki,” Tedi asked. “Didn’t you untie her?”
Fredrik froze by the campfire and started looking all around the campsite. “I did untie her before I came to get you two,” he exclaimed. “Where has she gone off to?”
Just then, the three boys heard a thump from inside the wagon. They scrambled over each other in their attempt to open the wagon door. Arik was first to get there and threw open the door. Niki shot bolt upright at the sound and finally let out her breath when she saw who it was.
“Are you trying to scare me to death!” Niki exclaimed as she returned to her searching.
“What are you doing?” demanded Arik. “She will skin us alive if she catches you in there.”
Fredrik and Tedi crowded into the doorway, craning their necks to get a good view of inside of the wagon. “This may be our only chance to find out who they are,” Niki asserted. “Why don’t the three of you go back outside and watch to see if they are returning?”
The three boys tumbled out of the doorway and paced around outside. “I can’t believe she is doing that,” declared Arik.
“I think it is a good idea,” remarked Tedi, “if she knows something good when she sees it.”
Niki came out of the wagon, struggling to carry a long package wrapped in canvas. “This was too long to unwrap inside,” she smirked, “but I think it is important. It was so well hidden, that it must be very valuable. The wagon had been modified just to hide this.”
Tedi smiled and thought he might grow to like this red-haired girl. The four of them gathered to help unroll the canvas wrapping. The article had obviously been wrapped for years and the ties were old and brittle. When they had succeeded in unrolling the canvas, they discovered an ancient sword in a jewel-bedecked scabbard. The hilt of the sword was gold with intricate carvings, but it was also devoid of the gems that so obviously once adorned the hilt.
“Somebody has already stolen the gems from it,” Tedi remarked. “This probably once belonged to a king. Do you think Garth and Kalina stole it?”
Four pair of hands probed the empty sockets in the hilt as if measuring the huge size of the gems that used to be there. “I’ll bet if they were diamonds, one of them would have been worth enough to live like a prince for a lifetime,” Fredrik spoke.
“What are a pair of gypsies doing with something like this?” Arik mused, unaware of the pair of eyes that were watching him from the woods.
One of the boys turned the sword over to look at the other side. This side of the hilt was similar to the other side, except in place of the large holes where the gems used to reside, was a single line of glass beads and one of them was missing. Niki looked down at the canvas and found the missing glass bead. “Look what you oafs have done,” she scowled holding up the bead.
“Why blame us?” Fredrik asked. “You’re the one who brought this thing out of the wagon. Maybe we can just stick it back in and wrap the sword up again.”
Niki tried to stick the bead back into the sword hilt, but it would not stick. “It is no use,” she sighed. “I think we ought to wrap it back up and plead ignorance if they ever notice it was disturbed.”
“That is if they ever return from the Dark Riders,” Fredrik mentioned.
As if summoning a great evil would call it down on yourself, the four children looked up at the sound of horses entering the clearing. Garth and Kalina continued to ride towards the group of children and the expressions on their faces were not friendly. Niki was still holding the glass bead and she immediately put her hands behind her back.
“So,” Kalina admonished, “this is the type of children we protect from the Dark Riders. Children who rifle through someone’s belongings the moment they are out of sight.”
“Perhaps we waste our time on these vagabonds,” Garth added. “Surely, the Children of the Prophecy would not be the type to steal from people who are devoting their lives to protecting them.”
The four children backed themselves up until their feet were pressed against the stone ring around the campfire and, still, Garth and Kalina rode slowly towards them. The pair of eyes in the woods opened widely as they watched the scene below in the clearing.
Garth and Kalina dismounted and let the horses roam free. Together they continued forward towards the children. Kalina looked down at the sword and gasped. She noticed the missing glass bead and her face contorted in fury. “Garth,” she steamed, “they were vandalizing it for the stones.”
Garth stopped and bent down and picked up the ancient sword. He turned it over and looked at the jewels in the scabbard and then turned it over to examine the glass beads in the hilt. Seeing the bottom glass bead as the only missing piece, he slowly lowered the sword to the canvas.
Straightening up, he approached the group of children who were standing with their backs to the fire. The children tried to cringe away from the imposing gypsy, but there was nowhere to go.
“We didn’t mean to harm it,” Arik blurted out. “It was an accident. Honest!”
“He’s telling the truth,” Fredrik offered. “Besides, Arik and Tedi had nothing to do with it. They didn’t even know that Niki and I were looking through your wagon and we were only doing it to try to determine who you are.”
“Nothing gives you the right to go through our belongings,” Garth bellowed. “Nothing! If Tedi and Arik had nothing to do with it, at least they could have stopped it.”
Niki brought her empty hand out in front of her and prepared to hurl a Force Bolt at Garth. As her arm straightened in front of her, it grew cold and blue. Niki stared at her arm in disbelief as it grew colder and bluer and ice began to form on it. She looked over at Kalina and saw the thin smile of satisfaction on Kalina’s lips.
“She’s a witch!” Niki screamed. “She’s a witch and she’s frozen my arm.”
The three boys looked at Niki’s arm and turned their horrified gaze towards Kalina. Kalina simply continued to smile at them.
Fredrik glared at Kalina. “Release her from your spell, witch,” he demanded. “Release her at once.”
When Kalina made no move to restore Niki’s arm, Fredrik reached for the power to teach the gypsy the meaning of real power. His face turned to wonderment and continued its transformation to a mask of rage when he found out that something was blocking his ability to reach the power. No. Not something, someone. He looked over at Kalina again and, still, she stood smiling.
“Do not try any more of your tricks,” she said softly. “I find them offensive and inhospitable.”
Fredrik realized that if Kalina could shut him off from the power, any other spell he might try on her would result in disaster. “So, you do work for the Dark One,” he said. “Your little ruse about the Dark Riders being after us, was just an excuse to make us think we were safe until you could get out of us whatever it is you are after. Well, you will get nothing out of me. I would rather die than serve you.”
Garth stepped forward and thrust out his hand. “Give me the glass bead,” he demanded.
Niki tried to lean back away from his outstretched hand and tripped over the rock ring of the campfire. Garth’s hand shot out and grabbed her tunic just before she fell into the fire. Niki’s hand opened in a reflex action to break her fall and the glass bead rolled off her fingertips into the fire.
The glass bead exploded in a shower of sparks and a great cloud of smoke erupted over the campfire. Arik and Tedi each dove to one side of the campfire and Fredrik turned around and fell on his back. Garth pulled Niki towards him and squatted as she turned to face the fire. Everyone stared in amazement as the smoke billowed up and radiated every color imaginable. The center of the cloud of smoke cleared and the distinct image of a blue fairy appeared next to a large, blue sapphire. The fairy appeared to be addressing a large gathering of green and blue fairies gathered in front of a huge oak tree. Only the oak leaves gave size and dimension to the fairies, which looked like they could ride an oak leaf like a magic carpet.
The blue fairy next to the sapphire had wings on her back and spoke to the assembled audience. These are the words that she spoke: Your blood will flow ‘til none is left While darkness around you descends On Holy Sapphire all you have Fate of the Fairies do depend The Crown of Light the Fairies’ Life Without it all are doomed to die The Holy Sapphire just a patch Redemption only just a lie
The vision slowly faded until only the blue sapphire remained and then it, too, winked out. The cloud congealed and was sucked into the fire. As the stunned watchers gazed, the fire erupted in sparks again and a blue glass bead flew out of the campfire and struck the ancient sword exactly at the place where the glass bead had been. The sword vibrated with melodious metal tones and started spinning around and around until it finally stopped with a jerk, pointing north.