Forbidden Quest (21 page)

Prince Cabal reached her as she turned to face a second troll. "No!”  He shouted, thrusting his sword into the stomach of one of her attackers. "Save your strength!"

She flattened herself against the wall as he dove into the remaining three trolls.  Unwilling to stand by idly, she cast an illusion of large brown cave spiders crawling on the trolls. Jack and Nicole jerked as spiders appeared from the ceiling by the thousands, attacking everything in sight.

"They’re not real." Nicole yelled to Jack.

Cabal ignored the spiders striking out at the last of the trolls until they turned to flee.  Cabal grabbed Sarah's arm and pulled her over the troll bodies that littered the cavern floor.  They headed back to the battle at hand.

"Hurry, before the beast grows stronger!" Cabal ordered, rushing past the two adventurers. 

The battle inside the cavern was fierce. Half a dozen warriors lay dead at the creature’s feet.  Cabal shoved Sarah to one side and joined the battle.  He shouted to her as he ran forward. "Do your worst before more
die!
"

The creature had transformed  into a giant blackish purple bear with enlarged claws and an elongated snout
.
Its sleek dark surface gave the bear-beast an unearthly appearance.
Jack rushed forward to attack the creature's head as its jaws sank into the legs of the warrior that had preceded him in the tunnel.
Nicole rushed to his aid. Only three warriors and the Prince remained to battle the beast alongside Jack and Nicole. Sarah called a spell of fire and threw a giant ball of flames at the creature. It staggered backward but was otherwise unaffected.

Again and again she threw the flames at the creature to no avail
.
She called a spell of ice and hurled it into the monster. It screamed in pain as frozen crystals formed on its skin but it did not hesitate to destroy the warrior's swarming around it
.
Slowly it began to push the warriors back and approach her.  It changed into a four-armed creature with claws of steel.  Realizing that they could not keep the beast from reaching Sarah, Nicole pulled the emerald talisman from her vest and thrust it in the air above her. Recalling the incantation that Sarah had given her, she called its burst of light forward and directed it toward the creature. The instant the light touched its sleek coat, it turned and started for Nicole at such a quick pace she
was forced
to snatch the gem from the air and sprint back toward the tunnel, barely able to stay ahead of her pursuer.

"Water!
"
Sarah screamed, suddenly realizing why the ice had injured the beast
.
"Nicole, go to the river!"

Nicole ran down the tunnel, stumbling over the remains of the trolls. Using her woodland sense she sought for any trace of moisture
.
The sounds of the warriors and her friends came from behind her. Although she could not hear the monsters pursuit, she knew it was not far behind.  She ran blindly toward any hint of water that came.   Nicole desperately reached out to the creatures of the cave. Insects and bats answered her call.  She beckoned them to her then dashed into a tunnel on her right. A fork in the tunnel came it led her into a small cavern that narrowed into a low tunnel. She found herself on her knees scurrying forward. Keep moving! She heard Sarah's voice whisper from somewhere inside her head as a barrier of ice sealed the tunnel behind her. Smiling to herself, she complemented the
sorceress
on her telepathic discovery.

Sarah stumbled as she concentrated on slowing the beasts’ pursuit of Nicole.  If she
couldn't
even slow the beast, it would reach Nicole in a matter of seconds.

Nicole crawled into a small chamber and scrambled to her feet.  She raced across to the far
side
and stopped, stunned. There was no tunnel, no river, only a dead end.  Could her senses have led her astray?  No, she could smell the water, nearly taste it. 
It was so close.
She moved to the far wall as the beast emerged from the narrow tunnel.  It took the shape of a large hooded dark snake.  Nicole turned to face it.  She drew her short sword and stuffed the talisman inside her vest.

"It's a dead end!” She shouted over the beast. Not waiting for a reply, she attacked the creature as it neared. It leapt into the air, its shape taking on that of a giant wolf as it reached her.  Using her sword to keep it
at
bay, Nicole shot over the beast
,  she
pushed off the cave wall and rolled in the air.  She landed behind it as the others entered the chamber.

"Sarah! There's water on the other side of the far wall!" Nicole yelled as the beast charged, scattering them all. 
Cabal pulled Sarah across the chamber as Jack and the
three warriors fought to keep the beast from reaching Nicole. 

"It wants the power of the talisman." Sarah warned.

"Destroy the wall.
"
Jack  shouted
to Sarah.

"If there's a river on the other side, we could all drown." She gasped to Cabal.

"A small price to pay for saving our world.”
 
He offered as he met her gaze.
  With a nod, he motioned toward the wall.

Solemnly, Sarah turned toward the far wall.

Cabal added, "When it starts to break, dive for the rocks.”  He motioned toward a set of large boulders to their right. She began to chant. As the magic flowed into her the beast ceased its struggle to reach Nicole and turned toward the sorceress as her spell formed a soft blue aura around her
.
Cabal placed himself between her and the beast as it
sprang
.  Suddenly the cavern wall imploded in a shower of rocks and water. The force of the explosion sucked at the beast as it reached them sending all three reeling into the void beyond the cavern wall. The roar of a waterfall met their ears as they crashed  into the icy water of the stone enclosed pond
.
The beast screamed in agony, flailing as the turbulent waters of the falls forced it down and rolled it
over and over
.

Cabal shoved Sarah away from the force of the current forcing him deeper into the turmoil.  Sarah's head reached the surface. She struggled against the pull of the current to reach the shore. A bright yellow moon crested over the tall trees and she realized they were in the small pond where they found the book of spells. Sarah glanced back toward the water for any sign of survivors. 
When Cabal failed to surface, she dove back in to search for him.
The beast was tossed free of the current and slowly floated to the surface
.
Sarah issued a light spell and found Cabal floating deep beneath the water.  She swam
to
reach him, ignoring the dying beast.

She took hold of Cabal’s shoulder and swam for the surface. She gasped as she reached the surface, desperate for air.  Jack appeared in the water before her. He took hold of the Prince and pushed Sarah gently toward the stone edge of the pond. Nicole surfaced in the water behind them, as did the three remaining warriors.  Each struggled against the fierce current and swam to shore. Smiling Nicole
glanced at the still form of the dark wolf. It had managed to pull the bulk of its body from the icy water, lying on top of the pale rocks that lined the shore.

Prince Cabal coughed as he purged his lungs of water.  Rising, he took the torn piece of Sarah's robe she offered and held it to the wound on his brow. Moving slowly to where Nicole stood, he stared at the silent beast. Jack came up beside them with Sarah under his arm.

"Is it dead?" He asked, kneeling beside it.

"No," Nicole answered, "Be careful." She moved to pull him back and the beast lunged. Transforming back into the liquid beast that engulfed Hopper, it covered Nicole smothering her in its dark.  She could hear Jack’s screams as he fought to tear the beast away from her. Her head began to swim. She felt icy fingers move inside of her vest.  Dark colors merged and separated before her eyes as it absorbed her strength. Suddenly  the colors flashed with a brilliant emerald light and the beast spat her out as if she were the pit of a succulent fruit
.
She flew over her rescuers heads and landed in the center of the frothy waters of the pond. Diving after her, Jack was oblivious to the creature’s metamorphosis.

Sarah staggered backward as the beast took its final form.
Prince Cabal attacked not waiting to see what it would become. His three warriors rushed to his side, striking at
the creature with renewed strength. 
It continued to grow, changing from the blackish purple tar like liquid into a giant cat-like beast.
  Balls of fire slammed into the beast, knocking it back against the rocks at the edge of the pond.

“Push it toward the water!" Sarah yelled over the warriors battle cries.”

It’d been
weakened
by the icy water
.
Perhaps if they kept it in the pond long enough it would become weak enough to destroy. Throwing her spell of ice at it, the beast screamed and charged toward her.  Prince Cabal and the warriors were ready.  They drove it back
to
the water with their swords. Jack pulled Nicole from the pond and joined in the battle after ordering her to stay out of it.

The stars twinkled gently above them as the moon moved across the horizon. The battle continued until the first signs of light glowed in the east. They had pushed the beast into the water
time and time again
only to have it shoot from the pond onto the rock bank despite their efforts.  Sarah cast an enchantment on their swords chilling them to an icy temperature
to further injure
the beast.  Its sleek dark surface was oozing with a thick black substance from the many wounds the warriors had managed to inflict. Yet it still strove to absorb Sarah's magic. Pushing for the shadows, the giant cat screeched in frustration as Prince Cabal dove between it and Sarah once more.

Nicole staggered back from the battle still not fully recovered from the beasts attack. The sun touched her face, warming her. She sighed and turned slowly facing the golden orb. Taking a deep breath, she looked back at the beast, determined to rejoin the battle. As her thoughts turned to destroying the creature, her chest began to burn.  Clutching at her breast, she gasped as the sensation grew stronger. Tearing at the front of her
vest
she pulled the glowing talisman out, dropping it as its heat seared her fingers.

It fell into the shadows and rolled off into the grass beside the rocks.  She had

mistakenly thought the beast had taken the talisman
.
That explosion of light must have injured it, instead of giving it power.  Springing from the boulder, she knelt down beside the gem. The glow had vanished. Lifting the talisman, she was surprised to find it had turned cold. Climbing up onto the pile of boulders Hopper had created to block part of the falls.  Nicole raised the crystal into the sun above her.  A burst of light issued from it and she was thrown off the boulder to land in the dirt behind her
.
Scrambling to her feet and back
onto
the boulder, she raised the' crystal over her head and willed the beam of light to strike the beast. A bolt of green light pounded into the beast, knocking it off its feet but otherwise not affecting it.

Nicole screamed for Sarah as she jumped from the boulders and raced to where the sorceress stood throwing another ice spell at the creature
.
"Sarah, take this to the boulders, stand in the light and use it!
"
Nicole ordered.

Sarah grabbed the jewel and Sarah sprinted across the grass to the boulders as the beast's seized one of the warriors in its jaws. Jack sprang forward and shoved his sword through the giant cat's throat, only to
be batted
away like an annoying fly.  Cabal
leaped
on the back of the beast and plunged his icy sword again and again into the monsters back
.
The beast crushed the warrior in its jaws and tossed his lifeless form aside.  It rolled on its back and it quickly overwhelmed Cabal.  Its long claws sunk into Cabals arm and pulled him to toward its massive teeth. Bracing his feet against the cat-beast's chest, he continued to stab at it.

Jack sprang toward the
beast's
head placing his sword at it throat he tried to
sever
its head. Once again he was easily thrown clear
.
Nicole dove at the monster, calling on the forest creatures. Birds swarmed from the trees attacking the beast.  It ignored them. Sarah screamed from her perch above the falls and they fell back.  Raising the crystal high, she prayed that Cabal
wouldn't
be injured and chanted the spell of dissolution.  Picturing in her mind a force field of safety surrounding Cabal, she sent a white bolt of energy into the creature.  It screamed, springing away from the light. Sarah followed the beast and attacked it with the light, not daring to look at what was left of Cabal.