Outside Hell (6 page)

He’d always thought that the woman who’d
cared for him and was eaten by the beast in the forest’s had been
his mother, and then for a moment with that thought looming, he’d
remembered her simple yet beautiful face as it had appeared in his
mind.

Dracus wished he’d known then about his
powers of giving life, because he would have saved her.

She’d looked after him for five years, and
through all of that time it was in such a bleak and dangerous
forest, it must have been utter hell for the woman. He’d
thought.

Then after turning around and re-clothing
himself, he’d decided that it was long past time that he reveal his
hidden powers to them, and with that thought he’d summoned the
portal.

After Dracus had summoned the portal in front
of Jonyk, his wife, and his love Janus, they’d looked at it in
complete amazement.

Then in response to seeing it, Jonyk had
burst out laughing and a moment later he’d grabbed him in his
strong grip and gave him a super big cuddle, but as he was cuddling
him Dracus suddenly realized that they were all in grave
danger.

He’d lived in the castle so close to the evil
Vrakug for all these years, and in that time he’d been completely
unaware of Eldor’s past, and that the evil lord was looking for
him. Now that he knew this and what it would mean to his life
expectancy, and theirs too if Vrakug ever found out that he was the
royal child, he couldn’t take the risk. Everyone including the
other villagers in the caves, had to leave immediately.

Then after explaining about the spell that
Vrakug was trying to create, and about how he was going to try
killing the witches, plus if he was successful that he was going to
destroy all the planets of the Valstrath Realm, Dracus had said to
them with deep worry in his voice that they all had to leave.

A moment had past and then as he’d thought
about it and Jonyk with his deeply furrowed brows was clearly
thinking about the same thing too, suddenly it came to him.

The other planets circling Eldors orbit were
so close that you felt you could almost touch them by day, and as
you looked up you could just faintly see the mountain peaks facing
back at you because unfortunately the sizzling blue atmosphere from
king Rasviult, and queen Siarui’s reign had now turned a horrible
grey. Dracus realized though if his people went to the furthest of
the planets that being Sarhl, and then once there although it
suffered from the same dark electrifying clouds that poured out
bolts of lightening, and huge rocks raining down plus the Skylark
beasts, they’d be able to start their lives again. They’d also be
free from Vrakug’s wrath until such times as he could return for
them.

Janus had asked him if he was going with them
and as she’d said it she’d seen the look in his eyes, realizing
that he wasn’t. Then as it had registered in her mind suddenly the
beautiful sparkle that was always there faded. Her cat like green
eyes dulled and a moment later a tear appeared that rolled down her
cheek. Dracus bent forwards and after wiping it away with his
finger, he’d kissed her and told her the reason why he had to
leave. He’d said that he had to steal Vrakug’s powerful orb that
turns the castle invisible to the Skylark beasts, and explained
that after he’d done it and with Vrakug then deeply preoccupied
with saving himself from the Skylark beasts, the evil bastard
wouldn’t have time to search for them. He’d also said that if the
orb was gone, then maybe Vrakug might loose some or all of his
powers, and become easier to defeat.

Jonyk had asked Dracus how they’d get to
Sarhl though and also how he could be sure that once they were
there, that they’d be safe from Vrakug.

Dracus then explained his theory,

He’d pointed across to the message on the
wall and also remembered reading something similar in Vrakug’s
notebook too. As a child the nanny who’d fled with him had taken
him along the old path leading underneath the witches cave. Vrakug
had mentioned that he’d tried to use a spell to follow the nanny
but couldn’t because they’d gone that way, the magic from the
witches cave had blocked his spell and he’d lost them. Only after
he’d explained this to Jonyk, Janus’ father had reminded him that
it was dark outside the cave that they were all in, and it would be
far too dangerous to leave, as the Skylark beasts would be souring
the skies looking for anything that moved. One hundred and fifty
people, men women and children couldn’t possibly hope to evade
being seen by them, and then once they’d swooped down from the dark
skies and attacked them, they’d all be reduced to nothing more than
mere piles of smoldering black ash.

Dracus pointed at the glistening light of his
portals entrance that was behind him, and then said that he would
take them all over fifteen trips to where the path turned its last
bend before the Jahunti Witches cave up above. Then he would walk
with them past it and once they were save, and when they were
around the next corner, he’d summon a new portal to take them to
Sarhl.

Jonyk and everyone liked the plan and then
Jonyk hurriedly rounded up the other villagers and raised a meeting
where he’d told them about their pasts, and that they’d a new
prince called Dracus. Everyone was ecstatic and was going to do a
party until they’d heard about Vrakug trying to kill him and
destroying the planets. Then with white faces Jonyk had told them
about the escape plan, and as a result none of them had any wish to
stay.

Then after a couple of hours had past and as
the last group of ten people including Janus and her family had
stepped out of the portal in Sarhl; greeting those who’d just
arrived in another portal moments before, they all hurriedly set
about digging a hole to sleep in for the night.

Dracus reluctantly kissed Janus goodbye not
knowing when he’d see her again and then also said farewell to the
villagers and her family. Janus was in tears though not knowing
when she’d see him again, and after spending many years without him
whilst he was incarcerated in jail, she’d wondered if this might be
the last time that they’d be together. In response Dracus had
placed his warm fingers on her lips to stop those words and others
similar from following too, whilst he’d reached in and then kissed
her deeply. The passion from them as their tongues that had
intertwined and their bodies pushing into each others with hands
sliding, had threatened by it very nature to consume them.

Then as her floodgates broke Dracus told her
that after he’d finally killed Vrakug, and that it might take some
years for him to become strong enough to battle him, or to raise a
plan to get rid of the evil leader, that from then on nothing would
ever keep him from her.

A second past and then as he’d given her his
last kiss, and Janus’ mother had given him her latest blank that
she’d just finished making, something that he could wrap himself in
entirely with dark earthly colors and the distinct and pleasing
scent of Janus all over it, he’d stepped back into clear ground and
summoned the portal.

Once inside he’d given it the grim
destination of where it had to take him and then him and the portal
vanished.

When it had reappeared he was there in the
evil lords forbidden room. The room that he’d only ever gone in
once before and was lucky that he’d gotten out of it when he had,
because Vrakug had appeared by magic outside the door. The evil
lord with spittle spraying from his lips had furiously asked him
what he was doing there. Dracus had kept a calm face and whilst
shitting himself inside if the evil bastard didn’t believe him,
he’d pretended to be looking for other rooms to clean. Vrakug had
furrowed his evil eyebrows in response whilst possibly wondering if
the little toad was bullshitting him, and then he’d simply told him
that if he’d ever seen him near the room again, he’d kill him. So
not wishing to be caught in it for obvious reasons, Dracus stepped
out of his portal and crept stealthily forwards looking all around
him and listening for the slightest sound. Then once he was sure
that he was safe, he’d summoned another portal to escape by and set
about his task.

He’d taken the evil lords horrible red
glowing orb that was leering back at him from a desk in the dark
shadows of the room, and then whilst being almost overcome with the
stench of the lord’s body odor hanging like a dead mist in the air,
he’d placed it inside his new portal and vanished. Then a second
later when he’d reappeared he was inside the lords study, only now
he knew that really it was his parents but he hadn’t time to be
concerned with such thoughts and pushed on with his plan. Then
whilst glancing around at the thousands of spell books that his
parents had owned, and after summoning a new portal, he’d placed
the orb inside it and filled it with as many spell books as he
could fit inside too. Then once he was happy that there was only
enough room left for him in a tight crouched position above the
stuff, he’d summoned the spell that he knew lit a candle, and with
it set fire to the rug beneath the desk.

The thing had taken a little time to get
going but after he’d blown on it several times, the flames then
rushed off into the room consuming everything in their path.

Dracus not knowing the future but sure as
hell realizing that the past would probably haunt him for many a
year to come, then waited until the flames had roared up all about
him and whilst the dark shadows of the room then danced vehemently,
he’d leapt inside the portal and vanished. This time though as he’d
thought of the place that it should take him, and then told the
portal hoping it would be able to reach that far, he’d said the
planet five thousand light passes away, called the Earth.

*****

When Vrakug had finally
awoken from his deep and twisted sleep by a spell that was watching
over him in the former king and queen’s huge bed, he was laying
there in the soft sheets dreaming of being reunited with his father
soon. Only as his mind had cleared and then whilst rubbing his eyes
he’d wondered why the spell had awoken him to darkness, suddenly
his nose had twitched a few times and his brain had said,
‘smoke’
.

Instantly he’d sat up and then as he’d looked
over the end of the bed and realized to his horror that there were
clouds of thick black smoke pouring into the room from underneath
the bedroom door, he’d panicked.

Thrusting the sheet back and leaping up, he’d
summoned a spell to take him outside to the entrance where the
portcullis was. Then as he’d appeared and looked up and seen that
the whole castle was in flames, and that the Skylark beast’s were
inbound flying down towards him breathing out flame throwers, he’d
realized that the castle wasn’t invisible to them any more.

Then as he’d held his hands up and tried to
summon the powers from the orb and sensed that it was no longer in
the castle, and when he’d seen the broken stones from Dracus’ knife
that were on the floor behind him, and read the sign saying
Leanorisque Castle shining back at him, he’d screamed.

A moment of confusion had past and then after
realizing that he had to save the spell books from the former king
and queen, Vrakug suddenly disappeared and then reappeared inside
the study. Only he was unaware that Dracus had lit the fire in
there first, and that the inferno in the study was of great
magnitude. When he’d reappeared he was surrounded by savage flames
and was viciously burnt by them. Then as his heavy metal looking
greasy hair had caught light and at the same time his hands and
face had literally melted, and with but a second to save himself
he’d vanished, only this time as he’d flown through time and space,
the evil bastard was in intense agony.

Seconds later when he’d reappeared he was
standing in the evil forest far away from the vicious skylark
beasts and the castle. Then after he’d patted out the flames on his
head where his hair had been, and then blown them out on his hands
too, Vrakug was furious. Only aware that the Skylark beasts were
still active until morning, he’d no choice like young Dracus had
all those years before, and ended up sleeping in a hole. Vrakug had
to crawl around on his hands and knees rummaging through the
blackness, with the occasional bug crawling across him that was
food for the young boy, but at the very sight of them had made
Vrakug belch, whilst he’d found a hole. Then once he’d crawled down
into it and was also immensely glad that a towering Ekari beast
hadn’t found him, he’d laid there headfirst in his hole with blood
building savagely in his brain. Then as he’d thought about who
would have the gall, and the temerity to have done such a thing to
him with no clear answers coming, suddenly morning came.

Only later that day and when he’d awoken all
crumpled up in extreme agony with his legs almost vertically above
his head, and realizing that the deep thoughts of revenge and
swelled bloody brain had made him pass out, he’d crawled out of the
hole and cast a spell. The spell had summoned a window that had
appeared in front of him, and showed Dracus the night before
summoning a portal. When he’d seen the little bastard doing it,
he’d been completely shocked.

In all the years that he’d known him and had
him in the castle, he’d never known that Dracus had understood
magic. Then he’d reasoned that if he could understand magic, that
the little conniving fucker must have been from a family of
magician’s, and not just a villager as he’d always thought.