Authors: Matthew Peterson

Tags: #Juvenile Fiction, #Fantasy, #Science Fiction, #Magic, #Adventure

Paraworld Zero (46 page)

BOOK: Paraworld Zero

8.08Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

ads

Everyone had already entered the third door by the time Simon had reached the
second one. He looked inside the second room and immediately stopped in his tracks. Strange
emotions tugged at his heartstrings. He debated whether he should laugh or cry.

As if bewitched by the melody of a mystical song, the large and spacious
ballroom drew him in. Huge chandeliers dangled from the high ceilings, and intricate paintings
adorned the stone walls, but none were as entrancing as the largest picture hanging by itself
above the enormous fireplace.

Simon pulled out his mother’s medallion from beneath his shirt and looked at
the strange design in wonder. The portrait on the wall was of a beautiful young woman—the woman
from his dreams. She rode on a large, majestic beast and wore white robes that reached the floor.
But the most shocking thing of all was that around her neck rested the very same medallion Simon
held in his hand.

“A masterpiece,” came a familiar voice from behind. “Isn’t she?”

Surprised, Simon turned around to see Lord Vaylen gazing up at the beautiful
woman.

“Who is she?” Simon asked. A tear ran down his face.

“Someone I loved… a long time ago.”

“I have to know who she is!” Simon begged.

Lord Vaylen shook his head, freeing himself from the memories of days gone
by, and said angrily, “It’s none of your concern.” Then he saw the medallion in Simon’s hand. A
spark of wrath ignited in his cold eyes. “Where did you get that, boy?”

“I—I found it,” Simon lied.

“Impossible!”

The dark lord lunged for the medallion but was met with a magical blast from
across the room.

“Leave the boy alone,” Griffen said.

“Stay out of this,” he rasped.

The ultramage lunged at Simon again but this time was struck by a glowing
strand of energy. He grabbed the electric rope with his bare hand and attempted to throw it off,
but the swordsman held tight to his end.

Griffen quickly shot out another glowing strand, which pounded the dark
wizard in the chest. Lord Vaylen’s black hood fell off as he struggled with the two bolts of
energy, and for the first time, Simon saw the grotesque deformation of the man’s face in its
entirety.

Lord Vaylen grabbed the second rope with his other hand. Then, with great
magical power, he reversed the spell and raised Griffen Lasher off the ground.

Like a puppeteer, the ultramage tossed the warrior in the air. Griffen
smashed into the lower-hanging chandeliers, sending shards of glass to the marble floor below.
Finally, with gritted teeth, Lord Vaylen whipped the electric strands and sent the man upwards
towards the largest chandelier in the center of the room.

Simon covered his eyes just as Griffen was impaled upon the sharp bottom of
the crystal chandelier. The brave warrior held onto the massive light structure as it jolted from
the impact. A glass spike jutted from his back. Simon heard crunching sounds. The plaster from
the ceiling started to crumble away. Then, with shocking finality, the chandelier fell.

The heart-wrenching sound of a thousand pieces of broken glass filled the
room. Simon dropped to the ground and covered his head as specks of crystal pelted his
body.

Lord Vaylen limped towards Simon with crazed determination. The short boy
looked up at the looming figure above him.

“Now,” Lord Vaylen said, panting, “give me that medallion.”

The dark lord stretched out his hand, and the medallion leapt from Simon’s
fist and floated upwards. The ultramage’s eyes widened with anticipation as the prized pendant
drew near. But just as the necklace touched Lord Vaylen’s grasping fingers, Simon leapt from the
floor and grabbed his sacred possession.

A burst of blue light sprang from the black metal as both wizards held onto
the medallion. Instantly, the Power of the Ancients filled the entire room. Simon thought the
blinding light would consume him. Then, as quickly as it came, the blaze went out, and both
wizards fell.

Simon discovered to his amazement that he still clutched his mother’s
medallion in his sweaty hand. He stood up and saw the ultramage lying unconscious on the floor. A
grunt sounded from behind. He whirled around to see Griffen Lasher brushing himself off.

“
You’re alive?
” Simon exclaimed.

“Like I said,” the warrior replied calmly, “I’m a fast healer.” Griffen
looked in disbelief at the fallen ultramage. “Let’s get out of here, kid.”

Simon took one more glance at the beautiful woman from his dreams and then
followed Griffen out the door.

* * *

Simon and Griffen had not left the room for more than five seconds before the
mysterious dark figure appeared out of nowhere. Curious but puzzled, he turned his head and tried
to see the significance of the large painting on the wall.

Suddenly, the building shook from a bombardment of weapons fire. Soldiers
could be heard rushing down the hallway.

The mysterious man walked over the broken glass, reached into Lord Vaylen’s
black cloak, and pulled out a round datachip—the same chip Tabatha Burke had stolen from General
Mayham.

* * *

The air became cooler as Simon and Griffen traveled down a stone tunnel.
Griffen swung open a door, and they both entered the icy hangar bay.

A gust of chilly wind wrapped itself around Griffen’s naked torso, making him
shiver. Except for a few damaged shuttles, the hangar bay appeared empty; all of the functional
vessels were out fighting the Raiders.

“Are you just gonna stand there in the freezing cold, or are you gonna get on
board?” came a woman’s playful voice.

Griffen smiled to see Tabatha’s long white hair flowing in the crisp breeze.
The top part of her slender body protruded from the cockpit of a ship that bore the insignia of
the royal family.

“Nice to see you’re alive,” Tabatha purred affectionately as Griffen and
Simon climbed aboard to join the others. “Just don’t get any blood on my seats, okay?” Although
Griffen’s wounds were completely healed, blood soiled his stomach and pants.

Tabatha launched the tiny craft into the sky, away from the castle.

“Sorry it’s so crowded back there,” she said, looking back. “I wasn’t
expecting this many people.”

“That’s all right, Tabby,” Griffen said. “I just hope you have enough juice
to transfer us out of here.”

The cat woman steered the ship away from the fighting. “I just got here,” she
declared. “My engines are almost drained.”

“Get above the stratosphere,” Tonya instructed with obvious pain in her
voice. Her skin crawled with colorful movement as the rabid mutation swept over her body.

“But there’s hardly any E.M. waves up there,” Tabatha argued.

“Exactly.”

Simon knew instantly of her intentions. Anxiety grabbed hold of his emotions
and squeezed. Indicating that he understood as well, Thornapple added, “Yeah, go as high as you
can.”

As they sliced through the thick blanket of snowy clouds, the twin space
carriers finally came into view, just a mile or so above them. Dozens of ships were retreating
into the carriers.

“What’s going on?” Tabatha asked. “What are they doing?”

Griffen looked up through the cockpit and said, “I have an awful feeling
about this.”

A blue aura began to encompass the two enormous spaceships above. The light
grew brighter and brighter.

“They’re going to fire!” Tabatha screamed, lurching the ship to the
side.

BOOM!
Both carriers were gone.

“No, they went into the parastream,” Griffen exclaimed. “They could be
anywhere now.”

Simon whispered in horror. “They’re going to attack Imperial City.”

“What!” Griffen said.

“I overheard them talking. They have some sort of weapon—”

“Yes, I know—I’ve seen what it can do.”

“Then we have to stop them,” Thornapple said.

“We’re too late,” Tabatha cried. “It’ll be hours before the E.M. thrusters
are charged up again.”

Tonya shook violently, but she managed to whisper, “Go into outer
space.”

Tabatha opened her mouth to protest.

“Just do it!” Thornapple yelled.

Har looked up with his big brown eyes and said in a slow voice, “Trust
Simon.”

The woman stared at the children with a bewildered expression but finally
consented. “All right,” she said, “but I don’t know what good it’ll do. If we lose power up
there, we won’t be able to get back down to the planet.”

Tonya winced as the pain shot through her spinal column. “We’re not going
back down.” She felt a numb, tingling sensation spread out to every limb. The coldness of space
beckoned her as she looked at the heavens above, and the North Star seemed to shine more brightly
than it had ever shone before. She signaled with a faint nod of her head. “Go ahead,
Simon.”

The young wizard put his hand on the wall of the ship and closed his eyes.
How many times had he charged the batteries of his video game machine? This wasn’t quite the same
thing, but he had to try.

What am I doing?
he thought to himself.
This doesn’t run off electricity!

He felt Har’s oversized hand rest on his left shoulder; the large Pud was so
trusting. Then he felt Thorn’s little hand rest on his right shoulder.

Simon concentrated harder. Something deep within him stirred: a reservoir of
power that had been waiting to come out. A blue light emanated from his body and filled the
ship.

Griffen and Tabatha looked at each other in shock as the craft vanished from
Lord Vaylen’s dimension and entered the parastream. With his eyes still closed, Simon continued
to hold onto the wall of the ship.

“This is impossible,” Tabatha cried as she looked at the readouts on her
control panel. “We’re at full power.”

“Then go!” Griffen shouted.

“I doubt we could catch up with them,” Tabatha yelled back. She frantically
ran her hands over the control panel and exclaimed, “We don’t have any coordinates set, and I
don’t have control of the ship!”

Simon’s body still glowed. A strange feeling of euphoria came over him—the
same feeling he felt when the woman from his dreams spoke to him. Oddly enough, he had the
distinct impression of going home.

“We’re moving too fast!” Tabatha screamed as the ship turned sharply into
another large tunnel.

The space carriers were just up ahead. Simon let go of the wall and took a
deep breath. He felt weak for a second or two but was soon rejuvenated.

“I have control of the ship again,” Tabatha announced. “Hold on!”

She dodged past a barrage of lasers. Peppered with red smears, the orange
walls of the parastream absorbed the brunt of the attack. Unfortunately, several of the lasers
seared through the tiny ship and tore into the hull like a can opener. Then, as if the shower of
lasers were not enough, deadly rockets flooded the parastream—each one headed towards the
craft.

“We’re going to die!” Thornapple cried.

“I’m sorry!” Tabatha screamed as the lasers ripped open the ship.

“
PROTECTION!
” Simon yelled at the top of his lungs.

A golden sphere of translucent light instantly surrounded the ship. Simon
floated in the air with one hand grasping his mother’s medallion and the other raised high above
his head.

“This can’t be happening,” Tabatha exclaimed. “There’s no magic in the
parastream.”

“You haven’t met Simon before,” Thornapple said, beaming from ear to
ear.

The rockets melted away as two enormous tendrils shot from the gelatin mass
protecting the ship. One of the giant arms drove deep into the closest space carrier. A moment
later, the electric arm burst out the other side, essentially gutting the entire ship.

Escape pods sprang from the carrier as the massive vessel crumbled in on
itself. The other space carrier was now fleeing towards one of the gateways, but just before it
entered the portal, the yellow tendrils wrapped themselves around the ship and crushed it into
pieces.

The debris vaporized upon contact with the yellow force field surrounding
Tabatha’s ship. With the danger now gone, the tendrils shrank back to nothing.

Simon opened his eyes. The force field exploded all around him—just as it had
done previously when Tonya had cast the Protection spell back on Earth; only this time, the shock
waves rippled throughout the parastream, causing the orange walls to change colors as it
passed.

“That was a rush,” Simon said, holding his chest and getting up from the
floor. He felt very weak yet excited.

“You’re telling me,” Thornapple said, laughing.

“Did you see that, Tonya?” Simon boasted.

A look of terror swept over his face. Tonya, his beloved friend, lay
motionless.

Griffen rushed to the girl’s side and put his cheek next to hers. “She’s
alive,” he said quickly. “Barely.”

“Is there still time?” Tabatha asked.

“Maybe.”

The man put his hands to her forehead and chanted softly to himself.

“I thought you said there aren’t any E.M. waves in the parastream,”
Thornapple said.

“
Shhh
,” Tabatha replied softly.

BOOK: Paraworld Zero

8.08Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub