The Legend of Alexandros: Belen (24 page)

Bixbin looked at Valchor then glanced to his hammer. “Yes…once we win, we will go to have drinks…”

“I wonder where we are off to after this,” Winston said while lying on his back. “I hope we can visit a place more colorful and relaxing. I do not like this forest. The mountain trolls my human killed were very much unfriendly. If only we could have stayed and spent more time with the Mermaids. I enjoyed my time there.”

“Well, maybe we can see them when we leave from here,” said Elora. “I am sure you will be welcomed by Lucinda and the rest.”

“I hope so, my human has been very quiet these last days, and I wish for him to be full of joy.” Winston watched his human sitting alone. “Oh! I have a most pleasant idea!”

“And what might that be, Winston?” asked Elora.

“We should all return to the Mermaids after we are done in this gloomy place. Do you not think so?”

“That is a great idea, Winston. That would be pleasant…” Elora said, a cloudy look fell over her face. “…once we are done here…we can visit the Mermaids…”

Back inside the cave, Raphael clashed his sword against a huge boulder to warm up his battle skills. Darkness had found a home in Raphael—and not by choice. He would make it his most powerful weapon. No more would he be naive or weak. He kicked the boulder with his powerful front legs and swung hard with his sword.

“You have amazing battle skills, Raphael,” said Alistair.

“I am not in the mood right now for your speech of encouragement,” Raphael coldly replied. “I am far from a fool. I will not lie to myself, filling my own mind with false positive thinking. I know very well how things may end…”

“Very well…but I will tell you this: fighting with your rage will only leave you unfocused. Center yourself and put anger to the side.”

“Believe me, Alistair I am trying. But trust when I say that my anger is and will be my greatest weapon…”

Maddoc paced back and forth, his lycan clan was bored and wished to wait no longer. They yearned to battle and slaughter the goblins for their cowardly attack. Vesall whom was sitting and glancing over at Alexandros turned to Maddoc and coldly looked away from his Lycan leader. Maddoc approached Vesall.

“Is there something you wish to address to me, Vesall?”

“Step away from me…now,” Vesall said in a growling response.

“You dare speak to me this way? I am your leader; you will not ever speak to me this way again. Am I understood?”

“Do not ever give me an order again. Throughout my years in this clan I have seen the selfishness grow within you, and I am beyond sick of it. You claim to be a great leader, yet you allowed us to be attacked before you decided to even act. The son of Mabruk asked for your help, and you denied it to him. It took for Liorm to be killed for you to even care that a war would affect us all was taking place. Liorm was your son!”

Vesall howled. The lycan clan glared in disbelief.

“Yes, I know of your secret, Maddoc. You tell the clan we are not allowed to breed, and it is the first thing you do. I have already told the rest of the clan what I am about to tell you now. After this is done, I am leaving and taking the ones who wish to live as they would choose to live and not how you want us to live. I will no longer live in the shadows because of you.”

Vesall then joined Alistair and Bixbin. One by one the lycans rose up to follow Vesall, leaving Maddoc alone…in the shadows.

The night soon came, and vampires soared over the forest searching for food. Alistair cast a most powerful cloaking spell that hid the cave from all eyes, including those of the vampires—not even Barbarious would be able to create a counterspell to reveal the cave. Since Vesall had taken a stand, the lycans had grown more sociable. Many of them carried on conversations with Bixbin, Winston, and even Valchor; of course, Valchor spoke of himself, but the lycans did not seem to mind. It had been years since they had spoken to anyone other than another lycan.

Alistair moved away from the big campfire to the small fire Alexandros had made for himself. He gave Alistair a blank stare; the campfire light reflected off of his blue eyes. Alistair returned an uncomfortable smile and sat beside him. They stared into the fire for several moments. Alexandros let out a small laugh.

“Do you know this is just like the first moment we truly got to know one another? We did just this, not speak…” Alexandros whispered. “So let us avoid that and tell me what is on your mind.”

“Do not cut yourself away from us. Belen, we have all been here since the very beginning, and we will be with you until the very end as well.”

Alexandros paused, looking at his companions. His eyes watered.

“Not everyone is going to walk away from this,” he said. “…Barbarious is powerful and his army is great. We are seven with seventeen lycans against vampires, goblins, and Barbarious. If it were just myself going against this challenge then I would care less, because I knew what I was getting into from the moment I found my parents…but I have so many to worry about and I cannot seem to find a way to become a cold leader… not to mention they have the baby.”

“And that is what makes you a great leader, Belen. You do not only think of yourself; the fact that you feel for everyone sitting around that fire proves that you have grown into the best leader you can be. Only a true leader cares. And I promise you, we will find the baby, I will not let you leave that castle without that baby in your arms. For the honor of your mother and father…you will find that baby…”

“Why are you sad…?” Winston asked, fearing his human was upset at him.

“Hello, Winston,” said Alexandros, pausing. “…no…I am not sad…”

“May I sit with you…?” Winston asked in a weary voice.

“Yes, Winston. Come sit.”

“Oh, wait. I have a much better idea!” Winston said joyfully and ran off.

Alexandros turned to Alistair with a confused look, and just then Winston returned…with the entire group.

“Let us all sit together,” he said, smiling.

“All right,” Alexandros said in a soft voice.

“Come, lycans, you are most welcomed, too. Do not be scared,” said Winston. The lycans followed Vesall to where Alexandros had been sitting alone for two days. The corner was crowded, but it was a welcomed crowd. They sat and chatted about almost everything. Alexandros stood up and politely asked the group to silence themselves.

“Winston,” Alexandros said. “Would please tell us the story of how you learned to fly?

Winston’s eyes filled with tears.

“Go on, Dragon, tell us your story,” Bixbin said with a forced smile.

“…all right,” Winston began. “This is the story of how I learned to fly…”

CHAPTER XXIII

SYTHRIL PALID…
THE END

F
IVE MONTHS BEFORE…

“W
hat would you say about taking a long trip next summer, my boy?” Mabruk said to Alexandros as they sat in front of their home in the village of Souvaolo.

“A trip?” Alexandros asked with a sour face. “Father, we have no time for that. Mother is with child, and I gave my word to Roger that I would train him in warrior combat. Why not ask your centaur friend, Tobias? It has been what would you say…three winters, you have not seen him.”

“Just about. In fact, yes. I will go see Tobias next summer. I am most positive we should have much to talk about. A trip with him would bring back great memories. You know, son, he and I killed a vampire together,” Mabruk said proudly.

“Yes, father,” Alexandros replied in a sarcastic laugh. “You have told me that story many, many times since I was a young boy.”

“And you never believed me. Well, I tell you: once you have your own adventures and you tell your children stories they do not believe, I shall be the first to laugh loudly.”

“I do not think I am the adventure type, and I promise you this, father. I will never, ever in my lifetime have an adventure…”

Now…

The fires were put out, and the night remained peaceful. The cave was completely silent; everyone was in a deep sleep—except for Alexandros. He remained awake for two reasons: he could not seem to fall to sleep, and he needed to be awake for the Amazon’s arrival. He dug into a small, brown side-pack and took out an apple.

“I knew your father quite well…” said a growling low voice. “He was a good man. I am sorry to hear he has been taken from this world.”

“Thank you…” Alexandros replied to Maddoc.

“I was once human, you know…”

“I thought you were born a lycan. That is what you had your clan believe.”

“No, I mean in the sense of my emotions…I was once in love with a human woman long ago. She died due to age, and I continued to live; shortly after that I cut myself and my clan from the human world…now I am to be banished or worse. I did not intend to have this cold look to the world. It came as a surprise, but in the end I was the one who lost the most. Your father told me once that I should make peace with man, for not all of them were bad, and when I see you, son of Mabruk, I see what he spoke of. When this is done I shall leave my clan…and find myself a place in this world.”

If only Maddoc had ruled this way, with heart,
Alexandors thought;
his people would never had banished him.

“The Amazons are here…” said Alistair.

He lifted the barricade spell he had cast over the entrance and stepped outside alongside Alexandros. Not only had the Amazons returned with another Amazon warrior tribe, but the entire elven army had come along in honor of their prince, Valchor. The entire area filled with soldiers. Amazon Princess Aloysia stepped forth and presented Alexandros with a large wagon full of weapons.

The army looked on as Alexandros spoke.

“…not long ago, my father told me I would have an adventure that would be a tale for my children to hear. My words to him were this; I told him I would never in my life have such a quest to tell my children, and I was so beyond wrong… these last two months have been filled so much to pass on, so much in fact that it could have been a journey of a lifetime. But I do not think of this as an adventure or journey—this is my destiny. Every one of us could have done so many things differently, but yet we still ended up here together. So I say we march down to Siruac, and for the memories of Mabruk, Adina, King Vincent, Tobias, Cassandra, and all the others who have lost their life because of this war. We annihilate these goblins, vampires, and Barbarious from the face of the earth.”

An eruption of cheering burst into the air when Alexandros finished. The armies and the group began chanting the names of all who were lost. Alexandros nodded for Alistair to ignite the signal. Alistair raised his staff and released an explosion of light.

From the kingdom of Siruac, Barbarious gazed at the powerful light. He gave the word to mobilize every monster warrior of Siruac. His hollow eyes radiated intense hatred as the goblin army prepared for battle.

Alexandros and his army marched toward Siruac, stopping once they reached the long bridge that connected the forest to the kingdom.

“Keep Elora with you at all times,” Alexandros told Raphael.

Then, with the speed of a falcon, Alexandors ran straight toward the massive kingdom entrance. He drew his sword as Alistair blasted the huge wooden kingdom gates into a thousand pieces. Goblins and vampires poured out of the kingdom in a tidal wave. The armies smashed into one another with the sound of thunder.

Alistair opened the skies and enormous bolts of lightning came crashing down upon the goblins and vampires. Raphael charge into battle with his sword and shield, piercing and destroying the goblins; Bixbin bashed the creatures into dust; Valchor hurled himself into the air and took out the soaring and swooping vampires; the Amazons clashed their swords with goblins, and the raging lycans gave no mercy.

Valchor leaped high enough to wrap his legs around the other vampire’s neck; once on the ground, Valchor beheaded the vampire so fast the blood did not splatter.