“Move, you die,” the werewolf said.

  Max forced himself not to try to struggle, instead used the time to figure out where the werewolf was taking him. As they travelled farther, Max began to make sense of his surroundings, seeing familiar landmarks and houses. Max soon realized they were approaching the City of Light. But as they entered the city, what he saw was completely different from what he remembered. There wasn’t a sun anymore, nor did the buildings shine with light. Instead as he looked at the once majestic skyline, dark clouds and red lights engulfed the city. The city that once was filled with hope and amazement was now filled with dread and despair. The City of Light had gone dark.

  Max shuddered at the blood that covered the once pristine streets. Dirt and grime coated every window, obscuring the view inside the buildings. Trash littered the streets, attracting large numbers of rats that scurried in and around the garbage. Max, dangling in the mouth of the wolf, craned his head to see the giant mayor building that went far above the dark clouds with red lights running up the tower, which seemed to touch the heavens. The doors opened and the wolf entered the mayoral building. Max’s heart started to beat faster. He could feel the fear rise in him.

  As they entered the building, the wolf snarled. A small dumpy man swirled in the chair at the front desk, then jumped up and approached them.

  As the little man came closer, he seemed to get smaller. A happy expression crossed his face. ”Oh boy! Jason’s definitely going to be happy about this!” He scurried over to the elevator.

  The wolf carrying Max followed right behind him. The elevator started slowly to ascend. The wolf growled again.

  “Oh yes, you’re probably wondering why we are going so slow. Mister Jason doesn’t like to be bothered. A couple of days ago, he said to me, and I quote, ‘Look Ralph. You come up here too often, so slow the elevator down.’ I asked how much, and he said ‘one floor a minute.’ So, I did!”

  The wolf snarled, and Max could see him roll his eye.

  Ralph shrugged. “What can you do?” Then he started to hum a strange tune unlike any Max had heard throughout his travels.

  Max didn’t even realize he had spoken until the question was out. “What is the tune from?”

  The wolf snarled and bit slightly harder.

  Ralph chuckled. “You’d never believe where that song is from.”

  After what seemed to be an eternity, the elevator halted and the door opened.

  A man spun around in his chair and stood with a smile. “Wow! Who’s a good boy!” mockingly to the wolf.

  The wolf dropped Max, and he hit the floor. Behind him, something clicked, then a cage sprang up and entrapped Max.

  The wolf growled, “Alright, Jason, a deal’s a deal. Where is my family?”

  “Oh. Don’t worry, Igneil, I’ll bring them right up.” Jason didn’t sound like a man who kept his promises.

  Max felt sorry for Igneil, who wouldn’t be getting his freedom anytime soon, if the smirk on Jason’s face was any indication.

  Jason walked over to a wall of buttons next to Ralph and pressed a square blue button that released a cage, recapturing the wolf.

  Igneil lunged against the bars. “We had a deal!”

  Max turned away, not wanting to see the anguish in the werewolf’s eyes. Even though the creature had captured him, pity over the deal Igneil had taken to save his family soured his stomach.

  “I merely said I’d be more generous when you did what I asked. My generosity is not killing you and your family. Goodbye now, wolfy.” And with that, Jason hit a blue button and the wolf’s cage instantly fell, like an elevator off its coil. Max heard the roar of the wolf until the trap door closed.

  Jason had a twisted smile on his face while he rubbed his hands together. “Alright, old man. You’re gonna tell me everything I want to know. Ralph, get me my tools!”

  Max swallowed hard. You know, when I woke up today, I had no idea I’d be tortured. But I can’t tell this guy anything.

  Ralph skipped weirdly, grabbing all sorts of objects from shelves stationed around the perimeter of the room.

  “Now, Ralph!” Jason yelled.

  Ralph grabbed a few more things and sprinted to Jason, holding out a platter. “Here you are, sir!” He bowed.

  Jason rolled his eyes as he snatched the platter. “Your annoyance never ceases to amaze me.”

  Ralph just smiled. “Anything else I can do to help?”

  Jason facepalmed, murmuring “No, just go,” waving his hand.

  Ralph responded with a salute, “Yes! Sir!” and skipped back toward the elevator humming that same tune as before.

  “Hey, why are you watching him when I’m about to torture you?”

  Max gulped as Jason looked over his various tools he had on a metal table. Jason muttered, “Hmm, which one, which one?” His hand glided over all of them. “Oh perfect! This should break you. But wait, I don’t want to kill you.” He started browsing once more. Then he chuckled. “Now this, this is the one.”

  Jason turned around. In his hand, he held a black stone. As Max looked at it, he could see the stone itself absorb the color around it making it even blacker.

  This is not good.

  Jason Live passed the stone between his hands as he approached the cage. He held it up. “Tell me everything.” Then Jason’s grip on the stone tightened.

  Max felt the air around him pull toward the stone. He felt himself pull toward it even though he hadn’t moved. Inside, a deep tearing wrenched at his soul. Max cried out as part of his soul was sucked into the stone.

  Then Jason turned around and the stone stopped pulling his soul. Max fell in a heap on the floor of the cage, holding his head in his hands.

  Jason paced in front of the cage. “Do you know how many truly cruel and evil deeds I had to do to make this stone of pure darkness? A whole lot. Now, if you did not like that whole soul absorption part, then this part,” he paused and smiled, “is gonna be much worse.”

  Jason held the stone up and reached inside the cage. Max tried to back away, but he had no strength left to protest. Jason easily pressed the stone to Max’s forehead. “Don’t fight it.”

  As soon as the stone touched Max’s head, pain permeated every inch of his body. His soul tore itself from his body as the stone was completely absorbed into his head. His head fell forward as if he were dead. Max thought no more.

  • • •

  Jason looked at the limp body of Max. “Perfect, it worked.” Max raised his head. His eyes were completely black and there were black veins pulsating through his skin. Max bowed the bars of his prison apart as if they were flower stems. He stood face to face in front of Jason Live.

  In a demonic voice that gave Jason goose bumps, Max intoned, “How can I serve Master?” then took a knee.

  On top of the swamp capitol building, the whole of the swamp metropolis in view, Mark looked around the dock where many floating gnome battle ships parked. A horn sounded, followed by hardy cheers echoing around the swamplands. As he looked closer, he could see tanks being driven, kicking up dust next to giant geckos, swarms of horses, and finally behind all of them marching reptilians. “Hey, River, should we send that message to the giants?”

  “Oh yeah, I almost forgot.” River closed a book with a leather backing. She’d been reading Basics of Magic Forms for hours. From the tips of her fingers, a golden shimmering paper-airplane-like letter shot out in the direction of Rockham with the speed of the bullet.

  “Whoa, where did you learn that!”

  River smiled with a wink. “I found it in this book. Weird though, this morning I woke up, and it was just next to me with a sticky note on it that said, ‘You’re gonna need this.’ After I read it, the note vanished.”

  “That is kinda strange, but also good, cause you can learn more spells.” Mark watched little gnomes carrying trumpets walked down the dock, following the leader. Some were simply walking, some running, some jumping, but all of them were excited for the battle. River leaned into Mark, and grabbed his arm to make way for the gnomes.

  She looked up at him. “Today is the day.”

  The leader of the gnomes stopped the procession before Mark. “I almost forgot two things. We made this for you—it should help you in the fight, esquire!”

  Next to the leader, twelve gnomes holding two jackets appeared. The jackets themselves looked like brown leather with wool on the inside, the collar worn high, and on the left side was an insignia of the five nations symbols in a pentagon. On top was fiery dragon representing the reptilians, next to that on the left side was the dwarven hammer, on the right the gnomish wrench. On the bottom left was the crossed curved swords of the Desert Nation, and finally on the bottom right was a horse riding through the wind.

  Mark accepted the jacket. “This is the coolest!” He threw it on. “Wow! It fits pretty good.” He moved his arms around. “And good mobility too!”

  River smiled as she put on hers. “Thank you.”

  “It’s actually a new experimental material,” the gnome leader told them. “It can block all sorts of physical and magical attacks.”

  “Great, some awesome armor,” Mark said.

  The gnomish leader took a couple steps, then paused. “Oh yeah, I think you almost forgot this.” He clapped his tiny hands together and fifty gnomes carried the small bound man who was Jason’s so-called mole.

  Mark snapped his fingers. “Damn, I knew I forgot something.” He looked at River as the gnomes carried the mole into the ship beside them. “Shall we get some information out of the man?” Mark then held the door for her.

  As they walked inside the ship, River turned to Mark. “These jackets just need one final touch.” On right side of Mark’s jacket, a golden M appeared.

  “Awesome Riv! Not gonna lie, your magic is amazing! Oh, you have one, too.” Mark noticed the golden R on River’s right side.

  “Come on, you dingus, let’s get some info from this guy.”

  Mark winked. “After you, my lady.”

  Before entering the room the mole was held in, Mark felt the floor rumble as he heard a distant gnomish voice say, “Start the engines.”

  Then Mark heard the buzzing sound of the engines. “We are on our way now!”

  She nodded as Mark opened the door. Inside, tied to a chair, was the mole. He laughed and spat, trying to hit Mark with his spit. Mark blocked it with his hand. “Come on man, no need to be gross.” He wiped his hand on the wooden wall. “Hey, we can do this the easy way, with you just telling me everything you know, or the hard way.”

  The mole laughed. “I’ve taken beatings worse than you could ever give.”

  Mark chuckled as he got closer. “You don’t understand. Telling me was the easy way.” He nodded at River, who was reading her book of magic. “She’s the hard way.”

  The man snorted. “What’s she gonna do? She’s just a girl.” He laughed harder.

  River snapped the book closed, then approached the dirty man. “I’ve only read this spell. It said it might be uncomfortable.” But as she walked closer, the mole’s laugh began to fade and fear filled his eyes. “Hopefully this won’t hurt too much.” Light imbued her as she placed her hand on the mole’s forehead.

  The mole instantly started screaming, “It hurts, it hurts!”

  Mark grimaced. Yikes, better not get her mad.

  Then River released the mole and clapped her hands together. “Okay, I got it.”

  As she continued to the door, Mark looked at the mole, who looked like a vegetable now. “You got it?”

  “Yeah, all the information about Jason, but I guess Jason was his whole life, so he might be a vegetable for a while.” She walked out the door.

  Mark shrugged. “Alright, works for me.” He closed the door.

  As the gnome ship approached the battlefield, Mark leaned over the balcony, and at his right, so did River. In the distance, he saw the City of Light with towering skyscrapers touch the sky. But he couldn’t see the bright lights his mom described. “It’s different then I imagined.”

  River looked at him, wind blowing her hair. “Those red lights are Jason’s doing, and that wall.”

  Mark peered in the distance to see the wall and what looked like a horde of people. “Can you make binoculars?”

  “That’s a good idea! I’ll try.” River’s hands started to glow, then golden binoculars appeared.

  “Nice.” She handed him the glasses, then made a pair for herself. “That’s a lot of bad guys.” Mark noticed the people were next to werewolves and giant machines of war Jason must have built.

  “This could get bloody if we don’t stop Jason in time,” River said.

  Then behind them the gnome captain of the ship said, “Brace for landing.”

  Gnomes clutched anything they could. River gripped the balcony railing with both hands. The engines cut off, and ship began to descend at a rapid rate. Mark felt his belly rise to his throat and his feet lift off the floor. Just before hitting the ground, the engines turned back on to level the ship, and they touched down. Mark hit the floor of the ship, falling onto his butt. “Damn, I’m never gonna get used to that.” He rubbed his backside once he regained his feet.

  “Wow, look Mark!” River pointed.

  He followed her finger. “What?” As far as the eye could see was the army they had assembled. Thousands of dwarves rode in tanks, while beside them, western riders sat on horses stamping their hooves. Reptilians stood in straight lines while giants, with huge boulders balanced on their shoulders, hung back. Mark grabbed River’s hand. “We really did this!”

  She smiled at him and gripped his hand tighter. “Yeah, we did!”

  After they exited the ship, it flew up in the air. Mark saw hundreds of gnomish ships flying in the air. He smiled, but then a Desert Nation soldier caught his eye as he approached Mark and River riding a giant gecko with two-horned tail.

  The rider called down, “Are you Mark and River?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Hop on, we have to go to the flank and have you infiltrate the city before we attack.” As Mark and River mounted, he said, “Dammit, we’re late. Hang on.” The rider slapped the ropes attached to the gecko’s mouth and the beast started to tunnel underground at a rapid rate. Before going underground, Mark spied the giants spinning in a circle, then launching the boulders like cannon shot.

  As they tunneled underground, Mark heard the impact of the boulders above them, people yelling, and the clanging of weapons. In front of him, the rider turned to his side, hooked a lantern on a rope, and lit it. “We’re almost there, but you can’t see a thing underground without a little light.”

  The rider pulled up on the gecko’s harness and it started to dig upwards towards the surface. “Now, when we get to the surface jump off quick. I’ll make an attack if we’re spotted, but you only have a few seconds before the guard’s attention turns to you.”

  The gecko broke the surface. Mark jumped off and River followed. In front of them was the wall that wrapped around the city. The gecko whipped its tail toward the wall, detaching the two horns on its tail and hurling it at the wall like a missile.

  “Race you up there.” Mark took off, easily closing the distance to the wall. He climbed it in two leaps, from the ground catching himself at the center of the wall and then jumping to the top.

  When he looked down for River, he heard her voice. “Took you long enough.”

  She sat beside him, a smirk on her face and amusement in her eyes.

  “How’d you get up here so quick?”

  “Just a levitation spell I learned.”

  Before they could continue their banter, a voice on the left of them shouted, “Intruder!” An alarm rang out.

  Two guards appeared from a doorway in the wall. River held up her hand and a light arrow shot right out of her palm that whizzed right by Mark’s face and hit the guard running up from behind him. In return, he threw his hammer at the guard behind River. They both looked behind them. “Nice!”

  Then they just glanced for a second outward at the wall to see a swarm of geckos and riders charging at the walls. Mark noticed that the other guards on the wall had their attention focused on the charging attackers. “This our chance. Let’s go.”

  The two jumped down from the tall wall. Mark landed with a thud. River beside him gently glided down with magic. Mark and River walked into the city. “Time to call in the artillery,” he said.

  River pointed her finger to the sky and shot up a flare like a magical beam.

  “Okay, we want to get some distance.” Mark started to run with River beside him. Two missile-like objects lurched upward out of a gnome ship, then the projectiles began to descend toward their location. The missiles looked like meteorites with fire hitting the sides. Where the two missiles landed, dust and rubble were pushed everywhere. Then mechanical noises radiated from the objects. He stepped into the street more to get a better view but felt a tug on his arm as River tried pulling him back into the shadows. “Come on, we’ll be seen.”

  “One second. I’ve got to see this.” As the dust settled, Mark studied the objects making the noise. They looked like everyday garden gnomes but a hundred feet tall. Suddenly, the arms sprang out and began to move, the legs lifted up the giant mechanical gnome body, the neck rose up, and shoulder pads with seven holes on each shoulder came out of it as well.

  Mark whispered to River, “I wonder what the holes are for.” As soon as he finished his statement, tiny rockets burst out flying at the wall hitting the guards. “That’s what the holes are for.”

  “You’ve seen it—let’s go!”

  “That was so cool!” Mark followed River deeper into the city.

  As Mark and River ran though the City of Light, he saw the streets with blood stains, the broken shops, the overall darkness held in the city. Sadness filled his entire body. “I can’t believe the city I was told about my whole life, the City of Light, is in shambles.” He clenched his fists. “Jason’s gonna pay for this.” Mark looked at River as he took a breath. “We’re gonna fix this place after Jason is dealt with.”

 

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