Shadow of the Dark One

Chapter Nine - Get Out Now

Prince Sano saw his glass wand laying beneath the skeletal soldier in the doorway. He stood in desperation, with only a wine goblet in his hand and no other weapon. He had only time to see it lunge for him and ponder.

Jed had already been holding his long knife at the ready and stabbed, falling forward and stopping the beast. His knife stuck into the skeleton's ribs, though he reached around and caught it with the other hand. The knife couldn't rightly harm the skeleton in its ribcage, so it fought back. Jed held on tightly and stared directly into its decaying eyes, its chin was missing entirely. It pulled its sword down and reached underneath to stab the man in the gut. He wrestled the lighter, bony figure to the ground, where Riko stomped a boot across its skull, filling the room with a rotten stench.

"Shut the door," shouted Jed. He rolled across the plank floor and cut another skeleton to detach its feet, forcing it to fall on top of Jed, gnashing teeth to bite his neck.

Riko picked up the chair they'd use to block the door and pushed into the mass of zombie soldiers. He forced them back as swords flung, picking off splinters from the chair's legs. Bony fingers latched onto his hands as he put weight into his push, leaning into the chair. Prince Sano joined him from behind, helping to close the door when they passed the threshold. The chair returned beneath the door handle while beating and banging echoed throughout the room.

Jed finally stood, holding a chattering head removed from its body. He tossed the head into the air and split its skull open with a quick slice from his knife.

"Push the table in front of it," screamed Jed. "Put everything in front of that door."

The Prince noticed his glass wand laying broken in the crease between two planks. He reached down and took the two pieces, trying to imagine what to do.

"What is that?" asked Riko, still holding tight to the chair and z-braced entrance.

"It's broke, whatever it is," said Jed, picking up and pushing the table against the door.

Sano picked up the goblet and held it above his glass wand. Faint, blue magic began to pour, spilling over his hands and the two pieces of the broken wand. But, the wand did the unexpected. It completely dissolved in the glowing magic. "I don't understand." said the Prince. "It should have mended the glass. I'm almost helpless without it."

Jed bent over and returned with a sword in hand. He admired it for a moment, gazing at the inscription on the hilt. "I don't know who this belonged to, but it can be yours if you want it." He threw the bent sword to the Prince, who, naturally, dropped the blade with a clank.

Behind the door came scratching noises, clawing and screeching of swords gnawing into the wood. The Prince picked up the old sword and held it high, watching the candelabra flicker across the creases in the blade. The sword was mud-covered with a little rust on the sharp side. He held the cup above the blade and, Jed quietly grabbed the sword.

"I saw what happened to the last thing," said Jed, striking a rock against the sword and rubbing in a downward arch, pointing the tip away from his leg. "I'll sharpen the darn thing."

Riko searched the room, looking for anything useful. The door pounded as though the dead army had begun to use a battering ram. The chairs and table slid back, the door cracking open and fingers coming passing in and out. Jed dropped the sword and heaved his weight into the upturned table, breaking a few finger bones as the portal slammed closed. Riko slid a bed out of the way, then pulled a board from the floor.

"Over here," yelled Riko. "I think I've found a way out."

He lifted another plank and kicked it back down, smashing a skeletal arm and mashing the plank with his boot. "They're coming through the floor." He pushed the bed back into the corner and jumped on top, bouncing up and down with his weight.

The three lost control, leaving the blocked door, then, seeing the door open, they rushed back and forth. "The goddess Gaina brought me here," said Prince Sano. "Maybe, I can move the three of us somewhere else."

"Whatever it is, hurry up," screamed Riko, stomping fingers and arms with his boots. The bed lifted and shook in a strange manner. He bounced up and down like a trampoline in a Travelling Road Show.

Prince Sano held the glass goblet and concentrated on the task. The glass filled to the brim with a light-blue essence. Jed began to lose the battle of the doorway, falling deeper into the room with an upturned table between himself and twelve, bone arms full of clawing fingers. Sano opened eyes and spilled the glass across the floor. Looking through the portal, he noticed something, smiled and jumped. Jed fell backward, slipped and tumbled through the hole. Riko leaned forward and dove, as though diving into a deep pool of water. The table fell on its top, covering the hole just before the blue ring vanished.

All three men straddled the floor in a pile of arms and legs. Jed stood first, stared into a mirror and ran a hand through his sparse hair. Riko gained his footing and hobbled over to Jed. He pulled Jed's shirt back and popped it against his backside. As Jed turned, Riko slapped a hand across his face. Prince Sano held onto a broken goblet, quietly standing in the center of the room. "Gentlemen," said the Prince. "Welcome to King Jacove's castle."

"We're in your room, aren't we?" asked Riko.

"Why, of course." laughed the Prince. A guard rushed through the door, sword in hand, followed by two others. "Tell Mother and Father that I have returned and, tell the chef to prepare three meals."

The guards surrounded the men, swords in hand. A bell rang in the hallway, summoning even more guards. "I'll do no such thing," said the armored suit. "Jacove is no longer your King." The guard laughed. Another guard laughed, then spoke. "He's dead. Your Father is dead." The two men continued laughing.