CHAPTER 3
Riley landed on a warm mass which yelped and thrashed around causing her to roll off. In a flash something gripped her in its jaws, its breath hot against her face. Dangling helplessly in the air, scared senseless, she looked down, and saw Max staring up at her, green eyes shining with laughter.
“Put her down Shamus,” he told her captor.
The jaws slackened and Riley fell on a pile of smelly clay. At least, she hoped it was clay. Springing to her feet, she surveyed her surroundings. She was in some kind of giant cave. Its marble white walls glowed with a strange blue light. Looking up, she saw her captor for the first time and shrieked in surprise. Towering over her, the creature looked like the giant wolf she was riding in the painting on the temple wall. A carbon copy of Max, except for its monstrous size. Its smile was friendly but the giant rows of evil looking, razor sharp, yellow teeth were anything but benign.
Backing away slowly, Riley hissed, “Max, do something.”
He jumped in front of her, bowed to the monstrosity and said, “Great One, allow me to introduce Riley, the Princess of Light.”
Riley tried to bow but managed a stiff bob instead. ”Pleased to meet you, Great One.”
“Ah, finally, the Princess of Light. You gave me quite a shock falling on top of me like that,” the monstrosity said in a rusty sounding voice.
“Sorry.” Riley’s laugh sounded nervous and a little high pitched to her own ears. The creature was huge; it could easily squash her like a bug under its giant paw. She whispered to Max, “What is this place? Who is this?”
“Sit, Princess,” the monstrosity said, “All will be revealed in good time. Would you like some refreshment? By the way, my name is Shamus, not ‘the monstrosity’.”
Turning a peculiar shade of red, Riley stammered, “Excuse me, Great one, I mean, Shamus, did you just read my mind?”
“Yes, it is something that you could do as well, Princess. Now sit and tell me what you would like to eat.”
With some surprise she realized that she had not eaten since her arrival in this strange place. She had no idea how much time had elapsed since Max kidnapped her from her apartment. Her stomach rumbled right on cue.
“Got any chocolate?” she asked.
“Ah, the food of the gods and Princesses,” Shamus chuckled.
He waved his giant paw and a tray of chocolate pastries appeared in front of her. She pounced. After she came up for air, she looked at Shamus with a sheepish grin. “Thank you. I really was famished. Sorry, you must think I am a pig.”
“Of course not. It is good to see you eat. You are just a scrawny thing.”
Thinking that anything weighing less than a ton would be “scrawny” to Shamus, she smiled. He smiled back and she remembered that he had the ability to read minds. Blushing, she asked, “Shamus would you please explain things to me. What is this place? How can you read minds? What did you mean when you said I could read minds as well? What are you?”
Shamus settled down beside her, rested his big head on his paws. “Max and I belong to an ancient race. We are the Guardians of the Light Bringers. Each Light Bringer is bonded to a Guardian. Our purpose is to serve, protect and defend. The bond between a Guardian and Light Bringer is unbreakable. A Guardian will sacrifice his life in order to protect his Light Bringer.”
Gazing at Max in wonderment, she murmured, “You are my Guardian.”
Max sprang to his feet and bowed deeply. “Your Guardian and trusted friend.”
Smiling, she hugged him. “You have always been my friend Max, but I do not like the idea of you dying to protect me. Consider yourself relieved from that duty.”
Max’s eyes filled with tears. “You cannot ask that of me. It is not just my duty, it is my purpose. If you take that away I may as well be dead.” His tail drooped and his head slunk to the ground.
“Okay, Okay, feel free to die for me anytime you want. Just don’t sulk. It is not a pretty sight. By the way, how come you are so puny in comparison to Shamus?”
Grinning, he put his head in her lap, “Guardians can choose to be any size. You will soon understand everything in our world.”
“Would someone please tell me about this grand destiny that everyone keeps talking about?” she begged.
Shamus nodded. “Princess, I trust you already know that the Oracle prophesied a great battle between the Light Bringers and the Dark Mages.”
“Yes, but why have I been chosen to battle the Lord of the Dark Mages? Why not someone from your own world? I am an accountant. I have no powers. And why do you keep calling me Princess?”
“Because you are the Princess of Avalyss. Our world is your world. But once the Oracle revealed your destiny, it was no longer safe for you to remain here. Several attempts were made on your life while you were still a babe. So your parents, the King and Queen, decided to hide you. The world you grew up in, what the humans call Earth, exists in a different dimension, a parallel Universe if you will, a place which the dark forces of our world cannot penetrate. You were hidden there so that you would be able to grow into maturity and into the fullness of your powers. The time has now come for you to return home and to claim your destiny. While you were away, the Lord of the Dark Mages was also coming into his full powers. His strength is almost at its peak and when that happens, he will be able to conquer the Light Bringers. It is up to you to stop him.”
Riley felt the gooseflesh creeping along her arms and neck. “How am I supposed to do that? I do not possess these powers you speak of.”
“How did you get into this cave, Princess? Did you not teleport yourself here?”
“Yes, but it was a total fluke. Not sure if I could do it again. Besides Cole could also teleport so how would learning to do that defeat him?”
“Your powers are inside you, Princess. They have always been there. You just need some training on how to access and control them.”
“I already had my first training session with Crane. Tell me more about the twins.”
“Ah, the twins. Their origins are mysterious. They appeared in Avalyss at exactly the time and place as the Oracle predicted. All we know is that one serves the Light and the other, the Darkness. At an early age Cole expressed an affinity for dark magic, blood magic. He was sent to the Dark Tower, a school for Dark Mages, while Crane continued to dwell and train with the Light Bringers.”
“Why was Cole given a chance to hone his craft? Why help him gain mastery in the dark arts if the Oracle predicted that he could overthrow the Light Bringers?”
“Those of us that serve the Light will only kill to defend ourselves and our world. We could not kill an innocent baby who was no threat at the time. Besides, killing Cole is your destiny.”
Riley rubbed her throbbing head. “How do I kill him? He is a master of dark magic. I have no magic.”
“That’s where I come in Princess,” a droll voice interrupted.
She turned and saw Crane leaning against the cave wall, eyes gleaming in the cave’s strange blue light. Wondering how long he had been standing there, eavesdropping on the conversation, she suppressed a shiver. Damn! The man gave her the creeps.
“I will teach you how to access your powers,” he declared, approaching Riley and her two silent companions.
“Why have you come here, Crane?” Shamus asked.
“For my student,” he replied, extending his hand towards Riley.
Puzzled by Shamus’ cold tone, Riley looked at him for direction. His expression was unreadable. Max was staring at Shamus and some kind of mental conversation seemed to be taking place.
Finally, Shamus’ sigh broke the taut silence. “Go Princess, Crane has been chosen as your trainer.” His tone made it clear that Crane would not have been his choice. He held out his giant paw. “Your most important weapon is your heart Princess. Always remember to follow your heart and you will never be lost.”
Ignoring his
paw, she hugged whatever part of his huge body she could reach. “Thank you Shamus.”
“Come, Princess. It is time to meet your parents.” Crane grabbed her arm and once again she felt herself falling and spinning through space.