CHAPTER 28
RED DAWN
As tired as he was, Ben found it difficult to fall asleep. As soon as he closed his eyes and started drifting, images of prickly fanged dragons with razor sharp talons would jolt him awake. He tossed and turned for the remainder of the day, lingering in that torturous state between restful sleep and waking. When Jonah came to get them for supper, Ben was even more tired than he was before he lay down.
After such a heavy lunch, the supper was light; steaming bowls of beef broth and crunchy wafers of bread. No one was very hungry. Even the dwarves were not their usual selves, although they did have seconds and thirds. The conversation at the table revolved around mundane things. No one wanted to talk about the dragon. Amos talked about all of the chores he needed to do when he returned to his cabin. Hob, Gob, and Nob discussed the new stable designs for Castle Twilight, while Louise went over her Christmas to-do-list with Ben and Casey.
“What is this Christmas celebration you are planning?” Gabriel asked Louise. “It sounds like a very joyous occasion.”
“Oh, it is,” Louise exclaimed. “It’s a very special holiday that we celebrate once a year. Before the holiday arrives, we buy presents for our all of our loved ones. We wrap the presents with shiny paper and tie pretty ribbons around them. Then we place the presents under the Christmas tree and we have to wait until Christmas Eve or Christmas morning before we can open them.”
“What is a Christmas tree?” asked Nob.
“It’s an evergreen tree,” Casey answered. Christmas was her favorite holiday and planning for it with her Grandma had taken her mind off the task that lay before them. “You know, like a cedar tree. Some people use fir trees, some people use pines. You cut the tree down a week or so before Christmas and place it in your house where everyone can see it. You have to put it in a bucket of water so it will stay fresh and green. We decorate the tree with lights, ornaments, garland, and tinsel.”
“How do you put lights on a tree?” asked Gob. “Is it magic?”
“No, it’s called electricity. I can’t explain it, but I guess it would seem like magic to you.”
“What kind of lights?”
“Some people use tiny lights, some people use big lights. Some use multi-colored lights; red, green, blue, and orange. Others will use only one color. Tiny white lights are very pretty.”
“What about the other stuff?” asked Hob. “Tell us about the ornaments, the garland, and tinsel.”
“The ornaments,” said Ben, jumping into the conversation, “can be colored glass balls or small figurines.”
“What kind of figurines?”
“Any kind! Birds, snowmen, deer, flowers… it doesn’t matter, as long as it is pretty.”
“It does sound wonderful,” Marcus remarked. “Is the holiday over after the presents are given?”
“Oh, no,” said Louise. “We usually have a big feast before we open the presents and after opening the presents we might sing some carols. Those are songs about Christmas.”
“Sing one song for us,” Marcus asked. “I am most curious to hear one and if it will lift our spirits, then it is a good thing.”
“Okay,” Louise replied, turning to the children. “How about Deck the Halls?”
Ben and Casey nodded.
“I’ll start.” Louise cleared her throat and began to sing. Ben and Casey joined in.
Deck the halls with boughs of holly
Fah-la-la-la-lah, la-lah-lah-la
Tis the season to be jolly
Fah-la-la-la-lah, la-lah-lah-la
Don we now our gay apparel
Fah-la-lah, la-la-lah, lah-lah-lah
Toll the ancient yuletide carol
Fah-la-la-la-lah, la-lah-lah-lah.
“It is a wonderful song,” Marcus exclaimed. “You must teach us the rest of it!”
Louise ran through two more verses with Ben and Casey, while Hob, Gob, and Nob joined in on the Fah-la-la-la-lahs. The dwarves loved the Christmas song too and wanted to learn more songs, but Marcus called a halt to the singing.
“Ben, you look tired. Did you rest well this afternoon?”
“Not really. I tossed and turned and never really got to sleep.”
The Keeper whispered something to Jonah. The elf nodded and then left the room. A minute later, he returned with a steaming cup of tea and a small wooden box. Marcus opened the box and pulled out a small, dry, fuzzy leaf. He crumbled the leaf into the tea and handed it to Ben.
“What’s this?”
“That,” Marcus replied, pointing at the cup, “is a simple tea, but this,” he said, plucking another leaf from the box, “is a leaf from a dream-stealer.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” said Louise. “What does it do?”
“The dream-stealer is a plant that grows in Faerie. It will give you a deep, refreshing, and dreamless sleep. Elves rarely sleep, but often we will use the dream-stealer when we are weary and need refreshing.”
“Then get us all one,” Louise exclaimed.
After everyone finished their tea, they retired to their rooms for the night. Everything was in place and tomorrow’s encounter with the dragon was just hours away. Ben did not believe that he would be able to sleep, but once he crawled into his bed and pulled the covers up around his chin, he fell fast asleep before his head could even settle into his pillow. Just as Marcus said, it was a deep, peaceful sleep. It was a sleep without dreams. It was a refreshing sleep. It was a sleep that was over all too soon for everyone.
Marcus woke everyone an hour before daybreak. No one ate breakfast. Even the dwarves were too nervous to eat; a fact that did not go unnoticed by Ben and it made him extremely edgy. While Louise bundled him up in the warm elfin cloaks, Gabriel stopped by to wish him well.
“I will be in the South Tower, watching over you. Listen for my horn. When you hear it, run. Run like you did yesterday and you will be fine.”
“I will,” said Ben. “Hey, that reminds me! Marcus, do you have that special drink?”
The Keeper reached beneath his cloak and pulled out the flask. “I had it filled while you slept,” he said, as he handed the flask to Ben. “Take a swallow when you hear the horns signaling that the dragon has been spotted. You will be able to fly across the top of the tower.”
“Thanks.” Ben took the flask and stuffed it into the side pocket on his tunic. At that moment, Jonah walked into the room. He was carrying Merlin’s staff.
“It’s time,” said the Keeper.
Louise and Casey hugged him and kissed him. Amos started to tousle his hair, but stopped. The big man studied Ben intently for a moment and then reached out to shake Ben’s hand. Ben’s hand was swallowed inside of Amos’ big meaty fist. The big man leaned over and whispered, “I will be near.”
Ben nodded and swallowed the lump that was rising in his throat. Hob, Gob, and Nob filed by on their way to the catapults.
“We will see you again at noon day meal,” said Hob.
“Yes, I imagine it will take most of the morning to haul off the dragon’s carcass,” said Nob. “We will have worked up quite an appetite by then!”
“See you in a few hours,” said Gob.
As the dwarves filed out of the room, Ben said one more goodbye to his grandma and to his sister. Casey was tearing up and Ben could clearly see the worry and fear on his grandma’s face. He tried to be brave. He told them not to worry and assured them that everything would be okay; after all, the oracle had said so.
On top of the tower, to the right of the entrance, Ben was delighted to find that Marcus had built a fire and provided a comfortable chair for him to sit in. The sky was dark and the stars glittered brightly, but a faint tinge of gray on the eastern horizon announced that morning was upon them.
“Amos will be joining us in a moment,” said Marcus. “He was going to make certain the chains leading from the anchor stones into the forest were well concealed beneath the snow.”
“Are you two staying up here with me?” Ben asked, hopefully.
“No, but we will be waiting upon the staircase, just inside the tower. A dragon’s eyesight is keener than that of an eagle and we do not want Zoltan to see anyone up here, but you. His hearing and sense of smell is far above that of any creature in Camelot too, so we cannot be too close lest he hear us or smell us, and suspect a trap. Look, the sun is rising! Hold forth the staff.”
Ben stood and held the staff in front of him. The Keeper stretched out his arm, his palm open toward Ben, and whispered his magic, casting the spell in the elfin tongue of Faerie.
“There, it is ready. The spell of confusion is in the spell catcher and I must now leave you, for morning is truly upon us. Until this dreadful task is over, fare thee well, Ben Alderman, dragon slayer.” With that said, the Keeper turned and left the tower.
Ben pulled the chair up close to the fire and sat. He never felt more alone or more afraid in his entire life. The sun was indeed rising and the skies, as if heralding the coming dragon, were now streaked with angry reds and bright oranges. However, below the tower, in the icy snow-covered forest, the birds were busy greeting the new day with song. One bird, in particular, had caught Ben’s attention. He guessed it to be a mocking bird, because the song was a hodge-podge of happy melodies.
Tweet-tweet-twa-deedle-deeee! Tweet-tweet-twa-deedle-deeeeeee!
Varooooooo-oooooommmmm.
Tweet-tweet-twa-deedle-deeee! Tweet-tweet-twa-deedle-deeeeee!
Varooooooo-ooooooommmmm.
Ben leapt from his chair. Those were the horns! Quickly he made his way to the center of the tower. The magic drink! He fumbled in his pockets for the flask Marcus had given him. It was in a deep pocket on the side of his coat and it was stuck! He could not lay the staff down now or it would release the spell. Frantically, he yanked at the oblong silver container with his free hand, until it finally came out. There was a spec on the horizon. Was it a bird? Was it the dragon? Ben held the staff in the crook of his arm and tried to open the flask, but his poor hands were shaking so badly that he dropped it. Dismayed, he stooped down and snatched it up, before all of the precious liquid could escape. There was only a small swallow left in the bottle, but it would have to do, because that was not a bird on the horizon; it was Zoltan. The dragon was approaching so fast that Ben could now make out its great wings, long tail, and spiny head. He screwed the lid back onto the Keeper’s flask and stuffed it back inside of his pocket. This was it.
Down in the forest, hidden beneath the Faerie oaks, Hob, Gob, and Nob pulled their axes from their belts when the first horns sounded. Each dwarf stood by a firing mechanism that operated two catapults. The next horn would be the signal to cut the rope in front of them, releasing the catapults and flinging the anchor stones and chains over the dragon.
In the south tower, Gabriel warmed the mouthpiece of his horn between his hands. The scouts had sounded the alarm and Gabriel could see the dragon, framed against the fiery sunrise, bearing down on Castle Twilight with amazing speed. He watched Ben, on the north tower, stooping over to pick up something he had dropped. The dragon would be upon him in less than a minute.
Inside the north tower, Marcus and Amos stood in the stairwell, straining to hear what took place up above. When the horns sounded, Amos tensed and the air about him began to shimmer. The Keeper placed his hand upon the big man’s arm and shook his head. Amos clenched his fists and beads of sweat began to pop out along his forehead. It was all he could do to keep from transforming and rushing to Ben’s aid, but he knew that he could be of no use against a fire breathing dragon from Crag. No, he would have to wait and trust in the prophecy of the oracle; the one Marcus called Venus.
Zoltan circled the castle twice. There was no one to be found but a small child upon the north tower, where he had last spoken with the Keeper. The child was holding what appeared to be Merlin’s staff. Zoltan in his pride imagined the elves and dwarves too afraid to face him. This child was some form of sacrifice, some token of submission, a silent plea to spare their castle and forest. He circled once more, coming in lower, and spread his great wings to glide to a landing spot on the castle wall, exactly where he had landed before.
Ben watched the dragon soar over the tree tops as he came in for a landing. It was amazing that anything so large could fly. It defied logic. As the dragon neared the tower, he spread his wings, breaking against the air, and extended his powerful legs to find purchase on the castle wall below. Things were going according to plan. Ben swallowed the lump in his throat as he waited for Zoltan to rise up from the wall and peer over the tower. In the bitter coldness, his breath came out in quick short bursts of frozen white. He could feel his throat starting to tighten and hastily retrieved his inhaler from his pants pocket. After firing two quick bursts into his mouth, he dropped the inhaler into the coat pocket with the Keeper’s flask and concentrated on his breathing. Slow and easy, in and out. Slow and easy, in and out. A scaly black claw tipped with long razor talons appeared over the edge of the tower and Ben’s throat threatened to close up again. Slow and easy, in and out. Slow and easy, in and out.
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