floor.
“Yes. He will be so surprised to see you, Ethan!”
“Wait!” I pulled my arm back from Rainer’s strong grip.
“You told them to let me into the castle?”
“So what!” my brother replied.
“Our father doesn’t even know that I am here…does he?” I suddenly felt a panic setting in. This was a trap.
“Everything is just fine, Ethan. Calm down.”
“Ethan?” I heard my father call in a drowsy voice. He now sat upright in bed. “Is that really you my son?”
I watched as my father reached for his wand at the side of his bed. He grasped his perfectly straight wand within his paw and turned toward me. The tip began to glow. My heart raced. Was my father about to zap me to death? His wand brightened and lit the room. My father’s face instantly exploded with a smile as he dashed from his bed, tossing away the covers, and running to me. He grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me closely. My father, a man that had never shown any affection toward me in my entire life, was hugging me.
My father walked around the castle with a smile on his face for the next few days. He didn’t look like himself. I was used to a scowl or frown.
Rainer and I spent most of our time together. He was just as excited about my return. We went out to the village and sat down on two tree stumps.
“Thank you, Ethan.”
“For what,” I nervously laughed. What does that mean? I thought.
“For coming home. Father has been very upset since you left. He blamed me for you leaving.”
I didn’t reply. How do you reply to something like that?
“If you don’t mind me asking…where exactly did you go?” Rainer wondered.
I inhaled deeply. It must have sounded like he had upset me, because Rainer quickly retracted his question.
“Just forget it. I’m just glad you came home.” Rainer rubbed my back.
“It is good to be home, brother.”
A few weeks later, I walked alone along the edge of Dragon Lake. It was night. Torches burned in Cadieux Village just behind me, but along the calm waterfront I could feel the chill in the air. Stars lit up the sky. I had wandered out here without realizing where I was going. This walk had begun inside the castle grounds, but I just kept going as if something was drawing me away.
A snapping sound hit my ears, like a branch breaking. It was followed by another. If someone was attempting to sneak up on me they were doing a very poor job. I searched the darkness for signs of motion, but couldn’t see anyone.
“Whizzenmog!” A curt voice startled me.
I still couldn’t see where it was coming from.
“Behind you, Ethan.”
Standing behind me was a frightening sight. A tall slender and hideous looking creature was directly behind me. It was a vampire bat. Its wings were outstretched giving it a grand appearance.
“Who are you?” I cowardly questioned.
“It is I, Sorcerer LaCroiux,” The voice sounded very familiar to that of my master, yet the figure standing before me didn’t resemble him in the slightest.
“Master? How can that be?”
“I cast a spell on this dimwitted soul in order to reach you. I believe you have forgotten your task, Ethan. The emerald?”
“No…no. I haven’t forgotten, master. I just am trying to gain their trust.”
“Stop wasting time and get the emerald. It is everything.” LaCroiux snapped through the razor-sharp teeth of the Vampire bat. Then, almost as quickly as he had appeared, he vanished by leaping skyward and flying into the darkness.
A rush of wind blew across my face signaling his departure. I searched through the sky for him, but he was gone.
Now it was apparent that Sorcerer LaCroiux was watching my every move waiting for me to steal the Last Emerald of power.
I struggled to open my eyes the next morning. My head was pounding like someone had been hitting me with a rock all throughout the night. Sitting up was difficult. My stomach felt nauseous.
The sunlight pierced through the window like a knife stabbing me in the eyes. I placed my furry forearm across my eyes to block it. This didn’t help.
A rustling sound came from the far side of my room as the heavy wooden door swung open. The rusty hinges squealed. A thud echoed when the door reached the stone wall.
“Ethan? Are you okay?” Rainer asked.
I attempted to open my eyes. They burned. “No. I have a monster headache.”
“Let’s get you something for that,” Rainer said as he now surprisingly stood next to me.
It startled me to hear his voice in a different area of the room since I couldn’t see him. I felt the small tip of his wand rest against my forehead. I shrunk away.
“Hey, what are you doing?” I barked.
“Just sit still, Ethan.”
I had to admit I was a bit nervous, since not that long ago I considered my brother my enemy. Well, technically he still was. A warm sensation entered my head just below my ear. It spread across my forehead. It felt like a fire had been lit between my ears, yet it didn’t hurt. The warmth slowly moved down between my eyes. Tears formed and then began to stream down my checks. I could feel them moving through my fur.
“Open your eyes,” Rainer said. My vision had been restored and, even more amazingly, my headache was gone.
“That’s amazing.”
“You’re welcome, Ethan.” Rainer patted my back with his strong paw. “Come on, I want to show you something.”
We walked through the bustling castle, passing Elven Warriors at every turn until we reached the far end of Cadieux Castle. This was a very darkened and private area. Candles lit the hallway just enough to allow me to see a short distance.
“Where are we, Rainer?”
Rainer placed his paw over his mouth, motioning to be quiet. His usually orangish-red fur was almost black in the dimly lit hallway. He began walking and I followed. Rainer used his wand to replace the candle light as we moved farther down the hall. Rainer stopped at what appeared to be a dead end. He moved his wand attempting to find something.
“Hold this,” Rainer said as he handed me his wand.
“No, like this,” My brother directed. I had allowed the lighted wand to point at the floor. He showed me where to direct the light. In the lower corner, was an oddly-shaped stone.
Rainer pushed against the stone and it easily moved. The wall split and swung open.
“Hurry!’ Rainer said. He grabbed my arm and pulled me inside the blackened room. I heard the stone wall close behind us, but I couldn’t move. I was completely focused on the object perched on a golden pedestal in the middle of the room glimmering against the light produced from my brother’s wand.
I only spent a few moments with it, but my life changed completely. I had never felt such a pure adrenaline charge like when I placed my paw on the green emerald. In an instant I knew exactly what I had to do. I would steal the emerald…not for Sorcerer LaCroiux, but for me. It would make me stronger than anyone in Mistasia. No wizard or sorcerer would stand in my way. My father would soon be bowing to a new king, but it wasn’t going to be Cragon Cadieux…it would be me!
MORNING OF TRUTH
4
My mind had become overrun with thoughts of the emerald. Its beauty. Its power. Now all that remained was how I would steal it.
Rainer came to get me the following morning. I was eager to see where he would take me today…hoping it was to see the Last Emerald again. To my disappointment, he took me to the Proving Grounds just outside the castle. It was where Rainer and I used to battle while practicing our wizardry. Therefore, this was a place of bad memories for me. It was the last place I had been before running away, and since my return I had avoided it.
“Why did you bring me here Rainer?” I said with shortness in my tone.
“Father asked me to meet him here this morning. He has a very important assignment for me.”
“So why am I here?”
&nb
sp; “I hoped you would join me,” He said it with such heartfelt sincerity I almost believed him.
I scoffed. My brother’s reaction showed that he actually meant it. I suddenly felt uncomfortable.
“You really want me with you?” I asked.
Rainer smiled and nodded.
I smiled back but didn’t respond. Rainer had been trying very hard to repair our friendship since I returned, but I continued to keep my distance. It would only make what would happen easier for us all.
“Rainer, are you ready?” Our father’s voice joyously rang out into the Proving Grounds. He hesitated upon noticing me standing next to Rainer. “Ethan, good morning, son. I didn’t know you were going to be here.” The surprise in his voice seeped forth like the smoke from an uncontrolled flame. It hung over my head casting a dark shadow. This was the father I’d expected upon my return to the castle. Loveless and ashamed.
“I asked him to join me father,” My brother replied.
Our father’s eyes moved sharply between us as though he was attempting to figure out if I had some sort of spell cast over Rainer. Surely, my brother couldn’t be acting of right mind to invite me. After a moment, he cleared his throat in what appeared to be an attempt at ridding himself of whatever he actually wanted to say, but he thought better of it. Then proceeded to address Rainer and ignore me.
“Rainer, the king and queen will be making a journey to the northern territory of Mistasia and I need you to join them as their protector.”
My brother’s face was overjoyed. It was a great honor to be the keeper of the royal family’s protection.
“I must remain here at the castle.” My father suddenly stopped his explanation. He