Destiny - Book One in The Bomcard Trilogy
Chapter Eleven - One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

The guards pulled back their arrows and aimed as Elizabethscreamed. The guards never had a chance. A massive trail of fire flew acrossthe top of one side of the building, destroying them. The other guards turnedand aimed at the dragon and fired. They never hit their target as it dodged andburned anything in its path. People ran screaming, pushing into the guards onthe ground in a panic to escape the terrible ordeal they were seeing. Rafaelgrabbed his sword and charged at Lucas. Zach met him halfway.

Their swords clashed andZach and Rafael fought as Lucas turned and noticed the guards regrouping. Oneof the guards turned to Lucas and pulled back the arrow. Lucas threw a bluefireball down around himself and Elizabeth just as the arrow nearly hit itstarget. The arrow burned before it could touch them, the guard looking on inshock. Lucas threw a fireball in return, hitting the guard and sending himflying off the wall. Other guards jumped off the wall, avoiding the fire onboth ends. The ones that stayed on were not as lucky as Lucas knocked them offwith fireballs one by one. The dragon threw back its head and roared as it flewin the sky.

Rafael and Zach's fightcontinued and very quickly, Rafael grabbed the advantage. He kicked Zach,knocking him off guard and Zach fell on his back. As Rafael raised his sword tobring it down and finish the fight, Lucas was there with his sword, blockingthe attack and fighting like never before. Their swords clashed in the middleof the battlefield, Rafael swinging his sword low, trying to cut Lucas's legs,but Lucas jumped and landed behind him. He kicked Rafael and used histelekinesis to throw him back. Rafael collided with some guards who had justarrived to assist and the group fell hard.

Lucas turned and noticedElizabeth in hand to hand combat with some guards herself. She was leaping inthe air, slashing and stabbing. He turned in the other direction and saw Zachdoing the same. Rafael screamed and charged for Lucas who once again held outhis sword in preparation. The sound of metal clashing filled the skies as theirblades collided against one another.

Rafael began to movecloser towards Lucas as he attacked, forcing Lucas to step back. Lucas realisedthat he was trying to corner him and he did his best to defend himself. AsRafael swung low, Lucas leapt, landing behind him, but Rafael had planned forthat and spun around before Lucas could react, slamming his foot into Lucas'sstomach. Lucas fell into a heap onto the ground, and as the sword flew down,Zach's sword caught his former leader's and pushed back up, causing Rafael tobe caught off guard.

‘Kill them all!'screamed Rafael in anger, his face red with fury.

Zach and Lucas stoodback to back as guards ran towards them on all ends. Their swords clashed withtheir attackers, blocking each attack and sending one back of their own. AsLucas clashed with his opponent, Zach smiled and asked, ‘Care to trade?'

As Zach leaned forward,Lucas rolled over his back, landing in his place, and the pair took on eachother's opponents. Lucas jumped as the guard swung low, avoiding the bladeconnecting with his knees. Lucas slammed his sword down, catching the guard offguard and dispatching his enemy.

Zach's blade clashedwith his opponents until finally Zach's sword sliced through the man's chest.The moment he fell, another was upon him and he was back in the fight.

Elizabeth smiled as themen ran towards her. Noticing a couple of buckets nearby, she smiled and rantowards them as the guards began to chase her. Creating water balls in herhands, she threw herself to her side, turning her body in midair and throwingthe balls at her opponents. The first hit the guard in the front, sending himflying though one of the stalls of food nearby. The second hit the next man,knocking him into the other guards.

All of a sudden, Rafaellooked up and yelled at his guards, ‘Retreat!'

The men ran faster thanLucas could have imagined, yet Rafael stayed and had a sinister look on hisface. He pulled out a whistle and blew, yet strangely no noise seemed to havecome out of it. Lucas thought to himself, it must be like a dog whistle. So, what is he calling?

He got his answerimmediately as the sky suddenly turned black. The three allies looked up inhorror as hundreds of black, smoke shaped humans descended into the town.People ran screaming as the dark smoke shapes floated down to the ground,grabbing humans from all directions and raising them into the air, possessingall the men, women and children of the town. As their mist bodies were absorbedinto the humans and they descended slowly, they all looked up and Lucas noticedtheir eyes were black as night. They were no different from the possessed manLucas and Elizabeth had seen before. All of their eyes had what looked likeblack mist pouring out, reaching high into the sky.

Rafael smiled darkly ashe smirked. ‘Seems it is the three of you against the entire town of Stelipse.'

Lucas looked on inhorror as townsfolk crept forward, walking towards them, grabbing any weaponsthey could replace, from swords and knives to planks of wood. Once again,Elizabeth and Lucas, and now Zach, were backed into a corner. Sinister facesstared at them as they approached. Zach looked up and saw Honour flying ahead.He could not help them now. He might be able to sweep down, but they would nothave enough time to hop on before they attacked. Elizabeth was staring at theinnocent children who now looked like they could commit murder. An idea poppedinto her head and she turned to Lucas.

‘Show them. Show themthe amulet.'

He turned to her inshock. ‘What? I … I can't. Are you crazy?'

‘What choice do wehave?' She looked at him with pleading eyes. He realised she was right, that hereally had no choice.

Rafael smiled andcommanded, ‘Kill them.'

The possessed townsfolkscreamed and charged at them. Before they reached them, Lucas took out theamulet and held it in the air, turning his head and closing his eyes, awaitingdeath. The townsfolk froze and Zach looked on in awe as Rafael looked on inanger. The townsfolk all stared at Lucas and none moved. Lucas, slowly openinghis eyes, waved the amulet from one side to the other. The heads of thetownsfolk followed whatever direction the amulet moved.

Elizabeth turned toLucas and whispered, ‘Say something.'

Lucas cleared histhroat. ‘Ahem. Ah … hi. My name is Lucas, or here in Bomcard, I am also knownas Prince Fredrick. Just don't call me that … because I'm Lucas.' In union, allthe townspeople fell on their knees and bowed their heads. Lucas looked on inawe, turning towards Elizabeth and smiling. ‘Good idea.'

She smiled at him inresponse and nodded. He turned back to the possessed townspeople and asked,‘Please stand.' They all did as he asked at exactly the same time, each inperfect harmony with the others. He smiled. ‘Ah … jump.' They all did.Elizabeth hit his arm and he shrugged at her. ‘What? It might be my only chanceto have a little fun.'

He turned to thepossessed people and said, ‘Is one of you … I wish to speak to the leader.'

A small child, who didnot look older than ten, stepped forward. Her straight golden hair blew pasther in the wind, her black eyes fading into a kinder, sweet green thatglistened in the sun like his emerald.

‘Hello, PrinceFredrick.'

‘Please, call me Lucas,remember?'

‘Hello, Prince Lucas.'She smiled at Lucas and he realised it was not the evil, creepy smile frombefore that the townspeople had all possessed. She nodded to Lucas and said,‘My name is Celeste. I am the leader of the Spirits.'

‘Lucas,' Elizabethwhispered as she grabbed his arm. ‘The guards are all gone.'

Lucas looked around andnoticed that she was right. Rafael and the others had disappeared.

Celeste smiled at him,never taking her gaze away. ‘Do not worry about those men. He is gone.'

‘Shouldn't you be goingback too? I mean, I thought your people were trapped.'

‘We were never trapped,'she replied, her smile never leaving her pretty face. ‘We served Lord Barbackuntil the rightful heir returned. You have, so now we serve you. First, flee.We shall meet up with you again. We will leave here and these people. Go now.'

In one sudden, swiftmovement, the townspeople threw their heads in the air in sync, their eyesflashing black then red. The spirits left their bodies in a bright light thatbeamed up through their mouths and into the air. The people all collapsed,unconscious, as Lucas, Elizabeth and Zach all stared around them in shock. Whatjust happened, Lucas thought to himself.

Out of the corner of hiseye, Lucas noticed a red shape moving towards them. Honour swooped down andlanded on the wall, his neck stretching out. Zach pulled himself up and heleant down to hold out his hand to Lucas, but he shook his head.

‘I'll fly myself,thanks.'

‘You sure you can keepup?' Zach smiled.

Lucas eyed himsuspiciously. ‘Can you?'

Elizabeth grabbed holdof Lucas around the waist. ‘I'm going with you.'

Lucas nodded and watchedas Honour leapt into the air and Lucas followed his lead. The dragon flew aheadof Lucas, heading away from Stelipse. Lucas followed, able to keep up quiteeasily. He was holding his arms around Elizabeth's waist while she continued tohug him closer.

‘Hold on,' he mumbled toher. She nodded and held on tighter.

Over the land a human,mermaid, elf-human hybrid and a dragon flew. They had been flying for about tenminutes when Lucas all of a sudden stopped in the air.

‘Wait! We have to goback!'

Elizabeth looked at himin shock. ‘What is it?' she asked.

‘We left Branchy.'

Zach and Honour hadpulled back and landed on the ground. Lucas descended and landed next to them.‘I have to go back. I left a friend back there.'

‘He is better offwithout you returning for him. Guards will be all over the place,' Zachinformed him.

‘I'm not going toStelipse. I'm going to the forest outside the town.'

‘Lucas,' Elizabethwhispered, her voice ignored by the arguing.

‘What are you talking about?'Zach looked at him angrily. ‘You can't go anywhere near that town.'

‘I won't leave him.'

Elizabeth turned sadlyto Lucas, her eyes widened with shock and she whispered, ‘Lucas.' He turned tostare at her as she said, ‘I don't think there is a Stelipse anymore.'

Lucas and Zach turned inthe direction she was looking. Black smoke hovered over the horizon and asHonour stared in the direction, he lowered his head in sadness.

‘Itwas another dragon. The town is laid to waste.'

Zach turned to interpretHonour's message, but Lucas beat him to the punch. ‘If the dragon only burnedthe town, there might be survivors.'

Zach looked at him,shocked. ‘You can hear Honour?'

‘Yes. Is that really hisname?'

Honour looked at Zachthen to Lucas. Zach turned to the dragon and said, ‘I thought only I could hearyou.'

‘Ithought only you could.'

‘I think it's becauseI'm a telepath.' Lucas shrugged as Elizabeth looked on, confused. Lucas shookhis head and started running towards Stelipse. Elizabeth caught up to him andgrabbed his arm. ‘You can't go back there.'

‘Branchy is out there.What if there are survivors? I cannot just leave. What if it was me trappedback there? What if it was you?'

With that, he was in theair and flying back towards the forest at an incredible speed. Elizabeth hadnever seen anything move that fast, not even the dragon.

Zach hopped onto Honourand held out his hand. ‘Come on! We better not let him go alone.'

She reached out and hepulled her up onto the dragon's back. Leaping into the air, they followed Lucastowards the forest.

* * *

‘Branchy?'

Lucas walked slowly through the forest, the fallen branches oftrees breaking under his feet and echoing in the dead silence. He turned inevery direction looking for his friend, pushing away branches from trees toreplace the familiar face.

‘Branchy? It's me. I came back.'

Only dead silence replied as it filled the air. It was then thatLucas finally noticed him, his mouth falling open in shock.

Branchy's top half wason fire and some of his branches had been snapped off. Some bark was missingfrom his trunk and sap ran all down his body. His broken branches werescattered with his leaves on the ground below. To Lucas, it looked like theyoung tree had been tortured.

Lucas ran up to him,screaming the tree's name as the fire on his head continued to burn fast. Lucasleapt over a fallen log, running to his friend as he realised the fire wouldeventually engulf him completely.

‘No! Hold on!' Lucasscreamed as he tried to control the fire, but he realised in horror that hecould not. It was burning too fast and out of control and he knew that after itwas done with Branchy, the fire would engulf the entire forest.

‘Youcannot control a dragon's fire. It is far too powerful.'

Lucas turned asElizabeth and Zach came running up from behind him. Elizabeth stopped in frontof Branchy and closed her eyes, turning away in horror. Zach looked up andasked, ‘Honour, can you help him?'

The dragon landed on theground and with a furious roar, Honour stretched out his large red wings andbeat them continuously, blowing fast winds onto the flames. After the firedied, the group stared at Branchy in wait, but he still did not move. TheLiving Tree was badly burnt, his bark black and damaged, sap continuing to pourfrom his wounds.

Honour flew above him,reached down and grabbed the tree, pulling him up into the air. Lucas grabbedonto the roots as did Elizabeth and Zach. They held on as Honour flew above thetrees, back towards the direction they were heading originally. As they flewover the ruins of Stelipse, Lucas saw the devastation the other dragon hadcreated.

Anything that was stillstanding was burning. Fire was everywhere as the debris of fallen buildingslined the streets. Where there were no fallen buildings, there were dead bodiesof the townspeople, scattered over all of Stelipse. Nothing moved down there.Not even the children were spared.

Lucas noticed the bookstand where he had found his mother's book and saw that the stand was amazinglynot destroyed. There was, however, a charred body leaning over the table as ifto protect his books, its pointed triangle, soot covered glasses dangling fromits nose. The two inns were no longer opposite looking. They had both beendestroyed. Their roofs had collapsed and the walls had fallen in. Black smokefilled the air and the smell of burning bodies filled Lucas's nose.

‘There was nothing wecould do, Lucas.'

He turned and sawElizabeth looking at him with tears in her eyes.

‘That's not true,' hereplied, turning back to the carnage. ‘We could have helped.'

‘We didn't even see theother dragon approach,' Zach frowned as he stared below at the carnage. ‘Itmoves quicker than Honour. We were gone no more than fifteen minutes. If westayed here, we would be dead too.'

Lucas closed his eyesand they flew in silence for what felt like hours. When he did open his eyes,he noticed that the town was now behind him, the black smoke continuing toascend into the air. Ahead of him, an open plain lay. There was no trees, noshelter. Large rocks were scattered around the plain, none resting next toanother. It was then he noticed a small creek further ahead and he realised hecould use it to help Branchy.

‘Honour, take us to thecreek!' he yelled.

‘No.I shall take you to the elves.'

‘No! Take me to thecreek!'

‘Theelves will help your friend. They are better than a dirty creek. Trust me,young king.'

Lucas frowned, realisinghe would not win this argument, looked ahead and noticed that they were headingfor a small forest past the creek. In the middle of the green forest, the treesnearly as tall as those back in Darkness Forest, he noticed a rock cave with anentrance passage. Outside the entrance, two long, pointy-eared guards stood inplace. Standing in white metal chest plates, the men's swords were sitting inthe ground, their hands resting on the hilts. Honour landed with Branchy andthe teenagers fell off the roots. The guards ran straight up and aimed theirweapons at Elizabeth.

‘Leave her! She is withme!' Lucas yelled at them.

‘On whose orders?' theone on the left demanded.

Lucas pulled out theamulet and let it fall in front of his shirt. The elves quickly fell on theirknees, placing their arms across their shoulders, exactly as the centaurs didwhen Lucas had first met them.

‘Forgive us, my king,'the first man apologised.

‘Help my friend.'

‘She looks fine,' thesecond mumbled, disgust in his voice.

‘I meant, help thetree.'

The elves looked at eachother before staring at Branchy. After a few moments silence, the first mananswered, ‘Very well, my king.'

Honour scooped upBranchy on his back, which looked very silly and uncomfortable to Lucas. Hefollowed one of the elves into the trees, Branchy weighing down the dragon.

‘Ishall meet up with you soon.'

Lucas and Zach nodded.

The elf who first spokewalked up to Lucas. ‘Come. We have been expecting you.'

The three of themfollowed the elf as he walked into the cave. It was very dark and Lucas couldhardly see anything, the air inside cold, making him shiver and his hair on hisarms stick up. When they finally exited, Lucas had his first glimpse of thehome of the elves.

They were in a valleymade up of hundreds upon hundreds of trees, taller than the giants themselveswere. In the tall green and brown leafed trees, wooden log houses and huts ofthose who lived there sat. Rope ladders and rope cords hung down from thehouses, reaching down to the ground itself. Wooden planks stretched across eachlevel, bridging the gap between houses. Every house was in one of the trees,all except for one.

The odd house sat at thebottom of the valley, all by itself. It looked like a little cottage with whitemarble brick walls and a red roof. Above the windowsill, a chime hung, blowingsoftly in the wind. Smoke poured out of the white stone chimney, but instead ofbeing black, the smoke was white. It seemed out of place with the other huts inthe trees and Lucas knew that someone important lived there.

The wooden door flewopen and Lucas's mouth dropped. A familiar blonde-haired woman stepped out ofthe little house, followed by two men with sharp pointy ears. The moment shesaw Lucas, the woman's mouth dropped too. Her light, crystal blue eyes filledwith tears, her tired face lighting up into a smile. She dropped the basket offood she was carrying and ran to him. He pushed past his friends and met herhalfway.

Mother and son ran toeach other and grabbed the other in a hug. They fell down to the ground asMartha began crying. Elizabeth and Zach looked on and Zach noticed Elizabethwas crying as well.

‘My child! I cannotbelieve you are here!' Martha pulled herself back and placed her hands onLucas's face. She smiled. ‘You look so much like your father!'

‘You look exactly how Ipictured you! How I saw you in my dreams,' Lucas smiled back. ‘I have waited tomeet you since Tom and Lucy told me you were alive.'

‘Tom and Lucy? Oh,Thomas and Lucinda. Are they well?'

‘They are well. They areback … home with my … foster mother.'

‘I'm sorry?' his motherasked, confused.

‘The woman who raisedme,' he answered.

Martha looked upset.‘Oh, my Fredrick. I am so sorry.'

‘I'm not Fredrick. Imean I am … To everyone here, that's my name. It's just … my name is Lucas.'

Martha smiled warmly athim. ‘My dear Lucas.' She started to cry once more as she grabbed him into ahug again.

* * *

Lucy was pacing the lounge room, anxious being home alone. She waswaiting for Tom to return. She had been gone for five days, searching anywhereand everywhere for word on Lucas or how to get back. It had been seven dayssince he left. It was hard not knowing how he was going. With no way to contactBomcard and no word from him, Lucy was very nervous. She did not like notknowing what was happening. Was he dead? Was he captured? Had he succeeded? Somany questions ran through her mind.

Since Lucas's departure,Tom and Lucy had moved in with Linda. They had moved into one of the rooms leftempty. As far as Linda knew, Lucas was missing. The house had been trashed andthe police called. Lucas was now officially a missing person. The moment Tomand Lucy had “arrived” at the crime scene, Linda had been hysterical. After afew days, she asked them to move in with her when they claimed that theirparents had left town for a few days. That way, when news finally arrived aboutLucas, she knew where they all would be.

Lucy knew Tom was outwatching a show – it was his way of keeping his mind of Lucas and how helplessthey are. Lucy herself did not like theatre productions. She had always been amovie person herself. She and Tom had always talked about heading over toHollywood if Lucas turned out to be human. Without him needing them, they couldlive their own lives. Tom had always joked that the movie industry would not bebig enough for them. She had replied that anyone with a brain would not hirehim to sing or dance.

They had never actedlike this in Bomcard; Earth had changed them for the better. The music, lights,people and much more all contributed to their new outlook on life. They nolonger had interest in fighting and conflicts. They would fight if called upon,but they no longer lived for the battle. She realised they were slowly becoming… human, picking up human traits, likes and dislikes. She wondered if Lucas wasfeeling the same in Bomcard. Was he adjusting? Was he feeling like he belongedthere as much as she realised that Tom and herself belonged on Earth?

The front door slammedclosed and Lucy looked up, her mouth dropping in shock. Tom was standing thereexcept he looked ... different. He was wearing a black T-shirt from the musicalWicked with his jean pants. His newbaseball cap had the word ‘Hairspray' printed on. He had posters under one armand in the other he was holding at least five other bags with other souvenirsin them. Lucy could not hold it in and she burst into hysterics.

Tom looked at her with ahuge smile on his face. ‘Lucy, you should have come! It was awesome! Look atall these things I got!' He walked over to the couch, putting his stuff downand opening bags, pulling out his new possessions.

The sound of the frontdoor closing again caught their attention and they turned as Linda walked in,smiling.

‘Hi guys,’ she smiledweakly. Looking at Tom, she asked, ‘What happened to you?’

Lucy turned to Tom andasked, ‘Yeah, what happened? I thought you were going to only buy one thing?'

Tom looked at her androlled his eyes. ‘I did. One thing from each play I saw plus others I walkedpast, but I think there was just one I didn't get to see.'

Lucy laughed. ‘I've beengone for five days. Please tell me you didn't spend all our money.'

Tom turned to her andleaned in. With a big smile on his face, he whispered softly, ‘Remember allthat gold we brought over from Bomcard?'

‘Sure. It was only thatsmall amount,' she replied, also in a whisper.

‘You will never believehow much we got for it when we traded it in! We are rich! Well, not entirelyrich, but enough that I could go out and see what I wanted to!'

Lucy, still smiling,shook her head in disbelief as Linda turned to her and asked, ‘Any news yet?'

Lucy looked at her andfrowned. ‘No word on Lucas.'

Linda looked confused.‘What exactly did you do?'

‘Well, see, my fatherknows some private investigators. I went to visit him to see if he could helpus out. He’s…on the case. No word yet though but he will let us know the momenthe does.'

Linda frowned, tearsforming in her eyes. ‘I hope he's okay. This not knowing – it’s killing me.'

Tom frowned as he placeda hand on her shoulder. ‘No news can be good news sometimes. I generally feelhe is ok. I can’t explain it.' Turning to Lucy, he asked, 'What do you think?'

Lucy turned to him,pushing up her glasses. ‘I think you’re right. No news can be good news. Idon’t like it however. I feel lost without knowing where he is.'

‘Any word on that otherproblem?’ Tom asked in curiosity.

‘What problem?’ Lindaasked in curiosity.

‘About my parents,’ Tominterrupted quickly.

‘Tom’s parents bailed,’Lucy lied, turning to face him as she tucked away a strain of hair.

‘Just before Lucasvanished. Tom was living with me.’

‘What? Do you think theycould be involved?’ Linda asked in shock.

Lucy looked at her sadlyas she replied, ‘No. From what I heard, no one knows exactly what went downhere. There were no bodies, no blood. The private investigator said it was morelikely Lucas ran away from home. He checked out Tom’s parents when I told himthey left. He checked it out – their alibis are solid.'

Linda looked at her inpain. ‘This is killing me.'

‘We know,’ Tom replied,placing his hand on her shoulder again. She smiled weakly, slowly making herway to the kitchen. Tom looked at Lucy and asked, ‘You okay?’

Lucy looked at him, hereyebrows rising. ‘What did you do to the body?'

‘All you need to know isit’s gone. Its better them thinking he ran away, then him being dead.'

‘It would work to hisadvantage,’ Lucy slowly nodded in agreement. ‘I don’t like this Tom. I don’tlike not knowing where he is or how he is going. This is killing me as well.And to lie to Linda as well?'

Tom nodded, frowning. ‘Iknow, but we have too.'

The pair stood togetherin silence, fear in their eyes. Tom grabbed Lucy in a hug as she softly beganto cry in his arms. After a few moments, Lucy headed over to the window andstared out. She could only hope that Lucas was still alive and he could hold alittle longer until they get there.

* * *

Lucas and Martha walked around the elfin village. They had beenfilling each other in on the past sixteen years of stories from childhood, to schooland even his battles with David. Lucas discovered that Martha had lived withthe elves after his disappearance. Her father Jacob had died a few years ago ina battle with some Stalkers that had been discovered to still exist. He hadmanaged to destroy them, but it cost him his life. Martha had become Queen ofthe Elves and now that Lucas had returned, she claimed her role as queen wasover.

‘Now that you havereturned, you will take your rightful place. You are King of the Elves,' shetold him.

‘I don't understand,'Lucas replied. ‘You are still alive, so shouldn't you still be the queen?'

‘No,' she replied withher warm smile. ‘When the king dies, their first son becomes king. If he has noson, his daughter will become queen. If she has younger brothers, they will beking before she is queen. However, if she has no siblings and has children, ifshe has a son, he will replace her and become king once he comes of age atfifteen. You are now sixteen, thus my role is complete and you are king.'

‘I don't want to be king…'

She looked at him withsad eyes. ‘It is a daunting task, but it is your birthright. If you had livedin Bomcard and not on Earth, you would still be king now. I can guide you andhelp you, but you are the one the other elves will listen to, and not just theelves. Remember, the elves are rulers of all magical species. You are now kingof them all as well as King of Bomcard. That is from your father's side of thefamily.'

He looked at her,shocked. ‘So … I'm king of … everything?'

She smiled warmly. ‘Yes.I did say it was daunting.'

‘I don't want to beking,' Lucas repeated, staring down and avoiding her kind eyes. ‘I just … wantto be normal. Live my life the way a kid my age is supposed to live it. Nothaving to make battle strategies or learning how to fight. Not killing monstersand humans to survive.'

Martha frowned. ‘If Icould lift you of this burden, I would have already. I do not wish this uponyou. When you left, a part of me wished you would not return because I knewthis would await you. In my heart, my sole wish was that you would live yourlife happy and free. You can do this, and I will be by your side every step ofthe way. If you need help, just ask.'

‘Thanks.'

After a brief moment,Martha smiled and said, ‘You seem to want to ask me a question. You can.'

‘Why do some people callme a prince and others a king?' Lucas asked her, curiosity in his voice.

‘Many already consideryou the king,' Martha replied warmly. 'Some do not believe you have earned thattitle. One day, everyone will see you as their king, however until then, manywill still believe you only a prince.'

Lucas smiled and nodded.They continued to walk through the village, waving at the younger elves whowaved at him. He had met some of the older elves, including the leader of theelfin army, Nicholas.

Nicholas was a veryscary elf. He was built like a body builder but was faster than anyone Lucashad seen. He had scars all across his arms, each one with a different story.Nicholas had proudly shown them to Lucas upon their first meeting. He alsointroduced Lucas to the other soldiers, all who were honoured to meet him. Someelves, like his army, were happy to see their new king; some were not.

Nicholas had told himthat those who were not happy were only so because they knew he would bring warupon them. Lucas had informed Nicholas he did not want to drag them into war,but he had replied that it did not matter. They would follow him, even if theydid not want to.

Lucas and Martha werenow standing on the platform that stretched from the two top guard posts. Theylooked down on the town and Lucas noticed Elizabeth tending to Branchy.

The Living Tree would befine. He was still in shock from the torture that he had endured. They haddiscovered that Rafael had been the one that carried out the torture, andBranchy revealed only what he knew: that Lucas was in town looking for a man.They had left him for dead and headed back to Barback. They had only discoveredBranchy because he had come out of the forest looking for Lucas and fled whenhe saw the guards. They gave chase and the rest is … painful, Lucas thought. Hehad never wanted this to happen.

Elizabeth had not lefthis side. She felt bad from being rude to him earlier and now refused to allowanyone to harm her new friend. Neither had Zachary, who helped her clean hiscuts and break off the dead branches. Zach's dragon companion, Honour, laybehind Branchy protectively. He looked up at Lucas, his head tilting to itsside.

‘Areyou okay, King Lucas?'

Lucas shook his head. ‘No. I did not want … I should have beenthere, to protect Branchy, to protect Stelipse.'

‘Youdid what you could. We had no choice. If we remained in the town, we would alsobe dead.'

‘Weshould have stayed. You can take on that dragon.'

Honour shook his head. ‘Not at the moment. I only woke up from myenchanted sleep a few days ago. I will need a least another day or more to beat full strength. I would have perished very quickly.'

Lucas hung his head indisappointment. He felt Martha's hand on his. ‘You couldn't do anything. Honouris right.'

Lucas turned to her inshock and asked, ‘You can read minds?'

She smiled at him as shereplied, ‘You had to inherit it from somewhere, right?'

Lucas smiled. ‘What elsedid I inherit from you?'

‘My telepathy and I alsohave limited telekinesis. Your fire ability is from your grandfather. Oh, alsomy eyes. Your father's look, but my eyes...and hair.'

Lucas frowned. ‘I justwish I could have done something.'

‘Lucas, you could not.You risked your life, but more importantly, you did not know what wouldhappen.'

‘Lucas,you may want to come down here. It seems we have visitors,’ Elizabeth’s voice called out softlyin his mind.

Lucas and Martha lookeddown but did not see anyone; however, Elizabeth and Zach did. As they reachedthe others, Lucas turned, shocked to see who was waiting for him. The littlegirl from Stelipse was there, her eyes once again green and human looking, yetshe had the same dark smile on her face from their first encounter.

‘Hello, Your Majesty,'the little girl greeted, ‘So, this is where you fled to. Interesting.'

Celeste walked forwardand from behind her, black human shadows followed. The Spirits floated aboveher and when she stopped, they surrounded her, protecting her in case ofdanger. The elves looked on in horror at the visitors to their peaceful home,the little children running to their parents for protection.

Lucas walked up to herand asked in disgust, ‘Celeste? How could you … how could you still have this …child? What happened to her people … was ... was …' He could not controlhimself and his voice began to shake with anger and disgust.

‘A terrible fate,'Celeste finished. ‘All those people are now part of our people.'

‘But the child you areusing …'

‘It is only her body. Ino longer possess her, King Lucas. She perished in the town, killed by a guard.I am using her body.'

Lucas turned white inthe face and started shaking with anger. Elizabeth walked up and grabbed hishand. ‘Breathe,' she whispered. ‘She died. She is not in there with her.'

Lucas turned to Celesteand said, ‘You cannot do this. You cannot possess her.'

‘Would you rather wepossess the living?' she replied. ‘We do not do this by choice. We cannot moveon. We have no choice if we wish to help you. Is it better possessing a dead,useful body or possessing a living person who would continue to fight you forcontrol? People in this world, when they die, they become us. Until then, theywill fight for control of their own body. We have their memories now. Thelittle girl felt no pain. We did try to save them.'

‘You did?' Lucas stoppedshaking.

‘Yes.' Celeste looked athim sadly. ‘We did try. They were innocents. We knew it was what you wouldwant. We arrived too late. We could only witness the ending of the event andthe aftermath.'

Lucas nodded sadly.‘Very well, but why are you here?'

Celeste smiled. ‘LordBarback is spreading the word that you and the elves destroyed Stelipse. Wehave come to warn you, and aid you in battle.'

‘What battle? We are noteven close to one.'

Celeste frowned. ‘Weare, I am afraid. Lord Barback knows your location. That is how we could replaceyou. We followed him.'

As soon as the wordsleft her mouth, people flew into panic. Elves, who were listening into theconversation, grabbed their young, screaming and running to pack belongings.Panic spread fast. Martha tried calming people down as did Elizabeth, to noavail.

Nicholas came running infrom the entrance of the valley and ran up to Lucas, yelling, ‘My king! It istrue! On the horizon!'

‘What?' Lucas askednervously.

‘Sir, there are hundredsof guards and not just humans.'

‘What do you mean?'

‘Sir, he has the goblinsand dwarfs with him.'

Lucas turned to Celeste,anger in his voice. ‘Did you lead them here?'

She shook her head. ‘Ifollowed them, not the other way around. I said that. I have no reason to lie.'

Zach walked up toNicholas and asked, ‘How did he replace our location, if Celeste is telling us thetruth?'

‘I do not know,'Nicholas replied. He turned back to Lucas and added, ‘Lord Barback is also withthem.'

Elizabeth looked atLucas and said, ‘We're not ready. We can't fight!'

Lucas noticed Zachlooking around nervously. He turned back to Elizabeth and whispered,

‘They won't help us. Youcan't attack humans. It's only three of us and Honour.'

Lucas looked at her andaround him. Everyone was panicking except Celeste and Martha, the only ones whostared at him completely calm. Lucas flew up to the top two guard towers. Hestared down at the people and yelled, ‘Enough!'

Everyone froze in place.They all looked up at him as he stared down at them. Elizabeth could not besure, but as she continued to stare at him, she thought she noticed his eyeschange colour. They were the same green colour as the emerald on her necklace,the same green she thought she had seen before in his eyes.

‘I am as terrified asyou are!' Lucas yelled to those below. ‘I don't wish to fight. If it was mychoice, I would flee too until we are ready. When I lived on Earth, I was innumerous fights. I was bullied and attacked, and I never won because I wasnever ready to fight. Then one day I was. I stood my ground and I won.' Lucaslooked around as he spoke, his voice echoing over the village.

He looked down andcontinued. ‘I do not know if today is our day to be ready to stand our groundand claim victory. We have no choice; we cannot run. I am King Lucas ofBomcard. I am king of the elves. I am king of magical creatures. I am king ofthe humans. I will not run. I will not flee. I promised to myself when I cameto Bomcard not to allow anyone to destroy it. I am here to change destiny.First, it is time for a change in law.'

Everyone looked up athim, confused.

‘No longer are magicalcreatures forbidden to touch humans. If it is in self-defense, if it is toprotect, then it will be allowed. You cannot stand by and allow evil humans toharm you. You must protect yourself instead of fleeing.'

Everyone's mouthsdropped open.

‘We shall stand together- elves, humans, spirits, mermaids, dragons and trees. We will defend the bestwe can. We will fight the best we can.

‘I do not wish this onanyone. I will not ask you to remain. I will not ask you to risk your lives forme. I will ask that you will stay if you wish to, if you want to. Everyoneelse, flee now. I will fight for all of you, even if no one remains behind.'

Lucas floated down tothe bottom of the village. Elizabeth shook her head. She must have beenimagining his eyes. Maybe it was the light, she thought as both she and Zachwalked up to him.

‘We're staying.' Elizabethsmiled as she informed him of their decision.

‘Till the death,' Zachadded.

‘Tillthe death,’ a soft voice agreed. Lucas turned and nodded to Honour.

Martha walked up to himwith Nicholas and said, ‘Lucas, I shall take those who wish to leave to safety.I will try to contact the centaurs to assist. I do not know if I will succeedor if they will arrive in time.'

‘Can you take Branchywith you? I know it’s silly …'

‘It is not. I shall.'

‘Thank you.' He lookedat her sadly and they hugged each other. ‘It feels like I only just got youback.'

‘I will see you again,my son.' She broke away from him and with tears in her eyes, turned and raninto the crowd.

Nicholas looked at himand said, ‘The army is staying.'

Lucas nodded. ‘Let's notlet them in here. People will still be attempting to leave.'

Nicholas nodded inagreement. ‘We shall meet you at the entrance, my king.' With that he was off,other elves following his lead and heading to grab weapons.

‘We shall assist aswell,' Celeste smiled, turning to Lucas.

And with that,Elizabeth, Zachary, Celeste and Lucas turned and ran after Nicholas and theelves. Honour roared and flew into the air, the Spirits flying with him and allaround them while the elves continued to panic and flee.