The Guardians of the Relic
Chapter 23

The old castle was spectacular. She saw it as it came into view when they reached the end of the long curvy road. It was situated on top of the mountain. Lush green grass had grown all around it. The castle was probably centuries old, an ancient part of Elgin history. The wind blew strongly. Emily looked up at the dark clouds that were forming in the sky. The car came to a stop in front of the enormous doors of the castle. He looked at her.

“Remember, stick to the plan,” he said. She nodded.

The doors opened before they approached them. They walked in. The sound of her heels on the marble floor echoed in the hallway. Emily jolted when the doors suddenly shut behind them. They both exchanged looks before carrying on. They made their way straight ahead to a winding staircase. She shivered, not knowing whether the air was truly that cold or if she was simply scared. By contrast, Ethan seemed to be well composed. The place was empty. Not a soul in sight. Where is everyone? thought Emily.

“Welcome,” said a voice. They both stopped in their tracks. “I have been expecting you.” Emily and Ethan turned so that their backs were against each other and searched the hallway. Where was the voice coming from? Then her eyes caught him. He was standing at the top of the stairs. She stared at him.

“Hello Emily,” he said.

Ethan turned around immediately. Alkron looked the same as when she had seen him at the town meeting, except he now wore a black cloak and had a staff in his hand.

“Where is he?” asked Emily, the anger in her voice slowly starting to build. In the blink of an eye, he moved and was standing right in front of her. Ethan moved towards him.

“Ethan, no,” she screamed and watched as Alkron raised his staff. Ethan went flying and hit the wall. Emily slowly stepped back as Alkron approached her.

“Give me what I want and I will consider letting you live,” said Alkron. She looked at Ethan who was crumbled on the floor. He wasn’t moving.

“She does not have it,” said a voice behind her. She turned around. It was Alastair. Glohone and Izdel stood on either side of him. Erhan and Zugast were behind them.

“Alastair,” said Alkron. He scanned the room. “What a pleasant surprise.”

“You will not succeed. You are outnumbered. Just give us the boy,” said Alastair.

There was silence in the room. Alkron closed his eyes and bowed his head. He covered his head with the hood of his cloak. No one moved a muscle. Emily felt her heart thud in her chest. She heard him click his tongue. He slowly lifted his head again and opened his eyes. “Remember Alastair, I am always one step ahead of you.”

The movement was swift. A flash of blue lightning struck and Glohone and Izdel crashed to the ground. When Emily turned, Zugast stood with his hands lifted on either side. Two balls of blue light radiated in each hand. His eyes turned murky. Erhan was in the air, his legs dangling just off the ground. He was grasping his throat.

“Zugast, what are you doing?” asked Alastair.

Zugast stretched both his hands in front of him. Emily shielded her eyes from the bright flash that flew in Alastair’s direction. The ground began to shake and she lost her balance. She hit the ground and heard a loud explosion. The walls started to crack, and smoke and dust were everywhere. She struggled to see through the smoke when she stood. Then it cleared and she saw Alastair. He stood in the same place, untouched. Emily looked up at him in awe. She searched the room for Alkron. He was gone. Ethan steered his head and she felt relieved. Glohone and Izdel slowly got to their feet.

“You traitor! Put him down now,” Alastair said to Zugast.

Zugast smirked and let go. Erhan fell to the ground and Glohone ran to his side.

“You have always been a fool Alastair. Believing in these pathetic humans. Protecting them.” He shook his head. “We could become so much greater with the pendant’s power.”

“Evil has consumed you,” said Alastair as he moved towards him.

Zugast lifted his index finger. “Remember, if you kill me, both your precious friends die. Alkron is ready to snap their little necks.” Alastair stopped. Emily, who was trembling now, covered her mouth with her hand.

Glohone looked up at him. “Both our friends?”

“Yes, we have the witch too. She is dying. Why do you think Athena was helping us?”

Alastair looked at Izdel, who in turn nodded his head. They seemed to silently agree on something. Glohone got up and second’s later fire struck Zugast. He screamed as the fire consumed him. Emily turned to Glohone and saw that his eyes were red. Emily cried for him to stop but he didn’t. The heat was rising in the room. She panicked. Then suddenly he stopped. Through the haze Emily saw her now. Athena.

Zugast fell to the ground, his hands and face burnt. Slowly she saw the burns heal themselves. He coughed out the black smoke. His clothes were completely burned, exposing part of his shriveled body. “You will regret that,” he said, eyeing Glohone.

Glohone didn’t look at him. His eyes were fixed on Athena. Then Athena held her stomach. She looked at her hands. Blood stained her blouse. Emily watched in horror as the sword cut through Athena’s abdomen again. As she fell, Alkron came into view behind her.

“No! Athena!” Glohone screamed when she hit the ground. He ran to her and cradled her in his arms.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t tell you,” she just managed to get the words out.

“Hold on,” he whispered.

He chanted a spell over her. When he finished, he knew it was too late. Her head had already fallen back and her eyes were closed. He slowly let her head rest on the ground and looked up at Alkron with a murderess rage.

Alkron didn’t look at him but kept his gaze fixed on Alastair. “Give me the pendant or everyone dies.”

“Show me that the boy is alive first. I want to see him,” said Alastair.

Alkron didn’t speak. Emily felt her muscles tense. The seconds that passed felt like hours. He finally looked at Zugast, who had already recovered from Glohone’s assault. When his eyes shifted back to Alastair he said, “Come with me.”

They all followed him. Emily exhaled in relief. It meant Michael was still alive. She noticed Ethan tried to get up and she quickly ran to his side. “Ethan, don’t try to move.”

He winced. There was a deep long cut on his forehead. His face was black from the smoke. “I’m okay,” he said, his voice hoarse.

“Liar,” she said. “Stay here. You have done more than enough for me.” She squeezed his hand gently. Ethan smiled. He slowly closed his eyes and passed out again.

Emily couldn’t bear to look as she walked past Athena lying on the floor.

* *

The dungeon of the castle was dark and eerie. The walls had slowly cracked with time. Green plants clung to them like spider webs. Her hand touched something fluffy and moist as she walked down the old stairs. She almost screamed when she saw the rat scurry into a small hole. Emily’s eyes caught the two steel cages when she reached the bottom of the stairs. Michael was slouched in a corner with a blood stained cloth tied to his head.

“Michael.” she said and ran to the cage. He wasn’t moving. She wrapped her fingers around the bars and screamed his name again. Still no response. Alastair and the others stood around her. The tears ran down her cheeks. Her eyes shifted to the cage next to his. A woman was lying on her side, her eyes only half closed.

“He is alive. He has just lost too much blood. ” she said. Her voice was weak.

Zugast pulled Emily away from the cage. She screamed and kicked him “Let go of me!”

“Enough.” said Alkron, he raised his voice. His eyes were fixed on Emily’s. She stopped wriggling and stood still. There was silence. He turned to face Alastair. “You lied to me. She has it.”

“Now Emily!” Alastair shouted.

She wanted to move but Zugast grasped her so tightly that his fingernails dug into her skin. She screamed. He pulled the chain from around her neck with such force that it broke. She brought her hands to her neck and fought to catch her breath while Zugast clutched it in his hands and stared at the pendant. His eyes widened. He was in awe of its beauty.

“Bring it to me,” said Alkron.

After a moment, Zugast snapped out of his trance and lifted his head. He had a sinister look on his face. He looked at Alkron from the corner of his eye. A wicked smile formed with his black lips.

“It’s mine,” he said.

Alastair, Glohone, and the rest of the council stood in a line in front of him. Zugast laughed at them. In unison they began chanting a spell. The pendant moved from his hand and flew through the air. He tried to grab it, but it moved too quickly. It was like it had its own life. Emily jumped, caught it, and hit the ground. She desperately grasped it in her palm.

Zugast growled at her. Then the walls started to crack. The council continued to chant the spell. The ground shook underneath her. Dust fell from the ceiling. A part of the ceiling caved in. Alastair broke the chant and pushed her out of the way before the stones buried her. The large stones crushed down on Zugast.

“Run Emily, Run!” said Alastair. She looked up and saw Alkron hovering over her. She got to her feet and ran. She looked back and saw Alastair trying to hold him off. She ran as fast as she could. When she got to the entrance, she turned right and left, unsure of which way to go. Either way she wouldn’t make it, the falling stones were preventing it. Emily slowly stepped back, her heart racing in her chest. She was trapped.

Defeated, she reached out with one hand to steady herself as she caught her breath. She grabbed onto a candle holder mounted on the wall behind her. It pulled when she rested her weight on it. Suddenly the wall stones moved, exposing a secret tunnel. She turned around and realized it was her way out. She ran through the tunnel.