Dack’s horse made great progress as they both raced to the portal area. I can do this, Dack thought as he leaned forward in the saddle. All this time racing around could have been avoided if Theterm would have just taught me how to open Ways before I agreed to help the Brotherhood. The trees on both sides of the road were extremely overgrown, and Dack had to keep ducking to avoid getting knocked out of the saddle. I know he feels responsible for Lucan and doesn’t want to see me fail, but there must be something else he won’t tell me. There’s always something that he is hiding, but for my benefit or his?
As Dack was almost to the portal area fortress, he noticed a large branch blocking the road and slowed down as he decided whether to get off the horse and go around or to try and convince the horse to jump over the obstacle. Before a decision could be made, a figure fell from the trees on to the horse right behind Dack. The horse reared up immediately and increased its speed. “You don’t have time to slow down, jump it,” the figure insisted in a whisper.
Dack gently nudged the horse in the ribs, leaned forward, and the horse easily cleared the branch and continued with a renewed, quicker pace. Dack tried to turn around to see who was on the back of the horse but was met with sharp resistance from some sort of weapon into his side. “Fixx?”
“Fixx is dead, you ought to know that. Everyone knows you killed him and threw him down a well.”
“That’s not what happened. It was an accident,” Dack pleaded.
“It doesn’t matter; just keep up this pace until we get to the portal area fortress.”
Dack didn’t like the little game that was playing out, and he decided to do something about it as he approached another low-hanging branch. Timing was all important if he was to use it to unseat his unwelcome guest. He slowly removed his right foot from the stirrup. Within feet of the branch, he loosened his grip on the reins and threw his body sharply to the left, hooking his right foot to the horn of the saddle so he wouldn’t fall off in the process. By the time Dack managed to pull himself upright again, the figure was gone and all was still.
“Show yourself!” Dack screamed into the distance as he circled around with the horse. “You think you know what happened? Well, you don’t! I have to live everyday with the guilt of betrayal, but not murder,” he finished quietly. “It was an accident.”
“Actually, it was well planned,” a voice said behind him.
Dack spun to see Fixx standing in the road with his arms crossed, a big smile on his face.
“You are insane. Why?” Dack demanded.
Fixx pointed at him menacingly. “Stop with the insane comments. I am now, and have always been, in my right mind. Why does everyone think that I am crazy?”
Dack jumped off the horse and kneeled in front of Fixx. “Why?”
“It was a test. You failed the first part, but you’ve made up for your shortcomings by actually being sorry for it happening in the first place,” Fixx admitted.
“A test?”
“When you claim to believe something, it doesn’t matter until the day of the test. You said you could work with everyone, and that wasn’t true. I believe now it’s true, but only because I controlled the test. If you would have killed me, you would be no good to anyone, so I had to allow you to believe that I was dead and hope for the best.”
Dack laughed loudly in Fixx’s face. “I don’t get it all, but thanks for not dying,” Dack said as he hugged Fixx tightly. “I will never again let others control me like they have recently.”
“That’s nice to say, but I don’t know how possible that’s going to be, given the situation at hand,” Fixx said matter-of-factly.
“That’s right, we have to get going before it’s too late. All the armies of the kings will be at the portal area in no time,” Dack said as he jumped back into the saddle.
“I’ve already arranged a few diversions for the armies of the west and the east. It appears you’ve got the Cult taking care of the north,” Fixx said as he hopped on the horse behind Dack.
“Opening a Way will not be a problem,” Dack said to Fixx as they began again.
“Does your confidence have to do with your visit to the Shadow Cult or Theterm?”
“Have you been following me?” Dack said jokingly.
“You’re my best bet of getting home or of being treated properly if I have to stay,” Fixx said seriously. “I made plenty of arrangements with my allies to stop the coming armies so that you could have the time to open a Way. So, yes, I have been following you. It was Theterm, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“That’s it? No more details?”
Dack laughed at Fixx’s questioning. “What do you want to know?”
“I want to know how you know that opening a Way will not be a problem,” Fixx said, getting a little perturbed.
“Okay, sorry. Only a Whisperer of Lore can open Ways. It just so happens that I am one,” Dack said proudly.
“Half human, half cult, all Whisperer, huh?” Fixx snickered.
“How do you know about me being Cult?” Dack demanded.
“You said it when you thought I was dead, remember?”
“You have to keep that to yourself, do you understand me?” Dack demanded.
“Now wait a minute, are you embarrassed of your kin?”
“No, I’m just not ready to tell everyone.”
“And here I thought you had changed,” Fixx said disappointedly.
“I have.”
“You keep telling yourself that, and maybe it’ll come true when it’s time to count.”
“What do you want from me, Fixx?” Dack shouted. “I am trying my best to hold my life together while I finish what I’ve started. Just days ago I was a simple boy who cared nothing more than about how to pass the days in meaningless ease. Now I’m some force for good that everyone wants to use. Do you see why I might not be too comfortable with sharing it all?”
“I’m sorry, Dack. I just want you to be honest with yourself.”
“Honesty is not one of your strong qualities, is it, Fixx?” Dack asked, trying to take the focus off himself.
“No, it’s not, Dack, but you’ll have to trust me if we want to finish this properly, okay?”
“As you will have to trust me, right?”
“Fair enough,” Fixx concluded. “So back to the Whisperer thing.”
“Right,” Dack said excitedly. “Theterm told me how to open a Way, and I don’t think showing the kings that we control serious power will be a problem anymore.”
“Why hasn’t he done anything before this?”
“He is supposed to train someone to control Ways and isn’t supposed to use them himself.”
“Did he train Lucan?” Fixx asked, hoping Theterm didn’t have anything to do with Lucan.
“Yes, and he is very sorry for failing the island,” Dack said, feeling sorry for Theterm.
“So what is different this time?”
“Different? There’s a lot of difference. I do not plan to raise armies that will conquer this island or any other place. I plan to use only what I know to help this island come back together. I’m sure there’re plenty of other differences too. Are you okay with this?”
“Why didn’t Theterm send us home after Lucan’s war?” Fixx demanded.
“Lucan stole the books he used to open the Ways to the different worlds. Theterm can’t send anyone home unless he knows the name of the Way in that world. One book survived, Book Two; it’s in the Southern Territory. After this is over I will work with Theterm to send those home who want to go, but only if we can identify the name of their Way.”
“Oh,” Fixx said, thinking of home.
The rest of the ride was spent discussing Fixx’s plans he had set up with his allies before looking for Dack. As they arrived at the portal area fortress, Alix and Alin approached.
“Fixx, the east and west will be here about the same time, in probably six to eight hours,” Alix announced.
“Only horsemen, right?” Fixx asked.
“That’s correct. All armies are on horseback. It would take too long on foot, so by horse is the only way,” Alin concluded.
“Farah is in the west, and Chad is in the east. It looks like the south will not be joining the other armies. Everyone has orders to stop but not engage the armies, so we will only have a few hours of warning when they are close. Early reports have very few riders from the west but a heavily armored contingency coming from the east,” Alix added.
“The kings of the north and the east will not stop until we are dead,” Fixx said, looking around at the others. “Will we get any support from the south?”
“No support and no harm,” Alix said.
“That should be enough time, Fixx. Are you ready?” Dack interrupted.
“Thank you, boys,” Fixx said to Alix and Alin as they departed to get updated information.
Dack and Fixx rode up to the portal area fortress and hopped off the horse for a much-needed stretch. After a brief break to drink some water, Dack was ready. He got out the keys and moved toward the door. Each key looked slightly different, so Dack took a moment to figure out which key went with each lock. When each was placed in the correct lock, he turned them and all worked except the last one. He took the key out that didn’t work and put it back in again and turned it with no more success.
“Is there a problem?” Fixx asked.
“This one key doesn’t work, what should we do?” Dack asked, concerned that they didn’t have a lot of time for problems.
“Are you sure you have them in the right locks?” Fixx asked, trying not to laugh.
“What’s so funny, Fixx? We don’t have time for your little pranks. Give me the right key,” Dack said, holding out his hand to Fixx.
“You are no fun,” Fixx said, handing the original key from the east to Dack.
“If there weren’t people coming to end my life in less than a day, maybe I would think this was funny, but now I just think it’s an unnecessary delay,” Dack said as he put the key in the lock and turned it with success.
The door swung open, and both Fixx and Dack were overtaken by a sense of awe even though they couldn’t see anything inside. “We need some light,” Fixx said quietly as he slowly stepped away from the door. “I’ll be right back,” he said before running off.
This is it, Dack thought, my time to prove I am worthy of being a Whisperer of Lore.
“Here you go,” Fixx said, handing Dack a makeshift torch. “This should work until the others can get us a few lanterns.”
A rider came up to the fortress as Dack and Fixx were waiting in the doorway. “Fixx, the north has broken past the Cult. A small group is on its way, maybe ten to twelve,” the rider announced.
“Are there any survivors?” Dack asked.
“It’s hard to tell, but the group didn’t engage the Cult; they just rode past while the others held the Cult back. They are fully armored, including their horses. My guess is it’s the king and his personal guard. Expect them in four to six hours,” the rider said as he rode off again.
“Get in there, Dack. We don’t have much time.” Fixx smiled as he pushed Dack inside.
Dack looked around the fortress and found it to be rather sparse with a very high ceiling. The walls were made of cut stones that were still in very good condition. This building, Dack thought, has been built better than the other castles. There was nothing inside except a few swirling pieces of dust.
“It’s up to you now, Dack. I’ll wait at the door,” Fixx said, feeling slightly claustrophobic.
“Fixx, I need both of my hands to do this, I think. Can you hold both torches?” Dack asked, not wanting Fixx to leave.
“Sure thing, Dack,” Fixx said, taking the second torch.
Dack walked around the room with both hands outstretched, hoping to feel the Way. He started to feel flustered and sweat began to dot his brow. “Fixx, can you come in here with those torches? I can’t see what I’m doing.”
“In a minute!” Fixx called from the door. “There are more riders coming.”
“This is too much stress. I’m not even sure if I’m doing this right,” Dack said, fearing that he had not learned his lessons well enough.
“Fixx, the west will be here in about four hours,” the rider announced.
“Four hours, are you sure?” Fixx asked.
“Farah? Is that you?” Dack asked as he rushed to the door.
“Hello, Dack.” Farah smiled, showing her tusks. “Is the Way opened yet?”
“Soon. What happened to all the time we had?” Dack asked nervously.
“This place is closer to the Western Territory. There won’t be a problem, will there?” Farah growled.
“I need to get back to opening the Way. Fixx,” Dack whispered, “how’re those lanterns coming?”
“Farah, you have a lantern?” Fixx asked.
“Yes, does Dack need it?”
“Yes, it’s very dark in there,” Dack said, feeling he had to explain the need for the lantern.
“Take it. I won’t need it for a while,” Farah said, holding it out to Fixx.
“Thanks,” Fixx said as he took it from Farah.
“What’s wrong with Dack?” Farah said quietly as he was lighting the lantern.
“He’s feeling pressure, that’s all.”
“He better do this or we’re all done for, right?” Farah glared at Fixx.
“Here you go, Dack,” Fixx said as he handed the lantern to Dack. “We’ll wait out here. You don’t need us looking over your shoulder,” Fixx said weakly as he walked away from the door.
Dack took the lantern and placed it on the floor near the door. With outstretched hands he began to walk toward the center of the room. His shadow danced on the walls in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. “It’s just my shadow, what’s wrong with me?” Dack said aloud. He continued to walk slowly into the darkness, hoping to feel the heat on his hands that Theterm said would occur when they were in a Way.
Tears began to stream down Dack’s face as he moved slowly through the room. “I don’t want to do this. I don’t like this feeling of helplessness. Maybe Theterm lied to me. Maybe I can’t open Ways. I am so afraid.”
“It’s okay,” Fixx said from the door.
Dack turned and ran to Fixx. “I can’t do this!” Dack cried. “I am so sorry.”
“What’s stopping you?” Fixx asked.
“I have lost all my confidence. I’m even afraid of my own shadow,” Dack said, laughing.
“Well, if it makes you feel better, I’m not too fond of being in that room either,” Fixx admitted.
“That’s it!” Dack said. Remember, and don’t let it change you, he heard Theterm saying. “Theterm told me it feels like fear.”
“Really?”
“I can do this,” Dack announced as he grabbed the lantern and moved to the middle of the room. Putting it down, he put his hands in front of him, ignoring the sense of dread filling him again. First one hand, and then the other began to tingle.
“Found it!” Dack shouted.