Chapter One
She patted his head maternally.
“I understand.”
Liam Gyle’s eyes flashed an icy shade of blue for several seconds. Something deep within the core of his stomach churned, and he suppressed the urge to let a tear roll down his cheek. He had truly thought she was different than the others. He had felt something genuine for her. Now all he felt was leaden; dead. The girl was apparently oblivious to the pain she was inflicting.
They sat in the center of Livercoal, watching cars pass by on the sleepy main street. Liam in his wheelchair, beside the bench she was sitting on. A nearby phone rang, tearing the adolescent from his reverie. The girl beside him produced a cell phone from her sequined purse. He turned away, not wishing to intrude on a private conversation. An intake of breath indicated that something was amiss.
“She didn’t!” Liam could just make out another voice on the other end of the line.
“I thought we told her... I know, right... Alright, I’ll be right there.” She snapped her phone shut in an officious manner, and turned back towards Liam.
“I’m so sorry, Liam, but I’ve gotta skate. My friend, I told her not to-“
“I know, you can go, I’ll just stay here...” Liam said in despondence.
Rising from her seat, she smiled sweetly at him. After she had disappeared from behind the decrepit corner store, Liam sighed. A flurry began to fall from the cloudy sky, sticking to the sidewalk. He pulled his denim jacket closer around himself. He rubbed his birth marked left hand against his right, trying to warm himself up.
He began to push his chair towards a large building that stood atop the hill behind Main Street. Knowing that his parents would be away for the next few days, Liam knew that he had plenty of time. To spend alone. Placing frigid hands on even colder wheels, Liam struggled to keep the chair rolling in a straight line. He cursed at the extra strain his legless torso was forced to exert.
A group of young boys about his age appeared near where the street curved up the hill. Attempting to impress a girl who walked among them, the dolts tripped over each other’s feet. One almost pushed his companion into the road when the latter tried to recite poorly remembered Shakespeare to her. He had even managed to pronounce Oberon incorrectly, Liam thought to himself. The group headed towards Liam, yet they did not seem to notice or even care that he was there. The teenagers, pretentiously clothed in leather jackets that were several sizes too large for them, filled the Saturday afternoon air with a raucous clamor. They could barely walk in such overbearing garments. In disgust, Liam ducked down the alleyway, which led to the library, the building which stood at the top of the hill.
The library was fashioned after an old English Tudor cottage of the late medieval period. Wooden rafters held up a tiled roof that slanted up in a pyramid shape. A dome stood atop the structure, a crowning monument to the Pennsylvanian town. The rusted spire reached to the sky, a long needle like point scraping the clouds.
The boy neared the double oak doors that marked the entrance to the library. Pulling one of the derelict doors towards him, Liam backed up in a hurry and attempted to slide through the crack before the door closed. Unfortunately the door slammed shut before he could get through. His frustration mounting, Liam lunged for the door again. Before his hand could even reach the metal handle, hairy fingers engulfed it in a bear like grip.
Startled, Liam looked up at the figure that was now holding the door open for him. The man of about twenty was cloaked in a tattered leather jacket that fell to his ankles. Liam at first believed the man to be of the party of adolescents in the main street. He soon realized that he had never seen this man before. Curly brown hair fell over olive green eyes. His face cast a wave of reassurance that washed over the boy.
“You gonna go in?” asked the man in a gruff, yet soothing tone.
“Yeah, thanks man.” said Liam. The door shut behind them as the pair walked into the vast expanse of the library.
Piercing the sky like a cathedral, books were stacked on shelves that rose to the highest point of the dome. They were vast pools of knowledge that were just yearning to be tapped. Liam had read almost all of them. This was his home; this was his sanctuary.
From behind Liam, the young man spoke:
“There is something better out there than hiding among your books, Liam of Gyle. I’ve come to show it to you, if you’re willing to learn.” Liam could feel a cold shudder trickle down his spine. He turned to face the man, to face his future.
Chapter Two
Flair of Ragfin lay upon the tiled roof of The Beer Tap inn. Stars twinkled down despite the receding snow clouds. She fiddled with a brilliant purple flower. The stone fortifications of Trilth ran along just below the roof of the inn, as the Town Guard patrolled the ramparts.
For the life of her, the young girl could not make out what exactly they thought they were guarding the village from. If he could get away with it, Prefect Kobble would try to deny even the very existence of Vervain. What hid in the forest was unknown to the humans. Humans do not like the unknown. Flair could not understand the reason for that, either.
Despite the village folk’s best efforts to stop them, trees and vines from Vervain crept over the walls, attempting to claim the land where they had once grown uninhibited.
The teenage girl lay above the inn that belonged to her father. In all directions except the forest lay the frontier town of Trilth. It was infested with those that were either too tired or too rich to appreciate the twinkling night stars. A late winter breeze brushed passed Flair’s dress, causing it to flutter elegantly, as its pearly white hue caught the moon’s nocturnal light. A faint scratching came from her right, and the youth could see a feline figure making its way towards her.
“Bladderbax!” she whispered, picking up the small cat and cradling him in her arms. His fur was a dark shade of blue, except for three black stripes, which streaked from the top of his head to the tip of his tail. He nuzzled her chest, as she sat up. Two more felines followed their brother, The Black Sisters, Flair called them. They curled up around the girl’s legs, licking her bare feet playfully. Behind them, yet another cat appeared, her green feline eyes glowing fixedly. Gingercoon, Bladderbax’s mate sauntered up to the girl, curling her orange-brown body and black striped tail around her lover. Flair scratched the back of her head soothingly. Bladderbax nuzzled her white underbelly, making mewing noises in the process. His tail batted Flair’s legs excitedly. Gingercoon pretended not to notice all the attention that was being paid to her.
“Do these cats have nothing better to do except follow you around wherever you may wander?” said a voice to her left. Despite her familiarity with such entrances, Flair jumped.
A boy slightly older than her had appeared on the roof, splendidly dressed in silky forest greens and browns that seemed to cascade off his shoulders like a waterfall. Well-combed dark hair spilled down to his shoulders, as his icy blue eyes gazed fixedly upon her, his arms tucked around his legs. Elongated ears protruded from his head, stretching behind it as if he always had the wind supporting them.
“Alaric!” cried Flair, Bladderbax and his clan momentarily forgotten as she embraced the newcomer. He patted her back hesitantly with his birth marked hand. Pushing him back suddenly, a look of concern crossed over her delicate features.
“How did you get here? You know that if my father finds out I’ve been in the forest I shall be scrubbing his infernal inn’s floors for months! And what about you? If they find you, do you know the stir you’ll cause through Trilth...through all the Provinces?” The words seemed to tumble from her mouth all at once, almost indistinguishable from one another.
Alaric chuckled knowingly, pressing his forefinger to her rapidly moving lips.
“Hush little sister, Humans see what they want to see, to them, I am but a shadow. That’s why my people are called the Vanish, isn’t it?”
“I hate it when you call me little sister. I’m not even related to you! I’m not the little six-year-old lost in the forest anymore. I’m fourteen, why don’t people treat me as such?”
“Maybe they do, and you just don’t like it.”
“Shut up.” replied Flair, playfully swatting at her rooftop companion. He embraced her playfully, releasing tensions of his day.
“O, Flair, I wish I could spend my days frolicking in the village and forest like you do. I used to, but ever since my parents died, Elder Garron has been rushing me around like a mad person. I thought Vanish earned their way into leadership through patience, among other things. Yet, it seems that with my father’s death there is a power vacuum in the Council. All the worry about these factions splitting away from the Forest Clan is putting a strain on everyone lately.”
“Well you always have me to come back to when the politics are too much for you, Prince of Vanish. But, it’s not all fun and games for me; ever since the Poor Men’s Rebellion, old man Rune has been working me like a dog for his wretched inn. He’s so careful with his Gorns that he doesn’t want to hire any barmaids, so I have to wait every one of the tables. It truly is a dreadful business, all these farmers and miners spreading dirt all over the place. They keep on asking me how old I am too. Then I have to take their tankards away, and the whole debauchery draws on into the night. Just yesterday I had to call the Town Guard to arrest a man. Sometimes I wish I could trade places with some of the noblemen’s daughters on the other side of Trilth.”
“If you had never lived on this side of the village, I never would have met you though. I would never have known that a human could be so kind, and skilled in the art of the Tap. I wouldn’t have even known a human!“
“You would be skilled in the Tap too, if you just tried harder. And you know I’m only half human.” replied Flair firmly. She guided back her flowing reddish blonde hair. This revealed similar ears to Alaric’s, though slightly longer.
“I know, I know. Have you made any progress in asking Rune about your mother?”
“Alas, no, my father has a pole stuck up his buttocks when it comes to me asking about such matters. To all matters, when I come to think about it. I fear he will never tell me the race of my mother, or even who my mother was. For all we know, you and I could be related.” Flair chided. At this they both laughed nervously, earnestly hoping that this was not the case.
“Flair! Get down from there this instant, its well passed Moondown!” came a flustered voice from the inn below. The two guilty youths looked at each other.
“Farewell, I shall see you around the bush.” said Alaric. He had vanished into the darkness before Flair could say goodbye.
Alighting upon the cobblestone street that ended a few feet beyond her with the wall, the girl twirled around to glimpse her father, Rune, coming with all manner of haste from the inn. He was shaking his fist, saying something she had heard a thousand times before about how she was not allowed even remotely near the forest. She barely took notice of his raving, as Bladderbax and the other cats coiled themselves around her protectively.
“...and what will the other townsfolk think? Does Jana of Pie down the street sit on her father’s roof at all hours of the night? No! Does Bead of Rock wander around the town with stray animals climbing all over her? No! Only you: Flair of Ragfin! Why do you repeatedly cause the people of this village to suspect you of being anything but a normal Daughter of Trilth? You know I don’t need the Town Guard breathing down my neck, not at this stage of the...plans! You already called them to the inn last week, we cannot risk them finding out about the weapons!” ranted Rune, his red beard bristling with indignation.
He brushed her hair back over her ears, and shooed away the stray cats. Gingercoon and the Sisters were quick to jump away. Bladderbax hissed at Rune, and then thought better of it. He and his family slinked off into the frosty street. They would have to search elsewhere for food and warmth tonight.
“I am not a Daughter of Trilth! I am a Daughter of Faebel, you know as well as I, Father. I do not belong among the Fallen, I belong with my people!”
“Don’t you dare call humans Fallen. Despite many denizens of this town, humans can be very gifted and loving people. And please do not mention Faebel or the Fae, I do not want you to draw attention to this inn! You know what is at stake!”
“You cannot deny what is beyond the human realms. Faebel is real; we live on the border between it and the Provinces. Do not lie to yourself, Father. I am Fae!”
“That life is behind us now. You never were a Fae, nor will you ever be! You know nothing of the perils that lie beyond human society. Do not seek out the Fae. Your true self is a Daughter of Trilth. As a Daughter of Trilth, you are a fighter for the freedoms of her people, all her people. You must be ready for another rebellion. We must all be ready. The day when every villager will be free is coming fast.” Rune replied.
“Father, you know I believe in those things. I do believe in a better Trilth. And I will help you to end the tyranny of the Six. But that does not mean that I have to compromise the person I am! I, like my mother before me, am a Fae, whether you like it or not!“ said Flair, storming back into the inn with the force of a raging storm.
The broad shouldered Rune of Rag stopped for the briefest of moments, staring at a point just beyond the forest. A tear fell from the seemingly aged man’s eye. It splashed to the ground in a pool of broken promises.
Chapter Three
“How do you know my name?” said Liam, confusion evident on his face.
“That is not important right now. Is there someplace private where we can talk?” said the man. Still bewildered, Liam led him to one of his favorite perches in the library. The small room was for the most part closed off. Books were stacked high above their heads, which blocked sound within the room. The musty smell of old tomes permeated the premises.
“Who are you?” Liam said as the man sat down in a comfortable armchair.
“I am Cailen of Trask, and my friends and I have come from a long way away. The thing is, we need your help to get back.”
“Why me? I’m only sixteen, and I’ve got no legs.”
“You, like us, are not of this world. These humans that you have lived with most of your life, you were never meant to be among them. We.... you and I.... were never meant to live among them.” With that last remark, Cailen’s voice trailed off wistfully.
“Dude, what the hell are you smoking? I am from around here; my parents and I live just down the block. Despite my physical...problems; I like to think that I am human. Even if many of my peers would beg to differ. You need to go talk to someone, here have some cash for a bus fare.” Liam said, pulling money from his wallet and stuffing a wad into Cailen’s hand.
Wheeling away as fast as he could, the flustered youth waved to the librarian, a bearded man, as he went past.
“I’ve got Pandora’s Key, that book you ordered, Liam!”
“Thanks, Ray, I’ll pick it up when I come back later in the week.” With this, Liam burst through the double doors into the re-emerging sunlight.
Ray, the librarian, fixed his spectacles on the bridge of his crooked nose. He brushed off his tweed jacket, pretending to busy himself. Cailen brushed passed him, a look of tested determination on his face.
“Have you found what you’re looking for, sir?” Ray asked, startling the preoccupied man.
“No, thank you, I don’t need a book.”
“I wasn’t talking about a book, sir.” replied the librarian, his silver eyes flashing brilliantly.
“Wha.... well...I er-“
“Don’t worry, you will, even if you have to use young, ignorant boys in the process.” Ray said snidely.
“How? How could you-... You have no idea what you’re talking about, old man.”
“Perhaps. Tell me, sir, are you familiar with Greek Mythology?” “You’re just a crazy old man, I don’t have time for this.”
“On the outside, I may appear to be a little cooky, but if there’s anything I’ve learned in all my years, it is that things are not what they appear. Just understand this, what you are about to do with that boy may affect the fate of more than one world. Perhaps you have been running from your past. One day, you will have to face it, whether in this world or the next. Good day.” Ray replied, retreating back into his shrouded office.
“That’s what you think. I just want to get back home.” Cailen muttered, wondering what that conversation had really been about.
When Cailen exited the library, he caught sight of Liam, some ways off, sitting stock-still. Nearing the teenager, the older man looked to the point where he was staring. Cailen glimpsed two forms sitting beside each other on a bench. A girl and boy about Liam’s age were well engrossed with one another. Their lips slipped in and out of each other’s, and they both seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. Even from a hundred feet away, both Liam and his companion could feel the intensity emanating from the pair. The scent brought back painful memories for Cailen. He winced and looked away.
“See that girl on the left, there?” Liam said, speaking with dark deliberation.
“Yea, she’s quite attractive.”
“Well, obviously he thinks so too. I thought...I thought that maybe I’d have the slightest sliver of a chance to be with her. You know, I was thinking of asking her to this dance a week from now. I’ve lived in this town my whole life, and never have I met a person that could even begin to understand what I go through. All they do is go through their lives, ignoring those of us that are misfits; that are outcasts. I thought that maybe, however slim of a chance it was, that she could one day understand, one day truly get to know me. I guess not, I guess that she’s just like all the rest. I am destined to be alone in this world.” Liam began to wheel away in disgust, a look of terrible understanding dawning on his still youthful features.
“Maybe in this world. You are right, she could never understand. That is because she is one of them. She could never be with you, could never be like you. She is not your kind. This is not where you belong.” came a whisper from Cailen in Liam’s ear.
“Then show me where I do belong.”
Chapter Four
The night enveloped the valley in which the village of Livercoal nestled. The clouds had begun to disappear earlier that evening, and the stars and moon twinkled far off in the distance. Isolated lights spread throughout the small town, as people began to settle in for the night. Occasionally, a car’s headlights would pass through Main Street coming home from the city of Philadelphia.
Ebony navigated her way through one of the unlit portions of the town, her weathered hiking boots crunching over gravel. The territory was all coming back to her, the old abandoned coalmines from a stolen childhood. The young woman of about eighteen adjusted the rifle she cradled in her arms, still getting used to carrying a weapon. She wished she knew where she was going.
Silently cursing herself for the twelfth time that day, she collapsed near a rocky outcropping in exhaustion. She had been tracking them for far too long. She would end it tonight. She froze suddenly, her acute sense of smell picking up a familiar, almost canine, scent. Tying her golden hair behind her head in a tight bun, Ebony rose and followed the smell.
Soon, voices could be heard from inside one of the coalmine shafts.
“Your blood, even this tiny drop, will open the Bridge to Faebel. Soon, we shall all be home, our true home.” said a voice that made Ebony’s chest churn and her pace quicken.
Glimpsing the elevator that led to the scent, the girl leapt onto it, and pressed the rusty button that activated the downward motion. As the rickety device shuttled down to the subterranean mines, Ebony locked and loaded her weapon adjusting its useful silencer, her emerald eyes glazing over with a mounting hatred. Exiting the elevator as it came to a halt at the entrance of a hallway, the young woman sprinted towards the flickering lights of torches that came from the left of the tunnel.
She dashed into a cave that opened out of the hallway. Ebony stopped for a moment to take in the scene before her. A group of grizzled men and women slightly older than her in battered leather jackets stood around in a circle, watching two figures in the center face an object that was built against the east wall. A boy in a wheelchair and another man in leather watched the wall with fascination. Two pillars of stone at each end of the long wall supported a third that lay all the way across them.
Someone had just thrown a small cup of blood in the center of the pillars, and the wall seemed to shimmer. What looked to be water began to ripple in the space between the pillars, and the assembled gasped in awe. Ebony could just make out the boy in the wheelchair turn a light shade of pale, and realized he had never been a witness to the power of the Tap before.
Getting a hold of her faculties, Ebony carefully aimed at one of the assembled men’s heads. She hesitated, and pointed the gun at his leg instead. She pulled the trigger. He went down with blood spilling onto the ground, yelling in agony. The cave became a scene of pandemonium after that. The man in the center next to the boy pushed the wheelchair safely into a corner, as the boy looked on at the chaos in horror.
“Ebony.” said Cailen, his body visibly softening, all former signs of tension passing away.
“You just made your last mistake, on any plane of existence.” replied Ebony, her eyes blazing madly. Raising the rifle level to Cailen’s curly head, she fired, this time without hesitation. Cailen dodged with supernatural agility. The bullet hit the watery air that surrounded the pillars, sending a ripple through it.
“Brothers, Sisters...to the Bridge, there is nothing left for us here.” cried Cailen, stepping backwards so that he was close to the rippling air. As the group who had been assembled grabbed their fallen comrade and lined up alongside Cailen, he turned towards Ebony.
“I...I...-“ he was cut short by Ebony raising her gun threatingly again. With that, Cailen snarled, revealing inhuman incisors. He turned back to the Bridge with a deliberate motion. Suddenly, he and his group of leather-clad men and women had stepped through the rippling air, and disappeared. The wall rippled momentously, and then returned to shimmering serenely. Slamming her fist angrily against the wall, Ebony knew that she had failed. She had let them escape her grasp for the second time.
“Wha...what just happened?” stuttered the boy in the corner, shaking visibly. This was going to take a lot of explaining.
Chapter Five
“You just helped open a portal, a Bridge they call it, to another world.”
“Oh.” said Liam, still trying to cope with the fact that his world was being turned upside down. Portals? It sounded like something out of a book he would read. Mythology was rapidly becoming his reality.
“Now what do we do?”
“There is no we...I have to track them down. Thanks to your blood, they were able to cross the bridge into Faebel, the second plane.”
“Why must we track them down, if it wasn’t for you, I would be in Faebel with them. Who are you anyway, you don’t look like you have a license to carry that thing.”
“My name is Ebony, and if it wasn’t for me you’d be dead by now. See how fast they left you here?”
“Well, maybe. Hey wait a second! I thought I recognized you! From elementary school, two grades above me. I didn’t know you were called Ebony, though. I haven’t seen you in years, I heard your Dad got a position somewhere up in Northern Pennsylvania, how is he?”
“Dead.” replied Ebony without emotion. She tested the wall of energy, prodding it with her finger.
“I’m sorry to hear that. What are you doing back here though, and how do you know about all this mumbo jumbo crap?” said Liam, attempting to avoid a sore spot.
“A little bundle of questions, aren’t we? Why don’t you just go home to your Mommy and Daddy and let the adults deal with the mess that you made.”
“Hey! I resent that. I didn’t know it was going to do. I had no idea what Cailen was trying to accomplish. All I know is that I do not belong in Livercoal. I was meant for bigger places...better places.” Liam said.
“You and every other teenager who’s ever lived. Yet nobody else uses their own blood to open a door to another world, sending both those worlds into unknowable chaos that could very well rip the very fabric of the universe.”
“I didn’t know, I was used!”
“We’ve all been used!” shot back Ebony, her emerald eyes blazing.
They both stood there for a few moments, fuming in their respective corners. Ebony continued to poke the unearthly substance with both hands, the rifle slung behind her back.
“D’you have any idea where they might have gone?” said Liam, breaking the angry silence.
“Whenever anyone passes through a Bridge, The Tap, the power that controls them, takes them where they need to go.” “How do you know that?”
“It’s not important.” Ebony said.
“I see. So, how do we follow them?”
“I will follow them through the Bridge. The Tap knows that I’m meant to come out where they came out.”
“I’m coming too then.” replied Liam firmly.
“No, you won’t, this is my task. Mine and mine alone.”
“And it’s not mine? It was my blood that opened the Bridge. According to you, it’s my fault that two worlds will be plunged into chaos. If there’s anything I can do on the other side to make things right, it is my obligation to do so. Besides, there’s nothing better to do around here.”
“Alright, fine, whatever, suit yourself. It’s not my fault if we run into dragons or centaurs and you get trampled, eaten, beaten, or burnt to a crisp.” said Ebony, relenting.
“Dragons?!” said Liam, a mix of terror and delight spreading onto his face. Ebony rolled her eyes, stepping through the liquid like air.
Left all alone in the cave, Liam gave one last look to his surroundings. He didn’t think he’d miss Livercoal too much. Rolling towards the shimmering wall, the boy took a leap of faith.
Chapter Six
Whoa, thought Liam.
Many beings have crossed through the Bridges in ages past. However, none had a more accurate description of what it was like to be sucked into another place or dimension than Liam had right then.
Whoa is just about the only adjective that fits with all the physical and psychological mechanisms that become discombobulated when one goes through a Bridge. Needless to say, “Crossing” is not the most preferred mode of transportation in the universe. Though it is the fastest and most efficient.
Allowing his wheelchair to coast along the ground while he struggled to disentangle his stomach from his brain, Liam breathed in oxygen with great gulps. It felt like he had just been flushed down a toilet. Ebony crouched beside him, her blonde hair tumbling over her shoulders in wild disarray. Both their breathing was long and heavy for several minutes.
“I’m told it gets easier every time you Cross.” Ebony said, taking stock of their surroundings.
“Are you willing to wager money on that?” said Liam sarcastically, finally opening his eyes for the first time since entering Faebel. Ebony smiled at this, but quickly returned to her somber complexion when she realized that she had let her guard down. Liam could make out that they were in a mining cave similar to the one they had left in Livercoal. Behind them, an identical shimmering wall with stone pillars cast an eerie glow on the pair.
Ebony wasted no time in heading for the cave’s mouth. Liam followed behind her, wondering if any time would have passed when he got back to Livercoal. If he ever got back to Livercoal. Visions of dragons danced in his head. He was beginning to question his sanity about coming with her. The cave’s mouth became visible, as early morning sunlight spilled into the cave.
The two teenagers came out from the cave, soaking in the scene before them. A blue sky spread above, cumulus clouds rising high over their heads. To the west spread a huge forest, assaulted by a brutal winter. Similar mines were scattered around the cave they had just exited, beyond which laid a dirt path. Fog covered structures in the distance, making them appear like black shadows. The sun beat down warmly on the scene. Ebony thought she could smell the slightest hint of approaching spring in the pollen that floated through the air.
“It seems that Faebel is a few hours ahead of Livercoal. A village is just beyond that fog. Maybe we’ll find some answers there.”
“I hope I don’t get Bridge lag.” Liam sagged as his joke showed no impression on his melancholic companion.
They trudged towards the dirt path, neither of them saying anything to the other. Finding the dirt not quite as hard to push his wheelchair on as he had imagined, the boy overtook Ebony. Feeling the exuberance within him grow as the fog enclosed them, Liam accelerated. The two could now make out medium-size stonewalls that rose above them to their left, reminiscent of European castles. A dip in the road appeared before them, seeming to slide into the side of the wall.
As they approached the dip, they soon realized that it marked the entrance to the small-fortified town. Two man-sized towers stood at each end of a portcullis that guarded large wooden doors. Two guards looked down on the travelers from the towers, leaning over the buttresses. The left guard raised an odd looking gun that Liam had never seen the like of before.
“Halt...by order of the Prefect of Trilth! Market day is not till next Thursday! What is your business here?” he cried, exercising what little power he had.
“Um...we come in peace?” Liam called. Ebony thumped him hard across the shoulder, not amused.
“We are travelers from...far away.... we need to speak to someone of authority in your fair village of Trilth.” she said.
“Are you tax collectors, because all our citizens paid up last month. A high price to pay, I might add.”
“No...we just need to talk to someone important.”
“You know...guards are important too. Without us, the town of Trilth would be left-“
“Shut up...if we were really that important, don’t you think they’d pay us more?” retorted the guard from the right tower. This sent both guards into a heated discussion about the ails of common folk like them.
Without fanfare, the portcullis rose and the two double doors opened. Two similar guards stepped through, beckoning to Ebony and Liam to come through. Clad in chain mail armor that reminded the boy of tales of the round table, the guards led them down a cobblestone path. To their left and right were Tudor houses that seemed to be thrown together by a small child. It was like walking through an amusement park ride.
Townspeople dressed in clothing that belonged in the Middle Ages scurried to and fro. Banners hung from the tiled roofs, primarily bearing the golden sword hilt of Trilth. The hilt’s guards stretched to either side of the banners, as the hilt and pommel rose above them. One of the guards, seeing them staring at the heraldry, hoisted his gun above his shoulder.
“The two handle guards below the hilt represent the balance of the Prefect and the Six. The six are the noblemen who elect and advise the Prefect. Though, really the Prefect rules Trilth. The hilt that rises above the two guards represents Order that rises above all. If you look carefully you can see the word order etched into the pommel. See, the motto of Trilth is: Order above all. Wilmo’s my name, by the way.” He said, stretching out a gloved hand. The boy and girl introduced themselves to the middle aged man, soaking in the sights and sounds of a bustling village.
“Order above all,” smirked the second guard, “whoever heard of such an obvious ploy to control the masses. It doesn’t work very well, though. Last month we had our third rebellion of the season.”
“Now see here, Bolrick, the Prefect and the other noblemen have our best interests at heart. That is why we both signed up to protect this beautiful beacon of civilization.” replied Wilmo, his skinny frame emphasizing his words theatrically.
“I’ve got to go tell Brice, the Captain of the Guard, that you are here. He might know what to do.” Wilmo said, dashing ahead of them. The other guard, Bolrick stopped, motioning them to as well.
“So this is Faebel.” said Liam out loud to himself.
Whoa, he thought.
