CHAPTER 17

They reached the top with fifteen minutes to spare before sunset, and Cousin Michael prepared a small circle with instructions from the book. He marked out strange symbols on the ground with white chalk, and set candles at four points to create a square outside the drawn circle. Ned kept his distance with the youngsters at his side. Fred glanced behind them toward the peak of the crag, and he could see why the king chose such a spot. The flat rock jutted out over the graves and held a commanding view of the battlefield. It offered a great view of his old victory, if so many graves could be called a victory. Behind Cousin Michael lay the opening to the tomb, an unnatural cave carved from twelve feet into solid rock. Inside was a giant stone sarcophagus set on two platforms, one larger than the one above it. An image of the king was carved on the lid, and even outside the cave Fred recognized the figure from the fountain.

At sunset Cousin Michael was ready. He lit the white candles and sat back on his legs inside the circle. The book lay open in front of him, and black lettering jumped out from the white pages. With the setting sun at his back, the priest raised his hands above his hand and faced the cave entrance. He held his long knife in one of his hands and positioned the blade over his bare arm. "Oh great Phaeton, bringer of fire and destruction. I call you to resurrect your servant, King Stephen George Frederick Carrot Albert Galaron, to once again taste the sweet joy of life that you bestowed on him and took away." Fred cringed when Cousin Michael sliced his arm open over the old wound, but this time he made a much deeper and longer gash.

Fred turned away when the blood spilled on the ground, and noticed the wind around them picked up. A chill set into his bones and dark clouds swept over them. Fred didn't see him, but he heard the chants of the dark priest. "I offer blood for blood. Transfer my life into our dead king, and give him life. Deus adiuva me."

Fred noticed Ned start, and turned to see Ned's eyes full of wrath and fear. Ned rushed over to the priest and knocked aside the candles. Their lights flickered out, and Fred noticed the symbols on the ground were splashed in blood. They glowed with an eerie light, even after Ned smeared them with his feet. Cousin Michael cried out in fury, but Ned grabbed the man's collar and pulled him straight. The old castor's voice boomed over the wind. "You fool! What spell is that?"

Cousin Michael sneered. "The spell to revive the dead, but you've ruined it!" the priest snapped back.

Over the sounds of their bickering and the roaring wind, the group heard a great groan rise from the earth. Trembling, Fred and the others turned toward the edge of the crag. He didn't want to, but Fred knew he had to look over the edge and see what made that noise. He took one hesitant step after another, and didn't notice when Ned dropped Cousin Michael and hurried after him with Ruth and Pat close behind.

Fred reached the edge first, and his eyes widened when he beheld the scarred field alive with things that were very much not alive. Arm bones broke through the mounds above every grave and clawed open gaping holes where arose grinning skeleton heads, fully armored and with burning red flames in their otherwise empty sockets. The skeletons grabbed their swords and pulled them from the ground. One and then another raised their weapon above their heads, and emitted a deep, screeching cry from their empty gullets. Horses with rotted flesh and broken reins broke the surface and whinnied their terrible death cries.

His friends and the guards came up behind him and dropped their jaws in quiet shock. The silence among them was broken by Cousin Michael, who noisily hurried up to them and pushed Fred and Ned aside to get his own glimpse of the valley. He gasped. "This isn't supposed to-"

Ned jumped at him and clasped a hand over the man's mouth, but it was too late. Up till then the skeletons were oblivious to their presence, but with those few words the army turned their glowing sockets on the humans above and below the crag. The men at the base panicked and scrambled up the trail, abandoning their horses to fend for themselves. The beasts raced through the graves, and the skeletons jumped at them like wild animals. None of them made it through the army.

Other skeletons raced after the guards and banner men, and from the trail below them came shrieks of terror and pain. Ned hurried forward with his staff and reached the path at the same time the remaining guards broke over the edge. Skeletons jumped after them, and Ned swung his staff so shafts of light flew at the undead. The light hit the creatures and their bones exploded into dust. Ned positioned himself at the head of the trail and pointed the end of his staff down at the ascending skeletons. A bolt of light shot out from his staff and down the path, obliterating any skeleton in its path and causing the others to retreat.

With that way safe for the moment, Ned whipped his head to the others. "Fred, your staff!" he reminded the boy. Fred nodded and clasped the stick when Ned's voice called urgently to them. "Behind you!"

Though the trail was clear, the skeletons had climbed up beneath the outcropping and reached the edge where stood the small group. A bony hand reached up over the edge and that's when Ned called the alarm. Fred was its target, and he deftly managed to swing his foot out of its grasp. Unfortunately, with one hand clasped at his waist he didn't have proper balance and swung around too far. He knocked into Cousin Michael and stumbled backward toward the edge. Pat's eyes widened when Fred fell back and disappeared over the precipice. She rushed forward, but someone flashed by her. It was Ruth, and the girl dove over the edge after him.

Fred watched in slow motion as he fell away from the crag. He saw that the whole underside of the rock was covered in skeletons, and beneath him he heard them clamor with glee. Fred could just imagine them waiting with open arms and hungry, snapping jaws. He saw someone jump over the edge after him; it was Ruth. She clasped the necklace in one hand, and in a burst of light her true form ripped through her clothes and her wings spread out in back of her. She opened them and reached out a hand for his own. The air whistled past him as he reached out his hand. She snapped him up and stretched out her wings. Fred straightened so he fell feet first as his momentum slowed and relief washed over him.

Until he remembered one very important fact. "I thought you couldn't fly!" Fred exclaimed.

Ruth's face twisted into a grimace and she grabbed his hand in both of hers. "I can't! I'm just winging it!"

Winging it meant they were still dropping, and Fred looked between his feet. The skeletons grinned back at him and raised their swords up. They meant to skewer him. He whipped his head back to Ruth. "We have to get higher!"

Ruth shook her head. "I can't! Gargoyles don't fly, we glide, and there's not enough wind!" They were close to the crag and the rock blocked the gusting wind.

That meant Fred was on his own as they swooped lower over the undead army. The skeletons clambered over one another to grab him, and that gave Fred an idea. He swung around so he faced forward and stuck out his feet. A skeleton climbed high enough to reach him with its bony arm, but he kicked aside the arm and slammed his foot down on its skull. They descended closer to the skeletons and Fred danced atop the skulls of the undead to a drum beat of panic. He left behind him a stepping skull path of decapitated heads and broken off arms.

Ruth gave an exclamation of joy and the ground rushed away from them. They'd found an air swell and rode it high over the army. Fred was given a glimpse of the full horror from above, and he clung tighter to Ruth. The army of the fallen was several thousand skeletons strong, and they clamored toward the crag with broken shields and rusted swords. Their friends and acquaintances on the rock beat back what they could until Fred saw Ned create a barrier around them. The only person who remained outside the barrier was Cousin Michael, who scurried to his circle and clutched at his arm.

The dark spell lay broken around him, but from his arm spewed forth tendrils of shadows. They stretched and flung themselves over the rock, and their power fed the army of the undead by repairing their battlements and bones. If the skeletons were grateful for the help they had a funny way of showing it. The undead things barreled toward him and covered him with their bodies, and Fred heard Cousin Michael scream out in agony as he was torn apart.

The remainder of the party, which included Sturgeon, Percy and three of the guards along with Ned and Pat, turned away. There was nothing they could do to help, as they had their own problems. Dozens of skeletons beat their weapons, shields and skulls against the barrier, and the light grew weaker. Fred furrowed his brow, pulled the stick from his waist and transformed it into the staff. He glanced up to Ruth. "Bring us down there!" he shouted to her.

Her face twisted in disbelief. "If we travel down there we will be trapped ourselves!" she exclaimed.

"Just do it!"

Ruth grimaced but nodded. They dove from the sky at the barrier and the hundreds of skeletons that surrounded it. The light grew weaker and smaller, and those inside crowded against one another as the space shriveled. Fred held tight to his staff and the stone at the end brightly glowed. He looked for a bare patch of earth and found one at the tip of the rock; the perfect spot. Fred wasn't sure what he was going to do on the ground except die, but he had a feeling the staff would know what to do.

Ruth eyes widened when she felt him loosen his grip on her hands. "What are you doing!"

"When I let go, you let go!" he called back.

They descended lower toward the crag. Fred readied his legs for the hard landing and his eyes watched the spot like a hawk watched its prey. The skeletons felt the heat of his light, and their red eyes turned and glared at the brilliance. Their mouths opened and they roared at the incoming intruders who were bent on interfering with their meal wrapped in the barrier. Fred saw his clear spot shrink, and released his hold. Ruth reluctantly followed and Fred dropped the ten yards to the ground. He landed hard, and in a moment the skeletons bore down on him.

Pat watched his insane idea from the dwindling safety of the barrier, and when Fred disappeared beneath the gnashing jaws and sharp fingers of the skeletons, she pounded her fists against the wall. "Fred!" she screamed. "Fred!"

The skeletons screamed with her as the brilliance of Fred's staff shot out of the pile of bones in shafts of stunning light. Those skeletons on top shrieked and scattered, while the ones beneath were engulfed by the light. Their bones disintegrated in the shimmering light and Pat saw Fred knelt down with his staff stabbed into the rock. He had both hands on the staff, and his head was bowed. When he looked up, his eyes were as blue as the crystal atop his staff. He stood, raised his staff in the air and pounded the bottom into the hole he'd created in the rock.

The earth was rocked by an earthquake, and those in the barrier fell to their butts except for Ned. He clutched onto his staff, and his old eyes looked on in wonder and fright at the boy who stood so tall and unafraid. The skeletons skittered back at the shaking earth, but the warriors of old soon steadied their courage and flung themselves at the boy. Fred's head snapped over to them and the stone atop the staff released a pulse of light that overwhelmed his attackers. The front line evaporated and those proceeding it were singed and their bones cracked beneath the heat.

The skeletons retreated off the rock, and Fred turned his attention to his comrades. He stepped toward them and his light created a barrier large enough to fit them all. It engulfed Ned's weakened one, and gave the old castor a chance to rest. "We need to hurry," Fred told them.

Pat cringed away from him; his voice was the same as that day by the Salaron River. This was the other Fred, the one who didn't know her. No one dared approach him, and he took the lead a yard ahead of them. This boy led them down the path, passed their fallen guards and out onto the plain. The group hurried through the field of death, and the skeleton army surrounded them on all sides. They gnashed their teeth and beat their swords against their shields. The bravest of the undead ran at the barrier and knocked their swords against the light.

The group had twenty miles of plain to cross. Fred winced at every pound and beating. His barrier weakened as Ned's had done. If the skeletons kept up their attack they wouldn't make five miles. More skeletons piled on, and Fred cried out and fell to one knee. Pat rushed to his side and put her hands on his shoulders. His breath came out in rasps and one of his hands clutched at his heart.

"What's wrong, Fred? What is it?" she asked him.

Fred turned his face up to her and caught her eyes. A smirk slipped onto his lips. "I know you. You are the one he likes." She didn't get to reply because the skeletons doubled their efforts and the barrier overhead flicked. Some dove into the earth and burrowed their way beneath the barrier. The shield developed a floor, but the entirety of the light dimmed from the effort. The companions danced and jumped away from the clawing skeletons beneath their feet. Far off they could see a small calvary of the undead on their rotted horses charging their barrier. Fred lifted his eyes and scowled at the roof. "I hoped this would last longer, but it seems we have no choice."

Fred climbed to his feet and Pat stepped back with her hands clutched against her chest. He closed his eyes and the stone atop the staff pulsed with life. The barrier around them lifted off the ground and all but Fred and Ned fell. The old castor stumbled toward the boy, and when he spoke his voice was one of panic. "Don't do this! The body may not handle the magic!"

Fred didn't listen. The stone engulfed them in its light and they were all blinded for a few seconds. When their vision returned the barrier was gone, and they all sat on the ground. It wasn't the desolate field of death, though, but the wild path through the valley. The companions glanced around and realized they were several miles from the undead, and a cry of joy went up from the guards.

Pat whipped her head to and fro, and her eyes fell on Ned beside a fallen form. She scrambled to her feet and rushed over to them to find it was Fred lying face-first on the ground, and Ned had one hand on the boy's shoulder. She slid down beside Fred and pressed her hand against his chest; he stilled breathed. "Is he asleep?" she asked Ned.

Ned sighed, and his face was ashen. "In a way. He's asleep, but he won't awaken."

Pat paled and gently flipped him over so his head rested in her lap. His eyes didn't open, and his breathing didn't change. She gently shook his shoulders. "Fred, can you hear me? Fred?"

Ned shook his head. "It's no use. He won't awaken by our power."

"Then what will wake him up?" she asked him.

"Time, and his own strength," was the reply.

"Pat! Fred!" someone cried out. Everyone glanced up and saw Ruth glide down among them. She made a crash landing by toppling head-over-heels a few times, but she righted herself and hurried over to her friends. The guards stumbled back, fearful of the gargoyle, but she ignored them. "How did you travel so far so quickly? One moment you were in the fields and the next I saw your light appear over here."

"Transportal. The ability to travel over great distances in a single moment," Ned explained to them. "It's a heavy spell on the mind and body."

"And that's why Fred won't awaken," Pat finished for him. Ned nodded.

Ruth looked around at the group and frowned. "Were there not two more with us?"

Everyone whipped their heads around, and Pat's eyes widened. "Where are Lord Sturgeon and Sir Percy?" Pat she them.

Though everyone was sure the pair had traveled with them into the woods, Percy and his father were no longer among them. Ned frowned and shook his head. "We haven't the time to look for them. The army will soon spill over the valley and find us if we don't hurry along." The darkening night also made it impossible to see far in front of them.

"We should leave him behind," the guard leader spoke up. "He's nothing but dead weight."

Pat snapped her head toward him and stomped up to the coward. She punched him in the face and he stumbled before his men caught him. "Show more respect. That dead weight just saved your skin."

"No arguments," Ned interrupted. He nodded toward Ruth. "And no arguments over her, either. We haven't time to be afraid of each other when the army fills us all with enough fear." A rough stretcher was lashed together for Fred and the group hurried on their way along the dark path.