Chapter 9. The Shadowbane.

"What the hell were we thinking?"

 "I don't know man, I mean, we knew that there isn't anything close to this place for miles and yet we went." The two guards were confused of their own choices.

 "It's been a long night, I guess we're just tired."

 "Yeah, I guess so too. Let's go check if the officer is awake." The two men paced quickly towards the cell and found the door to be open. They stopped dead in their tracks, they clearly remember locking the door and yet, the lock was dangling from the latch, untouched.

 "What the hell? Didn't you lock it?"

 "I… I did, I think…" said the guard, scratching his head.

 "You THINK?" both men ran into the cell only to find what they were dreading. The cell was empty. A chill ran down their spine. "We've got to tell him." They ran across the palace and reached the doors of the main hall and stopped right in front of them. Both of them looked at each other and sighed. They then knocked on the door and it opened on its own. They could see Garon standing at the far end of the hall, looking out through the gigantic windows.

 "Master… we bring bad news…" One of the guards spoke.

 "I am aware." The guards looked at each other, confused. "The policeman escaped, yes?" Now their confusion turned to shock.

 "Y…Yes master, but how did you know?" One of the guards asked. Garon turned his head slightly to overlook through his shoulder towards the two guards standing across the hall.

 "He's back." Garon turned to face the window again. "I sensed his arrival."

 "Who are you talking about master? Who has returned?"

 "The Anti-natural, the dark one… Mykal Darke has awoken." There was great silence after what Garon said, the kind one can find in a graveyard. "He saved the policeman."

 "We're sorry master, we…"

 "Don't be foolish!!" Garon turned. "You never stood a chance against him. In fact, you got lucky that you didn't face him. He could end you before either of you could blink." Both guards looked at each other and let out a sigh of relief. Garon walked towards the guards. "Did you locate the Shadowbane?"

 The guard swallowed. "No master." They couldn't Garon in the eye, they could sense is glare.

 "Hmmm… Guess I'll have to do it myself. Go and prepare for master's return, I'll return with the Shadowbane."

 "Yes master." The guards turned around and vanished past the hall entrance. Garon started planning his next move. "There's only one place left to search for you, but, I have always had questions about that place. Why would you want there to be your resting place? That place has brought nothing but pain and despair for anyone who sets foot after that fateful day. I had sworn never to set foot there ever again, but, for you my master, I can lay down my life. You have rested long enough, now it is time for you to return. I'm coming." Garon walked out of the castle and into the woods, he may walked a few feet before stopping in the middle of complete darkness. The forest was so dense, not even a flicker of the full moon pierced the canopy of the forest. Garon raised his right hand straight up until it reached his chest, as if stopping someone from crossing a road. He then closed his eyes and suddenly the silence of the night was broken by the sound of the ground shaking beneath him. A circle formed in front of him and the ground within the circle began to rise in a cloud of swirling soil, stones, leaves, and roots. When the cloud settled, a horse stood where there was a circle, totally made up of the very ground that was beneath it. Its eyes shined bright green in the pitch darkness of the forest, as it drew its first breath. Garon had his hand right on the horse's head, between its eyes. "Good to see you old friend." He said, smiling.

 "Hello Garon." The horse spoke telepathically. "How long has it been, since you needed me again Old Friend?"

 "I see you're still mad about it… It's been a millennium and you still remember." Garon moved his hand towards the horse's neck.

 "I'm sure you haven't summoned to see if I still remember everything, so, let's get to the point shall we? Why am I here?"

 "Yes. I believe I know where the Shadowbane lies and I can't reach there without your help."

 "I admire your audacity to ask me to help you Garon. But then again, why do you even bother asking, all you have to do is command. It's not like I can refuse. You've summoned me, I have no choice." Garon didn't say a word, he just bowed his head down in shame and mounted the horse. "Let's go…" He said in a voice that almost seemed as a whisper. The two of them raced through the darkness of the forest as if it were the brightness of day. They swiftly moved past everything that could have been an obstacle for anybody else, but the horse paced through them as if there weren't anything in its path. There came a point when it seemed as if the horse was not evening galloping on ground, but a few inches above it.

 "How do you know where I wanted you to take me?"

 "So, I am taking you the right way, good to know."

 "You didn't answer my question Phillius." The horse slowed down and came to a stop. They were traveling at such a speed that Garon almost fell over.

 "Do you take me for an idiot? I do have a horse's body but I still am the same me. I did not expect this from you, Garon. One more thing, my name is Sephillius." The horse did not even wait for Garon's reply and took off, resuming its raging speeds.

 "How many times do I have to ask for your forgiveness?"

 "I doesn't matter how many times you ask for my forgiveness Garon; I don't have to forgive you just because its been too long. Your sorry does not change anything that has already happened; neither my body nor my mind. And even if I do forgive you some day, I will never forget. So, you can keep your apologies to yourself." Garon did not say a word, they just kept going. The horse started to slow down and eventually came to a stop. "This is as far as I take you." Said the horse.

 "This is enough, old friend. Thank you." Garon said this and dismounted the horse. The horse grunted in reply to Garon's words. They stood before towering doors made of wood reinforced by metal. The doors were held by even bigger walls on either sides, walls made of stone. Garon approached the doors and looked towards the top. The doors were incredibly huge, so much so that three elephants walking side by side could easily pass through them and there would still be enough space for people to walk. The doors may easily have been over twice as tall as an average elephant. Garon tried pushing the doors open but they didn't budge. "Hmm…" Garon grunted and stepped back from the doors. After taking a few steps back, Garon raised both his hands and stared at the doors, the ground to either of his sides rose, he conjured two logs out of the soil and stones and rubble and hurled them both at the enormous doors. The impact was huge and loud, the doors came off their hinges and fell to the ground. The doors were so heavy, the impact of the doors sent out tremors through the ground. The horse let out a grunt and Garon looked at it and smiled, "Still got it." He said.

 "Sure." Replied the horse.

 The dust settled and Garon walked through the space where the doors used to be. Garon looked back at the horse hoping he would come along. "What? I told you; this is as far as I go, I'll leave now." The horse was reduced to dust after it said farewell. Garon let out a sigh and proceeded to advance through the doors. As he passed the wall, a silhouette of a huge castle became visible, barely yet, the darkness was still the same even in the absence of the forest's dense canopy.

"Hmm… Should've carried a torch, I need to be careful, if they rest here, the site must be guarded."

As he got near the castle it became clearer, it looked the castle was destroyed, only the ruins remained. Crumbled domes, the pillars were broken in half and the ones that were still whole were filled with gaping holes and cracks, waiting for a push to crumble into dust. It seemed like it was destroyed in war and conquered in battle, but never claimed as a price and just left in ruins for nature to takeover. Garon approached a flight of stairs that led to the entrance of the castle.

"I could sure as hell use a torch right about now."

He proceeded to climb the stairs carefully while holding his left hand before him to keep him from hitting anything. Finally reaching the point where the door was supposed to be, Garon navigated his way to his left, tracing the wall searching for a torch that may have been a fixed on the wall. He did find a sconce on the wall; however, it was empty.

"Of course…" Garon grunted and turned around.

He somehow managed to reach the other end of the door and started tracing the wall again in search of another identical sconce. Fortunately, the sconce held a torch, he took it from the sconce and tried lighting it, but, there was no fuel in it for it to burn. He held the torch in one hand and raised the other outwards of the castle towards the forest, a few roots and dry branches flew in through the door and twisted, turning into the fuel for the torch. He then lit the torch which made it considerably easier for him to see what was ahead of him; it still only got bright enough for him to be able to see a couple meters in front of him.

"Now, where will I find you…" Garon started pacing straight ahead of him steadily. Cautious of any dangers that may show themselves.

"Its awfully quiet for a place guarding such a powerful relic and its beholder. Am I even in the right place? Well, that's something I have to find out for myself."

As he ventured farther into the castle, he started to feel that something was off about the place. He could feel some kind of pressure around him as if something closing in on him. The feeling kept getting stronger as he got deeper into the castle. Garon stopped when he could see a set of stairs in front of him, their destination out of sight to him.

"Hmmm… This can't be the only defense…" As soon as he began climbing up the stairs, he heard chuckles echoing around him.

"Wouldn't it be more fun if I could see you too?" Garon stopped and talked into the darkness. The chuckles stopped.

"Well, well, aren't you a surprise? It's been ages since someone has been able to sense our presence, let alone converse with us. Tonight, we finally have some fun." The voice was of a small boy.

"I'm surprised that a relic like the Shadowbane is being guarded by mere spirits. Hmph!! You can't even be considered an obstacle in my way." Garon resumed climbing the stairs.

"Spirits?" The voice burst into laughter. Garon stopped again, annoyed.

"What's so funny?" The laughter stopped, there was complete silence for a few seconds before the voice spoke again.

"The fact that you can't recognize what we are." The voice of the boy chuckled.

"I don't have time for your games, spirit, show yourself and face me or stop bothering me and stay in your shadows like the cowards you are." Anger starting to rise in Garon's voice he started walking up the stairs again.

"My my! It's a feisty one this time, I like it when they come with a little spice!!" Garon grunted and kept walking, ignoring the voices. The voices stopped, seeing Garon's ignorance. Suddenly the atmosphere started to get intense, the pressure grew and the air got cooler.

"It would be better for you if you didn't ignore us you know." The child's voice seemed annoyed.

"It would be better for you if you'd leave me alone, if you wish to continue existing in this reality. I don't wish to harm some lowly spirits." Garon kept walking.

Suddenly, Garon was thrown away by a strong gust of wind, he crashed on to the stairs and kept falling until he finally reached the floor.

 "You better stop underestimating us, human! We only want to play." Garon lay on the ground for a few moments, the torch out of his reach. He got back up on his feet and let out a sigh.

 "I don't have time for your games child. Show yourself or get out of my way."

 "Or what?" The voice chuckled. "You see brothers? The human thinks he can do away with us." The castle roared with laughter; the noises seem to come from all directions.

 "Very well, have it your way then." Garon moved his robe aside, there was a slight glow emanating from what seemed like the hilt of a sword. Garon put his hand on the hilt and unsheathed a shiny long sword. Garon didn't seem to be carrying a scabbard to sheath the sword that big. It was a two-handed long sword that somehow had its own light and was shining in the pitch darkness. The brightness wasn't enough to light Garon's way, it was perhaps just enough for the sword to be seen.

 "Oh no brothers!! Look, the human's got a sword, whatever will we do!" The voices burst into laughter again.

"Forgive me if I don't end you in a single strike, It's been ages since I used the Lightweaver." The laughter of the voices continued, Garon smiled and turned around, hurling the sword into the darkness. The sword flew straight into the ceiling and crashed into it. The laughter turned into a scream. A faint body of a young man manifested around the sword. The sword pierced the young man right in the middle of his chest. The man's body began to glow where the sword had pierced him and in a matter of moments he burst out, screaming in agonizing pain. Only the sword remained on the wall now, the laughter had stopped, the silence was eerie.

"What?? How is this possible? How can you see us? And what is that sword?" The child's voice seemed angry now.

"I don't need to see you to kill you. And for the sword…" As Garon spoke, the sword had vanished from the wall and was back in its scabbard on Garon's waist. "You may recognize it by name if you're old enough."

"Hmm?" The child's voice grunted. "What do you mean old enough? And how did it come back to you on its own?" Garon only smiled to the child's question. "Wait… It can't be… the Lightweaver was lost, how were you able to find it?"

"Oh no, you've been misled just like the rest, it was never lost, I just stopped using it and people made stories that's all."

"It doesn't matter what weapon you use, you're no match for me human!"

"Hmph! We'll see about that." Garon smiled and drew his sword.

"We sure will, human!!" The voice of the child got closer and manifested itself in front of Garon. It was indeed, a child. It held out its hand in the air and a dagger appeared out of thin air. Garon's eyes widened in surprise, as he knew exactly what it was the child's spirit was holding.

"Is that…? How can a spirit like you wield the Shadowbane?"

"STOP. CALLING. ME. A. SPIRIT!!!" The child leaped through the air towards Garon and attempted to strike him with the dagger, but, Garon blocked it with his sword. "I. Am a Djinn!!"

"A Djinn? Well, that explains a lot, but then again, Djinns need to be summoned, who summoned you?"

"Oh, that doesn't matter, focus on what's in front of you."

"Very well. Besides, you just brought me exactly what I was looking for." The child backed up a bit.

"You're here for the dagger? Well then, let's play a game shall we?"

"I don't have time for your games, child. Hand over the dagger and you will continue to exist."

"Hmph! You continue to underestimate me human, that could cost you." Garon let out a smirk.

"Let's get this over with. I've more things to do."

"Very well. The rules are simple, you disarm me you get the dagger, but, if I disarm you, I turn you into a Djinn and add you to my family." The voices started cheering. But the voices were silenced soon enough when the Djinn was impaled through its chest by a longsword.

"I told you; I don't have time for your childish games." The Djinn was too stunned to speak or move. Garon seized the dagger from the Djinn's hand.

"I'll be leaving, as for the rest of you, if you wish to exist, you better not get in my way." There was complete silence. "Have a nice night." Garon proceeded further into the palace while the Djinn turned to ash.

He ventured through the dark corridors, passing several rooms and a couple halls, most of which were in ruins. After walking for a few minutes, he passed a closed door, he stopped and walked back towards it. Garon tried to open the door but it was locked. 'Seems I've found you master.' Garon thought. He set the torch down and put both his hands on the door and started pushing. The silent atmosphere was filled with creaks of the doors. Garon kept pushing, but the doors were sturdy, so he gave it one last push and stepped back.

There was silence for a few moments after the struggle between Garon and the door. He picked the torch back up and waited, and just then, the door came off its hinges and fell into the dark room with a loud noise. As soon as he entered the room, all the torches on the walls lit up, the room was in perfect condition, as if it were just constructed, no traces of any effect of time, not even dust. "Sire, you welcome me, I'm honored, I can't wait to see you in the flesh once again."