This story was recently sent to me by Larry Hooten
And is a sequel to his previous story "Family Secret"
Larry can be contacted at lmhooten@socalix.com
I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did !
|
The Black Ring The three of us moved
through the field, with Francine carrying Jenny on her back. She led us to a
path where the woods began. We entered, following the winding trail for maybe
an hour, talking about old times, and discussing the problem we faced. By the
time the castle came into view, I was fairly confident that we had a workable
plan. We were greeted as
conquering heroes as we entered the gates to the castle, the tall, blonde
denizens cheering and waving greetings as we were jostled, smiling, to the
banquet hall. King Hierachian and his court were already seated, and they
rose up as a body in greeting. “Hail, and well met!” cried the King. We were
invited to sit at the King’s right hand, and two hulking warriors moved
aside, inviting us to take their places. Not wishing to give offense, I took
Jenny’s hand and led the way to the table. Jenny ate all this up, the fulfillment of every fairytale
fantasy she had ever had, even though she could not understand the
conversations around us. I remembered that these people spoke their own
language, and the only reason I could participate was that I had the golden
amulet around my neck, which the King had given me earlier. Good King
Hierachian,” I began. “Might I ask a favor of you?” The hall quieted down
around me. “Of course, my good fellow!” came his expansive reply. “Sir, if it
is possible, could you arrange for my daughter to have an amulet such as the
one you gave to me earlier?” The entire crowd turned as one to hear the
king’s reply. These people seemed unreasonably interested in my every word. I
felt uncomfortable with such adulation. I realized that they considered me
some sort of savior, but I just didn’t feel
like a hero. And, I had yet to
do anything to merit such. The King seemed to weigh something for a moment
before he spoke. “Champion, you will find that there are very few things
which we will deny you while you are with us, yet you have somehow managed to
find one of those which I must indeed refuse.” I looked a question at him,
and he continued. “I think you will agree that the goings-on in this chamber
would only be disturbing to one as young as she. I think it in your and her
best interest if you translate that which you deem fitting to her ears
yourself.” I nodded acknowledgement of his wisdom and thanked him for his
advice. The banquet then continued, and I began filling Jenny in on various
inconsequential conversations around us. Francine split away, finding a bale of alfalfa greens and
piles of lettuce, cabbage and other such fodder beyond the table. “Good King Hierachian,
there is another matter in which I must ask your assistance. I would ask that
you send out a request for me, that your subjects, and all creatures capable
of doing so, watch for the Creature. I will post whatever you deem equitable
from the Dragon’s treasure as a reward for solid information.” “You have not
yet seen your spoils, and are already sharing them out?” I shrugged
sheepishly. “Wealth and I seem to have only a passing acquaintance. What I
have had of material wealth has not been particularly useful. Perhaps we can
change that here.” Francine had apparently
heard the direction our conversation had taken, for she had wandered back to
the table, and took my statement as a cue to begin telling a story I had
wanted to hear for some time. “Lord Larry,” she began, “I meant to tell you
earlier about your ancestors and their attempts to…” She saw me take Jenny’s
shoulder, and changed her tack almost without pause. “…win this Contest.” I
nodded my thanks to Francine. “Wally never cared for
gold or glory, but like any proper sailor, he loved his rum. He actually
built a small still on one of the Fair Isles, where he struck up a friendship
with several of the Mermaids. On the fateful day, we think the Creature took
the form of his friend Ariel, and while Wally was in a drunken stupor, It
invited him to come visit her home in Atlantis. He was apparently too drunk
to realize that there is no Atlantis on this world. In any case, he
agreed easily enough, for we could find no signs of struggles, and no shouts
were heard by any of the Mermaids nearby at the time. The Creature drowned
him once he was far enough from help. His body was discovered by two of the
real Ariel’s sisters, and only the Creature’s prideful boasting kept her from
being sentenced to banishment from the sea.” Francine looked directly at me. “The
Ring cannot protect anyone from his own folly. Consider your own weaknesses,
and expect the attack there.” There was a general undertone of agreement as
elfish heads bobbed up and down around the table. “Erin was innocent, but
lazy. He wanted gold, bought
cheaply. It cost him his very life. Wally’s insatiable thirst
for alcohol made him an easy mark for the Creature.” “Wait a minute,
Francine. You said that the Creature, this Chrysaor was a mermaid, didn’t
you?” “No I didn’t. I never said what he looked like because he can take on
any appearance he wishes to.” That floored me. “What! Do you mean to tell me
that he could be masquerading as anyone I see, including you?” “Well,
yes. But like I said before, if you look into the heart, you will know the
truth.” “And the Truth shall set you free” I mused to myself. “You
see!” Francine stated boldly to the entire gathering, “He understands! He is
the One!” There were sounds of agreement from the other attendees as I looked
uncomfortably on. What was Francine doing? I
had never seen her push like this before. Then it dawned on me. I was not playing the role she would
have me play. She is genuinely worried for her world, and desperately needs
to believe I am some sort of savior. Unfortunately, her pride blinds her to
the fact that she really doesn’t know how the prophecy is to be fulfilled,
assuming it is a true Prophesy, and she has already assumed that the only
solution is violence. To be honest, I could not be certain she was correct,
but I also could not see myself as a warrior in the sense that Jinks was.
While swords and armor were picturesque, I doubted they could provide any
sort of real answers. But then, I wasn’t the one facing the destruction of my
home. The rest of the meal
passed quietly, with conversations ranging from the history of the Faerland
to questions about my own homeworld, to speculation as to the nature of the
Creature and of the Seventh World. Eventually, I noticed a few elves getting
restless, and I asked the King,
“Your Highness, have you any further questions, or might we retire for
the evening?” The King gave a yawn and a stretch, and said, “Yes, the evening
is well advanced. And we all have much to do if we are to find that Creature.
Go, then, and we will see you on the morrow. Good night.” With that, I nodded
to the King, and turned to Jennifer, who had fallen asleep beside me some
time ago. “Je-nny, wake u-up” I crooned in her ear. “Mmmphhh… wha… huh?”
“It’s time to go home now.” I repeated. “Oh. Okay. Where’s Francine?” she
asked. “Right behind you, young one”, came the Unicorn’s silent Voice as she
stood up. She had been lying on a bed of hay which one of the King’s servants
had thoughtfully provided her during the evening. “King Hierachian,” she
continued, “I would take my leave of your august presence as well, if that
accords with your will.” The king nodded assent, and Jenny and I stood up
from the table. I began leading
the way to the door, when the King’s voice came up behind me. “Will you not
display your Ring’s power for us?” Surprised, I turned to the King. I would
have guessed that kind of display to be bad manners, but... “If you wish it,
I would be happy to do so.” I thought for a moment, and then puffed out my
chest like a Circus Ringmaster. “Ladieees aaand
Gentle…folk! For this evening’s finale, I propose to make both myself and my
daughter, here before you, …disappear! Vanish from your very sight!” then to
the Unicorn, “Francine, we’re going directly home. I’ll see you in the
morning.” She just looked at me. I think she wanted to see what I was going
to do. Raising up my right hand,
I displayed the Ring for all to see, and began. “It has been said that the
human hand is the most powerful magical talisman of all. I will tell you a
secret. The hand is mere flesh and bone. But it empowers the mind of Man.
With it, Men can create great beauty or great destruction. We have built
castles that literally reach up to the clouds of the sky! We have also found
ways of splitting the very substance of Creation, resulting in the power to
destroy our entire world, should we be foolish enough to do so. I will now
tell you a second great secret! The Black Ring contains the power of the
Unicorn’s Horn! But like the Human Hand, its power is based not in keratin,
or calcium, but in the mind of its possessor. Imagine, therefore, if one
combines these two great powers at once! Behold!” Taking Jenny’s hand in
mine, I began mumbling some lines from Shakespeare while making random
gestures, racking my brains for some inspiration as to how to finish what I
had begun. Finally, I stopped and stood straight up while facing the King,
gave a small, sheepish grin, and waved a little 4-finger-wave, while saying
in a small voice, “Bye-bye!” An instant later, we were gone. Once we were back in my
den, Jenny looked at me and said, “That was funny, Daddy!” Yes,” I replied, “But you really
should go to bed now. I’ll tuck you in.” After putting her to bed,
I returned to my computer desk and began making notes on the day’s
occurrences. I also continued thinking through my plans for the upcoming
combat. My predecessors seemed to have fallen victim to two of the Seven
Deadly Sins as I recalled them from my childhood Sunday school lessons. I
vaguely recalled seven ugly faces in my Baltimore Catechism, and the captions
beneath were… Anger, with his furrowed brow and gritted teeth; Lust, with
that horrible lecherous grin; Drunkenness, with those silly sotted spots
surrounding his head; Gluttony, whose form resembled the trademarked
Hitchcock silhouette. Pride, whose
arrogant face begged to be slapped; Slander, whispering ungodly evils
behind his hand; and Sloth, whose sleepy face showed heavy lids, puffy eyes,
and cheeks and jowls thick with fat. Now what parts of that list say Larry? My greatest weakness has always been
enmeshed with my inability to find a loving, caring woman. In grammar school
I knew my classes contained much too small a sample of females to take
seriously, so I didn’t worry about not seeing much potential in their ranks.
Besides, we weren’t “supposed” to like girls, yet. Unfortunately, I then
agreed to be sent to an all boys’ high school, and so missed any opportunity
to learn those all-important first lessons in male-female relations. By the
time I realized what I had done to myself, I was committed to a 5-year
schedule designed to make me a productive member of society and a “great
catch” for some lucky girl! HAH! Some catch! By the time I was able to meet
real, live girls, I was so far behind the curve that the only prospects left
in my circles were the dregs and castoffs. One girl either unthinkingly or
deliberately ate a raw onion before her second date with me, making me think
that this was her gentle way of saying ‘buzz off’. I only learned much too
late that she just liked onions, and later did the same thing when I
surprised her with a short visit just before she went to a Bible study.
Oy! How not fair is that? I kicked myself all the way home to my
mildly psychotic wife, who had only tricked me into marriage by holding her
tongue for two full years, while using every trick in Cosmo to get her hooks
into me. Only after her mission was accomplished did she revert to the woman
I had heard about from her friends and family. Now, having spent nearly my
entire life in a state of near celibacy, enforced by a frigid wife and my own
unwillingness to kick her out and try again, I knew I had a chink in my
personal armor you could drive a bus through. And now that I think about it,
that kind of perpetual unhappiness could have a lot to do with my current
weight problem. I could almost
certainly expect the Creature to attack from this direction. Discouraged, I
shut down my notebook and went to bed. * * * * The next morning, after an
early Sunday Mass, I returned to the Faerland alone, to find Francine in
“her” Meadow. “Well! You certainly look good today!” she greeted. “You’ve
covered your scent. Are you preparing for battle?” she asked hopefully.
“Sorry, no.” I replied, “That’s just my aftershave.” “Something strange is
happening,” she said. “I’ve been watching all morning. Look.” She pointed
with her horn. I followed her direction to see two small lights dancing
through the trees, maybe 100 yards away. As I watched, the dance began to
look more like an aerial dogfight, even including a few maneuvers I
recognized from fighter pilot flight school. But instead of launching
missiles, on each other, they would scissor back and forth until one had
enough room to turn back and tackle his opponent. They would then spiral down
until they were near the ground, then break up and begin again, smacking at
each other as they ascended to treetop level, then battling again in earnest
as we watched. Suddenly, they changed
directions, heading straight for us. As they approached, they separated, and
I could see that these were more of the dragonfly/moth fairies, all of 4”
tall. They stopped and hovered a few feet in front of us. “Are you the
Champion we have heard of? The small creature on the left asked. Probably, I
replied. I DO seem to have been caught up in this. But as to any victories…”
Perhaps you just need to learn more about our world, the first one
suggested. Word of my presence
must have spread quickly through the forest while we spoke together, for within
minutes, the formerly empty meadow began filling with creatures I had never
imagined actually meeting. There were giants and ogres, centaurs and gnomes,
faeries and nymphs, and even a pair of creatures that looked for all the
world like Hobbits! And it seemed as if each one had a story to tell, or a
theory about the Creature, or some grievance against one or another of their
neighbors. What started out as a search for information on the Creature soon
degenerated into an open road court, with yours truly playing Judge and Jury.
In a few cases, I think some of them wanted me to play Executioner as well,
but this I refused steadfastly, even though one Cyclops tempted me sorely!
But with so many Banshees, Goblins, Orks, Satyrs, and Gorgons in evidence
around me, I could see that the land was quickly falling into a Tolkien-like
nightmare. As it turned out, the
Nymph I mentioned was of a type known as a Dryad. The Dryad, or Wood Nymph,
is a slightly smaller than human- sized creature, which makes its home within
the heartwood of a tree. Sometimes you can make it out from the shape of the
tree’s bark. Often its arms and legs are coexistent with the tree’s branches
and roots. Soft-spoken and meditative, it seems to rustle as it moves across
the forest floor. This one hung around until I admitted defeat as a judge,
and asked the crowd to please disband. Only then did she return, offering me
refreshment and a chance to relax at her “home”, a nearby oak growing beside
a small brook. Francine excused herself, pleading the necessity to follow up
on some of our acquired leads. ‘Charity’ began asking about my needs.
Soon she was massaging my back and neck. Before long, she was making definite
overtures to my carnal side, and I began, unthinking, to respond. As this is
NOT an Internet Porn story, some details are best left alone here. Suffice to
say the medieval stories of the Succubus were not only true, but severely
understated the danger posed by such creatures. Only her mention of her
master, the great dragon, saved me, by reminding me of the sacrifice of a
beautiful, and innocent dragon only days earlier. Only then did I
realize that I was probably in the presence of the Creature. Gathering all my
moral courage, I looked past those lovely curves and sweet expanses, to
really look into her black eyes. I felt a chill run up my back as I
realized what I had almost done, and I pushed her naked form away. Standing
up quickly, she took on a slightly hurt look, and again offered herself to
me, this time reaching forward and taking my hands in hers. With strength I
had not suspected of her, she began pressing me back against a tree. She
raised my arms up against two of the tree’s limbs, which then somehow flowed
over my wrists, encasing them in solid wooden shackles. I stood there for a
moment, unsure if my Ring could help me in this situation. When she
transformed before my eyes into a panther, I decided that wondering was
useless and merged my thoughts with the Ring. I remembered my Dragon-armor
and the tactic I had used to kill the poor beast, and in a moment, I was
fully dressed and wielding the heavy bronze sword that Jinks had given me.
The cat jumped through the space I had occupied only a moment before, and
caromed into the tree trunk just as I swung my sword down into the ground she
had vacated. We both stood dazed for only a moment, then I whirled the sword
over my head to crash down into her new position. For her part, she jumped
away, leaving only a tuft of fur for my prize. Attacking with teeth and
claws, she came at me again, and I pushed her away with my blade, leaving a
long, thin gash along her underside. She stopped then, and transformed again,
this time into another dragon, but this one had none of the beauty of the one
I had killed earlier. Green and yellow scales covered this one from head to
tail. Hornlike protrusions extended from her face in all directions. Looking
as if she weighed a ton and a half, this dragon had wings large enough to
suggest she really could fly if she wanted to. No way was I going to
kill this with a lance or an arrow! Thinkthinkthink! Ah! I remembered
the local police station back home and all those police cars with all those
lovely big shotguns on the dashboards. How? I remembered the building and the
gate, and suddenly I was there. I saw a cruiser parked by the building with a
shotgun clearly visible beside the car’s computer. Now I was sitting in the
cruiser. Grabbing the barrel, I remembered the dragon, and returned to the
time and place I had just left. Bringing the weapon to bear, I pulled the
trigger, to no effect. The safety! Where was it? The dragon charged as I
looked down at my borrowed weapon, found the catch, flipped it, and chambered
a shell. I looked up and fired almost simultaneously into her throat as
gigantic fangs raked down my armor. Had she closed those great teeth on me, I
would not be writing this account. As it was, her nearly severe head fell
beside me, followed by the rest of her tonnage. Now the horns that had
surrounded her head in life began wavering and transforming into about ten
large vipers. With a shudder, I chambered another shell and blasted the
closest snake. I continued firing into them, but they only began growing new
heads and coming after me anew. When I ran out of ammunition, I turned and
ran toward my bronze sword. Remembering the Labors of Hercules, I decided to
try cutting the tail off, then continuing to cut until there was only a head
left. Unfortunately, she already knew that trick, and was not about to allow
it. Grabbing my sword in her teeth, she tried to pick me up, but only managed
to pull me off balance. We fell together, I lost my sword, and she began
wrapping me in her coils. This was NOT working! Because I’m trying to be a
warrior. I’m not. Think! Attacking the Creature with greater and greater
force only plays into its hands, er, coils. I apparently cannot destroy her
animating principle. Maybe I can trap it. How? Hell, Hades, the Pit… but in
my world… a black hole? Cygnus x-1? And Francine was kind enough to give me a
map, including that oh-so-important detail! Visualizing the coordinates, I
took the Creature there and suddenly the squeezing was over. But there was
also no air. Supposedly, a man can survive in the vacuum of space for about a
minute before his fluids begin to boil. One would think the same time limit
would apply to snakes, magical or otherwise, but this one was definitely
panicked. She began thrashing around, loosening her coils until I was able to
pull her off. Feeling great pain in my eyes and my ears, I grabbed hold of
her and began swinging her around. We began spinning faster as I pumped her
like a kid with a yo-yo, until she was stretched out in a straight line. As I
tried to breathe vacuum, I kept looking for the telltale plume that would
identify Cygnus, and her dark companion. I finally saw it, much bigger than I
expected. A spiral of blue light circling a very large black circle. Imagine
the earth as seen by astronauts, only blacker than night. Entirely too close
to feel safe around! I quickly guesstimated my speed and direction with what
little I knew of orbital mechanics, and a moment later released her in the
general direction to slow her down and push her into the hole. With the last
of my consciousness, I returned to Francine’s meadow. AIR! Pure, sweet, blessed
air! I gulped it down, feeling it expand back into my aching lungs. With each
breath, a little more consciousness returned until I again began to notice
the pounding of my heart within my chest, and the tingling of my skin,
especially on my face. Slowly, my vision began to return as real atmospheric pressure
reasserted itself on my nearly exploded body. This must be what deep-water
fish feel like as they are brought up from the sea bottom. I looked around
me, and saw a small party of woodland folk surrounding me, including
Francine. Trying to get up, I gave a low moan as pain swept over my entire
body. I mumbled to Francine that I thought it best if I just lie here for a
while and catch my breath. I had never before known how much pain one could
feel. Even my ears hurt! Speaking of, I wasn’t hearing anything but a
high-pitched whine. I brought my arm up, intending to cover my eyes, until I
saw that it was completely covered with bruises. Looking further, I saw that
my entire body was just one huge bruise. Vacuum is not a good thing. I began
to wonder how much longer I could have survived out there. “Francine?” I
called. My voice sounded strange to me. “Here, my Lord Larry”, she replied
sadly in her telepathic voice. “Can that Creature teleport like you?” “It has
never been recorded, my lord.” “Then you should be safe for a while. But this
is only the first attempt. Listen to me! What you call the Seventh World was
in fact the First.” I began coughing, and was frightened to see bright pink
blood come up. “You were right about the war. A third of the Seventh World’s
population rebelled and were cast out. Humans were created to fill the void
left there. That was why we came under attack first. Satan lost there, and
even though there is still some action going on, it’s all just mop-up there,
now. He has been promised a permanent residence in the Lake Of Fire, and his
time is running short now. It would appear he thinks he can escape to your
world. Don’t worry, he can’t. The Lord God of Heaven has spoken, and there is
nothing Satan or you or I can do to change that.” Francine seemed both
excited and disturbed. “You know of the Seventh World? How? No unicorn has
ever set foot there and lived to tell of it!” “I thought you said Crysalicus
did.” “He never returned. His prophecy was delivered… secondhand.” “No matter.
But you need to know. Jinks told me you, too, are nearly out of time. I don’t
know if it will work for unicorns, but Crysalicus gives some hope. The
Creator will not allow sin into the Seventh World. It’s His private home. You
are a very good creature, Francine, but you have one fault. You are arrogant.
You believe that only you can know what needs doing and how it must be done.
Turn from that! Depend upon your connection to Man, and through Man to Jesus.
It may be enough. Goodbye.” Perhaps it was the Ring I
still wore, perhaps it was the speech I had just given. Maybe I really died.
But instead of going “home” to my study, I entered what I believe was the
Seventh World. I remember no tunnel, but I will never forget the Light. The
moment I saw Him, my pain disappeared. My vision and hearing returned to
normal. Better than normal for I no longer needed my glasses to see at a
distance. My body seemed to metamorphose, to regress to about age 23. I
guessed that I lost about 100 lbs of fat, and I no longer noticed the small
pains I had learned to live with over the years. A Resurrection body? How did
I rate one of those??? The Light spoke, as if in answer. “You have done well,
Larry, but you don’t ‘rate one of those’ yet. Pain is not permitted here, not even for a visitor. I know
you thought you were dying, in fact you were. But I have other plans for you,
which will require you be healed of your battle wounds. Next time try to
remember what you said before. In the flesh, you are no warrior. But you are
now ready to fight some very important battles for Me.” Although I don’t
remember engaging the Ring, the next thing I knew, I was sitting at my desk,
completing this story on my computer. I still wear the Ring, but
so far, I have not had the nerve to see if it still works. I cannot help but
wonder how much of all this was real. I suppose eventually the battle that
was foretold will come to pass, but until then, I intend to raise my children
as normally as I can. I just hope I’m not making a mistake. |
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