| STORY 2 Page 38 |
| They stood as a voice came from the corner of the tent. �You gents have a nice little nap?� Skarzinski came out of the shadows and walked towards Evelyn, who was still passed out on the ground. Rick began to struggle at his bindings again and Skarzinski smiled in anticipation. He squatted down in front of Evie and smacked her awake. �Stand up. It�s show time,� he practically sang. Her eyes were still a little glazed but she managed to give him a dirty look. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and began to stand. �I said STAND UP!� She had no choice but to follow the direction her hair was going or risk getting scalped. �GET YOUR DAMN HANDS OFF HER!� Rick yelled. �Oh, I haven�t even begun getting my hands on her. Why, this one has an even sweeter body than your sister did. But I can�t fault your sister for that. She was, after all, five or six months with child.� Evie gasped. �You are a monster!� He put a hand to her throat and lightly squeezed. �You haven�t seen anything yet. Just you wait.� His eyes roamed her face. �Nice.� His eyes roamed the rest of her body. �Very nice.� He looked to Rick and gave a cruel smile. �Your wife has more spirit than your sister did. She will most definitely give me more pleasure.� Especially with her brother and husband having to witness the whole thing and not being able to do anything about it he thought. Rick and Jonathan struggled so hard against the pole that they nearly brought the tent down. They froze as they saw the glint of a blade flash from Skarzinski�s side to rest against Evie�s neck. �You keep up that thrashing and I�ll kill her very slowly and painfully.� He slowly ran the side of the blade down to the V of her blouse, ready to slice it open. Penny ([email protected]) October 11, 2003 "Hey Sleepy Head, I thought you wanted to hear this story?" "I do, Mama. Head just hurts. Didn't mean to go to sleep. Please don't stop. Tell me again what happened," he begged, as she brushed a cool hand down his fevered cheek. Carrie Anne O'Malley smiled down at her young son. "I declare, Kit, I'm surprised you don't think you�re too old for bedtime stories. Especially this one, my lamb. Although, if your father was home tonight, I imagine he would be the biggest dog in the puddle and would no doubt be sitting right there next to you listening." Eight year old Kit snuggled against his mother with a chill. His throat felt like he'd swallowed ground glass and his head hurt something fierce. The doctor had told his parents that it was a bad case of scarlet fever and he'd had it a full week already. "But it's my very favorite story, Mama. The good guy versus the bad guy and the good guy saves the world. It's better than the movies at the Rialto on Canal Street on Saturday. Please Mama?" Again she smiled down at him. "Alright, but then you have to rest," she soothed, she took the folded wash cloth off his forehead and dipped it into the wash basin next to the bed and then wrung it out, refolded it and placed it back on his forehead. He nodded with a grimace when he tried to swallow. "I promise, Mama." Carrie Anne brushed aside a strand of sandy brown hair that had fallen across his forehead and began her story. "Long ago in an ancient place there lived a young man of the realm. He was the most handsomest and bravest in the kingdom, but he was small. His best and most trusted friend was a powerful mage." "That's a wizard, huh Mama?" "Yes Lamb, he was a wizard," she smiled. 'And one day the wizard came to see the young man on urgent business. It was of the gravest importance. Years before a magical amulet had been found, by a relative of the young man, who now possessed it. Well it seems the amulet could bring about great destruction and the wizard told him that the magic amulet had to be destroyed and the young man was the only one that could do it. Otherwise, if a powerful warlock who was also looking for it, got his hands on it first, then all hope would be lost for the realm, but he told the young man that the amulet would tempt him to wear it and that he must be strong and resist the urge to put it on. "He then told the young man, the amulet had to be destroyed in the fires of a mighty volcano. For the only thing that would destroy it was the fire from there and the magic words. It was the only way to save his family and the realm. At first the young man was worried. "What can I do?" the young man wanted to know. "Look how small I am. How can I defeat a powerful warlock? "But the wizard put his hand on his little friend's shoulder and told him. "Have no fear for the power can be held in the smallest of things." So that night, the young man gathered his sword, his rucksack and the amulet and started on his journey. Days turned into weeks and months turned into years, for the young man, but still he kept on with his quest. His realm and family depended on him. "He had had many hardships and he was weary, his heart heavy, for the warlock had put so many obstacles in his way, as he continued to find a way to take the amulet from the young man. Then one day he found himself on the final leg of his journey, his quest was almost through. "He had come to the volcano, but first he had to find the alter of the warlock. For that was where he would take the final step to destroying the amulet. Higher and higher he climbed, searching every nook and cranny in the mountain. And it was no easy task, for the ground shook and groaned beneath his feet as if it were a living, breathing thing, while the volcano itself, rumbled deep in the heart of the mountain." "He was brave, huh Mama? I bet he wasn't scared of that old warlock." "Oh, but he was, my Lamb. He was, because he was afraid that he would fall to the warlock's power and become one of his minions And that in itself would make him just as mean and cruel as the warlock himself, because the amulet was constantly tempting him. 'Wear me,' it would whisper. 'Put me on and I will give you all that you desire.' "But why didn't he just put it on and ask it to get rid of the warlock and make all the bad stuff go away, Mama? That's what I would have done." Carrie Anne O'Malley shook her head. "No you wouldn't, my sweet angel. You would have fought the warlock and temptation, too. Because you know right from wrong and what the amulet was whispering was wrong in every sense of the word and just like you, the young man knew it. He couldn't let the evil win. So under the watchful eye of the warlock, he tricked him into letting him into his shrine, telling the warlock that for him to give him the amulet, the alter had to be made ready and a spell had to be spoken. So the young man took salt, and pepper from his rucksack to sanctify the alter, then with that done, he spoke the charm to rid the world of the warlock and the amulet forever." "Seth God of Chaos and demons, Touch not me nor mine, Thy power I drain into this brine. Pepper sting demon, rouge or thief, Who so breaks this bond finds grief. I mean it for this sill and door, And all this land forevermore. I say these words my spell to wind. And with this spell, this land I bind. So he who steals it, though far away, Will have no rest by night nor day. And once he's bound, then he shall see, The Hell fires of all eternity." |