Chapter 33

Once and again they raise their level of combat training. They know upon Dakota’s sixteenth birthday that they will have to travel to the Nalla Mountains to retrieve the second part of the Staff of Creation, which is the Eye of Opalescence.

It took Braylard and his minotaurs, plus the centaurs, a few days to catch up to them. “What happened?”

“I am no longer a Knight of Andromeda. She has kicked us out of her city. You may return home if you wish.”

“My loyalty is to my friends and our loyalty is to the White Sorceress, not the gods. They often have their own agenda that they cleverly wrap up in destinies of humans and other sentient beings.”

“You’ve noticed that too, huh?”

“Has forever it been so!” Braylard says, a little sadly.

“Are there any who can speak the truth to us?”

“The Shamans of Bengal often know much. Before travel to Canton Mountains, through our territory and into wolveris territory, we should stop and converse with the Shamans. With their knowledge and magical paint they will guide you. Have you not read the prophecy?”

“No.” says Dakota, a little ashamed. “Not most of it.”

“It has been a long time since I have read it, but I don’t remember anything like that in it,” says Sorbo.

“It is prophecy, not set of instructions. Within lines that tell you nothing and get you looking in another direction, you will find the truths necessary for Dakota to reach her pinnacle.”

Sorbo looks down at Dakota and says, “Well, I guess we better start studying that thing as soon as we get home.”

Within a week they are home with their escorts of centaurs, minotaurs and dragons. Katarina hadn’t been feeling well so she did not attend this last gathering.

One evening, several months later, after they hear about an attack on the Shamans in Bengal, they now know someone is spying on them. With Sorbo, Dakota, Katarina, Braylard and Lender gathered together out in an open part of the mountains they begin to discuss it.

“I believe we have a traitor in our midst. The enemy seems to be one step ahead of us. I trust us five here implicitly, but all others must be tested.” None like to believe that those they have let into their hearts would ever do such a thing, but even they begin to see it is way beyond coincidence.

Slowly one by one they let different people over hear them talking about made up things and eventually it comes to fruition. It turns out to be a fairy that really isn’t a fairy at all. It is a Shadow Imp. When cornered it laughs as hollowly as Loki and it lunges at Katarina. She is broken-hearted that she did not see that one of her new members into her tribe was not only a traitor, but also not even a real fairy. It shimmers back into its real form.

Dakota pulls out her wand and zaps it and forces it to freeze. As they are questioning it, it starts shuddering violently and then explodes. Everybody looks at Dakota. “It wasn’t me!”

By the time Cathy’s birthday comes around again they are so intent on studying the prophecy and training for the final battle that they barely have enough time to give thanks to her. They quickly get swept up in a prophecy that is unstoppable now.

Late one night on Sorbo’s fiftieth birthday, as they are lying in Dakota’s bed taking comfort in each other, Sorbo says, “I’ve been thinking.”

“Yeah,” Dakota says, sleepily.

“We are at last free from spying eyes. I say we stay her for another Gift Day and then we leave early to go to Nalla and then just stay on the move after that so nobody will know where we are.”

“The gods can find us always.”

“I think even they don’t know what is happening. Do you remember the passage about the Eye of Opalescence where it says, ‘Once we have it, it will no longer be seen?’ What if that means once we have it the gods won’t even be able to see us anymore.”

“That would make sense because that one passage said there are no sides while all sides are one. Maybe that means the White Sorceress is destined to save us all from something that has yet to reveal itself, but that the power is ultimate and can be used for anything as long as it is willingly done. The way nobody wants to tell us anything or they use that old adage, I’m not allowed to, makes it seem like many different things are going on, and yet the true purpose of the White Sorceress is either unknown even to the gods or it interferes with other’s plans.”

“Very smart my beautiful girl. I am proud of you.”

With a smile Dakota tucks her arms under her head and says, “Sorbo?”

“Yeah baby.”

“I love you.”

As the weeks and months pass their minds are too busy to worry about what the body wants. They cuddle with each other every evening in front of the fire, they sleep with each other every night, and their love continues to grow and on more than one night Dakota falls asleep glowing.

They are so deep into each other and the war plans that they barely notice that Gift Day has come and gone. They share in each other’s warmth and love. Finally on New Year Day they decide to leave their known home since Dakota was eight-years-old. She will be sixteen in fewer than two months. She has reached her height of five foot three marks and one hundred stonelings in weight. She is a full-blown young woman now and her combat skills make her one of the deadliest persons on the island continent of the Isle of Lakes. Once and again she and Sorbo are perfect for each other.

They pack what they care to take. They leave Sorbo’s Cross of Service and all but one of Dakota’s carvings. She takes the unicorn one. This is still Sorbo’s family’s home and perhaps after they have fulfilled their destinies, providing they are still alive, they can always come back here and live their lives out. They take all the clothes Dakota wants to take, all their weapons and the prophecy.

“It will take us nearly a month to reach the Nalla Mountains at an easy pace and then it will take us nearly another month to fight our way through the Nalla Mountains in the winter to their capitol of Hitherroam. Then supposedly we will be directed from there on how to find the Eye of Opalescence. You will be sixteen by then. Any questions or concerns?”

“As long as you are at my side I have everything that I need.”

Sorbo’s eyes tear up as he hugs her dearly. He whispers into her ear while kissing it. “I love you.”

Dakota is once and again in her forest green dress with the bark color brown leggings. Sorbo has on his brown breeches, dark green shirt and brown leather jacket that match Dakota’s exactly.

“Okay, where are we going?”

“Not this time, precious one. We will not be back this way for a long time, and our journey will take us to many places. We beg you to stay here in our home and keep it warm for us.” He can see the heartbreak in Katarina’s eyes. “You centaurs and minotaurs are free to do as you please. Lender and Braylard will accompany us to Hitherroam, but after we get the Eye of Opalescence everybody will have to leave us or we can be found through you.”

“Then I can come, too, until then.”