Firelight of Heaven

By Elizabeth Klein

When an assassin infiltrates a secret meeting and people are killed, brothers Robbie and Dougray are plunged into a fast-paced journey of discovery. Their quest leads them to forbidden territory, where an Elf girl named Belle Song rescues them from trolls and accompanies them. The future of their quest becomes doubtful when an enormous spider called Queen Shara captures Robbie. After a frightening battle, they manage to defeat the spider and rescue him from her lair. Through their mutual hardships, Dougray and Belle discover they have a common destiny, one that involves searching for seven lost crystals that will heal Bethloria.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elizabeth Klein
• Release date: Aug 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393703211

Book preview

Prologue

Robbie grabbed his wooden sword, leapt from the top step and impaled three dragons by the time he reached the fence. He stabbed out their yellow eyes and steaming brains oozed from their nostrils onto the ground. Dying jaws snapped at his ankles, but his flying feet avoided them as he raced past. Tall for a seven-year-old boy, Robbie spun around with ease, swinging his glittering sword above his head.

‘I win!’ he yelled into the wind.

Yellow eyes tracked him as he ran toward the shed. He could move faster than the wind, faster than any dragon. Left and right, over his head, the sword whirled in his hand in a white blur, and then through the green-scaled chest of another dragon lurking in the shadows. He counted four dead so far. Nothing could stop him now. One day, he would kill a real dragon.

Breathless, he plunged his sword into the water trough, breaking up the ice that had formed overnight. Just getting to the trough was a challenge with so many dragons guarding the way. He stopped and faced the closed doors of the shed. Just the thought of what was inside made his hands clammy.

Chained inside along the icy walls were rows of slaves. Barebacked men strained at iron cuffs, pulling at chains to be free. The look of despair on each one’s gaunt face as he lay on the putrid floor was etched in Robbie’s mind. They were so far beneath the earth that not even the feeblest light filtered through the cracks of those lonely dungeons. Their moans echoed inside his head and although he only ever saw the animals inside, the slaves were real. They were suffering—calling for someone to deliver them. They needed rescuing, but what could a small boy do to help them?

Free the chickens and goats and then run as far away from those haunting sounds that seemed to trail after him. Free Bessie the goat and her baby, Small One, the twelve hens and the golden-colored rooster with the black tail feathers. Free those he could! Perhaps that’s what he was meant to do each morning. He frowned.

‘You can all have a drink now! It’s safe out here. The dragons are all dead!’

Then a sudden glint near the forest made him look up.

Real eyes were watching him!

There, at the edge of the forest, a man sat upon a great black horse. Mist swirled around him, so that he looked more wraith than man. Icy claws held Robbie’s feet to the ground and grasshoppers jumped around inside his stomach. His mouth went dry and he blinked several times. He had seen the man before, the black hair and beard. Everything about him was black. Who was he? What did he want? Maybe he should run and tell Faolan, except his legs wouldn’t move. Then the man threw the edge of a dark cloak around his shoulders and the mist swallowed him.

Robbie didn’t know he was holding his breath until he opened his mouth and exhaled. He waited a few minutes to see if the man would return and then turned back to the shed. A shiver ruffled through him. First, he had to set the slaves free and then he would tell Faolan about the mysterious man.

With slow, hesitant steps, he walked to the shed and pulled back the twin doors. For a long time he just stood there, looking in, listening. He could hear the chickens clucking at the back, wanting to get out of their cramped stall and run around the yard. He could smell the manure and old hay from the night. Dougray always cleaned it out after breakfast. Robbie always guarded him with sword in hand at the door. He’d not let anything harm his brother. Not ever!

Small One gave a loud bleat. Robbie peered up at the posts lost in dim shadows. Were the eyes there this morning, the eyes that kept watch? Bessie’s deeper sounding bleat made him lower his gaze. He had to let them out. He tiptoed over and wrapped his arms around Small One’s neck.

‘I’m glad they didn’t get you.’ He kissed its head between the tiny, furry bumps where its horns would one day grow. Bessie nudged him and one of her horns clipped his ear. She was hungry and wanted to run around the paddock and eat fresh grass.

‘All right Goaty. I’m going as fast as I can,’ Robbie said, rubbing his ear.

He tied a halter around Bessie’s neck. Small One would just follow. Bessie bounded ahead of him and he anchored his heels in the dirt and hung on to the rope with all his might. Sometimes the sliding rope burned his hands.

‘Hey, stop that Bessie!’

Small One raced around the yard, leaping and kicking, glad to be free of the smelly shed. Robbie dragged on the rope as the goat pulled, shambling and sliding all the way to the paddock. He looped the end around the top of the post while he opened the gate and removed the halter. Mother and baby raced together for a few minutes. Robbie laughed and forgot about the black horseman.

The cold air made him shiver so he raced around the yard some more, this time pretending he was riding a stallion. He jumped over clumps of dry grass. In his mind, they were fences and high walls. After a while, he pulled up the reins on his imaginary horse and draped his arms over the fence to recover.

Then something dark moved at the edge of the forest, in amongst the shadows. He stared at it. It was the man again—watching him!

He just sat on his horse and stared, as if waiting for something to happen. Robbie wasn’t afraid, but he ducked behind the trough all the same, hoping he’d go away. He peeked over the edge. The horseman pulled up the reins and his horse stepped back into the misty trees where they both disappeared. It seemed that the man didn’t want to be seen. Robbie crouched low, waiting to see if he would return. He waited a long time. The ground became icy and his legs grew numb with cold. He peeked over the top again, but he couldn’t see the man any more.

I guess you’re not coming back, he told himself.

The wind gusted. Thick layers of dark clouds were gathering near the mountain far away. Inside Robbie’s mind came one more chore that he didn’t want to face. It wasn’t the cold now that made him shiver, but the thought of going back inside the shed—right to the back where the hens were. It made him afraid because the ghostly slaves were all back there, in the shadows.

Robbie’s eyes flickered toward the shed. That chore wouldn’t go away unless he went and did it. He’d take his sword with him, just in case. Bessie bleated encouragement from the paddock. With feet dragging, he picked up his wooden sword, walked over to the shed and peered inside. It was silent now. Dust and filth clouded the tiny window at the back so that little light filtered through. But he didn’t need light to know that they were there again.

He waited until his eyes had adjusted to the dimness. Already he could see the grey, dusty sheets of cobwebs hanging between the posts. Black spiders skittered along them, some larger than the palm of his hand. More had appeared since yesterday and more were arriving. His stomach clenched at the sight of so many.

Knuckles white from clutching the sword, Robbie took a deep breath and tiptoed toward the chicken pen, staring at the timber above his head. By the time he spotted the tiny, blood red eyes glowing around the supporting beams, his heart was racing. There were hundreds of them! They were real and terrifying.

The eyes watched what went on—like spies.

Words from his Lesson Book came to mind. Faolan had told him to depend on them and he could remember most without even thinking.

He is their strength in the time of trouble. He shall deliver them and save them.

Robbie hurried to the pen, unlatched the gate and threw it wide. With a frantic yell, he ran out of the shed and jumped up and down in the middle of the yard, brushing his hair with his hands and smacking his clothes.

Chapter 1

Meeting in the Forest

The night of the massacre began like any other night in Wyfrenvale. Inky black clouds rolled in from the north, smothering the late afternoon sky, and it grew bitterly cold before the storm struck in fits of ferocity. Robbie set off through the forest with Dougray, quickly losing sight of their farmhouse. With his hands in his pockets to keep them warm, he followed his brother along the familiar goat trail that appeared briefly through the trees in flashes of lightning.

Their leather boots sounded loud and hollow as they crunched on the stones and twigs. Bare tree limbs creaked in the gusty wind and made the hairs on the back of Robbie’s neck stand up. He shook his head. You’re sixteen and still afraid of the night. A year older, Dougray didn’t seem to mind the coming darkness, or journeying through the pitch-black forest in a storm. If only he had his brother’s courage. But the night changed how everything looked to Robbie. The forest, friendly and inviting during the daytime, now appeared menacing and sinister. His gaze often darted towards the shadows on either side of the path.

Anyone or anything could be out there at this time of year. Wild pigs from the hills scavenged in the forest for food. He certainly didn’t want to run into any of them on the way. They could get nasty if there were young piglets among them. And of course, being out in the forest after the curfew was a dangerously foolish idea and he hated it.

A cacophony of night noises set his teeth on edge. What animals made them he couldn’t guess; he’d never seen them during the daylight hours. But nothing slowed Dougray. Robbie couldn’t understand what had gotten into him since Faolan told them about the meeting. As if something was driving him to be there at all costs.

An unexpected splatter of rain smacked Robbie in the face and he looked up with a loud groan. The boom of distant thunder was drawing nearer. He clutched his coat tighter about himself and marched on. The night had that wild, untamed aura about it. The creaking branches made him slow down and glance about. The sense that something was out of place sent a sliver of ice sliding down his spine. If only he’d brought along—

Something scraped the trunk of a tree off to his left! He swirled around, blood pounding in his ears.

There it was again! What the—?

Whispers drifted through the trees, soft and furtive—secretive. His mind reeled as peril screamed in his ears. He looked about for Dougray, but couldn’t see or hear him anymore. Flaming arrows, where did he go?

Courage rose up on the inside of him, a sense of protection for his brother, not because he was stronger. In many ways, Dougray was the stronger one. The feeling persisted and was compelling.

Look after your brother! That thought had been there for as long as he could remember, long before Faolan—

He shoved wet branches and dangling mosses out of his way and hurried through the forest. He had to rescue him! You make sure he’s safe tonight, Faolan’s words thundered in his ears. He’s the one—the one who will one day defeat Morgran is what Faolan had meant to say, though he never did. Robbie had worked that out by himself. Somehow, he had always known his brother was special, though to look at him... well, he looked so ordinary. They both did.

He had taken no more than half a dozen steps when a sudden thought brought him to a halt. He let out a long, relieved sigh. The secretive whispers must be the sound the rain made as it fell on the bare trees! Had to be. Except the darkness had given it an odd, human-like quality. Perhaps his imagination was playing cruel tricks on him. The thought almost made him grin.

Calm down. There’re no soldiers or wild pigs—or dragons for that matter—out in this weather! There’s nothing to fear! He lifted his collar and trudged after his brother, still shaking his head at his own foolishness. He caught up to Dougray at the edge of the forest.

‘It’s wrong being out here. If we get caught—’

His brother spun around, his face enveloped in dark anger. ‘We’ll only get caught because of your loud whining. I’m here because Faolan told me to come! You just tagged along like a bad smell, so stop your bellyaching and be quiet. Anyway, we’re almost there now. No point in turning around.’

Robbie clamped his mouth shut. His brother’s harsh tone hurt. Wet branches whipped back at him as Dougray pushed through the trees and he had to duck. He hurried after him into a clearing, relieved to see the dark silhouette of the derelict cabin where the meeting was to be held.

Woodcutters had abandoned it long ago when King Morgran took ownership of the forest, the cabin and everything in it. Anyone found hunting deer in his forest risked not only losing their lives, but also the lives of their entire family. Morgran destroyed all who disobeyed his orders and being out after dark was one of them. Traveling so far into the forest made Robbie more than jumpy. Neither of them had been to the cabin before and they had relied on scant instructions given to them by their grandfather.

He was there only because Faolan had insisted he accompany his brother to the secret meeting. The arthritis in the old man’s legs had hindered him from coming along himself, so Robbie and Dougray were to make the journey for him. Once inside, they would have to endure the cold as men discussed the troubles that had beset them since the true King’s mysterious departure. Robbie was not looking forward to any of it, or the long hike back in the dark once they were finished.

The soft glow of an oil lamp appeared as the cabin’s door opened and the dim outline of a man stepped inside. Then the light vanished as the door swung shut.

Dougray turned and looked at him. ‘Others are already here. Come on.’

Robbie’s shoulders sagged as he tramped through wet grass toward the cabin. Off in the distance, a hooting owl made his ears prick and he turned to look in its direction. The clearing was so open, so visible. He couldn’t help but shudder.

When they arrived, Dougray gave a few sharp raps on the door and stood back, waiting. The door opened a chink and Robbie could see the shadow of someone tall standing there, peering out at them. Then the door opened further and Brayden, one of the farmers they recognized, gave them a toothy grin. He turned to someone inside the cabin.

‘Just Faolan’s grandsons.’ He stepped aside for them to enter. ‘Come in, lads. We’re about to start. Think everyone’s ‘ere now.’

Robbie sloshed through a puddle of water on soft floorboards as he entered. An uneasy crowd of men and boys, some as young as twelve, were gathered inside. Some sat on old crates or just stood about. Spits of rain from the leaking roof found their way down collars, sending angry mutters through the room. A chill wind whistled through gaps in the walls, making the air inside the cabin feel like an