My Sparkling Misfortune (The Lakeland Knight) Read online

  I have no idea how Kellemar found out. He must have destroyed the towers when I was on my way to the cave. It was a smart move, I’ll give him that; a move worthy of a villain—and the best part is that, technically, he did not break his word of a prince that he had given me with such reserve. He did what he promised, he’d sent me a message with the location of the plunder one day before the battle. It was implied that we would not harm each other during this joint venture, and he did nothing to harm me; he only destroyed the white towers, letting the monster take care of the rest. Now he was going to be praised not only for beating the Dolmanians and getting the gold but also for defeating the evil Lord Arkus.

  Prince Kellemar, son of King Ramian of Dalvanna, you will die for this.

  ***

  Before I could fulfill that vow, of course, I had to ensure my safety. I wished I could gallop all the way to Malgarra, but that would kill the horse. I made it there by nightfall. The white tower stood intact, and there was a tavern right next to it. I breathed a sigh of relief, dismounted, and tied the horse. I was not recognized, but my fine clothes impressed the owner enough to give me a room without asking to pay first. He offered supper as well, but I could not think of food. It did not look like I would be able to sleep, either. I had to plan my revenge.

  There was plenty of time, and I used it well. On the next day, I had an elaborate plan, smart and wicked enough to win the first award at the annual villain conference. All I needed was to have the towers rebuilt, so that I could return to my castle and get to work.

  I anxiously waited for Shork, inventing new punishments for him for every hour of his delay. The hours turned into days; the servant would not come. When three days had passed with no sight of him, I sensed that something was wrong.

  I had been avoiding the crowd at the tavern, irritated to no end by ridiculous stories of how brave Prince Kellemar fed evil Lord Arkus to a monster. Yes, that’s what people were saying, can you believe it? However, after those three days I decided that listening to travelers’ conversations might help me figure out what was going on in Dalvanna and Arkusville.

  I went to the dining hall and took a seat in the corner. Sure enough, it was not long before yet another crook began getting free drinks by telling everyone about Lord Arkus’s shameful demise.

  “He begged for his life,” the fellow asserted, “but the prince was not moved, and he threw him right in the monster’s mouth!”

  “Did you see it happen?” someone asked.

  The storyteller shook his head. “No, I did not, but I heard it from someone who did.”

  The stupid crowd took it as sufficient proof; they filled their glasses and drank to Prince Kellemar’s health.

  I figured I’d better ask the questions I had in mind, before these guys got too drunk to answer—or before they drive me mad enough to give them a taste of my sword.

  “So Arkus is dead,” I began, “But I believe he had a whole army. What happened to it?”

  “Some were captured, others fled to the castle. They picked a new leader, from what I know. Some fellow named Belvir. But he is far too scared of Prince Kellemar now to cause trouble.”

  Belvir was my second in command, so it was understandable that he took charge in my absence.

  “Is anyone rebuilding the white towers?” I asked.

  “The ones Arkus destroyed? No, not yet. The prince has decided to build new ones, on a different location—farther away from the Blackriver Castle. I think it’s a good idea. It would be a waste to rebuild them on the same spots and then have Arkus’s men bring them down again.”

  Lovely. So even the destruction of the towers was blamed on me.

  I still could not understand why Belvir was not following my orders relayed through Shork and why Shork wasn’t here. Has something happened to him?

  “Do you know anything about Arkus’s personal attendant?” I asked.

  The storyteller gave me a puzzled look.

  “The servant? Why, I would think he is still in the royal dungeon, with the rest of the captives. Why would he be treated differently?”

  Now I had the answer. Shork was captured, and everyone thought me dead, including my own men. I was stuck here. No one was looking for me, waiting for me, or going to rebuild the towers where I needed them. It was up to me to get out of all this trouble.

  I returned to my room. I had to think of something—fast. My brilliant plan lay in ruins; I needed a new one. So what could I possibly do, without money or men, and with the monster on my back?

  I sought long and hard, and I eventually found a solution. It was difficult and dangerous, but if it worked… Oh, I would show them all what happens when you anger Lord Arkus!

  ***

  Chapter 2

  Years ago, I had learned from one unfortunate scribe that it was possible to catch a gormack, an evil spirit, and make him serve you. There was only one place in the world where that could be done; not many knew the location and the rules one had to follow to achieve that, and out of those who knew, not many would dare to try. The priceless secret was strictly guarded, but that scribe owed me more than he could ever pay, and after much hesitation, he paid by sharing it. Now, it looked like the time had come to use that information.

  The place was called Silky Lake. The water of the lake was said to be so beautiful, warm, and pleasant, that spirits could not resist the temptation to swim in it, even though only for a few minutes. To enjoy swimming, of course, you need flesh, so spirits would temporarily take a physical form. This weakened them, and for some reason the water of the lake weakened them even more. That’s what gave a mere mortal like me a chance to subdue a powerful gormack.

  A gormack could only spend four to five minutes swimming in the lake, the scribe had told me. Staying longer, he risked losing too much strength, which would force him to remain in the limiting physical body for many years. No spirit would want such inconvenience and humiliation. So a human wishing to catch a gormack needed to wait for a little less than four minutes, and then jump at the spirit, grab him and hold him. Compared to humans, the spirits were still very strong, and they would try to wrestle away with all their might. If you failed to hold the gormack… you would most likely pay for it with your life. However, the longer you held him, the weaker he would become, and his risk of getting stuck in the physical body would grow. Eventually, the gormack would offer you something for letting him go, usually gold, jewels, or fulfilling one simple wish. That’s when you had to bargain and tell him you wanted five years of service.

  Five years in flesh, and bound to a human master, is not a lot of fun, so the insulted spirit would probably try to break free yet again, with renewed vigor. However, five years is far better than thirty, forty or more he would be risking at that point. If you manage to hold the gormack that long, there is a good chance he will agree—and he will not be able to go back on his promise, if you use the right words to seal the deal.

  Five years of having a powerful spirit at my command… Can you imagine what I could do with such a servant? There were, of course, some limitations to what he would be able to do, brought by his physical body and by general laws of the spiritual realm that would have to be considered, but still… Just thinking about all the possibilities took away my breath. Kellemar would pay. I could take care of my long list of enemies, too, accomplish everything I ever wanted… And I could order the gormack to kill the monster that haunted me. He should be strong enough for that. I would be free again! Yes, it was a dangerous task, but it was well worth the risk.

  ***

  As you can imagine, my journey to Silky Lake was not easy, but I will spare you the detailed account of all the hardships I went through; let’s just say that it took me over two months to get there, and there were no white towers in that region—none at all. I had left their safety several times during my journey, and those days were agonizing, but the monster didn’t show up; he must have not tracked me down yet. That had given me confidence for the final plunge—
venturing into the area where I would be completely unprotected. Remember I told you that being a villain at times requires some heroism? Well, this would be one such occasion.

  I reached the lake in the middle of a bright sunny day. The water, indeed, was stunningly beautiful… and that’s all I will say. You didn’t expect a sappy description from someone like me, did you?

  I hid in the nearby bushes and waited. Nothing was happening for so long that I began to wonder whether the whole thing was a sham… Then I heard a loud crack in the air followed by a big splash. The first gormack arrived for a swim.

  On my way there, I had decided that I would not try to catch the first one I see. I would just watch how it all happens to be better prepared. The spirit materialized in midair—that’s what had caused the cracking sound—and fell in the lake. He swam underwater for a while, and all I could see was the dark purplish glow coming from his body; then he emerged… Huge, barrel-chested, half man, half beast with spikes on his head and along his back, mean piercing eyes and powerful jaws. I would say that he was magnificent if he hadn’t eerily reminded me of my monster. Even though the resemblance was not striking, it was bad enough to make me want to hide better.

  As he swam with obvious pleasure, his purple glow diminished. I checked my watch. He spent almost exactly four minutes in the lake, then climbed ashore and sat on a rock, probably recovering his strength. When his glow regained its intensity, the gormack stood up, stretched, and disappeared with the same cracking sound.

  All right. So now I’d seen it. Things seemed to work exactly as the scribe had told me. The only question I had was, Are they all so big? Because, as much as I’d love to have a creature like the one I just saw in my service, I wasn’t sure I could overpower it. I am a strong warrior, make no mistake about that; not many can stand against me in battle. But the way that gormack looked… I just had to be reasonable. After all, there were no second chances in this game.

  Two loud cracks interrupted my thoughts. Two spirits at once?? I cautiously looked out. Yes, there were two of them, and they were fighting. Quite viciously, too, I might add. One glowed in blue, the other bright orange, like fire; both had thin swords of the same colors, glowing as well, and the swords clashed with incredible speed and force, raising tons of splashes—they fought in the lake, although close to the shore, on a shallow spot.

  These two were considerably smaller than the first, which answered my question. They did not look like beasts, either; if it wasn’t for the glow, each could pass for a human, a slender yet strongly shaped man.

  They kept fighting. Each seemed intent on not letting the other out of the water, obviously trying to use its weakening effect and ignoring the fact that it was weakening them both. The orange one appeared stronger, he was attacking more and once managed to knock his enemy down. The blue one got back on his feet quickly enough, but I could see that he was losing ground.

  I checked my watch. They’d been splashing for a little over three minutes. I had to think fast here. What if I grab one now? Will the other one let me catch him or turn against me? Logically, he shouldn’t interfere, but if being captured by a human is considered such a bad thing, who knows, maybe the other gormack will forget whatever disagreement they had and choose to help out. On the other hand, gormacks are evil spirits. “Evil” and “help out” don’t go together.

  I figured I’d have to risk it.

  Three and a half minutes… Three forty five… Three fifty. Now!

  I leapt out of the bushes, ran in the water, and grabbed the orange one from the back. I wanted him, of course, since he’d proved to be stronger. After the half-second of the initial surprise, the gormack began to struggle; I held him with all my might. The blue one let out a triumphant laugh.

  “That’s what you get for messing with me!”

  Whew. I was right. He wasn’t helping.

  The blue gormack hurried to get out of the lake.

  “What are you doing, silly mortal?!” the orange one demanded. “Let me go!”

  “I don’t think so,” I answered, fighting hard to keep hold of him. He was still very strong, just as the scribe had warned. I strained my every muscle to its limit, hardly able to breathe. I was sure glad I didn’t go for the big purple guy!

  “What do you want?!”

  Oh, so he wouldn’t threaten me? And wouldn’t offer anything? He’s already asking what I want? The fellow was getting desperate… which meant I could ask for a little more.

  “Six years of your service.”

  The blue one laughed from the shore. “Happy captivity!” he shouted. “I hope you will think of me every miserable day!”

  Crack! He was gone.

  My gormack was supposed to be growing weaker each second, but I couldn’t feel it. He swung me like a rag, trying to break free, and my arms were getting numb, but, somehow, I still held on.

  “Six years of service!” I repeated. “I will not release you until you pledge it!”

  Did he really stagger, just a little, or was I imagining it?...

  I wasn’t.

  “Very well. Be it as you wish.”

  He agreed!! My overstrained muscles begged for a break, but I couldn’t let go of him yet; that would be a fatal mistake. I had to seal the deal.

  “So do you promise to serve me faithfully for six years?”

  “Within the laws of both worlds, that of spirits and of men, yes.”

  Within the laws, well, that was fine. The scribe had told me about that. No spirit could break those laws.

  “To act in my best interests?”

  “Yes.”

  “Not to lie to me?”

  “Yes.”

  “And never seek retaliation for being captured?”

  “Yes.”

  “Abyss take you if you break your word?”

  “Naturally.”

  Naturally? Was he leaving some kind of a loophole?

  “No tricks! Say, ‘Yes, I promise, the abyss takes me if I break my word!’”

  He said it.

  At last, I could loosen the grip. Oh, my arms, shoulders, back… They’d be aching for days.

  The spirit waded to the shore. I cautiously followed, still unable to fully believe it. I did it, didn’t I? I had a gormack now. My own, for six full years.

  He sat down on the sand. I figured I’d give him time to accept the unfortunate change in circumstances. I could use some rest as well, so I lowered myself on a large rock a couple of steps away and looked at my prize. As I have said earlier, he could easily pass for a man, especially now that he’d stopped glowing—a lean young fellow with well-defined features, dressed in a short tunic, breeches, and tall boots. His hair was still flaming orange, but his skin turned the color of regular human tan. I waited for the glow to return, but minutes passed, and it was not happening. Was something wrong?

  “Your glow is gone,” I said. “I hope you have not lost all your strength.”

  He looked up at me and, quite unexpectedly, grinned.

  “That would be a disappointment, wouldn’t it? Don’t worry, it’s just because I am settling in the physical world.”

  Well, at least he was not too upset about it.

  “Has this happened to you for the first time?”

  “I would think those to whom it had happened once will not come to the lake again.”

  “You have a point.” I looked him over again and noticed that he had no weapon. “Where is your sword?”

  “Always with me.” With that, the shining orange blade showed up in his hand, and before I could blink it was pointed at me. “Why? You want to taste it?”

  Uh-oh. So he was a little upset.

  “Hey now. You promised to be loyal to me.”

  “True.” He smiled and removed the sword. “But I never promised not to have fun.”

  A feisty one. It looked like I’d have to teach him some manners.

  “You must do what I tell you, and I’m telling you to be respectful. Is that understood?” />
  He gave a quick bow.

  “Yes, Mr. I-Don’t-Know-What-To-Call-You.”

  Well, he had a point here, too. I had not yet introduced myself.

  “‘My lord’ or ‘master’ will do very well,” I said, “but if you wish to know my name, it is Lord Arkus of Blackriver Castle. Now, what is yours? I assume you have a name, too?”

  “Of course. I am Tulip.”

  “Tulip?? What kind of a name is that for an evil spirit?”

  “I am no evil spirit.”

  I gave him a long, hard look.

  “…Don’t you joke like that. I appreciate a good bit of humor, but not of the kind that makes one’s heart stop.”

  “But I am not joking. I am not an evil spirit, I am what you call a sparkling.”

  The world faded before my eyes.

  “WHAT?? A sparkling?! Are you telling me I have caught a sparkling?! A goody-goody spirit that helps heroes, watches over little children, and messes up villains’ plans?!”

  “Well, that’s a rather broad definition, but yes, generally speaking, that’s what a sparkling does. What seems to be the problem?”

  I wanted to scream. And I did.

  “I WANTED A GORMACK!!!”

  “Oops. Your mistake. You should have picked Ragnar then. The one I was fighting.”

  I grabbed him by the tunic collar.

  “Why didn’t you tell me who you are?!”

  “I do not recall you asking.”

  ***

  Chapter 3

  Even the most determined villains have moments when they feel like giving up and quitting. Do I need to say that I was having one after such a disaster?