~By the Lion's Mane: The Call~

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-One

“Lucy!” we all cried in relief at seeing her unharmed. My whole body slackened and I let out a breath. Even though I knew she could be an intimidating figure, I still worried about her as if she were my little sister. We had been through too much together not to.

She had a wide grin on her face, and said, “Oh, you must come inside and meet Coriakin! He’s the Magician who lives in the house!”

She then noticed all of the strange one-footed men hopping about and gave them a strange look. “So you’re the ones who came and took me in the middle of the night! You’re very rude, you know.”

We followed her into the mansion where a man, who I assumed must be Coriakin, was waiting. He greeted us warmly, and we followed him up the stairs and into a vast library.

“So, you are the new king of Narnia?” he asked Caspian, his keen eyes roving over him.

“Yes, sir, Caspian the Tenth,” Caspian answered. “We are… we are seeking seven lords that were good and loyal friends of my father’s, before Miraz killed him and banished them. We have found three of them already, but still seek the other four.”

Coriakin nodded. “I remember them coming by here. They did not stay long; they merely repaired their ship after a bad storm they had encountered and replenished their stores.”

I spoke up, “Sir, would you perhaps know what lies beyond this island?”

He smiled. “Ah yes, I can show you that.”

He conjured a large scroll out of the air, and with a toss, it rolled itself out and hovered above the floor before gently laying itself flat. The group of us gave a small gasp at this magic.

It was a map of the sea, but no ordinary map. The candles and lamps in the library dimmed as light seemed to come from the map itself.

Tiny, wispy clouds floated above the map, which had all of the islands that we had been too, and others, on it. They were perfect miniatures, and the waves in the sea actually moved, rising and falling with tiny white caps of foam.

Coriakin pointed to a roiling, dark mass on the map, and it grew to encompass the whole map as if we had focused upon it through a telescope. The mass looked like heavy, black smoke, and emitted an eerie, sickly green light from within.

“This is what lies beyond. It is an island of great evil, a place where only your very worst dreams and nightmares become reality, and no longer just figments of your consciousness. Already, its powers are growing stronger, and the effects are becoming evident around the world. You must destroy it; it is the reason you are here.”

The map zoomed out again and then in on another island, this one beautiful and tropical, with waterfalls and ancient, moss-draped green trees.

“Go to the Island of the Star; it is where three of the lords await you. Once there, a guide will be sent to you.”

Drinian looked up at Coriakin. “And how are we supposed to find our way there?” he asked, always practical.

Coriakin pointed into the air two feet above the floor. A small orb of bluish light hung there. “Follow the star, for it will lead you where you must to go.”

For a while we were all silent, just staring at the map. I certainly had not expected this, and to be honest, I didn’t want to face whatever was in that black, oily mass of an island. I thought about what Coriakin had said about nightmares becoming reality and shivered.

The magician interrupted our somber thoughts with a cheerful, “Well, now, I am sure you are all hungry, why don’t you stay for the night and have dinner?”