Book 6: Showdown (The Kid Emperor of Occultoria)

Chapter 2 - The Reconquest Begins

 After taking the Sky Train, Max, Jordan and Ariel were in the Land Beyond the Clouds, the Province of Celio.
Max looked down.
In one hand was his half of the Enchanted Whistle, a tool that, when combined with the other half, would allow him to summon and command the obedience of every weather spirit within range.
In his other hand was his new weapon: a matchbox full of matchsticks. Since Max's Glove of Vucan had been given to the disreputable Dr. John Dee, Max needed another way to summon his fire abilities. He would have taken his musical instrument the qinee with him, but he had given it to Jessica as a gift.
The young knight Jordan W, a boy with shoulder-length blond hair and sky-blue eyes in silver armor, withdrew his sword, a simple single blade fit for a new knight. In his other hand was the imperial flag standard for the Emperor, the symbol of the eye of the Ergon amid the background of three purple stripes.
"Your Imperial Majesty," Jordan said. "Should we start?"
"Yes, Jordan," said Max.
He turned to the creature perched on his shoulder. "Ariel, are you ready?"
"Yeah, Max," said the orange cat, sounding lethargic. "Let's go."
"Wait," said the Emperor. "Are you OK?"
Ariel had been Max's pet all his life and they had gotten to know each other fairly well, even though it was only the year before that Max discovered that Ariel could speak.
"Yeah," said the Ariel, patting his bulging belly with one paw. "Just had a large lunch. Should be fine."
She pointed toward the bright horizon. "The Celestial Palace is over there, in that direction. As long as we walk toward the north, we should be fine. As for the whereabouts of the other half of the Enchanted Whistle, it could be anywhere."
Max peered into the distance. A light mist surrounded them. It was actually a very beautiful place to be and if Jessica weren't missing, then Max could have enjoyed it.
Just thinking about Jessica made Max anxious. He wondered where she was.
He was reminded of a conversation that he had had with her.
He had just offered the King of Celio gold to rejoin the Empire and the King had accepted. He had gone over to her cottage. She was watering her flowers when he approached. She looked up, dropping her watering can.
Max had rushed over and held her. "I've persuaded the King of Celio to rejoin. Isn't that great?"
He couldn't hide the joy in his voice.
Her smile grew so big it seemed to take over her entire face.
"Really?"
"Yes, really. I promise you. As soon as I get the annulment from Princess Sanchia, I'll marry you and make you my Empress Consort. You'll be the Empress of Occultoria."
The delight in her eyes was radiant.
Her face seemed to glow with the light of a million stars.
Interrupting his memories, Jordan pointed in front of them. "What are those?"
"Dark storm clouds," said Ariel.
The air suddenly became very cold.
Bringing himself slowly back into the present, Max shivered.
A loud crackling sound startled all three of them.
Max looked behind him.
More storm clouds were gathering behind them.
Then, they started zooming toward the group.
Ariel yelled, "Run!"

***

King Yun of Celio was in the Treasury Room of his Celestial Palace, carefully counting his meager coins. His province was so broke that he had only 17 gold coins. It was enough for him to run his provincial government for only one more week, but after that, he had to shut it down because he wouldn't have any money to pay anyone.
At first, he had accepted Emperor Max's offer of 500,000 gold coins, but then, he changed his mind when he thought about how much he liked his own independence. Ever since Empress Lilith disappeared, he had been King in his own province, with no higher authority to answer to.
He had absolute freedom and it was the best feeling in all the Supernatural World.
He was still thinking about his financial problems when his aide, a puffy cloud spirit, called out to him.
"Your Majesty, the Emperor of Occultoria and his gang are here!" the aide said.
"What?!" cried the King. "So soon?"
"Yes, sire."
"Thank the Gods I captured that mythical creature to guard me. It cost a lot but it was worth it."
The King of Celio looked outside, at the stable floating on the clouds. "Release the Ice Phoenix!"
The Ice Phoenix let out a loud wail, then an even louder hacking cough.
"Sire," said the aide. "Should we check the phoenix's health? It sounds like it swallowed something inedible."
"No," said the King. "We need it right away."
From his perspective, the King could see only a flash of white feathers and some icicles clinging from its body, but he knew it was enough to deter the Emperor from reconquering his province.
He had seen the Ice Phoenix in action.
The Ice Phoenix then peeked around the corner and scowled and hissed, but the King didn't pay it any attention.
He knew it hated him because he had kept it in captivity all these years and refused to give it medical attention.
"This will be our secret weapon," said the King. "It will freeze the Emperor right in his tracks."

***

When the storm clouds got so close that the cold penetrated deep into Max's skin, the young monarch had an idea.
He remembered that his mother had been a wind spirit and had passed on some of her powers to him.
He grabbed Jordan's shoulder. "Hold on tight."
Then, he imagined himself becoming a light wind and just like that, he became a blast of wind. He picked up speed while holding onto Jordan and Ariel and away they went, until the storm clouds became a distant and hazy memory.
As he zipped through the air, he felt a certain lightness that he hadn't felt in a long time. Only when he was flying did he feel the responsibilities of imperial office lift from his shoulders.
The relief lasted for only a little while as Max transformed back into himself again.
They took a moment to catch their breaths.
Max inspected their new surroundings.
They landed in some kind of garden patch, with vines hanging all over the place. Max's attention was drawn to what were growing on the vines.
Bright and glowing, bolts of lightning hung like clusters of grapes on the vines.
Breathlessly, Jordan asked, "Where are we?"
Max tried to take another step forward but the cat dug her claws into his shoulders.
He cried.
Ariel hissed, "Don't take another step! These lightning bolts can kill us!"