JACOB FROST Chapter 22; Part 1 – The Dark King

Inside Jacob’s room two identical Jacobs stood facing each other. One was dressed in a fancy dark suit and the other wore a plaid shirt with work jeans. Clutched in the hand of the plain dressed Jacob was a sentinel’s pack.

“All right,” said the plain dressed Jacob. “Now remember no one must know. Do your best and have fun at the dance.”

“Only the greatest lynex can be the prince and not be detected. Do not worry prince, I the greatest of all lynexs will make you proud to be the prince!”

“I know you will Lynex, and I appreciate it. Well I guess this is goodbye for now Lynex and good luck. I’ll be back soon.”

“Bye bye prince, and good luck to you too.”

The plain dressed Jacob then took his orb from out of his sentinel’s pack and began to enter in the orb coordinates that had been plaguing his tormented mind. He trembled, craving for relief that only dark energy could provide him, hoping to quickly feed his addictive hunger and return back satisfied and ready for more of Mr. Pitts’ training. “Only one day there that’s all I’ll need, and maybe I’ll be able to find a cure,” he optimistically thought, as he vanished from his room.

In the flash of a moment he reappeared inside a dark cramped room facing a moldy stone wall. Surprised at his surroundings, he looked up at a frail beam of light seeping in from an opening set high in the upper wall. It scarcely provided enough illumination to see, and cautiously he began to study his new environment. The floor was covered in dirty straw, and a single locked steel door offered the only breach to the outside world. He turned to look behind himself, and surprised, he saw the back of a man sitting in the corner of the room. Quickly he reached for a netter inside his pack. The stranger had his legs crossed and his hands resting on his knees. He wore a grimy white robe and had long gray matted hair that draped down his back to the floor.

A surge of dark energy was flowing throughout the room, and Jacob knew instantly that he was somewhere in the Dark Realm. But this time the darkness felt different than before; it had somehow changed from despair to a wonderful feeling, and penetrating his whole being it seemed to satisfy his cravings better than he had ever imagined it could. He stood for a moment enjoying the answer to his hunger. The darkness was strong, pleasing, and painful at the same time, but then at intervals it was strangely cold. He had never felt anything like it before; it was beyond description. He wondered why he had previously thought it to be so depressing, and he stretched out his arms feeling a new vitality surge throughout him, a power that he had never before experienced. Curiously he glanced at his hand and discovered his ring glowing brightly.

With his cravings now satisfied, he turned his attention back to the stranger. Slowly he approached the man to get a better look. As the man’s face came into view Jacob dropped open his mouth. The stranger’s bearded face was pale and rampantly wrinkled, and where eyes should have been there was nothing but scared empty sockets, it was clear that he had been a victim of grisly torture.

“Where—where am I,” questioned Jacob, as he turned his head away from the painful sight.

The stranger remained silent, and Jacob wondered if he were also deaf.

“HELLO THERE,” greeted Jacob again, “CAN YOU HEAR ME?”

“Leave me alone,” replied the man, remaining completely still.

“Where am I,” questioned Jacob.

“There is darkness around you,” replied the man. “I can sense it. You’re wearing a ring of darkness aren’t you?”

“No,” said Jacob. “I only have my father’s ring on.”

“Lacsar is turning you into his slave. If you don’t remove his ring it will soon be too late.”

“Even if I wanted to, and I don’t, it won’t come off?” said Jacob, starting to feel annoyed at the thought of losing his ring.

“You can easily remove it,” countered the man. “Hold your ring’s stone against the wall and rub it back and forth until it shatters. You will then be able to remove the ring.”

A sudden flash of anger filled Jacob’s mind as his ring grew brighter. “Why should I trust you!” he shouted, deliriously enraged. He was in the Dark King’s territory, and the stranger had to be one of the Dark King’s spies, enticing him to destroy his Father’s ring, the only object of power he could use to fight the dark enemy.

“Then leave,” replied the man pointedly.

With nowhere else to go, and believing the stranger to be disinterested, Jacob sat down in the opposite corner. He figured that he could easily orb back to Sentinel Village at any sign of danger, but since the dark energy felt so amazingly good, he thought he might as well stay for awhile longer and enjoy its welcome relief. Maybe in the future, if he needed a quick fix to satisfy his cravings, he could easily orb back here for a recharge. It had been a long and exhausting day coaching the Lynex, and so he laid down resting his head on some straw while keeping a watchful eye fixed on the stranger. “The Lynex has probably arrived at the dance by now with Emalynn,” he thought. “At least she’ll have a better time with him than me. He’s an able dancer, and she’ll have fun dancing with him.” His nagging hunger seemed satisfied for the moment and for the first time in days he found it easy to relax. He closed his eyes without worrying and gradually drifted off into a strange sleep. There were no dreams as usual; only empty blackness that would not withdraw, leaving him feeling strangely cold and lonely. Time seemed nonexistent; as if the numbing essence of the dark energy had taken his mind and transported it into an empty void where his thoughts remained muddled and confused. Something rough began shaking him, persistently jarring him with an increasing intensity that violently heaved him back and forth across the cold stone floor, physically forcing his return to consciousness. There was no way of telling how long he had lain immobilized; maybe only a few hours, or possibly a whole night. Somehow he managed to crack open an eyelid and looked up to see the face of a gruesome dark warrior bending over him. With a start he jumped to his feet, clutching his sentinels’ pack in his hand. He could feel his heart beating like a humming bird, and before he had a chance to react further, the dark warrior grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the open door. As soon as they had exited, another warrior, waiting just outside, seized his other arm and together both warriors hoisted him off the ground. He glanced back and for a split second saw the cell door open with the stranger still sitting motionless on the cold stone floor, as if nothing had happened.

No matter how hard he tried to struggle free, their painful grip remained firm. They started up a wide circling stone stairwell and he feared desperately for his life. At the top of the stairs they turned and headed down a narrow corridor, until coming to a tall open archway, where after passing under the arch the warriors lifted him up and tossed him inhumanly into the air. He flew forward for nearly twenty feet and slammed down hard on his stomach on the cold granite floor.

“Ummph,” he bleated, feeling the wind painfully knocked from his lungs. His arms and chest were numb, but despite the pain he struggled to push himself up.

“Here in this realm you see my glory and feel my power. Here all bow and worship me,” boomed a piercing voice over him.

Jacob managed to catch a short breath and then rose to his knees. In front of him he saw black high topped boots, tight white pants, and then a frilly white-laced shirt covered by a short crimson cape. Lifting his head higher he focused on the stranger’s face and instantly wrenched back in surprise.

“You’re—Dr. Galeeky!” he stammered, followed by a horrible thought that ripped through his mind. “No—you’re, you’re—you’re Lacsar!”

“Welcome to my realm Jacob,” said his uncle with a smile.

Jacob could feel his face turning red with anger and he struggled to rise to his feet, staring belligerently at the cowardly murderer of his parents. So this was Lacsar, the Dark King, the destroyer of the realm, and the one that everyone hated and feared. He didn’t look like much and strangely Jacob felt disappointed. He had expected a fiercer and taller adversary, one more manly and distinguishable. But despite appearances, he still knew that Lacsar was dangerous, a powerful great one that could easily take his life without a second thought. With all the restraint he could muster, he forced his raging anger back into submission, giving way to a coerced self- control that he didn’t realize he had.
“Don’t you have anything to say to your long lost uncle?” questioned Lascar.

Jacob glared back at him with a scowl, not saying a word.

“Good then, I can dispense with formalities and get right to the business of your visit. You’re probably wondering what you’re doing here so I shan’t be rude any longer,” said Lacsar, as he began to pace back and forth in front of Jacob. “I remade Dr. Galeeky in my image. That handsome guy is under my control.” Astonishingly overhead the phoenix flashed by and circled around Lascar’s head to land on his shoulder. Lacsar stared at Jacob, seeming to enjoy Jacob’s now surprised expression. With a gleam in his eyes he delightedly began to boast his explanation, “I knew all along that you and Clair were not dead, and I had no clue where you would be hiding. But I knew someday Clair would send you off to apprentice with his dear friend Mr. Pitts. Your uncle and your father were foolish sappy sentimental sentinels, and in Clair’s mind your becoming a sentinel’s apprentice would be his way of rounding you out to become a man like your father. It was only a matter of time and my placing a spy in Sentinel Village to give me a heads up when your Mr. Pitts took on an apprentice. And as you already discovered, that spy was Lord Tardab.”

“But what about the Book of Galeeky? Wasn’t he sent there to steal that?” boldly questioned Jacob.

“Very perceptive! I never told Lord Tardab who you were; he was only assigned to inform me of Mr. Pitt’s new apprentice and as you so cleverly deduced, steal the Book of Galeeky. Of course that fool believed me when I gave him a phony amulet that would give him power to steal the book. So when the book mysteriously vanished during his attempted theft, the inept fool believed the amulet had worked to stop the book from hiding itself, and naturally concluded Buckburne Scurvey had taken it to protect it. I then sent word for him to arrange for Mr. Pitts’ kidnapping, and that fool without my permission tried to use Mr. Pitts to find the location of Buckburne Scurvey and the Book of Galeeky. Of course my purpose was only to lure Clair into the Dark Realm and take care of him and your Mr. Pitts once and for all, leaving you alone and totally vulnerable. Imagine my surprise when you showed up with your little friends. At that point I knew instantly that you would be searching for the Valley of the Phoenix. It’s common knowledge that in my realm only a phoenix has the ability to locate the missing. And that was when I planted my phoenix with you.” Lacsar lifted his hand and affectionately began stroking the phoenix’s head. “You see Jacob, he’s not really a phoenix, but an Egyptian Benu, a sunbird that is related to the virtuous phoenix. I merely altered his appearance to more resemble a phoenix. A true phoenix would never serve someone like me.”

Shattered with the discovery of his phoenix, Jacob disappointedly looked at the bird and then stared at his hand and the glowing ring. Lacsar began to laugh. “Ah yes the ring, it really was the royal ring, your mother’s ring. I took it from her after she died so I could give it to you as a present. The precious royal ring! Of course I altered it with a little dark magic. That’s why you’ve had an overwhelming craving for dark energy, a hunger driving you to return to this realm and come to me. Until I lift the curse, you will always have this uncontrollable desire to return here to me.”

Jacob’s temper began to rise, and in an angry tone he demanded, “Why did you want the Book of Galeeky to disappear?”

“Yes, a fair question so I’ll answer it. Years ago, with great foresight and planning,” replied Lacsar, “I stole the Galeeky Stone Seal and waited for the day of your sentinel apprenticeship to put my plan into action. I altered the enchantment on the stone seal, placing it under my control, and I improved it with a much better looking Dr. Galeeky. A little truth mingled with me. When Lord Tardab caused the Book of Galeeky to disappear, I used the Galeeky Seal to recover it. I then altered the Book of Galeeky’s enchantment as I had done with the seal.”

“So the trip to Ogre Island was part of your scheme?” questioned Jacob.

“Yes, yes, you’re catching on nicely now. After I had recovered the Book of Galeeky I planted the stone seal with the king on Ogre Island along with an added bonus to help facilitate your visit; the transformation locket. It was my phoenix that led you there, and it was my phoenix that rescued you and helped you to win back the seal. And it was your ring that I controlled to protect you. With the stone seal now in your possession you were able to return the now improved Book of Galeeky to the sentinels. From now on when the Book of Galeeky tests apprentices they will have dark spells placed on them similar to yours. Over time as apprentices mature to sentinels I will gain control of them all and create a new corrupted army, insuring the future doom of the sentinels and the new world order.”

“What a dupe I’ve been,” thought Jacob angrily, as he realized just how much he had been manipulated. “Why didn’t I see it? He’s slicker than snot on a glass doorknob.” He felt he should try and find out everything he could while Lascar was freely talking, and so he continued on with more questions.

“Why did you kill Marcus,” he asked.

“Because he was a nuisance. He took it on his own accord to attempt your murder without my permission, and that was unforgivable. The phoenix uncovered his final plan and reported it back to me. I took Lord Tardab’s life with the stone seal, right from under your very own noses. He had no right to disobey me! The fool almost ruined everything! It was never my intention to destroy you Jacob, my preparation has always been to bring you here and have you join with me. In essence I’ve saved your life thrice over for this reason.”

Jacob cringed, he couldn’t think of a worse fate, just being near the wretch made his stomach turn. How could he be so stupid, he was played and fell right into his hands! He hated having such a rascallion for an uncle.

“Why—why me and why bring me here?” demanded Jacob, wanting to know what his fate had now become. “You don’t need me!”

“What I’m about to tell you is common knowledge boy, everybody knows it except you. And you’re the one that should know it the most, but they keep secrets from you don’t they boy! Among the great ones, there are those that have tremendous power, greater magic than all the rest. I am one who has this power, because this innate privilege is given only to the first-born males who are chosen as the sovereigns to rule the Enchanted Realm. That is why no one was able to stand against me; no one that is, until you were born!”

“Me!” exclaimed Jacob, stunned over the troublesome revelation. “Why me! I can’t beat you!”

“Maybe not now, but as you mature so will your powers. And the day will come when you will eventually face me. You Jacob are the first born of a king, slotted to be ruler over the enchanted realm, the hope of your people!”

“What are you talking about! I don’t want to fight you? I’m not the one everyone thinks I am?”

“It’s inevitable boy, you and I must battle, unless you die an early death or become my slave. Soon my power will be spreading to all the living dimensions. Until now the sentinels have managed to slow me down; but with you by my side I will be able to corrupt the sentinels, and easily expand my darkness to all the dimensions of the living.”

Suddenly Jacob realized that everyone thought him as some kind of deliverer, their champion warrior to someday send up against Lacsar and regain the realm. He couldn’t restrain his anger any longer; it was too much for him to bear. He raised his arms and pointed his palms towards Lacsar, hoping to blast him with a fudazzlement. “Only if I can,” he thought, holding back tears of anger and disappointment, “then I’ll grab my orb and get out of here and go somewhere where no one will ever find me again.” A tingling sensation began building up within himself, his power was starting to swell, and his ring began to glow brighter.

“Boy,” said Lacsar with a smile and a wave of his hand. “Haven’t you realized it by now, I control you and your power.”

Instantly the glowing ring dimmed and Jacob felt his power drain from him. “By-Gum!” he thought, in a panic. “Just my dumb luck again! Now what am I gonna do?”

A dark warrior holding a long hollow spear in one hand unexpectedly entered the room and bowed before Lascar, waiting for him to signal an approval to speak.

“Yes, what is it?” demanded Lacsar impatiently, without breaking eye contact with Jacob. “This had better be good for interrupting me!”

“My Lord, intruders are in the palace’s hall of justice,” said the warrior in a raspy voice.

“Intruders! Well, well Jacob,” said Lacsar with a wide grin, “it looks like we’ll have to forgo our getting acquainted for the time being. There is a rescue attempt for you happening, so we’re about to have some afternoon entertainment.”

Jacob looked up at Lacsar and bluntly stuck out his tongue.
Lacsar grinned back and then looked at the warrior. “After we’re in place,” he instructed, “take the palace guards and dispose of the rubbish.” Still holding his smile he turned toward Jacob and said, “You my boy will accompany me, and we will view the festivities from a secure balcony.”

The dark warrior promptly saluted and whirled around to leave the room, while surprisingly Lacsar turned and walked the opposite way, making his way towards the back wall of the enclosed room. Another warrior stepped forward and brutally prodded Jacob in the back with painful jabs of his hollow spear, forcing him to unwillingly follow Lacsar. As they approached the wall, it rumbled and slid sideways, revealing a dusty stone stairwell that spiraled upward. Together they ascended the narrow stairs illuminated by candles on the walls that magically lit as they passed underneath. Midway up, the stairwell opened and they stepped through a narrow doorway out onto a terraced banister that was at least two stories above the floor. Jacob saw before them an enormous chamber that stood at least four stories in height, and he wondered if this was the same great hall that the Lynex had told them about before. It had a light gray granite floor, tall marble columns supporting an artistic mosaic roof, and decorative white statues of men and women lining all four walls. Thousands upon thousands of colored tiles were placed across the ceiling, portraying a picture of a bustling village street similar to Dallanbach. As Jacob marveled at the enormity and detail of the artwork, movement at the opposite end of the great hall caught his eye. Immediately he looked down and his heart sank to the pit of his stomach, as he saw Mr. Pitts with Buckburne Scurvey crossing the hall. Lacsar stepped forward to the marble rail and the warrior behind Jacob prodded him painfully in square of his back, constraining him to step up beside Lacsar.

“This is all my fault,” he thought. “They came here looking for me! And now they have no chance at all. They are trapped here!”

“JACOB,” suddenly shouted Mr. Pitts, immediately spotting him. “DON’T WORRY WE’VE COME TO SAVE YOU! LASCAR CONSIDER THIS YOUR WARNING, LET MY APPRENTICE GO!”

“Wave to him boy and tell him that you don’t want to be saved,” demanded Lacsar.

The jewel’s glowing light on Jacob’s ring suddenly dissipated and Jacob felt his craving for dark energy return with a vengeance, only this time it seemed ten times worse than before. He buckled to his knees in pain, and then with only sheer will power he forced himself again to stand, trembling as he broke out in a drenching sweat.

“I told you to tell them you don’t want to be saved,” demanded Lacsar again. “If you refuse again you will never feel the pleasure of my dark energy return to you.”