Scene 55

“Oh, Gerald, how could you do it? You know how dangerous it is for you,” Father Trefor asked the young man.

I could hear the weariness in the young man’s voice as he answered. “I had to Father. I had to protect him,” he said as he pointed straight to me.

As felt all eyes on me as Father Trefor spoke again. “What do you mean, Gerald? Why must you protect him?”

“It’s what Sister Anne told me, that I had to help him.”

“Sister Anne?” I asked.

“A missionary nun,” Trefor explained. “She travels the land helping those who fight against the darkness. It is said that she has a deeper knowledge of how the world works, that she can detect those with power and special gifts.”

“Like you,” I said.

“Yes,” he agreed, “and Father David. She was the one who brought Gerald to me so that I could help him with his curse.” He again addressed Gerald. “When did she tell you this, my boy, during her last visit?”

“Yes, when she was here a few days ago, she told me that I should watch for one named Dove. She said that the world depended on his survival.”

Father Trefor looked at me with questioning eyes. “What does he mean?”

“I am not just a traveler,” I confided, “as you may have guessed. I am not from your world, nor are any of my companions. I have been sent on a quest to stop someone who seeks to bring all the worlds under his control. A group, which may have contained your own Sister Anne, called on me to do this, just as they contacted each of my companions. Just as it seems they have now contacted young Gerald here.”

“But why him?” Trefor asked. “He’s so young, and his curse is dangerous, hard to control.”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I only know that he has the ability to help me. That is why he was chosen.”

“I can do it Father,” Gerald protested. “I have to do it.”

Trefor nodded his head sadly. “I know, my boy. Sometimes Sister Anne is mysterious, but she is always on the side of good.”

I reached down to help Gerald to his feet. “Thank you for saving us from the Baron,” I said to him.

Worry crossed his face and he jerked his head back to look at the tower. “The Baron!” he said with alarm. “We must go now. His wounds won’t keep him down long.”

An inhuman howl coming from the tower let us know just how little time we had.