Legends of Amacia: The Gathering Shadow

Chapter 20

The Freeing of Amelia Singh

They met inside Myra’s mind on a featureless plain with a colossal black tower rising from it like an obscenity. The plain was covered with flowers of every color and shape. Myra stood several hundred yards from the structure as she looked at it. Argus first appeared and settled beside her. Then Nathanael appeared, stepping out of thin air as if he was moving through a portal. Selina and Hannibal showed up next. Hannibal looked around in amazement. He instantly noticed both he and Selina were standing. “What is this?” he asked. “Where are we and how can me and Selina be standing like nothing’s happened?”

“This is the field of Myra’s mind,” Argus stated. “You’re standing because you’re no longer encumbered by the weakness of your fleshly vessel. And that black monolith is our objective.”

Myra turned toward Hannibal and said, “What you see here are my memories. The flowers you see are my memories. They stop at the tower and don’t go beyond it.”

Hannibal looked at the black monstrosity and said, “My God, you’re right Argus. That’s definitely engineered. But how do we attack it? What can we attack it with? We have nothing on hand: no rockets, or explosives...nothing.” He then looked at Selina as she looked up at the tower and noticed that she was fully armed, as were Myra and Nathanael.

Selina turned to Hannibal with a smile and said, “All right. Lesson one in telepathic warfare. The mind is capable of providing anything you need in this realm. Thought is supreme here. It’s why we’re no longer confined to our wheelchairs. Now watch and learn, Hannibal. You said you needed explosives.” She held out her hand and concentrated. A bomb like the ones they brought from the airfield where they first arrived in Argentina materialized in her hand. Hannibal’s jaw dropped and he was speechless.

“While you’re learning how to operate here, I’ll scout the tower to see if there is any weakness that can be exploited,” Argus said.

“I’ll go with you,” Nathanael said and Argus stooped down, letting him climb on his back.

“We’ll be back in a few minutes,” Argus said. Hannibal remained speechless as he looked at the bomb in Selina’s hand. Myra nodded to Argus and he and Nathanael took flight.

“Go on and take it,” Selina urged Hannibal as Myra watched. Hannibal picked up the bomb and carefully examined it. “Lesson two,” Selina said. “You can be injured here as easily as in the real world. Any injury you receive here will be reflected in the real world. That’s how we were almost killed by the Black Prince. He attacked us telepathically and we bore the physical repercussions of it. Now, one final most important point; if you die here, you die on the outside because the body cannot survive without the mind.”

Hannibal looked at her and understanding flooded him. “Yes, I see now,” he replied soberly. “This is as real as the physical plane.” He looked around and suddenly found that they were not alone. His guardian angels had appeared with them. The angels’ appearance startled everyone and Myra backed away. Hannibal yelped with surprise, dropping the bomb harmlessly to the ground.

Selina jumped back when the angels appeared without warning. When she saw who it was, she went to Myra and said, “It’s all right. They’re friends.”

Hannibal turned to them and said with mild irritation, “Please, don’t do that again. You scared me silly.”

They looked at him with a smile and one of them said apologetically, “Forgive us, Hannibal. We didn’t mean to scare you.”

Hannibal smiled. “Oh, it’s all right, Gideon,” he replied. “You just surprised me. This whole situation is new to me.”

Gideon smiled and put his hand on Hannibal’s shoulder, saying, “We’re here to help.”

“Good,” Hannibal declared. “We need all the help we can get.” Then to Myra, he said, “Don’t be afraid, Myra. These are my guardian angels. This is Gideon and over here is Jarret. They have been with me since the expulsion of Dezarcus.”

Myra cautiously approached the angels and said, “I’ve never seen guardian angels before.”

Gideon smiled and replied, “Not many people do.” He then turned to Hannibal and urged, “We need to get this job done. You have to access the gift.”

Hannibal nodded and said, “Right. We have work to do. Selina, you said I can have access to anything I want in this realm, right?”

“Yes,” Selina answered. “All you need to do is concentrate.”

Without warning, a formidable spear nearly eight feet long materialized in Hannibal’s hand to his surprise. “Where did this come from?” he asked. “I didn’t even think of anything yet.”

Gideon and Jarret looked at each other with surprise in their eyes. “This is the Lord’s doing.” Jarret said as he rested his hand on his great sword. “That’s an angelic spear. You didn’t call it. The Lord sent it. He’s here and wants this done.”

“Whoa,” Hannibal said as the spear seemed to glow slightly. He could feel energy tingling through his grip on the spear. “Weird.”

“I think we should get closer to the tower,” Selina suggested.

Myra nodded and Hannibal said, “Right. Good idea; let’s get a closer look.” They walked the distance to the foot of the tower. As they closed in on it, Hannibal immediately felt a foul evil emanating from it, an evil that felt eerily familiar. They stopped a few feet from the base and Hannibal looked up its side. It was the blackest black he’d ever seen and seemed to swallow all light that came near it. It was also absolutely smooth. A terrible boundless evil seemed to emanate from it. Hannibal suddenly wheeled around to look at Selina and asked, “You say that the mind is supreme here. I can do anything if I concentrate?” Selina nodded and Hannibal looked at the spear which was glowing brightly now. He walked up to it and gently tapped the side of the tower with his spear. At the moment of contact, there was a flash and a shockwave of light spread across the black side like a ripple in a pond. There was a roar and the ground shook violently for a few seconds. They all backed up and Gideon and Jarret drew their swords. “Hmmm, interesting reaction; Princess, don’t you feel the evil coming off this thing? I’ve felt it before,” Hannibal stated.

Selina nodded as she drew her weapons and replied, “Yes, this has the Black Prince’s vile stench all over it.”

“You’re right,” Hannibal answered. Abruptly, he kneeled and prayed.

Gideon and Jarret immediately moved forward and placed their hands on him. An impressive suit of strange, shining armor suddenly appeared on him along with a massive sword at his side. When Hannibal finished his prayer, he looked at his attire with amazement. Selina and Myra were equally as amazed. He looked at Gideon with a questioning look. Without even asking the question, Gideon answered it saying, “Very good move. You have put on the armor of God and taken His sword in hand.”

Hannibal nodded and looked at the spear with great interest. Its head was shining with a blinding brilliance and he wondered what he was supposed to do. Suddenly, the Holy Spirit fell upon him and said, “Strike the tower.” He abruptly moved forward and with all his might, slammed the angelic weapon into the black tower. There was a blinding explosion, and the tower trembled violently along with the ground. The explosion flung everyone nearly thirty feet. A shockwave of light spread across the face of the tower and the tower shrieked like it was alive.

Argus and Nathanael had just swung back around the tower, seeing the incident and its aftermath. “Holy cow!” Nathanael said with astonishment.

Argus’ eagle eye saw what Hannibal was dressed in and what he had in his hand, along with Gideon and Jarret. As they circled, Argus said, “Oh, my, Hannibal has the Spear of Destiny! How did he get that?”

They immediately landed and approached as everyone got up from the blast. “Are you all right?” Nathanael asked.

“Yes, we’re okay,” Hannibal said as he shook his head to gather his wits. “Man; that was some jolt.”

Argus walked up and asked, “Where did you get that spear?”

Hannibal shook his head and said, “I don’t know. It just appeared in my hand. Gideon says the Lord sent it.”

“May I see it?” Argus asked and Hannibal held it up so Argus could see it. “No it isn’t the Spear of Destiny. But it’s just as powerful.” he commented.

“It’s an angelic weapon,” Selina said. “Did you find any weak points?”

Nathanael shook his head and said, “No, the thing is perfectly smooth and appears to have no weak points.”

Hannibal looked over to where he struck the monolith and saw the darkness was not as dark. “I think we did something to it,” he said as he sprinted over to the spot. He looked closely at it and saw a tiny series of cracks in the wall immediately around where he struck it. The tower then began to growl and rumble, giving Hannibal a very bad feeling. He began to back off, taking flight back to the group. “This thing’s alive,” he declared urgently. By the time he had finished speaking, the ground began to shake, and a black cloud began to form over the tower, casting a shadow as it swirled like a hurricane. Hannibal’s countenance fell as he looked up. “Uh-oh; this isn’t good,” he growled as the cloud began to spread and descend the tower. Everyone looked up and saw it.

Myra became very afraid and Selina saw it, saying to her, “Don’t be afraid, sister. We’re here. We won’t let anything happen to you.”

Argus looked up at the cloud and scowled. “We have to destroy this thing and now,” he stated, “If that cloud reaches us, we’re finished.”

A thought suddenly intruded into Hannibal’s head and he gave voice to it. “Can you breathe ice as well as fire, Argus?” he asked. Argus grinned and nodded. “Hit the wall with the ice.” Hannibal ordered. Argus growled, engaging his ice lung and an icy wind came out of his mouth, striking the spot that he had hit. The wall iced up for forty feet. The tower howled and Hannibal called to everyone, “Come. We have to strike this spot with all our might!”

Everyone rushed forward and the Holy Spirit said to him, “Have everyone strike at once.”

Hannibal turned to them as they reached the wall and said, “Go to town on the wall!” He then raised the spear above his head, and then rammed it again into the icy wall. Nathanael, Selina, and Myra drew their weapons and struck the wall very close to where Hannibal struck at the same time as he did. Argus took to the air and started to attack the cloud, holding it a bay with his fire and ice. Once again, an explosion erupted from the strike, sending everyone flying back. The tower rumbled and shrieked as the shockwave of light spread through it.

Meanwhile outside Myra’s mind, Xavier, Kahn, Carver, Nicodemus, and the elders were having a terrible time holding on to Hannibal, Selina, Myra, and Nathanael. Xavier and Kahn had to restrain Myra physically. Every time there was an explosion, those who were attacking the wall of amnesia would tremble and shake violently.

Hannibal got up after the last attack and looked at the wall. The darkness was fleeing away as it fractured noticeably. Great cracks of light radiated out from the point of attack. Pieces of the tower began to rain from the sky. He then looked to those around him and noticed that they were stunned, but okay. Argus took up a position to provide them cover from the descending cloud and falling debris. Hannibal looked around and saw the tower move and sway, seemingly come alive before his eyes. He briefly began to despair that they would be unsuccessful. The Holy Spirit then said softly in Hannibal’s ear, “Pray over the spear.”

Hannibal suddenly snapped into action and roused everyone, saying, “We have to pray! Hold on to the handle of the spear and pray for the Lord to overcome this obstacle.” They all knelt, putting a hand on the spear and prayed. A beam of light suddenly shown down over them giving them cover from the incoming cloud. It created a dome of light over them that the debris was powerless to penetrate. For several minutes, they prayed, and then they rose. “Keep down and stay back,” Hannibal ordered. “This isn’t going to be pretty.”

Therefore, they kept down as Hannibal charged out of the light dome at the wall. He dodged the falling debris as he approached the wall again. The spear glowed like the sun and Hannibal prayed as he struck with it with the prayer on his lips, “Lord, let my strike be true.” He smashed the spear into the wall and once again, there was a tremendous explosion, sending him flying back once again, literally blowing the armor off him this time. Yet, Hannibal’s stroke wasn’t in vain. The spear remained stuck fast in the wall. The tower howled and shrieked as the whole of Myra’s mind began to rumble and tremble. The explosion stunned Hannibal, so Nathanael and Selina raced out to pull him back into the lighted area, making sure to bring his sword with them. By then, Argus had retreated to the lighted area as the cloud and debris from the tower came to within forty feet of the ground.

Hannibal shook his head as Selina cried out with concern, “Wake up. Wake up! We need you.” Finally, Hannibal snapped out of it in time to see great cracks of light spreading from the embedded spear all over the tower. He went to move and cried out in pain from a back injury he’d received in the last explosion.

Myra came forward with great concern and asked, “Are you all right?”

Hannibal shook his head and said, “I don’t think so. It’s my back. I think I broke it because I can’t feel my legs.”

“Oh, dear,” Argus said with great concern. Myra’s confidence suddenly blossomed and she told Selina with great authority, “Gently turn him over.” Selina carefully turned him on his belly with the help of Nathanael. Hannibal howled in pain when they did and she flinched noticeably from it.

On the outside when the last explosion went off flinging him like a rag doll, Hannibal jerked wildly, almost falling out of the wheelchair. Nicodemus quickly caught Hannibal and called out, “Carver! Help me quick!” Carver immediately moved to help hold Hannibal up in his wheelchair.

Back in the battle zone of Myra’s mind, Hannibal called out to Argus while lying on his belly, “Hit it again Argus with your ice, and then with your fire! The wall is fixing to come down!”

Argus turned and assaulted the spot where the spear stuck fast, first with his ice breath then with his flame. He put up a constant barrage on the place. The tower shrieked and howled as the cloud came to ground level. The lighted area was completely surrounded by the dark cloud which seemed to growl and shriek like the tower as it swirled around them, trying to penetrate the light, but not being able to.

Myra dropped to her knees, rubbed her hands together and instantly place them on Hannibal’s back. He shrieked as the searing, burning pain from her hands penetrated into his spine. It raced up and down his spine and down one leg, then the other. Selina looked at Myra while she did it and immediately noticed something very strange about her. Both her eyes and hands were glowing like lamps. In a few seconds, she released Hannibal and he sighed in great relief, rolling over and sitting up. Myra sat there, panting heavily.

“Are you all right?” Selina asked her. Myra nodded as she looked at the ground, exhausted from the healing.

“Thank you again,” Hannibal said gratefully.

Myra nodded again, still looking at the ground. Hannibal then rose and looked toward the tower. It and the ground were shaking violently. The ground was shaking so violently that it was difficult to stand. The cloud that enveloped them parted every time Argus would attack with his breath. Hannibal looked at the tower as he endeavored to keep his balance and saw the tower was cracking like a smashed window, fixing to crumble entirely. Great cracks of light emanated to every portion of the tower. Pieces of the tower were raining heavily around them, but not penetrating the shield of light around them. “It’s fixing to go!” Hannibal shouted to Argus. “Hit it again!” Argus belched a fireball and it slammed into the frozen wall. The wall hissed and smoked around the spear. A great surge of cracks fanned out again, but the tower remained standing, though it swayed and teetered, howling and shrieking like an enraged demon as it rained debris down around it. Argus was about to hit it again when Hannibal said, “Hold up Argus.”

Argus turned to look at Hannibal as he looked at Myra. She was still on her knees and panting heavily. Selina had moved in to see if she was all right. “We need to finish this now,” Selina warned. “The assault is draining her quickly.”

Hannibal nodded and turned to the tower to see the spear stuck fast in the wall, shining like a torch. He wondered what else could be done because it seemed that Argus’ attack was becoming ineffective. His anger blossomed, triggering his berserker rage. Hannibal’s eyes narrowed menacingly as he snatched up the Sword of the Lord from the dirt. A strange white aura suddenly swirled around Hannibal as he hissed, “You’re not going to take my friend from me, demon! Die already!” The Sword of the Lord suddenly blazed like the sun as Hannibal hurled it at the Spear without thinking, sending a potent pray with it along with his blazing anger.

The Sword instantly covered the distance and stuck in the wall right next to the spear, penetrating the wall up to the hilt. A blinding explosion resulted from the strike. A supernova flash occurred, which totally dissipated the cloud. Then a shockwave spread over the whole tower, which shrieked and howled as it crumbled. The shockwave also moved out away from the tower, instantly overtaking those shielded in the light, knocking them to the ground and dissipating Hannibal’s rage.

Myra cried out as the tower crumbled, collapsing to the ground as the tower disintegrated. Hannibal went to her and held her after the shockwave passed by. “Myra! Hold on Myra, we’re through it! Don’t be overwhelmed. Quick…Selina, Nathanael, Argus, gather around and strengthen her!” As they did, the tower suddenly vanished in a flash of light and she lurched, arching her back as she cried out, wrenching out of their grip, and floating upwards for nearly ten feet. In an instant, they all were all expelled from Myra’s mind. Argus slumped, lying down on the floor of the balcony. Hannibal lurched violently in his chair as Carver held him in place. Two of the elders held Selina in her chair as she jerked wildly. Nicodemus and another elder caught Nathanael as he literally flew back from Myra. Myra, on the other hand, crumbled in the arms of Xavier and Kahn, unconscious.