SWNOVELS Chapter 26: The Sorcerer’s Chamber
Once inside, Molly’s heart pounded rapidly in her chest. She must find the black robe and remove the wand and the stone pendant from the pocket. Hopefully, Jar-Ed removed it when he lay down to sleep. Molly desperately felt the need to get her pendant back without causing any further danger to her friends.
Finding herself in a small sitting room with several chairs lined up in front of the large window, Molly looked around. Discovering no one, she crept to an open doorway on the other side of the room. All was quiet and there was only the light from the stars to guide her. Lying flat on her stomach, the young fairy inched her way out of the room, stopping every few seconds to listen.
A sudden noise startled Molly and she froze, hoping fervently that she had not been discovered. The sound of a loud snore from the next room calmed her and she continued crawling silently. Whoever had bedded down in this room was sound asleep. Looking up, Molly could make out a large bed. Moonlight shone through the window onto the snoring man’s face.
A shudder of fear and revulsion swept over her as Molly stared at the face of the evil sorcerer. Quickly glancing about, she spotted the outline of the black robe thrown over a chair in the corner of the room. Noiselessly, she approached it on hands and knees, terrified that Jar-Ed might awaken and discover her.
Molly’s hand reached out, and grasping the robe, she searched soundlessly for a pocket. Finding one, the fairy discovered it was empty. Dismayed, she quickly rummaged through the remainder of the robe. The black wand and the pendant were not there. Her eyes, now adjusted to the darkness, scanned the room again. She soon spied a white handkerchief lying on the little cabinet beside the sorcerer’s bed.
Dreading being so close to him, Molly summoned her courage while she drew nearer to his bedside. Her hand reached to grab the handkerchief when the sorcerer unexpectedly shifted in his bed, flinging his arm over the cabinet.
“I’ll have to move his hand to get it,” she thought in horrified silence, her body shivering at the very thought of touching the nasty sorcerer. Finally, after a brief hesitation, she reached out, gently lifting his heavy hand. To her surprise and relief, he didn’t move a muscle, except for a loud, shuddering snore that echoed throughout the room.
Hastily, Molly grabbed the white bundle and then hurriedly crept away from the sorcerer’s bed. She felt thankful to have accomplished her goal so easily. Slipping through the doorway into the little sitting room, the fairy paused long enough to open the handkerchief to peek swiftly inside.
Stunned, Molly realized it contained only the black wand. The pendant was not there. Peering around the corner into the bedroom where the sleeping sorcerer lay, the young fairy once again looked over the room. She noticed something glinting and dangling from Jar-Ed’s other hand. Molly gasped, feeling the anxiety in the pit of her stomach.
She edged toward him again, discovering that her pendant was the dangling object clasped in his hand. Guessing that the evil sorcerer had been looking at it when he fell asleep, Molly had not the faintest idea how to remove it without waking him. Kneeling close to Jar-Ed’s hand, her eyes focused on the rich lustre of the red stone in the moonlight.
With extreme care, lest she waken Jar-Ed, the fairy’s hand crept to the chain. Could she unwind it? Her fingers of one hand holding up his hand, Molly began to gently unwind the chain. Startling her again with another loud snore, she stiffened and stopped her task, fearfully wondering if he had felt her touch. However, as his deep sleep endured, the Spungle fairy continued her scary task.
A groan from the lips of the snoozing sorcerer caused her to stop again. After mumbling a few words that Molly did not understand, he resumed his slumber. When the stone and chain finally came loose from Jar-Ed’s hand, a few moments later, Molly released the breath she had been holding, in a gush of relief. Gripping the chain, the fairy turned to leave only to be met with resistance. The chain had not come loose at all.
“Oh, Molly, you are too easy to fool! I have been watching your little escapade since you came into the room!”
Molly turned back in dread, staring in fright right into Jar-Ed’s cold blue eyes. She felt horrified at being caught. She scrambled quickly to her feet, holding the pendant tightly in her hand. He chuckled softly. Jar-Ed was genuinely amused by the trap he had set for her. Enjoying himself, he once again ripped the chain from her grasp.
“I don’t know how you managed to escape from my prison but I suspect your friends did as well,” he uttered through clenched teeth, standing directly in front of her. Jar-Ed looked around as if he expected them to appear and try to rescue her.
Feeling her energy return, Molly soon found the courage to exclaim, “Your prison crumbled into a pile of dust! I told you that black wand is unstable and its magic has never been tested!”
“Doesn’t matter because now I have this!” he said, triumphantly holding up the red stone pendant.
Before Molly had a chance to reply, a thunderous noise shattered the night. The walls in the room began to quiver and shake as a cloud of green colored mist seeped into the room. The fairy, transfixed with fear, did not understand what was happening.
Jar-Ed screamed loudly, “Your friends dare to fight with me again?” He stamped his foot in rage, as a shower of green ice from the ceiling above fell upon him, covering him from head to foot. Dark red flickers of flame danced around his feet.
At that moment, the walls and ceiling fell, turning to black dust before reaching the ground. The mighty Ran-Da, smoke and fire flowing freely from his nostrils, landed between the pair.