Amos Daragon_ The Mask Wearer - Bryan Perro [53]
Dozens of gorgons saw their reflection and howled with pain. Their insides were torn apart before they turned to dust. Surrounded, the snake-haired women tried to flee and opened the portcullis. Fifty-some knights were waiting for them on the other side with gleaming shields. This final blow struck down a good number of gorgons. And around Karmakas, one gorgon after another fell. The knights kept closing in, ensuring that all the gorgons were doomed. Meanwhile, Karmakas transformed himself into a giant rattlesnake and slithered out. He made his way to the tower of the castle. Furious, he repeated incessantly, “I’m going to kill you, Mask Wearer! Death unto you!”
From the top of the tower, Amos and Medusa watched the collapse of the gorgons.
“Thank you, Medusa,” Amos said. “You have helped to save hundreds of human lives. Now this town can be reborn.”
“I must tell you something important, Amos,” she answered. “There is only one way to bring our friend back to life. You know what I mean as well as I do.”
“I know what you’re going to say, Medusa, and I’ll never force you to look at your reflection,” Amos said as the young gorgon moved away from him. Her hands were shaking and her legs seemed unsteady. “There must be another way to give Beorf his life back. Together, we’ll find it.”
“I know what I’m saying, Amos. And I know also that you’d never force me to do something against my will. You’d never sacrifice me to save your friend. Even though we’ve spent only this short time together, we’ve grown attached to each other. And you, Beorf, and I would make an unbeatable team. But it is not possible. I understand that true friendship can mean sacrificing oneself to save someone else. This is what Beorf taught me when he looked at my eyes. He could easily have killed me with a blow of his paw and his powerful claws. But because he was my friend, he didn’t do it. Even after my disloyalty, he remained true to himself, true to his feelings for me. With you, too, I’ve known friendship. This is a beautiful quality in humans. Now it’s my turn to show some humanity. Tell Beorf that I will always remember him, even in my death.”
Medusa then took Junos’s small pocket mirror out of her bag. She had taken it from him before the battle. Amos leaped forward to stop the young gorgon. It was too late. She had seen her reflection.
“It’s true, Beorf, I really do have beautiful eyes!” Medusa whispered before crumbling to dust.
At that moment, a rattlesnake appeared through the slightly opened door and rushed over to Amos. On impulse Amos grabbed his trident, barely avoiding the reptile’s gigantic fangs. Again the snake attacked. Amos rolled to the ground on his side, freeing himself from the sorcerer.
Amos looked at his trident. “If you really can do extraordinary things, now is the time to prove it!” he said.
Amos threw his weapon with force at the snake. The trident penetrated the body of his enemy, but only slightly. A layer of scales protected Karmakas.
“Do you believe, ssss, that you can fight me with, ssss, that twig? I am going to swallow you in one bite!”
As Karmakas lunged, he suddenly grew faint. The trident, still implanted in his flesh, was now shining with a pale blue light. Karmakas threw up some salt water. Then Amos saw something fantastic happen. The trident was slowly driven into the snake’s body. The floor of the room turned to liquid and the walls began to ooze. Cascades of water poured down from the ceiling. Two mermaids emerged from the sodden floor and grabbed hold of Karmakas. They wrapped him in a net of seaweed, totally oblivious to Amos, who stood by, not understanding what was happening. The mermaids pulled the big snake through the floor and vanished as quickly as they had appeared. The water evaporated. In the blink of an eye, the room took on its usual appearance. Except for a broken mirror on the floor.
—18—
BARTHELEMY, LORD OF BRATEL-LA-GRANDE
When Beorf opened his eyes, he felt as if he