Final Kingdom Read Free

to their backs.
    â€œSureflight—and Loreen!” These were the winged warriors of the desert where Jake and the others had learned to fly. He approached them, grinning from ear to ear. “I was hoping you’d be here. Did you bring a set of wings for me?”
    â€œNo, you’ll have to come back to our home,” Loreen said.
    She put out her hands, and Jake grabbed them and held them tightly. “It’s so good to see you, Loreen!” he whispered. “I’ve been lonesome for you.”
    Sureflight looked down at his daughter and the young redhead, and amusement came to his eyes. “We have been waiting for you to come back. Loreen has been very lonely.”
    Jake looked quickly at Sureflight and then at the masses of people about them. “Looks like we’ve got a little business here first. I think there’s some kind of trouble.”
    â€œYou’re right, Jake,” Loreen said. “Goél’s message for us said to bring all of our warriors as soon as we could. We came on ahead of them. There’s going to be a battle—I think there’s no doubt about that.”
    Josh and Sarah soon ran into Captain Ryland Day bright and the beautiful Dawn. Abbey and Dave and Wash saw still other old friends, and it was a pleasant time indeed. A meal had been prepared for the large company, and they ate and drank, enjoying a wonderful time of reunion.
    And then a voice came over the air, clear and strong.
    â€œWelcome, my friends, to the House of Goél!”
    Instantly Josh knew that voice! He turned and saw a figure standing on a flat rock that rose above thefloor of the plain. A tall man, wearing a light gray robe with the hood thrown back, he stood before the host, looking around him calmly.
    Goél. The mysterious leader who carried the battle to the Dark Lord. He was burned by the sun, and his eyes were deep set and darkly brooding. His hands were corded with strength, and there was a powerful presence about him as he looked around at those who had come at his bidding.
    â€œMy faithful friends, you have come—and I thank you all. For years now you have fought the Dark Lord. Many of our comrades have fallen in the struggle—and some will fall in that one which is to come.”
    A voice called, “Is it time, Goél?”
    â€œYes! The time comes for the final battle. Will Nuworld be ruled by the tyranny of the Dark Lord, or will peoples everywhere come into the House of Goél and live as free beings should?”
    The question seemed rhetorical, and he stood there for a time, apparently thinking. Then he began to tell them of many things, and no one moved as long as he spoke. At last, he said, “I will be giving you more instructions later—but for now, eat, and drink, and enjoy the fellowship of Goél.”
    Josh turned to Sarah. “Well, that tears it,” he said. “We were right. There’s going to be a final battle this time.”
    Sarah looked troubled. “It all sounds so—well, so
final.
What if we lose?”
    Josh was silent. He did not want to consider that possibility.
    The Sleepers continued to wander among the milling crowd, meeting more old friends. And then Goél himself appeared at Josh’s side and greeted him warmly.
    â€œAnd here is my faithful Joshua.”
    â€œSire, we have come,” Josh said. “But we have not the strength that we once had. I fear that we are worn thin.”
    Goél smiled at him. “You have done your best, and that is all that I ask of any of my servants. But the hour is near, and I must send you on a mission to alert three more groups of my people.”
    â€œWho are they, Goél?” Sarah asked, standing close beside Josh.
    â€œYou must go to the Land of Ice and to the Centaurs and to Celethorn, Land of the Magicians. It will be another long journey, but when those three groups are here, my host will be complete. I will not send you alone.