The Dark Lord's Demise Read Free

Along the way he met a
good wizard named Mab, who turned out to be Ian McNab, the
father John had never known. When John and his father returned
together to this world, they found themselves on a boat bound for
Canada. Several years later, when John was in his teens, the
Changer again summoned him to Anthropos, this time to aid an
unhappy young girl named Eleanor. The Changer had called her
to Anthropos to face her fears and to learn to trust him.
    Wesley gazed at the sword and sighed. A few times here in the
house in Winnipeg they had dared to slide a few inches of the
blade from its scabbard. It looked like ordinary steel. It never
flashed blue fire or vibrated with a life of its own. Apparently its
unnatural power worked only in Anthropos.
    Lisa's voice interrupted Wes's thoughts. "If only we could kill off
all our troubles with the Sword of Geburah," she said. He realized
the roar of the vacuum had stopped.

    He agreed. "Yeah, if only! We could kill these problems like so
many goblins. Watch them melt into it pool of green slime. Too bad
the sword doesn't work that way."
    Lisa stared at a framed photograph on an end table that showed
a smiling couple in wedding clothes. The bride and groom were
unusual in several ways. Both were middle-aged. Their hair was
wet as though they had walked through a rainstorm. The bride
wore a typical long white gown, and the groom's gray top hat and
morning suit were normal enough. But the groom had a sword
strapped to his left side. It was the same jeweled Sword of Geburah
that Wesley had lifted from the wall.
    Kurt joined Lisa to look at the photo. "Just think, Uncle John
and Aunt Eleanor actually disappeared from their limo in Hong
Kong! The Changer called them to Anthropos between the wedding
and the reception!"
    "When we went to Anthropos later that same day, we didn't recognize them because they were a very young lord and lady," Lisa
recalled. "When we all came back a long time later, I mean in
Anthropos time, it was still their wedding day in Hong Kong." Lisa
smiled at the memory. Her smile faded quickly. "They look so
happy."
    "They were happy," Kurt insisted. "Remember what you said that
day? You said Uncle John stayed single for so long because
Eleanor was the only one he ever loved."
    "And I still believe it. And vice versa. He was the only one she
ever loved. You know, at first I was jealous of her. We'd had Uncle
John all to ourselves for so long. I could hardly bring myself to call
her Aunt Eleanor. I remember how they'd sit here on the couch or
at the kitchen table and hold hands." Lisa picked up a rag and tenderly dusted the photograph. She flung the rag onto the floor.
"What happened? Why aren't they happy like they were then?"
    Wes tightened his grip on the sword's scabbard. The points of
the cut gems dug into his hands. He wanted to make sense of it all,
not only for himself but for his brother and sister. "Look, Uncle
John had been on his own for a long time. He'd led a pretty tame
life, except for going to Anthropos of course. And Aunt Eleanor
may be a university professor now, but she had a rough life for a lot of years. Both of them were set in their ways. I can't imagine
getting married for the first time when I'm over fifty years old."

    "I can't imagine you getting married at all," Kurt scoffed.
    "Too bad, because you're going to be my best man." Wes carefully
balanced the sword in both hands as he stepped down from the
chair. He set the sword on the coffee table and polished its jewels.
"Look at it this way. Let's say John and Eleanor are world-class athletes. She's a sprinter and he's-I don't know-a pole vaulter."
    Kurt was glad for any excuse to laugh. He whooped, "Them? A
sprinter and a pole vaulter? They're not even athletic!"
    "Don't take me so literally. I'm only using athletics as an example. Okay, let's say they both go to the Olympics, and they meet
there and fall in love. They both win gold medals. After the