Forest Kingdom Trilogy 1 - Blue Moon Rising

through, his wings pressed tight against his sides. The moonlight was suddenly gone, and the dragon plummeted into darkness. He stretched his wings wide to slow his fall, and then he slammed into the ground, almost spilling his passengers from his back. For a long moment, nobody moved. All around them there was nothing but the rnight, still and silent and deadly.
    'Did anyone think to bring a lantern?' whispered Julia.
    The dragon coughed politely, and a brief gush of fire fell from his mouth. It caught hold on one small patch of the lichens and oily mosses that covered the floor, and the clearing was suddenly filled with a leaping, wavering light. Rupert swung down from the dragon's back, carefully avoiding the fire. It seemed to be burning well and steadily, but showed no sign of spreading. Rupert nodded slowly, satisfied for the moment, and drawing his sword he moved quietly away from the dragon while the others were dismounting.
    The clearing wasn't very large, no more than forty feet in diameter, with half a dozen pathways leading off. In the exact centre of the clearing stood a single rotting tree stump, roughly fashioned into the shape of a throne. Fresh bloodstains spotted the decaying wood. Rupert glanced up at the break in the canopy overhead, but there was no trace of the Blue Moon or its light, only a darkness that went on for ever.
    Julia came over to stand beside Rupert, her sword in her hand. They shared a quick smile, and then Julia went back to searching the surrounding darkness for signs of movement. The King and the Astrologer stood together, beside the rotting throne.
    'Is that fire wise?' asked the King quietly. 'Surely the light will tell the demons we're here?'
    The Astrologer smiled coldly. 'They'll know we're here soon enough, John.'
    'This place is disgusting,' said Julia, stepping gingerly over a pile of blood-spattered bones, some still with shreds of meat clinging to them. The mossy floor squelched blood as she trod on it.
    'All right, sir Astrologer,' said Rupert finally. 'You led us here. Where's the Demon Prince?'
    'You want him?' said the Astrologer. 'Then I'll call him. Master! They're here! I've brought them to you!'
    Rupert and Julia stared at him in horror, and then leaped forward, sword in hand, but before they could reach the Astrologer a massive weight slammed them to the ground and pinned them there. Rupert struggled fiercely against the unseen force holding him, but it was all he could do to lift his face out of the blood-soaked moss on the floor. His sword was gone from his hand, and he couldn't even turn his head to see where it had fallen. He could just make out the King lying helpless on the ground near by, while beyond him the dragon lay heaving and writhing at the edge of the clearing, unable to rise. The Astrologer laughed quietly. Inch by inch, Rupert raised his head to look at him. Thomas Grey was lounging at his ease on the rotting throne, and in his hands was a glowing sword with a dull black jewel set in its crosspiece.
    'What's happening?' groaned Julia. 'Why can't I move?'
    'It's his sword,' said the King painfully. 'It's the Curtana. He must have had it all along.'
    'Of course,' said the Astrologer. 'I had to be sure you were in a fit state to greet my master.'
    'Welcome,' said a soft, sibilant voice from out of the shadows. 'Welcome, my dear friends. I've been waiting for you.'
    Rupert fought to keep his head up as he watched a tall spindly figure slowly form itself out of the darkness at the edge of the clearing. It gradually took on depth and weight and reality, like a nightmare creating itself in flesh and bone. The Demon Prince stood fully eight feet tall, his body emaciated to the point of starvation. His lambent dead-white skin was wrapped in black rags and tatters, and two crimson eyes burned unblinkingly from under the wide brim of his large, battered hat. What little could be seen of the Demon Prince's face gave the impression of being blurred and unfinished. He smiled slowly at his enemies lying helpless on the clearing floor, his wide slash of a mouth full of pointed teeth, and then he moved forward with the sudden darting grace of a spider, and snatched Rockbreaker from its scabbard on the King's back. The sword seemed almost to shudder in the long, skeletal hand.
    'An interesting toy,' said the Demon Prince. 'There was a time when it might even have been of some use against me.'
    He broke the sword across his knee in one swift movement, and threw