Prince Ember stretched eager hands to receive it.Prince Ember stretched eager hands to receive it.
“Give heed to my words,” the Elf admonished him, as he delivered it to him. “In the Cave of Darkness only will you be endangered by the spells of the Wizard himself. There only he has power, and he never leaves its shelter and the weapons of enchantment which it contains. But in the lands without he has powerful and evil friends, who will not be slow to help him against his enemies if he desires it. From all but one of these the Cloak will conceal you.”
The Elf paused for a moment and then went on more earnestly. “Though your foes will not behold you, yet you must be on your guard against them, for who can say what traps they may set for you, what snares may await you. Beware, therefore, of the Ash Goblin. He issmall of stature, but he cannot safely be despised, for he is very cunning. He will not only assist the Wizard gladly because he hates his sister, but for some grudge, also, that he bears to the dwellers in the Land of Fire, he will not fail to wreak his spite on any who comes from thence.”
“I will not forget your warning,” Prince Ember promised him.
“Beware, also, of Curling Smoke,” the Elf continued. “None more wicked and dreadful than he inhabits the lands you must pass through. He travels far and wide, and because Prince Radiance lately conquered and scattered him by the power of his Sword of Flames, he has vowed to be revenged upon one and all who enter here from the land of the good Fire Fairies.”
Again Prince Ember assured him that he would remember.
The Elf drew closer to him and laid his hand upon the Prince’s arm. “Beware,” he adjured him solemnly, “Beware of the Wind in the Chimney. Against him only the Cloak may not protect you. His eyes are keen to pierce disguises. His hands are strong to break down spells. See to it that he does not snatch from you in an unguarded moment this sheltering Cloak.”
Once more the Prince gave his promise, and stretching his hands in gratitude to the giver of so priceless a treasure, poured out his thanks.
But the Elf checked him. “Speak not of it,” he protested kindly. “The elves of the Borderland rejoice to have a part in any noble undertaking. Only succeed, and we are well repaid.”
“The Wise One has said that I shall be victorious,” declared the Prince confidently. “And when my task is done, and the Shadow Witch has returned in freedom to her own land, I shall preserve as my chief treasure this marvelous Cloak, which you have been at such pains to weave for me.”
The Elf smiled and shook his head. “Not so,” he answered. “None takes the Cloak of Ash from the Borderland.”
“Then I will return it safe to your hands,” the Prince assured him.
“There will be no need,” replied the Elf, “for the Cloak perishes when its work is done.”
With these words he led him from the dim room where the marvel had been wrought, and brought him to the outer threshold of his house. There the Prince bade him farewell.
“Good fortune go with you,” responded the friendly Elf in a cautious undertone. “Put on the Cloak now, and go forth.”
In obedience to his words, Prince Ember threw the Cloak about him and fastened it securely. As its soft and delicate folds enveloped him, the Cloak became invisible at the same time that the Prince himself became fully concealed by it.
He lifted the latch and opened the door and passed silently out into the Borderland.
TheAsh Goblin was filled with pride. To have his assistance asked by so powerful a magician as the Wizard of the Cave was something that had never before occurred. Although he was small and weak, he was always desirous of having a part in any mischief that might be going on, and now that his chance had come he was determined to prove to all those who had hitherto despised him and overlooked him, that his cunning and skill in evil magic were fully equal to their own.
Scarcely had the door of his hovel closed upon Black Shadow than he locked it securely. Then he hurried across the room and pressed upon a certain spot in the wall. It yielded to his touch, and a portion of the wall slid back upon itself, showing a small, rude cupboard within. Upon a shelf there lay a book, covered with dust. It was his Book of Craft. He took it out and carried it to a table. He undid the rough clasp that bound the book and began to turn the dingy pages. At length, he reached the one whereon the spell that he sought was written. The letters were crabbed and dim with age, and the Ash Goblin strained his eyes to see them, following the words with his crooked forefinger. He read the spell through carefully, again and again, until he was certain that he knew it by heart. Then he closedthe book and returned it to its hiding-place. He made the wall fast again, and went to the chest that held his pouch and cloak. Taking them out, he carried the pouch to the hearth and filled it to the brim with the evil ash that lay thick there. He bound the pouch about his waist, covered himself from head to foot with the cloak and left the hovel, closing the door tightly, so that none could enter in his absence.
The Plain of Ash stretches wide and grey between the hovel of the Ash Goblin and the Borderland where the Elf dwells. In the Borderland itself no evil fairy can practice his craft, but the Ash Goblin knew a spot where the Plain meets the Borderland, which all must cross in passing from the Elf’s house to the Wizard’s Cave, or from the Cave to the Land of Shadows. At this spot hepurposed to set a cunning snare for Prince Ember.
Across the great Plain he scuttled in haste. So like to the ashes about him was he in color that only those who knew him well would have been able to see him at all. He held his head down, and his hood was pulled low over his forehead, but though his face was carefully concealed, his sharp eyes peered out, searching the Plain to see if the Prince were anywhere about. But there was no sign of him, and being satisfied that he was still within the Elf’s dwelling, the Ash Goblin went rapidly to the spot which he had chosen, with eyes fixed upon the door through which the Prince must come.
He had not quite reached the place, when suddenly he saw the Elf’s door opening slowly. Vexed that he had notarrived in time, but knowing how great a risk he should run if he were seen by the Prince before the snare was set, he dropped down quickly beside a hillock of ash, where he could see without being seen. There he would lie hidden until Prince Ember had gone by on his way to the Cave. After that he knew he could make ready his snare at his leisure, sure in his heart that if the Prince were so fortunate as to escape the Wizard, he could not fail to be entrapped by the snare, when, as he must on his homeward journey, he passed that way again.
But to his great surprise, although the door opened wide, it remained so for a moment only, and then closed again silently without his having seen anyone come out of it. Afraid to venture forth immediately, he watched for a little longer, but the door remained shut, andfinally the Ash Goblin came out from his hiding-place and began to set his snare, still keeping a watchful eye over the Elf’s house as he did so.
As a matter of fact, however, when the Elf’s door had stood open, Prince Ember had passed out of it, and concealed by the Cloak of Ash, had proceeded on his way to the Wizard’s Cave. The Ash Goblin, on his own part, had been so well hidden by the mound of ash where he had crouched down, that the Prince had passed close by him without having perceived him.
So while the Ash Goblin worked busily upon his snare, Prince Ember traversed the Plain of Ash, keeping always in view that black cliff toward which Creeping Shadow had pointed before she had left him. Even from a distance it looked forbidding, yet the boldspirit of the Prince did not quail at the thought of the unknown dangers that awaited him there. Straight forward he went over the long stretches of ash, past high mounds and low grey hillocks, and through shallow vales. As he journeyed he remembered the Elf’s warning, and would not have been surprised if he had been set upon at any moment by any of the foes that had been mentioned to him. But a deep silence filled the Plain, and nowhere did he see anything that could molest him. Never had the Prince believed that there could be a land so empty and so lonely.
He arrived at the foot of the cliff and began to mount the steep path that led to the Cave’s mouth. Up and up he went, still on his guard, but still seeing no foe and hearing no sound. Now on this side, now on that, deep and darkcrevices yawned, but his feet went surely and safely on.
In one of these same crevices, Curling Smoke lay hidden, peering out with watchful eyes across the grey expanse, to catch the first glimpse of the ruddy stranger of whom Black Shadow had told him, yet under his very eyes the Prince was traveling and he saw him not.
At length Prince Ember reached the entrance to the Wizard’s Cave. Standing there, he looked first across the Plain and then into the gloom of the cavern, but no enemy was in sight. Quickly he removed the Cloak of Ash and then, as fairy raiment always may when fairy fingers press it, it became as small as a kerchief in his hand. He thrust it to a place of safety in his belt.
If Curling Smoke had but leaned a little farther out at that moment from thedark hollow in the cliff-side where he lay, he must surely have seen him, but crouching low, so that he might not be seen by the one for whom he watched, he saw nothing and did not guess that the Prince was actually within reach of his giant arms.
So, guarded from all his enemies, Prince Ember passed into the Cave of Darkness, not knowing how well the Elf’s good gift had already served him.
Closeto the mouth of the Cave of Darkness, but cleverly hidden from the view of any passerby, sat a company of Imps. They had been commanded to keep ceaseless watch at that point for the stranger Prince who was expected soon to appear, and they were instructed to seize him as soon as he attempted to enter the Cave and to bring him bound to their master.
The time had been long, and they were now yawning for very weariness, yetthey dared not relax their vigilance, knowing, as they did, that they would be severely punished by the Wizard if they allowed the Prince to slip by them unobserved.
At last one of the Imps arose and stretched himself, for his limbs were cramped and stiff. “I go to spy out over the Plain,” he said. “I shall be absent but a moment.”
His companions nodded indifferently, and he strolled slowly toward the entrance of the cavern. All at once, he stopped, transfixed with surprise, for at the Cave Mouth he saw for a single instant a richly glowing figure standing, one who could be no other than the stranger Prince, he for whom they waited. Scarcely had he seen it, however, than it disappeared.
He rushed back to his fellows. “ThePrince is here!” he whispered hoarsely. “I saw him at the Cave Mouth. To be sure he has vanished, but I know he is close by.”
The Imps started to their feet, and stood ready, the ropes of darkness with which they were to bind the Prince clutched firmly in their hands. But no one appeared, and when they searched the Cave Mouth, they did so in vain.
Presently they began to scoff at their companion. “Your eyes are wearied with long watching,” they told him. “They have played you false. Come not to us with such idle tales.”
“Nay, but I saw him,” the Imp insisted. “Without doubt this Prince has the power to make himself invisible. Even now he may have slipped past us unseen. If this be so, and I fail to tellthe Wizard what I saw, I shall surely be punished. I go to warn him.”
The others shrugged their shoulders. “Go if you choose,” they said. “For our own part, we think it not impossible that he lurks in some near-by hiding-place, from whence he steals forth at times, watching his opportunity to slip in unobserved. He saw you, and has retreated to it. We will keep close watch as before. He will return, and then we will secure him. If, on the other hand, he has power to make himself invisible, and passes us unseen, we are not to blame.”
Even as they spoke thus, Prince Ember stood near them, listening to their words. It was as the first Imp had suspected. On passing into the Cave of Darkness, he had, by his own power of enchantment, made himself invisible,and having overheard the watchers talking together, he had paused, so that the Imp who had seen him might go before him and without being aware of it, would guide him directly to the Wizard.
The Imp did not stop to argue longer with his companions, but snatched up a lantern, and sped off at once, and close behind him went the unseen Prince. As they went onward, Prince Ember saw opening to either side of them many hushed and gloomy passageways, down which, without his guide, he might easily have strayed, but by his unexpected good fortune, and far sooner than, at the beginning of his journey, he had dared to hope, he came suddenly into the great Cave Hall. Its grim walls rose high on all sides, close hung with their swaying curtains of soot. The glistening fragmentsof charcoal that covered its floor, lay like a thick carpet beneath the feet.
In the centre of the vast room stood the Wizard, quite alone. Forbidding enough in himself, clad as he was in long black robes, over which his dingy beard fell from his grim face almost to his feet, he seemed yet more so because of the huge black urns that were ranged about him in a circle. The sides of the urns were covered with curious inscriptions, and only the Wizard knew by these signs what deadly mists and vapors were confined under their ponderous lids.
On a table at his side his case of evil wands stood open, and as he needed the one or the other for his enchantments, he lifted it out and waved it over the urn which he chose, muttering strange words meanwhile in an unknown tongue. His Book of Craft, also, lay open before him,so that he might diligently consult it before the working of each new spell. At this moment he was bending above it, wand in hand, reading intently.
Even in his zeal to disclose to his master what had happened at the entrance to the cavern, the Imp dared not tread within that circle of enchantment. He cast himself upon his knees without it, bowed low his head, and cried aloud, “Sir Wizard, oh, Sir Wizard! Harken!”
Interrupted in such unexpected fashion while he was in the midst of his wicked task, the Wizard turned abruptly and bent upon his servant a glance of dark displeasure. “How dare you disturb me in the working of my spells?” he thundered. “Have I not strictly forbidden any to tread within this Hall during the Hour of Enchantments?”
“Alas, that I should have ventured todisobey you, my master!” stammered the Imp with trembling voice. He knew well the punishment that waited on disobedience, yet he feared far more what might be meted out to him if he should withhold that which he had come to say. “Only the news I bring,” he continued humbly, “could have made me disobey your commands.”
The Wizard perceived that this was a matter of real importance. He laid down his wand, therefore, and prepared to listen. “What is it that you have come to tell?” he demanded.
Encouraged thus, the Imp began. “As I stood near the Cave Mouth, I had a sudden vision of a stranger in ruddy garments. He stood at the entrance for an instant only, but plain to be seen against the light, and then vanished, I know not whither. It may be that myeyes deceived me, for when we made diligent search we could find no trace, but it may be, also, that he has made himself invisible, and is even now among us. Lest it might be this stranger Prince, perchance, for whom you bade us watch, I have left my companions on guard as before, while I came to tell you what I believe that I beheld. I dared not do otherwise.”
“You have done wisely,” commended the Wizard. “Without doubt it is the Prince of whom Black Shadow has told me, for she said that we may know him by his ruddy garments. Whether or not he has made himself invisible, he shall not escape me. If he is here, I shall surely find him out. Rise now, and return to your watch with the rest.”
Silently the Imp arose and obeyed. Prince Ember standing but a little distancefrom the mystic urns, heard his swift footfalls echo down the corridor.
The Wizard stood for a moment wrapped in thought, but presently he laid down the wand which he held in his hand and chose another from the case. He raised it aloft and waved it in a great circle above his head. “By the power of this wand,” he exclaimed, “I bid any who stand invisible within this Cave Hall to become visible at once.”
As he heard the words, Prince Ember’s heart stood still. He knew not the power of the Wizard’s wand, nor whether his own magic would surely be proof against it. But his own spell held firm, and he remained invisible.
So certain was the Wizard of the potency of his wand, that he smiled grimly and confidently when he saw none appear. Leaving the circle of his urns, hestepped to the entrance to the corridor, and drew his wand across it. “Let none pass this threshold unseen,” he cried in a loud voice.
Satisfied that he now had made all secure, he returned, Prince Ember watching him meanwhile. He took his place amid the urns and replaced his wand in the box with its fellows. He dropped the lid and turned the key. He closed and locked his Book of Craft, also.
Then he smote his hands together sharply and, at the signal, the Chief Imp came rushing to learn his desire.
“Take away these urns,” the Wizard commanded, “and place my wands and book in safe-keeping.”
The Chief Imp raised the Book of Craft from the table and bearing it carefully in his outstretched hands, disappeared with it from the Hall. A momentlater he returned and carried away the box of wands in the same manner. With him came many Imps, who laid hands upon the ponderous urns and with heavy rumblings rolled them slowly away out of the Cave Hall.
In the meanwhile Prince Ember stood still watchful beside the wall, waiting for some clue which would guide him to where the Shadow Witch lay imprisoned, for he knew well that without this he must surely go astray. He had not long to wait, for when presently the Imps came flocking back to the Cave Hall, as they were always free to do when the Hour of Enchantment was done, the Wizard gave a sign to his lantern-bearers.
“I go to visit my sister, the Shadow Witch,” he said.
Immediately they snatched up their lights and stood ready.
The Wizard crossed to the farther end of the Cave Hall and touched the wall with his wand. Prince Ember saw the wall part instantly in twain, revealing the dim corridor beyond it.
The Imps plunged quickly into it holding aloft their flickering lanterns that gave out but a feeble light in the gloom. The Wizard strode after them, and at his very side stole the Prince, overjoyed at this sudden and unexpected opportunity.
The Wizard paused and touched the wall again, and it closed soundlessly behind them. Then they went forward.
Deep and yet deeper, into the very heart of the Cave they penetrated, following its dark and winding ways. The Prince observed each turn closely, sothat when he should return bringing with him the Shadow Witch, he might find his way out without error.
At length they reached the wall that barred her dungeon, and the Wizard struck upon it as he had the other. It yawned apart in its turn, and with such impetuous zeal did Prince Ember hasten toward the opening that he entered before the rest the sombre prison that lay within.
In the first moment he saw nothing, but as the Imps pressed into the room and ranged themselves along the walls, he was enabled, by the light of their glimmering lanterns to descry a dim bowed figure seated there.
It was the Shadow Witch. Her face was buried in her delicate hands. Her long black hair hung loose over her drooped shoulders and grey garments,and fell in masses upon the ground. Plunged as she was in deep despair, even the opening of the wall had failed as yet to make her sensible of the coming of her brother and his servants.
Beholding her thus, Prince Ember was stirred to deepest pity, and his heart burned to speak some instant word of comfort. With a powerful effort he restrained himself, for to betray his presence to the Wizard now would be to encounter he knew not what evil power, to endanger his chance of delivering her whom he had come to save.
That which so moved the heart of the Prince to compassion, awoke only malicious delight in the Wizard’s breast.
“Ah, my sister,” he said mockingly, drawing near to her, “I find you less confident today than when we last met. Hope fades I see.”
His voice aroused her. She lifted her head and raised herself slowly to her feet, and as she turned herself toward the Wizard, Prince Ember beheld her face for the first time.
He looked upon its wondrous beauty, he saw upon it the marks of the pain that she had endured, he gazed into the splendor of her great dark eyes, and love for her rose within him like a flood, a love so warm, so strong, that he knew instantly, and for a certainty, that in her he had found his true Princess, she whom he could not choose but love with his whole heart. Thrilled with joy because of it, he waited for her voice.
Silvery calm it fell upon his ear as she answered the Wizard. “Though hope may seem to fade for a moment, brother, it rises fast and soon, for there is thatwithin my breast that tells me that you cannot always hold me thus.”
She would have given much had the Wizard not found her sunken in despair, but since he had done so, she was determined that he should not guess how deep that despair had been.
The Wizard smiled contemptuously at her words, and added taunt to taunt. “It tells you, perchance, of that Prince, then, who lingers near the Cave Mouth, seeking entrance, in the belief, no doubt, that he can succeed in snatching you from this prison, and from my power. But let him not deceive himself. My guards are many and watchful—my friends without are strong and clever. He will never be able to escape all of these, try how he may.”
The Shadow Witch started violently at such unexpected words. The help thatshe had yearned for had come! Prince Radiance, to whom she had been so true a friend, had not forsaken her in her need! That hope, of which she had boasted, and which had so nearly faded from her heart, sprang again to fulness of life. She threw up her arms in uncontrollable rejoicing, and her voice rang sweet and high and clear as she exclaimed: “Ah, he has come at last, the good Prince Radiance! He has not failed me! Think not that your guards can stay him. Think not that your evil friends are able to destroy him. He has conquered them once—he will conquer again. Already you yourself have felt his mystic power. You shall feel it once more, my brother, when he returns. I have done well to hope!”
“Nay, not so fast,” the Wizard flung at her scornfully. “He who comes is notPrince Radiance, but some stranger prince. One who owes you no friendship, whose power is untested, who has no cause to brave great dangers for your sake—grey woman that you are. From the perils that he must meet he will soon turn back, if indeed he live to do so.”
Undismayed, undiscouraged, the Shadow Witch bent her dark eyes upon him. “What matter that he is a stranger?” she cried confidently. “They who come from that bright land count themselves no strangers to the weak and the defenceless. They have, too, their own noble magic, before which ours is powerless. In a moment when you think not it will be upon you, and its spell will overcome you. This prince is my friend! I know it well! The hour of my deliverance is at hand!”
Loud rang the laughter of the Wizard.Harsh and vibrant it filled all the room and echoed back from the gloomy walls. “Think you I would tell you of this prince, did I not know that he cannot reach you? Far hid from him are you, my sister,” he triumphed, “so deep within this Cave, and behind such walls as he can never penetrate, whatever be his magic. The secret that unlocks your dungeon lies with me only, and with those to whom I choose to entrust it. The spell that holds it fast is the all-potent spell of the Wizard of the Cave.”
Proudly and boastfully he spoke, but all that he might say had no power to dim the hope and confidence of his sister. She deigned him no reply, but by her bearing he knew that she feared him not at all.
“When I come again,” he jeered at her, “I will bring you further news ofthis good prince, and how his adventure fares. It will give you food for thought, perchance, as you sit here in your darkness.”
“It will indeed sustain me, brother,” she replied.
Prince Ember, near to her, though unseen, listening to her dauntless words, loved her yet more for her high courage and for her sorrowful beauty.
Still smiling scornfully, the Wizard turned away. The Imps knowing that he was now ready to depart, raised their lanterns. Their master touched the wall. It opened wide, and in an instant master and slaves were gone, and the walls met silently and grimly together behind them. Beyond its barrier their retreating footsteps grew fainter and yet fainter until soon they could no longer be heard.
Alone, as she believed herself now tobe, in the imprisoning darkness, the Shadow Witch let fall her head and sighed deeply. “Ah, that the time may not be long,” she murmured. “Ah, that this prince might hasten his coming, for I am very weary, even though I hope.”
Then from the darkness near her came a voice. “Princess of the Shadows,” it breathed, “I, Prince Ember am here.”
At the words her heart leapt within her breast. She raised her head quickly, thinking to pierce the blackness that surrounded her and behold the one who spoke. As she did so the gloom melted, and in its place a soft warm glow flooded all her prison. By its rich light she saw before her a glorious figure, clad all in deepest rose—Prince Ember, freed from his dark disguise. The radiant brightness of his ruddy garments made warmth and light about him. His eyes, ardentand glowing, were bent upon her, filled with a tenderness of sympathy and compassion, with a fulness of love, that struck to her soul. His hands were stretched to her, his spirit drew her.
She saw before her a glorious figure, Prince Ember.She saw before her a glorious figure, Prince Ember.
A cry of wonder broke from the lips of the Shadow Witch. With her large eyes fixed upon him, sorrow fled from her face, and in its stead came joy where joy had never dwelt before. How had he come to her? she asked herself, to her in this dark prison? How had he pierced the thickness of those cruel walls? Why should his eyes rest with love upon her, the grey Shadow Witch? And yet it was true—he was here, this glorious prince—come to save her!
Her face dropped suddenly to her quivering hands, lest it should betray to him too plainly how her heart went out to him, in love and gratitude. Radiance,that first bright prince, had awaked her to keenest longings for a nobler life, a truer magic. But he who stood before her now gave this, and more—gave love, brought happiness.
The Prince came nearer till he was close beside her, and as he did so, her cheek, till now so pale, flushed to a crimson glory against the dusky splendor of her hair. Gently he drew away her shielding hands and looked into her lovely face, bright as none but he had ever seen it. Gently he raised her drooping head and looked into the sweetness of her eyes. “Dear Shadow Witch,” he whispered tenderly, “come, ah, come with me, and leave behind forever the darkness of this evil place.”
Low was her voice and soft as she made answer: “Happy, thrice happy am I, Prince Ember, that I may leave it with you.”
Whenthe Wizard parted from his sister, he believed that she was hopelessly in his power, but as he proceeded on his way, he began to recall to himself how defiantly she had borne herself at the last, and with what confidence she had spoken. He remembered, too, how often she had baffled and eluded him before he had imprisoned her, and he knew that it was not entirely impossible that she might do so again. Couldshe but release herself from the deep darkness that surrounded her, all her own magic would return to her, and then, in spite of all his guards, she might be able by means of one of her clever tricks, to make her way to liberty.
Thinking of these things, he reached a bend in the corridor where two ways met. The one went directly on to the Cave Hall, but the other led away into that remote and dangerous part of the cavern where lay the Pit of Fumes. Thither he was wont to go to practice his most secret arts. No Imps ever dared to tread that way, for it was well known that none but himself could pass over it in safety.
He paused, for he suddenly bethought himself of how easily he could, by a stroke of enchantment, close with a wall the way to the Cave Hall and leave only thatone open which led to the Pit of Fumes. Then if by some strange means his sister should contrive to escape from her dungeon, she would unsuspectingly go on to the Pit of Fumes. This she would be unable to pass, and would, therefore, be forced to return to the prison that she had left.
The Wizard laughed aloud, for the thought pleased him well. He determined to prepare this trap for her at once. Abruptly he bade the Imps to rest their lanterns. They did so and stood motionless with eyes fixed on their master. The Wizard bent on them his sternest gaze. “Let none dare to look upon that which I am about to do,” he commanded.
Immediately his slaves fell upon their knees, and with eyes fast shut and heads bowed to the dust, meekly awaited his pleasure. It was as if they held theirvery breath, so deep was the silence of the Cave.
From beneath his cloak the Wizard drew his jet black wand. He waved it toward the walls and repeated, in a voice so low that none but himself could hear them, strange words of enchantment. Under their spell, the Cave walls began to draw slowly together, and before long they stood firmly closed across the way by whence he had come.
Replacing his wand, the Wizard turned to where his servants still knelt with guarded eyes. “Arise, and go forward,” he commanded them.
With one accord they sprang to their feet, and without one glance behind to discover what their master had done, they went rapidly ahead of him.
While the Wizard departed in content, Prince Ember made ready to openthe dungeon of the Shadow Witch so that she might go free. With her at his side he stood before the thick wall that barred the way to the corridor. He laid his hand upon his fairy sword, and unsheathed it. It glowed and burned with living fire.
With its bright point he touched the wall in that selfsame place where the Wizard was wont to pass through, and on its blackness he traced the scarlet outline of a door.
Breathlessly the Shadow Witch followed with her eyes the moving point of fire, followed it till the outline was complete, and the sword fell back into its sheath. Without a word, but with swiftly beating heart, she waited in her place by Prince Ember’s side to see what wondrous thing that sword could do.
Wondrous indeed, for silently and ofitself the door swung open, and the corridor that led to freedom was before her.
Prince Ember took her hand, and together they crossed the threshold, but when they had passed it he paused, and spoke one charmed word. As silently as it had opened, the door closed behind them at its creator’s command, and its outlines vanished, leaving the wall the grim unbroken barrier that it had been before.
“Ah, my good Prince!” whispered the Shadow Witch looking upon it. “What magic is yours!”
He spoke no word in answer, but raised her hand to his lips and kissed it.
Then they began their journey along the windings of the corridor, that stretched away and away into a gloom that seemed to have no end. Yet the place where they trod was bright aboutthem, made so by the ruddy glow which streamed from the figure of Prince Ember. In the warmth and cheer of it the Shadow Witch glided happily, and as they left her prison farther and farther behind, she became more and more her former self, and again felt stirring to life within her that old-time power of magic of which she had been so long deprived.
They came at length to the wall which the Wizard had set to mislead his sister. Seeing nothing to arouse their suspicions, they went straight on. After traveling for some distance, however, Prince Ember all at once became aware that it was not the way over which he had gone with the Wizard and his servants. He stopped, and began to look sharply about him. On every hand it was unfamiliar to him.
The Shadow Witch saw that he wastroubled, but she could not guess the reason. “What is it?” she asked anxiously.
“When we left the prison,” he answered, “we took the way by which I had come to you. There was no other. But now it is not the same.”
“There has been no place where we could have turned aside,” she assured him. “Nowhere has there appeared any other way open to us.”
“And yet we have gone astray,” the Prince insisted. “There can be no doubt of it. All that I see now, I have never seen before.”
“You are sure of it?” asked his companion.
“I am sure of it.”
The eyes of the Shadow Witch flashed with sudden understanding. “It is the enchantment of my brother,” she declared.“Lest, perhaps, I should escape him, he has closed the true way, and left this open as a trap for me. Be sure that it leads not to the Cave Hall, except through dangers into which he believes that I will not dare to venture.”
“Be these dangers what they may,” replied Prince Ember, “I will, by my good magic, overcome them all. And now, since there is no way but this, let us go upon it without tarrying.”
“Indeed, we cannot choose but take it,” agreed the Shadow Witch.
They resumed their journey, therefore, and now, though the way behind them had been gloomy, that which stretched before them grew more and more so; yet the darker it became about them, the brighter was the glow that streamed from Prince Ember, and themore surely was the Shadow Witch sustained and cheered thereby.
After a while, they saw that they were approaching an open space, which was wrapped in thick darkness. Beyond it their eyes could not penetrate, but in its midst they beheld shapes like wreaths of vapor arising from below.
The Shadow Witch turned pale, and caught Prince Ember by the arm to draw him back. “Go no farther!” she cried in warning. “Go no farther, I beg of you! Yonder is certain destruction for us both! It is the Pit of Fumes! Those dread and yellow mists carry poison in their breath!”
“Though that be so, yet I must conquer them, for behind us lies your prison,” the Prince replied to her. “To it we must not return.”
“Never shall you risk such danger formy sake,” the Shadow Witch answered firmly. “Better an endless prison for me than such dreadful peril for you. I speak of what I know—none but my brother has ever dared to enter yonder place. You shall not go.”
“And when this place is passed,” demanded the Prince, “what lies beyond?”
“What matters it what lies beyond, when destruction lies between?” she murmured sadly. “Were the way ever so open when the Pit is passed, it is closed to us who stand upon this side.”
“What lies beyond?” demanded he again. “Answer me truly, for I must know.”
Then the Shadow Witch knew that she must tell him. She covered her face with her hands, and her tears fell fast. For a moment she could not speak.
Prince Ember dried her tears with atender hand. “What lies beyond?” he insisted gently.
The Shadow Witch clung to him desperately. “The way to the Cave Hall,” she admitted. “But, oh, I cannot let you venture where the Pit lies. No, no! Many times have I heard my brother boast to his neighbors that none but himself can draw nigh to it.”
“Listen, dear Shadow Witch,” said the Prince consolingly, “yonder is a place of terror, in very truth, yet we shall pass it safely, in spite of that. There is good magic which can put to naught even this evil Pit of your brother’s. Look—I will show you.”
He thrust his hand into his breast, and took out a small round box which was hidden there. “This is the gift of him who is oldest and wisest in all the Kingdom of the Fire,” he told her. “Whenhe gave it, he assured me that when the dangers of the way were greatest, when the way itself seemed closed beyond all hope, that this which my box contains will conquer the danger and make the road to safety plain.”
Opening the box he took out the piece of charcoal that lay within.
“Stay you here,” he bade her, “until I have prepared the way.”
But she was not willing that he should go without her. “Whatever comes, we meet it side by side,” she declared.
Nothing that he could say would persuade her to do otherwise, and so at last he consented, but as they drew nearer to the Pit, the noisome odor of its fumes swept toward her and overcame her. Her face grew pale, and she began to sink to the ground.
The Prince knew, that in spite of hercourage, she could endure no more. He led her back a little way, and forced her gently to rest upon a jutting of the wall. There he left her, weak and trembling, to await his return.
Stronger arose the breath of the Pit, and yet more deadly grew its fumes as the Prince drew near it, but he was undismayed. Straight toward the yellow mists he went, and in his hand was the gift of the Wise One. Presently, he reached that point where he himself dared go no farther. The choking vapors floated round him, but the Pit itself, yawning wide and terrible, was still some distance from where he stood. Now he must trust to the strength of his arm, to the sureness of his aim. He drew himself to his full height; he threw back his arm, and hurled the magic charcoal straight to its mark. “Descend into thisPit!” he cried, as it left his hand. “Descend, and make this evil place to exhale no more!”
Like an arrow it sped. Into the very heart of the Pit it fell, and then were the Wise One’s words fulfilled. Like surly slaves, obeying unwillingly, the yellow mists sank back into the Pit, lower and lower, till they were seen no more, and with them went their noisome breath, leaving the air pure and clean. As they vanished, the way which led out of this hollow chamber to the corridor beyond lay plainly visible along the very edge of the Pit.
Prince Ember was about to go and fetch the Shadow Witch from where he had left her, but he had no need. She had felt her strength come flooding back to her when the mists departed, and immediately she rose and came to him.
“Why should I ever fear, when you are with me?” she whispered to him. “How can I ever fail to trust your power to conquer and to save?”
Away from the now vanquished Pit of Fumes they hurried, along a corridor as dusky and deserted as the first had been. Before they had gone far upon it, they heard the low murmuring of voices, and soon they found themselves at the entrance to a low and vaulted chamber, dark like all the rest, but set about with dim lanterns and peopled with many Imps, busy at strange tasks.
Some stood before dingy looms, weaving huge curtains of soot, to replace those which covered the walls in the Cave Hall, when they should become worn, and drop to pieces. Others sat upon blocks of charcoal and braided ropes of darkness to bind those who disobeyedthe Wizard’s will and though they knew that they themselves might at any time be bound by them, they durst not make them less strong than their master ordained that they should be.
Over them stood the Chief Imp, whose business it was to see that none failed in his duty, or gossiped unduly with his neighbors, and so deeply engaged in their several tasks were one and all, that none heard the sound of approaching footsteps, none knew that any but themselves were near, till quite by accident the Chief Imp raised his head and saw within the doorway of the chamber the ruddy form of Prince Ember standing, and by his side the grey Shadow Witch, whom all had believed to be closely guarded by the walls of her distant prison.
Before the Chief Imp could give acommand, before any other could cry out, or attempt evil, the Prince had drawn forth a wand from beneath his mantle and raised it. Clear and strong his voice fell on their ears, saying, “Stir not from your places, nor speak, until the hour when the feet of the Shadow Witch stand once more within the safe borders of her own land.”
Under Prince Ember’s spell each servant of the Wizard became fixed in his place, unable to move or to utter a syllable. With staring eyes they beheld the Prince and his companion advance, and pass through their very midst, whilst they remained powerless to so much as stretch out a hand to clutch at their garments.
In their rebellious ears the words of his enchantment were still ringing as he departed with the Shadow Witch from their sight.