The following evening, the sky above Avonland turned an unnatural shade of red.
From beneath the ruined palace came a deep rumbling sound. The ground trembled, and cracks appeared along the old stone walls. The ogress had begun breaking the final enchantment protecting the Heartstone.
Alan stood before the surviving people of Avonland.
The villagers had gathered every weapon they could find. Blacksmiths carried hammers, hunters held bows, and former soldiers wore armour recovered from the ruins. Behek had prepared protective spells, while Hannah checked the straps of her armour and fastened the fairy blade to her belt.
The Kelpie stood beside Alan, its dark mane moving in the wind.
"Are you ready?" Hannah asked.
Alan looked towards the palace.
"I have waited for this moment for most of my life."
"Then remember what you told me. You are fighting for the people who are still alive, not only for those you have lost."
He nodded.
A terrible roar interrupted them.
The palace gates exploded outward.
An army of monsters poured into the courtyard. Goblins rushed ahead with crude weapons, followed by ogres carrying enormous clubs. Behind them came ghouls, twisted beasts and creatures whose bodies had been altered by dark magic.
At the centre of the army stood the ogress.
She was enormous, with grey-green skin, a crown of twisted horns and eyes that burned like molten gold. A black cloak covered her shoulders, and a staff made from human bones rested in her hand.
She recognised Alan immediately.
"So," she said, her voice echoing across the courtyard. "The little prince has returned."
Alan stepped forward.
"You destroyed my family."
"I offered your father a choice. Nine knights for the life of his queen. He refused. His pride killed her."
"You murdered her."
"I gave him an opportunity to save her. He chose his kingdom instead."
Alan tightened his grip on his sword.
"You took everything from me."
The ogress laughed.
"And yet here you are, carrying a sword, a shield and a collection of stolen treasures. You have spent your life becoming exactly what I expected: a warrior who believes that killing enough monsters will make him whole."
Alan raised the Shield of Aurelion.
"I did not come here to become whole. I came to end you."
The ogress lifted her staff.
The army charged.
The courtyard became a battlefield.
Alan led the defenders towards the palace gates. He used his shield to deflect arrows and magical fire while the villagers fought beside him. Hannah moved through the fighting with remarkable speed, cutting down goblins and breaking the enchantments controlling several creatures.
The Kelpie charged through the enemy ranks, scattering ogres and knocking their weapons aside.
Behek stood near the ruined fountain, chanting protective spells. A shimmering barrier formed around the wounded and those unable to fight.
Alan fought his way towards the ogress.
But the creatures seemed endless.
An ogre struck him with a wooden club, throwing him against a broken pillar. He struggled to stand, his old injuries aching. Before the ogre could strike again, Hannah appeared and drove her silver blade into its shoulder.
"Get up!"
Alan rose.
Together, they continued towards the palace entrance.
The ogress watched them approach and struck the ground with her staff. Dark energy spread across the courtyard. The bodies of fallen monsters began moving again, rising as twisted servants of her magic.
The villagers began to lose ground.
Behek shouted from across the courtyard.
"Alan! The Heartstone! She is drawing power from it!"
Alan understood.
The ogress was not merely commanding the army. She was using the Heartstone to sustain it. Unless they reached the chamber beneath the palace, the creatures would continue returning.
He looked at Hannah.
"We must get inside."
"I am coming with you."
They entered the palace through a broken side passage. The corridors were filled with darkness, but Hannah's fairy blade glowed whenever an enchantment lay ahead.
They descended a staircase beneath the throne room.
At the bottom stood an enormous stone door.
The ogress appeared behind them.
"You cannot stop what has already begun."
Alan turned.
She raised her staff, and a wave of dark energy struck him. The Shield of Aurelion absorbed most of the impact, but Alan was thrown against the wall.
Hannah attacked from the side.
The ogress swung her staff, sending Hannah crashing to the floor. Her silver blade skidded across the stones.
Alan charged.
His sword struck the ogress's arm, but her skin was almost impenetrable. She seized him by the throat and lifted him from the ground.
"You are your father's son," she hissed. "Stubborn. Foolish. Do you know how easily I could have killed you when you were a child?"
Alan struggled to breathe.
"Because you were afraid."
The ogress's expression changed.
"Afraid?"
"You feared what my father protected. You feared the Heartstone. You needed the blood of the nine knights because you could not break its magic yourself."
The ogress threw him aside.
Hannah recovered her blade and cut through the dark enchantment surrounding the stone door. It opened with a tremendous groan.
Beyond it lay the Heartstone.
It floated above a circular platform, glowing with a brilliant golden light. Dark chains of magic stretched from the stone towards the ogress's staff.
Behek's voice echoed through the passage.
"Alan! Break the chains!"
Alan understood that the Heartstone was still resisting the ogress. The magic had not been completely corrupted.
He raised his sword and struck the nearest chain.
It shattered.
The ogress screamed.
Hannah cut another chain with her fairy blade. The chamber trembled as the remaining enchantments began to collapse.
The ogress lunged towards her.
Alan stepped between them.
He raised the Shield of Aurelion and absorbed the full force of her attack. The shield glowed, and the ogress's magic recoiled.
Alan pushed forward.
For the first time, she appeared afraid.
He struck her staff.
The weapon broke.
The dark magic surrounding the palace vanished.
Above them, the monsters collapsed. Their unnatural strength disappeared, and the surviving creatures fled through the ruined gates.
The ogress stumbled backwards.
"You cannot kill me!" she screamed. "I am older than your kingdom!"
Alan looked at her.
"And yet you can bleed."
He raised his sword, but the ogress reached towards the Heartstone one last time. A final burst of darkness erupted from her hands, striking the chamber.
Hannah was thrown against the wall.
Alan's shield slipped from his arm.
The ogress advanced towards him, preparing to deliver the final blow.
Then Alan remembered Merlin's lessons, the fairy queen's warning and everything he had learned throughout his journey.
He did not attack blindly.
He stepped aside, allowing the ogress's magic to strike the stone platform. The energy rebounded against her, weakening her body. Alan seized the opportunity and drove his sword into her chest.
The ogress fell.
For a moment, the chamber was silent.
Then her body dissolved into black ash.
The Heartstone shone brighter than ever before.
The darkness that had covered Avonland began to disappear. The red sky returned to its natural colour, and sunlight broke through the clouds.
Alan dropped his sword.
It was over.
He rushed towards Hannah and helped her stand.
"Are you hurt?"
She shook her head, then embraced him.
"We did it."
Alan held her tightly.
Above them, the people of Avonland began to celebrate.
The kingdom had been liberated.