Chapter Ten

Somewhere deep in the back of his mind, Dacker heard the distant scraping of a door opening.

In his dream he was back at the tower, and the door to the ramparts he had been trying to hold closed had finally opened. Ray-Dun stood in the doorway, his twisted, ashen face hungered for him. Dacker had tried to jump back, but couldn't move. Somehow his arms and legs had been bound, and the tower had become a cold, dark room. Something sharp pressed in his back, and Ray-Dun called to him in the darkness.

"Dacker…."

He squirmed against his bonds, and the thing that used to be Ray-Dun touched his shoulder.

"Dacker!"

He awoke with a start, jumping at the voice of the mechanic who had found him bound and gagged, and squirmed away from the final remnants of his nightmare with wide, frightened eyes. The sharp, twisted metal of the broken machinery he had been leaning against scraped across his skin, and the mechanic squatted down beside him, touching his shoulder just as he had done moments before, and untied the gag which was now wet with spittle.

"Dacker, it's ok, it's me, Landren. What happened to you?"

"Jarik," he sighed as the mechanic cut away the ropes that bound him. "Jarik happened to me."

With his arms free, Dacker rubbed at the red marks around his wrists. "I caught him here last night… at least, I think it was last night."

Landren nodded as he freed Dacker's legs. "You were on patrol here last night. With the Masters and an army of troops out trying to find some creature or another, I guess no-one noticed that you didn't sign out. So what's this about Jarik? I noticed his Sky-Sled had gone."

Dacker sighed and got to his feet, stretching. "We need to tell the Masters." He said quickly.

"Tell the Masters what?" Man-At-Arms asked as he stepped into the hangar with Prince Adam in tow. Both looked like they'd been up all night, and although Man-At-Arms was usually always in full armour, this morning he wore only the green body suit and what looked like a spare, rather plain chest-piece.

Dacker and Landren turned in surprise and greeted them quickly, both bowing before the young prince, whose long blonde hair looked unkempt and dirty despite his clothes being pristine.

"Last night," Dacker said urgently. "Jarik came back. He overpowered me in here and knocked me out. The next thing I know, I've woken up bound and gagged"

"His Sky-Sled which was due for repair is missing as well," Landren added quickly.

Man-At-Arms looked at the floor sadly for a moment, and Dacker understood why. He'd seen that face a thousand times. He'd even made it himself more than once. It was the face of someone who had bad news for a family member or friend of a guard.

"What's happened?" Dacker asked, the words almost tripping over themselves to get out.

"Landren, would you excuse us?" Man-At-Arms asked. "I need to speak to you later in regards to repairs to my chest piece, but it seems we have a far more pressing issue."

"If you like, I could collect it and work on it in my personal workshop?" he suggested as he tactfully headed for the door.

"Thank-you," Man-At-Arms said, and waited until the door closed, still wearing a sad, expression. Prince Adam on the other hand was masking a look of panic. His skin had paled, and he glanced at Man-At-Arms nervously.

"When did this happen?" the prince asked, a little too quickly. "Tell me what you remember."

"What is it, Adam?" Man-At-Arms asked, and it seemed to Dacker that he too had picked up on the prince's strange demeanour.

"I'm fine, Duncan. I just want to get to the bottom of this. If this Jarik has attacked one of my father's guards, then it lends credence to what the others have said."

Dacker was about to answer Adam when he paused, realising he'd never actually addressed the prince directly before. The royal heir was about a third his size and from what he'd seen, friendly enough. But at that moment Dacker felt more nervous of him than he had any of his enemies.

"If, err… If it please your highness," he said, softening his voice. "I remember the first fleet of Wind Raiders had left, and the Masters had been summoned. I was on my standard duty patrolling the mechanics area when I found Jarik within the grounds. The next thing I know, I've woken up here, with no armour or weapon. I can only assume he took them."

"He did." Man-At-Arms confirmed. He also took the Sky-Sled, which somehow got him to the battle, where, from what I understand, he fought alongside us for a time."

"For a time? I don't understand?"

"Well, I can't seem to get a clear answer from anyone, but it seems once Skeletor retreated, there was an altercation of some kind. Most of the men say Jarik was killed, which in itself could be a separate matter entirely, however when we went back for him, his body was gone."

Dacker felt his world slide out from under him. "Killed?" he asked incredulously. "By who?"

"By whom," Man-At-Arms corrected him. "And we don't know all of the details yet. Seeing as we couldn't find his body, we can only assume the reports are mistaken."

"Jarik may be old, but he's as tough as they come." Dacker said confidently. "I'd wager he is still alive somewhere."

"That's what worries me," Adam said. "Even if we can't get any sense from the guards about the altercation in the Evergreen forest, we know for sure he broke in to the palace grounds and attacked a guard when he was caught, which means we have to consider him an enemy."

"With all due respect your highness, I wasn't wounded." Dacker said. "If Jarik was an enemy, he'd have done more than tie me up and leave me in a dark hangar. I admit I was overpowered because I was caught off-guard as I considered him a friend. Despite this, I still do."

"Perhaps you shouldn't." Adam said sternly, and turned to Man-At-Arms. "Because if he was in here last night before the He-Man showed up, he could turn out to be a bigger threat than this Angorr."

"Before He-man showed up…?" Man-At-Arms asked, and Dacker noticed his face pale, just as the prince's had.

Adam nodded grimly in reply. "We need to find him. Now."