of the stairs, but the sound of swords clashing in the kitchen halted them in their tracks. Jake looked worryingly at his best friend as he realized his grandfather was in trouble. Something snapped inside of him, he grabbed the sword and shield from Ben and thrust the box into his hands.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” asked a seriously alarmed Ben, concerned at his friend’s intentions.
“Just look after that box!” shouted Jake in reply, as he rushed back toward the kitchen purposefully.
On reaching the doorway, he saw that Harry and Sawdon were fighting, but the fight seemed to be very one-sided. Harry was fending off continuous attacks from his giant opponent, who’t h grown bored of ‘playing’ with his adversary and was looking to finish the job. Boghias and Adrob were just behind Sawdon, they appeared to be about to end the fight with their intervention, but when they saw Jake in the doorway, they reacted and changed their point of attack.
Boghias reached for the kitchen table that was blocking their route to Jake, he upended it with one powerful sweep of his arm, giving them a clear path to the young boy and the door. Sawdon had seen Jake also. He now doubled his efforts in his fight with Harry, who was beginning to feel his own strength and energy fading rapidly.
Jake was desperate to help Harry. He saw the mighty creature his grandfather was fighting and he knew it was no contest. The sight of such a large and ferocious warrior would have frightened him beyond measure only a few hours ago, before he’d found the stones. But Jake was now feeling very strange. He couldn’t explain why, but he felt as he’d never felt before, very confident, strong, fit, and alert. As if he could achieve anything! His fear had gone. The sword he held in his hand felt like the most natural thing in the world to him. He’d hardly ever held one before, only when he played as a child or examined his grandfather’s weapons briefly, but he realised that somehow, he knew how to use it expertly. Jake was supremely confident in his abilities with it. And, completely out of character for him, he felt a very strange sensation; he actually wanted to fight. He was excited by the prospect!
So this was what Harry had mentioned. The stones had already transferred their powers to him, as the direct descendant of Harry. But, ‘If he had the powers and energy the stones gave, what of Harry?’
Jake immediately tried to move to Harry’s aid. He hadn’t even cleared the doorway when he was confronted by Boghias, with Adrob right behind him. Despite wanting to get to Harry quickly, Jake instinctively took a step backwards, inviting the two assailants through the doorway, aware that only one of them could follow him through. Boghias stepped in front of his companion. As he entered the open doorway Jake leapt towards him and thrust his sword at his stomach. The first thrust was easily parried, but Jake thrust again with a speed he never knew he possessed and the tip of his sword entered the Perosyan’s flesh just below the ribcage. Jake pushed it into his opponent, inflicting a deep and serious wound. Boghias let out a loud yell and fell instantly to his knees, his body blocking the doorway.
Jake withdrew his sword. He felt a brief moment of exhilaration at defeating his first opponent, which quickly gave way to a very real surprise and astonishment at having the knowledge and ability to do so. He felt no remorse, no guilt. It had all been like second nature to him. ‘Everything granddad has said is true!’ he realized with amazement. He knew then that he hadn’t really believed the story he was being told up to that point, but all of it was true! And the irrefutable proof was now here in his grandfather’s house, trying to kill them.
Harry was still fighting bravely against Sawdon in the kitchen. Jake tried to help again, he moved forward aggressively toward Boghias, who was now on one knee, still blocking the doorway and clutching his wounded stomach. As he lunged, Adrob quickly grabbed his friend and lifted him to his feet, his left arm holding his sword and blocking Jake’s attempts to get through the door at the same time. He pulled Boghias back past him into the kitchen and confronted Jake, who was now in the doorway poised to enter.