Read Online Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal Author Quest by J. M. Lee - Free Book Online Page B

for all their differences, they seemed strangely alike. Even the Podlings and the Gelfling were alike, in a way. Each one looked unnaturally old and thin, though their bodies still appeared young. They stood silently against the cage bars, staring out past the bars without seeming to care what they saw. They looked hollow, like shells abandoned on the sand. It was as if they were plants instead of living creatures.
    The Skeksis stood in the middle of the cavern near what I assumed was one of skekTek’s inventions. It was a twisted hunk of stone and metal like an overgrown altar, with four shards of crystal hovering above its four horned points. Jagged beams of pink light bounced from one crystal to another, making the device seem alive.
    â€œIt is ready,” said skekTek. “Stand back.”
    The other two Skeksis shuffled away, revealing a metal chair shaped like a throne. Chains, ropes, and manacles of every size dangled from it. Inside the chair, bound hand and foot and with a clamp around his neck to hold his head in place, was a Gelfling. His mouth was stuffed with a dirty gag to keep him from crying out, but I could see his muscles straining against the chains. Scars covered his arms and chest; his left ear had been torn off, a gnarled stump in its place. The shadows made it hard to see his face well, but I thought there was something familiar about him.
    SkekTek pulled a small lever. Beams shot out of the four crystals and met in the center of the machine. Their glow grew more intense as the machine whirred and coughed. Then a single glaring beam shot out and stretched across the cavern to the trapped Gelfling, illuminating his face.
    It was Aedan.
    Alethi gasped. I gripped my crutch more tightly, biting my lip to stay silent. Rian, knowing the sensation he had caused, said nothing.
    â€œAedan?” I said finally, trying to keep my voice calm. “The same Aedan who disappeared two moons ago? The matriarch’s son?”
    Rian closed his eyes and dropped his head in assent.
    â€œBut he’s dead,” Alethi objected. “The whole village was at his Ceremony of Passing. He was killed and eaten by the Hunter. The search party found what was left of his body.”
    â€œThe search party found what they were supposed to find,” said Rian heavily. “His shredded cloak and tunic. Blood. Bones. His severed ear. We believed what the Skeksis wanted us to believe.”
    â€œBut why?” I asked, my face turning hot with fury. “What do they want with him?”
    Rian walked to the window, turning his back on Alethi and me. “I don’t think it had to be Aedan. I think it could have been anyone. He was probably just convenient.” Rian spat out the last word as if it tasted bitter.
    â€œConvenient for what?” Even as the question left my lips, I was beginning to realize the answer. The image of the blue vial, with all its accompanying horror, burst into my mind like an unwelcome guest. I shuddered.
    Still staring out the window, Rian continued his story to the howling wind.
    â€œWhen the light reached Aedan, the muscles in his face pulled forward. His eyes widened, as if he was fascinated by what he saw. And then—I don’t know how to explain it—his body started to deflate. His cheeks pulled inward, his eyes sank back, and the muscles in his arms and legs shriveled away until his body was little more than a skeleton with skin stretched over it.
    â€œâ€˜Mmmm,’ said the General. His tongue writhed hungrily across his beak.
    â€œIt wasn’t until I saw the vial underneath Aedan’s arm, until I heard the gentle trickle of bright blue liquid filling it, that everything finally became clear. This was essence—liquid life—and the Skeksis were stealing and drinking it to keep themselves youthful. The creatures in the cage were still living, but they were gone. Aedan—he was gone, too.
    â€œDarkness washed over me and crushed