CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR
It had to be the most intimate, intense, and
initially terrifying sensation all five had ever experienced. As one, Calum,
Irina, Bethan, Heron and an exhausted Michal put their trust in Tol and did as
he bade them; emptying mind, body, and spirit of all conscious thought and
letting generations of magic coursing their veins stream into the space where
they huddled together on one of the rock platforms that had permitted them
brief respite now and then from what had seemed an impossible climb from the
start.
As if by unspoken
agreement, five pairs of eyes focused on whatever had shut out the sky from
them and gave it all their concentration, neither consciously nor
subconsciously aware of the forces of magic they were unleashing from sources
of which they had never dreamed; elven, druid, and such as had coursed the
veins of Rulers stretching back to the beginning of time. Even as mere
observers, Pers and Peter felt the intensity and importance of what was taking
place engulf them where they stood, as if daring them to utter a sound.
Pers felt as though as
spell had been cast upon him and vaguely resented it. He resented, too, that
Irina had been chosen (by whom, for Ri’s sake?) to participate in an event that
he could only suppose was meant to effect the means of their escape. Fear,
though, remained the prevailing emotion, cautioning him against any word or act
that might conceivably interrupt whatever it was the others were caught up in,
seemingly oblivious to all else.
Pete was inclined to
feel much the same as Pers until he thought he heard a voice in his ear that
sounded very familiar. “Dad…?” the red haired motherworld boy felt as if an
electric current was passing through his whole body leaving him stunned,
thrilled, scared and faintly reassured
all at the same time.
.................................................
Back on Ti-gray,
Gabriel could scarcely contain an anger and impatience bordering on despair.
“Why is nothing
happening? Countless lifetimes of magic being tapped, and nothing is happening.
Nothing…!” He stamped his foot like a frustrated child, forgetting for a moment
that he had an audience.
“The circle needs to be
complete,” said Arissa.
“It is as complete as
it needs to be,” Gabriel snapped.
“Even you cannot expect
to carry out such a task alone. The dead can help no one, but there is one who
can.”
“Such as…?”
The red haired boy,
perhaps. He is the son of a Holy Seer,
after all.”
“So is Michal?”
“True, but red hair
suggests a fire sign. Long ago, Ri defeated the fire god Xu and Xaruki magic
was rendered impotent. If, as you suspect, Ragund has somehow awoken some, at
least, of that magic and is employing it
for his own dark purposes, would it not be a spectacle indeed to witness Xu and
Ri engage with each other again?”
“You ask questions, but
offer no answers,” retorted Gabriel.
“The dead are forbidden
to interfere with the ways of the living or impart any knowledge they do not
already possess,” responded Arissa, “as well you know,” she added gently.
“I cannot put the boy
through such an ordeal. It is asking too much of anyone, let alone a child. He
will be so frightened…”
“Oh, but how much and
how often we underestimate the resilience of youth,” murmured Arissa, and then,
“It is true, you may frighten him, but is there not another who can work
through you to accomplish what must be accomplished for all our sakes?”
“All…?” Gabriel was
skeptical.
“Oh, yes, indeed, Mage
of Mages, Xaruki have no more respect for the dead than any living thing
besides their own vile kind.”
“You are suggesting I
call upon Timon, ask aid of him who betrayed his Order and Homeland…?”
“I suggest nothing. You
but hear what you hear and must do as you will do.”
“If it is the only
way…”
“If it is the only
way...” echoed Arissa and a tumultuous rustling noise all around them was
enough to satisfy Gabriel that the dead were of the same opinion. Besides, he
grudgingly conceded, it was the only course left open to him. Instantly, it dawned
on him with horror why young Peter had been brought to Mamelon in the first
place. It had seemed natural enough to include the boy, but he had gravely
underestimated his own stubbornness in feeling inclined to remain blind to the
worst home truths.
………………………………
In leafy Tonbridge
Wells, Tim Wright, as Timon, once Holy Seer of Mamelon, had been observing
events and was prepared for the summons when it came. He was painfully aware
that he dare not return to Mamelon, not for fear of reprisal although that,
too, but in the sure knowledge of his role as anchorman, without whom his
family would stand little if any chance of returning to the Motherworld. A Time
Gate had to be opened from both sides. If his and/ or Galia’s subconscious had
been manipulated to that effect in the past, it would certainly not work now
with consciousness in full play and vulnerable to dark forces beyond
imagination.
……………………………….
“Dad…?” Peter found himself asking again,
engaging in a weird kind of mind-talk rather than the spoken word.
“Yes, Peter, it’s Dad
here. Now, listen carefully and do exactly as I tell you, understand?” Much
depends on it, more than either you or I shall probably ever know. Okay?”
“Okay…”
Pers was unhappy to
observe the red haired Motherworlder join the little huddle, linking hands with
Michal and Irina to complete the circle. They made no protest, it was almost as
if they were expecting his inclusion. The elf was tempted to attempt the same.
He cared not for being left out in the cold like some alien intruder. Intruder,
though, he had the sense to realize he would be, and remained leaning against a
wall of rock, gazing anxiously up now and then as if expecting the sky to
return. He sighed.. To secure their escape from this awful place would take more than the likes of Ricci and the
Foss called Fred. He had tried to dissuade Ricci from ascending after the
little fellow, but to no avail.
Pers sighed again. He
had never felt such alone, abandoned. His thoughts turned to Arissa only find
himself being suddenly sucked forward in a blast of cold air from which there
was no obvious source. In vain, the elf struggled to resist its savage pull. He
opened his mouth to yell for help, but was unable to make a sound. For an
instance, he teetered on the very edge of the rock platform; it was as if an
invisible hand was forcing his head down, making him to gaze into the yawning
void. Images beset him from all directions; dark, terrible images. Is this death or merely the end of the
world? But there was no time to consider what may be truth or lie before
the same blast of cold air sucked him into the monstrous gloom, and he was
spiraling helplessly into its gaping mouth.
Strangely, he did not
panic. It did not even occur to him to panic. He was content to simply let himself
fall. Suddenly his descent was interrupted, suspending him in space. He
experienced an excruciating pain, screamed, but made no sound. It was as if his
whole being was caught in a tug-of-war between opposing forces, each vying for
possession, neither much caring for his pain. At the very edge of
consciousness, he was vaguely aware that he was ascending at which point he gratefully succumbed to The Void if only to stop the terrifying images
assaulting mind, body, and spirit.
Meanwhile, Peter was
struggling with a Great Unknown way beyond his experience or understanding.
Instinctively, though, he followed his father’s voice through all the twists
and turns of ancient magic, leading the conscious self a merry dance until only
sheer willpower and native instinct remained the driving force, At one point,
it felt as if his entire body was soaring upwards. His eyes dimly saw an
obstruction, but the rest of his body paid it no attention and sailed right
through it to land on a bracken-coloured cloud that whisked him off into some
indefinable time and space.
………………………………
Mick-Michal was the
first of the five to emerge from the trance-like state they had been in, for
how long they had no idea. He instinctively looked up and gave a ringing cry of
delight to find a an aspect of Mamelon sky beaming down at him as if it wore a
human face, Immediately, he turned to share both relief and delight with his
brother,
Of Peter, though, there
was no sign.
“Pete?” Mick called
out, first in blank astonishment, and then with growing apprehension? “Pete!
Pete, where are you?”
“Pers, too is gone…”
Irina began to panic. “…but, where, why, how can they have just vanished? It
makes no sense? What do you say, son of Astor? Surely, this reeks of druid
magic. Where is my brother? Have you an explanation?” she rounded on Mick with
a fury the likes of which he would not have believed the gentle elf girl
capable. Before he could even frame a denial, Calum intervened.
“A sixth sense tells me
they are safe, but do not ask me how I know this for I can no more begin to
understand what is happening here than any of you. Of one thing, however, I am
certain. This is neither the time nor the place to speculate. He pointed
upwards at the distant sky. We now have the means to escape and we must take it
without further delay. Whatever or whomsoever is embroiling us in some
unimaginable magic, we must assume it is working for, not against us. It is my
belief that all will become clear in good time. For now, we must put all else
out of our minds and climb.” He spoke with such authority that no one thought
to contradict him.
Mick, supported by
Heron, appreciated the other’s reassuring hug while Irina was content, for now,
to trust Calum’s instincts that her brother was safe. She and Michal exchanged
reassuring looks and drew strength from them.
Bethan kept her own
counsel, careful to avoid another of Calum’s adoring glances while aware of
them all the same. She dare not let her resolve crumble. I am a Keeper. I cannot leave the mountain. He must know this, surely? The others having, already resumed
the daunting climb, she was content to bring up the rear if only because it
forced her to clear her head. I must
focus on the Here and Now, and put all else aside. She sighed. Easier said than done…
Meanwhile, at the
summit, Ricci’s assessment of their newly found freedom was not encouraging.
“We are as trapped here and we were below,” he complained, “Unless this mist
clears, any attempt to descend would be tantamount to suicide and if it
doesn’t… Well, we will freeze to death, I’ll say.”
“Shut up and listen,”
retorted the little Foss with such uncharacteristic force that Ricci promptly did as he was told.
Nothing.
“What am I supposed to
be listening for?” he demanded crossly.
“I don’t know, but
there is something out there. Can’t you hear it? It is faint, and not a sound I have ever
heard before, but sound it is, rather like a…”
“Gluck, gluck,
gluck!!!”
“There it is again, and
getting closer as if…Yes, it is heading straight for us!” Fred could barely
contain his growing excitement.
“Glucks…?” Ricci could
not believe his ears. “Here, we’re here!” he called out and began waving his
arms wildly even though he knew his antics would not be visible in the ever
thickening mist.
“What are glucks?” Fred
wanted to know, but Ricci’s excitement was infectious and soon he, too, was
dancing a little jig and waving his short arms in the knowledge that rescue was
at hand.
Rescue, though, was a
good while materializing. By the time the others had finally made their way to
the mountaintop, there was still no sign of the ostrich-like creatures.
“Where is young Peter?”
Ricci wanted to know.
“And Pers, where is the
elf? Are they hurt that they are taking so long?” Fred took time off from
jigging about to ask.
Both met with a heavy
silence that was more than enough to warn them not to probe any further. Fred
took the hint. Ricci was less inclined to let the matter drop. “Where are
they?” he repeated, “What has happened to them? Are they hurt? We can’t just
leave them there, I’ll say!”
“No one knows,” Bethan
spoke up since no one else was saying a word, “They just…vanished. And don’t
ask how, why or where they may have disappeared to because none of us have the
faintest idea. “
“Astor, perhaps, it
would be typical of him to…?”Ricci started to say, but was interrupted by a
loud ‘gluck, gluck!” close to his left ear. The mist had thinned a little, in
time to enable the ungainly creatures to land. He counted only five. Oh, dear, but there are seven of us. A fine conundrum, and no mistake, I’ll say!
“Iggy, are we glad to
see you!” Mick ran up the lead gluck and flung his arms around the pleased if
disconcerted creature.
“Ricci, you and Fred
are the lightest. You will have to ride together,” Calum was saying, “We need
to move fast. I sense this fog is a living thing and who knows what harm it
means us?”
Fog,
a living thing indeed! Whatever next? Even so, that their
departure was of the greatest urgency Ricci was in no doubt. .
Where
is Peter? Iggy wanted to know. Accustomed to mind talk by now, Mick quickly recovered from his
initial surprise.
I
don’t know, none of us do. He and Pers have just…disappeared. But Calum thinks
there is no need to worry and both are safe.
Iggy appeared to accept
this and said no more. He was far from reassured however and young Michal’s
positive tone had rung hollow. He does
not believe that any more than I do. If glucks could frown, Iggy would have
done so. He had a peculiar fondness for the red haired Motherworld boy who had
been the closest to a friend as any gluck could hope to find among humans.
“I will stay,” Fred
announced loudly, startling everyone including the assembled. glucks. “The
mountain is my home, it means me no harm, and I need to be with my own people.”
“But how will you find
your way back down?” Irina put to him, her voice ringing with genuine concern
for she had become fond of the little Foss, as had all they all.
“I will return the way
we have come if this mist does not lift,” said Fred with a show of
self-confidence he was far from feeling.
Calum, too, was about
to protest when he was stopped in his tracks.
“I will stay also,”
said Bethan, “I am a Keeper, it is my duty.”
“What, are you mad?”
Calum could not believe his ears.
“I am a Keeper. I know
my duty, just as you now know yours.”
“Duty…? Duty, be
damned! You and I, we belong together, not apart, never apart!” he fumed and
stamped his foot.
Bethan could not resist
a tight smile as the infuriating Nu-gen in Calum overtook all else. “What must
be, must be,” she insisted, “We have known that from the start. I can no more
go with you than you can stay with me.” She pressed her body against his until
it seemed to her that their hearts beat as one. Choking back tears, she pressed
a finger to his lips. “We will not say goodbye, my love, for we will remain in
each other’s hearts for all time.” She removed her finger and replaced it with a kiss before he could say another word; a kiss he eagerly, desperately returned.
The mountain shook.
“We must go, and go
NOW,” Ricci wailed, already mounting the gluck nearest to him.
“He is right,” Heron
agreed and indicated to Irina that they should do the same. Irina nodded, but
she was carefully observing Mick-Michal who, in turn was clearly shaken by
Bethan’s decision.
“You can’t stay Beth.
What will I tell your father?”
“You will need to tell
him nothing. He will know all there is to know,” she said, twisting slightly in
Calum’s arms. “I belong here, Mick.” For a few moments they were Mick and Beth
from leafy Tonbridge Wells, but the moment passed. She started to push Calum
away, but so loath was she to leave his fierce embrace that her first
half-hearted attempts failed miserably.
It finally dawned on
Mick that Beth meant what she said. He knew that look too well to argue.
Instead, he went to Fred and gave the little Foss a big hug. “Take care of
her,” he whispered.”
“I will,” Fred
promised. It was the first time he had experienced a hug and decided that he
quite liked it. I will miss them all, but
this one especially. They had, after all, endured much together.
“Friends forever,”
Michal was saying.
“Friends forever,” Fred
agreed, reflecting that he had never had a real friend before.
“Come along everyone,
before the mountain changes its mind about letting us go!” Ricci shouted.
Irina and Heron mounted
their glucks, and Mick proceeded although Irina noted that he could barely able
to take his eyes off Bethan.
Beth pushed Calum away
with a force that took him by surprise and sent him sprawling. “Now go, Mulac,
GO.”
Her use of his adopted
Nu-gen name told him all he needed to know, that she truly loved him, and would
not change her mind. He turned from her without another word and mounted the
nearest gluck that happened to be Iggy. “Take us wherever, gluck, I care not.”
he groaned, falling into mind-speak without even having to think about it.
“Where are we going,
and who sent you?” Ricci wanted to know, “Astor, I suppose. Better late than
never, I’ll say. Even Ti-Gray has to be better than these accursed mountains.
“We go to Gar.”
Irina pricked up her
ears as he caught Iggy’s reply and her heart leapt, dropping like a stone again
as she pondered the fate of her dear brother. How would she explain his loss to
their parents when his absence was inexplicable, a mystery?
All five glucks took
off in unison.
“So, Fred, what now?” a
tearful Bethan asked. It was, of course a theoretical question as nether had
the faintest idea.
.
