‘Are they invincible?’ I ask.
‘Remember what Arkarian said – they’re already dead and can’t be killed by human hands.’
My eyes drift to the motionless one with the scald marks around its throat. I guess my hands aren’t ‘normal’ any more. But if Ethan is right, how on earth are we going to get away from them? One suddenly latches its claws around the back of my coat collar and starts digging its beak into the exposed skin at the back of my neck. The jerk is painful; the bite goes deep. Warm sticky liquid oozes down my back.
‘Hurry, Ethan. I can’t hold them off much longer!’
The sound of more wild shrieking fills the air. Another dozen birds fly down from the trees. Now there are so many there’s no way we can get through this. Ethan starts to get up.
‘No, stay down,’ I tell him. ‘There are more.’
But he gets up anyway, and that’s when I realise the second lot of birds are Ethan’s invention. They start attacking their own kind.
Satisfied that his illusion is working, Ethan pulls on my arm. ‘Let’s go!’
We take off at a run and soon the sound of the shrieking birds recedes into the distance.
‘How long will your illusion last?’
‘Long enough if we move fast.’
But I’m not sure how long I can keep this pace up. I think that bird at the back of my neck earlier hit deeply. My back is soaked with blood now, and I’m feeling weaker by the second. If only I could stop the blood pouring out so quickly. But my heart is pumping hard and that’s definitely not helping.
We run and keep running until at last we see the high brick walls of Neriah’s fortress. I fall against the wall and try to catch my breath. Ethan notices. ‘Are you all right? You’re white as a ghost.’
‘I’m fine. Just keep going. They need you in there.’
‘They need you too. Are you sure you’re all right?’
‘Yeah, go. I’ll catch up. I just need to get my breath back.’
He looks reluctant and I wave him away. But he doesn’t move. And suddenly someone is coming. My eyes are starting to glass over and it’s difficult to make out exactly who it is. Now she’s up close, and her arms come around me, dragging me to the ground.
‘Where is she hurt?’ Isabel yells at the top of her voice. ‘Where, Ethan? Tell me!’
‘I … I don’t know. I didn’t know she was hurt.’
‘My neck,’ I whisper.
Isabel pulls back my collar. ‘Oh … look at that!’
‘What is it?’ Ethan comes over. ‘How bad is she?’
‘Quiet, Ethan. Let me work.’
For the next few minutes there is nothing but silence and a strange sense of a probing invasion into my body. But the probing has a subtle, gentle feel. Very quickly I start to feel stronger and my eyes focus again. I see Ethan staring at me in a state of shock, but there was no way he could have known I was in trouble. I’m not in the habit of crying out with pain. I never have been.
Isabel starts to help me up. ‘How does that feel?’
Amazingly, I feel absolutely normal again. ‘Thank you.’
She smiles. ‘We’d better hurry. Arkarian, Dillon and Jimmy are trying to keep the house safe, but it’s nothing short of a living hell in there.’
Chapter Thirteen
Matt
I’ve been here for seven days and seven nights and the only thing I’ve been practising is meditation.
‘You have to reach a place within your soul,’ Dartemis explains – again –while sitting on an opposite sofa. ‘And you can only achieve this when you are completely still, completely empty, and the route to getting there has been effortless.’
I can’t help shaking my head. ‘I’ve tried. It’s hopeless.’
‘I could take you to this level, Matthew, and we can begin your training, but because you won’t have reached this point through your own means, you will have learned nothing. Now close your eyes.’
I do what he says, but really, I can’t see how this is going to work – the learning, I mean, the reason I’m here. If I can’t relax, close my mind to all the thoughts going around up there, then what’s the point?
‘Close your eyes, Matthew.’
And that’s another thing. Why does he call me Matthew? I can’t remember anyone else ever calling me by my full name.
‘Because Matthew is what I named you.’
My eyes fly open. ‘Were you at my birth?’
He doesn’t answer at first. ‘The details of your conception and ultimate birth are complicated. And in your present … mind-state of self-doubt, you would not understand, or believe, and I would be wasting important learning time.’
‘But I have a right to know!’
He leans forward, elbows on his knees, his wide, oval-shaped eyes narrow and contemplative. ‘It became necessary to create an immortal. My brother’s earlier attempt had failed and it was decided I would try, even though it would mean leaving here for a brief flicker of time. I took the form of a human male and walked the realm of earth as a free man. It was not long before I met your mother. We were drawn to each other as if we were magnets. When she was with child I had to leave. It was not an easy decision, but the risks of remaining on the earth were too high. Lathenia had started to sense another immortal’s presence. In fear that she would discover my existence, I had to remove all traces of our relationship from your mother’s memory. The only thing I made sure she recalled was your name.’
I can’t believe what he’s saying. ‘You used her!’
‘I chose her. I loved her. And she loved me. Never doubt that, Matthew.’
I stare at him and he says in a softer tone, ‘One day she will live here with me.’
‘But she can’t do that.’ She would have to be dead, the thought comes unspoken. ‘My mother is … in love with this man that lives with us.’
He smiles, and his whole face changes, illuminating from within. It’s a secret smile, one that says he’s unwilling to share any more secrets with me. Of course he’s reading my thoughts as I think them. He sighs dramatically, as if relenting against his will, then says, ‘The Protector.’
‘What did you say?’
‘Jimmy is the protector of my family on earth.’
‘Oh yeah? Well what about the man who came before Jimmy? Isabel’s father. Was he one of your protectors too?’
‘No. Now close your eyes, Matthew.’
‘Wait! I have more questions.’
His eyes flutter closed for a second, as if he is only just hanging on to his patience. ‘Go on.’
‘If you are my father, then how come I don’t look like you? Your skin is kind of see-through, and your eyes are … well, different. And you’re really tall. I mean, so much taller than a normal person.’
His face breaks into a grin. ‘You have fortunately taken after your mother’s side,’ he says, then adds, ‘And who says you have stopped growing yet?’
The very thought makes me a little sick inside. ‘No offence, Dartemis, but I don’t ever want to grow as tall as you.’
‘Ever is a long time,’ he answers cryptically. ‘We’ll see.’
‘You make it sound as if I’m going to live for a long time.’
His eyebrows lift. ‘You are immortal. Doesn’t that explain everything?’
‘No. I don’t understand. When I cut my hand, I bleed.’
‘Yes, but your body repairs itself. The more severe your injury, the quicker the healing takes place.’
I nod, recalling my recent experience with a few sticks of dynamite. ‘OK, so I’m going to live for a long time.’ Well, so are Isabel and Arkarian. It won’t be too bad.
‘Isabel and Arkarian will live a mere fraction of your lifetime.’
‘Well, I’m going to be lonely then, aren’t I?’
His head tilts in a gentle, caring way. ‘What sort of father do you think I am?’
Now he has my full attention. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘Befo
re you leave here, I am going to give you a gift. A very special gift that you must give to one person.’
‘That’s a hell of a responsibility! How do I know I’ll pick the right person?’
His eyes glow like fire. He stands up, and though he says nothing, I feel his anger shoot through every cell of my body. He continues to stare at me as I try to work out why he’s suddenly so irate. Does he think I know nothing about responsibility? I’ve been responsible for my sister since her father ran out of our lives. And I’ve looked after my mother as well, until Jimmy came along!
We stare at each other for a long time, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to be the first to look away.
After a while his head nods and his body relaxes. ‘You will know, Matthew. You will know her by looking into her mind.’ He sits again and adds, ‘And when you give her this gift from me, remember not to mention my name. Now close your eyes. We have so much yet to cover.’
I take a deep breath and try to do what he says, but there are so many thoughts circulating in my head right now it proves impossible to relax. Dartemis sighs under his breath, but his tone is more soothing than angry.
‘I will show you how to create magic,’ he says. ‘Of course, the magic I speak of is simply an extension of your powers. You will use it as a tool and sometimes a weapon. You need to learn magic, Matthew, for you cannot undo what you do not understand. During your time here I will show you many things.’
His voice has a warm timbre to it now that is easy to listen to.
‘You will learn to command the elements.’
What is he saying?
‘You will learn to move the winds and the waters of the earth, to create and extinguish fire, to mould mountains and valleys and rivers. And you will learn how to commune with the animals, and take the shape of any that you desire.’
Am I hearing him right?
‘But these things of nature, Matthew, you will not do with magic spells and potions. You will do them with just a single thought from your soul. One thought.’
One thought?
‘You will become invisible whenever you need to, and you will be able to create invisibility for others in your company.’
His words are difficult to absorb, yet they have a strange hypnotic effect. At last my heart rate starts to slow and my breathing comes in gentle effortless puffs. Eventually I give in to the incredible lethargy overcoming every one of my muscles.
It’s as if Dartemis is speaking to me now from a vast distance. His words float across this ever-increasing void softly and slowly. He talks about life and the strength my powers have over the living.
For a long time I am unaware of my surroundings, of who or what I am, what I am doing, if I am hungry, tired or cold, whether it is night or day, or even if I am still breathing. I feel nothing except a sense that I’m floating and that my body is weightless, my mind empty. Time passes that could be minutes or hours or days.
Eventually I become aware of a disturbance below. A voice penetrates. A man’s, but not Dartemis’s.
‘Sorry to disturb you, my lord.’ Slowly I recognise the voice as that belonging to Janah. He sounds worried and my consciousness grows. ‘But the news is grave.’
The sense that I’m floating starts to dissipate.
‘Slowly, Matthew,’ Dartemis warns.
But I’m new at this sort of thing. I open my eyes to see that it isn’t a senseof flotation I’m experiencing. I really am floating! Almost to the ceiling.
But not any more!
I start to drop, and quickly hit the floor with a hard thump.
Dartemis winces, then turns his attention to Janah. ‘What news?’
‘Your sister has entered the middle realm and destroyed the white bridge.’
I scramble off the floor and rush over to where the two are standing. ‘What does this mean?’
Dartemis glances at me with a frown between his brows. ‘It means that the lost souls will never reach their true destiny. Tell me more, Janah.’
‘My lord, Lathenia has opened a rift, forging a tunnel between the realms. Where the white bridge once stood, there is now a joining of the middle realm with the underworld.’
Dartemis whispers almost to himself. ‘So now my sister controls the souls of the lost as well as the damned.’ He glances down at me. ‘Matthew, until I am satisfied, you will train day and night now. Do you understand?’
There’s no mistaking the seriousness of his tone. A shiver darts through me and I nod.
‘Good, let us begin. Janah, leave us.’
‘But my lord …’ he starts, then hesitates. ‘I have more news.’
The frown returns and Dartemis groans as if resigning himself. ‘Tell me.’
‘Marduke is attacking the fortress.’
‘What fortress?’ I ask, feeling nauseous all of a sudden, and not knowing whether it’s from my recent floating experience or Janah’s news.
He says, ‘Neriah’s fortress. It’s where she lives with her mother under the protection of the Guard.’
‘What?’ I call out.
Dartemis rests his hand on my shoulder. I look up into his luminescent face. His golden eyes shimmer the colour of fire once more.
‘Matthew,’ he says. ‘We must hurry.’
Chapter Fourteen
Rochelle
As the three of us stand at the gate to Neriah’s fortress an unsteady opening forms in the protective barrier, closing behind us with that familiar sucking sound. My heart is pumping hard at the prospect of danger, yet not knowing what to expect. I have only seen this yard at night. It was creepy then and it’s even creepier now, full of flickering shadows.
A sudden cracking sound from above draws my eyes to the dome, and then I understand the reason for this strange and eerie twilight. ‘Look at that.’
‘What the hell …?’ Ethan takes in the scene overhead too.
The protective barrier is covered with hundreds of birds – the same kind that attacked Ethan and me in the forest. They outline the entire dome, making it visible. The birds are pecking away at the barrier with their sharp beaks, thumping it with their bodies. Others tear at it with their claws.
‘They’re almost through,’ Isabel says.
Another cracking sound, then another further away. Squawking and shrieking sounds grow louder. Goose bumps break out over my skin. ‘How long will the barrier last?’
Isabel starts to move. ‘Arkarian thinks it won’t be long. We have to get into the house, ‘cause once the barrier is down, Marduke will be able to get in.’
Marduke? And the birds? Hell!
That eerie crackling sound, like the breaking of dozens of egg shells, quickly becomes one continuous roll.
‘Run!’ Ethan yells.
We take off, running as fast as we can towards the shelter of Neriah’s house up ahead. But the path is long. Birds, a few at first, then dozens at a time, come pouring through the widening breach. And then the barrier gives away completely. It shatters and starts raining down over the top of us.
‘The barrier’s made of crystal!’ Ethan screams out, then has an idea. ‘Throw us your coat, Rochelle.’
I’m not sure what he wants to do with it, but I shrug it off anyway. He throws it horizontally over the three of our heads. It offers us some protection from the shattering crystal. But the coat is no barrier to the birds. They come pouring down, fighting each other to get to us.
Arkarian and Dillon appear by our side and start yanking the birds off our backs and heads and beating them with their bare hands. As well, Neriah’s dogs, in their snow leopard form, come bounding down the driveway. They’re quite magnificent to watch, graceful with the hint of incredible power. They leap high, and the birds they attack drop straight to the ground and remain motionless.
We make it to the front doors where Neriah and her mother beat back the birds trying to get in around us. At last the doors close and the snow leopards change back into dogs. But the squawking outside continues. The birds bang t
heir bodies and wings against the walls, windows and rooftop. The noise is deafening. Aysher and Silos claw at the door, but Neriah orders them back and immediately they sit calmly by her side.
Arkarian looks around and spots one of the house guards. ‘Any word from Jimmy?’
The guard replies, ‘He’s just about done.’
Almost simultaneously the entire outside surface of the house, including the walls, windows and rooftop, begin to buzz and glow softly. The birds screech and fly off as if burned, then return again, only to screech with such ear-piercing ferocity we all have to cover our ears. They lift off the house at last and settle in the branches of the trees in the yard.
Jimmy comes running into the room and heads straight for a window. They’ve been boarded up, but through a crack he can see where the birds have settled. He turns to us with a grin. ‘It’s working.’
Arkarian thumps his back. ‘For the moment we have a reprieve.’ He turns to Ethan and me. ‘Good to see you made it here all right. No trouble with Lathenia’s hound?’
Ethan shakes his head, then motions out the window. ‘But we had trouble with those birds.’
‘Were either of you hurt?’
Ethan’s eyes shift sideways to me, but he stays quiet. I try hard not to pick up any more of his thoughts. I don’t want to know what’s in his head. He may not be adept at screening his thoughts all the time, but he sure knows when I’m reading them. It only makes him hate me more. And now that I have control over my Truthseeing powers again, I can safely stay out of his head for good. Arkarian is still waiting for an answer.
‘We’re fine.’
‘Good, now we have to act fast to get Neriah and Aneliese to safety.’
‘So what’s the plan?’ Ethan asks.
‘I can shift Neriah to the Citadel,’ Arkarian explains, then turns to Neriah. ‘You will be safe there until we decide where it will be best for you to live. But …’ He pauses, glancing at Neriah’s mother for a moment. ‘I can’t take you, Aneliese. Only those with the powers of the Guard can endure the pressure of such a timeless zone.’