honestly isn’t normally this … moist!”
Seriously?” Zach snorted himself. “A wolf that’s allergic to humans?”
“Zach, he is not from your world; he is a wolf-stag … and it isn’t humans per se, it is the Custodian. His tracking is not reliant on scent, but on power. Cue can detect the power of the new Custodian.”
Scarlet was now patting the beast tentatively.
“Seb, powerful?” Zach laughed in disbelief.
As if eager to move things on, Miss Angel said, “Heath, we must continue.” She turned to Seb. “You have managed to work out the doors – that is good. Aelfric will be back soon and then we will tell you about what will happen over the next two days.”
As they all settled back down, Heath approached Miss Angel and, touching her on the elbow, guided her to the side. He began mumbling earnestly to her. She shook her head. Seb just caught her words, “Aelfric says it needs to be now.”
“What needs to be now?” he silently asked Alice.
Alice answered in his mind, “There is a bit of disagreement in the group: Aelfric wants to get you confirmed as Custodian early but Heath disagrees and says it should be on the equinox, which is on Monday. That’s tradition.”
“Confirmed? What does that even mean?”
“At the equinox or solstice following the silvering of the new Custodian’s mark, the Elders are summonsed and the Custodian is confirmed. I believe, at that point, your soul is sealed into that body … and your body will be altered to enable it to live beyond the normal lifespan of a human.”
Seb’s eyes opened wide. “But what if they’ve got the wrong person? I don’t think I can do this, Alice!”
As appealing as an extended lifetime was, Seb still didn’t have a clue what his role as a Custodian was – other than to deal with trespassing souls – and the limited experience he’d had of those things already terrified him. No way was he equipped to deal with them.
“Seb, you really have to have more confidence in yourself.” Alice put a hand on his shoulder as Heath approached them.
Heath’s laughter, when he saw the despairing look on Seb’s face, made him feel even worse.
“Oh Seb, such doubt in yourself; it really isn’t that bad.” The ripples of his laughter once again charged energy into the fire making the flames leap and dance.
Seb stared at this vibrant and dynamic stranger, noticing his clothing for the first time; dressed in black velveteen which was decorated with brass-coloured studs that reflected the flickering light of the fire, he looked like something out of a medieval pageant. Heath caught Seb examining him.
“Ah, I believe I am truly out of fashion am I not?” he beamed.
“Actually I think your clothes look great,” Zach said. “All you need is a sword!”
“So where has Mr Duir gone?” Scarlet asked.
Miss Angel, placing a hand on Greg West’s shoulder said, “He has gone to the Ancient Place to consult the Elders. He will seek their assistance and then, all being well, we will head there for the Confirmation.”
Seb was now dreading Mr Duir’s return. Fear of failure and self-doubt were crippling him. Heath clapped him on the back.
“Cheer up, Seb; there are worse fates!”
“I hate to throw a spanner in the works,” Zach said, “but we aren’t exactly dressed to go anywhere!” He indicated their clothing – a selection of nightwear with either bare or slippered feet.
“You’ll do.” Miss Angel smiled.
Suddenly Heath stood up, turned and waved his hand. The familiar shape of a door appeared within the flames of the fire, and then there was a sudden flurry of action: Mr White shouted, “I am to lock it!” and rushed to the fire, pulling his tin out of his pocket.
Heath yelled, “Wait, Dom!” He leapt up and grabbed the door handle, pushing it inwards. The instant it opened, Seb felt his left hand pounding with an excruciating pain. He cried out and fell to the floor. His eyes filled with tears as the pain increased and he watched in horror as Dierne helped Mr Duir stagger through the door. A pinch of dust thrown from Mr White’s fingers floated in front of the opening and the door fizzled out with a loud clanging sound as Mr Duir stumbled from the raised plinth, falling into Heath’s arms. Miss West leapt up, standing guard in front of the flames. Zach jumped up beside her.
Mr West rushed over to help Heath lower Mr Duir to the floor. Mumbling something indiscernible, Mr Duir closed his eyes apparently in pain.
Nat, scooping a cushion from one of the seats, put it under his head and said to Mr West, “I can still feel something …”
Mr West was focused on the semi-conscious Mr Duir. “Aelfric, what happened?”
Mr Duir looked past him at Mr White. “Is it locked, Dom?” he struggled to say. The decrepit teacher nodded, concern crumpling his features.
The pounding in Seb’s hand had all but stopped and he felt Aiden come and nestle himself beside him, slipping his own tin back into his pocket.
“What did you see?” Seb whispered, wiping his eyes.
Aiden answered, slightly breathless, “Something beyond the door. It was huge; a big imprint of something incredibly powerful. I could see Mr Duir’s blue light and Dierne’s green one, but there was a massive red blur surrounding them as they came through the door, like a supernova in space.”
A Father Figure
Mr Duir sat up with a groan, clutching his left hand.
“Aelfric, take your time.” Heath knelt beside him.
“We don’t have time.” He stood up. “We need to get Seb out of here!”
Seb felt a stab of fear.
Unable to stand steadily, Mr Duir moved to one of the cushioned seats with Heath’s help. Mr West gave some instructions to Nat who walked to a wall sconce at the back of the room and gave it a twist. A row of wall tiles tilted and a shelf slid forward. On it were bottles and jars containing all sorts and at the end of the shelf a huge, old book which Mr West asked her to bring over to him along with two of the jars he pointed out.
Nat walked the long way round to return to Mr West and, handing him the items, placed herself on the periphery, away from the group. She looked uncomfortable.
Seb felt scared, noting how tense the teachers were. Nat’s behaviour too was very strange. He tried to catch her eye but she seemed focused on Mr West who sat cross-legged on the floor with the book in his lap.
Mr Duir winced, holding his left hand more tightly. Mr West tried to get him to let him take a look. He shook his head.
Obviously still in pain, he said to Dom White, “I asked Dierne to tell you to lock the door, Dom.” He sounded confused, surprised. “Did my message not get through?” He glanced at Dierne.
Seb only now noticed the patches on Dierne’s body where he was suddenly devoid of leaves. The Dryad frowned.
“I got the message,” Mr White said and then Heath sat beside Mr Duir and sighed heavily.
“Aelfric, I opened the door. I couldn’t have the two of you stuck there.” He was apologetic and stared into the fire.
Mr Duir looked momentarily lost and then seemed to rally. He nodded. “Well, no harm done,” he said.
No harm? Look at the state of you two, Seb wanted to say.
Heath, frowning down at Mr Duir, looked worried.
“What happened?” he asked.
“Braddock?” Miss Angel’s whispered voice carried to Seb.
At the mention of that word he saw Heath flinch.
“He grows more able, more confident,” Mr West mumbled.
“Get Seb and the others back to their rooms,” Mr Duir said to Mr White and struggled to his feet again. “Trudy, go with Dom. Stay at the cottage. You will not have long to instruct Zach. Teach him as much as you can.” He turned to Alice. “We may need to relay messages; you cannot afford to be distracted.”
Alice nodded seriously. “I won’t be,” he said.
Mr Duir, still clutching his hand to his chest, looked at Heath and gave a weak s
hake of his head. “I cannot,” he said.
Heath raised his eyebrows and then, understanding, lifted his own hand slightly and waved towards the wall. The doorway appeared. As the others walked over to it Seb hung back. Mr West had persuaded Mr Duir to let him look at his hand and Seb caught a glimpse of the mark in the skin and recoiled. One of the silver intersecting lines was charred, burned black.
Nat touched Seb’s arm, her voice a whisper as she spoke. “Seb— ”
Heath called out, “Dom, Trudy, we’ll need a clear channel between the Dryads.”
The teachers nodded to him.
Again Nat whispered, “Seb, I can— ”
“They need to go,” Heath said and within seconds they were emerging in the boys’ bedroom at the cottage.
There was no ceremony once the door had closed. Miss West forbade them to speak and Alice was instructed not to communicate in silence with them for fear of missing any message from Dierne.
Lying in the dark, Mr Duir’s words, We need to get Seb out of here, echoed in Seb’s head. Mr Duir had been attacked, his silver mark damaged and Seb lay, his heart pounding, with fearful thoughts buzzing in his mind. He believed he couldn’t possibly sleep and was surprised when, what seemed like the blink of an eye later, he woke to violent shaking from Scarlet.
“Come on Seb, it’s breakfast.”
It was bright, the sun was up. Mr White sat gazing out of the window. There was no sign of Zach or Miss West.
“Where’s Zach?” Seb asked, sitting up.
“Heath opened a door and took him home so that he could get up and dressed as normal. Then he’s going to be brought back here.” Aiden, already dressed, grinned.
No sign of