by L P PATERSON
"It's okay for you Cymon." I whimpered. "You're not even alive." I gasped for breath, wondering how I was still talking while my chest burned and my calves ached.
"Not in the human sense, no. But reapers still have an end. And I am in no hurry to meet mine. Now run!"
I ran. But the shadows ran faster. Each time I glanced behind me they seemed to be closer. My feet were not moving fast enough and Cymon was pulling away from me. The space between us was growing. I kept looking back and I wanted to squeeze my eyes closed so that I wouldn't see the horror chasing me, but I didn't think a Loci in training would be able to see shit with her eyes closed. I ran on. Cymon was still ahead. He hadn't looked back once. I reached my arm out trying to grab him. He was moving fast. If only I could hold on to him, he could pull me along. I hoped.
I felt a tingle at the back of my neck. The sort of feeling that told me there was a shadow wraith right behind me. This was not good. My pace was slowing, I could barely breathe as my breathing was reduced to short gasps and pants. "Cymon" I moaned. I thought I was going to pass out as my head began to spin. "Cymon!" I screamed. I couldn't run anymore and my feet stuttered to a stop. At the same time, I felt a cold chill on my shoulder and saw a black smoky substance land on it. Shit! It was on me.
I saw Cymon stop and spin round. His eyes grew wide and I dared not look round to see what he was seeing behind me. I had a feeling it was that horde he had mentioned earlier. I closed my eyes and felt tears escape my lids and run down my cheeks. I was going to die. I had made the decision to help this guy and now I was going to die because of him and that flipping scythe. I felt something cold grab my hand and my eyes snapped open. "I said run." said Cymon. "Run and don't look back. Keep running." He pushed me forward past him and I ran. But as much as I hated the guy and this stupid scythe finding mission that I was on; I couldn't just run and leave him. So, I looked back.
He was engulfed in a writhing mass of black shadow. The smoky substance was moving and undulating like a mass of giant worms. I saw the glinting of Cymon's knife as he cut and slashed, desperately trying to escape the horde, but the more he cut the more shadows that formed. They were overwhelming him, sticking to his clothes and his skin. As if his knees were failing, I saw Cymon slowly sink to the ground. His eyes wide he breathed out "Help me."
How could I help him? My brain flared with pain as I tried desperately to think of a way out of this. A way to help him. I didn't know what to do. Why was he asking me for help when I couldn't help myself? I didn't even know how to be a Loci. I closed my eyes and sank to the ground on my knees whimpering. I couldn't help Cymon but I couldn't bear to watch him die.
I heard soft laughter beside me and opened one eye. I saw red boots next to me. I craned my neck to look upwards and stared into the face of War. "No need to kneel before me Loci. I am not a god." she said with laughter. I wanted to scream at her to help Cymon but I remembered that she was a Horseman and I was just a Loci.
"He needs help." I said through gritted teeth.
"Oh I can see that." she said. "It didn't take you long to find trouble did it Loci?" I wasn't sure if she was expecting an answer so I kept quiet. Each second that ticked by seemed to last an eternity, but War did nothing.
"Help him!" I screamed.
"You dare to command me?" she asked. Her voice was a whisper. But it rang like a bell in its hushed meaning.
"Please. Please help him." I begged.
"Run Loci." she said. War walked towards the shadow wraiths. They were now just one big mass. There were no longer any individual wraiths and I couldn't see Cymon. I watched as she walked towards them. Without breaking stride, she lifted her arms above her head and then crossed them above her shoulders and pulled. I saw two swords of crackling light emerge from her back. It was like if she was pulling rods made of lightning from somewhere inside her. I cringed a little as I realised that may just be what she was doing. War entered the shadow and then all I saw was a dancing blur of red as the swords of light sliced and stabbed and poked through the shadow.
The movement was constant and gradually the shadow began to break up. But it would slowly mesh back together again. Finally, I saw Cymon. He crawled towards me and I dashed forward to help him. "Audrey. We need to get out of here. We have to get to the Blackwood."
"What about War?" I had no idea why I was worried about the Horseman. She tried to kill me. And that was only about an hour ago.
"Don't worry about War, she doesn't need our help." As he said it, I heard the screeching moan of the shadow wraiths again and I turned. They were gone. Nothing was left of them. The early light of a summer morning shone through everywhere and War was walking toward us as she dusted herself off. I instinctively backed up as my hand found its way up to my throat and lay there protectively.
"Run Reaper. You don't have much time. They have your scent and they will be back." War said.
"But you killed them." I said. My voice cracked as fear crept into it. My head swivelled from Cymon to War. "You killed them?!" I repeated. Neither answered me and I opened my mouth again. War turned and looked at me and instantly my mouth closed. But I saw a worried frown cross her face before she turned away completely.
"You have fourteen and two Reaper." War stated. "Don't waste them." She turned and the beast was there. The shining red beauty teased me again and I envied the Horseman as she mounted the motorbike and rode away. Fear had my mind occupied and I couldn't dwell on thoughts of riding that bike.
"Come on Audrey." Cymon sounded tired. "Let's go." I guess he was also a little worried. We had fourteen hours left to find the scythe and we still did not have any clues as to where it was or who had it.
CHAPTER 5
We stood on the kerb looking into the estate. There were several tower blocks which were at least twenty floors or more. Dotted between these were smaller low-rise blocks, probably intended for the elderly and young families. Parked on the roads were some cars, a few vans and even some mopeds. The entrance was secured with a swing arm gate which was currently unsecured and swinging freely. The large mounted sign at the entrance proclaimed what I already knew, Blackwood Estate. Beneath this was a neat map which showed all the different roads and walkways by name. I saw Alder Avenue and Ash Walk, Elm Lane and Hazel Drive and there were many others. The towering blocks were also named after trees. I could picture in my mind some of those that the names represented and some I couldn't, and at the bottom of the map was a big red dot with the sacred words 'You are here'.
I was not impressed.
I turned to Cymon and stated the obvious. “It’s a housing estate Cymon.” I said with all the enthusiasm of someone who wanted to go home. “I really don't think that anyone can help us here.” His eyebrows raised and I saw the tiny lines appear above his top lip as he tried hard to control his words and anger. I knew that I wasn't the best or most motivated travel companion, but I was helping him. Right? He had fully recovered from his fight with the shadow wraiths but anger still simmered in him. I knew it was his frustration at the loss of his scythe and I was in no mood for him to take that out on me. We had walked and ran, and all the time we knew that the wraiths were not far behind us. Tiredness and fear were getting the better of both of us.
“Look again Loci.” he said. And so I did. I made myself play along; I swallowed the fury that was building up in me. I ignored the fact that we had been walking for hours and my feet were burning or that we had just been chased by things that my mind refused to acknowledge and who no doubt were close behind us. I put aside that I was starving and about to faint from hunger, and mostly I forgave the fact that my life had been hijacked by an immortal stranger who didn't give a rat’s arse about how I felt about it. And I looked again.
And there it was looking right back at me. A bloody housing estate. With a moon in the sky above it that was so big that if I lifted my hand, I swear I could touch it. The moon was bright and lit up the darkness. Darkness that had no right to be there as a few minutes ago it had bee
n early morning and the sun had been shining. I blinked one very long slow blink, and yes, it was still night. I gazed in amazement.
What had been tower blocks were now massive trees that reached to the sky, their canopy branches seeming to kiss the bottom of the moon. There were lights in the trees and rope walkways and bridges. Some had stairways carved into them from the base, circling the trunk all the way to the top. There were also small trees and bushes, and I meant that they would be considered small if you were a giant. The trees had been hollowed out in places to make the rooms in which the tenants of the Blackwood Estate lived. I could hear a drumming and singing in the background but it sounded distant as if the musician was very far away. I looked up at Cymon to see that his eyes were already on me.
“Welcome to the Blackwood Estate Audrey. Do you see it?” I couldn't answer as my lips seemed to have been glued together. He smiled then. Obviously happy that for once I was speechless. “Alright. I guess you do see it. Everyone who is a tenant of the estate is meant to be here Audrey. Remember only those who are meant to be on the Blackwood are here. Now quickly. Get us in before the shadow wraiths get here.”
“But I saw tower blocks and gates and... Hang on... What?” I asked.
“A glamour that hides the true nature of the Blackwood. A glamour held in place by one of the most powerful beings on this plane. Papa Babash. Now Get. Us. In. Quick!” Cymon looked at me. Expectation in his eyes and possibly a little bit of fear also. Then as if he had been waiting on me for two hours instead of two second’s he threw his hands up and shouted. "Audrey! Get us in!"
"And how the hell am I supposed to do that?” I shouted back. "There's the path right in front of you. Even the gate is gone. Just go in."
"Didn't you hear what I just said? Only those who are meant to be on the Blackwood are here."
"What does that even mean. How am I supposed to get us in?"
"You are the Loci. Figure it out." he said. "And do it quick. They're coming!"
I turned to look at what used to be a concrete estate. I didn't want to look behind us for fear of seeing the shadow wraiths approaching. The moonlight shone down lighting up the leaves on the trees. The lights inside the trees and along the walkways seemed to glow brighter and I could now see people going about their business. What I couldn't see was a way to get in. I walked towards the path. It was narrow and led into the bushes that bordered the estate. As I got closer to the path the drumming seemed to get louder but the singing stopped. A faint light appeared in front of me. It was directly in front of the path and went from the ground straight up to just above my head. It glowed and shimmered. The light changed colours, moving from soft purples and blues to oranges and yellows. It brightened and dimmed as if pulsating. I reached my hand out. Clearly it was a door. It had to be.
"Don't touch it." Cymon said flatly beside me. "It will kill you. You have to get us in."
"But how?" I asked as I quickly dropped my hand. Getting killed seemed to be a very real hazard in this world, and I was not about to allow that to happen. I could still hear the drumming but now it seemed to be coming from inside my chest and vibrating in my head. I looked down at my hands. They were shaking slightly and I realised that the drumming was my heart thumping inside me. The lights all around suddenly dimmed sharply.
"Hurry Audrey. They are coming!" said Cymon.
"You keep saying that but I don't know how to open it!" I shouted back.
"Think and focus. You do know how to open it. Just do it!" he said. I closed my eyes and tried to focus. I knew that the darker it got the more shadow wraiths there would be, and the moonlight seemed to be fading fast, for no apparent reason other than it wanted to. There shouldn't be shadows without light in the first place. But this world didn't play by the rules. My heart was thumping even harder and I could feel tiny beads of sweat settling on my hairline. The door of light still stood in front of us. Nothing had changed. But I could hear the low moaning sound of the shadow wraiths as they got closer. The skittering scrape of their talons on the pavement made my stomach turn over. Shit! Shit! Shit!
"Audrey -"
"Shut up! I'm trying." I interrupted.
"Try harder!" said Cymon as he pulled a dagger from beneath his hoodie. I looked at him in amazement. What was he going to do with a dagger? Those things were made of shadow! It's not like he could cut into them. He tried that before. I breathed and focused and I sent out a silent plea for entry, begging to whatever entity was guarding the entrance to the Blackwood. But the wraiths were getting closer. Close enough that the moaning sound they made was now loud and very near. It was at that point that I felt the very, very cold right hand of Fear grab my heart and squeeze it so tight that there was no way that blood was being pumped round my body. At the same time Fear's left hand punched my lungs so hard that I forgot to breathe. Again. So, although I was terrified and not breathing, I was still a little impressed that I managed to let out a scream that surely could have woken Morpheus when I saw a face suddenly appear in the middle of the door.
"Welcome to the Blackwood" said the face. The voice sounded deep and melodic and just like that the pulsating light disappeared and a space appeared in front of the path. The glow was still there but now it was only at ground level.
"What are you waiting for?" asked Cymon. He was scanning the streets. We both knew the shadow wraiths were already there. We had just a few seconds before they sucked away the remaining light to feed their growth. "Go in!"
The skittering sounds were getting closer. They were almost on us. I saw the shadows near the pavement begin to coalesce into solid shapes. Or as solid as shadows could be. I hopped across the line and held my arm out towards Cymon for him to follow. Immediately the light grew back as tall as it had been before. We were in the Blackwood. I blew out a long breath that I hadn't realised all this time I had been holding in.
"Well done Audrey. How did you do it?" asked Cymon while still looking at my outstretched arm.
"I just asked it to let us in." He looked at me strangely then but I didn't care. We were alive.
"Right. Let's find Papa Babash."
Papa Babash? Now that sounded like someone I did not want to meet.
CHAPTER 6
He was not what I expected. Papa Babash looked old. Very old. He was well over six feet tall and moved with a grace and elegance that no person that ancient should be able to do. His face was lined and craggy but the sparkle shining in his deep brown eyes showed that the wrinkles were just a covering. Papa Babash looked old but I doubted he accepted that he was.
He walked to a large wooden sofa placed at the far wall and comfortably folded himself into it, tucking his longs legs beneath him and arranging his long white hair so that it flowed down his back. His bright orange robes contrasted with the earthy browns and golds of the cushions stacked on the sofa. He smiled and as he did so his small almond shaped eyes almost disappeared in the folds and wrinkles on his face.
As pleasant as this all seemed I took the time to look around the room making sure that I knew where the door was, just in case we needed to run. The walls were the tree itself. Vines wrapped themselves in and out of the spaces and gaps in the tightly packed branches, and leaves and blossoms were scattered in places. It looked nice and felt even better. That same heady earthy smell and feeling I had felt after meeting War was now all around me. It was intoxicating.
"Welcome to the Blackwood Reaper." Papa Babash said. He inclined his head slightly towards me and then turned back to Cymon. "Do you know what you seek?"
"My scythe." blurted out Cymon. "I need to find my scythe." I saw a small tick take hold in the lid of Papa Babash's left eye. He inhaled slowly and then let it out as a long sigh.
"Hmm. You have lost your scythe." he said. "That is not good. I am very sorry."
"I didn't lose it! It was stolen. Or taken. But I didn't lose it." said Cymon, his lips pressing together into a flat line. "And my name is Cymon."
A smirk crept onto Papa Babash face.
"Forgive me Cymon. I did not mean to offend you." he said calmly. Cymon's face blanched and his mouth dropped open.
"I'm sorry... I didn't... I forgot my place... please forgive me." He stuttered out the words and my head swivelled between the both of them. What was happening here? Was this some sort of power struggle?
"Relax Cymon. We really don't have formalities here. " Papa Babash smiled as he said this and at the same time the flowers around the room grew and bloomed. As subtle as it was, it was clear who was in control here. I said nothing.
"You didn't come here for your scythe Cymon. Why have you come to the Blackwood?" asked Papa Babash.
"The Loci. Audrey. She has been locked but she led us here, so maybe you can help us." Cymon replied. I looked from Cymon to Papa Babash.
"No." I said. "I didn't lead us anywhere. You took me from my room. I didn't want any of this. And you've managed to almost get me killed several times!" I said, my voice rising slightly.
"It was only twice. The Sentinel doesn't count. And the first time was your fault." Cymon stated flatly.
I opened my mouth to slay him with words and tell him exactly what I thought about his reasoning, but Papa Babash spoke first.
"What happened Cymon?"
Cymon's shoulders dropped and he seemed to curl into himself. His chin was almost touching his chest, which looked strange considering his lanky frame. "I don't know what happened." Cymon began. His shoulders drooped even further and he shook his head slowly as if even he couldn’t believe what he was about to say. "I was sent to reap a human. An elderly lady. She had only just passed and she had suffered. She was ready. But when I reached for my scythe it was not there." Cymon started pacing around. His hands clenching and unclenching into fists. "I saw fear on her face. She knew that she was still tethered to her body, and I was there to reap her soul. Cut that bond and release her, but my scythe was gone. I was useless."
