by S J Howland
‘The servants of darkness have come for you all,’ shrieked Simm, but Xander’s eyes were drawn to Gage, as he walked towards the Core itself. As he approached, a sickly green light began to ripple through the crystal matrix, lighting up Gage’s face into an inhuman mask and reflecting off his shining teeth as he smiled triumphantly.
‘Xander,’ yelled Rafe as he struggled with Simm, while throwing a powerful ward out towards the massing shades. ‘If you’re planning to do something, now might be a good moment.’
As if Rafe’s shout had released him, Xander scrambled to his feet and ran to block Gage’s way.
‘I see you,’ he gasped. ‘I know it’s you who is doing all this.’
Gage halted, his eyes pinning Xander like an insignificant insect.
‘You see me, do you?’ he said, his voice surprisingly soft, with just the hint of a hiss. He looked at Xander with contempt. ‘You see nothing. You know nothing.’
‘I know that you and Thorne are behind all this,’ Xander retorted, his lips numbing in the cold. ‘You’re working with him so he can control all of the power.’
Gage laughed scornfully.
‘You know nothing,’ he repeated, cold amusement in his voice. ‘You are a stupid, insignificant child who should have just left when you had the chance. You don’t belong here. Go back and fall with your foolish friends – there is no place here for you.’
Despite himself, Xander felt that familiar pang of doubt as he stared at Gage’s face, twisted with contempt. Maybe Gage was right and he didn’t belong here. What could he possibly do against all this? He swallowed, feeling terror and hopelessness rising inexorably inside him. Then, off to his left in the growing darkness, he saw the desperate flare of Ollie’s orb and a sudden remembrance came to him of another time light had come to drive back the fear, in the small, indomitable forms of the brownies who had come for him, to give him choices.
Xander straightened up.
‘I decide where I belong,’ he said sharply. ‘Not you.’
Gage snarled, the green crystal light sparking in his eyes, and lunged towards him. A wall of shades reared menacingly over his shoulder but, with the clarity that the memory had brought to Xander, had come another certainty. He had to get to the faint spark of light before Gage got there and destroyed it. He spun around and ran. His orb seemed to tug on his wrist, leading him through the crystal matrix so he took each turn decisively, his heart pounding as he heard Gage’s footsteps racing behind him.
With a desperate effort, Xander threw himself around a corner and there before him was the twisted spire, its faint light still feebly pulsing at its heart. Without thinking, without hesitation, he pressed both hands against the crystal.
‘Whatever you need to do, please do it,’ he begged his orb as he saw Gage slide to a halt a few paces away, his face demonic with fury. For an instant, for a couple of pounding heart beats, nothing happened and Xander could not breathe with the desperation of it.
Then, power ripped through the spire, illuminating it so brightly that Xander was dazed by the light, and warmth flowed through him like a torrent of water, beating through his orb and rippling out through the matrix of crystal nodes around him in a thousand different colours, sparkling like sunlight on drops of water. It was the most beautiful thing that Xander had ever seen and it was blinding in its intensity.
For just a moment, Xander caught a glimpse of Gage’s face, his expression shocked and furious, before he was swallowed up in the dazzling radiance and Xander had to blink his watering eyes. Suddenly, he felt himself rising into the air as the spire soared upwards with the power within it and he could see over the top of the rest of the matrix, spread out in a pulsing web below him. He heard a frantic yell and saw Ollie and Len over by the wall, cringing back from the onslaught of shades rearing over them. Instinctively, Xander threw out his hand towards them and a glittering lightning storm erupted from his orb, streams of power that bounced off the walls and floor and obliterated every shade they touched. His jaw dropped in shock at what he had just done, and still the light continued to surge through the crystalline structures with a soft chiming sound, until every part of the great chamber was lit up.
Finally, there was silence. Xander took a deep, shuddering breath and then climbed carefully down, using small footholds which seemed to have been placed there for his convenience. The crystal spire glowed softly, its pulsing beat steady, and Xander laid a gentle hand on it.
‘I’m not really sure what just happened, but thank you,’ he said quietly.
There was no sign of Gage; he had vanished without a trace. Filled with concern for his friends, Xander turned and ran back through the maze of pathways. His orb was no longer guiding him and so he took several wrong turns before he burst out into the space in front of the former link, where he had left the others. As he got there, he heard an odd, high-pitched noise and stopped abruptly. The scene before him was a strange one. Rafe was straightening up, his face scratched and battered, while Simm lay curled up in a ball on the ground with Suze standing over him watchfully. Reeve was massaging one hand, Latchet spread-eagled at his feet with his nose bleeding profusely, while Ollie and Len stood to the side, apparently unhurt. Everyone, however, was staring at Hob.
The hobgoblin was leaping and prancing around in a mad dance next to one of the crystal nodes, cackling and whooping in glee. He spun around again and his gaze fell on Xander, standing watching him open-mouthed. With another wild whoop, he raced over and flung his arms around Xander’s waist, then actually picked him up and began twirling him round and round.
‘You did it,’ he burst out gleefully. ‘You gave us back our Core.’ Finally, he put Xander down and then reached up to yank on his shoulder. His strange, slitted yellow eyes stared straight into Xander’s with a meaningful look. ‘I offer you my true name in honour and thanks.’
Xander blinked at the unintelligible stream of syllables that followed but, as the hob pulled back and beamed at him, he smiled.
‘Thank you,’ he said, feeling that he needed to acknowledge this momentous tribute, although he was entirely certain that he could never remember, much less pronounce, the hob’s name. ‘I am truly honoured.’
Evidently it was the right thing to say as the hobgoblin beamed at him again, the expression rather unnerving on his usually dour face.
‘Is everyone okay?’ Xander asked, turning to the others who had been watching the scene with bemused expressions. The next moment he was wrapped in a bear hug by Ollie.
‘I knew you wouldn’t let us die,’ he said, with another squeeze which made Xander grunt.
‘Although you needn’t have cut it quite so close,’ said Len in a voice that attempted to be nonchalant, despite her hand shaking as she pushed her hair back off her face. ‘It got a little hairy over here, what with all the shades and the lunatics.’
She looked over towards where Simm lay, muttering under his breath and making no move to uncurl from his position on the floor. Xander was surprised to realise that he could feel a distinct sense of wrongness rolling off the man as he lay there, his expensive clothes dusty and ripped. His eyes travelled over to Latchet, still unconscious, then up to Reeve who grinned at him, while lightly massaging his hand.
‘I’ve been wanting an excuse to do that for a very long time,’ he said unrepentantly. ‘It felt good.’
Xander laughed, feeling the knot of tension relax as he looked around at everyone. Alf was standing alone, stretching and rolling his shoulders, while above him loomed the enormous node that Xander had last seen cracking, about to fall down to crush the people below. Evidently the crystal had been healed by the pulsing energy, as there was no sign now of any fissures in its soft glow.
‘Alf, you were amazing,’ said Xander. ‘I still can’t believe that you held up that thing by yourself.’
‘Oh, it was nothing,’ said Alf bashfully, his coarse skin reddening in an awkward blush, but he looked very pleased.
‘So, what actually happened in there?�
�� demanded Ollie, turning to Xander.
‘It was Gage,’ said Xander. ‘He was here. He wanted to destroy the Core, and he almost got there before me.’ Xander shuddered as he remembered the green light flickering across Gage’s face, twisted in hatred and malice, and the sound of his footsteps pounding behind him. ‘He was controlling the shades; they answered to him.’
There was a brief silence.
‘Gage?’ said Rafe. ‘I don’t mean to doubt you, Xander, but I didn’t see anyone else here. I saw you talking to yourself, and then running into the Core.’ He glanced around and then shrugged, his expression calm. ‘However, if you say someone was here then I believe you. There was clearly more going on than we realise.’
His gaze dropped to Simm, now rocking gently on the floor.
‘What happened after that?’ demanded Len. ‘The next thing we saw was you up on a crystal spire hurling lightning bolts around, which, by the way, you’d better not tell the Wardens. They’re already worried about you being another Zeus – this would tip them right over the edge!’
Xander laughed.
‘I have no idea how I did that. The orb guided me straight to the spire, and I put my hands on it because I didn’t know what else to do. Believe me, I was as shocked as everyone else.’
‘So, is the Core fixed now?’ asked Ollie curiously, looking in awe at the glowing crystal soaring over them.
Reeve stepped over Latchet and went to retrieve as much of his gear as he could salvage from under the shattered wall. ‘I’ll have a look,’ he said.
Hob turned around, glaring in disapproval at Reeve.
‘Have a look?’ he snorted. ‘Can you not feel the Core yet without your foolish instruments?’
‘Ah,’ said Reeve, an impish expression crossing his face. ‘All finished with the dancing then?’ His voice was teasing and the hobgoblin glowered at him. He was obviously embarrassed by his earlier abandon, and as a result looked even more grumpy than usual.
‘I was not dancing,’ he snapped.
‘Twirling, then? Leaping?’ asked Reeve innocently. ‘There was definitely cavorting. Sorry, my friend, but I am unlikely to ever forget that sight.’
Hob turned his back with great dignity, growling furiously under his breath, and Xander smothered a smile. Clearly, things were now right back to normal.
‘Since the disaster appears to have been averted, is there any chance that we could leave now?’ demanded Len, plaintively. ‘We’ve been down in this dusty cavern so long that I’m breaking out into hives. I need some fresh air.’
‘Leave?’ said Hob, looking around with disbelief. ‘What do you mean – leave? There is much to do here, ancient secrets to uncover. I am staying.’ He rested his hand on the crystal matrix in a caressing gesture. It was quite clear that nothing would induce the hobgoblin to go, probably for a very long time.
Reeve waved them on. ‘He’s right. We’ve got a lot of work to do and we’ll need to get some teams down here – both hob and human.’
Hob eyed him darkly for a moment, his face wreathed in suspicion and hostility. Then, once again, his gaze flickered to Alf and, rather reluctantly, he nodded.
‘We will work together – if the Elders permit it. It is time to let some of the secrets be told.’
Reeve’s face lit up with pleasure and the hobgoblin grimaced. ‘Don’t get carried away, human,’ he growled quickly. ‘I only said some.’
The engineer just grinned at him.
‘Some is a good place to start,’ he said cheerfully. ‘Some we can build from, together.’
With a suppressed smile at Hob’s obvious misgivings, Xander turned to Rafe.
‘Shall we head up?’ he asked, and then glanced at Latchet and Simm. ‘What about them?’
‘No problem,’ rumbled Alf and bent down to scoop up Latchet and then Simm, dangling one over each shoulder. Latchet was still limp, while Simm muttered continually but made no further movement.
Xander waved to Hob and Reeve.
‘See you upstairs,’ he said with a quick grin, and then turned with relief to head for the way out.
Chapter Fourteen
Xander felt the exit before he saw it, a sudden touch of cooler air, and he hurried forward. The ward glittered with stars as he approached and he began to run, relief and exultation sweeping through him as he burst through the shimmering barrier and out into the night air.
They had actually done it! He spun around to face the others as they emerged, a huge grin on his face, and then took a step backwards in awe. The constellation wall was ablaze, and the Pavilions were glowing, lit up from within as if the building itself was aware and celebrating the events of the night. Xander heard Ollie and Len gasp as they came out after him, staring about in wonderment. Alf was more phlegmatic, as he lumbered through the ward with Latchet and Simm slung over his shoulders like sacks of flour. Xander could see the darkening of a spectacular black eye on Latchet, where Reeve had punched him, and Simm hung limp now, his eyes blank. The giant grunted when he saw the beautiful glow of the Pavilions and carefully laid his burdens on the stone floor.
Struck by a sudden urge, Xander’s feet carried him forward, away from the constellation wall and down to the long stone veranda overlooking the lake. After all the struggle and emotion of the past few days, he felt an overwhelming need for stillness. The shining Pavilions were reflected in the quiet waters of the lake like an underwater palace, the soft ripples making it appear unreal. Looking up, the sky was as black as the lake water and Xander caught his breath at the millions of pinpoints of light, blazing brighter than he could ever remember before. He gazed wide-eyed, standing there in the silence, and thought he would remember this exact moment for all of his life.
‘It is beautiful, no?’
The deep, rumbling voice from behind him made Xander jump. He turned, surprised at how silently the giant could move when he chose and then nodded, with a smile.
‘I’ve never seen the stars so bright,’ he answered quietly. ‘But maybe I’ve just never looked properly before.’
‘Tonight is special,’ said Alf, with a smile. ‘It will be remembered for a long time.’
There was a pause and Xander almost turned to leave, when he heard Alf’s voice rumbling out of the darkness again.
‘And let them be for signs, and for seasons and for days and years.’
Xander stared at the giant and Alf cleared his throat like a gravel slide, looking down.
‘We have forgotten so much of the old lore,’ he said wistfully. ‘But maybe we will find it again, our old knowing. We built wonders together, once.’ His eyes swept over the Pavilions again, but this time there was a light in them and he stood a little straighter.
Xander patted him on the elbow, which was as high as he could reach, and then turned as Ollie appeared around the corner.
‘Amazing isn’t it?’ he said cheerfully, his eyes bright. ‘Although Hob might have to work out how to turn it down a bit for parties or else we’ll all be walking around squinting.’
Xander laughed out loud, feeling normality beginning to settle down like a comfortable blanket around his shoulders. Ollie’s practical, matter-of-fact cheerfulness was the perfect antidote to the high drama of the evening.
‘Are you guys coming?’ Ollie continued. ‘Rafe and Suze are guarding the prisoners, but he thinks we should get back and brief Flint.’
Xander nodded, with one last glance at the starlit lake.
‘Sounds like a good idea,’ he said. ‘Is Len there too?’
Ollie looked surprised.
‘Len? I thought she came with you.’
Xander shook his head but in an echo of an earlier time, there was a distinct splashing noise from the shallow steps down to the lake. A moment later Len herself appeared, trudging up the steps with her clothes dripping and her hair plastered across her face. She lifted her head as she noticed them all standing staring at her and pressed her lips firmly together. Xander opened his mouth to say something and Len
pinned him with that familiar look, scraping her hair out of her mouth with a defiant tilt of her head. Xander closed his mouth again and exchanged a rueful look with Ollie.
‘We know,’ Ollie said, a small smile tugging at his mouth. ‘Don’t ask.’
Len nodded tartly and attempted to sweep past them in dignified silence, her shoes squelching noisily with every step.
*
Their triumphant return turned out to be rather more dramatic than Xander had hoped. They were met at the front door by a harried-looking Mrs Stanton, who swept all three of them into a tight hug, murmuring something Xander couldn’t hear, although he could feel her shaking. Then she pulled back and glared at them, before spotting Rafe with his scratched and battered face and behind him Alf, lurking in the darkness and holding out Simm and Latchet like some bizarre offering. She took a deep breath and then summoned her characteristic poise.
‘Please, could you bring those two to the back door?’ she asked Alf, and then turned to the others. ‘Kitchen, now.’
There was still a crowd in the kitchen when they entered it again, although it was quieter than the frantic bustle of earlier. As Ollie went in first, there was the sound of a chair scraping back and Jenna, her face tired and her hair rumpled, launched herself forward to hug him.
‘Honestly, I’m fine, Mum,’ muttered Ollie, his face flushing with embarrassment although Xander saw that he was hugging her back. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Jasper Stanton standing by the other end of the table, his eyes fixed on Len.
‘Where on earth were you all?’ Jenna demanded, reverting to maternal annoyance after a quick, relieved glance at Len and Xander. ‘And what possessed you to go out tonight of all nights? You knew it was dangerous. You could have been killed.’
‘I would also like to know where you were,’ Flint interjected, stepping out from the group near the hearth and interrupting Jenna’s increasingly high-pitched interrogation. His gaze rested on Rafe, standing behind them, and then his eyes widened as Alf appeared, bending awkwardly through the back door. The giant deposited Latchet and Simm on the kitchen floor, Latchet looking dazed as he began to come around.
