by M S C Barnes
A small whine from Pace brought him back to reality. The wolf stood, faced the glass doors, and whined again. Light from the flamers dotted all around the living area turned the glass into half window, half mirror and Seb could see a shadow of his own reflection and that of Pace beside him. The wolf’s glowing green eyes stared out into the stormy night and now Seb did the same, his heart pounding in his chest.
“Alice,” he called in his mind, “Pace is whining.” There was no reply. Pace whined again. “Alice, I don’t know what to do.” He reached for his chest, expecting at any moment to feel that piercing pain again and fearing, this time, it would kill him.
He could have cried with relief when Alice zoomed over the ship’s chain-link rail and landed on the deck — carrying Aiden.
He yanked the sliding door open to let them in but Alice, depositing Aiden on the floor said, “Got another run to do Seb,” and vanished back over the side.
Aiden was in his pyjamas, and they, along with his hair, were dripping wet. His teeth chattered and he clasped his arms around himself as he stepped into the room.
“Well, that was all a bit quick,” he shivered and then took off a satchel he had slung over his shoulder and dropped it on the floor. “Aelfric said you needed me, and Alice told me what happened. The door appeared so quickly. I was still in the middle of gathering as much as I could. I didn’t have time to put a coat on.”
Seb grabbed one of the towels from the pile Aelfric had brought up and wrapped it around Aiden, whose slippered feet now stood in a spreading puddle of seawater.
“Well I am really glad you are here,” Seb said, feeling he could hug his small friend.
Aiden looked around the interior of the boat with an expression of awe on his face.
“Where are we?” he asked.
“This is Aelfric’s home,” Seb smiled. “It’s fantastic isn’t it?” Having Aiden’s company was cheering and helped divert his mind from his worries.
As Aiden nodded eagerly, rubbing his hair with the towel, there was a loud knock on the glass, which made both him and Seb jump. Turning, they could see a bedraggled-looking Zach standing on the deck, frowning and gesticulating for them to open the door.
Alice, materialising beside Seb, laughed.
“I think he wants to come in.”
Aiden pulled the glass door across and Zach darted inside, accompanied by a gust of wind and the remnants of a huge wave. He slammed the door shut then rounded on Alice.
“Thanks a lot Al. Just cos you don’t need doors.” He shook his head, and the tight, black curls sent drops of water spraying in all directions. “Give us the towel Aiden,” he said, tugging it from Aiden’s hands. He gave his face the briefest of wipes and then threw the towel on the sofa, along the with coat he had been wearing. Spinning around he whistled. “Where are we?”
“It’s Aelfric’s home,” Aiden answered, still sounding awed. “He lives on a boat.”
“Nice,” Zach beamed. “Though I don’t much care for the transport to it.”
“I got you here safely enough,” Alice was still laughing.
“Aiden, you could have dressed mate. That’s the first rule — always dress. You never know where you’re going to end up.” Zach frowned disapprovingly at Aiden and then glanced at the bag on the floor. “I’ll forgive you if you tell me you brought food though,” he said, bending and grabbing the bag.
“No. I didn’t have time to pack food,” Aiden said as he took the bag off Zach and opened the flap.
Zach, tutting, lost interest in it and walked along the length of the living area, towards the galley. “I’ll bet there’ll be some here then.” He opened a couple of cupboards.
“Zach!” Aiden said, horrified. “We’re here to help Seb, not to eat.”
“No reason why I can’t do both,” Zach said, thrusting his top half into a cupboard below the counter top. He continued, his voice muffled, “And in any case, not sure I can be much help against Voodoo!” He emerged with a disappointed look on his face. “Doesn’t that man ever eat? Have any of you ever seen him eat? I mean, I’ve seen him drink coffee, but he doesn’t ever eat. Have you noticed that?”
Seb hadn’t, and the subject was quickly changed back by Aiden.
“It isn’t Voodoo, Zach, it’s sympathetic influence,” he said. Still shaking, he sat on the sofa clutching his bag and wrapped a dry towel around himself like a blanket.”
“And the difference being?” Zach asked.
“Voodoo, or Voudon — using its proper name — is just one cultural expression of sympathetic influence,” Aiden said. “And its inaccurate reputation creates all sorts of over-hyped, and negative depictions of what is actually a wonderful way of using the links between people and objects.”
“Inaccurate and negative?” Zach snorted. “You mean like sticking pins in dolls inaccurate and negative?”
“Yes,” Aiden said, huddling into the towel.
“You mean like Dom, Greg and Aelfric all think this attacker just did to Seb, inaccurate and negative?” Zach laughed, as Seb, fear of a further attack resurfacing in his mind, put his hand to his chest. He glanced at Pace who had now settled at his feet and felt relieved that the wolf seemed, once more, to be going to sleep.
“Yes I do,” Aiden said more firmly. “Although sticking pins in dolls to hurt people is what everyone automatically thinks of when they hear the word Voodoo, actually it is only a very small part of what is possible with sympathetic influence or magic.”
“Well, if it’s only a very small part of what’s possible then what am I here for? I can’t fight an invisible attack Aiden.” Zach, returning from the galley, scooped a line of flamers off the sofa arm and perched on it.
“Actually we can. This sort of influence can also be positive — if you know what you are doing and if you believe in it.” Seb felt a twinge of hope as Aiden continued. “There are many things we can do to protect Seb, but the key to all of them is Seb’s belief that they will work.” He looked at Seb. “Seb, I can teach you some of them, and if what I have read is right, they are incredibly powerful, but you have to really believe they will work.” Right now, Seb was willing to believe anything. The things he had witnessed over the last few months made him open to all possibilities.
“Are we going to do magic are we Aiden? Are we? Cos that is just so exciting,” Zach said, bouncing on the arm of the sofa.
Aiden smiled and, throwing off the towel, reached into the satchel on his lap. He pulled out a small book. The smile, however, vanished from his face when he saw how soggy the book was, the corners of its pages were damp and curled and, as he opened it and tried to turn one of the pages, a whole clump of them turned together.
“Oh no,” he sounded devastated. “They’re all stuck together. It’s ruined,” he said, looking dejected.
“Let me see what I can do,” Alice said, putting his hand out. Aiden gave him the book and he placed it on the floor, then launched himself into the air and began flitting around it in a circle, moving so fast he became a blur. He didn’t leave a trail, instead he created a localised maelstrom, a spinning vortex of air, which lifted the book and whipped it around with it. Soon the pages began to lift, drying in the rapid rush of air and, within seconds, they were fluttering and flapping. Gradually Alice came to a stop and the book fell gently to the floor. It looked slightly dog-eared but was bone dry.
He handed it back to Aiden who, leafing through the pages said, “Alice, that’s amazing.”
“Well, not as good as new; I can’t make it less wrinkled and bumpy but at least the pages are separated now and you can read it.” Alice smiled. “What were you looking for?”
“Talismans, protection shields and mirrors, and protective potions,” Aiden said, stopping at one page and opening the book for them all to see. There really wasn’t much on the page — two lines of text and the picture of a person with lines radiating out from the body, as though surrounded by a halo of light. “This shield protects against the negative
use of sympathetic influence and it is simple. It’s called an Aura Shield and all you have to do Seb,” he ran his fingers along the first line of text, “is imagine a circle of white light around yourself, and then imagine that protecting you, blocking anything harmful. While you concentrate on the circle of light you imagine it becoming a sphere, like a bubble, and, enclosing you, shielding you from harm. All it takes is positive energy, imagination and belief.”
“That’s it?” Zach said, sounding sceptical. “All Seb has to do is picture himself in a bubble and nothing can harm him? There’s got to be more to it than that Aiden. From what Alice told me on the way here, Seb was nearly killed by someone sticking a pin in a doll and you think that him imagining himself in a bubble will stop that happening again?”
It sounded a bit simplistic to Seb too, but Aiden wasn’t put off. “You know about the energy that the thoughts of a soul generates,” he said to Zach. “You saw what Braddock could do with his thoughts and we all saw what you could do Seb.” He turned back to Seb.
Seb had been spectacular on that night at The Hurlers. When Braddock had been using all his power and energetic influence to create a chaotic storm of wind and icy rain, Seb, with the wave of his hand and just his own will, had stopped it instantly. Seb, and all of them, had learned that every emotion felt by every soul, causes vibrations and effects on the world around them. The stronger the emotion, the more powerful the vibrations and the effect. And Seb had demonstrated, on more than one occasion, that he was able to use the strength of his emotions to affect the physical world. But Seb had also felt that excruciating pain, the heat that burned his soft tissue and organs, the piercing agony of a sharp object being thrust through is breast plate. Could he really prevent that being done again, just by imagining himself in a bubble?
Seeing the doubt on his face, Aiden slumped. “Seb, you can do it you know.” But even he didn’t sound confident about it now. Then he shrugged. “Aelfric asked me to find something quickly, to protect you, and the quickest way would be the Aura Shield. But if you don’t believe in it then it certainly won’t work. There are a couple of other options.”
“Something more ‘magicky’?” Zach asked. Aiden rummaged in the bag again and pulled out a square of colourful fabric which he lay flat on the sofa beside him. Onto it he put a piece of string, a pile of small crystals and rocks and a container with some brown granules in it. “Now that’s more like it. Are you going to make a potion?”
“No, Zach,” Aiden said, “An amulet. It is something Seb can wear or carry that will block the negative intent of this attacker.” Zach screwed his face up, once more looking doubtful. “Zach, you know how, in the cottage, there are gems embedded in the walls, floors and ceilings?” Zach nodded. “Well, Aelfric had that done in order to protect those within its walls from any soul who would seek to use the elements against them. An amulet is like having a portable version of that. These,” he swirled his fingertip around in the pile of gleaming crystals and rocks, “all have protecting powers. There’s amber,” he prodded a small, translucent orange chipping, “which wards against those who would use their mind to do harm; fire agate,” he lifted out a browny-orange cluster of rock. Within its depths more vibrant colours glimmered. “This is in its raw form, which makes it far more powerful, and it will protect your aura Seb — the boundary of your soul’s energy.” He placed it back on the square of fabric and now picked up several other crystals — all had different colours, sizes and varied in how much they sparkled or gleamed. “Every one of these will help protect in some way. This one is particularly good.” He separated a stone and held it up for Seb to see. It was green and shiny and, within it, swirls of different shades of green ran in striations that curved and undulated, like ripples spreading across a rain-spattered puddle.
“Ooh, I like that one.” Zach reached out to take it.
“It is malachite and it’s really good for repelling hostile attacks. I have put loads of those in this collection. You can keep that one Zach.”
Zach was thrilled and rubbed it between his fingertips and thumb. “Thanks Aiden.”
Seb looked at the little collection of stones; about half seemed to be these green, swirled malachite ones. Now Aiden picked up the pot containing the brown granules. “And this — is coffee,” he said, smiling.
“You just had a go at me for thinking of food and now you want to make coffee?” Zach snatched the pot from him.
“I do.” The smile on Aiden’s face got bigger. “Seb, did you ever wonder why you seem to crave coffee so much?”
“I don’t crave it Aiden, I just like it,” Seb said, sitting down and thinking he could do with a coffee right now.
“Well, so does Aelfric. In fact, he seems to drink nothing but coffee, and you have started to drink it almost as much as he does.”
Seb shrugged. “I said — I like it.” He wasn’t sure what the significance was.
“That’s good, because coffee neutralises harmful energy. And what it also does, is to heighten your own awareness of the changes in the energies and vibrations around you. I think it is what helps Aelfric and you sense when there is a trespassing soul around, or detect other harmful or malicious souls or presences. It is a substance that balances the energy you create with the energy you feel around you.” He popped open the lid of the pot. “But this mixture isn’t for drinking. I have added ground rowan seeds to it.” He looked pleased with himself.
Being the Guide of the group, Aiden, like Dom, had a special silver tin. When he opened it, provided there was a need for its use, the mirror inside would display a virtual map of the passageways and doorways between all the realities, and also the positions of all the group members, and any presence that was where it should not be — trespassing souls, gytrash, golems and so on.
But the tin had a further magical attribute. Every time Aiden opened it, in a recessed compartment inside would be five ripe rowan berries — one for each of the group members, other than Alice. The idea was that each of them should eat a berry a day. It was meant to lengthen their lifespan, although the Confirmation ceremony had done that for Seb anyway. He refused to eat his daily dose, but the others were in the habit of taking theirs, and then Aiden would insist they spit the seeds out. He would collect the saliva-covered objects, much to Scarlet’s disapproval, and would then grind them into a powder. He put the powder in a further, hidden, recessed section of the tin. Dom did the same with his own tin. The powder was then used by the Guides, on rare occasions where the risk was great, to lock a magical doorway. Rowan apparently had protective properties — the Guardians’ staffs were made of that wood — and Aiden continued explaining his plan.
“By adding rowan to coffee, I have made a powerful protecting mixture.” He tipped the contents of the pot over the collection of crystals and stones which were in the middle of the square of fabric. And now he drew the four corners up and together, and tied the bundle with the string. “That, with the protective crystals makes an amulet, which you can carry or wear Seb.”
“No spells or magic words Aiden?” Zach asked. “Just a baggie with crystals and coffee? That’s going to protect Seb from a Voodoo doll with a pin in it?”
“Yes it is Zach,” Aiden said, holding the bulging pouch out to Seb. “No magic words needed. I made this with the intent that it will protect Seb, and he will wear it with the same intent — and belief.” He looked at Seb. “If you believe it will work, Seb, it will work. If you don’t, it will still work, but not nearly as well.”
Seb tentatively reached a hand out towards the pouch but before his fingers made contact with the fabric he was suddenly overwhelmed by sadness. He heard Pace growl and froze, his fingers millimetres from the amulet. Lowering his head, he exhaled heavily.
“Seb?” Alice flitted in front of him. “What is it?” Seb just stared at the floor, unable to move, even at the sound of another growl from Pace. Alice crouched down and forced him to look at him. “I’ve called Aelfric but you need to share it with me
, Seb. You have time now; share with me,” he insisted.
Seb sighed. Somewhere inside him he knew Alice was right, but he just couldn’t open up; depression made him apathetic.
“Let me help you!” Alice’s voice crackled with frustration.
Aiden frowned. “What’s the problem?” he asked, looking from Alice to Seb.
Feeling his sadness deepen, Seb leant forward and put his head in his hands.
“What’s the matter mortal?” Zach said, standing.
“I feel sad. Okay? Just really, really sad,” Seb mumbled.
Now Alice’s expression turned from frustration to concern. “Seb, the sadness is the attacker trying to track you — that’s what Dom and Greg said.”
“Take the amulet, Seb,” Aiden insisted, holding the pouch towards him again. “Quick, take it.”
Looking up, Seb stared at the colourful fabric and the piece of string hanging from it but before he could reach for it he glimpsed a movement in the corner of his eye, over by the glass doors. He turned to look and then stifled a yell as he saw an image of himself, standing in the storm, outside the door. As he watched, the image clutched its side and blood began to ooze from its ribs; then it held its blood-soaked hands out to Seb, as if showing him.
Seb leapt to his feet and Pace turned towards the glass doors, howling.
“Seb?” Zach, moving over to them, looked out of the doors. “What is it?” He produced his staff from his trouser pocket.
And then suddenly Dierne appeared on the storm-ravaged deck, carrying Greg. Putting him down, he flitted off again immediately and a second later placed Trudy beside Greg before once more disappearing. Without pause, Trudy grabbed the door handle, pulled the panel across and Greg rushed into the room. Placing himself between Seb and the grotesque image, he grabbed Seb by the arms.
