by M S C Barnes
Seb stood up. The water at this far side of the cabin was up to his own neck now and he glanced across at Greg who was sitting, staring into space, still holding on to Aelfric. The water there had reached the height of Aelfric’s chest and the wolves were howling, aware they could not protect the Custodian from Nature’s inevitable onslaught.”
Alice emerged, holding a large piece of wood, which he now tossed to the other side of the cabin.
“Every time we manage to enlarge the hole, the boat slips,” he said. “All we seem to be doing is helping the water to rise more quickly.” He shook his head sadly, glancing at Zach who was diving down to breathe more air into Trudy’s mouth, and then at Aelfric. “And soon, Zach is going to have to accept that his role is to protect the Custodian, not his mentor.”
Feeling useless, Seb returned to Greg.
“Come on, Greg, help me lift Aelfric. We need to get him to the next level.” Greg didn’t respond. Sitting behind Aelfric, on the steps, he stared at the spot where his sister’s head had been covered by the icy seawater as though he were in a trance. Seb didn’t have time to indulge this man’s awful emotional pain, though, they needed to do what they could to save Aelfric. “Greg,” he shouted. “Help me!” Snapping out of his stupor, Greg looked up at Seb then nodded.
They began lifting Aelfric, but he was well over six feet tall and had the muscles of an Olympic gymnast; they could barely move him. Just as they managed to get him a few inches off the floor, the boat lurched, caught by a sudden immense wave, and Greg lost his footing. There was a loud cracking sound and the stern of the boat tipped backwards as its frame fractured, and suddenly water rushed in from a huge gap that opened up along the ceiling above them. The vessel was being torn in two. The vicious wind ripped into the cabin, bringing rain and more seawater with it. The sound was horrendous.
And now Zach loomed up out of the water, his face grim. He gave one more breath of air to Trudy and then half swam, half waded to Aelfric. Grabbing his left arm, he heaved him up. Seb was stunned at his friend’s strength. Aelfric was a good six inches taller than Zach and yet Zach lifted him with ease and draped him over his shoulder.
“Seb, the beastie,” he shouted. Seb called Cue over. Now Zach hefted Aelfric up and draped him across Cue’s back, turning him so that he lay, face down, but legs astride the wolf. He looped Aelfric’s arms down and round Cue’s neck and then, removing his own trouser belt, tied it around Aelfric’s wrists. “Get on,” he ordered Seb, who clambered up behind Aelfric and clung to him. “Need the other one,” Zach shouted, pointing to Pace and Seb beckoned the animal over. “Greg,” Zach called. Greg didn’t move, he just stared at the water beneath which his sister must now be fighting for breath. “GREG!” Zach shouted, “I will not let her die, but you need to go.” He lifted Greg from the steps and threw him, unceremoniously, onto Pace’s back. By now the pressure of the wind and waves had opened a huge chasm along the ceiling through which Seb could see the stormy sky. “Al, Dierne, go with them,” Zach called and Alice appeared instantly, beside Seb. Dierne materialised more slowly, glancing reluctantly back at the bubbling water where Trudy lay. “Go, Seb,” Zach said, waving to the gap above them. Then he winked. “See you ashore.” Without another word, he made a swift dive into the water, heading for Trudy.
Seb sat for a moment, staring, unable to leave his friend.
“Seb, we need to go. The boat is tearing apart,” Alice said into his mind. The sound of the howling wind had been drowned out by the straining, wrenching sounds of the planks and struts of the vessel. But Seb couldn’t do it. He couldn’t leave Zach and Trudy. He was about to jump down from Cue’s back when the whole stern section of the boat sheered away. It dropped back into the trough of a monumental wave that was curving upwards, ready to come crashing down on the rocks. With no choice now he yelled at the wolves.
“JUMP!” He didn’t even have to tell them where, a thought was enough and the wolves’ instinct did the rest. In unison they leapt to the right and landed on two large rocks at the outer edge of the isolated cluster. A second later the wave slammed down on the front half of what had been Aelfric’s home, carrying with it the stern section. There was a thunderous crash and thousands of splintered fragments spread in all directions as the two halves of the boat collided. The front end now slipped, turned, upended and plummeted off the rocks and into the tempestuous sea, taking Zach and Trudy with it.
Years of Desolation
“Are they alive?” Seb shouted at Alice. “Can Zach speak to you?”
He was clinging with one hand to Aelfric’s back and with the other to Cue’s pelt as the wind battered them and waves swept over them. The two wolves stood steadfastly on the rocks, waiting for Seb’s directions. He wasn’t about to direct them anywhere though; he had to know what had become of Zach and Trudy.
“I am getting no answer.” Alice sounded devastated. “Nothing at all, Seb.”
“Dierne?” Seb shouted over the noise of the gale. “Trudy?”
Dierne hovered beside the wolves, searching the tumbling waves and then he grinned, pointed and darted off to the left.
Looking across, Seb’s heart leapt with hope. Trudy was clambering up onto the slippery rocks, gasping, her face white as a sheet.
“Go,” Seb said to Pace and the wolf jumped across the islet, landing beside her. Dierne had already reached her and, lifting her in his arms, he tried to place her on Pace’s back behind Greg but she struggled against him.
“No. Zach!” she shouted. Dierne put her back down and she staggered to the water’s edge, searching the waves for Zach. Everyone now stared into the raging sea, trying to locate him. Minutes passed and Seb saw nothing but the remnants of the demolished boat within the turbulent water.
Trudy screamed into the darkness, “ZACH!” but it was pointless. Zach had not surfaced. Her own position was precarious as wave after monstrous wave slammed into her. Several times she lost her footing and Dierne had to scoop her up, only for her to break free of him and return to the rock edge to stare into the waters. Eventually Dierne, hovering beside her, said something to her which made her turn, glance at Aelfric and nod. Head low, she climbed onto Pace.
“He has told her that her role is to safeguard Aelfric. Zach is beyond her help,” Alice said silently to Seb.
Seb was fighting back tears. Zach was gone! His best friend, swallowed by the angry sea. He had saved Aelfric, Greg and Seb, and saving Trudy had now cost him his own life.
“We need to get Aelfric to safety, Seb,” Alice continued more quietly. “Greg and Trudy both need a warm fire and so do Aiden and Scarlet.”
Aiden and Scarlet! Seb had completely forgotten about them. He had acted on impulse when he leapt into the sea and had simply abandoned them on the shore. Looking up, he spotted their auras, directly opposite this rocky islet. They had walked around Solomon’s craggy edge and waited, presumably wondering what was happening.
“Have you told them anything?” Seb asked Alice.
“No,” Alice said. He looked sadly at Seb.
Casting one last glance into the sea, Seb directed the wolves to shore. He didn’t need to tell them, he only had to intend for them act and they seemed to know what he wanted them to do. In one leap they spanned the gap between this deadly outcrop and the main island. As they landed, Aiden and Scarlet rushed up to them. Aiden was shivering violently and Scarlet looked nearly as cold, though neither complained.
“That was close,” Aiden said, teeth chattering but Seb wasn’t looking at him. He was watching Scarlet whose eyes checked first the riders on the wolves’ backs, then the two Dryads and finally flicked over to the rocks. She stared for a moment at the waves and then slowly turned and looked at Seb.
“Where is Zach?” Her words were so quiet that if Seb hadn’t expected the question he wouldn’t have understood her. Then she repeated, far louder, “Where is Zach?”
Trudy jumped down from Pace’s back and limped over to her. Bowing her head, she grasped Scarlet
’s hands.
“He dragged me to the rocks, Scarlet,” she looked up, “pushed me to safety. But he was then swept away.” She paused and lowered her eyes. “He didn’t make it.”
Even though the noise of the storm still raged through the night air, it was as though a sudden silence had fallen on the group. They all waited for Scarlet’s reaction, expecting tears, hysterics, anger — something dramatic. Instead, she looked over Trudy’s shoulder and smiled.
Seb was horrified. He knew Scarlet and Zach had a love-hate relationship, but that his sister would be pleased to hear Zach had drowned disturbed him. Scarlet started giggling, and now he wondered if this was nervous hysterics caused by her upset. He slid down from Cue’s back and walked towards her but she suddenly darted past him, making for the water. Fearing she was so devastated she was going to do something stupid, Seb span round and ran after her. And then he saw what she could see.
Twenty feet away, the glowing blue-white outline of an asrai travelled within the body of a wave which rushed towards the island. And in its arms it held Zach. As the wave tumbled onto the land, the asrai released him and he was carried, by the water, onto the shore. The wave receded, the asrai riding it back into the sea. Zach, weak and trembling, managed to lift himself onto his hands and knees before collapsing to the ground.
Seb and Scarlet ran towards him but were nearly bowled over by Trudy, who pushed past them. Even limping, she reached him first. She helped him sit up and checked him over for injuries, and then she shouted at him.
“You fool Zach Orwell! You shouldn’t have come back for me!”
He stared at her, his whole body shaking with cold and then he gave her a lopsided grin.
“I love you too,” he said. Trudy threw her arms around him and hugged him. Noting Scarlet’s arrival Zach looked up at her. “Don’t get jealous precious, it’s just a passing infatuation. She’ll get over it,” he said before he was overtaken by a coughing fit. Trudy, releasing him slapped his back heavily.
“We need to get him back to The Pytt,” she shouted to Seb.
Gazing around at everyone Seb was saddened by the sorry sight they made. Aelfric was still motionless, draped over Cue’s back; Greg appeared to be in shock, he sat on Pace, staring at his sister, a haunted look in his eyes. Scarlet, Aiden and Zach were all shaking violently and the two Dryads were bedraggled and dishevelled, their leafy covering so tattered it allowed small patches of bare twigs to show through.
Seb wasn’t fairing much better, his fingers and toes were numb, his teeth chattering and he couldn’t stop his body shaking with cold.
“Aiden,” he said. “A door please.” Aiden nodded and fumbled with his tin. He pointed back to the mini peninsular which held the door they had travelled through before.
“That’s the nearest,” he said and, clicking the tin shut, rammed it back into his pocket.
As he lifted his hand to reveal the door, a shimmer of blue white caught Seb’s eye. Turning, he saw the asrai that had helped Zach to shore floating within the waves very nearby. It regarded him with what he thought was hope and expectation and suddenly Seb realised why. He remembered what Aelfric had said to him about the asrais.
“These souls took a life, in very specific circumstances. They do not return straight to Áberan. They come to the sea, and will not be released to sleep until they have saved a life…”
He stared back at the asrai. Saved a life. This one had saved Zach. Well what can I do? He didn’t understand. Doesn’t Nature take care of it?
Zach was coughing again and Aiden looked about to collapse from hypothermia. Quickly, Seb raised his hand. The cloud cover was too dense to allow the moonlight through but one thought of flamers and the little orbs instantly bedecked the ground around the group. Seb reflected their light onto the promontory just around the shoreline. The door appeared.
“Alice, I need you to stay. You others go on. Take Aelfric. Hopefully the door will lead to The Pytt. I think I have to do something.” He stared at the asrai.
Trudy was outraged.
“You will not remain here without a Guardian,” she argued and Zach got unsteadily to his feet.
“No he won’t,” he said, taking a stumbling step towards Seb. “My Lady, you go with your mob. I’ve got this.”
“I will not!” Trudy barked and then, as Zach was about to argue back, Seb broke in.
“Dierne,” he said, “You must have seen Aelfric deal with these asrais. Tell me what I do and then we can make it quick and all go back together.”
Dierne looked troubled.
“This asrai has saved a life.” He waved a hand towards the waiting asrai. “And you have to treat him like any other lost soul; you have to read his soul.”
“Okay,” Seb said. He didn’t relish that thought but, remembering his promise, he lifted his hand, ready to do what he had to. Dierne zoomed over and put his own hand on Seb’s arm, stopping him.
“Seb, these have always been the hardest souls for Aelfric to deal with,” he cautioned and pointed to the asrai. “When you read his soul, you will only see the one event — the moment when he took a life. Or it may be more than one life. You will not see what led up to the event or events or what followed in that lifetime. Instead, immediately after, you will witness, as though you have borne them yourself, the years of waiting that have followed since the soul left its living host — ‘The years of desolation’ Aelfric calls them. It is those years you must focus on. You have to decide if the soul repents — not because they regret the punishment they have been given and wish an end to it, but because they truly repent taking the life or lives they took.” He regarded Seb thoughtfully. Seb couldn’t see what difference it made, but felt hopeful that, not having to see hundreds of other lives might actually be better. Dierne, seeing his lack of comprehension continued. “Seb, the act itself, or sometimes many such acts in that one lifetime, can be incredibly graphic and you will feel every emotion that this soul felt when he enacted that or those acts. It will be very traumatic,” he paused. “And Alice will not be able to dilute it by weaving within it the other, more positive, experiences of this soul.” Alice moved closer to Seb, watching him.
Conscious of how severely both Zach and Aiden were shaking, Seb was anxious to simply get on with this, but the way Dierne was looking at him and the note of concern in his voice made him wait.
“What follows,” Dierne continued, “with your own emotions raw and affected, Seb, is the years of time this soul has had to dwell on his actions. Aelfric has told me that, for most, these years lead to a deeper regret and repentance and a longing to put things right in their next life. But the extreme sadness that brings to them will affect you as badly as the horrific images you have seen, and this sadness is so prolonged, you will feel you are living in a black abyss, like you are experiencing the deepest depression.” He glanced over at Aelfric and shook his head. “Aelfric, as strong as he is, has always suffered severely from the emotional pain he feels when reading this type of soul.”
“Then why does he allow them to serve him, a Custodian, by piloting his yacht?” Greg spoke for the first time since they had left the boat, incomprehension at Aelfric’s actions rousing him from the shock and guilt he had been feeling. “Surely that would lead to their being freed sooner than they should be, and to his having to read more of their kind than would be normal for a Custodian?”
Now Seb realised why Greg had been so stunned when he discovered how Aelfric piloted his boat. Aelfric was apparently giving these souls a chance to serve, and thereby earn their freedom early. He had believed Greg disapproved, and it certainly sounded now as though Greg did.
“It is not for me to explain,” Dierne frowned at Greg. “And nor should it be for Aelfric to answer to anyone for what he chooses to do.” He turned back to Seb. “I have said these years of sadness will cause you anguish, Seb. But there is one more thing.” He turned to gaze at the asrai, who had raised himself further out of the water, as if eager for Seb to free him. B
arely audible over the storm’s noise, Dierne continued. “Some of these souls do not regret their actions. Instead, they become resentful at what they see as an unfair punishment. They spend the Years of Desolation brooding, casting blame on all others but themselves. It is often these that will seek to save a life, thereby cutting short their years in the sea. And the sad fact is,” he dropped his head slightly, “if you detect that in a soul such as this, despite their having saved a life — even the life of your friend — that soul must be banished.”
Suddenly Dierne stopped talking. In a flash he disappeared from Seb’s side and re-materialised beside Cue.
Aelfric was moving. Slowly he lifted his head and groaned. Trudy, limping badly, rushed over to him. Greg hung back, loitering next to Pace.
Dierne released Aelfric’s wrists from the belt Zach had tied around them to keep him on the wolf’s back and now, as Aelfric tried to sit up, he zoomed up to support him. Aelfric was quite clearly in agony and at first he looked confused. There was a pause during which, Seb guessed, Dierne, unheard by anyone else, was explaining to Aelfric what had happened. Quickly the look of agony and confusion disappeared from Aelfric’s face, replaced by determination. Helped by Dierne he climbed down from Cue’s back.
Trudy, reaching him, offered her shoulder for support. “What are you doing? Stay on Cue. He will carry you,” she said.
Shaking his head and looking out to sea, Aelfric beckoned the asrai.
“NO!” Trudy shouted, as the blue-white outline of the asrai crumpled and a white mist-trail sped from it towards Aelfric.
Standing within the chaos of the storm, Seb stared at Aelfric. He knew why Trudy was shouting. The description Dierne had given of the effects of reading an asrai’s soul was alarming. It had alarmed Seb enough to make him reluctant to do it himself. As he looked at the blood soaking Aelfric’s shirt and saw how Dierne and Trudy were having to hold him up, he knew Aelfric was in no fit state to read a normal soul, let alone an asrai one. So, before the soul could reach Aelfric, Seb lifted his own hand and beckoned it. Instantly, the trail of mist changed course and slammed into his chest.
