Then he realised what Henry had just said. “If she had used it… it should have killed her… Nobody except… well, except you can use it.” Henry tucked it back into his tunic. “It was the first thing I had to do after the hosting… She was unconscious and close to death… but by using the power of the Wyvern I managed to retrieve the stone’s powers from my mother and back into the stone… But it has left her very weak.”
Kreedy stood with his mouth open. Firstly, nobody other than a host master had ever survived using the stone; and secondly, no host master has ever had enough strength to retrieve the stone’s powers. Grog and Nog did mention that Henry was the true host, but after meeting him, Kreedy thought them deluded. But now… knowing just a small sample of what he was capable of… perhaps Henry was the true host, he had a lot to write about as it was… But now that the true host master stood here… here in his own home, Kreedy got excited thinking of how busy he would be over next few days just writing about his encounters, because whenever Kreedy wrote the history of the world, he would always try and find a way of putting himself directly at the forefront of his journals. But now he could truly place himself right at the centre of the action.
Henry spent the night resting in front of the fire. But he didn’t manage to get much sleep: his mind was too busy trying to make sense of his new life. It didn’t help matters when Kreedy told Henry that his uncle stayed with him just last night. Kreedy told him what he had witnessed between his uncle and the shadow master. “Why would the shadow master be interested in his uncle…?” He was just a businessman with no interest in what was going on around him. It did bother him that his uncle kept popping up in places that he would least expect. He tried to push his worrying thoughts aside and concentrate on what lay ahead of him. He had already decided to leave in the morning. It would only take a few hours to reach the ridge to where shadow master haunts; however, he still had no idea what to expect or what he was going to do when he got there. In truth, he was relying on the Wyvern to show him, or at least protect him. Henry had also decided to try and keep Grog and Nog clear of any trouble: they said they had skills but he doubted that they were strong enough to keep them alive if they got into a conflict with the dark one.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Henry had made up his mind: he was going to set off alone in the morning. He needed to keep Grog and Nog out of harm’s way. Besides, he was starting to like them too much. In fact he could see no reason why anyone wouldn’t: they were cute, friendly and just a pure pleasure to be around. They had told him several times that they could look after themselves. “We have skills,” they told him, whatever that meant. But it didn’t matter to him what skills they claimed to command; Henry doubted whether their skills would be strong enough.
“No… it’s going to be just you and me,” he thought to himself, referring to the Wyvern housed within him. Henry was aware that he had changed a lot since leaving his home just a few days ago… and the hosting changed him the most. His confidence had grown to such a degree that he feared almost nothing and had matured to such a degree that he was no longer afraid to speak his mind or take control of a situation if it demanded him to do so… And unusual for him… he had started to feel adventurous: he enjoyed just the thought of the challenge that lay ahead and strangely enough even with the responsibility he had been given, for the first time in his life he felt part of something, something bigger than himself.
However, he had mixed emotions about who or what he had become. Throughout his life, he had always avoided confrontation, but for some reason he was looking forward to finally having the chance to go face to face with the one thing everyone feared the most, and the mere thought of standing in front of the dark one excited him. However, with his newfound maturity came an element of distrust in others; he was also aware that he had become a lot less trusting than he had been before the hosting, and as such found himself questioning nearly everything and everyone, including Bree, whereas before he was naive enough to trust and believe almost anything he was told, but now… He took nothing for granted or at face value… but that didn’t mean that he mistrusted everybody… not at all… It just meant that whatever it was that now lived inside him had made him that way… perhaps to protect him and itself… And looking back to his old life, he had almost no interest in anything other than himself… But now… he cared… he really cared for nearly everything around him… but he had to be curious… that is… if he wanted to stay alive.
The morning came around quickly and Henry was up, dressed and packed, and almost ready to leave long before Kreedy showed himself. “Going so soon, my lord?” he said, looking a little puzzled. Even though Henry had had a bad night’s rest, he still managed to smile to himself. Kreedy looked even more ridiculous this morning dressed in his robes. He was wearing a full-length, bright red, velvet robe that finished about six inches above his ankles, revealing his white, skinny legs poking out from beneath it. On his feet he wore multicoloured slippers that looked to be two sizes too big, pointed and turned up at the toes. Around his neck he wore a bright green cravat, topping it all off with a multicoloured velvet nightcap.
At first Henry, didn’t reply, too taken aback by the sight in front of him. “Oh… sorry… Morning, Kreedy,” he stuttered. “I thought that I’d get an early start… I would like to thank you again for allowing me to stay the night… Oh, and thanks for the clothes… I have no way of knowing how… but they fit just fine.” Kreedy smiled back but still wasn’t happy to see Henry going so soon. He had hoped that he could question the lad further. This was a rare opportunity for him to gain an invaluable insight into what it must feel like to host the Wyvern, and if Henry left now… Well, who knows when… or if he’d be back. “What of Grog and Nog?” Kreedy enquired, whilst firing up the old cast-iron cooker. “You must have something to eat… or at least a hot drink before you head off.” Kreedy was trying anything he could to keep Henry talking, and to his joy, Henry agreed to a quick breakfast and a hot mug of tea. “I feel it better that I go on alone,” Henry said whilst pulling up a wooden chair and sitting down at the table. “I see no reason in putting others in danger… Besides, I’ll be too busy looking out for my own welfare and couldn’t guarantee my own safety, let alone theirs.”
Seeing the sense in Henry’s argument, Kreedy decided not to argue the point but he knew that his two friends wouldn’t agree. Instead he went about preparing breakfast. Moments later the back door opened, allowing a quick blast of cold air to rush into the kitchen.
“Close that damn door!” Kreedy shouted. Nog turned and shut the door. “Rain stopped… but still many storm clouds,” he said, attempting to wipe his feet on an old mat just inside the door. “In and out… that’s all you’ve been doing… all damn night… in and out.” Kreedy continued moaning, but still hadn’t turned around from the cooker, too busy banging pot and pans about. “It takes a lot to keep this place warm, you know,” he continued to moan. “It takes up half of my time just to collect the logs for the fires… I must keep my books nice and dry, you know… And logs don’t grow on trees, ya know.” He continued bantering on, and Henry almost laughed out loud. “Well… they do grow on trees… Oh bother… you know what I mean.”
Henry looked over to Nog who also had a big smile on his face. “Where’s Grog,” Henry enquired. “Still outside, master.” Henry sighed. He’d never get used to being called ‘master’. “And what… may I ask is he doing outside in this weather?” Nog looked surprised that his master had to ask. “Looking out for you, master,” he replied, sounding a little upset. “Been taking turns all night, we have.” Henry had been half-awake most of the night, but hadn’t heard a thing and was a little miffed with himself for not noticing. “Well, it’s now daylight and I’m sure it would be safe for Grog to come in… Our friend Mr Kreedy here… has kindly offered breakfast.” Nog nodded with a smile and went back outside to get Grog. “Shut that flaming door!” Kreedy shouted behind him. “Born in a barn, those two.” Henry thought
that this might be a good opportunity to ask Kreedy a little more about their two fluffy friends. “Where do they come from?” he enquired, still staring at the back door. Kreedy placed a large frying pan over the hob flame and broke a number of eggs into it. He then turned to face Henry, who to his surprise looked a little menacing as he glanced over his large nose and thick lens glasses.
“I’ll tell you all you wish to know… if you tell me something in return.” Now bending down so close that his nose almost touched Henry’s, and not liking Kreedy intruding on his own personal space, Henry pulled back from him and nodded, but couldn’t think of anything other than him being the host that Kreedy would be interested in. Kreedy, now satisfied, quickly stood back up. “Good… good!” he blasted. “Ask away… my dear lord host… just ask away.” Henry hesitated a moment. There is more to this man that meets the eye, he thought. “All I would like to know is where our two friends come from.” Kreedy grinned from ear to ear, making him look even more ridiculous. “Well,” he started, “like your mother and others like her… they weren’t really born… well, not in the sense you and I would understand.” He paused to turn the bacon in the pan and, with his back to Henry, continued. “Nature made them all… and in the case of our two friends ere… it made them only to serve the host.”
Henry wasn’t too surprised at what Kreedy had said. Grog and Nog insisted on serving him: that much he knew for himself. In fact, they had said as much a number of times. “You believe in God,” Kreedy continued, more of a statement than a question, and still with his back to Henry, stirring an old iron pot full of baked beans. “Our Lord above has given us… all of us… everything we see around us, everything you feel, smell and touch… everything.” He turned to face Henry. “Since man decided to put himself above all others and isolate himself from nature, he has come to believe that he owns this world… and that everything in it and on it is to be used for mans benefit and has to fit into their plans… Well, nature doesn’t work that way… What our Lord God has given us… was given to us all to share, to care for and to nourish…” He paused again, this time to take the boiling kettle off the hob.
He then turned to face Henry. “But man doesn’t see it that way… He knows that his actions are wrong and knows the damage he has done… and is still doing to the world… and he’s known for some time… But what bothers me most is that he also knows what they could do to put things right… But still greed, politics and ignorance feed his needs… His desire to rape and strip this world of its forests and wildlife…” He paused when he realised that he was beginning to rant a little. “There are a few well-meaning humans out there,” he continued in a much calmer tone, “but not enough of them to make a difference.” Kreedy paused. “The world is headed only one way and that’s downhill… Well, it’s going to have to stop… and it will stop… and soon.”
He paused and walked back over to where Henry sat, leaning closer to him. Again he said, “His greed has fed the darkness that threatens us and our entire earth for centuries … And for centuries man has fought and squabbled over land and resources that are not rightly his to own. However, our good Lord has given nature ways of protecting itself… ways to fight back.” Kreedy paused and stood back up. “Battles between light and dark have been fought many times over the centuries… and a balance has always been found… But this time the darkness is stronger… much stronger than ever before… The more the greed of man… the stronger the darkness… The stronger the darkness, the stronger the greed of man, and so it goes on.”
Kreedy paused again. “I have spent many a year studying my books and have failed to find any evidence of a time when the darkness has been so strong… Throughout time itself… and my studies show that the balance has moved” he paused “in order for us all to survive something… or someone has to reset that balance… So out of need to protect the earth the Wyvern was born… Born from the sun and from out of the stars… A light to shine through the darkness.” Henry shifted in his seat, feeling a little uncomfortable about what he was hearing. “That much I understand… but what of Grog and his brother…? Where do they fit into the scale of things?” Kreedy poured a mug of steaming tea and placed it in front of Henry. “The Wyvern needs a connection to this world… even when it’s not being hosted… it needs an anchor.” He paused again but this time with a funny grin on his face.
“Let’s just say that Grog and Nog are that anchor… and its connection to this world… And when Wyvern’s in need… as it must be now… they serve it… That’s to say, they serve the host master… in all his needs.” Walking back over to the cooker he said, “So if you have ideas of sneaking off without them… Well, my lord host… you have another think coming… Oh, and just for your information… there were once four brothers… one from each element, earth, air, fire and water… And believe me when I say that like their two lost brothers… they are quite prepared to give up their lives to serve you.” He paused. “You’d best remember that… I ask that you treat them with the respect they deserve… They have earned it… many… many times over.”
Henry was just about to say something in reply when the door was flung open. “Well met,” Grog greeted. “We hope you had a good night… been watching out for you… all night… Nog and me.” Henry smiled and thanked them for doing so and both brothers smiled back, pleased that their master was grateful for their deeds. When it came to sitting down to breakfast, Grog and Nog didn’t… They preferred to stand by the back door and eat only the fruit Kreedy had supplied for them, whereas Henry and Kreedy got stuck into a large, cooked meal of bacon, eggs, beans and toast, washed down by several large mugs of tea. Nog was the first to speak, looking directly at Kreedy. “Dunk has told us how he helped… with the dark one.” Grog nodded. “Yes… very brave.” Nog repeated, “Very brave indeed.” Henry looked up from his plate. “Who’s Dunk?” he asked with a mouthful of food and looking from face to face. Kreedy finished his mouthful before he answered. “He’s a tree-morph… and a loyal and most trusted friend.” Henry looked from Grog and then to Nog, and back to Kreedy. “What’s a tree-morph?”
Henry senior was still sitting on the edge of the old, worn sofa sipping his tea when James came back into the room. He was now dressed in old Army camouflage uniform and a black beanie hat. “What do ya think, Mr H…? I’m ready fer some real action now,” he announced, doing a twirl in jest. “Too bad that I ain’t got no gun to go with the gear,” he said jokingly. Henry got up tiredly, in no mood for jokes. “I’m afraid, James… before long, you and I will soon see far too much action,” he said, placing his half-drunk mug of tea on the arm of the sofa. “So I hope you’re far better prepared than that.” Referring to the Army clothing he was wearing, he said, “Don’t you be worrying your noggin over me, Mr H… I can take care of meself,” James replied smiling. Henry walked from the room and into the hallway. He paused to face James. “This is no game… Real lives have been taken… and I fear many more will fall before this all ends.” James replied with a wicked smile on his face, “Well, let’s make sure it’s not one us, then… eh, Mr H?”
A moment or two later found them both making their way down the large gravel drive. Henry had decided not to take his other car. Besides, his Aston Martin was far too precious to him to leave on the streets, and it was only a fifteen-minute walk to the woodland. However, it didn’t take long before he started to regret his decision to walk. He wasn’t a fit man, too many long hours sitting at a desk, too many takeaway meals and he found himself having difficulties in keeping up with James. He had hoped that he would have had time to rest up properly before he set off on his quest to retrieve the spearhead, but that wasn’t to be. There was now an urgency to his task, the combination of his encounter with the dark one, the shape-shifter and the pains in his head, had all taken their toll on him… He was physically and mentally exhausted, and was relying on sheer willpower alone to hopefully get him through the next few days.
Henry watched the tall, slim form of Jam
es walking with such confidence just a few feet in front of him. He had no idea that James had been sent to “watch over him”. Surely something about him should have warned him that he wasn’t human, but nothing did. But if Henry was honest with himself, he knew that he had been far too engrossed in making a success of his businesses and trying to elevate himself in society that he probably wouldn’t have noticed if a wood nymph fell on his head. He sighed. At least the rain had held off: the last thing he needed now was to get wet again. As they approached the entrance to the woodland, James came to a halt.
“Something up, Mr H?” he said, staring into the darkness of the woods. Henry stepped forward. “My sisters,” he said out of breath. “They had to put up a shield.” James looked mortified. “What kind of shield…? You didn’t tell me nofink about no shield.” Henry stepped in front of James and headed down the short slope to the wooden gate. “Nothing for us to worry about,” he said without looking back. “It’s to hold things in… not to keep us out… Besides, I’ve already passed through it once.”
James hesitated, still unsure whether to follow him, but Henry just opened the gate, paused, took a deep breath and stepped through. He knew that once back inside the barrier he was no longer safe from what lay within, but he had to retrieve the spearhead whether he wanted to or not. He looked back at the hesitant James whilst holding the gate open for him. “Well,” Henry said. James straightened himself up, adjusted his shoulders as if he was preparing himself for a fight, and then followed Henry through the gate. “See, wasn’t that bad,” Henry said, mocking him. James gave Henry a quick glare as he walked past, then headed off down the wooded track with Henry watching after him. The light along the woodland track was poor, and mist rising from the damp earth made visibility difficult.
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