Book of Dreams

by Traci Harding

  Your time as a husband and lover was short-lived and cherished, it is true, Arika said, but you have never had the chance to be a father and therefore you cannot underestimate the effect it will have on your quality of life henceforth.

  ‘And what if our relationship sours, or I cannot live up to my son’s expectations?’ Tears of desperation began to start from Tim’s eyes, for his psyche could sense danger approaching, ‘And I pass up this gift of a swift death for a loveless and lonely existence without her?’

  Arika held a finger up to silence Kyle’s comment before he’d even made it. And what if I tell you that your son is going to have a great responsibility put on his shoulders and will surely benefit from your guidance?

  This ‘responsibility’ was news to Kyle. He’d never much liked that word; its implications were daunting. Who in their right mind would bestow a huge responsibility on his shoulders, anyway?

  Then it occurred to Tim to ask, ‘Is Kyle here, Bargi?’

  He is, she replied, to Tim’s great distress and relief. Alex is here with him and they are both ready to support whatever decision you make. But destiny is fleeting, Tim, and fate is hot on its heels … choose, or the choice will be made for you.

  Tim could hear the paces of a small force advancing slowly down the only approach to the forest dwelling. Tim smiled and clasped both hands to his stomach. ‘An ungune, Arika, and happy journeying to you. I shall miss you as much as I miss your granddaughter.’ He threw his arms wide. ‘I choose life.’ Tim scampered for cover behind Arika’s tree.

  Right. Bargi’s youthful spirit turned to face Kyle and Alex, who were both pleased by Tim’s decision. If your father is going to make it out of here alive, you’re going to have to do the saving.

  Kyle was horrified to discover that Arika was looking at him. Me! But I’ve been completely useless today.

  Because your power stems from the restrained Turramulli, but I have some inheritance for you, young warrior. She smiled reassuringly, her eyes fixed on Kyle, as her assassin raised his gun and took aim at his target. Any moment now. The bullets caused Bargi’s spirit form to reverberate with each impact, but her pain and distress were fleeting and again she smiled. Now they’ve done it.

  Kyle noticed Book’s creatures stirring in the shadows; he heard them too and they didn’t sound happy.

  ‘The old bugger was a sitting duck!’ commented the sniper to his three mates, who left the cover of the tunnel and came out into the open. ‘What the hell was the boss on about? That was easy.’

  Arika turned to her physical body. At the crown chakra, located at the top of the old woman’s head, her remaining life force was coming together in a ball of sparkling energy. With her fingers Arika beckoned the mass to her and she regarded it fondly for a moment, before turning to Kyle. This is the blessed gift given to me by the Great Spirit a lifetime ago. It is mine to pass to whomever I choose … and my elemental friends agree that the inheritance must go to you.

  Me! There was a time when Kyle would have been excited by this gift, but instead he felt overawed, surprised and humbled. ‘I am not worthy, Matong Bargi, or ready for such a responsibility.’ He took a step backwards only to have five sets of hands push him forward. Turning to investigate, Kyle found Kyron, Crystaleyes, Adreana, Blue and the fiery girl child, Burn-a-debt, all nodding in encouragement. Book’s elementals were gathering around the otherworldly guardians of his being, in vaster numbers than Kyle had ever known.

  Wee-y-teena wundurra, the creatures of the nature kingdoms chanted in perfect unison, as they emerged from their union with the surrounding flora like the chameleons they were.

  Kyle didn’t have to ask what the words meant, as their meaning presented itself in his mind. ‘Rainbow warrior,’ was the chorus.

  It’s responsibility you fear. Think of it as respond-to-ability … put that way it doesn’t seem so daunting now, does it?

  Kyle shook his head; indeed it did not.

  You must be careful with the English language, Arika shared her experience. Try not to be blinded by the connotation of a word and miss the deeper meaning. Book has taught you much, and by ‘book’ Arika referred to those gathered entities which had played out the characters and story so well, but no amount of learning can qualify you to believe in yourself. Only the self can achieve that for the self, to the betterment of all there is.

  Kyle immediately thought of the unfolding court case. The hunters were now headed around the far end of the waterway; it wouldn’t be too long before they discovered his father. ‘Then I guess I’ve graduated from Book’s school of life … I do believe I can take it from here.’

  Kyle bowed his head in acceptance and Arika placed the glittering orb upon his crown, whereupon the ethereal matter was absorbed into his energy field.

  Kyle felt as if a stream of light-filled lemonade was pouring into his body, and for a moment the sparkling silver and gold bubbles blinded him as they poured through his being.

  For the child you have created and her children … use the knowledge wisely and pass it on.

  Everything came sharply into focus for Kyle, and he was not surprised to find that Arika’s spirit form was no longer present.

  ‘Look!’ cried one of the killers, all of whom had been oblivious to the supernatural gathering until now. ‘There’s a thicket growing around the old witch.’

  At least, that’s how it appeared to their eyes. What Kyle saw were the creatures of the forest lovingly wrapping Arika’s remains in nature’s blanket, which they spun industriously while also weeping for the departure of their guiding light and dear friend.

  ‘Jesus!’ Understandably, the sight of the corpse being eaten by the vegetation freaked the intruders into a retreat.

  Tim gave a silent sigh of relief as he couldn’t have breathed in much more; he had been as hard pressed to the tree as he could possibly be.

  Kyle focused on the entrance to Arika’s dwelling and willed the thicket to close over, blocking the escape of Nivok’s hired muscle, and the elementals of the forest flocked to their new master’s bidding.

  ‘The tunnel is collapsing!’ one of the men cried on his way back into the clearing.

  ‘It isn’t collapsing. It’s growing!’

  They attempted to shoot their way out, but Kyle willed that the men see all their weapons turn into reptiles. Discarding all the offending items from their persons, they watched as the weapons were swallowed by the earth.

  ‘What’s going on here?’ One of the men became quite hysterical, and his mates weren’t much calmer, except for one of them.

  ‘Calm down,’ the bravest of the bunch demanded. ‘It’s an illusion of some kind — maybe gas?’

  Kyle chuckled with delight. Yes! I’m back! Directing his thoughts to the intruders, he made his announcement in the voice of a horrid old witch.

  Nothing worthwhile is ever easy. Kyle gave permission for the many angry nature elementals converging upon the four intruders to keep them amused for a while.

  A cement-like substance poured over the boots of one of the men and he became stuck fast to the spot; as the three remaining hunters backed away in fear, a second man was entwined in the branches of a nearby tree and drawn into a hollow in its trunk.

  The fellow who had first reacted hysterically was whisked into the air, where he was whirled and thrown so violently that he lost his voice.

  Even the bravest of the men, the one who had shot Arika, couldn’t fail to be daunted by the screams of his comrades. He had relinquished his weapons to the earth, but he refused to relinquish his body. He edged around the waterhole and away from the commotion, but the reeds took a fancy to the man’s ankles, and having hooked their victim, they reeled him into the waterhole kicking and screaming.

  Play nice now. Kyle made light of the proceedings and the creatures of the forest laughed at his jest.

  Kyle noticed that his father had emerged from hiding and was watching the proceedings with great amusement. How weird must the activity be
from his perspective? Alex was standing beside Tim revelling in his amusement; Tim so seldom smiled and now Kyle knew why.

  I have a present for you both, he announced, sure that Tim could now hear him clearly. You’d better sit down, Dad. Kyle was getting used to bestowing that term on Tim now. His father was intrigued as he obeyed his son.

  ‘What manner of gift does one have to sit down for?’

  Yes, what are you up to? Alex grinned, excited by her suspicions.

  A present is supposed to be a surprise. Kyle moved Alex out of his path and squatted in front of his father to focus his will upon him. Just once in my life I will have all my family together in the same place at the same time. Bring him out!

  At Kyle’s words, Tim felt a stirring within himself that he’d only ever felt once before. ‘Book of Dreams,’ he mumbled as his sight blurred.

  Tim’s torso fell backwards, leaving his spirit form seated upright in the wake of his physical form’s collapse.

  When Tim’s etheric sight kicked in, his wife and son were both crouching before him waiting for acknowledgement. ‘So this is heaven?’

  ‘Or the closest thing you’re going to get to it for a while,’ joked Kyle, as he was swept into a group hug.

  ‘We have more company.’ Kyron alerted them all.

  Immediately Kyle received a flash vision of the exterior entrance to Arika’s dwelling and he saw men approaching on foot and in vehicles from all directions. ‘Something or someone must have alerted the clan,’ he commented to his parents, issuing the silent instruction to the elemental creatures who controlled the entrance to raise the natural blockade and allow Bargi’s extended family to enter. As Bargi’s murderers were so exhausted from their punishment at the hands of the elemental creatures of her abode, Kyle requested the men be released from the taunting.

  The elder who had led Kyle’s initiation ceremony was the first man to enter Bargi’s dwelling, and upon seeing Bargi dead, and the hunters lying about half dead themselves, he beckoned his relatives to make haste and seize the intruders.

  Kyle wondered if he could will that he be seen by the elder, whereupon the aging fellow fixed Kyle in his sights.

  To him, Kyle appeared as spirit, but the whirling colours of Kyle’s fully functioning chakra system were all too apparent. ‘Wee-yteena wundarra.’ He repeated the chant that had summoned him here today and bowed his head to Kyle, knowing he was responsible for the containment of the men answerable for the oracle’s death. ‘Arika’s prophecy is fulfilled.’

  ‘At Matong Bargi’s expense, regretfully.’ Kyle motioned to a piece of earth, which opened and spat forth a gun. ‘The murder weapon,’ he advised. ‘These are the men who attacked Felix’s place earlier today. Forensics should be able to establish that easily enough.’ Kyle then noticed two of the clan attempting to revive his father. ‘Tim does not wish to be disturbed.’

  The elder called out to his kindred to leave Tim be, and then looked back to Kyle. ‘You’re done here, we shall accompany these men to justice. I feel you will be of far greater service to the Great Spirit and our forefathers elsewhere.’

  Kyle’s eyes shot open. ‘The court case!’

  Kimba was in the process of presenting evidence to establish a case for dispute between James and David Nivok over the development of the piece of land still being argued over that day. As the basis of David Nivok’s objection to developing the land when he inherited it, Kimba presented the attachment to Barnett Nivok’s will, which had been handed down with the Nivok’s family estate over the ages. Kimba then raised the supposition that James had tricked his brother into signing the forms for an exploration permit. To bear testimony to this claim, Kimba called old Charlie from Nivok security to the stand.

  At the time in question, Charlie testified he had been aware that David Nivok intended to sue his brother James for fraudulent misrepresentation, but David had been persuaded to refrain from legal action.

  Nivok’s lawyer attempted to discredit the witness as someone who had been recently fired by Nivok Industries and thus bore James Nivok malice. To which Charlie had pointed out to the court that he’d been dismissed over Zoe Nivok’s reported kidnapping, which had turned out to be a false charge. The security guard intended to take up his wrongful dismissal with Nivok Industries presently.

  After advising the court of the history of Turrammelin mountain, which explained Barnett Nivok’s reasons for writing the attachment to his will, Kimba was just about out of monologue. The story had clearly captured the sympathies of Judge Rupert, but without Ivan to place on the stand, Kimba could not make her case-altering allegation against James.

  ‘This history lesson has been most enlightening indeed,’ granted the judge, ‘but I fail to see where your case is leading the court, Miss Nura-Jirrand.’

  Kimba had been expecting this prompt from the judge for the last hour. She looked at Zoe, who was checking the message bank on her mobile phone, and with a huge smile of relief, the heiress gave Kimba the thumbs up. The young lawyer drew in a deep calming breath, before turning her sights back to the judge. ‘Your honour, as I have already established, this piece of land has a long and bloody history. I refer not only to the bloodletting of my Matong Bargi’s people, but to numerous other unsolved murders that all have some relationship to this piece of land and the man who has wanted so desperately to develop it these past twenty years.’

  ‘Objection, your honour.’ Nivok’s lawyer was on his feet and sounding outraged. ‘This is a land dispute hearing, not a witch hunt!’

  ‘Overruled,’ the judge decided after a moment’s consideration. ‘Still, I will have the claim struck from the record if you do not have very strong evidence to support a case for suspicious circumstances.’

  ‘I have a key witness on the way to this court as we speak, your honour,’ Kimba appealed for patience. ‘If I could beg the court for five minute’s grace.’

  ‘Objection.’ Nivok’s lawyer was on his feet again. ‘Are we to have the courts time wasted —’

  ‘Sustained,’ the judge reluctantly granted; she ran the risk of appearing biased if she indulged the young lawyer’s request. ‘I’m afraid …’

  Kimba’s heart sank, as she realised her request was about to be denied. And yet, her hope did not fade, for she felt in her soul that Kyle would not fail; she sensed her cousin’s haste, he was close.

  ‘If you cannot produce this key witness —’ the judge was distracted as the doors to the courtroom burst open and in charged Kyle alongside Ivan, with Matt and Rex in tow.

  Kimba’s heart was pounding ten to the dozen with relief and exhilaration; finally the truth could be known. Kyle was grinning as he waved, gave her the thumbs up and took a seat near Charlie, with the rest of the late arrivals. Her eyes met those of James Nivok, who was looking very worried at how chummy his bodyguard seemed to be with his enemies. Kimba served the tycoon an unnerving wink and a grin, as she turned to advise the judge. ‘The defence calls Ivan Zevron to the stand.’

  As soon as Ivan took the stand Nivok’s life was all over: Kimba had plotted her defence to get a full confession out of her witness with very few questions. ‘Did James Nivok trick his brother into signing the forms for an exploration permit for Turrammelin mountain? Did James Nivok plot to murder his brother and sister-in-law in order to obtain access to the piece of land? Did James pay a considerable amount of money to Ivan to arrange the explosion that claimed the lives of David Nivok and his wife? And is it not true that another large sum of money was paid by James Nivok to Ivan recently, to have a similar explosive device placed in a vehicle of Harry Nura-Jirrand — the target being Timothy Burke, who James originally attempted to frame for his brother’s murder?’

  The court erupted with conjecture and shock when Ivan confessed everything on all counts and the judge agreed that the evidence shed an entirely new light on this case.

  On suspicion of the murder of David and Elizabeth Novik, and Harry Nura-Jirrand, the court detained James Nivok and Iv
an Zevron for questioning by police. A final ruling on the land at Turrammelin mountain could only be given once all charges against James Nivok and his bodyguard had been heard. If the court found James Nivok guilty of his brother’s murder, however, Judge Rupert would be recommending that all rights held by James Nivok in regard to Turrammelin mountain be removed, and that Zoe Nivok be awarded full ownership, to dispense with the property as she saw fit.

  As the court was dismissed, a victory cheer sounded from the Turrammelin mountain team.

  ‘Looks like you’re back in work.’ Kyle turned to Charlie and shook his hand, ahead of being pulled into a hug.

  ‘I might even put in for a raise,’ Charlie sat back to wink.

  ‘I’m betting you’ll get it too.’ Kyle granted that the old bloke had more than earned it. He stood to go congratulate his girls, who were currently hugging each other and doing a victory dance. ‘The bushfire from hell,’ Kyle said in praise of Kimba as he approached. He’d never seen Kimba teary-eyed before, and he was delighted when she embraced him tightly and with great affection announced, ‘I was never so glad to see anyone as I was to see you coming through that door, you really came through for us.’

  ‘No.’ Kyle couldn’t take the credit. ‘Our great-grandmother came through.’ The longing underlying Kyle’s statement conveyed the news of her death perfectly.

  With a gasp and a sob, Kimba collapsed into her cousin’s arms and was tempted to cry like a baby. The loss almost outweighed the gain in her eyes.

  ‘But … I’m still here,’ Kyle said in a bright and quirky tone, which served to stoke Kimba’s spirits. ‘And, on a happier note, it gives me great pleasure to inform you that the men responsible for our losses are being accompanied by our kin straight to the closest police station, where they will confess their crimes and blow the whistle on their employer.’

  ‘Aw.’ Zoe squeezed in under Kyle’s free arm to give him a hug. She was very proud and grateful.