The Dark Rider (Fading Light)

by Andrew Critchell

  ‘I must apologise for this mist,’ said Gwen looking up and around her. ‘It is spoiling your view of the wood.’ She looked at Alex and smiled. Alex felt her gaze searching deep into her consciousness, the smile fixed, time stretching to the horizon. Gwen looked away as she spoke again. ‘It comes more frequently now.’

  ‘I found Paul,’ said Alex.

  ‘I know,’ said Gwen staring forwards. ‘We must speak of him.’

  The two carried on walking, time almost visible in the mist of the wood. Alex looked to Gwen but the woman did not meet her gaze. Alex looked away again and gasped in surprise. They were standing in a clearing on a mountaintop. Bright sunlight filled her gaze and she saw the vastness of the forest, reaching out for miles on either side, a deep cloak of golden yellows, reds and browns rising and falling across deep valleys and mountains as far as they eye can see. Alex could see mist hanging within the trees lit like wildfire by the intense light of the sun. Above them the sky was a deep blue and she saw a falcon soaring high in the air. She watched its powerful wings burning with morning light.

  ‘It’s beautiful,’ whispered Alex. ‘I have never seen anything so beautiful.’

  ‘I am glad,’ said Gwen, humour and warmth touching her voice. She turned to Alex, her voice soft.

  ‘A winter is coming,’ she said. ‘And snow borders our wood.’

  Alex looked eastwards, shielding her eyes from the light of the rising sun. Far in the distance she could see a faint streak of white, a fine dusting of powder on the horizon where the forest began.

  ‘But it is autumn here,’ said Alex.

  Gwen touched her arm. Again warmth and calm spread through her, the sense that this was real, that this was supposed to be.

  ‘Time runs its own course here.’

  Through a gentle pressure on her arm Gwen urged Alex forwards and they walked towards a solitary oak tree that stood in the middle of the clearing.

  ‘Time is running differently in the land,’ said Gwen as she led Alex under the branches of the oak. At its base gnarled roots formed a natural platform.

  ‘Please, Alex, sit down.’

  Alex sat, the wood of the oak solid yet seeming to pulse with life. Gwen gathered her cloak and sat next to her. Something made Alex turn. She saw armed men and women at the edge of the clearing, their brown and gold clothing blending with the nature of the wood. Alex looked back to Gwen, the tree’s great branches framing the sky behind her. She felt an urgency she had not felt before, as if something had changed in the air. Gwen remained passive, her eyes looking elsewhere.

  Alex looked away to the horizon, bright with sunlight. Within the sunlight she saw her brother, his eyes burning deep blue, the lightning forking through the sky behind him. She felt him pull away from her grip, remembered his words, remembered what she had seen in the brief instant of lightning. The vivid memories troubled her, yet the calmness of the wood soothed her and again she had the feeling that everything was right.

  ‘Paul said there was no awakening,’ she said. ‘I found him in your house. There was a storm and it was raining, I found him by the front door. He was going away, his eyes.’ A deep up welling of emotion swept across her. ‘They were blue, a deep blue, burning into me. He kicked me.’ She felt the bruise on her shoulder. ‘He said you were wrong. I tried to follow him but it was too dangerous. I don’t know what’s happened to him,’ Alex found herself looking into Gwen’s eyes which filled her vision. She felt Gwen’s hands holding her face, the touch so light yet pulsing with the force of life.

  ‘Darkness is spreading across the land,’ said Gwen. ‘I fear that the Dark holds your brother.’ Alex felt as if she was in a dream. All that filled her vision were Gwen’s eyes. All she heard was Gwen’s voice, seeming to come from inside her head. ‘Paul is wearing something but I cannot tell what it is. It has blocked him from me.’ Sadness filled Gwen’s voice, filled Alex’s consciousness. ‘Who gave it to him? Why are they hiding him from me? Paul is the chosen one. He is the truth, the awakening. The land is calling to him, Alex, but he has not answered.’ Urgency filled Alex’s mind. A sudden desperation of seeking so strong that Alex gasped. She wanted to pull away, to stop the intensity of power that was coursing through her mind but Gwen’s touch, so light, so delicate, gripped her mind like a vice and would not let go.

  ‘I see things through your eyes that should not be,’ said Gwen. ‘I see someone hiding your brother from me. I see the storm that he brings to the land and I see the rider on horseback where Paul should be. The Dark is rising Alex.’ Alex felt herself being pushed deeper into her mind, the current of life force flowing from Gwen’s touch overpowering her. She felt as if she was falling, falling away from the sky, deep into the land and into darkness and still Gwen’s voice held her. ‘I can see the land, Alex. I can feel its pulse and rhythm. It has found the one. But it is not Paul.’ For long moments Gwen did not speak, the touch between them still unbroken, and Alex floated in a void detached from the events happening around her.

  ‘No, it cannot be.’

  Abruptly Gwen pulled her hands away from Alex’s face. Alex felt herself coming awake, her eyes opening. She found herself still in the wood, everything as clear and fresh as before. The sun had risen higher from the horizon burning away some of the mist and lighting the shadows of the wood. Still the falcon soared high in the blue of the sky above them, its shrieking cries falling harshly on the air, while the branches of the oak reached skywards. Beside her Gwen looked down, her eyes shielded. When she raised her head her eyes were filled with a deep sadness and Alex was shocked to see the path of a single tear on her cheek. Alex felt such sadness and loss radiating from the woman next to her that she wanted to cry. All around the autumn wood was still and heavy with decay.

  ‘What is wrong?’ asked Alex, suddenly afraid of the answer.

  Gwen turned to face her, her eyes heavy with emotion.

  ‘Much is lost,’ she said.

  ‘What is it?’ asked Alex suddenly scared. ‘What has happened to Paul?’

  Gwen simply stared into her eyes for what seemed an eternity. Above them the falcon screamed and Alex looked up as it tucked its wings into its body and plummeted down from the sky like a stone. The falcon levelled out and flashed across the clearing. Then, as Alex watched, it seemed to shimmer and dissolve in mid-air and suddenly a tall man with cropped orange hair was running towards them where the falcon had been a moment before.

  Gwen rose to meet him and he stopped a few paces from her, piercing blue eyes taking in Alex and then meeting Gwen’s gaze. Alex stared back at him in disbelief. His eyes, that seemed to see through her, were set in a face that was striking rather than handsome. Rough stubble covered his chin and cheeks while sharp, angular features gave him an almost alien look. He was clothed in browns, yellows and reds with lightweight armour covered by a cloak that seemed to ripple and merge with the autumn colours. Beneath it Alex caught glimpses of a sword and, strapped around his torso, a short bow. All around them armed fighters were appearing from the trees to circle the clearing and Alex turned her head from side to side, suddenly scared as to what was happening

  ‘What is it?’ asked the man. ‘What did you see?’

  Gwen looked up at him. Her mouth opened to speak but for a long moment no sound came.

  ‘Gwen?’ he said, his features etched with concern.

  ‘It is over.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ he asked urgently.

  ‘How could I have been so blind?’ Gwen whispered.

  ‘You’re not making any sense.’ The man gripped her by the shoulders. ‘Please, tell me what has happened.’

  Gwen looked him full in the eyes. He was shocked to see nothing but darkness in return.

  ‘They will come here,’ said Gwen her voice rising in fear. ‘They will break the link.’

  ‘Gwen, please.’

  She broke his hold on her arms and stepped away.

  ‘Paul is not the chosen one.’

  Her words cu
t across the air piercing his consciousness like a knife through flesh.

  ‘That’s not possible,’ he replied through clenched jaws.

  ‘I have seen it Falk. Paul has become the Rider. I found the Rider and trained him as one of us.’ She looked at him, eyes filled with remorse. ‘Now he will lead them here to destroy us.’

  ‘This is not your doing,’ he said.

  ‘Yes it is Falk,’ she cried. ‘Myrkur blinded me. Somehow he made me believe.’

  ‘Then we must deal with this,’ he responded savagely. ‘If it is not Paul then who is the one? Can you sense them?’

  Gwen closed her eyes.

  ‘There is a girl.’

  ‘Has the awakening begun?’

  ‘Yes. She is near but still in the world above.’

  Gwen opened her eyes again refocusing on him.

  ‘They are already tracking her.’

  ‘If I can bring her here you can complete the awakening. We still have a chance.’

  As he spoke a squadron of swifts screamed into the clearing tearing through the air in a frenzy of calls. The man looked up as they swept past, wings paddling the sky, making two passes before rising as one and heading back the way they had come.

  ‘There are a thousand Serenti penetrating the eastern border,’ he spoke grimly. ‘With perhaps two thousand more on the plains.’

  Gwen’s head dropped for a moment.

  ‘It is too late.’

  ‘We can still fight,’ he said his face set with determination.

  Gwen was silent for a moment and then raised her head, turning to where Alex still sat on the oak bench unable to look away from them, her eyes wide with disbelief. She met Alex’s gaze, her eyes searching deep within Alex’s soul.

  ‘Not you, my brave Falk,’ Gwen whispered.

  He looked at her, confusion flitting across his face. She turned to him.

  ‘I cannot go back now but you can. I will face him here, to give you time.’

  ‘Time for what?’ he replied tensely.

  ‘Save the girl from the Rider. Keep her in the world above. I will place the essence of the Warders within Alex’s mind. When you are ready bring them together. All they need to do is to touch. Then the knowledge will be transferred and the awakening completed.’

  Seconds passed between them but for both it felt an eternity. Eventually he spoke, his jaw straining against the words.

  ‘You will sacrifice yourself?’

  ‘It is the only way,’ Gwen replied.

  ‘Then I will go,’ he said.

  ‘I will send her back now,’ said Gwen. Alex looked from one to the other, her mouth open to speak but nothing came out. Gwen looked at Falk compassion in her eyes. ‘She is his sister.’

  He met Alex’s gaze, his eyes cold and alien. She looked away in fear as Gwen turned and gripped her by the top of her arms.

  ‘When you wake, wait for him.’

  Gwen reached up to touch Alex’s forehead. Alex felt a sharp pain in her temples and then her mind began to shut down, her eyelids fluttered uncontrollably.

  ‘I give you this, Alex, so that you can give it to her. The link must not be broken.’

  Alex’s head throbbed with pain and she began to black out. The last thing she heard was Gwen’s voice.

  ‘Forgive me.’

  Chapter Fifteen

  The children had been downstairs watching television when the storm swept in. Hearing the rain and seeing the curtains light up like strobes they had run upstairs to watch in the darkness from their bedroom window.

  ‘I hope they remembered their umbrellas,’ said Vicky.

  ‘Who is it they’re meeting this time?’ asked Neil.

  ‘They were going to look at the health club, gym thing on the harbour.’

  A great streak of lightning lit the sky with a flash.

  ‘One, two, three,’ counted Neil before a crashing rumble of thunder seemingly rolled around the cottage.

  ‘It’s getting closer,’ said Vicky.

  They sat in silence, waiting for more.

  The sky flickered but they did not see the lightning itself. A faint rumble followed.

  ‘I think it’s moving away,’ said Neil. ‘Show’s over, I’m going to watch TV.’

  He got up and went to the door.

  ‘Coming?’ he asked.

  ‘No, I’m going to watch for a bit longer,’ said Vicky.

  ‘Ok,’ he said and disappeared from view. She heard his footsteps receding on the stairs and then a moment later the faint but unmistakable murmur of the television. She turned back to the rain soaked window and looked out into the pitch darkness.

  For a few minutes she saw nothing but then on the horizon she saw a light flicker for an instant. She began to count but when she got to twenty she stopped counting for she heard no thunder. Then she noticed that the sky was clearing for she could see a few stars between the mass of cloud. The lights flickered again in the same place and again there was no thunder. She fixed her gaze on the same spot and waited.

  There. Little balls of light were dancing for a few seconds, just above the land.

  A fox barked suddenly.

  Vicky looked down. In the garden below she could just make out the shapes of foxes moving across the lawn. One of them stopped and looked up at the window.

  Another bark penetrated the night.

  ‘It’s you again. What do you want?’ Vicky whispered.

  The fox called again, still staring up at the window. Then it turned and followed the others towards the hedge.

  ‘Do you want me to follow?’ she whispered breathlessly.

  The fox turned back and barked once more and then disappeared into the shadows.

  Trembling Vicky got up and went over to the door.

  ‘Neil?’ she called. Then again, a little louder. The sound of the TV went quiet and she heard the pad of footsteps crossing the lounge. A second later her brother’s head appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

  ‘What?’ he asked.

  ‘Come up here, there’s something weird going on.’

  ‘But I’m watching a shark program.’

  ‘Please?’ she asked.

  ‘Ok then,’ he sighed and began to climb up the stairs. He pushed the door open to find his sister standing and staring out the window at the horizon. He went over to her.

  ‘Look, over there,’ she said.

  ‘What? I can’t see anything.’

  ‘No, wait.’

  They waited for a full minute. Neil began to wonder if his sister was imagining things and then he saw something. Just for a few seconds balls of light danced on the horizon

  ‘There,’ she said waiting for the implication to sink in.

  ‘More lightning. Wow, big deal.’ He turned. ‘I’m going downstairs.’

  ‘But the storm’s gone,’ insisted Vicky.

  Neil paused and then turned back to look out the window seeing stars above them. As he did so more lights flashed.

  Vicky waited for a moment before replying. ‘It’s in the same direction as the wood. We have to go out there.’

  ‘What? I’m not going out there,’ said her brother. ‘It’s cold and dark and wet. What if mum and dad get back and we’re gone? They’ll go mental.’

  ‘Something's happening,’ replied Vicky earnestly.

  ‘How do you know?’ asked her brother.

  Vicky clamped her mouth shut. She did not want to tell him about the fox for he would think she was just being silly.

  ‘I just know,’ she said. ‘Please come with me.’

  He looked at her, seeing the look in her eyes.

  ‘You’re going anyway aren’t you?’ he said.

  ‘Yep,’ she replied.

  The children crept out into the cool of the night and around the side of the house. Everything was soaked with rain from the storm. Above them the last of the cloud was clearing away to the east and the moon soon appeared lighting the land in pale ivory. Neil turned off the torch he was carrying f
or it was bright enough without it.

  They found the gap in the hedge and squeezed through. The land stretched away in front of them, shadows stark across the monochrome landscape. It looked cold and uninviting.

  ‘Well, I guess this is the point of no return,’ said Neil. He looked at his sister. ‘You still want to do this?’

  She nodded, swallowing down the apprehension she was feeling inside.

  He set off, leading the way across the field towards the edge of the moorland. They reached the gate and went through.

  The land was silent.

  ‘I’m scared,’ whispered Vicky.

  ‘Hey, this was your idea remember.’

  ‘Is this the right way?’ asked Vicky. ‘What if we get lost?’

  Neil peered into the distance. Lights flickered again like strobes, nearer now.

  ‘It’s got to be that way,’ he said. ‘Come on, let’s go.’

  They walked on, treading uncomfortably across the mounds of wet heather. A wind began to blow and as they walked further they felt it tugging on their clothes. Ahead the landscape flickered, sudden bright balls of light shooting across the heather outlining the moorland in stark detail. On the horizon they could just make out the wood but it was still far away. Behind them a sudden volley of barks made them jump.

  ‘Foxes,’ exclaimed Neil. As he spoke they heard the heather rustling all them and, before they could react, a fox bounded past them followed quickly by another. Neil snapped on the torch and swung it around them. Foxes were everywhere, all running in the same direction towards the lights.

  ‘Whoa, this is getting weird,’ said Neil. ‘Are you sure you want to keep going?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Vicky, her voice determined.

  They pressed on, the wind and the sound beginning to increase. More balls of light arced across the land.

  ‘This is getting too strange, I think we should go back,’ said Neil having to raise his voice over the growing noise.

  ‘No, we can't,’ said Vicky. ‘We have to go on.’

  ‘Look, there’s something there,’ called Neil running forward.

  ‘Neil, wait,’ cried Vicky running after him, not wanting to lose him. All around her light, noise and wind began to increase in intensity, overloading her senses. She stumbled on, reaching her brother who was kneeling next to something on the ground. With a shock she realised it was a body.