‘Falk,’ Nicola screamed.
Falk jinked the bike sharply to the right. A shot went off missing them by several metres. The road curved and they swept round the bend momentarily losing sight of their pursuers. Up ahead was a fork, the main road continuing on the right while on the left a farm track branched off towards a wood on the horizon. Falk killed the throttle and pulled on the back brakes. The back wheel locked and they skidded along until level with the track and then Falk gunned the engine and they swerved viscously onto the rutted path. A few seconds behind them the five cars slammed on their brakes, fishtailing along the road as they made the turning.
Falk accelerated hard pulling away quickly but soon the cars were gaining on them again. The lane twisted and dropped down into a shallow depression, high hedgerows growing on either side cutting off their view of the wood. A farmhouse flashed past and then up ahead they could see the track ending as it went through an open gateway and into a large yard.
They passed through and Falk braked, spinning the bike round as he took in the ramshackle barns, rusting farm equipment and large bank that surrounded the yard. Their escape was now cut off as the first of the cars shot through the gap and began a long sweeping skid as the driver tried to brake and encircle Falk and Nicola at the same time. The other cars were close behind and began to fan out as they shot into the yard. Falk slammed the throttle open, narrowly escaping the rear end of the first car as it swerved past them, and then they were off, speeding across the yard and headed straight for the bank in the far corner.
‘Hold on,’ shouted Falk over his shoulder and then he pulled on the handlebars to raise the front wheel as they hit the bank. Nicola felt her body weight thrust forwards with the impact and then back again as the bike shot up the incline and then they were over the top and Falk pulled with all his might and they were airborne. For a few seconds the jarring and knocking was gone as they flew as if in slow motion through the air. Then, as the ground rose up unnervingly quickly to embrace them, Nicola grabbed Falk as tightly as she could and they slammed down into the soft earth with a sickening thud. The back wheel span madly and then gripped and Falk fought to keep the bike under control and then he had it.
The wood was filling the horizon now. Nicola risked a backward glance. Ten dark shapes had appeared on the skyline and were now loping down the bank and onto the moorland behind them. The wolves fanned out, flanks rising and falling as their powerful muscles propelled them easily through the heather and bracken.
‘Falk,’ Nicola cried out. He turned his head and saw them.
It was then that he felt it.
For a moment he was in the other world, ice bound trees flashing past on either side under the frozen night sky. The wolves were dark shadows all around them.
Something was pulling him back from the world above.
This was not possible.
Blinking hard he forced himself back into the present. He had to fight it. He had to get Nicola to Alex. Grimacing he drew on as much energy as he dared fighting against the increasing pull.
They sped on across the moorland towards the wood. The bike rode the uneven ground on the knife edge of control. Behind them the phalanx of wolves followed, an arrowhead of malevolent fury that was slowly but inevitably gaining on them. Desperately Falk opened the throttle as wide as he could as sudden flashes of darkness and ice filled his vision. He shook his head crying out with rage as he did so.
The wood filled the horizon. It was only then that Nicola realised what was wrong. The wood was bathed in warm summer sunlight yet the trees were all leafless. It was as if the wood had suddenly died. A deep sense of foreboding filled her consciousness.
They hit the bank that surrounded the first of the trees. Dead leaves littered the ground and Falk steered his way through, tree trunks flashing past on either side. Behind them yelping and contact calls came from the wolves as they entered the wood in hot pursuit.
Falk reached out with his awareness sensing the Rider up ahead and also the faint trace of Alex. His heart quickened in his chest. She was alive and conscious. Somehow the Rider had got her back. For a moment he dared to hope.
They were almost there. A hundred metres at most and they would break out of the cover of the wood and into the clearing. Swerving to avoid a clump of trees Falk missed the fallen log, the end of which was covered by leaves. Before he could react the bike clipped the broken wood and began to oscillate wildly heading towards a large beech tree.
‘Jump,’ he shouted to Nicola and held the bike as long as he could before he leapt off and tumbled over the ground coming up in darkness, his sword held in one hand, bows and arrows slung over his shoulder.
‘No,’ he shouted squeezing his eyes shut and forcing his image back into the upworld. He opened his eyes. The bike was a mangled wreck ten feet behind the beech. Nicola was pushing herself slowly up from the ground to his left shaking her head to try and clear the ringing in her ears. He ran over to her and grabbed her by the shoulder pulling her roughly onto her feet.
‘We have to run,’ he shouted. Nicola stared in disbelief into his wild eyes as the snarling reached them and the first of the wolves could be seen approaching fast through the trees.
‘Go,’ he shouted at her, pushing her away from him and towards the clearing. ‘GO.’
Nicola backed away from him and then spun around and began to flee, her legs slipping on the soft ground until she was able to get into her stride. She ran as hard as she could with terror in her eyes. Behind her Falk turned to face the wolves.
Chapter Twenty Eight
Paul opened his eyes slowly and looked around. They were in the clearing in the wood but this time in the real world. All around them the trees were dead and dying, brown leaves littering the floor. The sun shone down from a cloudless sky bathing everything in warmth. Alex was stirring. Her eyes flickered open and then she blinked against the brightness, like a baby waking and wondering where it was. Then, after a few seconds, she shot upright, looking around with wildness in her eyes.
‘Where the hell am I?’
She turned, finally taking him in, her eyes widening in shock and recognition.
‘Paul,’ she exclaimed staring at him open mouthed.
‘Hi Alex,’ he replied warily.
She paused trying to take it all in. Then something within her snapped and she leapt at him, fists flailing against his body.
‘You bastard,’ she cried out as she struck at him, tears in her eyes. ‘You bastard.’
Paul grabbed her arms and held them until she stopped struggling and then she fell against him great sobs racking her body.
‘Hey, it’s going to be ok,’ said Paul stroking her back. The empty words were chilling him. ‘It’s all going to be ok.’
Eventually Alex settled down and then pulled away from him. She regarded him with tear stained eyes.
‘I know it’s all real Paul. All the magic and stuff Aunt Gwen said. I know it’s real. I’m sorry I doubted you.’
‘There’s nothing to be sorry for,’ Paul replied quietly.
‘What happened to you Paul? You ran off in the storm and then were gone. Then some awful stuff happened to me. I saw Aunt Gwen in a wood but she was young and said there was something wrong, that you were not the one and she put something in my head which gave me such a headache. Then there were these two police at her house but they weren’t Police but some kind of wolves and they had pictures of you and some girl but Gwen’s warrior guy Falk rescued me from them but he took me to some place like the wood. It was all frozen over and we were chased by these monsters and I killed one but then I passed out and I don’t remember anything else until now.’
She looked up at him earnestly.
‘He said he could not get me back but we’re back aren’t we? Tell me where back in the real world.’
Paul felt his heart thumping hard in his chest.
‘Yes,’ he said.
‘And you? They said the awakening had gone wrong, that you
were some kind of monster, killing their warriors and betraying everyone. Tell me it isn’t true.’
‘It’s not true,’ said Paul. His soul was dying within him as he spoke.
‘Thank God for that,’ said Alex visibly relaxing. ‘If you’d said yes I don’t know what I would have done.’
She looked around seeing the dead trees.
‘Where are we?’
‘In a wood outside of Penwryn. It’s the same clearing you saw Aunt Gwen.’
Alex’s eyes opened in wonder.
‘So it exists here too.’
She stood up but then began to waver. Paul jumped up and caught her just as she fell. He gently lowered her down until she was sitting on the ground. Concern was etched on his face. Just what had Myrkur done? Was it only enough to ensure Nicola and Falk’s entrapment?
‘Whoa, everything went kind of black and dizzy. I guess I stood up too quick.’
‘You need to rest,’ Paul said. ‘You’ve been through a lot.’
‘I know,’ Alex replied. She was holding her head in her hands. ‘I feel absolutely shattered, and I still have this headache.’ She looked up at him.
‘Can we go home now?’
‘Not yet,’ said Paul quietly.
She looked at him quizzically.
‘Why not? I’m so tired I just need to sleep.’
‘There’s something we still have to do.’
Alex sharpened her gaze on him, her body tensing unconsciously.
‘What’s that?’
‘Complete the awakening.’
Alex pushed herself up and struggled to her feet.
‘Shit Paul, I thought you said it was all a lie.’
‘Not that,’ he replied. ‘It’s true that I was not awakened. It was not me.’
‘Great. So what else haven’t you told me? Bloody hell, I don’t know what to believe.’
She spun round to face away from him.
‘They had no right to get you involved like this,’ he said.
She looked back at him.
‘I’m not taking this anymore Paul. I’m not waiting around for stuff to happen to me that is out of my control. I don’t care what you think is supposed to happen but I’m going.’
With that she stormed off. Paul called out after her.
‘No wait Alex, it’s too dangerous.’
‘Not listening,’ she called over her shoulder.
‘They’re coming.’
Paul blinked hard as the voice of Myrkur filled his consciousness. His heart skipped a beat and then began to race in his chest. The taint was all around him, encircling the clearing and infiltrating the very fabric of reality.
So this was the end.
His stomach churned as the sickly feeling of power filled everything. He looked around wildly. The trees shimmered and the sky itself turned to darkness as if a cloak had been placed over it and suddenly they were in the mirror world. Alex was already half way across the clearing but now she slowed and had turned to look at him, her face filled with confusion. To his left he heard a cry and his head snapped round. A figure emerged from the trees and in a split second he recognised Nicola. She was already running hard across the open ground towards him. Behind her enveloped in a ball of white light was Falk, his figure flashing strobe light as he battled with wolves.
Paul wanted to cry out. To tell them to run away but his mind was in paralysis. The Rider had woken within him, its presence rising to take control of his body. Already he felt the warhorse beneath him, its powerful muscles tense and ready. In his hand the dragon sword gleamed.
Falk let his awareness expand for an instant. He sensed Paul, and the sister in the clearing, although they were not together. Nicola was already half way across the space. All he had to do was hold off the wolves for a few seconds more but something was troubling him. Why did the sister look like she was running away?
It was then that he felt reality shifting around him. From nowhere a curtain of dark magic was enveloping the clearing and pulling it away, cutting its link with the real world. Falk turned his head to see the Rider staring at him, his face an unreadable mask.
‘Betrayer,’ Falk roared in fury before turning back to fend off another attack. Already some of the wolves had broken free and were sprinting towards Alex, their jaws glistening with saliva. Seeing this Falk launched himself into the air, his body shimmering into the shape of the falcon. He flashed across the distance between them slashing at the wolves with his talons.
Nicola saw the woodland change to darkness around her as she ran. Fighting panic, she kept her eyes centred on Paul, for he was the only constant she could understand. He was standing in the middle of the clearing, his face set in some emotion she could not read. Then his form darkened for an instant and seemed to shimmer and in his place stood the Rider and Nicola shuddered to a stop in fear. A black hole was opening around him and within it she saw dark creatures mounted on horseback. Moonlight flashed off the blades of cruel looking weapons. Harsh cries filled the air. Before she could even comprehend what was happening they began to pour into the clearing all around her.
Paul had betrayed her.
Now she would die.
‘No,’ she screamed as her whole body was jolted and she felt herself lifted upwards. Twisting she found herself staring into red malevolent eyes that gleamed at her from within the face of a monster. She struggled with all her might but the grip was like a vice around her chest crushing her and she could not break free. Another scream sounded out across the clearing as a phalanx of Serenti riders charged through the wolves pursuing Alex. Before Falk could react one of them had grabbed her and hoisted her onto its horse. Screaming in rage he banked hard and climbed away into the sky.
Paul stood in the centre of the maelstrom, his warhorse moving restlessly beneath him. In front of him the Serenti cavalry swept across the clearing, their horses in a perfect arrowhead formation. The outermost riders on either side of the leading section held Nicola and Alex. As they approached, the remaining Serenti encircled the clearing cutting off any escape. The horsemen came to a stop in front of Paul and suddenly everything was still and quiet. Alex was staring at him, her eyes wide with terror while Nicola sat with head bowed.
A sudden suffocating cold enveloped the clearing. Paul turned his head to see the cloaked riders of Myrkur’s guard emerging slowly from the trees. At their centre came the massive warhorse of Myrkur himself, the man’s shadowed form swaying smoothly in the saddle in time with the animal’s movements. The guardsmen stopped in front of Paul and then parted, the great beast walking through the opening and coming to a halt alongside him. Myrkur’s darkened cowl swivelled slowly towards him and Paul found himself staring into its lightless depths. He fought to breathe against the choking, frozen air.
‘You have kept your promise,’ Myrkur’s voice spoke in his mind. ‘And I will keep mine. Your sister will live.’
A shout came from across the clearing. Myrkur’s cowl turned to where a man was standing on the edge of the trees. He was holding something in his hand and waving it in front of him.
‘Master,’ he shouted, his voice cutting across the space between them. ‘I have the Key.’
Paul felt a jolt of recognition within him and then a sudden desire so strong he could hardly control it.
‘So you remember, Rider,’ said Myrkur’s voice in his mind.
Images and thoughts flashed into his mind. He was flying, the dragon solid beneath him. Its wings beat their constant dance with the air as they moved. The fires still burned beneath him, structures and bodies aflame. Beyond the perimeter the Serenti were regrouping. He could just make out the Warder lying crumpled on the ground in front of one of the Serenti horses, the only one they had taken alive. He smiled as he banked over the devastation.
Paul blinked, the memory gone. In its place came a swirl of thoughts and emotions that filled his mind without control. Rage at his banishment by the Light poured into his veins filling his muscles with fire. He would take
back that which was rightfully his and bring flame and destruction down upon those who had taken him. He would unlock the dragons and unleash them again onto the world.
‘Bring it here,’ Paul’s voice called out although he had not commanded it. The Serenti ringing the clearing parted and slowly the man began to walk across the open ground towards them. As he approached Paul felt the pendant around his neck beginning to burn against his skin. The Rider’s presence expanded within his mind filling him with anticipation and longing so strong that for a moment Paul was no longer conscious of himself, his mind flung into a black void empty of everything except his own terror. Was this what it would mean to become the Rider? Condemned to insanity in this eternity of darkness? Desperately he struggled to return, to banish the Rider from his consciousness. He thought of anything, clutching onto memories of himself, and he felt a give in the Rider’s strength. He poured his soul into the gap, felt the Rider shifting as it tried to block him, but the Rider was not yet strong enough. Suddenly Paul felt himself surrounded by his own body again, a deep ragged breath filling his lungs. With a sudden jolt he opened his eyes.
The man was half way across the distance between them. He came nearer, his trembling hand outstretched, and as Paul focused, he could see the key dangling from the man’s open palm, gleaming cruelly in the frigid moonlight.
Myrkur’s voice filled his mind.
‘Take the Key Arachar. Reclaim your power and your rightful place at my side.’
Paul felt himself being pushed away again, smothered by the strengthening Rider until he felt he was drowning. He wrestled for control, fighting to keep himself intact. The pendant burned like fire against his chest and he reached down with his hand pulling it out from under his armour. It was glowing cold blue and as it came free the key matched its colour forcing the man holding it to shield his eyes.
The Dark Rider (Fading Light) Page 26
