by Rudi James
Before Drum had time to say any more a mid-air burst of white light drew their attention. It was Shirrac. He looked extremely irate as he came quickly down to earth.
Drum heaved a sigh of relief. ‘Thank goodness you are alright’
‘Alright? I most certainly am not alright,’ roared Shirrac. ‘My amulet has been taken by that awful brother of mine. I swear to you, if I ever get my hands on him I shall personally wring his scrawny neck.’ Shirrac calmed down a little after this outburst. ‘I'm sorry,’ he said, ‘I shouldn't be yelling at you, it’s not your fault.’
They were all astonished at Shirrac’s display of temper; it was so out of character.
‘That's quite all right,’ said Drum, after a few moments. ‘Under the circumstances I think you’re entitled to be angry and we’ve already been told about the amulet, by Boris here. What happened?’
Shirrac had completely calmed down and spoke rationally once more. ‘Let me take a seat and I'll tell you. I need to sit down.’
They listened as Shirrac gave his account of what had happened.
‘I was making my way to Tanglin’s Haven, that’s another of our villages at the northern perimeter of the forest,’ said Shirrac, turning his attention to Alex. ‘And had just landed with my escorts. I had intended to hold council with Tamalar, the village Elder and the Elders from the east and west villages, when three Sand Dwellers burst out of the trees, pointing one of those infernal lances at us. They immediately demanded I hand over my amulet. I had no time to respond so I had no choice but to give it to them. They made off with it back into the forest. The one with the lance was pointing it at us all the while. I feel so bad that I didn't try to stop them.’ He held his head in his hands. ‘No doubt Droch has possession of the amulet by now.’
Alex, listening to Shirrac’s account, felt anger rising within him. ‘If you had tried to stop them you would surely be dead now. You saw what those lances can do. There was absolutely nothing you could have done, so don’t blame yourself.’ Alex hoped that his words would restore Shirrac's confidence.
Shirrac looked up. ‘Thank you for that, young man. I feel a little better now.’
‘Alex he right,’ interrupted Boris.
‘I spoke briefly with the other Elders,’ continued Shirrac, ‘and we decided that we should make all haste to the crystal location, to warn Seggim that Droch may be coming his way. He will certainly know how to deal with him.’
Shirrac turned to Alex again. ‘Seggim, as perhaps has been mentioned, is a great friend of ours and I’m sure you’ll meet him. In fact Drum has the only other amulet that can get us to him quickly. My amulet has a special link with Seggim, but only when I’m wearing it. I'm sure he senses something is wrong, but won’t know what. The amulet will have warned him that something is amiss. I think Drum should get his amulet and go at once to see Seggim.’ He looked at Drum, who nodded in agreement. ‘If you wish, Alex, you can go with him,’ added Shirrac.
‘I wouldn't have it any other way,’ said Alex. ‘Where exactly is this place?’
Shirrac looked at Alex long and hard. ‘You may change your mind when I tell you, and you may well find it difficult to grasp.’
‘I doubt it,’ replied Alex, with more confidence than he felt. ‘Tell me where.’
There was a long silence before Shirrac spoke. ‘At the very edge of the known universe.’
Chapter ten
The Sentinels
The expression on Alex's face, one of almost total disbelief, convinced all of them that he would change his mind about going with Drum. They were wrong.
‘If anyone else had told me what you’ve just told me I’d think they were crazy and I’d find it impossible to believe. Because of what I’ve seen already, I do believe it. It seems the best thing for me to do would be not to go with you. I’ve seen the way you do things and what you can do. I know I can trust my safety in your hands so I’m going with you. Besides, it’ll be a whole new adventure.’
They all looked at him. It was their turn to show disbelief. They clapped their hands and patted him on the back. ‘Bravo Alex, bravo.’
‘That's settled then,’ declared Drum, ‘I had better fetch my amulet.’
Everyone stood up and began to walk back to the village with Drum. Boris was the first to speak. ‘Me too want to go,’ he said. ‘Is possible?’
Shirrac stared at Drum, and Drum at Alex, with looks of surprise once more on their faces. Eventually Alex spoke.
‘How many can the amulet transport?’
Shirrac sighed. ‘I don't know. As many as you like as far as I’m aware. It won’t allow anything it can’t handle, I do know that.’ He turned to Boris. ‘Are you sure you want to go?’
‘Yes,’ was the matter of fact reply.
‘What do you think Drum?’ Shirrac asked.
Drum shrugged his shoulders. ‘I don't see why not. I can use all the support I can get. Not only that, there would be more of us against Droch should he appear up there.’
‘Very well,’ agreed Shirrac. ‘The three of you then.’
‘Four,’ rasped a dry gravelly little voice. It was Hogarth. ‘I want to go too.’
Drum said nothing while he thought about Hogarth’s request.
‘All right,’ he said at length. ‘I don't see it will do any harm. You’ve been in on everything so far.’ He thought for a moment. ‘That is of course if the amulet will take all of us.’
They walked to Drum’s cottage in silence. It was a very hot day with only a slight breeze that didn’t do much to lower the temperature. Alex thought how picturesque the village looked in the bright sunlight. It made him think of home once more and he began to wonder what he had let himself in for. ‘Why am I sometimes so gung ho?’ he thought. He also wondered what the journey with the amulet would be like and how the edge of the universe would look. He knew it wouldn’t all sink in until he was actually on his way. That moment was very close now.
Without realising it, so deep in thought had he been, he was at Drum’s cottage with the rest of them.
‘Wait here,’ said Drum, ‘I shan't be a moment.’ He disappeared inside and came out a few moments later with the amulet in his hand. ‘I don’t suppose it will matter where we leave from, so gather round.’
Shirrac watched as the other four stood together. ‘Before you go,’ he said, ‘I'd just like to let you know that while you are gone I shall try to launch another rescue of our people, with the help of the other leaders.’
Drum acknowledged Shirrac's words. ‘I hope you have more success than we did.’ He looked at the amulet in his hand. ‘I had better wear this,’ he said, putting it around his neck.
The heavy gold chain supporting the amulet felt uncomfortable at first, so he adjusted it as best he could. ‘I'm all set,’ he said, finally. ‘Are you all ready?’
The others nodded.
Alex was beginning to feel as he had when he first made the journey from Wainfirth with Hogarth. He fought desperately to remain calm.
Drum grasped the amulet between the thumb and first finger of his right hand and began to rub it gently. ‘I must warn you this can be quite a fearful experience, but please trust me.’
Alex and the others watched apprehensively in silence.
All at once a faint glow started to emanate from the amulet. Shirrac kept a respectable distance away as the glow, a bright golden yellow, became stronger and stronger.
‘Link hands,’ commanded Drum.
Suddenly, without any warning whatsoever, their entire surroundings vanished. The four of them were plunged into an inky blackness. The only way each knew that the others were still there was by the tightening grip of each of their hands upon his neighbour. It was the grip of fear.
Alex, between Drum and Boris, could feel both his hands being crushed by their respective grips. He in turn was crushing theirs. He was absolutely petrified. Never in his life had he known such fear. It wasn’t just the darkness but also the accompanying noise, a horrendous
rushing sound, like a train roaring through a tunnel.
‘Not so tight Boris,’ Alex managed to gasp.
Then, the darkness, just as suddenly as it had engulfed them, gave way to a kind of half light; an unearthly glow that surrounded them completely. They could see each other once more, dimly, in the grey twilight around them. This went a little way to dispelling some of the intense fear that they were all experiencing, even the great hulking Boris.
‘I don't like this one bit,’ moaned Hogarth.
The only one who seemed relatively at ease was Drum, who had once before made this journey.
‘I didn’t like it then and I don’t like it now,’ he complained, ‘but I assure you we’re all perfectly safe. We are in Seggim’s hands thanks to this amulet. I must apologise for not warning you more than I did, but there was no time. In any case, my description would not have done justice to the fact. This is something you have to experience for yourself.’
‘We not move,’ interrupted Boris, ‘we float.’
‘Not at all,’ Drum replied. ‘We’re still accelerating. The darkness was due to the fact that we were travelling at the speed of light. We are beyond that now and soon you will see a wall of light ahead as we go vastly beyond any velocity you could possibly imagine.’
Alex was beginning to feel a little overwhelmed by the events that were unfolding. The rushing noise had stopped and sure enough an immense wall of light appeared ahead of them. Their faces now brightly illuminated, they watched in awe as the wall came ever closer.
‘We’re in space aren’t we?’ The tone in Alex's voice suggested he wanted confirmation of what he could hardly believe.
‘We are indeed,’ replied Drum.
‘Then how come we can still breathe?’ asked Alex.
‘Because we are still surrounded by a kind of capsule from our earthly realm. It’s invisible, I know, but it is there.’
Suddenly they were plunged right into the wall of light ahead of them and for a fraction of a second it was like the blinding flash of lightning. The light was gone now, as suddenly as it had appeared, but it was not dark; not as it had been before.
A faint luminous glow was emanating from below them. Alex looked around and, as his eyes became accustomed to the dim light, he could see that there was a huge expanse of ground beneath them which was coming slowly but inexorably closer. He knew that they were about to land somewhere. Judging by the quiet mutterings of the others, he knew that they too had taken stock of their surroundings.
Drum's voice broke their thoughts. ‘Well, we’re here. Look above you.’
There were gasps of astonishment and sharp intakes of breath as they looked up. A fantastic view, of what could only be described as an ultra-clear night sky filled with stars, greeted them. They stared up, transfixed by what they saw and only looked away when they abruptly found themselves on firm ground.
Alex looked around and saw that they seemed to be in a huge, cavernous dome-shaped enclosure. With the stars above, it resembled an immense planetarium. The enclosure was certainly circular in shape and at quite some distance away along the perimeter of the area in which they stood he could make out what appeared to be a very slow-moving, plasma-like, elliptical shape: a plasma of light, emerald green in colour. As it moved it alternated its shape, growing longer very slowly and then just as slowly growing shorter again. At the same time it pulsed rhythmically, in time to what Alex could now make out as a faint low-pitched throbbing sound of extremely deep bass. As he watched, another one, this time light blue in colour, appeared from the far dark depths of the dome.
The rest of the group had also caught sight of this phenomenon. It was Boris who broke the silence. ‘What they are?’
‘Seggim will probably explain them to you but be prepared for something utterly fantastic,’ announced Drum.
Just then a light appeared high up in the far reaches of the dome. To everyone’s amazement, except Drum's, a figure also appeared and seemed to be standing on top of the light as though it were some kind of platform. Suddenly the platform of light transformed itself into a beam that illuminated the floor beneath it. A bright white circle, like a spotlight, dazzled them. The beam was not vertical, but sloped sharply towards where they were standing.
To their further amazement, the figure began to slowly descend down the beam.
Alex Hogarth and Boris watched in utter fascination as the figure finally reached the floor.
Standing before them was a huge man. Taller even than Boris. Alex gaped at the sheer size of him. The man wore a simple white robe that went all the way down to his feet and all but hid the plain white sandals he was wearing. A high collar appeared almost to act as a rest for the back of his head. His head was as smooth and shiny as a billiard ball and displayed no evidence of ever having had any hair.
Drum turned and looked at his companions. ‘Meet Seggim Tome.’
The man stepped forward, smiling hugely. ‘Ach Drummy my friend, it has been such a long time. And I see you have brought some company.’ He looked at Boris. ‘Big fellow,’ he mused, still smiling. ‘Please introduce.’
The big man’s voice was surprisingly light, with almost a kind of musical sing-song aspect to it. His complexion was extremely pale, contrasting sharply with his deep hazel eyes. His very high cheek bones and finely chiselled features gave him an almost sculpted look.
Before Drum had a chance to introduce his friends, Seggim looked momentarily perplexed. ‘Am I getting through to you properly? Can you understand what I'm saying?’
Drum nodded, without saying anything.
‘Ach, that is good,’ said Seggim, raising his arms in a gesture of relief, his smile returning. ‘I have had to install a new translation system to cope with all the languages, dialects and sub-dialects of my various visitors. It has been quite busy lately. I was worried it might not be functioning correctly.’ He paused. ‘Now tell me who your friends are.’
Drum introduced Alex, Boris and Hogarth one by one.
Seggim spoke first to Boris. ‘Well my large friend, I know you are from the ones that Drum and his people call the Sand Dwellers and that there is some er . . . how shall I put it, some disagreement between you. The fact that you are here must mean that you, at least, are willing to resolve your differences. No doubt Drum will bring me up to date.’
‘I wish to help only,’ replied Boris.
Seggim, still with his enormous smile, turned to Hogarth.
‘Hogarth, I have heard a lot about you and I’m delighted that Drum brought you along.’
Hogarth grinned back at Seggim. ‘It was a very strange journey but I'm pleased to have been able to meet you, for I’ve heard a lot about you too.’
Seggim finally turned to Alex and bent forward to shake his hand. ‘I can see that you are not from Drum’s realm,’ he observed.
‘No,’ replied Alex. ‘Hogarth persuaded me to come over to his realm and it was he who brought me over.’
Seggim stood upright and looked straight at Hogarth.
‘Ach Hogie!’ He exclaimed. ‘You have excelled yourself. No doubt you will soon get your realm wings, eh!’
Hogarth's expression at that moment was one of total delight. ‘Hope so,’ he croaked.
Seggim became more serious and turned once more to Drum.
‘So tell me Drummy, what brings you here?’
Drum's jaw dropped. ‘You mean you don't know?’ He stared up at Seggim. ‘But . . . but I thought you had an alert system that warned you if anything was amiss?’
‘I have, but I have had no signals or unusual warnings.’
He pointed to the far side of the dome, where the pulsating globules of light plasma were still edging their way around the perimeter.
‘As you can see,’ continued Seggim, ‘no warning indicators are visible. The only indications I have had were friendly ones. I knew that you were coming but that is all.’
Drum stood looking aghast at this information. ‘That means Droch could be on his way h
ere without us knowing.’
‘Droch?’
‘Yes; he managed to relieve Shirrac of the other amulet,’ replied Drum despairingly.
There was a prolonged silence before Seggim spoke. ‘I doubt that Droch will be able to operate the amulet, as it responds only to Shirrac, as yours does only to you, Drummy. However, Droch is extremely cunning and resourceful and we would be wise to remain on our guard. In any case it is not good,’ he said, frowning heavily. ‘It is not good at all that he has the amulet. It also means that my warning indicators are out of action.’
He raised his hand and clamped his palm firmly on his forehead. ‘Ach, I fear it may be my fault. I may have dislodged the receiving channels when I installed the new translation system. I shall very quickly have to check them.’
He began to move towards the far side of the dome, towards the light pulses. ‘Please follow,’ he said. ‘Droch, no doubt, is after the Shanglo Crystals. There is no need to worry too greatly; they are safe aloft.’ Seggim pointed upwards. ‘In my private chambers. They are protected quite well, though I have no doubt that Droch might be able to penetrate my defences, given enough determination. I know he is desperate to gain possession of the crystals. We cannot allow that to happen.’
As Seggim spoke, the rest of them were practically running in an attempt to keep up with his long, loping strides. Only Boris could do so comfortably.
Alex could only wonder what an outside onlooker would have thought of such an odd group of people such as they. Seggim the giant, closely followed by Boris in size. Boris, who was completely covered in hair, apart from face hands and feet. He, Alex, came next in size and he now realised how the realm people felt when they first stood next to him. Having stood next to Seggim and Boris, he felt very small himself. Last, but not least, came Drum and Hogarth. Yes, an onlooker would have probably been quite confused by such a motley collection of beings.
