Willow Bloom and the Dream Keepers

by E. V. Farrell

  “And how is any of that supposed to make me feel better? Really, I can’t thank you enough for sharing.”

  “I’m confused. Didn’t you just ask me …?”

  Willow shook her head. “Never mind. You know, once upon a time, you would have delivered a crazy story like that with heaps of wit and sarcasm just to get a laugh. I know this one’s true, but I think this Helper training has made you a bit too serious.”

  Hugo closed the book in his hands and placed it on the sill. “You’re probably right,” he mused.

  Hugo pretended to write on his hand. “Note to self: be more humorous when explaining things to Willow.”

  “Ha, ha.” She looked away, gazing out the window. “I hope the Ancients didn’t make a mistake when they chose me.”

  “They don’t choose randomly. They’ve been doing this a long time.”

  “I s’pose,” she said, unconvinced.

  Hugo waited a few moments before asking his next question. “So, have you decided? Do you think you’ll do it?”

  “Most days I think, bring it on! Why wait? But sometimes, when I think about it properly, I just don’t know if I’m ready to do it right now, I mean. It’s not like I’m the normal age for this to be happening. I’m glad it has, but this whole Light Keeper thing changes my life big time, forever. And it’s probably the most dangerous thing I will ever do …” She raised her knees and hugged them to her chest. “It’s funny. Ever since I was little, I always felt different from my friends. Not just because of my photographic memory, but because I could – sense things that they couldn’t.”

  She told Hugo how she had chosen specific books in her dad’s study to help him, and how she could literally find buried treasure on her mum’s archaeological digs. She could even go into a large department store and pretty much walk straight up to an item of clothing that she had been thinking about, right down to the size and colour – which made shopping a breeze.

  “It doesn’t happen all the time; just now and then,” she said. “Once, when we were driving to Cornwall, I started feeling really light-headed. I thought it would pass but instead, I started getting flashes of images that I couldn’t quite work out. Then, out of the blue, I had this overwhelming feeling that we had to stop the car. So I yelled out to Dad to stop. He looked at me through the rear-view mirror and probably figured that it was ‘one of those’ times because he did stop the car.” Willow hugged her knees even tighter. “It was only when we stopped that we saw it happen. Not far ahead, a section of road began to collapse in on itself. There had been heaps of rain for a few days and it must have eroded the sides of the road enough to weaken it somehow. Don’t ask me – I don’t make roads. Anyway, the good thing was – we didn’t drive over it. If we had, Dad said it could have been bad – I mean really bad.” She took in a deep breath. “That’s when I knew I was definitely different from my friends.”

  “That’s pretty intense,” Hugo said.

  Willow felt heat rising in her cheeks. She never spoke to anyone about her ability to sense things. And that was the first time that she had ever told that story to someone. “Yep. I’m officially weird.”

  “No. Just different,” Hugo corrected her.

  “You’re diplomatic as well as being a Helper,” she told him with a smirk. “In answer to your question about whether I’ll be a Light Keeper, I guess I have to say … maybe?”

  “I didn’t mean to pressure …”

  Willow raised her hand to stop him. “I get it. Enough said.” She had reached her quota for sharing for one day. She lowered her eyes back to the page and kept reading.

  By mid-afternoon the following day, she had almost finished. Willow sat staring at a blank page. “This makes no sense,” she said. “Why won’t it do anything? I’m sure I understood the previous page.”

  Hugo leaned over from his chair to take a look. “Aah, that page. Don’t take it personally. It’s where the really powerful defence spells are kept. No-one gets to see them. They’re cloaked until they’re needed.”

  “Seriously? And how are you supposed to know when you need them?”

  “When Keepers’ Council says so; when they de-cloak them,” he said. “This page hasn’t been seen in a long time. Not even my dad or granddad has seen it.”

  “So-o, if we do get to see them, we know that things are seriously bad, right?”

  “Pretty much,” Hugo nodded.

  “Then I hope I never get to see them,” she said, though her curiosity had been sparked. Willow stretched her arms out, yawning. “Man, I’m tired.”

  “Not surprising,” he said. “You’re really cramming this in.”

  Willow felt a tingle of anticipation when she reached the final page of the TriGamon.

  “The Prime Directive of the TriGamon and the world of the Keepers is to assist the ushering in of a new era of thoughts and dreams upon Earth. Coming this far, the TriGamon deems you capable of Light Keeping duties through any of the diverse ways in which they present. We, the Ancients, support whichever decision you make. Now go within to determine which of the paths ahead honours your truth. Do not commit to a path that does not compel you to do so. Whatever you choose, may your journey through life be guided by your inner knowing. Dream well.”

  Willow’s body sank into the chair a little deeper. “Wow,” she whispered. She couldn’t believe she’d reached the end. She stared at her hands resting on the dimpled paper she had cherished from the first moment its mystical scents wafted towards her. Her breathing began to slow down without any effort on her part, until she was very still and silent. Then a rhythm, like a gentle ocean tide, spread through her body, the ebb and flow of it causing every part of her to tingle. Beyond that Willow sensed a calmness such as she had never felt before. She sat there, immersing herself in the most amazing feeling of absolute certainty. A smile spread across her whole face. “I’m finished,” she announced. “And I’ve made my decision.”

  Hugo snapped his book shut. “Really? You sure?”

  “Yep. Totally.” She stood up. “I should tell my parents. Coming?”

  Though her decision was clear, she had no idea how to tell her parents. Her words were still tangling when she found them in the garden. Willow stood quietly for a few moments watching her parents rake up leaves and pile them into the wheelbarrow. To anyone else they looked like normal parents doing normal things, but they were far from that. And now their daughter was about to do things that weren’t normal either.

  “Mum, Dad …”

  Audrey and Thomas looked up from their gardening and gazed at their daughter.

  “I’ve finished,” she said, walking over to them. “I’ve thought about it lots – as you would expect – and – I want to be a Light Keeper. Now. No waiting.” She scoured their faces. Her mother looked pale and her eyes were suddenly glassy. Her father was forcing a smile. Only Hugo seemed genuinely pleased.

  Thomas broke the numbing silence. “I – we’ll support you all the way,” he said. “Of course.” He took his wife’s hand and clasped it firmly. “We were expecting as much. It’s just …” He stepped forward and hugged Willow to his chest. “My little girl is growing up faster than I’d like.”

  “Too fast,” added her mother in a hoarse whisper. Wrapping her arms around her daughter and husband, she said, “Just promise me, Willow, you’ll come to us when you need to.”

  “I will, Mum – promise.”

  Hugo stood quietly in the background.

  Thomas let go of his daughter. “Guess it’s time to reveal the next step,” he told her. “We’ll need to go to the Keepers’ Safe again. Hugo, I take it you’re ready? I’ll call your parents then. They’ll want to be here for this.”

  Standing in the Keepers’ Safe, Audrey held the TriGamon out in front of her then released her hold, enabling it to float. “Willow, the TriGamon can now unveil one of its most closely guarded secrets.”

  She looked at her mother, puzzled. “What do you mean?”

  “Rememb
er you wanted to see the TriVrata when you started reading? And we told you that you had to finish reading first?”

  “Yes,” she said.

  “Now that you’ve chosen to be a Light Keeper, the TriVrata can come through in this dimension,” Audrey said. “Open the front cover of the TriGamon.”

  Willow took a step closer and did as her mother asked. The inside cover glowed white and something not quite invisible swirled outward from the centre. Her eyes lit up. There, in front of her, a form began to appear, layer by layer. Methodically, the TriVrata built itself from base to tip, into a perfect three-dimensional pyramid. Willow was so entranced that she barely blinked. It looked as real as her hand. The TriVrata drifted towards her. Her heart thumped hard against her chest as she stared at the wondrous device with its deeply etched symbols. Was it stone? Or dark metal?

  She turned to her mother. “What do I do now?”

  But before anyone could answer, the TriVrata proceeded to unfold, one side at a time, revealing in its centre, a necklace with a small pendant wrapped around a large, clear crystal.

  “Take it, Willow,” her mother told her. “It’s like the Light Keeper’s wand. It will help you with your incantations.”

  With fumbling fingers, Willow took the necklace from the TriVrata. The moment she removed it, the sides of the TriVrata began to close. The pyramid pendant was a smaller version of the TriVrata, the only difference being that there was a chunk of white crystal forming a middle layer of the pyramid itself. The chain attached to the pendant wriggled between Willow’s fingers as if it wanted her to let it go. She looked to her mother again who gave her a light nod.

  Willow opened her hand to release the pendant. The clasp, which looked more like a memory stick with a USB port mechanism, promptly separated, allowing the two sides of the chain to glide around Willow’s neck, then re-clasp itself again. The crystal on the pendant flashed a bright white.

  “It has bonded to you. You are its new Keeper.” A tear ran down her mother’s cheek and she quickly wiped it away. “It’s to be worn at all times when performing duties. And it’s virtually indestructible, so you needn’t be overly precious with it. Just don’t lose it.”

  Willow reached for the pendant and rolled it softly between her fingers. She was wearing real magic around her neck, magic that she was going to use.

  The TriVrata drifted towards Hugo now, and waited, as if it still had something to do.

  “Guess I better take this,” Hugo said. “This is my bit.” As he held the TriVrata in the palm of his hand, it proceeded to fold back in on itself, its sides collapsing in towards the centre then altering their dimensions to form a wide, flat band with the crystal sitting in the middle. He placed it on his wrist and it clasped around, perfectly. “There, safe and sound,” he said, trying to appear as if this was a well-rehearsed routine.

  Thomas looked on fondly. “I remember this moment like it was yesterday,” he said in a low voice to John.

  “Me too,” John replied. “Though I think these two have a lot more to contend with than either of us ever did.”

  “Mm,” Thomas murmured.

  “Just remember, you have my daughter to look out for now,” he said to Hugo. Turning to Willow, he added with a grin: “Good luck with that, Hugo!”

  “Nice one, Dad,” Willow grimaced. “Turn my Helper against me, why don’t you!”

  “I’ve known Willow long enough to deal with anything she might throw my way,” Hugo said seriously to Thomas, who gave him an impressed nod.

  “Willow,” her mother said as they stepped back into the hallway. “The necklace goes inside the TriGamon box when it’s not being used for duties. There’s a small side panel on the right.”

  “Okay,” she beamed. She was now officially a Light Keeper! She may not have performed any duties yet, but still …

  “This is so awesome!” she said to Hugo when they were back in the library. “We’re really doing this!” Then, with mischief in her eyes, she added, “So does this mean I can boss you around now?”

  “You wish,” he mocked. Tapping the TriVrata on his wrist with a smile, he said, “Remember, I hold the Doorway key.” Hugo folded his arms across his chest. “Maybe I can boss you around …”

  Their eyes met and they broke into laughter.

  It was late by the time Willow had finished packing that night. Her final task was to place the TriGamon in its wooden case. She knew that the book and pendant had a cloaking mechanism that would prevent them from being detected by airport security. The box would look like an ornately carved piece of wood. She carefully stuffed the box into her back-pack then sat on her bed staring out the window. The knot in her stomach was getting tighter with each passing thought about the weekend. She wished she could get her mind to stop thinking, even for just a few moments.

  “Knock, knock,” she heard her father say from the door. “You okay?”

  Willow turned. “Fine. Just finished packing.”

  “Can’t fool your dad, you know,” he said walking in and sitting beside her. “You didn’t say much over dinner, which is very unlike you.”

  “A dead giveaway. I’ll remember that for next time.” Willow sighed. “Dad, what if I do something wrong? Or – I forget to do something, or – I don’t know …” She buried her head in her father’s chest and wrapped her arms around his waist tightly.

  Thomas placed a comforting arm around his daughter. “Willow, this would be a big deal for anyone. No-one’s expecting any more then you can give or handle. And if I know my daughter, she can handle quite a bit. Don’t forget, there’ll be other new Light Keepers too.”

  She swept the hair from her face and attempted a smile. “Do all Dads have a degree in saying the right things?”

  “Of course! How else do you think I’ve come this far?”

  That night she lay in bed tossing and turning, constant chatter filling her mind. Was she ready? Would she be any good? What would the other Light Keepers be like? What kind of magic would she learn? What if she screwed up? The muffled sounds of her parents’ voices drifted up the stairs late into the night. It seemed no-one in the Bloom household would be getting much sleep this night.

  The Academy

  “Merci,” Willow said to the porter who was taking her bag from the taxi. She was thrilled to be using her school French. And with future visits to the Academy, it would be worthwhile to pay more attention in her classes.

  They had driven up a steep, winding road to get to one of the oldest hotels in France. The French doors of each individual room opened on to a private balcony just large enough to fit a small table and two chairs, and on every balcony sat a potted miniature lemon tree. Willow made her way across the pebbled driveway and stopped in front of the stone wall that followed the curve of the mountain. Forests stretched out surrounding several villages and countless rows of dark, gnarly vines. Beyond them a wide band of lightly coloured buildings extended to the coast and beyond that, the sea spread out across the horizon like a sheet of blue and silver satin. Willow inhaled the crisp winter air as she gazed at the incredible view.

  “Look,” Hugo said, coming to stand beside her. He pointed to a struggling cyclist.

  She turned to where he was pointing, watching the cyclist make his way up the hill. “That’s keen!”

  “Probably training for the ‘Tour’.” He gave her a quick sideways glance. “You nervous about the Gathering tonight?”

  Willow hesitated. “A bit.”

  “If it makes you feel any better, I am too,” he admitted.

  Hearing her father call out her name, she turned towards the hotel entrance. “Guess they’ve checked in.” As they walked towards the hotel entrance, she asked, “Why do you feel nervous about going back to the Academy? You at least have friends there.”

  “It’s the Gathering I’m nervous about,” Hugo told her. “I keep thinking about all the things that would initiate this Gathering, and none of them brings a smile to my face.”

  Images
of the Vraag came to Willow’s mind and her stomach tightened. “Well that’s one way to make me feel more anxious than I already am.”

  Identical twin boys were tussling with each other behind some big lounge chairs. An elderly woman hurried over and began to rebuke them.

  “Jules and Pierce are here too!” Willow said in surprise.

  “Yep. And our grandparents. They’ll be watching over them while we’re all at the Academy.”

  “I was thinking about your brothers the other day. Does that mean I could have three Helpers one day? So when you irritate me, I’ll just ask Jules or Pierce to help me.” She gave him a bright smile.

  “Hate to tell you,” he replied coolly, “but it’s a little more complicated than that. The TriVrata from your TriGamon has bonded to me. So, unless I retire, the twins will have to help other Light Keepers who don’t have a Helper family anymore.”

  The thought hadn’t occurred to her that Hugo was bonded to the TriVrata, or that they now had a long-term working relationship ahead of them.

  “I take it your silence means that you really hadn’t thought about it?” he asked.

  She shook her head.

  “If it makes you feel more comfortable, I promise I’ll transfer myself if you end up absolutely hating me for some reason. That is, if you don’t already.” Hugo turned towards her. “You don’t, right?”

  Willow gave him the once-over. “You’re safe – for now.”

  The hotel restaurant was filled with the din of lunch-time diners talking and clinking their cutlery and glasses as they ate their meals. Willow was enjoying her crusty bread roll when she saw her Grandmother Isobel walk towards their table. “Gran!” She stood up, pushing her chair back, so that when her grandmother had reached her table, Willow was ready with a hug. “I thought you were in China!”