“Where shall we go?” Willow asked. “I was counting on going to the History Room to keep searching for clues.”
“We may go there as soon as the work on the security fields has been completed,” Atlas said.
“How about we go outside?” Jessie suggested. “That’s where everyone else seems to be going.”
“We may go as far as the perimeter of the city gardens,” Atlas advised, “but no further.”
Walking across the expanse of blue-green lawns, Willow found it difficult to stop her mind from conjuring up images where Light Streams no longer existed and Light Keepers could no longer travel to Thera. She wondered if Peonie was alright. They made their way to a cluster of trees. Willow crouched down to take a closer look at the strange plants beneath. A red flower, resembling a brain coral, took her by surprise with its velvety softness. Each time she brushed her fingers across it, a fragrant mix of ginger and vanilla filled the air. Some of the other plants looked like they could have come from her own garden, just different in colour or texture.
A sudden noise overhead startled Willow. “Whoa!” A flock of large birds had taken flight from some of the trees nearby.
Avari giggled. “They are Vanmoofs.”
Jessie laughed, “I had the same reaction when I first saw them. It’s not everyday you see birds the size of emus flying over you.”
“They’re huge! Can’t believe I didn’t see them before they took off.” Willow’s gaze followed the blue speckled birds until they disappeared amongst the distant trees. “Anything else I need to know?”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Jessie grinned. “It ruins the element of surprise.”
Willow and Jessie stretched out beneath the trees’ dappled shade on surprisingly comfortable blue-green grass. Avari and Atlas sat cross-legged with backs upright; their version of relaxing.
Willow tracked a peach-coloured cloud travelling across the lilac sky when a thought arose. “Has anyone from Thera ever been to Earth?”
“Not for thousands of years,” Avari answered. “It is forbidden until Earth is ready to receive our kind again – in the next stage of your evolution.”
“Hope that’s not too far off.” Willow thought it might be a good time to bring up the man in London that she’d seen. She began to tell of her encounter.
“He looked and felt pretty creepy. I’m sure he was following us,” she told them.
“You must remain vigilant, Willow,” Avari said. “There are many who have fallen into Maliceius’s Dark World.”
“He obviously wasn’t there to wish you a Happy Birthday,” Jessie added.
“No.” Willow felt wary about asking her next question. She wished she had the same confidence Avari and Atlas had about the repairs to the Doorways. The delay would give her more time to search for the Book, but she also knew how worried her parents would be. “So how long do you think we’ll be here? Before the repairs are finished to the Doorways?”
Jessie rolled onto her side, facing Willow. “I’m sure they’ll fix it soon enough. This is the dream planet, after all.”
Was Jessie really that unconcerned or was she just playing it cool? Willow wondered.
“Fear can slow down or even block ideas from coming forward,” Atlas put in. “If you are not directly involved with creating a particular solution, rather than filling your head with multiple scenarios of what might be going wrong, focus on the feeling that a solution will come at the earliest possible moment,” he suggested. “That is how you can help.”
Willow sighed. “Easier said than done for us mere humans – but thanks for the reminder.” Closing her eyes, she visualised herself being home with her family and friends. She even imagined Hugo waiting for her in the portal, welcoming her back. And for a short time, a calmness began to surface from deep within her, and even though she didn’t know how it would happen, she started to feel more confident that somehow, a solution was being formed. And besides, there was no getting away from the fact that she was being relied upon to find an even bigger solution to the current predicament.
A low, thumping sound interrupted Willow’s thoughts. “What’s that noise?” she asked, sitting up. Avari and Atlas were already standing.
Jessie rose from her sprawled out position. “Yeah, what is that?”
“We do not know,” Atlas told them. “Neither of us has heard this before.”
“Maybe it’s part of the repair work to the damaged Doorways,” Jessie said.
“Perhaps. Though I feel we should return to the city,” Avari recommended.
The thumping sound became progressively louder, echoing all around them. Without the need to exchange words, they instinctively quickened their steps, seeing others in the park doing the same.
An alarm sounded from the city and the glance shared between Avari and Atlas made Willow turn pale. This wasn’t quite what she had envisaged regarding a solution only moments earlier. It was actually the complete opposite.
“We need to run!” Avari shouted above the noise. “We need to get back to the city!”
Willow’s body rushed with adrenaline as they began to run at full speed through the park. Dozens of hurrying Light Keepers with their Guides did the same. Birds of all kinds took flight from the trees with the blue speckled Vanmoofs and flew overhead towards the city, crying out their own alarm. In the distance Willow could see a number of Consuli gathering at the edge of the square, each of them raising their hands towards the sky. Moments later a barely detectable shield began to form above the square and surrounding parklands.
They were half way to the city square when the thumping sound stopped dead. It was like someone had flicked the “off” switch; but with another flick of the switch, a new sound exploded from somewhere up high: a piercing shrill that obliterated all other sounds. Willow and Jessie fell to their knees, their hands pressed hard against their ears.
“We must keep going,” Avari insisted. She seemed almost immune to the sound. “Get up!” she cried, pulling Willow up from the ground.
Atlas dragged Jessie to her feet. “We have to get inside … now,” he demanded.
Struggling to block out the ear-splitting noise, Willow and Jessie staggered towards the city.
Willow watched her feet moving clumsily over the grass. The throbbing in her head was now so bad that nausea had begun to set in. She felt Avari’s firm hand on her back. With a heavy in-breath, Willow raised her head and pushed her body on.
They were still some way from the city square when the shrill sound dissipated and died. Willow and Jessie melted with relief, even as the city alarm continued blaring. Their respite was broken by the sound of cracking, stretching across the sky and then followed by a dull thud.
Willow stared open-mouthed at the ring of energy in the sky rushing towards them and the city. But even as she turned to run, she knew they had no chance of outrunning the force that was coming.
She managed three strides before a colossal blow to her back hurled her to the ground with the others.
For a few short seconds she languished in a comfortable numbness until a wave of panic struck her. She forced herself to roll over, her eyes searching the sky. Unable to make sense of what she was seeing, she pointed her finger. “Wha – what’s …?”
“Oh my God,” Jessie groaned, attempting to move her body into a crouching position.
Above them, a patch of purple had been replaced by a black hole with tiny black dots spilling through the hole and spreading across the sky.
Avari and Atlas leaped to a standing position.
Willow met Jessie’s eyes and they both staggered to their feet. The pain in her body would have to wait.
“Go!” Atlas cried. “Run!”
Willow summoned every ounce of energy she had left in her body and ran towards the city. In the distance, at the edge of the square, she saw the Consuli reassembling to resume emitting their security shields. Vaguely aware of her body as she ran, she noticed that her heart, though pounding loudly,
had actually begun to slow down, and her senses were acutely alert. Even her peripheral vision had sharpened somehow, the clarity unlike anything she had ever experienced before. Every forward movement and even the trees and flowers were becoming a part of her running motion, caught up in her momentum, lingering for a moment … then disappearing behind her. And passing Jessie just now, with her red and black hair streaming along, was almost like watching the motion, frame by frame, as if she were moving through a world caught in the act of slowing down. Every moment was its own moment and yet seamlessly connected to every other moment. Was this normal? Did everyone who came to Thera experience this eventually?
The city square wasn’t more than one hundred metres away now. Looking back to catch a glimpse of the others, Willow’s body suddenly jerked forward. Clutching at her chest, her lungs filled with a searing pain that spread quickly to every muscle. She sucked in some air and buckled under the strain.
Avari rushed up to Willow’s side and seized her hand into her own with a tight grip. “Keep moving, Willow,” she shouted. “We have to get to the Halls!”
Willow let herself be pulled along by Avari and the world around her quickened once more. They bounded up the stairs and passed the Consuli who were steadfastly holding their position until the last possible moment. She could hear the cries of “Hurry!”, and “Keep going!” from those who had already reached the Halls. She looked behind her to see Jessie being dragged along by Atlas. There were three others behind them.
The white and gold doors of the Halls of Mondria began to close as soon as they had staggered inside. They were amongst the final group to return from the park. Willow turned to see the Consuli disengage the energetic pulse coming from their hands and then rush towards a side building. She took a final glance skywards: the small black dots descending upon the city were now much larger and starting to show their form. Willow recognised the dark, contorted shapes with horror. They could only be Maliceius’s servants.
Her view of the sky was shut off abruptly as the doors were sealed shut. The locking mechanism triggered the white and gold symbols carved within the doors to glow.
“Are you all right?” Avari asked.
“I’m okay.” Willow turned to Jessie who, like many others, was still arched over, puffing loudly. “Jessie? You okay?”
Jessie raised her head. “I’m good. Just give me a minute.”
“Did you see them?” Willow asked. “I did! I saw them!”
“We are not certain, but it is possible they are the Vraag,” Atlas replied.
Jessie was now standing upright. “Are you for real? How?”
“We cannot explain it.”
“This is a new experience for us, also,” Avari said. “We are fortunate that the Consuli absorbed most of the energy coming towards the city with their shield. The impact could have been much worse.”
Looking around the Dome Room, Willow couldn’t help but notice that Avari and Atlas, along with the other Guides, were all breathing normally and didn’t seem at all fatigued from their running. “How come you two aren’t tired?”
“We can move differently through space and time. Remember?” Avari said.
Willow recalled her own strange experience while she was running the length of the park. “Does your heart rate slow down and you feel like you and everything around you is moving slowly? But actually you’re running really fast and you don’t feel tired while you’re doing it?”
Avari studied Willow curiously. “Yes. Something like that,” she said. “We could have been here much quicker, but we stayed with you and Jessie. How did you know that?”
“I think it kind of happened to me. I felt really weird while I was running, but I was fine – good, in fact. All of the pain from that hideous sound and the slam to the ground had gone. Right up until I was nearly at the square. When I turned around to see you guys, it somehow broke me out of the zone I was in. The next breath I took crippled me. It was like the pain came back all at once. That was when you came and dragged me across the square,” Willow said.
Avari glanced at Atlas and then back at Willow. “I have never heard of a Light Keeper being able to do that. I believe that some of your skills are emerging, Willow. Just as the Prophecy predicted.”
“I wondered how you were able to pass me,” Jessie said. “I’m not that slow but you were really flying. I was well and truly tuckered out by the time we got here.”
Willow raised her brows. “You were what? Tuckered …?”
“Tuckered out. You know … tired, exhausted … like, I need a rest.” Jessie rolled her eyes. “Now that we’re friends, Willow, you need to learn some Australian.”
A dark shadow passed across the dome, and the room instantly became quiet.
A member of the High Council rose above the crowd from the podium and her calm voice assured everyone of their safety. “The city and all of the communities of Thera are now in lock-down. All of our security Protocols have been initiated. This includes three layers of defensive shields around the city.”
Movement within the city was now restricted. An announcement came stating the unthinkable: the UnderLord Maliceius had ruptured Thera’s macasphere, the planetary security field that was made up of six protective rings, thereby allowing the Vraag to enter Thera’s atmosphere without burning up.
“We are safe here,” Avari reiterated after the announcement. “Please, do not worry.”
“We humans have a habit of worrying,” Jessie informed her. “But … nothing like a crisis to address that habit! Right?”
Avari nodded.
Willow’s mind went back to Atlas’s explanation about how fear could take you over and block productive thoughts from arising. She agreed with the concept but right now, staying calm and centred was proving to be pretty challenging. Her mind was filling up with an array of troubling situations and outcomes, and she was finding it difficult to even consider a “favourable outcome,” as he had suggested. She really needed to direct her energy somewhere useful.
Groups of people gradually splintered off through the halls. “We need to go back to the History Room,” Willow said.
“Yes,” Avari agreed. “A team of Consuli have been gathering references during your absence.”
Hugo pressed his hand against the outside of the portal and could immediately see everything that the Wood Folk were doing. With their hands still joined, the Wood Folk softened their voices until the roar of “Ashta Garta” had subsided and sounded like mere whispers that eventually petered out. The Grounding Trees were starting to release an ethereal blue mist that reached out to all of the other trees. Gradually every tree was linked to another until the entire Sanctuary was a magnificent glimmering blue. This energetic enhancement was what they had hoped to create – this would anchor the portal in its current location.
“We’ve been here over an hour now,” Hugo said to his father. “Whatever that blue stuff is, it’s working.”
“It was a great idea,” Thomas agreed. “Goes to show just how important and powerful the Wood Folk are. They’re the caretakers of our forests right across the world.” He pulled his mobile phone out of his coat pocket. “I’ve got to update the Keepers’ Council.”
“We’ll take turns keeping watch so we can all get some sleep,” Hugo’s father said. He pointed to some picnic chairs, pillows and blankets that Audrey had brought. “It’s 1.30 in the morning, Hugo, you’ve been at it for hours. How about you get some rest? If your mother was here, she’d stand over you while you slept.”
“Can’t imagine I could get to sleep. And I’d rather stay awake,” he said. “What about the Wood Folk?”
“You won’t be any help to Willow if you fall asleep with exhaustion just as she’s trying to come home,” his father pointed out. “At least have a power nap. We’ll wake you if anything happens. As for the Wood Folk, from what I understand the Grounding Trees are supporting them. But don’t worry, we’ll keep an eye on them too.”
Hugo was anxious a
bout Willow and the Wood Folk and was sure he wouldn’t be able to sleep after settling into one of the picnic chairs, but the next thing he knew was the sun casting a warm glow across his closed eyes. It seemed only moments until he opened his eyes in a sudden panic. “What time is it?” He flung his blanket off and jumped out of his chair, heart pounding. His watch said 7.05 am. Hugo turned to where the TriVrata was still floating.
“It’s okay. Nothing’s happened,” John said to his son. “We would have woken you.” He and Thomas were sitting with mugs of hot tea, looking tired. Audrey was rummaging in a basket for something and then pulled out a container of muffins.
Hugo stepped outside the portal and touched its boundary field. The Wood Folk had maintained their positions throughout the night, seemingly in some kind of meditative state, and the Sanctuary was still shrouded in a blue mist. He sat heavily on a nearby log. “Willow,” he whispered, “I hope you’re okay. We’ll get you home somehow.”
Hugo stepped back through the portal and Audrey offered him a muffin and mug of hot tea. “Thanks,” he said.
John hesitated before speaking again. “Hugo, I know you won’t want to, but I need you to go to school today.”
“What! But, Dad, I have to be here. I can’t go!”
“I get that, I do. But you’ve just started at the school. Let’s not give your friends a reason to start asking questions.” John looked up at the morning sky. “It’s hard enough keeping all of this under wraps. Believe me when I tell you there are generations of people out there who already have their suspicions – and theories.”
Hugo was silent for a few moments. “Fine. But you have to get me if anything happens.”
“Promise,” John said, placing a hand on his son’s shoulder. He checked his watch. “You should get going if you want to grab more breakfast before Mum drives you in. Send her a text.”
A long shadow passed across the glass ceiling of the History Room. They all raised their heads.
“Wonder what they’re doing out there?” Jessie murmured.
“The security fields will hold,” Avari reassured her.
Willow Bloom and the Dream Keepers Page 22
