by c a king
Willow smiled and turned to Shakine. “Your doorway home.” She bowed.
“We would ask for you to go through the portal first, as we agreed,” it hissed back.
Willow took a step towards the open portal, when Mike grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “You can't actually be serious about going through. There is a good chance something horrible is waiting for you. Keepers are a hot target.”
“I gave my word and I will help them rebuild their home. You can't expect them to return there to await certain death with no water sources or food,” she answered pulling her arm away. She had barely begun moving towards the portal again when she was almost knocked over.
“I will go first,” Mike said pushing in front of her through the doorway.
Willow sighed, following his lead and disappearing into the lights.
Stepping off the stone base a wave of heat hit Willow's face. She took a moment to look around at the surroundings. The land was, as she had been told, barren. The earth appeared as a golden sand that had been stripped of all nutrients that could sustain plant life. There were what was left of trees, now dead, similar to that which might be found in the darkest nightmare. The ground around them was scattered with dead yellow tall grasses. The Hannulate who remained were huddled under make shift roofs constructed from dead leaves, wood and grass. They looked weak most likely from lack of food and water. Mike stood beside her taking in the same sights, Shakine and the others were behind them.
“You better be a real magic worker to fix all this,” Mike said.
“Best get to work.”
Willow took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then knelt down, picking up handfuls of dirt and let the soil pour between her fingers like sand in an hour glass. Moving to a second spot she did the same again, except instead of letting it fall, she took a deep breath and blew the dirt from her hands. Grains of soil flew through the air with only a few granules falling at a time. As they touched the ground, the colour of the earth changed to a deep brown earth colour, rich and moist. She stood, looking at the ground she had just healed as sprouts of life began appearing at equal intervals. Within minutes an orchard of fully grown apple trees with ripe fruit was standing before her. Looking to the skies she asked the clouds to form and provide cover from the sun.
The creatures who had just returned helped their friends and family over to the living trees so that they could eat and regain their energy. Shakine moved to Willow's side.
“Can you show me where the water pools were before?” she asked.
“There to the north and one larger to the east. There were rivers that flowed between, with dense forest land around,” it answered pointing to spots.
“And what other types of fruit or vegetables would you like for your food source? Are there any plants that are dangerous to your kind that I should not create?”
The Hannulate listed off preferred foods, as well as those which must not be included and Willow began her work. Their world was about twice the size of what her own had been and it would take her a while to complete the necessary changes to allow it to sustain life on its own again.
Her first task was to create large storms over where the two main bodies of water used to be located. The water would take several hours to pool back up to levels that were previously available. This was an unusual request for her, as her homeland had no such water reserves, but as promised she complied with the Hannulate requests.
Taking more handfuls of sand she turned her attention to rebuilding the nutrients in the dirt allowing it to sustain life once again. She blew the soil granules once again, but this time a gust of wind picked them up and moved it over larger areas. She continued replenishing the earth until all of the world's ground hand been transformed.
Willow touched the dirt and like a wave, a lush green grass grew covering all open areas of ground. Trees grew in orchards of peaches, plums, cherries, pears and oranges. Vines grew with grapes and assorted berries. Wild patches of pumpkins, squash and melons appeared as well as patches of tomatoes and legumes. Moving towards the smaller lake of water she turned her attention to the river creating a line of rain clouds connecting through to the larger sea. Along the river beds lush green forests grew with beautiful flowers of all colours and sizes, that would bloom continuously and glow at night, reminding her of the castle gardens from her home.
Willow had expended an enormous amount of energy and took a moment to relax under a tree beside Mike. Together they shared an apple.
“I have to say you didn't do too bad squirt,” he smiled.
She was about to reply when several Hannulate approached them.
“You have created a beautiful world for us. We give you our thanks,” Shakine said. “There is something we must show you that we believe you may have interest in. It was left here by the ones who brought the destruction.”
One of the creatures moved forward and was holding something in its hands. It was very small, black and motionless.
“Is that...a bird?” Mike asked.
“It is an Allaren, one of the avian guardians,” Willow said moving closer to see the mutilated body. “What did they do to the poor thing?”
“Torture comes in many forms. For those who can beg for death there is escape, but for the immortal, it can continue until the mind breaks as bad as the body. This Allaren is broken. We fear it may never recover, but perhaps you can bring it to a more comfortable place for it to spend eternity,” Shakine said with sincerity.
Willow reached her hands out and took the motionless body. Silently she stroked the bird very gently not wanting to cause any additional pain. She could see from a basic glance over a wing had been removed, bones were broken, including its neck, its eyes were missing along with much of its feathers.
“What are you doing?” Mike asked.
“I need to bring her back with us,” Willow said as she looked up at him her eyes watering. Placing her hand on the bird's head she barely heard Aslo and Kiera's voices pleading with her to be careful. There was no going back, she was asking the motionless guardian to join with her so she could transport it back to the main world. The bird began to transform into a sparkling dust that looked like thousands of tiny diamond specks floating in the air flowing towards her left forearm where a picture began to form. It was an exact picture of the black bird as it had appeared including all of the injuries.
Willow turned to Mike. “I have to get back now.” Her arms clenched tightly around her stomach, the colour quickly fading from her face.
Mike wasted no time. He picked her up and ran through the portal. Appearing on the other side he yelled for help. Willow was fading in and out of reality, drifting into an unconscious state.
Chapter Nineteen
The world was swirling around...images...colours...lights...voices. Peering left and right, there was nothing familiar. Her reality was distorted, then blackness. When she opened her eyes she was somewhere else...somewhere she hadn't been before. Visions surrounded her in all directions, dancing pictures on a circular screen, like a broken movie, flashing an immortal lifetime of experiences, jumping from one to another. The images began speeding up. She spun around in circles trying to keep up but it was moving too fast. The pictures appeared and disappeared before she knew what they were as if whoever was playing the movie was looking for a particular scene.
'Of course,' she thought. 'It's you. Your mind must be injured and this is the only way you can communicate with me. Aslo, Kiera, the others they aren't with us. They must have escaped, good. Well, I am not awake and I know you can't communicate with me in dreams so I am not asleep. Guess that means I am somewhere in between. So, what is it you are trying to show me my new friend?'
There was no indication of how long she had been in this state, watching random pictures moving so fast that she didn't have time to make sense of shapes or voices, then to her surprise, the pictures began to slow. It was some sort of a fight. There was a woman she recognized, but wasn't exactly sure whe
re from. The woman had strawberry coloured hair, much lighter than Willow's but with the same curls. A large bang sounded. Willow covered her ears as she watched the woman's body tumble to the ground, where she lay without movement. A group of men surrounded her. Willow recognized the uniforms they were wearing as the same as the men wore who attacked her home just days ago. They took the woman through a hole in the fabric of space into another world. Everything went dark.
Willow could hear voices, at first it was mumbled, but then they became clearer. It was a familiar voice. One from the day when the attack on her home world had first happened. It was the first man who had come through the rip between worlds and caused the destruction.
“Your keeper is injured and we will kill her...unless you surrender yourself to us. We know your partner is still joined with the woman. It would be terrible if he was also lost. Of course you could remain here, but we both know, with no keeper you would be locked here alone. There would be no way for you to leave and nothing to do but think about how you let your family die. Choose well. You have ten minutes.”
Willow could feel exactly what her guest guardian had felt, the indecision, the guilt, the pain and the final surrender. She realized she was seeing, hearing and feeling everything the injured guardian had. The way it had. She was witnessing history as a part of it.
The vision shifted to another world. They were moving quickly now. It was no longer a picture, but rather Willow was the bird, as if she was there in its place. She was restrained in some way. It felt like heavy chains although she couldn't see them. The skies and the ground looked as if they were on fire and the seas were shiny black. They passed several small towns before coming to a forest. The plants and trees all looked dead, but were moving, as if sensing their presence. She shivered, the hairs on the back of her neck standing at attention.
The men transporting her walked in single formation on the road as if scared to come too close to the forest edge, until they ran into a man going in the other direction. From his appearance, Willow deducted he was some sort of worker. His clothes were dirty and ripped. Signs of age showed on his face and fear was painted as a picture in his eyes. He lowered his line of sight, bowing his head down, so not to make eye contact with the officers in front of the procession, but they were not willing to share the road. The men stopped, knocking the worker to the side. A large vine grabbed the old man and pulled him in, wrapping around him as if tying him to the trunk of the tree. Willow clenched her eyes closed tightly at the horrific sight. The bark started to engulf him, bit by bit. The tree was eating him alive. The man screamed for help, pain resonating in his voice, as the soldiers just stood and laughed. Then silence and the old man was gone. The group started walking again as if nothing had happened.
At the end of the forest was a mountain of black rock with a single smooth road carved in a circular motion. Along the way to the top they passed several plateaus. One resembled a market place with items for everyday use, probably where the old man had been, the others looked like army barracks. At the top was a grand entrance way to what looked like a castle, built out of the same rock as the mountain.
The stone doors were open and people inside were cheering, celebrating, welcoming them. She could hear echos of 'good job', 'well done sir' and 'caught another one, brilliant isn't he?' The group stopped before a man and woman who dressed as if they felt themselves important, in fine silk clothes of bright colours, adorned with animal furs. Both wore excessive amounts of jewels. The man stepped forward.
“Well done my son, well done indeed. Another filthy creature.” He turned to the others standing around in admiration. “A toast to my son!” He lifted his cup. “We protect the worlds from oppression and confinement. This beast took away our freedom and now we take away the same from it, so it can no longer impose its will on innocent people.” The man drank.
The room broke out in a chorus of, “Hail, King Cornelius! Long live the king.” Then Willow was moving again to a set of winding stone stairs. She lost count of how many levels they went down leading her to conclude they must be inside the mountain. At the very bottom were what appeared to be rooms, but made out of some sort of glass on one side and rock on the other. She could see inside the rooms, each housing guardians and keepers, all injured worn, tired and sad. In one room she saw the strawberry haired lady.
“You said you would let them go if I surrendered, honour the agreement prince.” Willow found she was saying the words as if scripted.
“No, you are mistaken.” The prince laughed. “I said I wouldn't kill them and I won't. Anything else is fair game.”
“We have done you no harm. Let them go,” she pleaded.
“No harm? No harm? You destroyed our world, our people. You tried to oppress us. You deviated from the true path of a guardian. You chose to impose your will on others by forcing them into worlds of your choice. If it weren't for Apopp and his kind you may have gotten away with it. They will help us regain our dignity and rights,” he said then turned to an empty cell. “Put it in there and if it gives you any trouble hurt it and its keeper.”
He disappeared back up the steps. Willow was cold, sad, afraid, so many emotions were running through her at once. Every so often a few guards would enter and accuse her of plotting something then hit her with sticks which gave off bolts of energy. Welts formed on her skin from the abuse. Gasping for air, her eyes stung until tears flowed freely down the sides of her face. Hours faded to days and time passed, the guards continued their attacks daily but there was enough time between for her to heal herself. Then something changed.
The prince returned. “We need some information. My father Cornelius would like his sister returned. She was taken from us when the division occurred. If you can tell us where she is...well we can be lenient on you and the woman.”
Willow found herself speaking the bird's words again. “Even if I knew who you were speaking of I would not tell you. No creature deserves the daily torture you inflict.”
“She is my Aunt. Why would I hurt her?” Joseph asked pacing.
“Jealousy, prejudice...I am not sure why you torture any of us or how any person could be so cold as to gain pleasure by inflicting physical pain on others.”
The Prince stormed out of the room slamming the door behind him. There was no question...she had enraged him. A shiver ran down her spine, knowing she would pay a price for refusing to answer his questions. He returned a few minutes later with several men and a case of tools.
“Wrong answer, perhaps your keeper will speak to save you,” he said smiling. “Since you don't want to talk, maybe you shouldn't be able to.”
The men secured her with chains to a rock wall as Joseph removed knives and pliers from the case. Within seconds Willow could only feel pain, so severe she couldn't see. It was everywhere there was nothing else just pain. She begged for it to stop. She didn't know how long she could continue to live with this torture, it felt like cycles had past of continuous pain. Her mind began shutting down unable to handle anymore.
Chapter Twenty
“Quickly, move her to the infirmary.” William motioned to Mike to bring Willow's limp body to a bed where they could give her medical attention. Searching the camp they needed to find both Victoria and conventional medical help. Returning with their on site doctor and nurse, they were greeted by thirteen black cats.
“What has happened? Why have you separated from her?” William asked his eyes bulging.
“We can help more from here. She is weak. We don't know what is going to happen. Right now she is neither awake nor asleep, and comfortable, but soon she could feel all the guardian bird experienced, and share in it. Such torture is too much for anyone to endure,” Aslo answered. “If her body shows signs of pain or stress she needs to be sedated. We must ensure she is asleep, it is the only way to break the telepathic connection between them.”
The door flung open and Victoria ran in followed by her three brothers. Without speaking the young girl ran to the bed
side and placed her hands on Willow's arm. Silence fell over the room, no one wanting to disturb the healer's concentration. After several minutes Victoria turned around looked at her brothers and shook her head. Tears formed in the young girl's eyes. Jessie stepped forward putting his arms around his sister just in time. She burst into sobs. Everyone knew there was nothing she could do. Willow's health now rested in the hands of the human medical team which consisted of a young husband and wife, Richard and Mary.
The doctor and nurse proceeded to hook up machines and wires to monitor the patient, took scans and ran tests. It would be hours before any news would be available. Aslo and his family insisted on staying to watch over their keeper, while the others returned to the main house to tell the rest of the camp what had happened.
It would take the next hour for William to try to explain to the others in the command centre the events that had occurred as best as he could. The mood was solemn and the air went stale. Everyone tried to come up with ideas on how to heal the young girl lying in the medical building. Not knowing what could be done was ominous. So many questions need answers.
“How did she manage to bond with an avian guardian when she is a feline guardian keeper?” Diana asked. “That has never done before. I thought cross guardian race bonding was not possible.”
“There are a lot of things we don't yet understand,” William answered. “How could she carry not just more than two guardians but fourteen? No keeper had ever been able to heal their counter part before. How will she do that?” He rubbed the back of his neck. “There are harder questions to ask as well. How could she escape from a broken mind? What will her mind be like if she does wake? Will she carry the same scars as the guardian she is trying to heal?” He paused for a moment. “We just don't know the answers.”
