by M S C Barnes
had passed. But Heath told us anyway. We waited for Aelfric’s return, hoping he would choose to inform us, but he never has. So we know his secret, but he does not know that.”
Seb could see the dilemma. Mr Duir believed these friends of his had made a commitment beyond what they had anticipated and now he would be forced to tell them his own pledge and what it meant to them all.
“So you all did it knowing you would not be able to stop … until he dies?” Seb was amazed.
“Granted, it is a demanding and often thankless life. The high point for me has always been the company of my twin …” Dierne looked over at Aelfric, “I am barely a twin to him, however. I could not come close to matching the nobility of his soul. In all my lives as human and Dryad I have never known such a soul …” Then Dierne’s eyes drifted to Seb and there was a moment where he contemplated him, hidden thoughts flickering behind his silver irises. “In any case, I suppose he now feels guilt, feels the burden of knowing that we are all tied to his destiny. What he doesn’t realise is we would all have remained anyway – I know of none of this group who would be parted from Aelfric. The pledge was just words; we had all already committed to him many years ago.” Dierne smiled.
The tinkling of the elf’s voice floated on the air.
“The equinox approaches.”
They turned. The three Elders stood along the facing edge of the stone, and Mr Duir had walked towards the Dryad bridge. He looked troubled. Seb wondered what he had asked the Elders. It appeared that, whatever it was, had been denied.
Leaving the knight on the stone Mr Duir led the way along the Dryad path. Seb noticed the walls of the sphere were now running with rivulets of water, as if melting. As they passed through the doorway he glanced back; the Dryad and fairy were heading towards their sides of the bank and the elf progressed slowly along his pathway to the far side of the lake bowl.
As he closed the door, Seb paused and, turning round for a moment, caught one last glimpse of the frozen knight. Then Mr Duir waved his hand and in a sudden rush the sphere collapsed, water crashing and falling back to earth to fill the curve of the lake basin. Not a drop spilled over; the entire contents of the lake settled back in place. At the centre of it was the lone Knight Sentinel, standing on the water, his armour gleaming in the light shining down from the hole in the cave roof above.
Mr Duir made a quick sweeping gesture with his left hand and the knight moved, striding across the lake towards the sparkling diamond. Reaching it, he leapt up, drew his sword, placing the tip on the diamond, and held the hilt in his gauntleted fists. Then, staring towards the bank, he froze.
“Are you not dismissing him?” Seb asked.
Mr Duir looked down at him.
“I doubt he would want that.” Seeing Seb’s confused face he continued, “Seb, he took an oath to protect you and Scarlet, not in order to gain a reward, as with other Knights Sentinel, but because that is his reward – the ability to watch over you. I believe his soul will benefit more from being on duty than waiting to be summonsed.”
Seb smiled until Zach ruined the moment.
“What if he needs a break?” he asked and Seb knew what he was getting at. “I mean, we all have to go— ”
“They are not human, Zach.” Mr Duir cut him off. “Their wants and needs are not those of humans. Do not judge them as such.”
“So they don’t need to pee, then?”
“Zach, stop it!” Scarlet scolded him. “You’re obsessed with everything toilet.” She tutted.
“Don’t do yourself down, Scarlet.” He winked at her.
It took her a moment to understand the reference and then she scowled and looked away but Seb saw the flicker of a smile on her lips as she did.
The knight in place, Mr Duir directed the others back to the fire which was still roaring. Keeping the Dryads and Seb with him he walked to the centre of the lake and revealed the Elder Tree. As its strong boughs stretched over his head Seb gazed at his feet, watching the little imps skipping and swirling just below the surface of the water.
Where have you guys been ?
Seb felt no fear or nervousness this time as the door was opened and within minutes the Elders had departed.
Rejoining the others he flopped onto a rug, feeling exhausted. Alice sat beside him.
“Hey, Al!” Zach called across from the far side of the cave, where he had gone over to watch The Caretaker tend to Cue. Zach seemed drawn to the powerful beast and was patting and stroking him, telling him how amazing he had been.
Alice looked across and Zach continued, “Come see this chap’s teeth.” He was lifting the flap of Cue’s top lip, trying to see the teeth. The animal seemed unbothered. Alice grinned and whizzed over to join him.
“Maybe those two should have been twins,” Seb said to Nat as she joined him.
She giggled. “They do seem to have a lot in common,” she said and sat on the rug beside him, lapsing into silence. They both stared into the fire as the others chattered around them.
Seb watched Mr Duir walk over and through to the carving cave. He stood up, apologising to Nat and began to follow but Dierne intercepted him.
“He needs some peace and quiet, Seb.”
Seb stared at the Dryad.
“He looks dreadful.”
“He needs to be alone.”
Seb understood the feeling. He found that the chatter around him grated on his nerves. He wasn’t sure what the equinox would bring and so much had happened in the last two days he wanted to lie down in a dark room and put his mind back together. Mr Duir had been through so much more – he had dealt with the loss of a good friend and mentor, having faced his betrayal beforehand and he had actually died, last night.
Nodding to Dierne, Seb walked down to the lake side and sat on the sparkling chalky bank, facing the knight. The Elder Tree had vanished and the space above the lake was alive with fireflies. He could hear the chatter of those around the fire; Miss West’s scolding and Zach’s laughter as he and Alice played a game, vaulting Cue; and the clatter of pans and utensils as The Caretaker began preparing another meal. He let his mind drift, trying not to allow himself to follow the dark memories he had of the last twenty-four hours but trying to piece together all he had learned about the realities around him and about himself.
Placing his head on his up-drawn knees, he closed his eyes. He knew he had enacted amazing feats – and so far he had skirted around the disturbing feelings that fact gave him. How had he managed to open the Soul Drop, banish the gytrash and the horde of bats? How had he produced the catastrophic blasts of air which seemed to single out the one thing he needed to deal with and yet leave everything and everyone else unscathed? How had he, so useless and clueless, managed to create the Glacial Trace, along with the Dryads? In the blur of memories from the last twenty-four hours he had given himself no time to think about these things because they seemed so at odds with his usual ineptitude.
He began now to forgive himself his shortfalls. As Aiden had said, he was … simply young, and confused and uninformed. He had been given a mentor he could look up to and learn from and now he was determined he would do exactly that. He had come such a long way in just a couple of weeks, he needed to give himself time to learn and develop. And, it seemed, Nature had created him young and bought him that time.
He heard footsteps as Nat approached. He patted the ground beside him and she sat down.
“You okay?” she asked.
“A bit nervous about what happens next,” he said. “But actually really okay.”
“You’ve done some amazing things,” she said, becoming a bit coy, “and I wanted to thank you, Seb.”
“What on earth for?” he said, surprised.
“You were willing to give yourself up for me.”
Seb had all but forgotten that moment and now the memories flooded back.
“Oh. Well, the group wouldn’t function without one of us, Nat – we couldn’t lose you.”
She frowned and stared across t
he lake.
“Well, you were brave,” she said, but sounded disappointed.
“Nat …” he said and she turned, searching his eyes for something.
“I couldn’t lose you.” He felt stupid saying it but only for a moment. The feeling evaporated as she flung her arms around his neck and hugged him. This time he hugged her back, not feeling awkward at all.
The Beginning
They were interrupted as Dierne appeared.
“Aelfric would like to see you,” he said to Seb.
Seb followed Dierne to the outer cave and opened the door he found there.
Dierne told Alice, who had come too, to remain, allowing Seb to go through alone.
It wasn’t what Seb expected. Having opened the door, intending to go to wherever Mr Duir was, he emerged in a patch of dense bushes and stepped onto the shingle-covered pathway that surrounded a decorative pond.
He knew this place well, having spent hours sitting on the large paving slabs beside the pond, watching the massive koi carp lurking beneath its surface. This was the Hikarimoyo Koi Centre and the place was bustling with parents and their young children, all watching the carp and too preoccupied to notice him.
He watched the white plume of the water spout, rising in an arc and plummeting into the pond, aerating the water and creating a froth of bubbles that drifted towards the edges. Dark shapes circled and cruised in the green water and a kookaburra laughed raucously from one of the many cages and pens in the grounds nearby.
He heard the slight
