Bellkipeg: The Full Story

1)

Something exploded out of the bushes, knocking him to the ground; something savage, wild. Its tusks tore bloody furrows down his chest and stomach as it lunged for him and he threw his arms up in a futile effort to protect himself. With a triumphant squeal the boar sank its teeth into his wrist. He screamed and lashed out with his other hand but none of his blows made any difference. The boar had tasted blood now and it wanted more. The cloying stench of fecal musk and fear made him gag further.

With one last desperate attempt he stabbed his fingers into its eye. The boar let him go, keening in pain and he managed to throw it off with the last of his strength. He clutched at his bleeding wrist and tried to push himself out of its path. But he was too slow.

He barely managed to get into a crouching position before the boar charged him again. He feebly tried to defend himself but its sheer force threw him to the ground. This time he stared into its bloodshot eyes as it went for his throat. Alex screamed, knowing there was nothing he could do to stop it.

2)

In just one hour his whole life had been turned inside out and it had all started so innocently. He'd opened his eyes to his new life without knowing what it meant; waking up in a field with no memory of falling asleep.

He got up quickly to figure out what was going on and felt the blood rush from his head as pins and needles engulfed him, making his head light. There was a worn and splintered fence post to his left and he held on to it for support. It took a couple of minutes for the dizzy spell to go but this allowed him time to take in his surroundings.

He was on a bridle-path between fields, which led to a dark and foreboding wood. The wood triggered a memory deep inside which he couldn’t place and the more he tried to remember it, the more elusive it became.

It was eerily quiet; no motor-traffic grumble, no guttural wail of trans-atlantic jumbo’s, barking dogs or screaming kids, and that had unnerved him. He realised that he was completely alone in a strange place and, for all he knew, could be miles from anywhere familiar. The air was the sweet fresh test of morning; a crisp dew soaked the bottom of his jeans.

All seemed calm. But there was something at the periphery of his vision that just lined the field’s edges; the horizon quivered like a heat haze and it took him a couple of seconds to realise that it was a mist drifting in. As the grass continued to eddy and coalesce in the wind, he noticed that the mist was getting closer to him, going against the wind.

The post that he'd been leaning on was part of a rough wooden fence that delineated the boundaries either side of the path. Ahead was the wood and behind him the dense mist was almost surrounding him now; getting thicker by the minute, it looked more like a fog that would soon absorb him completely. He didn't like that at all. There was something about being lost in a fog; it was a sense of being totally enveloped and yet utterly alone. Fog was clammy, had the pallor of death and left you just as cold.

With it closing in on him with every passing second there was only one place Alex could go: the wood. It called to him, dark and foreboding, he knew that it was waiting for him, and with each step closer the fear within him grew. Nevertheless he quickened his pace; up ahead the trees were so close together they swallowed the light and the gnarled branches beckoned him closer still towards the viscous dark. The grass dried and died the closer he got to the wood and he no longer felt the sun's warmth on his skin. The air was dank, damp and smelt of old age and loneliness; lost dreams and night sweats.

He looked back and all he saw was the fog. Thicker now, rolling towards him; undulating, coalescing. Something was moving within it. He turned round to face it,his curiosity getting the better of him. Surging, seething, reaching out for him like a plaintive lover, turning him to ice as it stretched out to him. He knew that when it touched him he would be lost forever, but he felt drawn to it and actually reached his hand out.

Suddenly a deep throated bark shattered the silence. It was just enough to break the spell and he quickly turned and stepped into the black surrender of the wood.

3)

Whilst in the wood he had felt disorientated, as if he was in a lucid dream, the world around him felt underexposed, unreal. He had found himself inside a tunnel of holly trees and even the woodland floor was slightly concave as if a groove had been cut into the very earth itself. Discarded leaves and branches littered the floor, crackling and crunching under his feet.

Ahead of him the tunnel petered out and widened until the holly became sparser and bracken grew either side to his shoulders. In the near distance oak, beech and birch trees stood tall; the leaves a fresh, beautiful chartreuse, glowing in the lazy light. A sweet breeze rippled through the foliage whispering to him, acting as lyrics to the enchanting birdsong.

Alex had felt spellbound, as if he was walking inside a fairy-tale. The path sloped gently to a stream before undulating back up the other side. To his left the trees were dense and the sun’s rays stippled through them, creating patchworks on the woodland floor. All around the twigs and branches acted as an early warning to the wildlife that scampered, slithered or flew regardless how carefully Alex trod. As he got closer to the stream he could see that the ground was churned in several places.

The stream shimmered as it languorously slithered through the wood without a sound, further heightening the dreamlike atmosphere. Midges clustered, spiralling around the water’s edge.A couple of meters away he noticed a rabbit hole, unremarkable except for the tufts of white which stuck out from odd angles. Venturing closer he saw pages from a book that had been haphazardly stuffed down the bolt hole. Scooping them out, he wiped the mud from the pages and started to read.

““Is this real? Any of this?”

“Yes, it’s true. You are in a forest that by rights should not exist, talking to a werewolf; king of a long dead pantheon. But in another reality you are still in your car, a victim of a horrific crash; your body warped and bloodied, sculptured by metal on flesh.”

“And on another level I’m writing all this down – the ideas like fractals in my head.”

“Not you, Creator – merely your shade. You are where you belong. Here. Now.””

The rest of the page had been illegible but what he had read made no sense whatsoever. He tucked the pages into his pocket for safe keeping, being careful not to tear them. A branch cracked behind him; he looked up and held his breath at the sight that met his eyes.

Standing in front of him was the most magnificent Stag he'd ever seen, the king of the forest; so proud, its coat chestnut red and sporting a majestic spread of antlers. Alex was transfixed and felt drawn to him, wanting very much to touch and become one with the stag.

It was then that he heard the heavy rustling in the bushes to his right; that was enough to break the spell between them, and the stag bolted. The rustling became louder, but it seemed too large to be a rabbit or a bird. Alex peered into the undergrowth wondering whether it was a fox.

The boar's attack had been viscous, unrelenting; taking him completely by surprise. The transition to unconsciousness was painful and Alex didn't know whether there would be anything to wake up to….

4)

...but darkness. Where the hell was he this time? How long had he been unconscious and what happened to the boar?

He listened intently to gauge whether he was safe. After a couple of minutes of hearing only his own breathing and heartbeat he felt content that he was alone. He could now turn his attention to his wounds.Strangely there was no pain from them and the darkness prevented him from seeing anything so he felt around his body instead. After carefully examining himself, and pushing down his sense of panic, he realised that there were no wounds at all and although his clothes seemed tattered there were no bloodied lacerations or bruises; nothing to account for the horrifying battle. He rubbed his wrists, and somehow this gave him some comfort.

He couldn’t understand what was happening to him. He was alone in the dark without any idea of where he was or how he got there. He knew that he could not succumb to the welling desperation; he had to figure out where he was.

He stood up and banged his head on something cold, damp and incredibly solid. He swore loudly at his stupidity, and heard it echo. He tried standing again, slowly this time, stretching his hands out. It was rock, biting cold and wet, which meant that he was must be inside a cave of some kind. He felt around further and realised that there was enough room for him to manoeuvre; he could actually get into a crouching position before hitting his head again.

As he became accustomed to the dark his other senses sharpened. He could smell the acrid dank air and heard echoes of water drip-dropped on to the floor. He crawled slowly along the ground, all the while hoping he was heading to freedom. He tried not to think about being trapped, suppressed all thoughts about being buried alive to the back of his mind. He shuddered as his clothes clung to him like a second, ill-fitting skin. The further he crawled the lighter it became.

He didn’t notice the breeze at first, it was so faint. Then he felt it on his cheek; a barely perceptible murmur from a long lost lover. He was overjoyed for it meant he was heading in the right direction: A draught meant a way out.The cool breeze continued to caress his skin as he crawled forward at a faster pace now and there, little more than a glimmer at first, he could see a definite light; a lone star in this the darkest of nights, which grew in intensity the closer he got. The cave widened and soon he could, at last, stand.

As it broadened further he saw that there were large flaming torches lining the walls either side at intervals. There were empty wooden trunks and cases strewn about; some broken and smashed. One particular casket caught his eye and Alex knelt down to open it. Inside were more pages, similar to the ones he found in the wood. Some of the paragraphs had been scribbled out with something resembling a felt tipped pen and were now unreadable, and the few that were left made little sense to him. One in particular resonated though and Alex read it through again:

“I saw a glimpse of the future; a man standing over the pages of a book. The book is bleeding – rivulets of blood flowing between the words and sentences, drowning the story in crimson. The man is weeping and all behind him the fairy-tale landscape is dying, Bellkipeg is dying, fading into a breathless void as he forgets it and closes the book.”

It was then that Alex heard raised voices, coming from further in front of him. He couldn’t hear any specific words at first, but they were male –one young and the other older, more direct.The cave sloped up to a rocky outcrop, and the voices carried from beyond the rise. Stuffing the pages in his pocket with the others, Alex moved closer very carefully. He didn’t know whether these were robbers who wouldn’t take kindly to him nosing about, or possible friends who could help provide a solution to his predicament. Either way he didn’t want to frighten them off. He reached the top of the outcrop and peered over the edge.

The older man's clothes were streaked and torn. He was tall, standing proud despite his appearance; his hair was as lank and unkempt as his face was dirty and pocked. His skin was a mahogany hue and he wore a scar on his left cheek. But what really struck Alex was the boy.

5)

Physically the boy was a typical teenager. His glasses ill-fitting and wonky, his khaki pullover and faded blue jeans uninspiring and his hair was one style removed from short back and sides. He was as short as he was rotund and it looked as if mother had dressed him before sending him out without a lunch box. But there was something else about him that stunned Alex.

He recognised this boy instinctively; it was like an ache in his gut: he knew him! But the more he tried to pin it down, to logic his way around it; the more elusive the boy’s identity became. Like in the field, every effort he made to remember was met by a wall of frustration and hopelessness. What was going on?

The man was remonstrating and raising his voice to the boy and it looked to Alex as if he had caught the boy trying to steal something from one of the wooden chests. The boy didn’t seem surprised by the man and even snapped back at him. They were still too far away for Alex to really understand what they were saying. The boy was now shouting back, almost panic stricken; the older man more placatory in reaction, but still urgent; his hand outstretched as if pleading, trying to talk the boy down from something -as if he was about to step off the edge of a great chasm. Alex crawled closer until he could finally hear what they were both saying.

“Give the egg to me now, Tom.” The older man pleaded, “You don’t know what energies you’re dealing with!” His voice was stern but filled with concern. The boy wavered, in his hands he clutched a large black egg that pulsated with an unearthly malevolence.

The boy started to hand the egg over to the man, his arm shaking with the effort when all of a sudden his whole demeanour changed. The boys youthful posture and being became twisted and warped.

“FOOL! You still have no conception of what you're dealing with. The boy is mine, old man!” The contempt and sheer hatred that came from the boys’ voice shook Alex to the core. He couldn’t have been older than thirteen but the voice spouted forth such venom and hate. The old man felt it too and stepped back.

“You do not belong here! Be gone from the boy!” The old man shouted.

“You are in no position to demand anything, cretinous deceiver!” The boy was clearly just a puppet, his once innocent face perverted into a rictus of hate. “You had your chance to destroy me years ago and failed: now it is my time!”

The boy suddenly lifted the egg high over his head. The old man leapt at him, knocking him to the ground. The egg flew out of the boy’s hands and both could only watch as it shattered on the floor. Darkness erupted forth, flooding the chamber as a harrowing laugh echoed, enveloping everything. Alex never felt the wave strike him so nothing marked the boundary to unconsciousness this time.

6)

Waking up was becoming a chore for Alex as he opened his eyes to blue skies again. If this was a dream then he wished that someone would let him sleep it off! It was really beginning to infuriate him; feeling this helpless..

He stood up and was surprised that he'd been lying on the edge of a large clearing with the mouth of the cave behind him. The cave was set into the side of a hill before being engulfed by a huge wood; he wondered whether this was the same woodland as before. It was then that he realised that the boy from the cave was lying next to him, bruised and unkempt, but still very much alive. The question now stood: who had dragged them out of the cave?

“You never cease to amaze me, Creator.” The booming voice made Alex jump. “How you can look around you, take in all your surroundings, and still miss the one person that’s standing right next to you. It beggars belief!” Alex span round to face what was making fun of him.

Towering well over seven feet tall, the man with the tree-trunk physique had ragged brown hair flowing round his wizened, mahogany hued face. His eyebrows met in the middle and led down to a mildly impressive, if slightly irregular nose; as if it had been broken a couple too many times. His face was extremely emotive and was now in the process of braying with laughter at Alex’s open mouthed expression, for the man also had a large pronounced set of antlers growing out of his head, reminding Alex of the stag in the wood. He had never seen anything like it before.His face also reminded Alex of the tramp in the cave. There was but a passing resemblance yet it felt as if they were somehow connected. Alex wanted to touch the man, if only to prove that he wasn’t dreaming, and reached out.

“I’d rather you didn’t.” The being said, taking a step backwards. “I don’t take too well to being touched whilst on this plane; and if you were wise, you’d learn that fast. You don’t know who I am so you can’t protect yourself against me. I’m not too worried about what you could do to me, you understand. I doubt you could harm me directly in your current state, I’m sorry to say.”

“What….? Just who the hell are you? Was it you that dragged me out of the cave?”

“Questions, hmm – considering what little time we have, Creator, I think we can dispense with the asinine ones straight away. Or… maybe not, looking at the state you’re in… I’ll let you decide what I am…. As for my name, well, it’s hard to say.” The being paused; rubbed his chin and regarded Alex contemplatively. He was wearing a very long animal skin bodkin, faded brown trousers, and he was barefoot, though his feet were extremely hairy and almost hoofed. “You’ve never been completely comfortable with who or what I am, have you?” He continued. “In the beginning my name was Lycaon; a werewolf king of the lost city of Arcadia…. something like that, if I remember, but that didn’t last long. I was a centaur for a while and you batted around the name of Cheiron. That was quite fun, it was certainly original… I mean, who needs two legs when you have four?” At this he sighed. “But now you’ve settled with Onyx, as it suits your mind-set at this particular time, doesn’t it, Creator? But I’m sure you have no idea who Onyx really was….”

Alex had no idea what this… creature was talking about. How could he have three names? What did Alex’s mind-set have to do with this creature? And why the hell did he keep referring to him as a creator?

“Not a creator, THE creator. Now this is going to be a difficult time for you; you have a lot to take in, young man. In many ways you’ve only just started to wake up.”

The words waking up made Alex remember the boy who was still lying on the ground beside him. “What about him? Who is he and what’s he doing here?”

“Look at him, Creator. Study his features well; does he not remind you of anyone?”

“He looks familiar enough, but I just don’t recognise him. Should I know him?”

“Try not to answer a question with another question. You know who he is. Just relax and it will come to you…. See with your heart, not with your mind.”

Alex was bemused at first by what he had been told to do, but relaxed his thoughts nonetheless. Gradually he let his eyes take in what they saw, not what his mind told him. It took a couple of minutes for the truth to finally sink in and when it did he could hardly believe it.

“You’ve got to be kidding me; that can’t be me.”

7)

“You’re right.” Onyx replied. “That is not you; it’s merely a shade; a reflection of what you were. Now, this is where your mind will start shutting down because you don’t want to face what’s happening. But don’t. Don’t close your mind to it, Creator. Concentrate; look deep into yourself and you will see the truth. Remember who you were, remember what it is that the child represents.”

But even as Onyx spoke the words “shutting down” Alex felt as if his whole world was narrowing to a point, everything was draining of colour as he tried to work out what was going on.

“How can I remember who I was… ? I… I Can’t!!” He sputtered in desperation. “I don’t even know who I am now or what I’m doing here, let alone who that is…. I just don’t know!!”

It was then that he realised that he had no memory of anything prior to the field. Apart from his name, he had no idea who he was. He felt his head go light again, like in the field. The dizzying, numbing sensation that started at the crown of his head sent shock waves down the length of his body. He dropped to his knees, cradling his head in his hands.

“I know it’s difficult, Creator, but try not to be so melodramatic about it...” Onyx’s voice became deep and calming. “For now you have to focus on where you are, what you are doing; here and now. Concentrate on every little detail. Everything that happens here happens for a reason and nothing is what it truly seems.

“You need to know who you are, not what you were; the past will not help you. I’m not sure whether you will be able to understand this yet, but you must for we don’t have much time. I now must tell you why you have been brought here.”

8)

“You have been brought here to save this land. And the land, in turn will save you. Remember this: everything is linked, Creator. I am here to guide you, I know much about this land; in many ways we were created at the same time.”

Alex looked up through tear streaked eyes. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about; just shut up. Shut the hell up! I’ve no idea what’s going on or who you are! How can I just forget what’s happened to me and carry on as normal?”

“Now is not the time for mindless indulging. I didn’t say for you to forget what has happened, what I said was to concentrate on where you are NOW.”

“Mindless indulging?! You have no idea.” Still kneeling on the floor, Alex’s head felt as if it was cracking. “I never wanted any of this; all I want to do is wake up!”

“Then wake up, Creator, for all our sakes. Please. We’re all waiting for you to wake up. That is why we’re all still here in this purgatory, waiting for you to take hold of yourself, of your destiny. You are the reason the land around you is in the shape it is.

"You do need to wake up, and that is why you have been brought here. But that is not the same as you wanting to wake up. You want to be like the child lying next to you –you wish to escape and forget about what is happening to you.

“I say this to you now; you are no longer a child, Creator, but you’re not fit enough to know your own mind. You need to stand up and be counted as a MAN. You have not the time to indulge in being a child any longer; this is a dying land and you have been brought here to prevent that.

“The boy that is lying at your side is, indeed, a much younger version of yourself, as you were at 13. He is where the story started. I had hoped that the transition to our land would have left you with better sense of identity; I did not realise you were so far gone in yourself. In many ways you were brought here just in time.”

Alex didn’t understand what he was talking about; he looked at his wrists and rubbed them again, but the comments about being a man, though, struck at the very core of his self, making him realise just how much he had been indulging in his fears; he had felt like giving up.

Onyx was right, there was no time for that anymore; he was the only one that could get himself out of this land, so he had to start growing up. Getting up, Alex brushed himself off and looked Onyx in the eyes.

“Why exactly have I been brought here?”

“You have been brought here to save the land, and thereby perhaps to save yourself. You are the land, you are intrinsically linked and in order to save the land you will have to find out how to save yourself.”

What do I have to save the land from?”

“The child.” Onyx pointed to the boy, still unconscious at his feet.

“No! There is no way. That child cannot be the problem; surely it’s whatever was in the cave, and whatever was in the egg that is threatening this world.”

“They are one and the same, Creator. One will grow out of the other's ruin. That is something that you need to make sure never happens.”

“No! I will not do it, Onyx. You want to kill the boy then you will have to do it!”

“No, you misunderstand; this is something that you must do… but we may already be too late.” Onyx looked beyond him, to the edge of the clearing. Alex followed his line of sight and gasped. The darkness that lay between the trees seethed, it had form and was actually rolling towards them.

“I managed to save you once from the Deluge –when it was in its infancy, but I fear that it has become too powerful now. We will have to run before it swallows us.”

9)

Onyx ran without waiting to see if Alex was following him. Alex could only stand and stare at the churning black mass as it flowed mercuriously towards them, swallowing everything in its path. It was immense, the sheer bulk of it defied all attempts to rationalise what it actually was. A groan from the boy made him realise there was more than his life at stake. He had no choice but to rescue him.

Grabbing the half unconscious boy by the arm Alex ran, dragging him as best he could; the boy’s weight impeding his every move. “Don’t look back, don’t look back.” Alex repeated, focusing on every footfall. He knew they would never make it, but just couldn’t give up.

He heard Onyx shout out to him and glanced round just as the Deluge lunged at them. It struck the boys outstretched leg, swallowing it, jolting Alex mid-run. The boy let out an alarmed cry, terror jamming his eyes wide open. Alex tried to pull the boy out of the pitched embrace but couldn’t. He made one final tug but his sweaty hands couldn’t maintain their grip on the boys arm and Alex fell backwards. He could only watch in horror as the Deluge engulfed the boy, his strangled shrieks echoing round the clearing as his outstretched hand was finally enveloped. Alex cried out, knowing that he would be next.

The Deluge suddenly rolled back, bringing itself to a height like a cobra but stayed there, quivering. Wide eyed, Alex whirled round. Onyx now stood behind him, arms outstretched, fingers wide open - his face serene. There was a pure, brilliant light shining from him. The Deluge could not move forward because of the energy streaming forth. Onyx spoke to him, though his lips never moved. He heard it in his mind, Onyx talking to him. He said just three words. “Run Creator, RUN!”

Alex didn’t need to be told again – he had no idea how long Onyx would be able to hold back the Deluge or whether Onyx himself would be able to get away from it –Alex was more worried about himself so he ran and ran, and never looked back.

10)

Alex ran without knowing where he was going. He ran until his legs shook and it felt as if his lungs would burn and turn to cinders. He ran until his breaths were gulps of pain filled air, and only then did he collapse.

He had no idea how long he had run or whether the Deluge was still after him. He had left both Onyx and the boy behind to their fates, and he cried. Whether his tears were of genuine concern or self-pity he didn’t know. He wanted to escape, to run until none of it mattered, but his legs wouldn’t allow it any more.

He couldn’t go back; he didn’t even know where back was. There was so much he didn’t know; he knew his name, but little beyond that. Onyx had called him creator, which was a joke. Alex knew that he couldn’t create his way out of a paper bag, let alone a whole world; which he was also supposed to save, by the way. How can one save a whole world? By saving yourself, so Onyx maintained.

It was getting dark; shadows were lengthening and the wood was beginning to feel different, less welcoming. Alex didn’t relish the thought of spending the night alone in the wood, especially with the Deluge still somewhere behind him. In the dark there would be no way for him to tell where the night ended and the Deluge began and that frightened him, but he needed somewhere safe to sleep. His first thought was to climb a tree, but most were fairly young and insubstantial and didn’t look as if they could hold his substantial weight, besides he wasn’t that much of a tree climber.

The wood was sparse and still allowed the dying light to shimmer through the canopy; he needed to find shelter now before it got too dark for him to see. He stood up, his aching limbs shaking in complaint, and looked behind him; there was still no sign of the Deluge, so he walked unsteadily on, unsure exactly where he was going.

It wasn’t long before the colour had drained out of the wood around him, the sun had taken its leave of the day, and now the evening was drawing in. Alex didn’t have much time before it became tar black and thick of night.

Just in front of him he saw a large mass silhouetted against the dusk and it took a couple of seconds for him to register that it was actually a house, alien against the trees and bushes that surrounded it. More bizarrely, Alex recognised it. It was the house he grew up in!

11)

His childhood home stood before him, resolute against the coming darkness; seemingly a place of refuge. Overgrown with ivy and brambles, its bricks were chipped and crumbling and the twisted skeletal window frames acted as empty eyes to a bereft shell.

A huge wizened and gnarled yew tree grew straight through the centre of the house; Gothic and bizarre against the coming dusk. A tap root arced through, what had been, the front bay window, stretching as if it were waking from the deepest sleep; another branch extending serpentine through the side wall. There was no roof; just the convolving trunks of the yew leading to its magnificent canopy, which consumed the rafters like a bizarre, infectious growth.

Despite the disarray, the wrack and ruin of the place, he still recognised his home, and after everything that had happened to him, to be able to identify something, anything, gave him a sense of safety. He had sanctuary now. Somewhere he could wait out the night and the inhospitable darkness. Alex didn’t question what his home was doing there or why it was in such a state of disrepair. All he knew was he wanted to find somewhere to sleep.

As he got closer he realised just how overgrown the house was. Brambles as thick as his thumb tangled round themselves, barbed hooks ready to ensnare any who dared venture near; the tendriled ivy blanketed and climbed where the brambles had not conquered. How had he recognised it?

There was a vague opening through the brambles which, he guessed had been where the front door originally was. Had he been more alert Alex might have wondered why there was an opening there at all...

However, as he was physically exhausted and emotionally drained he thought about nothing more than rest, and crouching he entered. As he did so he felt a mercurial shiver traverse his spine. There was something that felt wrong: was this really his home? That was ridiculous though; this must be his old house. He only had to look around to be certain of that, and as his eyes became adjusted to the gloom he started seeing things as they had been; there was still enough of a structure to piece together where the rooms once were.

Standing in the remains of the hallway he could just make out where the kitchen and dining room were; to his left lay the lounge and in front of him, where the yew tree was now, the stairs. He had no doubt now that this was his old home and pushed all thoughts to the contrary aside.

However, there the resemblance ended. It was just a fractured shell - no carpets, no wallpaper; just the occasional rotted floorboard, showing the yew’s contorted root system underneath. What little was left of the plastered walls were pockmarked and streaked green with algae and moss. The air smelled damp but strangely comforting.

The bulk of the yew tree stood where the staircase was, its branches stretching out into the other rooms upstairs. There was very little left to the internal structure at all, and Alex wondered how the house was still standing. There was virtually nothing of the upper floor -no floorboards, or ceiling and, with no staircase the upstairs was inaccessible, save climbing the tree and that didn’t appeal to him at all, besides it was too dark to climb. With no way for him to get into his old bedroom he had to look for somewhere else to sleep.

Feeling around in the cloying dusk Alex realised that the yew tree was hollow enough to allow him to curl up inside. He didn’t know where the Deluge was, or even if it was still tracking him down; he didn’t care. He felt protected in this womb; the soft, fibrous heartwood offered him shelter from the elements and it also felt warm against the chill of the night.

As he relaxed he could feel his weighted eyelids slide shut and as the tide of sleep turned and washed over him he briefly wondered where he would wake up next time.

12)

Morning. A warm, comfortable feeling of contentment soothed Alex as he stirred in the first dawnings of wakefulness. Relaxed, he shifted position; he was wrapped snugly in a duvet.. In a bed! Reticent to shatter his hopes of this being real he took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes. The sight that welcomed him was beyond relief.

He was in his own bed; in the house he grew up in as a child, it was exactly the same as he remembered it. He automatically reached for his glasses and they were where he expected them to be; on the small dresser by his bed. Calmed by the sense of familiarity he looked around.

The walls were festooned with posters: brightly coloured and action packed. Shelves crammed with books; cd’s and video’s. Lining these shelves were an array of four inch poseable action figures. On the wall opposite him an old word processor stood on the desk gathering dust.

Glancing at the action figures again, one captivated his interest. Unlike the others, it wasn’t particularly heroic or otherworldly. It was of a shabbily dressed man in a long trench coat and dirty jeans, an unkempt beard and antlers growing out of his head. It looked so odd amongst the rest of the figures that Alex couldn’t think why it was there, but he was intrigued enough that he forsook the comforts of his duvet, and got out of bed.

A sharp pain stabbed in his right temple, it was so intense he cried out and clutched at his head with both hands, sitting down quickly before he fell.At that moment there was a stern knock on the door. Transfixed, he waited, the toy forgotten. The pain made it hard for him to focus on anything. Another knock on the door, more urgent this time and a voice accompanied it: “Alex?” it called, “Are you alright?” It was a voice he recognised. Relieved, he pushed himself slowly off the bed, making his way carefully to the door. Taking his dressing gown from the back of the chair, he opened the door to see his father facing him.

13)

For a split second his vision blurred. Where there should have been a landing staircase and far wall, stood a gnarled, misshapen yew tree; snaking branches like sinister outstretched arms. Behind the yew tree was thick forest. Looking up, it wasn’t his father that glared at him now. It was something monstrous, corpulent and leering; a creature from the darkest fairy tales of his youth. Alex reeled in shock, staggered across the room and fell on to his bed.

“Are you alright, Son?” the father-thing asked. Cradling his head in his hands, Alex barely heard him, his head was pounding now, he didn’t want to look up for fear of what he would see. His sanity was already on a knife edge.

“Alex, what’s wrong?” the voice asked again, more sternly this time.

“Migraine,” He whimpered, the pain making it difficult for him to talk. “It started when I got up.”

“That’s why you cried out then.” Alex nodded pitifully. “Mum heard it. She’s worried about you, son. We both are.” Alex didn’t know whether there was ‘parental concern’ in his father’s voice or disapproval.

“I’m sorry.” He heard himself say, an automatic apology in a voice that he didn’t quite recognise. He looked up again and of the yew tree and the creature there was no sign.

“That’s alright. Mum just wants to know whether you’re coming down to breakfast.” The banality of the conversation was absurd and made it more difficult for Alex to concentrate. Still standing by the door, his father was oblivious to the pain Alex was in, “If so, she’ll get your cereal ready for you and put the kettle on. Do you want coffee?”

Alex wanted to scream at the unreality of it all but with an effort he finally said, “…Coffee will be fine… I’ll be down after my wash.”

“Ok, I’ll let her know. Take it easy son and see you in a bit.” With that his father turned and walked downstairs. When Alex was sure he was gone, he carefully shut the door and within a minute his headache started to abate.

He then remembered why he had originally left the bed: the antlered action-figure. He scoured the shelves, looking at each individual toy in turn and soon realised that the horned man wasn’t there at all.

14)

Alex stepped out of the shower with a sense of cold, penetrating dread. He doubted the world he currently found himself in. Everything felt wrong: his dad asking if he wanted coffee, reciting the dialogue as if from a television advert; the antlered toy that had disappeared (if it had been there at all); not to mention the bizarre, frightening vision of the creature.

This was getting crazy, he thought, it was only his mother that was waiting for him. There was no need for him to be so apprehensive. Leaning on the sink he wiped the condensation from the mirror and was shocked by what he saw. Glaring back at him was a haggard face, grimy and marked with vivid scratches and livid contusions. The eyes were bloodshot and sunken; hair unkempt and dirty, his glasses cracked.

Horrified, Alex put his hands to the face in the mirror and the reflection shifted immediately back to his own familiar countenance. Pushing his face against the glass he attempted to catch a glimpse of the previous visage, but only his own stared back.

Downstairs, his mother sat at the dining table with her back to him, staring blankly through the window at the world outside. Powder-puff clouds added character to an otherwise blissful blue sky, whereas inside felt cold and grey…. It didn’t matter where his mother sat, the mood of the room revolved around her. In the right frame of mind the rooms’ ambience was favourable, uplifting almost, but if she was ‘not feeling very well’ then the energy would drain from the atmosphere; the very air becoming heavy and listless.

It was half past ten in the morning, yet his mother was still in her dressing gown which was never a good sign. As he walked closer he could see the reflection in the window betraying his every movement. She was scrutinizing him. After all these years she could find and say the one thing that was guaranteed to hurt him, and after all these years Alex couldn’t understand how or why he still allowed her to do this.

He bent down to kiss her on the cheek and she surprised him by actually reciprocating, even managing a weak smile whilst patting him on the hand like a dutiful son (or faithful dog, he thought).There was a steaming cup of coffee on the table waiting for him as he sat down, whilst soggy cornflakes drowned in a chipped bowl in front of his mother; but she still stared outside, oblivious to their plight. His father walked over with a bowl, cereal box and a jug of milk before sitting down opposite him.

Alex couldn’t remember the last time he had partaken of breakfast with his parents. Everything felt too surreal and very intense; the silence tangible. His father’s small, deep set, piercing eyes bored into him and Alex knew that a storm was brewing; it was just a matter of time before an argument broke out, he could feel it. The air felt charged with that inevitability. His father eventually broke the silence to ask Alex how his headache was. The words were carefully modulated, deliberately non-threatening in their delivery. Too deliberate though, thought Alex, like a trap ready to be sprung.

“It’s still there.” Alex replied, warily. “I’m hoping that eating some breakfast will help it. I think the shower eased it a bit.” He added, “but I can’t get rid of the feeling that.. something’s not.. quite right.” Alex regretted the words as soon as they left his lips.

“What do you mean?” The intonations were starting to creep into his father’s voice and each word was another cartridge being loaded into the shotgun.

“I c..can’t explain.” Alex murmured.

“Try.” His father replied. Alex had to be very careful now with what he said next as he was walking on a spring loaded trapdoor, but he couldn’t stop himself.

“..I feel as if I shouldn’t… be here?” His father’s reaction was immediate, his words spite filled.

“Oh, you feel you don’t belong…” He retorted, sarcastically. “Don’t start with that again!”

“Look, that was not what I meant.” Alex gritted his teeth for the onslaught.

“Nobody asked you to come back here, son.” The last word was weighted like concrete. “All you do when you come round here is upset your mother. If you’ve got something more important to do or you’ve got somewhere you’d rather be then bloody well go there.”

“i… I just need to clear my head…” Alex replied, not knowing what else to say. His head pounded again, clouding his ability to think. He had been in this situation many times before but he still didn’t know what to do –whatever he said seemed to make matters worse. His headache felt so bad, like his skull had been replaced with broken glass. He tried to talk through the pain. “I’m… sorry if I guh-gave you the impression that I wanted to be somewhere else. I just need to clear my head –maybe some fresh air or a walk might help me.”

“You can’t go out in this weather, dear.” His mother said, putting a hand on his arm. “You’ll get soaked…” Through a crimson haze of pain Alex rubbed his forehead, his bewilderment complete. The skies had been baby blue and sunshine only seconds ago and now it was a torrential downpour.

His mother, sensing his confusion, squeezed his hand. “Help me into the other room,” She said, “It’s been so long since you’ve visited –I get lonely when your father’s working and you rarely come round now.” The inflection in her voice made the comment barbed and with each carefully chosen word he felt more caught up in her web of guilt and no matter how hard he tried to stop it from hurting he couldn’t.

15)

“Why do you have to provoke your father so much?” His mother asked once they were in the lounge. “Why did you have to tell him that you didn’t want to be here?”

“That’s not what I said!” Alex tried not to raise his voice, but he could feel his contempt rise: he felt helpless and impotent. “And you know it.”

“There’s no need to take that tone of voice with me. I’m not your father…” Her voice was calm, measured –it sounded frail but there was strength beneath that feigned weakness. Looking at his mother now, he was staring into a dark abyss behind those deep brown, calculating eyes. The image she portrayed was of a very ill woman – her long auburn hair hung limply to her shoulders and her skin had a grey, damp and clingy pallor, but Alex knew that she ruled the household and his father colluded with her. “I merely asked you a question.”

Taking a deep breath Alex replied, “What I meant was that I felt that… this… feels wrong. Living here… now… It feels like I shouldn’t be here… I don’t know…I can’t explain it.”

“You don’t need to explain any further, Alex. I quite understand.” Here it comes, Alex thought as he prepared himself for the guilt trip which happened every time. Why hadn’t he learned to keep his mouth shut? “Whatever we’ve tried to do for you in the past, it’s never been enough…” His mother continued. “You’ve never felt that you belonged here, and it makes me wonder whether we ever did right by you.” She paused now, leaning in closer. “I wonder if we were ever good enough.…”

Alex couldn’t believe what he was hearing –he never expected that bombshell! His mother continued speaking but Alex was oblivious, still clawing his way through the pain. But her last sentence he heard clearly and it hurt the most. “I often wish I had a son that could love me the way I am rather than hate me because I’m not who he thinks I should be.”

“It’s not like that at all!!” He shouted, the power behind the words shocked Alex. “Stop twisting the bloody words around.” He retorted.

“You’re no son of mine,” She said, impassively smoothing down her dressing gown, “No son of mine would treat their mother with such disdain. If you can’t be civil towards me then maybe you should go.”

“I’m sorry,” Alex replied, deflating rapidly. He couldn’t win –whatever resistance he put up was quashed utterly. “It’s my head… I didn’t m.m.mean to shout at you. I’m so confused at the moment I don’t know what I’m saying… I’m… I’m going up to my room to clear my head.” Alex turned, walked out of the front room and up the stairs. He looked back at his mother. There was a sly, predatory smile creeping across her face. When she looked up at him there was something in her eyes; a cold, reptilian glint that frightened him, making him run up to the sanctuary of his own room as if he was a child again.

16)

Lying on his bed, his head throbbing with such intensity, Alex tried desperately to piece together what was happening but the pain fogged his ability to think; it felt his entire world would split. Nothing made sense; from the time he woke it just seemed to spiral out of control… but even that wasn’t true for there had been a catalyst. It was then that he remembered the antlered toy.

Pushing himself off the bed he now found the toy on the shelf where it hadn’t been before. He picked it up just as his door swung open. His father barged in shouting. Alex remained impassive as his father fired spite filled comments at him, all were scathing confirmation of all the fears that Alex kept inside. “You’ve always been a disappointment to me,” His father hissed, “Both as a son and as a man!” Alex felt his vision narrow to a point, his whole world collapsing through a red haze; the only thing that felt real to him was the antlered toy in his hand.

Tightening his grip on it, Alex felt the antlers dig into his palm, he could no longer hear the words but he could feel his father’s breath on the back of his neck. Everything his father had said about him was true; his father was right, he was always right.

He felt his resolve crumble against the onslaught when he saw something flicker in his peripheral vision in the back garden – something that didn’t belong.Oblivious to his father and the pain in his head, Alex walked over to the window. Standing regally in the centre of the garden was a stag; the image resonated with such a force that the headache faded away. As the stag walked closer it shimmered and blurred as if through a heat haze. Alex closed his eyes briefly to bring the stag back into focus.

When he looked again he saw a familiarly built, but scruffily dressed dark skinned man with resplendent antlers growing out of his head –now with a trench-coat flapping in the wind, a flag to the memories that were now stirring again in the recesses of Alex’s mind. There was no doubt now that it was Onyx that stood there, and as they made eye contact he gestured for Alex to follow him. Alex nodded his head slowly and turned to face his father.

17)

It was then that Alex knew what was happening. He knew that it was not his father in front of him and that it was not his childhood home that they now stood in. He saw through the illusion. This was the same creature Alex had glimpsed when he first opened the bedroom door, its grey skin pockmarked like scarred leather, eyes bloodshot and mouth tusked with rancid breath – but Alex now dwarfed it in size.

“You will apologise to your mother or there will be trouble.” It snorted, its gross parody of his father was unsettling but the creature was oblivious that its camouflage had now gone and Alex couldn’t help but smile. “Damn you...” ranted the Creature, “Why are you smiling? You find this funny?”

Alex knew now, without doubt, that this creature couldn’t hurt him and his smile widened further. “If you don’t stop that I’ll wipe that grin off your face and give you a hiding you won’t forget!”

“No.” Alex said softly, power coursing through his every nerve ending. “You no longer have any control over me. I see you now as you truly are and you’re nothing.” Alex pushed passed the creature with no resistance.

Walking down the stairs, he saw the house disintegrating in front of him: plaster crumbling from the ceilings; the walls decomposing, wallpaper peeling as the enchantment that held everything together failed. When he looked into the lounge again Alex could see his ‘mother’. She was shifting between guises and looked almost pitiable sitting on the moldy sofa in her shabby dressing gown as the room fell apart around her.

Alex shook his head at this wretched creature who once had so much power over him. Walking out of the front door he saw Onyx in the distance waiting for him, a knowing smile beckoning him on.

18)

Alex was relieved to see Onyx alive again but there were so many questions he needed answered; Onyx shook his head and gestured for him to turn and look behind. He could scarcely believe the sight that met his eyes for where the house had once stood, a seething, vomitous mass of black nothingness enveloped the entire structure. In among the cracking of timbers and tumbling bricks Alex could hear the screams of the creatures that had once been his parents.

Onyx put his hand on Alex’s shoulder and motioned for them to walk away quietly but at a brisk pace. “Whilst the Deluge is preoccupied with the Vaurac,” He said, in a soft voice, “It’s best that we make sure there is some distance between us. It won’t be long before the Deluge has your scent again and next time we might not be so lucky.”

n hour passed, neither of them spoke as they walked; Alex was still shaken from the sight of the Deluge engulfing the house. He kept replaying the morning’s events in his head but nothing made any sense. Onyx strode in front, oblivious to his confusion. This part of the forest was far lighter due to the beech and birch trees that were interspersed.

Onyx warned him that though there was good visibility the Deluge could hide in any shadow and that it could be completely without form until it struck. His pace relentless and demanding, Onyx never seemed to tire but Alex found himself struggling. The path, in truth nothing more than an animal trail, now led up a steep hill and Alex needed to rest before he walked any further.

“I can hear just by your breathing that you need to rest, Creator. We will, but not just yet.” Onyx said. “The Deluge will not stop, never tire; it has gorged itself on the negative energies of the house so it didn’t concern itself with you -this time. But it will be more powerful now and I doubt whether I could stop it again.”

Alex shivered with the last comment, every shadow now seemed to tremble and move with dark potential. “Is the Deluge alive?”

“Yes, it is alive, in the same way that a thought is alive; like fear is a living emotion; it grows the more you feed it. You may not believe this, but you encountered the Deluge when you first woke up in the field.” Onyx’s voice was barely a whisper and Alex had to concentrate to listen. However, by listening intently and focusing on what was said he no longer felt the tiredness of walking. His senses became more acute and he could hear the forests symphony all around him again and feel its energies course through him.

“Are you talking about the fog bank that moved against the wind?”

“Yes Creator. You woke up in one of the shifting places: a boundary of Bellkipeg where thought patterns are manifested from the deeper parts of your subconscious.”

Alex interrupted, “I’m not sure I understand what you’re on about.”

“Just listen. It will make sense later. The fog was the Deluge in its infancy so I was able to distract you otherwise it would have easily ensnared you.” Onyx could see that Alex was bemused by his last statement and laughed gently. “I was the one that barked at you –from the wood. You heard the bark for it distracted you from the Deluge –those were not the barks of a dog, but of a deer. Me! Really, Creator, it’s not important that you understand what the Deluge is or how I managed to distract you. All you need to remember is that the Deluge has been here for as long as you have,and it is tracking you down. Now… ask me the question that has been on your lips since we met up again…”

“What happened to my… parents and my old home?”

“I think, for the most part, you have worked it out for yourself. Those were not your parents –they were Vaurac: vampiric shape changers. They thrive on the denser emotions: be it doubt, fear, anger- and become the object of your worst fears, or nightmares. They then project back an image of the person that encompasses those emotions, so they can feed. I believe a trap was set using them and an image of your childhood home as bait. It was the image of your parents that provoked the feelings of hate and despair – it must have been a veritable feast! The Vaurac were not trying to kill you though, but to keep you there until the Deluge could ensnare you.”

“Who would have the power to set such a trap? Can you tell me that?” Alex asked.

“Very little is known about him, there is a force that is trying to take control of Bellkipeg; he is known only as The Presence. If you are the Light-bringer to this world then he is surely the Death-storm.” Alex was unsure what Onyx was talking about.

“So what do you know about The Presence?” Alex pushed further.

“You witnessed its rebirth back in the cave.” Onyx replied. Alex shook his head so he continued, “It was he who lay dormant in the egg and it was the boy who freed him. I was too late to stop him that time.” Tones of self-rapprochement lay heavy in his words.

19)

After a short respite Alex had more questions.

“Ok, I think I understand what the creatures were, but what caused the headaches?”

“I sometimes wonder, Creator, if you ask so many questions just to stop yourself thinking.” Onyx replied. Sighing heavily he continued, rubbing his left antler against the log on which they were sitting. “Bellkipeg is an extension of you; whether you realise it or not. In a sense we are walking in a physical manifestation of your soul.”

Onyx said, throwing his arms wide in an encompassing gesture of the surrounding area.

“So, I’m controlling it then.” Alex interrupted.

“No,” Onyx replied, smiling ruefully, “you are in as much control of Bellkipeg as you are of your own mind and soul. You are not in control of your mind, despite what you think. You’re open to all kinds of suggestion.” He lent forward, gaze intent. “For instance, I only have to speak of a roast dinner.” His speech slowed. “A succulent roast dinner and you can see it; you can smell it.”

“Stop it, Onyx! You’re making me hungry.” Alex conceded.

“That proves my point.” Onyx replied, “There is the conscious part of your mind that you’re aware of, but that accounts for only a small percentage of what you say or do. The rest is subconscious and Bellkipeg reflects that.”

“So, in order to understand Bellkipeg I first have to understand myself!” Onyx smiled again, and nodded.

“Part of you is becoming more aware,” Onyx explained, “that is why you saw brief glimpses through the illusion in the house. The headaches were caused by the stubbornness of your conscious mind still believing in the illusion and its subsequent struggle to maintain control. The conscious mind is so easy to manipulate and so reluctant to believe that it can be manipulated. When you finally saw me in the garden I knew that you would be able to break the spell that had been cast over you.” With that Onyx pushed himself off the ground and walked away.

20)

Unforgiving boulders towered above them as Alex climbed the treacherous path lagging behind Onyx. The forest had given way to a jagged, rocky hill with sharp outcrops and slippery shale strewn on the ground making the trek arduously slow. Alex rubbed his complaining thighs and breathlessly asked, “How do you manage to walk so fast? Aren’t you tired?”

“My strength doesn’t come from my physical body, Creator.” Onyx explained. “Nor does yours, besides…” he continued, smiling, “I know how to walk correctly.”

“But I am walking correctly!” Alex argued, “And it doesn’t make any difference!”

“Compare your posture, to mine.” Onyx said. Alex noticed that Onyx lent slightly forward with his spine straight and his knees a little bent. “Now watch.” he continued and walked away from Alex at a brisk, but relaxed pace and then returned with speed and agility. “Notice I raise my knees almost up to my chest when I run.” He continued. “Keep an eye on your surroundings and, most importantly, don’t forget to curl your toes.” Alex laughed at this causing Onyx to raise an eyebrow, and thoughtfully scratch at an antler.

“How can curling my toes help?” Alex asked, sarcastically.

“It forces you to keep focusing on where you are and what you are doing.” Onyx explained, patiently. “Walking, for you, is automatic: you don’t think about it so your mind wanders. Your normal way of walking, therefore, allows you to indulge in your daydreams and whims and you need to be aware at all times.” Seeing Alex struggling with this new concept Onyx finally said, “Don’t take my word for it, Creator, try it for yourself.”

Alex was surprised to find that it did work, although initially he stumbled and tripped over himself (much to Onyx’s amusement) but before long he had mastered the new way of walking and no longer felt his tired, aching limbs despite the increasing gradient.

The new posture also allowed him to become aware of his peaceful surroundings; the crispness of the air, the beautiful warbling conversations between the invisible skylarks and the azure sky. Ahead the path became steeper and it seemed inevitable that they would have to climb before too long; but that didn’t seem to worry Onyx who was still quite a way in front. Alex then realised that his mind had started to wander and was about to check his toes when he tripped over a loose bit of shale and fell. “Did you lose your grip, Creator?” Onyx chuckled.

21)

A scream suddenly pierced the air. Alex rapidly climbed to where Onyx stood and, following his gaze, he could see two people grappling with each other on an outcrop, perilously close to the sheer edge.

“It’s a man wrestling with a woman!”

“Don’t be too hasty.” Onyx cautioned, but it fell to deaf ears.

“But he’s going to push her off the edge!” Alex scrambled towards the outcrop before Onyx could stop him.

Alex was out of breath by the time he reached the top but saw the man wrestle the woman. Her loose green blouse flapping about as she struggled, her fiery hair thrashing as they both teetered dangerously close to the edge.

Throwing himself at them both Alex knocked them away from the edge, the man bore the full force of the fall and landed with a dull thump. Pushing himself off the ground Alex barely managed to catch the woman again before she rolled towards the edge. He was shocked to find her convulsing; her arms and legs flailing, her eyes screwed shut; he tried to hold her down. He then felt Onyx’s hand on his shoulder and was surprised when he was forcibly pushed away from her.

“Tend his wounds.” Onyx said firmly, indicating the man lying slumped on the ground. “He’s cracked a couple of ribs so he’ll be in a great deal of pain. Sit him up carefully, he’s not got concussion, so you’re lucky this time.”

Alex gently helped the man into a sitting position, and placed the sword down on the ground next to him. He could hear Onyx sing a gentle song to the woman until she quietened and was finally still.

“It was a seizure of some kind.” Onyx explained, sensing Alex’s unspoken question.

“Which means.. “ Alex couldn’t face what he had done, but Onyx completed his sentence.

“It means that the man was not pushing her off the edge at all, he was actually trying to keep her from falling!” Alex looked at the man, and then at the woman. He had jeopardised both of their lives.

“Yes, Creator.” Onyx agreed, solemnly. “You misread the entire situation!”

22)

Horrified by the implications of his actions Alex was unaware that the woman had regained consciousness. He couldn’t believe he had totally misjudged the situation and the slap across his face came as a complete surprise.

“You bloody idiot!” The woman shouted at him, “You nearly killed us both with your damn meddling! Who the hell do you think you are?” Alex didn’t know how to react, but from within he felt a righteous anger that he couldn’t place. No one treated him like that. Onyx sensed his imminent reaction and diffused the situation.

“Allura, please.” He said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Old one.” Allura acknowledged as she turned and recognised him. Onyx now turned to Alex again.

“Creator; I know you feel quite justified in your reactions, however extreme, but I would caution you to think about what has happened.” He waited for Alex’s reply, but Alex was confused: although the slap across the face was understandable, the more he thought about it the more he wanted to retaliate. However he kept quiet for a voice deep inside him now whispered caution:

“Patience.” It said. “Not yet.” He didn’t question where the voice had come from but it felt so right.

Onyx sighed. “I had hoped that you would be able to look on this with the eyes of an adult and not continue to sulk like a child who has just been chastised.” Hearing Onyx’s words Alex understood that this was no time to indulge. Sensing the change in his demeanor Onyx continued. “Creator, I know that you felt Allura was under attack and sought only to save her; so in your eyes you were acting with the best of intentions. However, it was a reaction, none the less. You reacted on the spur of the moment, and had you assessed the situation correctly – as I had – you would have reached a completely different conclusion, and would not have put their lives in danger.”

Onyx gestured to Allura and Anjinn; he knew that this was a difficult lesson for Alex to learn, but it was also one of the most important. “You had doubts right up to the last, didn’t you, Creator?” Alex nodded. “So what if I were to tell you that Allura is one of the Wyxann: she has the gift of true sight. And what if I were to tell you that she was the victim of a psychic attack when you, ahem, blundered in.” Mortified by what he had just been told Alex asked the next question even though he knew the answer.

“And the man?”

“I was trying to stop Allura from falling off the outcrop.” Anjinn interrupted. Alex turned to face him and although Anjinn had regained consciousness he still looked visibly shaken, his face drained of colour.

“I could have killed them both.” Alex whispered, the weight of comprehension forcing his head into his hands.

“Yes, you damn fool!” Allura snapped. “You nearly killed me, and successfully incapacitated my bodyguard. He can scarcely look after himself, let alone me!”

“I said I was sorry!” Alex snapped back. The voice inside made him feel so angry; it wasn’t his fault... she should feel grateful!

“Leave us be then!” Anjinn remarked cuttingly, his voice cracked with pain.

“Don’t be too hasty.” Onyx interrupted. “The boy is trying to make amends – do not let your pain blind you to your situation. Let the boy guard you both.”

23)

Consternation swept the words from Allura and Anjinn’s mouths. Alex, too, reeled from Onyx’s statement. He didn’t know what angered him more, Onyx’s presumption that he would help or being called boy.

“I do not wish to be disrespectful, Old One.” Allura said. “But I wonder if you are being completely serious. How can you suggest such a thing after what has happened?”

“Even you must acknowledge that what has transpired was far from deliberate.” Onyx explained. “This has really just been the result of a mis-understanding.” Anjinn made a gesture of dismissal, but Onyx continued. “The boy is deeply remorseful for what has happened but is now under obligation to you both.” Alex couldn’t believe what he had just heard and interrupted.

“What obligation? I’m under obligation to no one!” His voice was deeper and more forceful than his normal speech, darker somehow. Onyx was seemingly unaware of the change and simply shook his head.

“Responsibility does not sit well with you, Creator, I can tell.” He said, scratching his left antler. “You do everything you can rather than take ownership of either the situation or yourself. You became responsible for this the moment you attacked Anjinn.” Alex reacted harshly to Onyx’s recriminations –his pulse quickened and he involuntarily flexed his fingers, making fists. “I told you not to rush headlong into anything,” Onyx continued, “but you were too busy acting the hero to think about the consequences of your actions. If you had assessed the situation correctly then none of this would have happened.”

With each of Onyx’s recriminations the presence within Alex grew in power and he finally relinquished himself to it. Its voice became more tangible; its tendrils snaking into the depths of his mind, rooting out all the hurt and fear; feasting on the doubt.

Onyx lectured him further, and with each word the presence grew stronger, more prominent. “For all your foolhardiness,” Onyx continued, “Allura and Anjinn could be dead and yet here you are wallowing in self-pity. You indulge far too much. I can scarcely believe that you are the one to save us – you have no courage, you give in when the path becomes difficult. Why, you even lack the humility to apologise for what you have wrought! Creator? I couldn’t have been more wrong!”

24)

“It was not my fault!” Alex exclaimed. “And I will no longer be spoken to like that!” Alex snatched Anjinn’s sword before he had a chance to react. Alex had no idea what was happening; he no longer felt in control of his own body, rendering him little more than a marionette as he brandished the sword wildly. Onyx remained impassive, his antlered head nodding gently.

“So we see your true colours at last.” He said, staring through the fear that lined Alex’s face. He was speaking to the Presence itself.

“It is so, horned one.” The voice within Alex spoke, the thick, dark tones grating. “I had hoped we would meet again, if only so I would have the pleasure of killing you myself.” Alex held the sword to Onyx’s throat, hate showing where there was so much confusion minutes before. “Though this is the next best thing and will set the strapling firmly onto my path.”

“Now is not the time for killing, but for reflection.” Onyx stated calmly and nodded his head once more. Suddenly Allura knocked the sword from Alex’s hands as Anjinn pinned his arms behind his back. Onyx picked the sword up and held the blade directly to Alex’s eyes so he could see the contorted reflection staring back.

“SEE!” Onyx commanded. “Look with better eyes than that of your adversary! Connect with your still point and throw off this foul oppressor. Do not give into your baser self for you are stronger than that. Feel your own strength. Look into the heart of yourself!”

Alex thrashed wildly but Allura and Anjinn held him still –despite his pain Anjinn remained resolute for too much was at stake. Onyx angled the blade so the light danced in his eyes. Seeing his own hate filled stare, Alex realised what he had allowed: he had totally relinquished himself, allowed the presence to take control and threaten his companions.

He had come too far, sacrificed too much to give up now. He would not be defeated by this thing. Onyx was right, he was stronger than this. There was no way he would allow this presence to control him any longer.

Focusing on the light he saw in the heart of the sword Alex felt the power refracting back deep inside himself. The light surged through his body, saturating his very being. “I deny you.” He whispered, but still he could feel the Presence struggle. “I deny you!” He uttered louder this time. On the third time he shouted it. “I DENY YOU!”

He felt the light burst forth, dissipating; the effort drained him and he slumped to the ground.

25)

After gently tending him, Onyx knelt down by Alex’s side and placed a hand on his forehead. His palm was extremely warm and Alex felt the heat transfer deep within his body, rejuvenating him.

“What happened to me?” He asked. “It felt as if I was possessed!”

“Was it from the same force that attacked me?” Allura asked.

“Yes, I believe it was.” Onyx answered. “I feel it is linked in some way with young Alex.” Onyx motioned to him with his antlers. “Allura, tell me more about how you came to be here.”

“Anjinn and I are on a quest for the Mirror of Sfel.” She explained.

“I have heard of this Mirror.” Onyx interrupted.

“The mirror is the only thing that can bring our land back from ruination.” Anjinn continued. “It has been foretold that there is only one person that can find the mirror –no one knows what it looks like or where it’s hidden – but he does.”

“And this is the Lightbringer.” Onyx said.

“Yes,” Agreed Allura, “that would be the Lightbringer. I saw you both in the distance. Onyx I recognised, you I did not,” She said, pointing to Alex before continuing, “So I looked within.”

“What do you mean?” Alex asked

“We, of the Wyxann read people,” explained Allura testily. “We possess the real sight and can look beyond the veil of personality to the soul within. For the briefest of moments I caught a flicker of the Lightbringer but then I was attacked by the presence. The attack was so powerful that I nearly lost my sense of self. It was Anjinn that stopped me from falling off the edge.”

“And then I gallantly blundered in…” Alex interrupted sheepishly.

“Now is not the time for recriminations, Creator. Besides,” Onyx stared at Alex with his head slightly to one side. “I don’t think you were entirely of one mind even then.”

“How do you mean?” Anjinn asked.

“The presence has been with him for some time, and I would wager it was ever since you witnessed the Indran Egg being broken.”

“So he has been possessed.” Allura said.

“Well, not as such,” assured Onyx. “But Alex wasn’t entirely at fault when he nearly killed you and in some ways he may have even saved your life.”

“Please explain, old one.” Anjinn asked, incredulous.

“You were dangerously close to the edge; and Alex did knock you away from it.”

“So, where does that leave us?” Allura asked. “We are still on a quest to find the Mirror, though neither of us are in any shape to continue.” Anjinn could only nod in agreement.

“On your own, I agree it would be disastrous.” Onyx said. “But you are no longer alone. What I said before was not a provocation, nor was it said in jest. I do believe that because of his rash decisions Alex put your lives at risk, and so in recompense I feel he should help you in your quest.” He saw the reaction start to form on Alex’s face but was glad when he controlled it. “And if you were to look deep within yourself, Creator,” he continued, “Then you will know that this is true.”

Alex smiled in agreement. “Besides, we have not been brought here together by chance. We have met because we were meant to. We are here to help you on your quest for the Mirror of Sfel.”

“With your help I feel that we may indeed be able to uncover it, Old One,” Allura agreed. “though I’m still wary of Paige.” Alex was surprised to be called by what he now recognised as his surname, but then remembered that Allura was psychic. What more could she see that he couldn’t? “Although he may have been as much a victim of the malicious presence as I was, it was he who carried the presence within him. Who knows whether it still lurks there. It shows that he still has the capacity for such darkness within.”

“True.” Onyx concurred. “But, he also has the capacity to be one with the light. One can not live in the light without first being aware of The Presence. Besides, you are in no position to reject our offer of help. You never know, we may prove to be invaluable in your quest…” He smiled knowingly. “Now, where must we go?”

“The townage of Haywreath is just over the other side of these hills.” Allura explained. “We need supplies.”

“Then that is where we are headed next.” Onyx stated.

26)

Silence shrouded the journey to the settlement as the mist crept down the hillside towards them. Alex, still deeply troubled, sought to find answers to his confusion. He needed clarity –too much had happened in such a short space of time. All the incidents were instrumental in teaching Alex about who he really was, finding his true power and what he stood for.

Pondering on this, Alex looked ahead: he could just make out Anjinn and Allura’s silhouettes against the mist as they neared the brow of the hill. It was hard to believe that Anjinn was still badly injured; he was walking as if nothing had happened, yet Alex knew that his ribs were cracked.

It sickened him to think that he had nearly caused both their deaths due to his negligence and unwillingness to learn, and it alarmed him how quickly he had misused his new found understanding and power. It was that power that the presence had been able to latch on to and feed upon.

“Damn it!” Alex cursed under his breath.

“Do not be too hard on yourself, Creator.” Onyx comforted. Alex hadn’t noticed that he had dropped behind and for the last couple of minutes had been walking alongside him. “If we are never taught these skills; not taught to assess situations then we will carry on making the same mistakes.”

“Like running blindly into something like a fool?” Alex asked, smiling ironically.

“A fool is often construed as one acting from ignorance.” Onyx countered, “But ignorance is simply a lack of knowledge, so in that respect you are right. However you learnt from it. Do not forget, Creator that it was as a result of that incident that we met Allura and Anjinn and it also allowed you to face that presence that had possessed you.”

“But I still don’t understand what that presence was.” Alex said.

“It has many names,” Onyx replied, “but it is responsible for bringing the night to Bellkipeg. It is a shadow falling over the land.” he explained. “And you are the light.”

“A shadow?” Alex paused. “Is the Deluge a part of The Presence then?”

“Aye – it is an extension of it. A physical manifestation, if you will.” Onyx paused and scratched at an antler. “You felt the power of The Presence as it tried to take hold of you; you felt it twist your mind against the very things you hold dear. It whispered to you like a friend and almost succeeded in turning your heart away from your true purpose and yet you were still able to stand against it.”

“Yes,” Alex countered, “but only with your help. I doubt I could have done it alone.”

“But next time you will be stronger. You will remember how it felt to be possessed and will be more aware if it happens again. You also know how to draw on your own strength now, and each time you reach within yourself it will become easier.” Alex nodded; it was true, his body did remember and he was able to sense now which thoughts were his and which were imposed by The Presence. The Presence's presence was somehow heavier, jagged – it had writhed within him. “Think if you will though,” Onyx continued, “what might have happened if I had not been there, or if you had not the strength to combat it.”

“It would have taken me over –body and soul.” Alex shuddered at the thought of that.

“Your personality, your soul would have become a vessel for The Presence, just an extension of its essence. It would wear you. We call people such as this, Skin Crawlers.”

27)

“Skin Crawlers?” Alex asked. The very thought horrified him.

“Aye; the physical shell remains the same; they have the same appearance but inside they have been taken over by The Presence. It is the Deluge wearing them, but there are times when their skin ripples like the surface of water after a waves wake and they can be seen as they truly are. I tell you this for you are now known to The Presence and he will have his agents; his Skin Crawlers looking for you.”

“Can they be defeated?” Alex asked.

“Yes, Creator. They still wear mortal skin, which can be punctured or cut. This is all that holds the Deluge inside. The Skin Crawlers are less likely to get involved in fights or engage in anything where they could become injured.”

They were nearing the top of the hill now, much to Alex’s relief. Allura and Anjinn were waiting impatiently for them. Anjinn pointed to a settlement up ahead.

“The townage of Haywreath.” He stated, “That is our destination. There is a tavern where we will eat, rest and gather information.”

“What Anjinn means,” Allura interrupted, “is that you will eat and rest whilst we gather the information.”

“What kind of information?” Alex asked, whilst trying to gain his breath back.

“We know that the agents of The Presence are on our trail,” Allura explained. “And we need to know how much danger we are in, and how much of a threat you are to our mission.” Alex could only nod in agreement; he understood exactly what Allura meant. Onyx chuckled at this.

“An hour ago, Creator, you would have reacted badly to a statement such as that. Could it be that you are entering a new stage of understanding?” He smiled.

“I’ve jeopardised Allura’s mission enough by my actions, Onyx. They need to know exactly what is stacked against them and I will do whatever I can now to help them on their quest.”

“So be it.” Anjinn said, walking on with Allura in front. Alex nodded and followed, Onyx keeping pace beside him.

28)

In the distance a large expanse of woodland dwarfed the townage; even in the half light, it looked oppressive.

“Haywreath was once a thriving townage.” Onyx explained, “Though it’s hard now to see it.” The streets were dirt tracks, worn by the horse and carts but there were no walkways or paths. The townage itself stood haunted against the encroaching misty dusk; a collection of weak and warped huts and buildings; weather beaten with misshapen timbers, scratched glass and chipped daub. They looked as if they were falling down; huddling together for security and protection.

“Don’t let appearances deceive you, Creator. Look again.” Onyx explained, in a whispered tone. “Haywreath has stood for many decades and will continue to. The buildings were built this way to create the wrong impression – they look fragile but their foundations run deep and have stood against much.” Alex looked again and tried to leave his earlier preconceptions aside. There was solidity in their design that he had not seen before; the timbers were warped but sturdy, they were not rotten in any way. It was the ultimate sleight-of-hand; no raiders would invade a falling down village, Alex marveled at the ingenuity of it.

“Haywreath became the stronghold at the heart of Bellkipeg at one time.” Onyx said, and nodded. “Here travellers from all over would convene and share information about the Baecons from the North; the Nashfarr from the South and the Plaensmen from the East.”

“What about the West? What came from the West?” Alex asked.

“The Presence.” Onyx explained, “But not initially. The Presence came later. Bellkipeg was united – all tribes were one tribe, all woods were just the one wood. Then things shifted, and then continued shifting.” Onyx paused and pondered before continuing. “Once harmony reigned then reports started coming in of discord and tension amongst certain of the tribes. Communications ceased between townage and walls were built where there were none before, to keep out intruders. Intruders!” He laughed bitterly. “That word would not even have been considered at one stage – there was never any concept of the stranger. But now it seems we are all strangers to each other.” He sighed as they neared the tavern.

“Aye,” Interrupted Anjinn, “And do not forget that’s exactly what we wish to be, strangers. We do not need to attract any more attention to ourselves. Allura and myself are well known here, you are not.” Anjinn motioned to Alex. “The first thing we need to do is gather information.”

29)

The crowded tavern smelt of old beer, wood smoke, swarthy men and, most importantly, food. All the tables were crowded and Alex could feel himself getting claustrophobic and paranoid. He suddenly felt extremely vulnerable as if all eyes were upon him and that every person in there was a potential Skin Crawler. How would he be able to tell the difference, after all? Allura sensed this and guided them to a shadowed booth along the back wall.

“We’ll wait here whilst Anjinn arranges a room for us, and some food.” Allura explained, her tone a little softer. Alex tried to focus on what was happening around him: all around groups of people were talking; shouting; jostling for information or simply staring uneasily at one another. But amongst this commotion there was an undercurrent that he was only just becoming conscious of.

Everyone was aware; even though the groups kept themselves to themselves they were all constantly checking where the other groups were and what they were doing. There was a faint air of paranoia that hung around everything. As he looked around the room he sensed that Allura had been staring at him. She took a brief look into Alex’s eyes as she spoke and he felt her gently brush against his mind.

“I forget easily.” She said, “You are but a boy, really. I feel I may have been too judgmental in my earlier harshness. Anjinn is correct: you are just as much a victim of ‘circumstance’ as we are.” She looked at Onyx, “You were right as well, Old one, maybe there is more to us meeting than just by happenstance.”

Onyx nodded, “I suppose that’s the closest we’re going to get to an apology, young Alex.” He said, smiling just as Anjinn returned.

“The barkeep has allowed us to retire to one of the rooms above.” He explained. “Allura will show you the way whilst I arrange for the food to be brought up.” As they walked away from the table Alex felt all eyes turn and watch as they progressed up the stairs; he felt it was impossible for them to remain inconspicuous and he was relieved when they finally reached their room.

“I will bring you a change of clothes whilst Anjinn gets you some food.” Allura explained before they entered. “You will be able to wash and shave, should you wish to do so; although it might be an idea to change your appearance somehow.”

She paused a second, looking around her to make sure no one was listening. “Lock the door behind you and let no one in unless they knock a specific way.” Allura tapped eight times on the door panel. “Should you hear another knock then do not answer the door; instead be wary and be ready to fight your way out. Once you shut the door behind you, check the room for secret panels and mark your escape routes.”

,p>Unlocking the door, Allura motioned for them to go in before handing the key to Onyx. “We will be as quick as we can. Once we have procured food and clothes, Anjinn and myself will try and gather some information on our predicament.” Before she shut the door she said, “Remember, do not open the door to anyone but us.”

30)

The room was sparsely furnished: a bed stood crooked underneath the window at the far wall, coarse blankets covered a lumpy mattress and ineffective pillows; a small table occupied one corner of the room with a make-shift vanity mirror and a bowl with a jug of water; a tall screen stood in another corner. Two towels and a cake of soap sat on a chair next to the table.

“Looks like we can make ourselves more presentable, Creator; should we wish to.” Onyx said. It had been ages since Alex had last looked at himself in the mirror. He moved the towels off the chair to sat down at the table and stared at the warped reflection. He was surprised to see his haggard and unshaven face and was instantly reminded of the reflection that he saw briefly in the Vaurac’s bathroom.

At the time he thought that the gaunt; dirt streaked face looking back at him had been an hallucination but now it was anything but. Shocked by his appearance he took the soap and used it to wash the worst of the dirt off his face. “It must be quite a shock to see yourself in such a state." Onyx said, suddenly breaking him out of his reverie. "Still, think yourself lucky.. I have had to endure such a sight for the last few days!” At this he laughed and Alex couldn’t help but smile.

“Do you think I should keep the beard?” He asked.

“I think so, Creator. It adds a certain mystery to you. As it grows bushier it will also obscure your facial outline a bit more and make it easier for you to remain unnoticed in a crowd.”

The sudden knock surprised him, but he was relieved when it was the right rhythm signalling their return. Onyx walked to the door and peered through the spy-hole before opening it to Anjinn, who carried two bundles of clothes. Allura walked in behind carrying a tray of food and a flagon of questionable liquid.

lex took the new clothes without even looking at them; he wanted to distance himself from the torn and muddied garments he’d been wearing- and walked behind the screen. Brown-leathered trousers, holly green jerkin and the thigh length light brown tunic looked good on him, but with the black cape and leather boots he felt fantastic.

Walking out from behind the screen Onyx beamed, “A distinct improvement!” he said, and Allura smiled in agreement. Alex looked at himself in the vanity mirror and couldn’t stop grinning.

31)

“Recognise yourself, do you, creator?” Onyx asked.

“Yes, I do.” He replied. “This feels right. I can’t explain it.”

“Nor should you.” Onyx replied as Alex gave his old clothes to Allura. “Now, I think it is time for us to eat.” Alex looked at Allura as she walked towards the door. Anjinn had already exited.

“Are you not stopping for something to eat?” He asked.

“We will eat after we have gained the information we need.” She said. “Please, do not wait for us. Remember to listen for the knock.” When she shut the door Alex walked over and locked it. He was confused .

“I don’t understand, Onyx.” He said. “Up until recently Allura has been completely inhospitable to me; not that I blame her.” Alex conceded, walking to the bed where the food had been placed. “But all of a sudden she’s now being.. nice to me. I can’t quite comprehend the change of attitude.”

“Allura is a driven woman, Creator.” Onyx explained, sitting on the bed. “She has been given an almost impossible task: to find the Mirror of Sfel, which has been lost for generations.” He picked up a squat bread roll and tore a piece off before continuing. “The fate of her tribe rests on finding this mirror, indeed so does the fate of Bellkipeg, which is why you are the only one that can find it.” He popped the piece of roll in his mouth and chewed it in cogitation.

“Why am I the only one that can find it?” Alex asked.

“You are the Lightbringer.” Onyx stated, matter-of-factly. “That is why you have been brought to Bellkipeg. You are the key to Allura’s salvation, if you will, and your paths are linked.” Alex pondered this and sat on the other side of the bed, picked up a roll and chewed on it.

“But that doesn’t explain her change of mood.” Alex stated.

“No, but think about this.” Onyx clarified. “Allura was told that she had to search for the Lightbringer, that he would be the one that would find the Mirror of Sfel…” Alex understood immediately….

“And then she saw me.” He sighed, and then smiled sheepishly. “I can’t imagine the crushing disappointment she had when I then tried to kill her.” Alex said, now feeling a little sorry for himself, and Onyx sighed heavily.

“That is not the point, Creator.” Onyx remarked, firmly. “Now is not the time for self-pity, rather for self-awareness. Do not recriminate yourself for the past, you have taken responsibility for it, you no longer have to drag that burden along with you. Let it alone!”

“What would you have me do instead?” Alex asked.

“In some ways Allura should have taken more precaution before trying to read your essence.” Onyx explained. “Allura is headstrong and her task far too important to allow such mistakes, and she is far too proud to admit when she is wrong. All the time you fought against her and objected to her attitude she did not have to face up to her responsibility. However when you accepted what had happened and changed your manner then she had no choice but to face hers. When she 'saw' just how vulnerable you truly are, and that reflected back her own feelings.”

Alex nodded. “You have come a long way, Creator.” Onyx said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t think you fully realise just how far.”

32)

Suddenly another knock disrupted their conversation. It was the same rhythm that they had heard previously meaning it was ok for Alex to open the door. Allura and Anjinn entered looking furtively over their shoulders. As soon as the door closed Allura turned to Onyx.

“We have to be very careful.” She stated. “We know now that the Skin Crawlers have infiltrated the town of Haywreath.

“Allura’s right.” Anjinn agreed, “There is an atmosphere of growing distrust and menace that will erupt before too long.”

“Yes, I felt that when I was downstairs.” Alex said, almost instinctively, surprised that he was actually correct in his original assessment of the situation.

“Good, Creator.” Onyx replied. “Now you must learn to protect yourself against it.” He turned towards Allura again. “What else did you learn?” He asked.

“They know you are here, Alex.” Allura said.

“We have no choice now but to leave.” Anjinn stated. “I hope you are rested and fed, because I don’t know when we will get another chance.”

“Where will we go?” Alex asked, his dread mounting.

“We will have to head for the wood instead” Allura stated.

“That’s even worse!” Alex scoffed. “I don’t like that wood at all; it has a really bad feeling about it.”

Alex felt trapped between two definite hard places, with nowhere to go. The fear he had felt upon entering the tavern had been mounting and he didn’t know how to diffuse it. Onyx saw this and turned to him.

“Creator, there is nothing to fear.” He stated, motioning him to calm down. “These emotions need not to affect you. You should be able to block them out. You need to protect yourself against other energies, lest you become their puppet again.”

“How do you stop yourself from feeling those emotions then?” Alex asked.

“I did not say stop feeling. You will need to feel in order to gauge the mood of the situation.” Onyx explained further. This was important but he was also aware that time was of the essence. “Imagine your body as a system; in normal circumstances it would be open, without you knowing about it.”

“How do you mean open?” Alex asked, bemused.

Now is not the time to go into the intricacies of our power centres.” Onyx said abruptly. “Suffice to say that your system is wide open, which is why you are feeling everything so intensely at the moment. All you have to do now, Creator, is learn to shut it down; and, for once, it is relatively easy.”

33)

Alex sat on the lumpy bed, feet firmly on the ground with his back straight as Onyx asked him to.

“Notice your breathing, Creator.” Onyx spoke in soft tones; his voice barely a feeling in his ears. “And look at me. Focus your gaze on me and trust.” Onyx’s outline shimmered yet Alex felt a deep sensation traverse up his back, starting from the base of his spine; he had never felt anything like it but somehow made him feel more secure. He no longer felt nervous or paranoid about what was going to happen; he felt strong again. “There… you feel better, yes, Creator?” Onyx asked, smiling; already knowing the answer.

“If you’re both ready..” Allura countered, with a slight overshadowing of impatience. Onyx knew that she understood the importance of Alex being secure, but he also knew how dangerous things could get if they didn’t move out soon. “Anjinn will walk in front, with yourself and Paige behind.” Allura motioned for Alex to get ready. “I will take the rear. If there is any interference then be ready to run, Anjinn and I will make sure no one follows.”

Alex was conscious of every creaking footstep as they walked down the stairs. Silence greeted them at the bottom . Like a collective neurosis, all eyes were staring at them as they walked to the bar area. All the casual drinkers, travellers and sidewinding gossipers were standing perfectly still, even their breathing had synchronised as one organism. Anjinn walked towards the door, constantly checking where everyone else was, but the way ahead was blocked by more people. No one moved, they barely even breathed and when they spoke it was as one.

“You.. Old one.. you are known to usss.” It hissed, a deathly sibilant. “But your time will come. We sssseek the lightbringer – give him to ussss.”

“You can not have him.” Anjinn shouted.

“Ahhhh… the coward and the fool princessss. No matter, you will not lassst long against sssuch an army.” The mass countered, the hate dripping from every word.

Alex knew that Anjinn and Allura would fight until the death before giving him up to The Presence, but it would be futile. There was no way they could triumph against such opposition and it would mean the deaths of every person in the crowd.

Alex somehow knew that not all of them were Skin-Crawlers, there were probably only a couple in the crowd but something else had infected and taken over the rest of them. Was it an extension of what had taken him over earlier? He felt in his gut that was the case.

Without thinking he walked away from the protection of Onyx and Allura and up to a bearded man at the edge of the crowd.

“What are you doing here, Devarn?” Alex asked. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Allura try and grab him back but Onyx stopped her. Alex continued. “You know this isn’t right. Suerta did not die so you could give in this way. Is this how you repay her sacrifice? She and your son died so you could fight on against the adversary, and this is what you do?” Alex could see Devarn’s face quiver, eyes that were unblinking and dead only seconds ago were beginning to moisten and redden with tethered emotion. Alex moved to the ginger haired youngster at Devarn’s left. “And you, Warren. You were the bright hope of the family. Your father gave you everything so you could live your dream, even his own life in the end. Was his life worth so little to you that you throw it back in his face?” Alex had no idea what was happening, but he felt as if he was a conduit for something far greater. He could see the effect his words were having on Warren, as they had with Devarn. The hold that the Adversary had over them was weakening.

“We fight because we have to.” Alex spoke, louder now so the whole room could hear him, his voice booming with a resonance and power he had never thought possible. “Giving in should never be an option; life does not have to be a struggle but it is something that should be fought for and we are all worthy of the fight!” He shouted, raising his fist. Power radiated from every pore of his body as he carried on. “Whatever you think has happened recently should not have made you forget who you really are. That connection is still here, FEEL it.” Alex stamped his foot, his body sending out waves of the most beautiful luminescence across the room, blanketing everyone in serene shades of white and gold. Immediately the ambience of the room shifted, it was no longer threatening and he could see that the malevolence was no longer in control; each person was starting to recover their own mannerisms.

Alex immediately identified the Skin-Crawlers as they were the only ones that seemed unaffected by the light that had emanated from him; they stood resolutely still, staring intensely at him. However Alex could see that something was drastically wrong with their physical form, their skin was undulating as if water coursed underneath it but he knew that it was really the Deluge. His light had disrupted their energy matrix and they were vulnerable; now would be a good time to strike – they would not get another.

Onyx clasped his shoulder to prevent him from acting on his instincts; “Now is not the time, Creator.” He urged, “We should make haste before they come to their senses. They’re disorientated; we might not get another chance to leave.”

“Which is all the more reason why we should strike now.” Alex insisted.

“No, Onyx is right.” Anjinn countered, steering Alex out of the door. “It won’t take long for the Skin-Crawlers to regain control of the crowd. I fear all that you have managed is a brief respite. We must make the most out of this opportunity and head for the woods where we might lose them.” Onyx pushed him out of the door.

Outside the night air was cool but tainted still with an oppressive atmosphere; Anjinn led them through the darkened streets; Allura constantly checking to see if they were being followed. There were so many questions that Alex wanted to ask Onyx; it was frightening how fast things were moving. It only seemed a couple of days ago that he had woken up for the first time in a strange land and yet here he was running for his life once again.

34)

Alex knew where they were running to; it was the obvious place that would afford them the maximum amount of cover and relative safety. Relative because it meant running into the wood that backed on to the townage, the same wood that gave Alex the creeps when he first saw it.

In the daytime it had seemed foreboding and menacing but at night it looked nightmarish and inhospitable; certainly not a place that Alex wanted to be running into blind , and definitely not with an angry mob chasing after them. Onyx assured him that no one in their right mind would chase after them, but as these people had been possessed by the Deluge what could possibly scare them off?

Ten minutes into the wood and Alex understood: it was a wood of thorns. There was barely a path through the tangle of thick rose vines and brambles, and it was only Onyx who could navigate it. It was now Anjinn who checked to see if they were being followed with Allura pushing Alex along the best she could, but he was tired beyond belief. He had been strong after leaving the inn, but as soon as he had walked into the wood he had felt his strength wane. He felt tired and irritable, Allura’s constant hassling was now getting on his nerves; she had never really forgiven him for the misunderstanding and the fact that he had saved them in the inn had compounded her feelings for him. There was no way he could continue with someone who hated him so much.

“Wait; I can’t go on…. This is crazy.” Alex snapped, pulling himself from Allura’s grip. “Why are we running still? No one’s following us, are they, Anjinn?”

“No.” Anjinn agreed, “But that is hardly the point. This is not a place to just sit and pontificate. We need to be away from this wood before…”

“Before what?” Alex interrupted.

“Now is not the time to argue.” Allura spoke, surprisingly calm despite the situation. “We must keep walking. Paige is right, we no longer need to run; but we must be on the move. It is not the villagers that I fear, rather what lurks in this wood.” Alex could only agree; there was a discernible solidity to the darkness in the wood that he could feel. It was something tangible; it seemed to creep around the branches and tendrils, almost rolling like something alive. It unnerved him, but it awoke something inside of him too, spoke to him of the power that he felt when he was inside the inn. That was his power alone. Onyx was there to control him, Allura didn’t trust him and Anjinn still resented him for showing him up earlier on the mountainside; Alex alone was the Lightbringer and he needed no one.

“I know what you’re thinking, Paige.” Allura suddenly said, whirling round to face him. “And you’d be right. You’re damn well right I don’t trust you. Ever since we first met up with you…” She stabbed her finger at him, like an accusatory knife. “Ever since you tried to kill me,” she corrected with malice, “I’ve distrusted every single move you’ve made. You could never be the Lightbringer.”

“If I wanted you dead then you would have been.” Alex said, but it wasn’t him. He knew then that something was affecting all of them. He saw Anjinn tense up. Onyx just stood to one side, observing, as if he wanted no part of any of it.

“I was right!” Allura exclaimed. “You’re just another cats-paw of the Deluge. Ever since we met you we’ve been dogged by ill fortune, all brought on by you. You are the conduit for the Deluge’s influence.” Alex felt dissociated by what was happening. The longer they argued the closer the darkness seemed to get, and the more tangible it became. He could see Onyx still standing to one side not getting involved this time.

Alex couldn’t believe it; he had looked to Onyx as a teacher ever since they had first met. Onyx had been the one to give him strength when he needed it and yet now he was setting himself apart from the group. Right when he was needed the most, Onyx was abandoning them.

35)

Alex stopped himself, this didn’t feel right. Something was happening to the group, making them distrust one another again. There had been a real understanding when they were back at the inn and yet now they were fighting again; he thought back to the corrupting influence of the Deluge: what he had seen back at the inn had been frightening, the Deluge had taken over the entire crowd. Could the same thing be happening here?

He remembered what Onyx had taught him, he needed to reach his still point more than ever and find the strength that alone could see them through. He could hear Anjinn and Allura arguing but he knew that that wasn’t important, it was only another distraction. It wasn’t them talking any way, it was the Deluge talking through them, using them as mouthpieces.

Alex concentrated on his breathing; they didn’t have the luxury of time on their hands, for each minute they spent in the wood the stronger the Deluge became. He realised that the Deluge was not a corporeal enemy; it was something that existed outside the physical world, and yet dwelt inside everyone. It was only here, in Bellkipeg where it could become tangible and he was not about to give into his own dark side. He’d felt what it was like to be under its thrall and there was no way he would allow it to happen again.

With each deep breath he envisaged a bright light growing from deep inside of him, he felt the power flowing through him as if he were growing roots deep within the earth to the very soul of Bellkipeg. And with each breath the light grew within him until he could no longer confine it to his own body and it started to illuminate the wood around him. Alex remembered watching Onyx do exactly the same when the Deluge had attacked them and swallowed the boy. A bright light had shone from him then, and the same was happening to Alex now.

As the wood brightened Alex noticed not only the dark retreat into the shadows far away, but also Anjinn and Allura’s countenances change and mellow, becoming more serene. They were no longer under the influence of the Deluge and Onyx, who had never succumbed to his own darkness, simply smiled and said nothing.

“What happened?” Anjinn asked, bemused by the sudden change of events.

“That was you, Paige.” Allura acknowledged. “The power came from within you, as in the Inn. You are finally becoming the Lightbringer, so you shall bring the light to all of Bellkipeg through the Mirror of Sfel.” Allura was starting to believe in the prophecy again, and Anjinn smiled in agreement.

Onyx nodded and walked over to them, “Be careful with your enthusiasm, Allura.” He cautioned. “It is true that the darkness has been kept at bay for the time being, but we need to be out of these woods before we can feel safe again.” He paused and looked at Alex. “Alex has yet to learn how to sustain his energies properly and I fear we haven’t long before his strength will run out. We need to away from this place.”

The journey was made easier by the light but the wood became so dense in places that Anjinn had to use his sword, despite his injuries. Progress was slow and at times Alex felt ready to give up; it seemed impossible for him to sustain the energies. The light was draining too much from him and started to dim. After an hour he could go no further and leant against a tree. “I need to rest.” He said, his voice weary. “I feel drained….”

“Think on this, Creator..” Onyx said, aware that the darkness was starting to encroach on them again. Anjinn and Allura were both aware of the lengthening of the shadows too. “How can the light be draining your own energies when Light is energy in itself. How is such a thing possible?” Onyx paused and watched as Alex understood this new concept. It was important for Alex to realise that the energy came, not from within himself, but from Bellkipeg. Onyx saw the light brighten again as Alex’s awareness grew.

“The light surrounds me at all times.” Alex acknowledged. “All I have to do is tap into it; it can’t possibly drain me… the only thing that can really act as a drain on my energies is me!”

“Almost true, but as we are nearing the edge of the wood we must be on our guard more than ever – I feel The Deluge will try everything it can to stop us from escaping.

36)

Despite the light illuminating the surroundings, Alex could feel the Deluge try and encroach on his thoughts and feelings. Stabs of guilt and anger would surface, under its influence, but whenever that happened he focused on the light.

All the time the light was shining he knew that the blackness could not hurt them and with each step his confidence grew. He was now leading the way with Onyx giving him directions when he needed to. Allura followed behind with Anjinn still guarding the back.

It was still possible one of the Skincrawlers had followed them from the Townage. Onyx thought it unlikely, but Anjinn wanted to be sure; however both Anjinn and Allura had put their trust into Alex now and that alone fed his confidence immensely, and even he was starting to believe in the prophecies. Could he really be the Lightbringer that had been foretold?

“Stop, Creator.” Onyx cautioned, placing a hand on Alex’s shoulder.

“What’s wrong, Old One?” Allura asked. “Why have we stopped? I see nothing to halt our journey. We are nearly out of this godforsaken wood.”

“Aye, we see nothing.” Onyx agreed. “But do you not think that strange? Creator, direct your light further in front of us. Just expand the field of light a little further out. Will it to happen, and it will be so.” As he pushed the light out further in front he noticed that it made no difference to the surroundings, up ahead the wood was still pitch black. He tried harder, focusing his will out in a more concentrated beam, like a torch, but to no avail.

“Nothing seems to be happening, it’s still black as tar out there.”

“Black like the Deluge.” Anjinn remarked. Onyx nodded.

“Aye; we have been outsmarted. Whilst the Skincrawlers and the wood have kept us focused on our immediate surroundings it seems the Deluge has cut off our only escape.”

“What do we do, Old One?” Anjinn asked.

“Creator.” Onyx turned to face Alex and placed his hands on his shoulders. “What do you feel we should do? You are in control here; it is you and you alone keeping the Deluge at bay. But at this stage you are not powerful enough in yourself to defeat it.”

“You’re right; by myself I’m not powerful enough to hold it at bay long enough for us to escape. But with all your energies behind me I think we stand a damn good chance of getting out of here.”

“How do you mean, Paige?” Anjinn asked. “What must we do?”

“I noticed that all the time you believed in me my light felt more powerful, I could feel your strength flowing into me; but you were unaware of what you were doing, you just believed. Imagine how powerful the light will be if you all consciously focused your energies through me.” Onyx smiled.

“You are correct, Creator. That is exactly what we need to do.” He turned to face Anjinn and Allura again. “You must focus on Alex now. Connect to your still point and let you light flow through into him, let your belief sustain him. Together we will get through this.”

37)

Allura and Anjinn did as they were told and by focusing on Alex’s light through adding their own energies to it they were able to make it far more powerful. At first there was no visible difference to the Deluge, it still seethed and surged at the periphery of the light; but it soon started to become transparent as it lost its cohesion. The more light that shined on it the fainter it became until all that was left was a mist.

“I don’t think we can wait any longer, we must start walking through.” Onyx advised. “Still focus your energies on Alex, but keep hold of one another. If any of you are separated then you will fall prey to the Deluge and we might not be able to save you.” Alex felt nervous; the Deluge was one of the most frightening things he had ever encountered; they were putting their lives in his hands; he started to buckle under the weight of the responsibility and he felt his light dim.

“I know what you’re thinking, Creator.” Onyx interrupted his thoughts. “But you can do this. You have already done the hardest part by dispersing the Deluge. In its current state it can not hurt us; not so long as you keep the light shining from within.” Alex strengthened his resolve and shined his light brighter still.

“Everyone stay together,” He commanded “do not let go otherwise I will lose you to the dark.”

Alex led them into the mist; Allura followed on behind him, her hand firmly on his shoulder with Onyx behind her and Anjinn last in line. Even though the mist could not encroach beyond the light field Alex could still see it shift and coalesce in front of him, forming eddies and tendrils that tried to snare and distract him.

“As long as you shine, the mist can not get in.” Onyx shouted. “But it will try and trip you up, make you lose your focus and confuse you. Remember that it can not harm you, can not touch you as long as you shine bright.” Alex strengthened his resolve and pushed on further, his confidence increasing with every step forward. Onyx was right: the Deluge couldn’t attack him all the time his light was shining forth. As his confidence increased so too did his pace quicken. Allura tightened the grip on his arm.

“Not so fast, Paige.” She urged. “Do not let your confidence get the better of you, lest we lose the others.” Alex nodded, he was falling into another one of the mind traps that Onyx had told him about. Overconfidence and foolhardiness were just as dangerous as having no confidence; too much meant you were blind to everything else except your own power.

The fog was unrelenting, smothering them with every step, trying to force them apart. He knew that the attack would not be physical in nature but he could feel it at the furthest edges of his mind; it was cold and lingering, sending tendrils of despair and distrust into the centre of his being. He drew on the light that coursed through his body, concentrated on his breathing and his imminent surroundings and banished all thoughts of helplessness and hopelessness aside.

All around he could see the fog coalesce in to shapes to try and distract him as they walked on. Ghostly figures beckoned and mourned, trying desperately to waylay him, but he ignored them. Suddenly he heard Onyx say: “Allura, what’s wrong?” before he felt it himself and had to shout “Stop digging your nails into my hand, Allura. What is it?” He didn’t understand what was going on, wanted to turn back to see what was happening, but a shout from Onyx stopped him.

“You must carry on, Creator! We must not falter! Keep walking.” Alex could now feel Allura try to wrench her hand from his and it took a mammoth effort on his part to keep hold of her. “What the hell are you doing, Allura?” He hissed. “Are you mad?” He could feel her try to pull away from him and from Onyx’s protestations it was happening to him too.

Up ahead he could see that the fog was actually beginning to lift and finally there was the edge of the woods; they were safe! He was just about to shout out when he felt himself propelled forward as if a weight had suddenly been released. For a sickening moment he feared that Allura had let go, but the truth was far worse as she fell into him, knocking him to the ground.

38)

“Where are Anjinn and Onyx?” Alex shouted, panic now welling in his very soul for without his light there was no hope for them; they would be swallowed by the Deluge for sure. He had still managed to keep his light shining through sheer force of will but the mist had become thicker around them as if it sensed their end was near. He had to keep his light shining as bright as he could, but that meant Allura had to be receptive and at the moment she was acting as a drain to his energy. What was going on?

Alex turned to face her and was shocked to see her almost wide eyed in fear. He knew that there was no use trying to talk to her; something had shaken her to the very core, which left him with only one option.

Never letting go of her hand, he slapped her with his free hand; it took less than a second for her to snap out of her stupor and Alex was amazed at her self-control. He had feared that Allura would attack him for daring to slap her but she immediately knew what was happening and spoke firmly to him, “You must concentrate on getting us clear of the wood, Creator.” She sensed his first question and shook her head, “We can not help them at the moment, for if we try we shall all be lost and ultimately so will Bellkipeg. You know this is so; we owe it to Onyx to get clear of the wood and from the influence of the Deluge.”

Alex felt his energy dip slightly as the truth registered, but Allura squeezed his hand gently to reinforce the point and he redoubled his efforts to maintain the light. “You know this to be true, Creator.” He nodded. “We must run now for the Deluge will do everything in its power to stop us from escaping, but you need to concentrate. Your light will show us through.” They both turned and faced the edge of the wood.

“We can’t run, Allura.” Alex stated firmly. “If we run then we’ll be at the mercy of the Deluge; it’s too powerful now. It will become so thick in front of us that it will force us into another direction so we’ll end up deeper into the woods and completely helpless.” He shook his head again. “I can’t maintain the strength of the light whilst running in these conditions. We walk firmly and at a faster pace, but we must be more vigilant now than ever.”

Grasping each other’s hands tight they advanced through the Deluge, the tree-line getting closer with every step. Alex felt the Deluge try to crush them now; the mist had become a thick, dense fog and with each step they took the pressure increased and Alex felt himself buckle.

It was then that he felt the presence of Onyx envelop him, “The Deluge can not harm you all the time your power is shining bright.” The voice was soothing and allowed Alex to concentrate on increasing his energies. “Anjinn and I are safe and will find you, but you must not come back for us. We will find you, Creator.” With that Onyx was gone.

Alex forced a beam of light in front of him. Allura gasped at the sight, she hadn’t realised that Alex was that powerful. There was now a clear path to the edge of the wood where they could see blue sky just feet away. When they finally reached the edge of the wood Alex said one word knowing that Allura would understand perfectly.“Run.”

39)

They ran until every breath burned. The adrenaline rush that had allowed him to draw on his reserves was almost gone, and Alex could feel his body shake through the over-exertion. Surely they were in the clear now; there had been no sign of the Deluge since they had left the wood.

Allura sensed it was safe for them to stop running. Alex just collapsed, he couldn’t help it; he had been running for so long his legs felt like rubber. The pain was indescribable, his calves burned as if the muscles had been rubbed with lye. He massaged them to try and ease the pain in them. He fought to draw each and every breath for it was sheer agony; his lungs not used to being taxed beyond their limits.

“We are safe, Alex.” Allura said, allowing Alex to get his breath back. “The Deluge can not attack us here for it is still linked in to the heart of Bellkipeg. All the time there are places loyal to the land there is still hope.”

“What… What happened out there?” Alex asked. “What made you let go of Onyx’s hand? What the hell were you thinking?!” Alex was beside himself now with fear and anger over what had happened. He could see the same in Allura’s eyes.

“I can’t explain, Paige…” Allura turned away, unable to face him. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me.” He said through gritted teeth. “You owe me that much: after all you’ve put me through since we first met; you owe me, Allura. You certainly owe it to Onyx and Anjinn to explain what happened.”

“You are right, of course.” She replied. “I do owe them that, and you so much more.”

“Cut the crap, Allura.” He snapped, “Now is not the time.”

“You must understand that I was always brought up to believe that I would be the one to save our tribe.” Allura continued, “As the Priestess it was my responsibility to protect the tribe. This was interpreted to mean that I would become the Lightbringer, the one that found the Mirror of Sfel and bring our land back from the brink of tragedy.”

“Is that the reason for the antagonism towards me? It wasn’t just the mistakes I made when we first met; there was always more to it than that.”

“You have grown so much in your perceptions, Paige.. I wonder if even you know by how much.” Allura replied. “It is only now that I can see that it was due to my own arrogance and ego that I allowed my feelings of inadequacy and resentment fuel my quest. It was that which allowed The Presence to attack me so easily when I scanned your thoughts. It was those feelings that the fog used against me. It attacked me through my pride, turned my very arrogance against me.”

With that she turned away. Alex could see the pain that Allura was suffering, the once proud warrior humbled by her own mistakes. It was hard enough for him to accept such emotions, but for her it must have been crippling.

“Allura,” He said, placing his hand on her shoulder, “now is not a time to let guilt cripple you. Onyx and Anjinn are not lost to us, they are simply waylaid.” She looked to him, a glimmer of hope flickering in her eye. “Just before we ran into the woods Onyx spoke to me, in my mind,” Alex tapped the side of his head with his index finger. “They are safe, and will catch us up, but it’s important that we keep moving.” He put his hands on her shoulders again and looked her straight in the eye. “It feels weird saying this to you, Allura, but you have to pull yourself together. Too much is riding on this, and you know it. You are a warrior maiden of the Wyxann and you have made a mistake, nothing more. Get over it.”

Allura let out a sharp, but good natured laugh. “Ha! My; how the tables have turned, Creator. I now know what Onyx see’s in you. You are right, as well… we are equals, now. And we must carry on; the Mirror of Sfel will not find itself.”

40)

They walked on for miles before talking again; it was strange not to have Onyx to guide them, although Allura knew instinctively which way they had to go. Soon they entered another wooded area which felt different to the others he had walked through. It felt warmer, verdant and more welcoming; the light that radiated through the leaves felt heavenly on his skin after the coldness of the fog. The birdsong was sweet and harmonious, and Alex could imagine them singing about the joys of living in the light; he could wholeheartedly agree with them and felt like singing too.

“I wouldn’t recommend it.” Allura chirped in, it was obvious she was still brooding over what had happened, but at least she was able to see the funny side of things again. “Creator you may be, but I doubt very much that your singing voice would be able to do justice to the beautiful melodies you hear around you.” Alex smiled. “You must keep your senses aware though, Alex. Don’t let one over-rule the others.”

“How do you mean?” he asked, this might be the way of getting her mind from her troubles.

“At the moment you are letting your senses be overwhelmed by all that is around you.” She explained. “First you are in awe of all the beautiful trees that are around you. You have noticed, no doubt, that they all appear so much healthier than the other woods you have seen, and I’m sure you can understand why that is.” Alex nodded. “Then you are assailed by the birdsongs that then takes precedence over what you are seeing. You forget to see, instead you just look around you as you marvel at all the different melodies.” Alex could only agree with what Allura was saying, he was finding it very hard to keep focused on the bigger picture. “It is possible to still appreciate the beauty around you without losing yourself in the details. Your world view becomes fractured, and there are entities that will be able to sense that about you and will use that against you.”

“What do you mean?” Alex asked, puzzled, and also slightly edgy now.

“It’s nothing to be overly alarmed about, Alex. I’m telling you this now so you’ll be more aware in future. At the moment you are easily distracted; it would be very simple for a diversion to be created, and for your attention to be snatched away, even for the briefest of seconds, then it would be too late.” Alex understood exactly what Allura meant.

“What must I do, then, to prevent this from happening?” He asked.

“Learn to become detached from your surroundings.” Allura replied. “This sounds like an oxymoron, I’m sure… but let me explain.” She turned to look at him. “Learn to scan your environment. Don’t focus on what is directly around you, but utilise your peripheral vision. Try it now. Fix me in your gaze and describe what you see around me without looking anywhere else, then we’ll try again using your peripheral vision.”

41)

Alex looked straight at Allura and for the first time saw her as she really was; a very attractive woman rather than as an antagonist or someone to hate or fear. He found it hard taking his eyes off of her and actually started to blush. Allura picked on this instantly; “Ok…Let’s try focusing on something that won’t distract you any further.” She said with a wry smile, “Although this does actually prove my point about your susceptibility to such things.” Alex smiled back. “The oak tree that lies just in front of us; see how high it reaches up. Focus on the trunk, and tell me what else you can see.”

Alex really couldn’t understand the merits of what he was being asked to do, but he did as he was asked. The tree took up most of his vision, so there wasn’t much he could describe to Allura save for a few bits of bracken poking up from the wood floor.

“As I suspected,” Allura commented, “your powers of description are just as limited as your powers of concentration.” This was a side to her that Alex had never seen or even knew that existed. Onyx was right; everything did happen for a reason. Allura giving in to her shadow side could have been disastrous, but on the other hand the dynamic between him and Allura was now of equal standing; and she had a wicked sense of humor.

Alex nodded and smiled in reaction to her comment. “What I want you to try now is something very simple, and you may have been taught this by Onyx already, but I want you to relax your gaze. Still keep your eyes on the pine but just let yourself go cross-eyed slightly.” Alex turned to look at her, one eyebrow raised in disbelief. “I know how it sounds, but think on this: Each eye has its own distinct field of vision and when you focus on one object you are converging those two disparate images into one, in effect superimposing one on top of the other.” Allura paused. “Does this make sense?”

“I think so.” Alex replied, “So does that mean that the brain then edits out any discrepancies between the two overlays?”

“Yes, something like that. By going slightly cross-eyed you are allowing yourself to see both separate images again; you’re seeing the bigger picture, not falling into the little details.” Alex nodded. He remembered that Onyx had said something similar when he had taught Alex the correct way to walk. That seemed such a long time ago though. “You may find it a little uncomfortable at first, but if you blink rapidly it will become easier.” Alex looked at the tree in front of him, but every time he tried to go cross-eyed he felt himself focus again on the details; the spider webs that cris-crossed the soft fibrous bark. Every time he tried, he failed miserably.

“You are trying too hard, Alex. Relax.” Allura said, sensing his growing frustration. “Learn to breathe. Your breathing is far too shallow. You need to take long, deep breaths – especially if you need to concentrate. Breathe in for the count of three, hold it for three and then release in three. Keep doing this, focus on your breathing and relax your eyes; relax your gaze.” Alex had not been aware of his breathing until Allura had drawn his attention to it. He did breathe very shallow, and was often out of breath when he did anything vaguely athletic. Following Allura’s example he breathed in slowly for the count of three then held it before breathing out for three. He continued the cycle three times before Allura gently spoke.

“What do you see now, Creator?” She asked.

“I see the bracken to my left: a brilliant, vibrant green; great fronds of it reaching for the sunlight. I see discarded acorns littering on the barren floor where the mighty trunk is drinking from the earth. And I see brambles on my right, their thorns hiding the bountiful berries beneath.” Alex stopped and looked at Allura in surprise.

Allura smiled. “You didn’t even have to try, Creator.” Alex nodded in amazement.

“It was so easy,” He replied, “I didn’t even know that my eyes had crossed.”

“Once you become more aware of your surroundings and of your peripheral vision then it will be harder to be distracted. Everything becomes of equal importance.” Alex nodded at this; he could now understand exactly what Allura meant. “This is ideal for short distances because it allows you to keep everything in your field of vision.”

“But for longer distances I would incorporate scanning?” Alex asked, tentatively, unsure of what he was actually saying.

“How do you mean, scanning?” Allura asked.

“Well, for short distances you’re saying that your gaze is fixed.” Alex explained, “But if you need to take in the maximum amount of information then you would need to move your head and scan the area around you, whilst still keeping your gaze slightly out of focus.” Allura paused before answering.

“Yes, you are quite right; to take in the maximum amount of information from your surroundings you just need to move your head slowly. This too will seem strange to start with as it is an automatic response to shift your eyes from point to point, but there are entities out there that will be able to sense this and use it to your disadvantage.”

“What entities?” Alex asked again, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

“It is nothing to worry about, Alex. Just as you’ve encountered the Skin-Crawlers so you must also appreciate that there are other beings out there that inhabit the woods and streams, as the birds, squirrels and fish do.” She paused again, sensing Alex’s growing anxiety, and put a friendly hand on his arm. “Now is not the time to dwell on this, but be assured that not all of them are evil. The ones that dwell here are certainly not evil, though they may be slightly mischievous… but that is nothing to worry about.” She looked around her using the method that she had described minutes before. “I think we have stayed here enough. It is time to continue our quest, and I would very much like you to lead us for a while.” She smiled at Alex and pointed the way for him to walk.

“But how will I know which way to go?” He asked, bemused.

“You will know, Creator.” She replied and smiled. “Just practice what we have just talked about and pay particular attention to your feelings. It is true that there are many ways through this wooded area, many paths… but only one will feel right.” She paused to let this last piece sink in. “Now is not the time for thought, Creator, but for walking. Lead the way.”

42)

It felt strange at first and for a time Alex kept tripping over things.

“I thought that Onyx had taught you how to walk properly, Creator!” Allura jibed.Alex couldn’t believe that he was being that dense of course, it made perfect sense. The two disciplines went hand in hand, and Alex was incredulous that he had forgotten the correct way of walking so soon.<.p>

It took a couple of seconds to remember what Onyx had told him: Lift the legs up when walking so the knees almost reached chest height, and do not look down. Not only did it make walking so much easier, it wasn’t as tiring and also meant that he could scan his environment better by utilising what Allura had just taught him.

I

t only took him another couple of minutes to master the two disciplines combined, and he was soon walking at the same pace that Allura had started earlier. Allura smiled at his progress and congratulated him on his ability to walk properly which made Alex lose concentration for the briefest of seconds –long enough for him to trip over a tree root. He quickly regained his composure, and was relieved that Allura couldn’t see him blushing from behind.

However, the question still remained: how was he to determine what the correct path was? That seemed like an impossible task when he didn’t know what he was looking for, and Allura’s comment was vague: only one will feel right. At the moment he felt as if he was wandering aimlessly. He had noticed which direction Allura walked previously and so headed the same way hoping that she wouldn’t notice, but that wasn’t what he had been asked to do. He knew that this was an important lesson for him to learn and it wasn’t something that he wanted to take lightly.

All of a sudden he stopped walking, and half-expected Allura to bump into him. She had anticipated this though and just stood three paces behind him. Alex paused and allowed his breathing to slow again as he centred himself. Allura was right, each time he did this it became easier to do, and he knew that before long this would become second nature. Alex had been told that the true path would feel different to him, that it would feel right. He had already noticed that by walking in the direction that Allura had trod he didn’t even have to think about it, it wasn’t even a conscious decision to make – it did just feel right. So how would it feel if he walked in a completely different direction?

Alex turned around almost ninety degrees and allowed his eyes to go out of focus as he had been taught. He could sense no difference yet, so walked a few paces utilising the scanning technique. Whereas before he had found this easy, now it was more of an effort; he found it harder keeping himself centred as his attention was being diverted by lots of little things, bushes rustling as if something small was scampering through them; the creak of a tree overhead, impressions of movement in the periphery of his vision. Each of these incidents added to an unsettling atmosphere and he felt the hairs on the backs of his arms and neck rise up. What was even more bizarre to him was the sickly yellow tint that he saw when he scanned the horizon. It wasn’t noticeable at first, but the further he progressed in the wrong direction the more definite it became and it wasn’t long before Alex actually felt nauseous.

The flutters of apprehension were now developing into full-blown paranoia. He actually felt as if he was being watched, and found that the sense of unease overwhelming. It was only due to Allura shouting to him that he was able to snap himself out of it. He quickly turned around to face her and ran, utilising the running stance that Onyx had taught him. He felt better with each step and by the time he had reached Allura the nausea had all but disappeared.

“Look back where you just walked.” Allura whispered in his ear, once he had regained his composure. “Relax your gaze and tell me what you see.”

“I see the yellowish tinge again, clear as day.” Alex stated.

“Now look in the direction that you were leading us before you stopped.” Allura continued.

“It’s a shade of green, very pleasing to the eye.” Alex was stunned at the difference in the colours and wondered why he hadn’t noticed it before.

“Don’t allow yourself to fall into the glamour of your ‘heightened’ perceptions, Alex.” Allura gently remonstrated. “Just accept that you have learnt something new.” Alex smiled; that was precisely the kind of thing that Onyx would have told him, but not as gently. “You did the right thing by stopping in your journey, Alex. I commend you for that; your capacity for learning and your thirst for knowledge is inspiring. I can see just how much I misjudged you earlier, and I can only apologise again.”

“There’s no need for this treading on eggshells any more, Allura.” He smiled. “We’ve both done stupid things in the past and I believe that they’ve cancelled each other out. So no more apologising – for either of us now.” With that Alex held out his hand, which Allura clasped. “Right, I think we’ve spent enough time on the arts of perception.” He said, “Now that I know what I’m doing I think we need to pick up the pace more.” Allura nodded and they continued walking at a faster rate.

43)

They walked for hours. It was hard to tell what time of day it was because the light didn’t seem to change in the wood; it was a consistent diffuse and hazy light, somehow pleasing to the eye.

However Alex never felt tired, it was as if the path he was on, coupled with his new walking gait, actually replenished his strength. He marvelled at this new way of life. Everything appeared normal when he started his sweeping gaze, but when his gaze reached the direction they were walking he could sense a slight greenish hue and felt a warmth in the pit of his stomach, something he had not associated with walking before, and when he completed sweeping the horizon the vista appeared normal again.

It was only when he started walking in a different direction that he sensed something wrong again; he would feel nauseous and his vision became tinged with the same hue of yellow that he saw earlier. Every so often he would deliberately alter his course to constantly test his new found sense of direction. Luckily this didn’t affect Allura who understood what he was doing and kept walking in the same direction, heedless.

“What you have learnt today has unlimited uses, Alex.” Allura said. It seemed like ages since they had spoken. “Now that you are cultivating your sense of feeling, you will be able to find your peace, and even whether people will be friendly or hostile to you.”

“How do you mean, find my peace?” Alex asked, intrigued by this concept.

“It’s the same as finding the correct path to walk, Creator.” Allura explained. “We all have places where we feel comfortable sitting, that are actually beneficial to us; just as there are places that can be detrimental to our health if we sit there. Too many people are not aware of this and will sit somewhere that is actually hostile to their well-being without realising it, not understanding the damage it’s causing to them until it’s too late.” Alex could now see the logic in this. He thought back to how he felt when treading the wrong path. Imagine what would have happened upon sitting in a place that was actually harmful. He was grateful to Allura teaching him to recognise the difference. “The more you learn on this journey then the more aware you’ll become.” She continued. “However, the more susceptible you will become to their forces, so it becomes more important that you find your spot each and every time you plan to rest.”

It wasn’t long before they came across a proper pathway leading to a small stone bridge that crossed a river. After all the time walking through the woods without a path to follow, it seemed strange to see something man-made, let alone a footbridge. It was a modest semi-circular bridge made of ornately carved rock and sandstone. At first Alex thought it was far too brittle and unsteady to support any great weight, but as he walked closer he could see that the key to the bridge was in its design. No one chunk of stone would carry the pressure and weight, it was somehow distributed evenly. It seemed strange, though, that the bridge didn’t have any hand rails, nothing to prevent a person from falling in the stream.

Either side of the river Alder trees grew creating a tunnel of sorts; the greenish bark mottled with brown patches; the lush leaves catching the last rays of the sun and twinkling in the wind. Alex was quite taken with the bridge, he marveled at the ingenuity of whoever built it but Allura was nonplussed and walked in front of him. Alex smiled and gazed around him; the sun was now setting and the light was a gentle shade of ocher, diffuse and pleasing as it filtered through the trees.

Alex sensed something was wrong before it even happened. As he scanned past the bridge directly in front of him he noticed a distortion, a blur, something large and ungainly. He was caught off-guard completely when a fierce and loathsome creature jumped out of the river behind Allura even before she had a chance to react; its great hairy hand holding her by the throat.

44)

“GRUGK.. Now. Who shall I eat first?”” The creature spoke in a deep but quiet growl. Alex’s first instinct was to try and fight the creature, but Allura cautioned him not to, the best she could. “GRUGK .. You should listen to your friend, worm. You can not hope to best me, it would only hasten your death.”

“What are you?” Alex asked, trying to assess the situation as dispassionately as he could, remembering Onyx’s wise words. How he wished that Onyx was there with him. He knew that the creature was correct; there was no way that he could fight it for that would surely cause Allura’s death. There was still a hope, however slim, that, by remaining calm, the two of them could still walk out alive. “What do you want?”

“GRUGK Isn’t it obvious?” The creature taunted. “Your life….and there’s nothing you can do to change my mind!” Towering over seven foot tall, the creature made Allura seem like a rag doll, helpless in its grasp. But although the creature was indeed fierce and tall, it seemed emaciated and tired, as if it lacked the energy to really back up its threats. Its hair was grey and limp, its face haggard and old. There was something that didn’t feel right about the overall situation. If the creature really was that powerful then it should have been able to kill the both of them in a heartbeat. Why was it waiting so long?

“I’m not going to change your mind,” Alex said, being very careful to keep the fear from invading his voice. “I can see there’s very little chance of me doing that.” The Creature snarled in agreement. “I do wonder why you spend your time hiding underneath a bridge though. If you are that powerful, I mean…” Alex knew that he was treading on very dangerous ground and he could see Allura mouth the words, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” The creature looked a little bemused by Alex’s question.

“GRUGK Do you doubt that I could snap this maidens neck with just a flick of my wrist?” The creature bellowed. Again, there was menace to the voice but no strength or conviction behind it, and things were becoming clearer to Alex now.

“Tell me how such a mighty Grugrk is reduced to such a state as you’re in now.” Alex enquired.

“GRUGK Why should I be wasting time telling you anything when I could be feasting on your flesh, and drinking your blood for my supper?” The creature snarled.

“Had you been in such a mind,” Alex explained, “You would have done so before now.” It sounded like Alex knew exactly what he was saying but inside he was deeply frightened. “Now, put my friend down and tell me what has happened.”

“GRUGK And why should I put her down? What will stop both her and you running away as fast as your legs can carry you?”

“I give you my word!” Alex said.

“Paige!” Allura protested.

“I can make you powerful again, Grugrk.” Alex spoke in a low conspiratorial voice. “You will become feared once more.”

“GRUGK How do you know I am not feared now, Paige?” The Grugrk snarled, using Alex’s surname as a weapon of power.

“Were you feared then you would not need to hide from us.” Alex explained. “You would have killed both of us in a couple of seconds.” The Grugrk let Allura go after pondering this.

Alex could see the determination behind Allura’s eyes, he knew that she wanted to slay the Grugrk but Alex shook his head perceptibly to stop her from making such a mistake. She scowled at him briefly before walking behind him. Alex knew that she was ready to strike if anything became untoward. He just hoped that it wouldn’t come to that. “So tell me what happened.” He asked the Grugrk.

45)

“Grugrk I was, as you correctly assumed, fierce.” The creature explained. He still blocked the other end of the bridge, so there was no chance of escape the Grugrk could jump vast distances –Alex had seen that with his own eyes. “This bridge and the stream that it crosses were mine. I built this bridge.” Pride tinged the Grugrk’s voice which surprised Alex. “I carved the stones and dragged them here.”

“Why did you build the bridge?” Alex asked, slightly confused.

“To have somewhere to feed, surely you understand that?” The Grugrk could tell that neither Alex nor Allura understood so he explained further. “Think about it, bridges have to be crossed. And I have to eat. I live underneath the bridge in a hole dug into the bank of the river; the hole is overshadowed by the bridge so it is difficult to see. People used my bridge daily and when I was hungry I used to feed on the unwary.” Alex couldn’t help but see the ingenuity of the plan. He smiled. “I became feared, and as you correctly pointed out, I became more fearsome and more powerful. Animal sacrifices were left to me to protect travellers and I became like a king!

“I wanted for nothing, I ate who I chose and being a simple village community there were none to challenge me.” The Grugrk boasted. “If a foolhardy hero did try to face me I would use the villages fear against him to grow in size and squash him. It was a life!”

“So what happened?” Asked Allura. Alex could tell that she too was becoming intrigued by the Grugrk's story.

“I picked on the wrong boy.” The Grugrk replied; a hint of shame and regret tinged his voice. “This was a young boy, much like any other, except he carried an old moth-eaten teddy-bear.” The Grugrk hung his head in shame, as if it was painful reliving such memories. “Back then I was fearsome, much taller than I am now. Feeding on fear as well as flesh I gorged myself. Somehow this boy found out about me and set a trap to snare me. That was but the first indignity that he lay on my person.” The Grugrk snarled.

“What was the boys name?” Asked Allura.

“The boy would sing to himself.” The Grugrk replied, crouching down, as if to relieve an ache or a pain in his back. “Or talk to the bear that he always carried. He called himself Billy.” The Grugrk shook his head. “I should’ve killed him when I had the chance, ripped that boys head clean off his shoulders.” Alex flinched at that description.

“So what stopped you?” He asked.

“Once he had caught me in his snares he was no longer frightened of me. I can only have power over those that are fearful.” Alex nodded thoughtfully, he was starting to understand. “To make matters worse he taunted me, he knew that I was hiding under the bridge and would bring his friends along to play games.” Alex suppressed a smile, but Allura was still none-the-wiser to where the tale was leading. “The ultimate disgrace, though, was the curse that his father laid on me. Without ever having to face me he bested me, took all my power away, and left me to the miserable fate that you see before you now.”

“Yes, I think I’m beginning to understand now.” Alex rubbed his chin decisively. “The boy’s father wrote about this wood, didn’t he? He created a world where magic and joy ruled and cuddly creatures romped around looking for honey, and adventure. There wasn’t any room for Grugrk’s anymore, but children from miles around would drag their parents and their grandparents to this magical wood in the hope that they could catch sight of that teddy bear, and play games with floating sticks on your bridge.”

“Yes… yes… yes.” The Grugrk moaned, and Alex almost felt sorry for him. Allura was more perplexed than ever though.

“What if I told you that I would redress the balance again, in your favour, eh?” Alex said, conspiratorially. The Grugrk looked up in surprise.

46)

“What do you mean?” The Grugrk asked. “How can you do such a thing?”

“I’m a Creator as well.” Alex replied. The Grugrk started in alarm, as if he had been stung.

“You?” He remarked.

“Yes, me.” Alex felt the power deep within, the words resonated through his entire being. “I could write you back into the story again, make you the most fearsome Grugrk in all of existence. No one would dare set traps for you again, all would be terrified of you; as you rightly deserve.”

“To be feared again. Aye, that would be worth sparing you both for.” The Grugrk said. “You have yourself a deal there, Creator.” The Grugrk mused for a couple of seconds. “From the look of you there is nothing but stringy flesh anyway, but your strength lies deep within. I am glad that I spared you; you probably would have given me indigestion anyways.”

“There is one condition, though, Grugrk.” Alex said. “There is to be no eating of children any longer.” The Grugrk looked puzzled and then became enraged.

“WHAT?!” He shouted, rearing up to his full height again.

“NO CHILDREN!” Alex shouted back, the strength behind his voice shocking even Allura. “This is the one binding clause to our agreement. Don’t forget that I can do you a greater disservice than ever that boy’s father did. I can unwrite you completely, should I choose to do so.”

“And what would stop me from breaking your bones now, young strapling?” The Grugrk sneered, taking a step towards them.

“You no longer have the power over either of us.” Alex remarked, taking a step towards the Grugrk. Allura watched on, ready to pounce should she need to. “We no longer fear you; rather we pity you for the miserable creature you have become.”

The Grugrk took a step back, and then another, wilting under Alex’s gaze. “Alright.” He protested. “No more children. No more children.” Alex took a step back, pleased at what he had achieved.

“Good.” He said, “Remember, I will know if you go back on your word. Should you do so, I will make you into the laughing stock of all the Woods.”

“No; you have my word, Creator.” The Grugrk replied, humbled by Alex’s will. “No more children. But go now, before I am disgraced even more.” The Grugrk took a step to one side and allowed Alex and Allura to pass, neither looked at him until they were far enough over the other side of the bank. What they saw shocked them for the Grugrk was now but one tenth of its size from when they first spoke to it.

”

47)

They walked on for some time in silence; Alex was still overtaken by adrenaline from the encounter with the Grurgk. It wasn’t long before he realised that night was falling and all of a sudden he felt very tired. Allura sensed this and said: “I get the feeling that you will be able to sleep anywhere tonight, young Paige.” Allura said smiling. “You won’t need to worry about finding your ‘spot’ to sleep in, everywhere will be beneficial to you here.” Alex smiled in gratitude. “The reason these woods feel so calm and peaceful, Creator, is that this is the home of the Faire; they protect this wood and others, and they are all around us. I can see them, when they allow me to and I’m sure that, in time, they will allow you to see them too.”

Alex felt a little spooked by this; he wasn’t completely comfortable with invisible creatures frolicking around him. He also found it difficult to visualise anything other than the stereotypical pictures of Fairies that he’d seen in books.

“That is why I said for you to keep an open mind, Alex.” Allura remarked. “It is important that you see the Faire as they truly are for they can help you on your quest. I’m not sure how they will be able to work with your stubborn nature, but they will find a way.”

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up in alarm at this and Allura laughed at the look on Alex’s face. “You needn’t worry unduly, Creator.” She mocked gently. “They will not do anything to harm you – that is not their way.”

“What will they do?” He asked warily.

“I don’t know.” Allura replied. “Besides, even if I did know..”

“You wouldn’t tell me.” Alex interrupted.

“Not out of malice or to inconvenience you, Alex.” Allura tried to explain. “If I told you how they would attempt to communicate with you then you will be prejudiced and expect that to happen.”

“And my mind would be closed to anything else.” Alex remarked, now understanding.

“Yes, precisely.” Allura was pleased that he was now well on his way to walking his path. “None of this is personal, Creator; it is not to be taken as an attack on you or your character; these are all learning curves. As I have already explained to you, it will be possible for you to gain information from your surroundings; you will be in direct communication with Bellkipeg whenever you are centred.”

“Do you mean I need to become aware of others energies and attuning to their particular frequency?”

“Sounds almost easy, doesn’t it Creator?” Allura asked.

“No,” He disagreed, “if anything it sounds harder than ever. Putting it into language makes it seem more intangible, unattainable, even.”

“That is the main problem with language.” Allura conceded. “How can you use language to explain concepts that can only be felt.”

“And you are starting to understand the difference between feeling and thinking, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to hear me now.” Alex was surprised to hear Allura’s voice inside his own, as if she had beamed them directly into his brain.

“Yes,” Allura agreed, speaking once again. “And that’s exactly what I just did. If you were not open to that then you would not be open to the Faire.” Alex nodded slowly, it almost made sense to him. “The fact that I was able to read your thoughts so easily was an indication to your change in spirit. But be warned, being open in itself can leave you vulnerable to other influences.” Alex knew the risks involved. “However I feel that the Faire will be able to help with that.” She remarked. Alex still felt a little nervous about the prospect of meeting an invisible creature. Allura chuckled. “Sometimes your concepts are so rigid they’re almost as stubborn as you. If you have a hard and fast view of the world then you will never see anything, but if you become more flexible and open to the world around you then great vistas will suddenly become known to you. At the moment I can see you struggle, and I can also see the fear start to creep into your shell.” Alex could only smile sheepishly at Allura’s perceptiveness. “Think about it this way, Alex… You have faced the most fearsome of Grugrks, defeated the Vaurac and held your ground against the Deluge! How can you be frightened of anything else?”

48)

Allura was right, and it was something that Alex had never allowed himself to feel. There was no need to be scared, and this revelation allowed him to step completely out of his shell, for it was his shell that felt fear; that stumbled along in all its rigid beliefs. The true self had no need of rigidity, it flowed.

Alex didn’t even notice Allura walk away from him, she saw that Alex had reached his still point and smiled. She wouldn’t be far away, should anything untoward happen. The Faire could be unpredictable but that depended very much on Alex, and his reactions.

Alex, for his part, had withdrawn from the fear and confusion that he’d felt previously; now he felt at peace. The difference between how he had felt, trapped in his shell, was remarkable; the world felt more alive, more vibrant, almost pulsing with energy. It would be so easy for him to detach from the world completely, to just let himself drift off into the green that surrounded him, but he needed to find the Mirror of Sfel. He had responsibilities, and being detached from the world around him was as much a trap as the shell was, he could see that now.

Onyx was so right when he accused Alex of indulging too much, and he was allowing himself to be distracted again. He smiled at his new mindset, had he really changed this much?

Something moved suddenly; he caught a quick flash of motion out of the corner of his eye and he shifted his attention to where he discerned the source to be. It was then that he remembered Allura’s advice about being distracted and he shifted his perceptions again, and started to scan the area around him.

Allura had seen the Faire move around him, so gently at first so not to disturb him; their sense of timing and grace impeccable. Then when he had shifted his awareness levels one of them moved and caught his attention. Alex had nearly fallen into their trap which could have proven costly to him, but at the last second he had remembered her teachings and scanned the area. He might even survive this.

49)

Alex scanned around him, allowing his eyes to become crossed as Allura and Onyx had taught him. The air around had taken a smoky consistency; that seemed odd to him, so he quickly shifted his vision back to normal and was surprised to find that there was not a trace of smoke to be found. In some places there was an unholy pinkish glow which seemed initially enticing but made him feel nauseous at the same time.

He was dismayed to find that he was almost surrounded by the smoky atmosphere but there was one small gap in the smoke, a corridor which stretched out in a westerly direction, just large enough for a person to walk through.

He walked slowly along the clear corridor, being careful with each and every footfall. It wasn’t long before Alex stopped walking; he felt as if he needed to scan the area again. He turned to face the way he had just walked and was alarmed to see that the smoke had filled in behind him, cutting him off; there was no way back for him now. He continued scanning trying to push away the paranoia and fear he felt welling up inside of him; now was not a time to give in to those feelings. As long as he kept on scanning the area around him he would be able to escape.

Alex walked through the corridor for a few feet until he realised that the way ahead was blocked by more smoke. Letting out a sigh of dejection he scanned his immediate environment again. This was starting to become tedious, not to mention hopeless. He truthfully wondered whether it would be better to just sit down and wait for the smoke to claim him. The only place that was still clear was a lone oak tree, so he walked over to it and sat down with his back to the mighty trunk, pulling his knees tightly close to him.

He couldn’t understand what was going on; were the Faire folk testing him? He had no idea what he needed to do next – if this was a test then why wasn’t the next step obvious? He let out another sigh of resignation and hugged his knees for comfort. It was then that he saw movement from the corner of his eye, this time it was from his left. Alex couldn’t tell what it was, but it was enough to snap him out of his feelings of dejection.

His sudden mood swings were uncharacteristic; especially after all he’d been through recently, and they only seemed to happen when he shifted back into his shell; when he stayed centered in himself then he was unaffected by them.

He sat down and let his eyes go unfocused again, scanned his surroundings. As he did so he noticed two things: the first was the strength that he felt coursing through him, he felt anchored to the world around him; he felt himself growing roots and drawing the very strength from the oak behind him.

No sooner had he sat down then he felt something sharp dig into his backside. Reaching down underneath him he felt around for the object. Bizarrely enough he found a roughly chipped black arrow head made of a curious material. It wasn’t metal as he was expecting but something hard like stone that shimmered with a knowing power. He held it in his palm and looked into its depths, losing himself in the contours. Closing his fingers around it he was swept away in waves of serenity and wholeness. Like the carved brown elephant before it, this arrowhead made Alex feel more powerful within himself.

Opening his eyes he saw a clear corridor unfold before him, this time without having to consciously squint, his eyes naturally focusing themselves. He pushed himself up off the ground, and placed the arrowhead in his right pocked. He wasn’t surprised to find that he was now facing an easterly direction; it all made perfect sense now.

Being careful not to give into the new feelings of power, he walked along the corridor and could now see that the fog was becoming more opaque. Night had descended fully now, and he was able to see by star and moonlight now; the wood took on a wholly magical countenance in this pure, silvery light.

Every now and then Alex noticed rapid movements as if small animals were running through the bushes around him. He wondered if it was the Faire folk come to encourage him on his initiation. He marveled at their fleetness and almost became spellbound by their presence and nearly lost his focus of attention. Had he not come to his senses he would surely have carried on walking right through the smoke in front of him. He smiled at their ingenuity, they were trying to distract him by using his new abilities against him. If he had been overconfident or lost in their distractions he would surely have come to harm.

The light faded as clouds progressed across the moonlit sky. He could barely make out the tree that he was resting against, and he started scrabbling around for the totem in the leaf-littered wood floor and soon his hands were worn and bloodied from searching in the dark.

The feelings of helplessness welled up inside of him again, but he pushed them back down determined not to let the Faire folk beat him. He imagined them looking at him, scrutinising his every move with amusement. Allura must be there too, chuckling to herself at this “Lightbringer” who couldn’t even see in the dark. Alex felt the bile rise in his throat as he choked back the angry tears. He could feel his anger build like a volcano and for once he didn’t know how to stop it.

All of a sudden he felt something dig into his leg, it was the carving of the arrow. He hurriedly pulled it out of his pocket and sat back in a cross-legged position, clasping it in his cupped hands. He couldn’t believe that he had almost succumbed to the fear and anger yet again; it had been so incessant and had actually gorged on his pride.

It was insidious, sneaking up, disguising itself as the positive emotions that he had come to equate to his true self. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he used the carving to calm himself once again, brushing all the petty insecurities aside. It was then that the moon peeked through the clouds and bathed the wood in its welcome glow again.

Right in front of him, not more than a few feet away, stood a small mound of earth; on top of the mound lay a silver ring, glinting in the moonlight. Embedded in the ring lay three diagonal inlays of the most vividly red crystal Alex had ever seen. It was as if the ring had trapped three distinct flames in its silver. He picked it up, and instinctively placed it on his little finger where it fit snugly. He felt a huge surge of strength and determination. He understood exactly what had just happened, he had gotten lost in the glamour of his new found abilities when he should really have kept himself centred.

Logically speaking there was only one more direction that Alex would have to walk, but he made sure by scanning the area around him just to make certain and to kick that cocky part of his shell into line. There was no way that he would let his personality be determined by the shell anymore, he couldn’t allow it.

Sure enough, there was a gap in the smoke leading back southwards, and as he walked on he could see Allura in the distance smiling at him.

50)

Allura actually welcomed him with open arms, beaming with such a warm, loving smile that he momentarily forgot everything he had just been through.

“I’m proud of you, Alex.” She said holding him tight. He could feel the palms of her hands grow warm on his back, and the warmth slowly spread throughout the rest of his body, rejuvenating him. “There were a couple of times where I seriously doubted whether you would be able to make it, but you did brilliantly!” She let Alex go and motioned to the ground. He suddenly felt so tired, and was pleased for the opportunity to rest. Alex sat down, cross-legged as Allura did the same.

“What happened there, Allura?” Alex asked, perplexed beyond belief now. “It felt like some kind of initiation, but I’m seriously wondering whether I passed or not..”

“You passed alright.” Allura remarked, “Elsewise you would not be here talking to me.” Alex was stunned by her reply.

“You can’t be serious.” He exclaimed. “Why didn’t you tell me what was going to happen?”

“Would you have believed me even if I had?” She countered. “You found it hard enough believing in the Faire initially. You certainly wouldn’t have been open to their teachings, so they had to find a way through your stubbornness.”

“But they, what, could have killed me; is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes. This is not a game we’re playing Alex; you have been told often enough, there is not just yourself at stake. The whole of Bellkipeg is in your hands. The Faire gambled on you remembering and understanding all that we had taught you, and on you actually being able to use that knowledge. If you had not been able to, then what good would you be to us? How you could even hope to save Bellkipeg if you couldn’t even save yourself from some smoke?”

Allura’s tone was almost accusatory but Alex found it difficult to argue with her logic. There would have been a time, not so long since, that he would surely have answered back, but he was now able to step away from his ego and he saw that she was right.

“Ok,” He said finally. . “Please tell me exactly what happened to me, Allura. I need to know.”

“The Faire knew that if you were going to stand a chance of gaining your true power and understanding of Bellkipeg then your vibrational level needed to increase. The whole initiation hinged on your being able to step out of Self and actually See the world around you. “Each direction you walked was integral to raising your vibration and the crystals that you found will help protect, nurture and strengthen you.

“What about the crystals, though?” He asked. ”What do they represent?”

Allura laughed lightly, “I’m not going to tell you everything, Creator.” She answered. “You’d best ask the crystals themselves. They will tell you all you need know, and when you will need to use them.” Rather than sneering at Allura’s suggestion, as he would normally do, Alex nodded thoughtfully.

“Oh, before I forget.” Allura added. “The Faire asked me to give this to you personally.” She said, holding a turquoise heart in front of her.

The crystal hung on a black cord. “This is a very powerful crystal,” Allura continued, and placed it over Alex’s head. “And it will help guide you on your path, and release those ingrained patterns that you so stubbornly cling to.” Alex grimaced at this. “You have learnt much, Creator.” She said and she placed her hands on his shoulders and smiled proudly. “But now is the time for sleep,.” Allura remarked looking around her. “It will not be long until the day dawns, and we must be away again. We have dallied here long enough.” She said and winked. Alex nodded and lay on his back, up above he could see a starry sky winking at him as well, and before long he closed his eyes.

51)

Alex woke with the dawns freshness pumping through his veins, he felt more alert than he had done in days. Sitting up he saw Allura a few yards away from him, watching him in the same curious way that Onyx used to, her head resting lightly on her right shoulder. She smiled at him, benevolently.

“Morning, Creator.” She said. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“I haven’t felt this good in ages.”

“I know, I can see. You’re almost back to your old self.” She paused and moved her head back to an upright position again. “By that I mean, you’re almost back to your true self. I must say, it’s refreshing to see!”

“What about food?” He asked.

“I foraged for some berries and roots last night whilst you were sleeping.” Allura explained. “It’s always best to dig for roots by moonlight, when the trees and plants are sleeping too.”

Allura motioned for Alex to take care of himself, and within ten minutes they started walking again, this time at a much brisker pace than before. Alex didn’t mind; he was buoyed by the thought of seeing Onyx and Anjinn again.

Two hours passed by but Alex scarcely noticed, nor did he realise that he was leading Allura through the wood; it had become automatic now for him to walk the path; she was more than happy to let him take the front.From a self-indulgent child to a man in the space of a few days, he had survived the initiation and was fast becoming his true self. He hoped that he would be worthy when the time came to find the Mirror of Sfel. The wood was thinning out now, and in the distance Alex could see a verdant field stretch out. He smiled and gestured to Allura, but she simply nodded; she had already seen it.

Upon walking into the field Alex was struck by the sudden change: the beautiful expanse in front of him, the field rose over a small hill; and the skeletal remains of a tree stood on the crest of the hill, gesturing to a lost and forgotten day. The air was crisp and every breath brought the sweet smell of dewed grass.

The sky was a serene blue and he could hear the birds crying in the distance, a faint “Kraaw Kraaw” sound. He smiled and almost started whistling, he felt so happy. He looked at Allura who simply shook her head, humouring him.

When they reached the brow of the hill they could see a large valley sweeping below them. The field stretched out before leading down into the valley itself and that was where they needed to go to. The “Kraw Kraw” sound was getting closer. He knew very little about bird calls, but thought it was either a crow or a raven.

“Ravens for sure, Creator.” Allura confirmed. “There is a flock of ravens heading our way. This may prove fortuitous.”

“How so?”

“Ravens are highly intuitive and blessed with a connection to Bellkipeg that few can fathom. They may be able to help us. It depends on whether She smiles on us today, if She doesn’t then it may become difficult for us.”

“Who do you mean?” Alex could now see the ravens appear on the horizon, there were so many of them, the whole sky turned a seething and feathered black.

“The Raven Woman, Creator.” Allura replied. “She is the collective, one of the Spirit Goddesses who can grant great favours to those she smiles upon.” Alex was still fixed on the swirling mass of ravens that were getting closer with every heartbeat.

“And if she doesn’t smile upon you?” Alex asked, hesitantly.

“It’s best not to think along those lines, Paige.” Allura cautioned. “You need to remain centred at all times now. The Ravens will not harm you unless you give them cause.”

52)

They stood and watch the mass of ravens draw closer until they were caught in the middle of a whirlwind of black feathers and raucous cries. The sound was unimaginable, it took all of his willpower to stand firm.

Alex was in awe of the sheer power that these birds exhibited. The energy that they were emitting was phenomenal, and soon the fear gave way to a sense of wonder as he walked into the midst of the swirling mass of ravens. Allura went to stop him, but realised that this was beyond her control; he was being summoned by the Raven Woman herself.

He expected to be assailed by hundreds of ravens, but they parted and Alex could see a small vortex appear in front of him and a shape coalesced from within. It was a woman, shrouded in a voluminous cloak and hood of black feathers. When the cloak finally parted, Alex was confronted by the Raven Woman, naked apart from that which she wore across her shoulders. The Raven Woman was epitome of beauty, tall and voluptuous, thickly black silken hair flowing down past her shoulder, lips wantonly red, her eyes a yearning green. It was impossible to determine her age, for her body was that of a young woman, but her eyes told of an ageless soul and Alex noticed that his mouth had been hanging open for the last few seconds.

“You are the Creator.” The Woman spoke with a harsh tone reminiscent of a raven, but strangely modulated to sound soothing and tuneful. “I expected someone older, but with more experience.” She cawed softly and cackled. “Yet, if you have got this far then I suppose you are the one.”

She looked him up and down slowly and Alex found it hard not to do the same. There was something about her eyes though, they had such a depth that reflected his very life back at him and he found it hard to look away.

The Woman sensed this; “I feel a strong connection with you, Creator – as if we have met before, but I have never seen you in this world. How can that be?” Alex felt exactly the same, but found it hard to articulate so didn’t even attempt it. “No matter.” She said. “We have met because there is something you need, something you are looking for, yes?”

“Yes.” Alex replied, finally able to speak. “The Mirror of Sfel.”

“Why do you search for the Mirror?” She probed.

“I’ve been told that it is the only thing that can thwart the Deluge and save my friends village.”

“It does far more than that, Creator. Far more; it can help the bearer regain their lost half, or show them their true self if they are worthy.” Alex knew what the next question was going to be even before it was asked, as if the whole conversation between them had been rehearsed. “But are you worthy, Creator?”

Alex was caught in an impossible situation; the question was worded in a way that would catch out unwary ego’s. If he answered this wrong he may never find the Mirror, he knew this instinctively.

“I am neither worthy nor unworthy.” He replied finally.

The Raven Woman looked at him strangely, waiting for him to continue.

“If I were to say that I am worthy of the Mirror of Sfel then I would be placing myself in a position of great power, and therefore great ego." He continued. "I would no longer be in the right mind-set to use the Mirror as it was meant to be used. However, if I were to say that I was unworthy then I would never be worthy of anything, for the Mirror has the capacity to show me my true self and no one is unworthy enough to see their truth.”

The Raven Woman looked deep into the heart of Alex, testing to see whether his heart was true to his words. When at last she replied her voice was softer, but no less authoritative.

“You are the Lightbringer,” She said, “and so the Mirror of Sfel is yours.”

“Where can I find it?” Alex asked, scarcely believing that it was going to be this easy.

“The Mirror lies in the heart of a labyrinth.” She replied. “Your labyrinth, Creator.”

Alex was puzzled by her answer. “We each have a morass inside of us, one that consumes our whole lives if we allow it to. It begins with the first lie that we are told about ourselves, the first belief that is given to us by others. We then compound these lies and turn them into our own truths, create more paths that lead us far from our true selves. Each lie creates yet another divergence and before long we are lost in the labyrinth of our own devising.”

Alex was stunned, it was so true; of the beliefs that he had about himself, so many had been given to him by other people: his parents, his teachers, his so-called friends. He’d treated them all as truths, not knowing what else to do with them, but he could see now that they were only opinion; many of them were nothing but lies.

“What do I need to do?” He urged. “How do I find the Labyrinth?”

“The Labyrinth is inside of you, Creator.” The Raven Woman replied. “It has always been inside of you, as is the Mirror Of Sfel. To walk the Labyrinth you must be prepared to uncover the very lies that have haunted you your entire life, and see them as they truly are.” Alex was determined, more determined than he had ever been in his life.

“You will uncover your true self,” She continued, “and all that has been lost to you since coming here will be returned. But be warned, you will be faced with your own inner darkness; if you are weak or stray too far from your own path then you will be lost and neither Onyx nor myself will be able to find you.”

53)

The Raven Woman stepped aside, gesturing for Alex to walk past her. “You will need to call the Labyrinth from within you.” She said, “The labyrinth is already there, waiting for you; it has always been there.”

Alex walked down the slope to the valley floor where a few rocks jutted out of the ground. Looking around he could see that there were more boulders strewn about either side of the valley. He sat down on one of the rocks and tried connecting with his true self again.

The conversation with the Raven Woman had been quite taxing, but enlightening nonetheless as he now understood what was needed from him. Alex closed his eyes, straightened his back and took three deep breaths, allowing himself to connect with Bellkipeg. He tried to picture the Labyrinth within him, imagining it as a whole entity so he could magic it into existence before him. But the more he tried, the harder it was for him to visualise it.

Alex soon gave up trying and opened his eyes. Bizarrely he now found himself in a corridor where the walls, floor and ceiling of which were made of worn grey stone. This had to be the Labyrinth that the Raven Woman had told him about, he’d obviously manifested it correctly. All he had to do now was reconnoiter the twists and turns until he reached the centre and The Mirror Of Sfel would be waiting for him. What could be easier than that?

Alex carried on walking again with a spring in his step, this was going to be far easier than what he thought. Even though there was no discernible lighting he could still see quite a way in front. Each step echoed slightly, but apart from that there were no other sounds; he was completely alone. No matter, he thought, it wouldn’t be much further and there was bound to be a fork in the tunnel soon; and then he’d be forced to choose a direction to take.

More time passed and Alex was concerned that he hadn’t seen any turnings or junctions, there was just the corridor leading directly ahead. The light was always at a constant and illuminated just a few feet in front of him before being swallowed up by darkness. This was probably just another trick of Bellkipeg, he’d probably passed lots of exits but hadn’t been looking right…

Whilst walking he could feel memories stir in his mind. Stroboscopic images at first but soon he could hold one image at a time. Not since his encounter with the Vaurac had he remembered anything from his life previous to waking in Bellkipeg. He smiled; it was happening just as the Raven Woman had predicted.

There were fleeting memories of him watching videos alone as a child in his bedroom. He didn’t share his life with many people, he didn’t know how to. Each time he tried he ended up on his own in a far worse state of mind with emotional scars to prove it.

he light faded around him but he carried on walking regardless, happy to revisit these long lost memories. There were times when he’d speak to his parents about the problems in his life only to be ignored or bought with toys or books. No one seemed to understand him or care, and it wasn’t long before he ceased caring too. When that happened he turned to fantasy more and more. He sought out the writers that took him to faraway lands that allowed him to soar in the air with dragons, to fight with ogres and giants.

Little did he realise, at that age, that such things were real. And now he was trapped in this tunnel which didn’t end anywhere, just constantly stretched out in the same direction. Endlessly.

It wasn’t long before he felt claustrophobic. The tunnel itself hadn’t changed in size, but he had been walking it for so long he was starting to get paranoid again. He was remembering all the times he had been left to his own devices, the loneliness he had felt as a child. He walked faster, trying to outpace his memories, and before long he was running down the corridor, his footsteps reverberating round the walls making it seem as if there were more people with him.

54)

But with each footstep another memory was pushed to the surface, forcing him to relive it. Heartaches, disappointments and anger burned within where he had no chance to vent it and each echo proved to him how alone he was. And he knew, Alex knew, that when he finally found the mirror Anjinn and Allura would no longer need him and they would leave him just as everyone else had.

The further he ran, the darker it became and the more claustrophobic Alex felt. He stopped and tried to calm himself down; tried to step outside of his shell as he had done during his initiation, but he couldn’t. There was something stopping him here, the oppressive feeling was now becoming too powerful for him to block. The thoughts of finding the Mirror were being replaced by rejection and worthlessness.

“..if I were to say that I was unworthy to find the Mirror then I never be worthy of anything, for the Mirror has the capacity to show me my true self and no one is unworthy to be their truth..” Alex had said that some time ago and had believed it with all of his very being, but now it seemed an impossible task and he was far from worthy.

In the past he had been able to shrug off these feelings, draw from some deep reserve and plough on through, but all he could do now was walk; he could no longer be bothered to run, it all seemed so pointless. The light was almost gone now and all that was left was a dark shade of grey from which he could discern no more than a couple of inches in front of him.

Alex now accepted that there was only the one path, and that had been the path he had trod all his whole life, alone. There was only ever the one path, despite how many times he had looked back and wished for other directions, or pondered over missed opportunities. He knew now that there were never any opportunities, it was just him. When the darkness finally swallowed him whole Alex welcomed it, for it meant that he no longer had to fool himself that he was the Lightbringer. All the time there was light showing he could pretend that he was the source.

He was now left with the undeniable truth that he had failed in his quest; that despite all he had been through with the Grugrk and the Faire initiation he was nothing. He’d been tricked into believing that he could save the Land, when in reality he was nothing. Just a child really, as Onyx had said when they first met, just an over-indulged child.

Alex couldn’t figure out how long he had been walking, but it didn’t seem to matter any more. He could no longer block out the feelings of worthlessness and defeat. He felt the strength suddenly drain from his body and he collapsed onto the cold, hard stone. He could no longer contain the tears and with each sob he could feel the memories drain away, as if he was letting each one go. All the feelings that had dominated his life for so long were being released. All the rejection and disappointment; the barely suppressed hatred that he had felt for those closest to him all were now being brought to the surface with heaving sobs, before being released. None of it was real.

55)

By admitting to his own darkness the feeling of claustrophobia no longer gripped him, he felt quite serene. He no longer felt the need to carry on walking but just stared at the blackness inside of him; it was strangely peaceful. In the distance Alex saw a flicker of light, no bigger than a match-head but to him it was like a super-nova. He pushed himself off the ground with a renewed vigor and walked slowly towards the light, uncertain which way he was facing. He had no idea where the walls were any more, he was completely disorientated and all he cared about was that little glimmer of light beckoning to him and getting larger with every footstep he took.

All his previous fears and concerns, all the memories that had held him back no longer concerned him; all that he focused on now was the light, it was his beacon; the only thing that he cared about. He knew that running wouldn’t bring it any closer, it was a light that mirrored the light within himself. To bring it closer to him he needed to shine his light brighter, so shine he did.

The light now doubled in size the closer he got to it, and before long it blinded. Alex stopped walking and stood looking into the light; it was a brilliant white light that drew him into its depths and whispered to him of great strength and courage. It told him of all the great truths that had been buried among the lies he’d been told, that his path did have meaning; that his life had meaning; that as the Lightbringer he would bring hope not only to Bellkipeg but everywhere that he walked. The Mirror Of Sfel was a mirror of Self, the true self. The Deluge was an extension of the Other, the lack of identification of Self. By giving the Mirror to Allura and Anjinn they would be able to save their village and restore the heart of Bellkipeg.

Alex listened once more to the light and nodded. He then stretched out his left hand, reached out into the light until he felt the warmth coalesce into his hand and become solid from which he could finally grip. He pulled hard for it felt impossibly heavy; eventually the weight diminished until he was able to see the source of the light. It was his own light reflected back at him through a mirror.

56)

With the Mirror Of Sfel now in his hands, Alex knew that he no longer needed to dwell in his Labyrinth. It had served a purpose all through those years and it had kept him safe and shown him guidance, but it no longer served a purpose for him. Focusing on his light he let the darkness around him disperse until he was back in the valley again. Sure enough he was sitting on the same rock that he had been before entering the labyrinth, but this time he was holding an ornate, guilt edged mirror.

“Now do you believe, Creator?” A voice boomed out, one that Alex knew instantly. Looking up from the mirror he rejoiced to see not only Onyx walking towards him, but Anjinn and Allura too.

Allura smiled at him, pride shining from her eyes. Anjinn thrust his hand out and said, “You have truly proved yourself worthy of the Wyxann, Paige. You will forever be known as The Creator in our townage. Now we will be able to turn the tide against the Deluge, and restore Bellkipeg to its former glory.”

“How do you feel, Creator?” Onyx asked, placing a firm hand on his shoulder.

“I’m not sure, Onyx.” Alex replied. “…I’m not sure what actually happened in there.”

“Take your time, Creator. Just explain what happened from when you first walked into the Labyrinth.” Alex explained as best he could, it felt so subjective, but he felt so changed by the experience.

“Yes, Creator.” Onyx agreed. “You had spent so much time walking away from your truth. So, how much do you remember of your past life?”

“Almost all of it.” Alex replied. “Some of it doesn’t make sense, and the rest just doesn’t seem to matter anymore.” He chuckled.

“It will take a time for all the memories to settle, Creator.”

“The thing is, I don’t recognise the person in the memories.”

“Why should you?” Anjinn interjected. “Looking at how you are now, how you hold yourself… You are completely different to how you were when we first met. You were a child then, a man now.” Alex smiled for that was truly a compliment coming from Anjinn.

“So those memories are quite useless now, is that what you mean?” Alex asked.

“No, Creator.” Onyx replied. “The memories serve to tell you how far you have traveled and how far you’ve come. Do not feel disheartened by your memories, cherish them and let them go for they no longer govern your life. You live purely in the present now, and the past no longer has any bearings on who you are.”

“I suppose we’ve got to decide where to go next.” Alex remarked. It was Anjinn who spoke first, surprising Alex with his answer.

57)

“Our destinies are set for us.” Anjinn replied, “and our paths now lead us back to our village.” Allura nodded sadly in agreement.

“Anjinn is right, Creator.” She said and kissed Alex on the cheek. “We need to take the Mirror back to our village, to its rightful place. Then we will be able to turn back the tide against The Deluge and the darkness that has been threatening Bellkipeg.”

“But maybe we can go with you.” Alex replied, not wanting to say goodbye to them. He’d been through so much with Allura that he now didn’t want to be away from her. The irony did not escape him. Onyx shook his head.

“That is not our way, Creator.” He spoke solemnly. “Our path is into the heart of Bellkipeg itself. Allura and Anjinn have their destiny, you have yours. We have walked together, but now is the time for us to part.” Alex nodded.

“I’ll not forget you.” He said to Allura, placing a hand on her arm. “Either of you.” He continued, looking at Anjinn. Allura held Alex, hugged him like a brother. Anjinn shook Alex firmly by the hand again and thanked him for all that he had done. Alex nodded and when they finally walked away up the hill to the wood he felt disheartened.

“We have no time for indulgences, Creator.” Onyx explained, slapping Alex on the shoulder. “They have not truly left us, because they were never truly with us. For a time it seemed as if our lives were running along parallel lines, but that is all.”

“What do we do now?” Alex asked. “You said something about walking to the heart of Bellkipeg.”

“Yes, that is where we will be able to confront the true source of the darkness that threatens the land.”

“So I guess time is of the essence then.”

They walked in silence for some time, utilizing the power walk. It was second nature to Alex now, and he even found himself leading the way intuitively, Onyx smiled; he knew that Alex had no conscious idea of where they were heading, it was something that they hadn’t talked about, but by scanning the area and walking properly Alex was going in the right direction.

Alex, for his part, was oblivious to this irony. It was now natural for him to walk this way; it was far less tiresome and he could cover much more ground in the same time.

“Where are we going?” He finally asked.

“Where do you feel?” Onyx replied. Alex chuckled at this; it wasn’t so long ago that he would have balked at such a retort, but now he welcomed the chance to allow his feelings free reign. He stopped and closed his eyes.

“I feel that we’re heading towards a village, smaller than Haywreath.” He said. “This is a place of so much peace, with deep connections to the heart of Bellkipeg.”

“You are right, Creator. However,” He smiled, “next time I expect you to connect without stopping and closing your eyes! It’s not very practical and is also dangerous!” Alex smiled sheepishly; it did seem a very stupid thing to do, there wouldn’t always be the luxury of doing that.

“How far away are we?” He asked.

“Not far, just over the brow of the hill.” He motioned. “There was a time when Slauwood was linked directly into the heart of Bellkipeg. I fear now that may not be the case, after talking to Anjinn, the Deluge is spreading it’s corrupting influence further than I had originally thought.”

"What can we do to stop it?” Alex asked as they carried on walking.

“You have found the Mirror of Sfel and that will help a great deal in our battle.” Onyx explained. “But your biggest task is still to understand yourself, Creator. You and the land are one, remember. To understand Bellkipeg, you must first truly understand yourself.”

58)

The village of Slauwood consisted of a stone church, a few ramshackle wooden huts and a thatched communal building. Quite the opposite from the energy he had sensed from earlier; however the village was surrounded by a circle of large standing stones and further ahead, on the brow of the hill, stood the largest of the stones, tapered at the top to a point. It shimmered in the light and hurt Alex’s eyes to look at it for too long.

“That is the source of Slauwood’s power.” Onyx explained. “It taps right into the very soul of Bellkipeg and shines forth its light.” He motioned to the church, and then to the communal building. “We won’t visit the church today for we need to rest and replenish our own strength. The vicar is an old friend of ours and will not mind waiting another day!” Onyx smiled. “The beds are soft, and the food is reasonable, and this time we will not have to worry for our lives. What say you, Creator?” Alex could only smile at this; although he had slept well after his initiation with the Faire, this would be a chance to be in a real bed again! He beamed at Onyx. “I take that as a definite!”

For once the afternoon and evening passed without incident. Alex and Onyx were welcomed into Slauwood, with a hearty meal in the communal building before being shown to their own hut. The village was everything that Onyx had promised and for once Alex relaxed. He slept soundly, the first time that he’d been able to since arriving in Bellkipeg. Onyx had warned him to be wary of any dreams that he might have, especially in such a hallowed village and being so close to the heart, but Alex had no such dreams. When he had woken up and dressed Onyx quizzed him about the lack of dreams:

“That is strange, Creator.” Onyx remarked, “I find that very strange indeed. We are so close to the Heart that both of us should’ve received some form of communication from the Stone.”

“So you didn’t dream either, then?” Alex asked.

“No. For me not to dream is a rare occurrence for that is how Bellkipeg imparts its knowledge to me. I had hoped that the same would’ve happened to you.” Onyx opened the door and stared at the Stone, and intimated for Alex to do the same. Alex shifted his gaze and tilted his head to one side. This allowed him to See the stone.

“What am I supposed to be looking for?” Alex asked.

“First, tell me what you see.” Onyx replied.

“I’m just seeing the Stone.” Alex shrugged his shoulders and tried harder, really concentrating on the Heart, allowing it to fill his vision completely. “For such a powerful stone it’s a very dullish colour, and I know this may sound silly, but there’s no life to it.”

“You are right to make such an observation. There is something wrong with the Heart, something is blocking it; something is blocking the energy flow for the entire village and this could be disastrous for Bellkipeg if left unchecked!” Alex was shocked by this, because it meant that the dark forces were already turning this place of power against itself.

"Why were we not attacked last night, when we were both asleep?" Alex asked, suddenly very wry of his surroundings.

"Two reasons - I ensured that we slept on spots that were most beneficial to us, so that if anything did happen we would be warned. And, I always take great pains to set up adequate protection so we will not be disturbed." Onyx explained. "But now is not the time to explain how protection is set up, suffice that it is something you will need to do yourself."

“Ok... but what do we need to do?” He asked walking towards the Stone. Onyx stopped him before he got too close to it.

“I wouldn’t, Creator.” He warned. “This could be deadly.”

“How so?”

“Neither of us noticed that anything was wrong, and yet the Heart has been blocked.” Onyx explained. “It takes a powerful force to hide its truth that way, and I can only just see the Heart shimmer.” Alex strained to look harder, but couldn’t make out what Onyx was seeing. “You need to look either just above the Stone, or to the side of it. If you stare long enough at it you’ll notice that the Stone itself shimmers slightly.” Alex did as he was told and stared just beyond the Stone and sure enough he could see a very faint shivering, like a heat haze.

“What does that mean?” He asked.

“It means that it’s been protected.” Onyx replied, looking at Alex. “There will be four guardians that we will need to disarm in order to release the energy blockage from the Heart.”

“How do we find them?” Alex asked again.

“You know the answer to that question, as well as I do.”

59)

“We’ll find the Guardians at the four cardinal points.” Alex said, “Each Guardian will be itself protected and will need to be disarmed itself before we can progress on to the other, but first we must ground ourselves.”

“You are correct,” Onyx agreed. “But we must be careful, and take this slowly. Each Guardian will have its own set of problems that will need to be dealt with. We need to walk around the periphery of the village before we go any further.”

“Yes, I think I know why.” Alex responded. When Onyx raised his eyebrow Alex continued, “We need to assess the situation, find out exactly what we’re dealing with here. It’s no good just rushing in.” Onyx found it hard not to smile, despite the situation; it wasn’t that long ago where Alex would’ve just tried to disarm the guardians without thinking.

They walked around the periphery of the village slowly, adopting the true walking stance, more deliberately this time; Onyx explained: “The more consciously you walk, the more aware you are of your surroundings. The moment you take your surroundings for granted…”

“Everything changes.” Alex interrupted. Onyx nodded. Even though it was a fine, crisp and sunny morning there was no one wandering around; the village looked deserted which seemed strange to Alex for even the communal building was empty.

He could see the four guardians simply by their colour change: they glowed a sickly green and he felt fear and apprehension when walking close to them.

“They are drawing their power from the same darkness that flows through the Deluge. For each of these barriers we must intone a prayer and cleanse the area with salt, which I took from the communal building last night. We must walk to the North Guardian first.”

“Why did you take the salt last night, if you didn’t know about the energy blockage?” Alex asked, bemused.

“Salt is a powerful cleanser, and absorbs negative emotional energies.” Onyx replied. “I saw an opportunity to appropriate a small supply, which I keep in my pouch around my neck. It is also a good protector. I took the liberty of collecting some for you as well.” Onyx handed Alex a roughly sewn leather pouch, with a drawer-string. “Use this when I say to, and join in with me when I start the prayer.” Onyx explained.

“How will I know what to say?”

“Open yourself to me, let the words flow.” Onyx replied. “But be warned, the Guardians will not give up easy. Remember, they are connected to The Presence source.

Alex was apprehensive approaching the first of the Guardians, he didn’t know what to expect; was the Guardian going to be a physical presence or an apparition? Onyx sensed his apprehension. “Stay focused and centred. Do not let the Guardians get into your head, Creator. I may not be able to help you.”

Alex concentrated on what was about to happen; drawing on his calm they walked up to the Northern perimeter of the village. As before, he was aware of the green hue to the area directly in front of him, and it was then that he started questioning exactly what was going on. There seemed no point to what they were doing. What did Alex care what happened to the village? His destiny was elsewhere, he certainly had no business deactivating the Guardians, for all he knew they could be protecting the village, not suppressing its power. Onyx could easily be wrong.

“I don’t see the point in this, Onyx.” He snapped. “We haven’t got time to waste.”

“Stay focused, Creator.” Onyx cautioned.

“But I don’t want to do this.” Alex sounded like a petulant child, which surprised him.

“Centre yourself!” Onyx reprimanded. “This is not the time to indulge. It is simply the influence of the Guardian, trying to sway you, resist it!”

Alex grimaced. He hadn’t even been aware of the change in him, the feeling had come over him so quickly. He chastised himself quietly and redoubled his efforts. The feeling didn’t go away but he was aware of it, so he could observe it dispassionately and not let it affect him.

Onyx motioned to him that it was time for them to intone the prayer so he opened himself to Onyx’s energies and let the words flow forth.

“We call upon the North to cleanse itself of the pain and rigidity of the Guardian, placed here to disrupt your flow.” Alex could feel the pain course through his body as they intoned the words, all his joints became rigid and inflexible. It became almost unbearable, but he knew this was but another attempt by the Guardian to warn them off. “We call upon the grounding power of the North to give us the Strength to do your bidding and rid this village, and the land of Darkness. We do this in your name.” Onyx took the pouch of salt from his neck and scattered a handful, Alex did the same. As he did so, he felt the aura of the place change again, the pain subsiding in his joints. He let out a sigh of relief.

“Well, that wasn’t too bad.” Alex remarked. Onyx shot him a look of disdain.

“Be wary, Creator.” He remarked. “Don’t become too self-assured just yet. This is but the first Guardian, and I deliberately chose the North first because it would be the easiest to tackle. The other Guardians will be aware of our presence now and will intensify their efforts to stop us from deactivating them.”

60)

“Learn to trust in your own flow.” Onyx remarked as they walked to the East quadrant of the village. There were still no villagers to be seen and the village was as silent as a cloudy winters day.

Alex felt this emptiness inside of him increase the closer he got to the Guardian. It started off as a prickly feeling in the base of his stomach and with each step it grew in frequency, as if the Guardian itself was sending out waves of fear and insularity. Alex looked to Onyx but he seemed oblivious. It was obvious that he no longer cared; he didn’t want to know when Alex had trouble with the first Guardian and was clearly distancing himself now.

That was absurd though. Onyx was concentrating on the Guardian, which was exactly what he needed to do. He could still feel the waves of loneliness and depression buffet him like ripples on a pond; however they no longer affected him. By disassociating himself from his mask and the self he was no longer influenced by the petty emotions of fear or insecurity, for being connected with his truth he was part of something far bigger than himself.

He could see the ripples change frequency to deep depression and he laughed to himself. He was no longer affected by these emotions and it was a joy to finally be able to step outside them and see his own truth.

At the given signal Onyx took a handful of salt and scattered it over the ground intoning:

“We call upon the East to cleanse itself of the Fear and Anxiety of the Guardian, placed here to disrupt your flow.” Alex felt the strength in the words and even allowed himself to take the lead saying, “We call upon the uplifting power of the East to give us the Knowledge to do your bidding and rid this village, and the land of Darkness. We do this in your name.”

Suddenly, like a switch being flicked, the waves of fear stopped. Onyx turned to him and said: “You understood exactly what I meant, Creator. When I taught you the correct way of walking I actually taught you the correct way to be.”

“I can see that now. Allowing the eyes to cross was really just a gimmick, isn’t it?”

“Yes, in some ways it is.” Onyx conceded. “But it did force you to see things in a new way, and from a slightly different perspective.” Alex understood the logic behind this and smiled. “However, we still have two more Guardians to deactivate, and they will be the hardest to shut down.”

They turned to face the South and walked towards the third Guardian, Onyx leading the way. Alex wondered what form the Guardian would choose to show itself in.

The heat wasn’t noticeable at first, but as they walked closer Alex felt his cheeks burn. It was then that he saw the flames. They appeared out of nowhere, a wall spreading around the area where Onyx felt the Guardian stood, the heat unbearable.

Alex didn’t know what to do at first, he wasn’t expecting something physical as the previous two Guardians had simply been psychic barriers that had to be breached. This one was different, and there seemed no way past it. He could see Onyx simply standing there, seemingly unsure of the way forward too.

The flames roared higher the closer Alex tried to get, and he felt his own anger start to burn as he took a step back. What was going on? There was no way he could get past this fire, there was no water around to douse it, besides which he knew that water alone would have little effect on the flames. However, Alex noticed there was something different about this fire. As he walked closer the flames grew higher and more intense, as if they had reacted to his presence… or his thoughts.

He remembered that flames needed fuel to burn, and this fire seemed to feed off psychic energy. Simply by focusing on the flames he was actively fuelling them, which is why they grew when he walked closer. Were the flames real or were they just another psychic projection?

Alex tried shifting his perception to no avail, the flames were still burning and became hotter still. Onyx hadn’t advanced any further and seemed to be waiting for Alex to make the first move. All the time he saw the flames he felt the head so he closed his eyes in order to distance himself from the problem.

Surprisingly the temperature abated, he could feel the air cool around him a great deal which prompted him to open his eyes. The flames suddenly shot out at him and he only just stepped back in time. His eyebrows were singed by the heat. He closed his eyes again just to see whether there would be another drop in temperature. Sure enough, Alex no longer felt the heat. He smiled at himself for taking so long to understand the situation. Flames were a representation of anger, the more he concentrated on the flames the higher they rose and the more heat he had felt. Alex knew that this fire wasn’t real, not in any physical sense and that by keeping his eyes closed and focusing on the village becoming clear of the Guardians influence he would be able to deactivate this one.

Onyx sensed that Alex had understood how to neutralize this Guardian and threw his handful of salt. Alex, still with his eyes closed, threw his and they both intoned:

“We call upon the South to cleanse itself of the Aggression and destructive powers of this Guardian, placed here to disrupt your flow. We call upon the transformation power of the South to give us the passion to do your bidding and rid this village, and the land of Darkness. We do this in your name.”

“It is safe to open your eyes now, Creator.” Onyx finally said. Alex complied and sure enough, the flames had disappeared. “I knew that you would figure it out in the end.” Onyx smiled.

“It took a while.” Alex conceded and smiled back. “One Guardian left.”

“And this one will be the most difficult of them all to disarm.” Onyx cautioned. “This one will play on all of our emotions so we will have to be on our guard.”

61)

Turning to face the West they could see in the distance a small girl of no more than five or six. As they walked closer the girl seemed to wince in pain, but she stayed exactly where she was, her long fair hair blowing in the wind.Alex shifted his perception and saw nothing untoward, this was just a normal girl.

“Are you alright?” Alex shouted to her.

“Creator.” Onyx remonstrated.

“It’s just a girl, Onyx.” Alex replied, now concerned as the girl seemed in a lot of pain the closer they walked.

“Do not be fooled, Creator. Not after we have come so far” Alex stopped walking and simply observed Onyx and the girl. Onyx seemed oblivious to the pain that he was causing the child. He was convinced that the child was simply another illusion like the other three but Alex wasn’t so sure. It was the perfect distraction though, a child in agony. But what if this time it wasn’t a distraction?

“Onyx stop!” Alex said firmly.

“You are mistaken, Creator.” Onyx reprimanded. “This is but another psychic construct that will disappear once we deactivate the Guardian.”

“But it’s not!” Alex argued, sternly.

“This Guardian will use everything in its power to stop you from freeing the village, Creator. You have to be stronger than that!”

“This quarter, the quarter of the West will also use gullibility against you, Onyx.” Alex was shocked to hear himself utter those words, but this was too important for them to get it wrong.

“What do you mean?” Onyx asked, turning back to face Alex. “How can it use my gullibility? I can see what it’s doing, there is no girl.” Onyx walked closer towards the girl, oblivious to her silent screams of anguish. Alex grabbed Onyx’s arm without thinking and spun him around to face him. “YOU DARE!” Onyx exclaimed. Alex had never seen him this incensed, but this was far too important for Alex to back down now.

Yes. I feel you’re about to make a huge mistake, Onyx.” He explained quickly. “What if there is no psychic projection this time; what if the Guardian is actually using this against us.” Onyx listened. Alex continued speaking. “What if she is real and you actually end up killing her?”

“I hadn’t considered that.”

“We must find a way of separating the girl from the Guardians influence without hurting her in any way.” Alex said. He tilted his head sideways and switched perspectives. “She is surrounded by an energy barrier that keeps her in place, if we disrupt that energy barrier then we can free her and destroy the Guardian.”

“How do we do that?” Onyx asked.

“I will use my salt and throw it in a rough ring around her, the salt should interrupt the flow of psychic energy. We should then be able to rescue her.”

“What is to stop the Guardian from re-capturing her?” Onyx asked.

“I will take her place.” Alex stated “The Guardian can try and use me… Whilst I’m fighting the Guardian on the psychic plane you can disrupt it physically.”

“Are you sure that you feel strong enough to fight the entity?”

“Yes,” Alex replied. “I’m hoping to use the Guardian as a way of finding more information about what is behind this blockage. The Guardian must be linked in to the same power that the Deluge derives its energy from therefore if I link to the Guardian then I should be able to learn more.”

“That seems risky, Creator. How do you not know that you will not be taken over by the same energy?”

“Because it’s tried to take me over before, and it didn’t succeed. We can’t spend any more time talking. We must act.”

62)

Alex centred himself and took a few deep breaths before scattering the first handful of salt around the girl. Keeping his gaze relaxed, and his head to one side, he could see the energy field start to flicker and become more transparent. Once the circle was complete the flickering became more pronounced before it suddenly disappeared.

“NOW!” Shouted Alex, Onyx ran forward and snatched her from the Guardians clutches. Alex immediately stepped forward as the energy barrier came crashing down again, trapping him inside.

All of a sudden he could feel the energy field trap him. “You should not have come here, boy.” Whispered the voice in Alex’s soul. “Bellkipeg is lost to you now.” The voice seemed to fill Alex’s head, sparking off nasty memories where it reverberated. He remembered being a child, and all the times he had been humiliated or bullied at school. “You are ours now.”

“No no.no” Alex stammered, gritting his teeth against the memories. He clenched his fists and squeezed them, digging his nails into the palms of his hands, anchoring him to the present. He knew that the energy could only possess him if he allowed it to. The boy had no choice, and probably wasn’t even aware of being taken over until it was too late; Alex wasn’t about to make the same mistake. He remembered how he had first met Allura and Anjinn; he thought back to the time he was possessed by the evil force then. He needed to use it to find more about The Presence.

With great effort Alex lifted up his left hand and focused on the ring that he wore on his little finger that had been given to him by the Faire. The ring glowed like embers sending its fire through him, giving him the strength he needed to endure.

“Yes, come deeper into our presence.” The voice hissed insidiously. “Surrender yourself body and soul; become one with us.” Alex knew that all the time he wore the ring the Guardian would not be able to possess him completely.

In amongst the blackness he saw a figure huddled in a fetal position. As he drew closer Alex saw that it was a small boy, sitting with his arms wrapped around his tightly bunched knees, rocking. The boy was clothed in faded jeans and a white t-shirt.

Alex gently placed a hand on the boys shoulder. “Are you alright?” he asked. The boy slowly unfurled his arms from his legs and almost unwrapped himself. As he got up off the ground Alex was startled to see that the boy was in fact the younger version of himself; it was the same age boy as he and Onyx encountered in the wood days before.

63)

“You should not have come here.” The boy whispered, speaking in the same tongue as the Guardian. “You will suffer the same fate that befell me.”

“No.” Alex replied. “That will not happen. But you can help me.”

“Why should I help you when you abandoned me?” The boy asked, his eyes accusatory and piercing. Alex could detect that his personality had not been completely submerged; and he sought to bring his personality out, to become more dominant.

“I had no choice, but I can save you now; I can save Bellkipeg, but I need your help.” He insisted, focusing his energies on the boy.

“I can not help you; your quest is your own.” The boy replied, his voice trembling with the effort. “I do know that he is scared of you.”

“Who?”

“Dark.” The boy responded, his voice almost his own now. “The Shadow Seeker. He is scared of your light.”

“Who can help me?” Alex asked. “Who can show me the truth behind the Shadow.”

The boys face was now truly contorted and Alex could feel the pain seep into his own body, he wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep up this effort. The Presence was exerting more and more pressure over the child.

“..The Unicorns….” The boy replied, his voice now but a pain soaked whisper. “They are the only ones that will be able to help you. They see all truth… they will see yours.”

“Thank you, young one.” Alex replied, tears forming in his eyes as he saw the stabbing pain that the Guardian was now inflicting on the boy. “We will be reunited and I will take your pain away.” Alex closed his eyes from the pain, and from the very depths of his soul shouted, “Onyx NOW!”

Onyx heard Alex’s cry and scattered the remaining salt over him and chanted the last invocation:

“We call upon the West to cleanse itself of the Fear and Cruelty that has been placed here by the powers of the Guardian to disrupt your flow. We call upon the transformative power of the West to give us the Love and blessings to do your bidding and rid this village, and the land of Darkness. We do this in your name.”

Alex felt the Guardians scream when the invocation was finished.

“Rest a minute, Creator.” Onyx cautioned. “You will have surely been depleted by that ordeal.” Alex felt a gentle heat emanate from Onyx’s hands and let the heat flow through his body rejuvenating him.

“It seems that it was I that misjudged the situation this time.” Onyx conceded.

“I really don’t know, I was able to observe you and the boy, the way that your energies interacted. You seemed so intent on deactivating the Guardian that you were oblivious to the girl’s pain. However it was the fear in her eyes that made me see that it wasn’t a projection.”

“Of course.” Onyx agreed. “Had it been a psychic projection fueled by the Guardian then the girl would have either goaded me into confronting it, or warned me away; she did neither.” He lifted his hands away from Alex’s shoulders and rubbed his left antler. “What did you discern from the Guardian, Creator?” he asked.

“I.. I can’t remember much. The only thing that I can recall is that we need to find the Unicorns. They can tell me how I can find The Presence; and save the land.”

“The Unicorns?” Onyx replied, shocked at the ramifications. “That will be a hard trek for they live in the deepest part of Bellkipeg where few people ever go.. I shall have to think on that. However, our task here is not finished. We may have defeated the Guardians, but we still need to clear the energy blockage.”

“How do we do that?” Alex asked. “We’ve run out of salt.”

“We will not need salt, Creator.” Onyx replied. “And to be honest, the only person that will be able to clear that blockage is you.”

“I knew you were going to say that.” Alex said wryly. It wasn’t that long ago that such a statement would have sent Alex on a spiral of negativity and fear. He now accepted the responsibility without reverting to type. “What do I need to do? Focus on my own blockages?” He said ironically.

“Yes.” Onyx replied.

“Thought so…” Alex walked back to the standing stone.

“Be careful, Creator. You have a healthy attitude, at last – but do not take unnecessary risks.”

“That’s not going to happen, Onyx. I’m just no longer afraid of my responsibility. Opening my heart will allow me to have the full access to my personality.”

“Not necessarily.” Onyx disagreed. “You will have a greater understanding of yourself, but you will not be complete. Not yet.”

“How do you mean?” Alex asked.

“You will still be out of balance.” Onyx titled his head from side to side as he looked at Alex, and frowned. “I can not see any more than that, Creator.” Alex was perplexed, Onyx could normally sense so much, but it was obvious that something was blocking him even now. Alex sensed that it was linked in some way to his mis-understanding of the final Guardian.

“Ok…” Alex replied. “We’ll have to look at that after I free the village.” He turned back and walked up to the standing stone.

64)

The stone dwarfed Alex and refracted the light from the morning sun. Even though he could feel no energy radiating from it, Alex was moved by its very presence and could feel his own blockage resonate in sympathy with the stone.

There was a numbness just below Alex’s heart, something cold; like a metaphysical pins and needles, he had felt it most of his life as a passing, phasing sensation but never thought anything of it. The numb feeling would gradually pass, but never go away completely. He had put up with it for so many years that it no longer felt any different to any other sensation, but as he walked closer the feeling increased in intensity and he knew just how unnatural it really was.

When Alex reached the stone he had to get down on his knees and it took great efforts to centre himself; he felt that he was synchronising with its energy.

Alex bowed his head and placed both hands onto its surface, it was freezing to the touch. He felt a deep stirring within though, as if there was some residual energy trapped inside and he allowed his consciousness to find that energy inside of himself. By relaxing, he felt himself flow to where the blockage was and he allowed the numb feeling to flow into his whole body.

At first the pins and needles covered every inch of his torso; it was torment but he endured it, the blockage needed to be cleared, otherwise the whole of Bellkipeg would be at the mercy of The Presence.

The pins and needles increased in intensity until it became a burning sensation; Alex was unsure how long he could put up with the pain. He resolved himself to push deeper, none of it was real, it was just another illusion; and upon seeing through the ruse he let the pain wash through him.

Then the pain simply vanished, leaving Alex floating in a void of blackness and serenity. It felt cold here though and there was no sense of presence; he was adrift and alone. In a way Alex belonged here, there was no sense of urgency, no Bellkipeg; no Dark; simply nothingness and no responsibility. He knew this was what had been blocking him; it was an absence of feeling. Its solidity was only in relationship to the depth of Alex’s emotional state, it stopped him from caring or feeling too much –he could see that now.

Not feeling….. It was far easier not to feel anything as it protected him from the world around him, but that too was just a lie. Feelings weren’t dangerous in themselves, but if one ignored them for too long then they could strike without warning. Alex suddenly understood what the boar had represented; and why it had attacked him when he first entered Bellkipeg. The blackness that surrounded him suddenly writhed and contracted around him as if in response to his thoughts.

And it was then that Alex suddenly realised what he was floating in, and what was blocking the Stones power.

65)

It was the Deluge that surrounded Alex and had been the root cause of the blockage all along. It had not yet acknowledged his presence and seemed unaware that he was actually inside of it; somehow it was the arrowhead in his pocket that was protecting his psychic self. He knew that he didn’t have the power to fully defeat it here, but he could do enough damage to it to make sure that it would no longer be a threat to the Stone and block its energy.

The only way for him to banish the Deluge from the Stone’s energy field was to force it to become physical. That would undoubtedly create a whole new set of problems for them both to deal with which would probably involve a lot of running. Alex smiled to himself at the irony; even here, amongst such concentrated evil he knew that there was still room for humor; something he never thought possible before. Humor brought the light into existence, raised the vibrational energies and made it possible for people to triumph over anything.

Using the humor as a starting place, Alex focused on the light that he knew was deep inside of him. He concentrated on the spark amongst the darkness; allowed the spark to grow within him, nurtured it, fueling it with all the positivity that he could muster. He thought back to Allura and Anjinn and gave them love and strength as they took back the Mirror of Sfel; he thought of Onyx and all the support and understanding that he had been given.

Alex drew on all those feelings and used them to nurture the growing spark. He could feel the energy build; his whole body shaking with the effort, but still the energy levels rose. He felt the very energies of the Stone resonate in harmony and merge with his own. He experienced the love of the very earth itself; felt Bellkipeg flow into him until he could take it no longer. With a cry of such force and magnitude Alex released the energy in one huge blast like the start of a new universe. The Deluge screamed in pain and suddenly disappeared.

66)

Alex suddenly woke up and found himself lying flat on his back with the stone behind him; Onyx stood over him with concern crowding his normally calm face.

We need to move, Creator, very quickly.” He cautioned. “Just as you came back to your body, so the Deluge suddenly appeared. It is writhing in agony at the moment but that condition will not last long. We need to find sanctuary.” Alex agreed, though he could barely stand; releasing that much energy had severely depleted his own. Onyx helped him.

“The church.” Alex pointed, “We need to go inside, the Deluge won't be able to attack us once we are safe inside there.” “We will, however, be trapped.”

“We haven’t got time to argue.” Onyx took his shoulder and they walked slowly towards the church, keeping a watchful eye on the Deluge; which was phasing in and out from the shock of being forced into corporeality.

They were but a few feet away from the church, Alex stumbling along the best he could. Behind him he could hear the Deluge start to regain its physical form and he could now sense its anger and vile hatred for what he had done to it. Though it was still weak and could only move slowly it was rolling at a faster rate than Onyx could walk. Neither Alex nor Onyx were strong enough to offer any resistance this time if it attacked, but the church was so close now.

With inches to spare Onyx pushed the warped wooden door open and shoved Alex inside before shutting the door again. The Deluge launched a tendril of viscous evil at the door as it closed, sending a shock-wave of force through the wooden panels as it impacted. The noise echoed around the church, but they were safe; it could not penetrate their sanctuary.

67)

“Rest now, Creator.” Onyx consoled. “You’ve had a busy day.” Alex smiled.“Now do you see why I said to run to the Church?” He asked. Onyx nodded. “We’re safe here as I’ve freed the blockage from the Stone’s centre.”

“Yes, I understand that, but my biggest concern is how we’re going to escape from here.”

“Let’s cross one bridge at a time,” Alex remonstrated. “We both need to restore our energy and here is as good a place as any!”

Onyx nodded his head in agreement and helped Alex on to his feet again.They had been so preoccupied with escaping from the Deluge that they hadn’t realised that the church was far from empty. The stilted silence was at complete odds to the myriad faces that stared back at them. Nearly all of the pews were full and the people had the same vacant look in their eye. Alex initially mistook it as shock but upon closer observation he knew that he’d seen it before, back in the townage of Haywreath. “Onyx…” He warned.

“Aye, Creator. I know, it would seem that by escaping the Deluge we may have walked into a situation far more dangerous.” Row upon row of faces stared back at them, men and women of all ages, even children; Alex now understood why the village had been so empty. Everyone was dressed in their finery; immaculately tailored puppets.

“It must be connected to the Deluge blocking the energy to the Stone. But they should be free, surely…. The Deluge is no longer in control!”

“Yes!” The shout seemed to come from everywhere at once, reverberating from the walls, deafening in contrast to the silence that had haunted the church. Alex tried to pinpoint where the voice had originated from, he relaxed his gaze and scanned the church. Standing by the pulpit Alex could see a man in long, flowing robes of the darkest crimson he had ever seen.

“We know what you’ve done, Creator.” The man sneered, his voice booming with such power. “But it will do you no good here. This village is ours, regardless of your machinations.”

The man walked towards them slowly, his magnificent robes flowing after him. His form was surrounded in a similar dark red aura and pulsated with every footstep.

“Trying to read me, are you?” The man goaded. “And what do you see? No Skin-Crawler am I… I gave of myself freely to the Deluge; to The Presence, and so did the villagers you see around you now. They are all part of the darkness that will soon cover the whole of Bellkipeg.”

68)

Alex couldn’t believe what he was hearing, after going through the trauma of destroying the Guardians and banishing the Deluge from the Stones energy centre, it was a travesty to be faced with this monstrosity and to learn that he had given himself freely?

“NO!” Onyx boomed. “You may have given yourself to the darkness, but these villagers are under your thrall.” Alex saw the villagers react to Onyx’s voice.

“But your hold over them is weakening, isn’t it?” Alex shouted. “The Heart Stone is waking up and it’s angry. It knows what you’ve done and it won’t be long before its back to its full strength. When that happens I doubt you’ll be here…”

“Maybe not, Creator.” Sneered the priest. “But long enough to do this!” He pointed at Alex with both his hands, and emitted a low gluttural moan. Alex could feel the force emanating from the man, his whole psychic field pulsated, firing off sparks. The congregation rose and moved towards them.

“Creator, we must force this priest to release his hold on the crowd.” Onyx said. “As you managed to do in Haywreath.” “But in Haywreath I had no idea what I was doing!” Alex stated, weakly. “And I was fit after resting…” He still felt so drained from freeing the Heart Stone.

“Your true self is endless, remember, changeless and boundless. Call on that energy; that life force and you will stand strong.” Alex did as he was told, focused on the energy that he felt when he connected with the Heart Stone. The inrush of energy was instantaneous and within seconds he was on his feet again.

“You have no power here.” He shouted back against the priests intonations, and clasped Onyx’s outstretched hand. Together the power surged through them and they directed it against the priest as the crowd moved against them. Alex had never felt such an rush of energy flowing through him; whatever he had felt connecting to the Heart Stone was now easily dwarfed by this; the very air crackled with intensity.

The priest was shaken by this force and stepped back. The crowd stopped and wavered. Alex intensified his efforts forcing his awareness to merge with Onyx. He felt another wave of strength emanate forth and this time the priest was knocked off his feet. The crowd was now free from his control and collapsed. Alex broke contact with Onyx who took a step back as the priest got to his feet again.

“You may have bested me, but there is no way that you are escaping this church.” He boasted. “The Deluge will never tire, it has feasted on the Heart Stone for so long its strength has intensified.”

Suddenly the church was plunged into darkness. Alex looked to the windows and could no longer see any daylight shining through them. The Deluge had swallowed the church whole.

69)

“We are now trapped…” Onyx stated. “What are your idea’s?”

“Well, surrounding it is out…” Alex joked.

“Your bravado betrays your hopelessness.” The priest mocked.

“Is that why you turned so willingly to the darkness?” Alex asked, walking towards the priest. The priest took a step backwards. “You can’t be scared of me, Pastor.” Alex said quietly. “Where’s your pomposity, your power now?”

“I have no need of it for you are no threat to me; you have no power over me.” The priest balked.

“And you have no power of me, so I guess that makes us even.” Alex stated. He’d backed the priest against the pulpit now; knowing how dangerous cornered animals could get Alex sat down on the first pew. “And since we’re not going anywhere I suggest we talk.”

“I agree, Creator,” Onyx said, interrupting Alex’s train of thought. “But they exist in a part of Bellkipeg that is difficult to get to. You may be the only one that can actually guide us there. I have never, in all my travels, found them.. or know of anyone who has…”

“So how am I going to find them?” Alex asked.

“With patience and love and light, Creator.” Onyx answered, aware of Alex’s building emotional turmoil. “But we must allow the village folk to regain their normal lives after such a period of enslavement.”

“Creator.” Onyx cautioned. “I would advise against this, the Deluge is outside and threatens to crush the Church.” Onyx looked to the windows and Alex followed his gaze. “It knows that it can not enter here so it will do everything in its power to bring the entire edifice down.”

“You worry about the people here,” Alex replied. “I’ll concentrate on the pastor and the church will look after itself. Things aren’t what they seem, and I believe he holds the key.” He said motioning to the priest.

“You expect me to help you?.” The priest snided.

“Oh, I don’t want you to help,” Alex stated. “I just want to talk. I want to know more about why you willingly turned to the dark.” The priest seemed uncertain of Alex’s motives. Onyx turned to the crowd, trusting Alex implicitly. “We’re trapped and neither of us can go anywhere. I don’t know what to do, I’ll be honest. Hurting you will not get me anywhere, but between us we may be able to find a way out.”

“I will be freed once you have been assimilated by the Deluge.” The priest stated, matter-of-factly.

“You think?” Alex smiled. He felt completely in control of the situation. He knew that the Deluge was outside gathering up enough strength to crush them all, but there was no way that he was going to worry about it. He shook his head as he answered. “I don’t think so. In fact when the Deluge crushes this church it will flatten you as much as everyone else!”

It was obvious that the priest hadn’t thought of this for all the bravado and venom drained from his face. “No.. The Deluge will allow me to pass unhindered.” He said bleakly.

“I don’t think so.” Alex stated smugly. “You’ve failed, Pastor, for we’re still alive.” The truth of the situation dawned on the Priest and his whole demeanor drained along with the colour of his face. This was precisely what Alex wanted; now he could talk to the person behind the conceit and hate. Now he could understand what had made the man give in and, therefore, find a way to escape the Deluge.

“Tell me what happened.” Alex asked as the priest sat down next to him, the look on his face one of utter defeat and helplessness, ironically the very feelings he had wanted to instill in Alex.Alex was a little surprised that the priest had given in so easily; he had put up little resistance to his arguments.

“It wasn’t just one thing.” The priest replied. It never is, Alex thought to himself. “But what you must understand about this village is that we feel things more than other places.”

“How do you mean?” Alex asked, trying to draw the priest out, to re-establish the connection with his true self again.

“The Heart Stone connects to the whole of Bellkipeg, therefore whatever happens we feel the ramifications of whatever happens elsewhere.” The priest explained. “We felt The Presence long before it had manifested in the form of the Deluge, and as I am the priest of the village, and more in tune with the Stone, I felt it more than most.”

“What did you feel?” Alex inquired.

“At first I noticed a shiver in the Stone whenever I touched it.” The priest explained. “I didn’t understand what was happening and didn’t think anything of it at first. We’ve had energy fluctuations in the past but that is the norm. Energy is constantly fluctuating, so I ignored it.”

“But it didn’t go away did it?” Alex interrupted.

“No, it didn’t. The feeling increased until the stone became cold to the touch.” He paused before continuing. “I know that might sound an odd thing to say, but in many ways the Stone is alive. It was always warm to those that could feel the energy moving.” “And that no longer happened…”

“No.” The priest said.

“And then one day a visitor came to the village.” The priest hung his head low as he recalled the incident. “There was nothing unusual in that. People always came to the village; normally to connect to the Heart and find their own still-point. But this visitor was different; he was hooded, and wore ill-fitting clothes, similar to what your friend wears, but much shorter. Rather than walk up to the stone he came into the church to find me.” The priest shook his head.

70)

“Creator, we don’t have much time!” Onyx shouted, and Alex looked up at the roof and walls. They were starting to shudder as dust fell from the rafters and a low rumble could be heard. The church wouldn’t hold out much longer.

“The villagers need to reconnect to the Heart Stone.” Alex shouted back. “They used to be as one with the heart and draw from its strength and they can now do that again! We can use that strength to protect us in here until we have all the information we need.” Onyx nodded his head and instructed the villagers to do as Alex said. The villagers were reticent at first but soon all bowed their head in deep thought. One by one they started to hum, a resonance that built into a crescendo that filled the very air around them with a vibration of such purity and power that the walls no longer shook and the Deluge was kept at bay. Alex turned back to the priest.

“This man… what did he say to you?” He asked.

“He spoke to me about the coming darkness.” The Priest replied. “I was surprised that he knew of such matters. Only those that are Recluse know of the feelings of Bellkipeg.” He saw the confusion in Alex’s eyes. “The Recluse are those that live only to commune with our land. They eat off the land and draw their life force from it; it is said that the Heart was laid by the first Recluse among us.” Alex nodded. “But this man was not a Recluse. I sensed a cold energy from him; as the Stone had become, however I never made the connection until it was too late…. He spoke of the changing cycles and how there would come a time when the Light would no longer be able to protect us, that the Stone had been cut off from its Source. I thought nothing of it, just the ramblings of a lonely man… But he had so much conviction.”

“What else did he tell you?”

“He told me to go to the Land of Open Doorway;” The Priest continued. “This is where the energy is at its purest and acts as the boundary to other places, if one knows where to find these doors.”

“How do you mean, other places?” Alex asked, curious now. “Where is this place?” Alex had a strong feeling that he knew exactly where it was.

“It’s deep in the wooded soul of Bellkipeg, many miles to the South.” The priest replied. Alex knew that he had first woken up in the Land of Open Doorways; that was where he saw the deer, and encountered the boar.

“What did you find when you traveled to the Land Of The Open Doorways?” Alex asked, intrigued.

“Once I had known it as a verdant green paradise with magnificent trees proudly displaying their branches, welcoming everyone to enter and share of their love.” The priest bowed his head. “But all the trees had become warped and huddled, worn and grey, covered in dense, thick brambles. None had any leaves and the sun light was weak and insipid grey, filtering through forlorn branches. The wood was cold, empty and had turned to despair.” Alex was shocked by this, because he had remembered the wood as being exactly as the priest had originally described.

“When did you travel there?” He asked.

“But two weeks ago.” The priest replied. Alex couldn’t believe he’d been in Bellkipeg for that long. He’d assumed that The Presence had been threatening the land for longer, years! But all this had happened in just two weeks? How long had he been in Bellkipeg? It was so hard to tell. “As part of becoming a priest we are birthed through a tree that rests in the Lands in a ritual. I frantically tried to find my tree, which had been a sturdy oak. But it had become petrified.” Alex hung his head, feeling the priests utter despair at seeing the tree in such a state. “My thoughts were ultimately selfish; if The Presence could do that to such a tree, then what would it do to me? How would I be able to stand against such a power?”

Alex now understood why the priest had turned against his own faith. In many ways it was not entirely his fault, his connection with the oak had been severed in such a brutal fashion, there was no way he could draw strength from the land so he did the only thing he could in the circumstances. By becoming part of The Presence forces, and turning the village against the Heart Stone he had actually saved them. Alex explained this to the Priest.

“That is an immense kindness that you show to me, Creator.” Alex turned to look at the congregation. They were still deep in chanting, and had been ever since Alex had asked them to; the power that they were exuding was immense, it had created an impenetrable barrier that kept the Deluge at bay. If only it could be more focused, they might all stand a chance of escaping! The priest sensed Alex’s quandary and spoke.

“Use me, Creator.” He said, solemnly. “I will be the focus to all the energy. Together we will banish the darkness from this village."

71)

“You know what will happen if we use you as the focus, Father.” Alex warned.

“I do; but all of Bellkipeg is in danger because of what I have done. I allowed the Deluge to block the energies and gave it free reign across this land. It is only fitting that I do my best to make amends.” Alex placed his hand on the priests shoulder and allowed his love to flow into him.

“If it hadn’t been you then it would have been someone else, surely you realise that.” He said, knowing that his words offered no comfort to the man. “You saved your congregation though. By allowing them to be taken over at the time, you have actually given us the ability to use them now.” The priest nodded his head. “I believe that everything happens for a reason and that the seeds of the future salvation are often planted in our pasts for us to find.”

“That is very true.” The priest agreed, “And that does bring me comfort, but now is the time for us to strike. In many ways I am the perfect weapon because I still have The Presence inside of me and can use that against the Deluge. This has been pre-ordained, Creator, and so shall it be.”

Alex nodded his head solemnly and looked to Onyx. Onyx and the congregation stood around the priest in a circle, placing all of their hands over his forehead. Alex stood directly in front of him.

“Thank you for doing this.” Alex said, his words failing him.

The priest smiled. “I know that this will not be in vain and I thank you for this chance of redemption. Now.. use me as the focus of your energies.” He closed his eyes as Alex nodded. The congregation began humming again, allowing their voices to grow louder, moving up an octave and widening their sound so it became a nasal hum full of power. Alex joined, in feeling the sound resonating at the roof of his mouth. His whole body vibrated with the energies flowing from him. He could see the priests colour shift from a dull pink glow to a brilliant white radiance. Onyx then broke the circle by stepping to one side, allowing the priest to walk through; his expression was one of utter peace and serenity as he walked to the church door, the circle closing behind him. He turned back, faced Alex one last time and said:

“We are all one another, Creator. We need to face our darkness, not run away from it; for we only run away from ourselves.” Alex closed his eyes and concentrated on the energies circulating through the priest as he opened the church door and walked out. No sooner had Onyx shut the door than an enormous blast of energy threw the doors open, knocking him off his feet; followed by an unholy roar then an unnerving silence. All in the church stayed completely still, unsure of what had transpired. Soon birds could be heard in the distance and they knew that they were safe once more. The priest had dispersed the Deluge, but at such a cost. “The Deluge has indeed been disrupted, Creator.” Onyx finally spoke. “But it has not been destroyed. All the time there is the capacity for darkness then the Deluge will be there, growing in strength.”

“But is it safe to leave now?”

“It is. We have nothing to fear from the Deluge for the time being. The Priest gave his life to disrupt its energies. But we need to leave now.” He continued as Alex agreed.

“We need to find the Unicorns, I need to find out how I can save Bellkipeg. Too much time has been wasted on these minor skirmishes; freeing the guardians and dispersing the Deluge.. I need to find out what the source of The Presence is if I’m going to defeat it.” Alex felt sickened for some reason by the priests sacrifice. The priest had done the most noble deed but Alex felt that he should’ve been the one to face the Deluge. He was also troubled by the priests final comments. What did he mean by running away from inner darkness?

72)

Alex pondered Onyx’s words. The only way he could find the Unicorns was through patience, but there were so many unanswered questions in his head; he was no longer centred and felt far from the patient state of mind he needed. He knew that the only thing he could do was to connect with the Heart of Bellkipeg one last time.

Walking out into the glorious sunlight; he felt such warmth now and the birds sang their loves to the world once again and he could no longer feel The Presence pervading the village. But it wasn’t enough, he needed to know more and the Unicorns were the only ones that could give him that information.

Sitting cross-legged with his back to the Stone he closed his eyes. He knew that Onyx was watching him from the church but Alex blocked it out; he needed to go deep within himself and find the still point where there were no distractions. Thoughts buzzed around his head like angry insects. One by one he visualised turning the volume down on them until he was alone in silence: pure, white silence; he was boundless. He was one with everything and the whole of creation was one within him.

He could have stayed among the peaceful nothingness, surely after all he had been through it was his reward. Mentally shaking himself free of the limiting beliefs, Alex concentrated on the silence that surrounded him only to realise that it wasn’t silence at all. He was bathed in the most heavenly sounds imaginable, melodies of such beauty that his conscious mind hadn’t registered them at first; sumptuous harmonies and glorious melodies. He felt himself draw closer to the source without thinking about it. The closer he came the purer the melody became until it became a single wondrous tune that soaked into his every pore, his very soul vibrating in sympathetic resonance. Alex closed his eyes, just wanting to drink as much of the sound in as he could for he knew that in his heart he would never hear the like of it again.

“You can open your eyes now, Creator.” Onyx stood before him, smiling. “You have found it, Creator; the Garden of Eve.” Alex looked around him, everywhere was lush vegetation, plants and flowers of the brightest colours that defied categorisation; so vibrant and pulsating with vivid life. Trees that stood so tall, confident and proud that Alex had never seen their like.

“This is the Garden of Eve?” He asked, almost speechless from the sheer beauty that assailed him. “Are you sure you don’t mean the Garden of Eden?”

“Every story must have its template, Creator.” Onyx explained. “This is where all Creation began; all the beauty that exists in your world and beyond started here.”

“And this is where I draw my strength and power from.” Alex said.

“That is correct.” Onyx replied. “Whilst you are here you will be in complete empathy with all around you; you will be one with Bellkipeg itself; and you will know what Bellkipeg knows. Your conscious mind will take some time to adjust to this, but we may not have enough time.”

Onyx motioned for Alex to look up. The site that met his eyes was something altogether magical. It was a unicorn. The unicorn trotted towards him, light dancing off its skin and mane, the one spiraled horn standing proud from its forehead. Alex felt humbled by its presence and bowed his head in reverence.

“Creator.” Alex felt its voice in his head. “It should be us that should pay homage to you. Please, look upon us. Converse with us for we do not have much time, and you must learn the truth behind the Deluge.” Alex nodded and looked into the Unicorns penetrating azure eyes.

“Tell me, please.” He said. “I need to know… If I’m to defeat the Deluge then I need to know who is controlling it.”

“You already know, Creator.” The unicorn replied in his mind. “And the Deluge can not be defeated and in time you will know this.”

Alex found this hard to comprehend and could feel himself tense up at the prospect of yet more unanswerable questions. The unicorn continued,

“You must open yourself up to the truth, Creator.” The unicorn said. “You know this; you know the truth already but have hidden it from yourself for too long.”

“What do you mean?” He asked, how could he know the truth already? If that were the case then he would never have put himself through this nightmare.

“Before the beginning of this story we were visited by The Presence.” The unicorn explained.

“Why didn’t you try to stop him? Kill him, even if you knew what he would do.” Alex asked, incredulously. Onyx interrupted.

“You know better than to ask such a question.” He reprimanded. “Step outside of yourself , Creator – do not indulge in pettiness now of all times. Unicorns are creatures of peace and truth. They know only of the light and to even suggest of them killing anything is sacrilege.” Alex understood and felt humbled by his outburst.

“I’m sorry.” He said, “I reacted without thinking.” Deep inside he kept wondering how much of the horror could have been avoided had the unicorns seen the creature for what it was and stopped The Presence then and there. He found that so hard to believe that it was starting to cloud his judgement; after all that had happened to him, after all the pain that he had been put through.

“Yes, we feel that your reactions still cause you great pain and will continue to do so unless you learn to curb that part of you.” The unicorn replied. “We can feel your pain and empathise, as we could feel the pain of The Presence.”

“What… why did The Presence come to the Garden?”

“For one of the apples from the Tree of Know.”

“And you gave it to him?”

“We had no choice.” The Unicorn replied and shook its head.

“You should let the Unicorn tell its tale,” Onyx interrupted, “You might understand what the Unicorn is trying to tell you.” Alex nodded and the Unicorn continued.

73)

“When the stranger first appeared we could not sense anything untoward with him, he seemed at peace with all around him. We welcomed him to the Garden, as we do all visitors that find their way here, and told him that he could partake of anything that grew.” The Unicorn bowed its head remembering what happened next. “The Stranger asked for an Apple from the Tree of Know, something that no one else had ever asked for. Nobody else even knew of its existence, but he knew and it was the one thing that we were unable to give to him. He smiled and simply asked to stay in the garden for a few days. We saw no reason to refuse him and so he stayed.”

“What did he do whilst he stayed with you?” Alex asked.

“Very little.” The Unicorn replied. “He walked with us, and sat amongst the trees and the flowers, never straying too far from the Tree.

“A few days later we noticed the first signs of sickness creep into our beautiful garden. The flowers started to lose their vibrancy and began to wilt and die. We had never seen this kind of decay in our perfect world and did not know what to do. We know of no evil and could not begin to understand what was causing this to happen.”

“How do you mean, know of no evil?” Alex interrupted.

“The Unicorns are one with the heart of Bellkipeg.” Onyx explained. “They are pure beings and know of only light, love and harmony. To them evil does not exist because there is no evil in their hearts.”

“So we could not see the stranger for what he may have been.” The Unicorn explained.

“May have been?” Alex exclaimed. “How do you mean, may have been?!”

“Be not so hasty as to judge without knowing the full circumstances, Creator.” Alex was about to argue when Onyx motioned for him to be silent. Everything now seemed unreal, after everything he had been through; to be finally at the end of his quest only to find out that it could all have been avoided… Alex felt drained by this discovery; he was close to weeping bitter tears.

“The Stranger offered us an answer to our predicament.” Continued the Unicorn.

“Let me guess, one of the apples.” Alex replied in a dead pan voice. Something was definitely wrong; he could no longer stand against the tide. There was such a resurgence of feelings repressed. He felt helpless against things beyond his control.

“Yes.” The Unicorn agreed. “Of course, we could not agree to his solution at first.”

“But you did, eventually.” Alex interrupted.

“When the pain became too much for us to bear; watching the Garden wither and die, we implored the Stranger to help us if he could. He calmly repeated his offer of an apple which we gladly gave him this time – anything to restore the heart of our land.”

“What happened then?” Alex asked.

“Once the Stranger had what he wanted, he simply walked out of our Garden.” The Unicorn replied, its head bowed low.

74)

“The Stranger left…” Alex repeated the words, almost in a monotone and then looked at the Unicorn in the eyes again. “… and the Garden miraculously came back to life; it started to flower and fruit again?”

“Yes, that is so.” There was palpable shame in the Unicorns voice, if it was indeed possible for such an emotion to be recognised in the creature. Alex didn’t know, but he felt such an anger, a righteous anger – he couldn’t understand how the Unicorns had been so naive.

“You find it easy to judge, Creator.” Onyx said, breaking Alex’s concentration. “What would you have done in such a situation, I wonder?” He asked.

“I’m sure that I would’ve behaved differently!” Alex reprimanded. Onyx looked sad at his reply, and the Unicorn turned to Onyx and said:“He does not know yet, Old One?”

Onyx shook his head. “He has not been ready enough to be told.” Alex turned to Onyx in disbelief. “As you can see now…”

“He has to be told, Old One…” The Unicorn replied.

“What?” Alex interrupted. “What do I have to be told?”

“You were in a similar situation to ourselves.” The Unicorn said. “You were in a position to stop The Presence but did not.”

Alex was shocked by this, he couldn’t understand what the Unicorn was saying.

“When?!” He demanded. “When was I in a position to do anything of the sort?”

“When you dragged the boy out of the cave.” Onyx replied solemnly.

“But that boy was me, you said.” Alex replied. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing, it seemed too unbelievable.

“Yes, Creator, and I told you to destroy the boy before it was too late, but you couldn’t.” Onyx’s eyes bored deep into Alex. Alex took a step back in horror as he realised what Onyx was saying. He turned to look at the Unicorn, but the Unicorn turned away.

“The boy… was taken by the Deluge.” Alex spoke in a monotone, he found it so hard to utter the words, even the idea was too fantastic, too frightening for him to bear. “I thought he had been killed…”

“No.” Onyx spoke in low, calming tones. He knew how hard this was for Alex, but he needed to know. “Just as the Priest in Slauwood had been taken over by the Deluge, so the boy became corrupted by his own pain and suffering that the Deluge nurtured until he became The Presence.”

Alex reeled from this influx of information. “How did all this happen so quickly?” He asked.

“Time has no meaning here, Creator.” Onyx gently explained. “Causality follows its own path regardless of the ticking by of minutes and days. This land has existed long before you came here and will continue to exist long past your leaving; but you have created it nonetheless.”

Alex was speechless, and yet inside he knew. He had known this all along, intrinsically, deep within but hadn’t wanted to admit it to himself –hence the amnesia? This was his creation, but how?

“Feel the truth, Creator, you need to feel it not run away from it. Everything you see here; all of Bellkipeg itself is here because you created it. You are the Creator.”

“No..” Alex pushed himself from the ground and backed away, reeling from the words as if he had been struck. “There is no way I could create something as beautiful as this….” He stated.

“And it is that mindset that brought you here in the first place.” Onyx said.

“What do you mean?” Alex asked, shaking with disbelief. “I don’t understand… I don’t understand!”

“It is too late to hide from yourself now, Creator.” The Unicorn spoke, in sympathy. “You must face this. You must fight through this. You were brought here because you negated your life for too long.” Alex buried his face in his hands willing with all this might that this wasn’t true. “You were gifted with such powers, such imagination but your deep seated loathing of yourself prevented you from harnessing those powers and changing your life for the better.”

Onyx continued, “You used to dream of Bellkipeg, and in your mind lived it during those long lonely hours. When the dreams became too much for you to handle you started taking tablets and turned to alcohol to take them away and for a while you were given a reprieve to drown your life away in your own little room.”

“But it wasn’t long before the dreams started to invade your waking life.” The Unicorn interrupted. “We are a force of creation, of change… Where we have visited others the change has always been one of utmost joy and beauty.” The Unicorn said with his head bowed low. “But never before had we ever encountered such resistance. You fought against us; against your own creative self, and in doing so repressed that portion of yourself.”

“And it was through that repression that the Deluge was born.” Onyx continued. “The Deluge encompasses all your negativity; all of your dashed dreams and hopes; your anger and bitterness made whole.” Alex was shaking with grief, fear and anger… with every direction he turned he was faced with the reality of his actions. What the Unicorn was saying was the truth: it was because of him that the Deluge had been created and all the hurt, all the pain and suffering that had happened was because of Alex.

“And where did the Deluge strike?” The Unicorn asked, solemnly.

“At the same place you used to hit out at; your child-self.” Onyx answered. “That small boy that you tried so desperately to save when you first entered Bellkipeg was the same one that you heaped all your derision on, all your scorn.”

“No!” Alex shouted. “I never did that… I never hurt myself that way.”

“Look at your wrists, Creator.” Onyx spoke silently.

Alex did as he was asked. Running down his wrists were scars, one on each wrist; a calligraphic stroke to symbolise his pain. Alex could no longer hold back the tears. All this time he had fooled himself thinking that he was the hero; the one that could save Bellkipeg. But now he knew he was only saving the land from himself. Whichever way he turned now there was only pain; misery and anger. He couldn’t handle it any more.

He ran, looking neither to Onyx nor the Unicorns for he had failed them. He could no longer bear the responsibility and fled the garden. He felt nothing now. He had no idea where he was going or what would become of him, and nor did he care. So pre-occupied was he with his own pain, he wasn’t aware that the ground underneath had become spongy as he was ran; nor that the sky had darkened and the woodland around him become deathly silent. And when the Deluge engulfed him it was far too late...

75)

Was it the bite of the salty air on his face that woke him, or the sound of the waves crashing on the shore? It was like a crowd of people applauding his shift to consciousness. It may even have been the smell of the ozone and the taste of the brine on his lips; but when he finally woke up he felt born again.Everything felt perfect.

He opened his eyes to the grinning sun blazing with all its glory and a pale blue sky with candyfloss clouds that looked like they could be plucked out of the sky and eaten. The sand at his back and legs was soft and warm from the sun’s rays, and the sea glinted in acknowledgment that this was, indeed, a perfect day.He didn’t know where he was but that didn’t bother him. His mind was clear for the first time in ages. He still retained all his memories, but the knowledge that he was the Creator was meaningless to him now. He rolled onto his side to look at the sea lap serenely at the shore; the hissing and gristling of the tide on the pebbles soothing away all his previous worries and concerns. All the time that he spent with Onyx, the weight of the responsibility; it had been too much for him to bear and when he was finally faced with the truth of what Bellkipeg was his mind had cracked; he had blacked out completely only to wake up in this… paradise!

He knew that there was no way that Bellkipeg could die when he was safe; for if he was truly “The Creator” and their destinies were inextricably linked then it made sense! He laughed at Onyx’s delusions. Alex no longer had any compunction to save anything or anyone. All he wanted was to be left alone, and the only destiny he truly cared about was his own. He turned on to his back once more, smiled at the sun again and went back to sleep.

When he opened his eyes again it was night time, the full moon lazily casting its reflection on the calm sea. Alex felt the need to explore his surroundings a little more and the moon provided enough illumination for him to walk around without bumping into anything.

Brushing the sand from him as he got up, he walked to the water’s edge. The sea was so serene, peacefully lapping at the shore with gentle whispers as the waves withdrew. Alex walked along by the wave’s ebb watching the moons reflection ripple in the wake. He knew that like the island, he had no cares in the world, no responsibility. He stopped and stared into a lone tide pool and saw his own reflection stare back at him; an echo of his former self it looked lost and alone, completely the opposite of how he felt. He picked up a small pebble and dropped it in, scattering his mirrored self into fluctuations; he shivered as the image reverberated.

It was like a children’s flicker book, the ripples had shattered the serene surface into a staccato stroboscope. In some of the images Alex could see himself wearing a suit and tie; another had him in faded jeans and t-shirt and then in some of them there was a strange man standing behind him, one minute wearing a tatty raincoat, looking dishevelled and unkempt and in others he seemed to have deer’s antlers growing from the top of his head. Alex stepped back and turned round. There was nobody there and he felt a pang of loneliness, a loss as if it were part of himself that he’d temporarily mislaid.

The tide pool was now fogged with sand and a viscous oily substance that had swallowed the moon. Alex found another pebble to throw into the pool when the oily slick moved away from him as if predicting his next move. Unnerved by this he took a step away and dropped the pebble onto his bare foot. The sharp pain made him wince and look away for a second, when he turned back again the moon had returned, glimmering as if nothing had happened.

76)

Days passed in an idyllic haze. Alex was far happier than he’d been in ages; it was like a mantra, something that he said to himself each morning before he opened his eyes, and this morning was no different. It didn’t matter that he was alone on the island, in fact he now realised he was happiest when he was on his own.He cautiously got to his feet and felt the blood rushing to his head. He walked slowly to the water’s edge, as he did so every morning. This morning however there appeared to be an oily black film on the sea that moved counter to the tide; it never got any closer to him, it just stayed in one place as if it were spying on him. He laughed at his paranoia; even in paradise he still tried to think the worst and, sure enough, when he looked back there was nothing on the sea except for the gently rising and falling swells.

He laughed again at the way his mind was still trying to tie itself up in knots. For the first time, he was happy but there was still a part of him that couldn’t accept that good things could happen to him. He pinched himself and laughed again at the discomfort it caused: This was real. He was happy, so it was time to enjoy it! He’d been on the island for an age now and had never explored it, and now was as good a time as any! Walking into the lush vegetation that almost surrounded the beach he marveled at the vibrancy of it all. The verdant green fronds created a cool haven. He was safe; there was nothing on the island to hurt him, so there was no reason to worry, or fret. He could be at peace with himself and enjoy living truly in the moment. Alex explored the island for hours at an end, and in almost every direction.

The only place he never ventured was into the sea; it never appealed to him. The only time that he felt truly nervous was when he had tried to paddle and even the waves seemed to be afraid of him for they retreated in a black, viscid motion. Time ceased to have any meaning for him, there was enough for him to eat and drink. It was heaven. He sat with his back against a tree, staring out at one of the streams that threaded its way through the heart of the island, and thinking about Onyx and what Allura had taught him. There was still some regret about what he had done.

“As well there should be, my friend.” A deep voice replied from nowhere, disrupting his reverie. “And you won’t be able to find me so don’t try your gazing routine; your whole sense of perspective is skewed at the moment!”

Alex was shocked at this, he knew there was no one in sight; he would have noticed for sure!

“Of course you would.” The voice replied sarcastically. “Try focusing your gaze to the branch on your right, and if you’re perceptive then you’ll see me!”

Alex had half a mind just to get up and leave; this was too similar to the tricks that Onyx used to pull, but he was curious about who or what the voice belonged to so he looked to the branch as he was told. It was just a branch, a stick of wood attached to a tree with some leaves growing out of it. And a caterpillar, standing almost erect, winking at him

“No…. I don’t believe it!” Alex exclaimed. The caterpillar shook its tiny head at him.

“After all you’ve been through, you still don’t believe your own eyes?” The Caterpillar said, with a sarcastic overtone.

“But… I mean, c’mon… you’re a caterpillar!”

“And?” There was now mock hurt in his voice, but Alex realised the caterpillar was right; after all that he’d been through he still came to snap decisions. He laughed at himself. “That’s more like it, Creator. Now we can talk.”

“Even though you’ve got no mouth?” Alex asked cheekily, he wasn’t going to let this phase him anymore. He was in paradise and nothing was going to change that.

“I’m afraid that you’re about as wrong as you can be, on both counts, Creator.” The Caterpillar replied. “I do have a mouth; I just don’t happen to talk through it… and this isn’t paradise…. Don’t let the pretty pictures fool you. You are in more danger here than you’ve ever been…. We both are.” Alex was surprised by the caterpillar’s reaction.

“Why? Nothing’s going to hurt me here!” He replied.

“It’s been too long since you’ve seen the world properly…” The Caterpillar stated. “And please stop referring to me as The Caterpillar. Call me Narhuat.”

“Why are we in danger?” Alex demanded.

“You know why, Creator… but you have hidden yourself from the truth for too long.” Narhuat said. “It seems that we can not talk freely as your mind is still too closed. You must leave me now… It’s too dangerous for me when you are not centred. Think about why you are here and see what is around you. Then we will meet again.”

“How will I find you?” Alex asked.

“You will know…” Narhuat replied. “And if you were truly centred then you wouldn’t have even asked.” With that he inched quickly away leaving Alex bemused.

77)

He hadn’t realised how late it was during the day, the sun was setting and he needed to be back at the beach before it got dark. He walked off dejectedly pondering Narhuat’s last statement: “If you were centred then you wouldn’t have even asked.” What did he mean by that? The next morning Alex lay on his side with his eyes closed, listening to the waves on the shore. He felt the sun gently stroke his face and smelt the brine on the air, but it did nothing to calm his mind. He had a good life now, with everything he needed at his disposal, but for some reason he couldn’t block out the conversation he had with Narhuat. The tone of it reminded him so much of his time spent with Onyx.

Alex wanted to dismiss the little caterpillar’s remarks and carry on as he had been, but he couldn’t. Had he changed that much? Narhuat had been almost pleased to see him when they first met, but that soon turned to dismay, as if he had been let down by something. Alex wanted to forget the caterpillar’s comments and return to the blissful ignorance he’d know upon first waking up on the island, but he couldn’t. Was it ignorance that he’d felt, or simply a complicity? But if that was truly the case then why had Narhuat warned him that he was in more danger here?

Alex thought back to the tide pool; the reflections that he had seen in the water as the pebble had dashed the serene surface. He recalled an earlier time when he was at the mercy of the Vaurac. What wasn’t he seeing now? He knew that there was no point exploring the island any more, it would only serve to strengthen the illusion; and there would be no point in searching for Narhuat unnecessarily. Alex wasn’t grounded enough to do that properly and would only make things worse. He would find the little caterpillar when the time was right and he was ready.

In truth there was only one thing that Alex could do and that was to find a way to centre himself and see behind the illusion. He sat down on the tip of a sand dune overlooking the sea. The sun was high in the sky and the reflections skittered off the waves creating a pattern that was quite bewitching. The waves moved in a slow motion dance, creating stirs and eddies that furthered this feeling of blissful enchantment. It took all of Alex’s concentration and willpower to force himself to look away, he knew now that Narhuat was, indeed, correct. Everything was not as it seemed. Alex closed his eyes until he was barely squinting; now the sea no longer held him enraptured and by blinking steadily he could shift his focus without losing concentration.

He sat gazing at the middle distance for hours, constantly shifting his line of sight and the position of his legs. He never for one minute questioned his rationale and the longer he kept his gaze the sea. He didn’t know what he was looking for but constantly gazed, focusing on nothing in particular. Soon he realised that there were no birds flying in the skies; nothing floating either on the sea itself or splashing within –no fish! That struck him as unnerving, and just then, at the corner of his eyes, he caught a movement that was so subtle he would never have seen it consciously. Shifting his gaze cautiously so he wouldn’t lose focus he knew that what he had seen wasn’t a trick of the light.

There was a viscous film that coated the surface of the sea like a petroleum slick, but whose oozing and rolling motion ran contrary to the movement of the waves underneath. It was then that Alex knew, without a doubt, that both he and Narhuat were in mortal danger.

78)

It was the Deluge that covered the sea in front of him and Alex knew that it had been hypnotising him through the suns reflection on the sea. Alex had to fight every instinct in him to run away, for with this revelation he suddenly remembered how he had become a prisoner on the island. Now he knew the truth Alex had to be more careful than ever. He could not act any differently than normal; he could not let the Deluge know that he had changed at all otherwise it would surely spell disaster for both himself and Narhuat.

Alex had to keep his awareness levels up at all times and not fall under the spell. This meant finding Narhuat and discovering a way to lose themselves in the forest. Alex knew now that there were caves which would provide shelter for them both, and it was there where he would find Narhuat. But now was not the time for the sun was starting to set and for Alex to wander into the forest now would be to raise suspicion.

Alex closed his eyes. He knew that as long as he could keep up the pretense of normality he would be safe and the Deluge would remain dormant. He also knew that there was nothing else he could do and, therefore, nothing to worry about. The past didn’t hold him, and neither did his future... and with that in his mind Alex laid onto his back, closed his eyes and went to sleep. He woke slowly and in stages, aware that upon waking he would start to fall into the Deluge’s trance state again. He knew that the frequency of the pulses on the water were always at their strongest when he woke up. They were violent in intensity but almost subliminal.

Alex was able to counter the effects of the pulses by blinking his eyes in rapid succession, in order to match the frequency of the waves. It was initially hard work to control, but with practice he could do it automatically. Once he had reached that stage he knew he would be safe to find Narhuat.Upon standing, Alex tried to keep as close to his natural routine as possible. Great efforts were made to observe the minutiae of his routines lest the Deluge become aware that something was amiss. He then walked into the forest to find him; knowing exactly where he would be: in the cave system, hiding in a small alcove deep within. Alex carefully walked in to the cavern and sat with his back resting on the wall, his shoulders just below the alcove. He felt Narhuat inch his way onto his shoulder.

“I must say that I’m glad that you have finally come to your senses, Creator.” He said. “You did have me a little worried.”

“Yes.” Alex replied. “And I’m sorry.”

“Truth be told, it wasn’t your fault entirely. No one knew how you would react when you were faced with the news of your doppelganger. That was one of the reasons the Unicorns were chosen to deliver the message to you.” Narhuat explained. “They are beyond reproach and you knew that. There could never have been any doubt in your mind that they were telling the truth.”

“And that was what made it so hard for me to take.”

“The time for recriminations is over.” Narhuat consoled. “Now is a time for transformation.” He smiled wryly.

“What do you mean?”

“Surely you know enough about my physiology to ask such a question. You must know what caterpillars change into!”

“Of course!”

“Surely you know then that any form of transformation is forbidden by The Presence. Once sensed, the Deluge will do everything it can to destroy me and prevent this from happening. In my chrysalis form I will be far more vulnerable to attack which is why I have hidden in the caves. This will offer me more time and a little more protection, I hope.”

“But I will protect you.” Alex interrupted.

“Yes, you will.” Narhuat replied, pleased with his response. “You have remembered your power, Creator, but it is still under your conscious control and you still take great effort to effect these changes. Your final battle with the Deluge will take its toll on you for it will be both an external and an internal, psychic battle; but you must not falter. Use your strength and fight with understanding, love and courage; but most important of all, you must fight with your light!

"Remember, you will not be alone. You are never alone, even in The Darkest moment.” Alex nodded, feeling the energy course through his very fibers as Narhuat spoke. “I, myself… I am feeling some fear, to be sure… With such a radical transformation it is only natural… Whilst in my chrysalis form I will cease to be a caterpillar and will actually be reduced to something without form, a fluctuating fluidic entity, much like the Deluge, but with the ultimate potential for good. I will then slowly reform into a butterfly, my transformation complete.”

“Will that be painful?” Alex asked.

“What transformation isn’t?”

79)

“What do you know about my metamorphosis, Creator?” Narhuat asked.

“If I’m honest, not much; all I really know is that you build yourself a chrysalis and become a butterfly, but I always assumed that the caterpillar simply grew wings.”

“Were it that simple.” Narhuat shook his tiny body slowly. “It’s much more complex and mirrors all forms of transformation. First, as you rightly said, comes the chrysalis stage which could be seen as a shedding of skin, as I have done on many occasions. Each occasion is a casting off of the old and unwanted, and it takes time for the new skin to dry and harden. This time the last vestments of my former self will disappear and I will be totally encased in my chrysalis. There I will be slowly transformed by a contradictory and wonderful magic.

“Whilst entombed I will be broken down on a cellular level, literally eaten from the inside by my digestive juices… can you imagine such a process?” Narhuat asked. Alex shook his head, trying to understand. It seemed fantastic. “I can see this surprises you, Creator. However as this is happening I am also growing anew, for those same juices are converting those parts of my physical body that are no longer needed into food for the new growth, which will happen at a rapid rate. Many of the cells will have been dormant through all of my evolutionary stages but will have existed in me as potential. Now, through this process they will grow and these cells will divide and sub-divide at an alarming rate as I will be made anew.

“What was once a lowly caterpillar will become a new entity entirely, in which all vestiges of the old me will cease to be. When it is finally time for me to be born again it will take a huge amount of will to free myself from my cocoon, and in any normal situation it would take hours for me to be free and even then I will have to wait for my wings to harden.

“I will be vulnerable to the world then, at my weakest when I have so much to gain; but isn’t that always the way?” Alex was amazed by the sheer complexity of the transformation, he had never realised that it would be so magical, or painful. “But this is the process for all transformation, Creator. You must see that now.”

“How so?”

“As far as individualistic growth is concerned, you go through changes where you have to shed the beliefs and practices that once held true to you. The process is slow and inhibits you until the realisation dawns on you that these beliefs are no longer part of you, they are no longer true and therefore you can shuck them off and shed them like a skin. This is often a painful experience and afterwards you will feel vulnerable.

“This happens a number of times until you understand that in order for you to truly move on you will need to transform as well. You will then move into your chrysalis stage and there you will be able to look at your life, take it apart and digest on those decisions you made and life paths chosen.

“You will think about the wrong paths that you have taken and feel your ego, your sense of who you were, disintegrate until you find those parts of you that hold the unlimited potential, and only then will you be able to build on them. Only then will you be able to become… But even then that will not be the end for you, you will still have to break out of your cocoon, your chrysalis. You must want to be free, and then once you have broken free you will have to harden yourself to the elements, become strong so you can soar on the winds of your destiny.”

Alex was in awe of Narhuat’s knowledge and understanding; he felt it with every pore of his body and he knew that it was time for his transformation to happen as well. His whole existence had been leading to this very moment.

“I know you are ready, Creator, I feel it so strongly. But we must be careful.” Narhuat cautioned. “Ordinarily the process of metamorphosis would take days, but we do not have that luxury. The moment the Deluge senses this happening it will seek out and destroy us. I will need you to protect and empower me, as well as yourself.”

“How can I do this?” Alex asked.

“You must send me your light, your strength and your healing energies. Focus on me. Bathe me entirely in your light and love, and this will speed up my transformation. However, at the same time you must use what you learnt with Onyx and put a barrier up around us that the Deluge will not be able to penetrate. Use your light to envelop us in a sphere. In order to do this you must tap into the very roots of Bellkipeg, as you have been previously been shown.

“This will be very dangerous as you will be projecting your energy on three fronts: sending me healing and transformative energies, protecting us from the Deluge and also furthering your own personal transformation.” Alex looked perplexed by this last statement. “Do you not realise that my metamorphosis is mirroring your own? Where mine is manifesting on a physical level, yours is spiritual. You have been moving towards this for a long time; your whole life in fact, Creator. As above, so below. Sometimes you can grasp this easily, but there are times, like now, that you falter.”

“I don’t think I’m ready for this, Narhuat.” Alex admitted.

“In your heart you know you are.” Narhuat replied. “When I next see you, Creator, it will not be through my eyes, but those of a stranger. I, Narhuat, will cease to be. I fear this change, of course I do. Only a fool would undergo this without feeling fear, but I will not be held prisoner by it and it does not control me. Will you let your fear best you, hold you in its thrall or will you break free from the shackles that keep you in bondage and a slave to your fears? You have come so far to turn back now. When you finally realise yourself you will truly become the Creator!"

80)

Alex knew that Narhuat spoke the truth; this was the time for transformation. This was what Onyx and Allura, had been leading Alex towards. Alex now had the task of protecting Narhuat through his dark night of the soul. He had never realised that the caterpillar underwent actual cellular transformation, but on the deepest level it made perfect sense. It was impossible to build on outmoded concepts, far better to deconstruct and break down in order to build anew.

“I’m ready.” He said to Narhuat. “Thank you for allowing me this honour.”

“It is I who should be thanking you, Creator. It is an honour to be instrumental in your final change.” Narhuat bowed before saying. “And you have been ready for some time.” Alex smiled and bowed back to the strangely wise caterpillar and visualised a bubble of golden light surrounding him. He placed his hands so they gently laid on the surface of the bubble, projecting his energy through.

“I bid you goodbye, Creator; until we meet again for the first time.”

Like a stop-motion animation Alex watched as Narhuat convulsed, his whole body contorting once; twice; three times, pulsating; each muscle expanding and then contracting like a wave travelling the length of his tiny body. With the convulsions Alex could see a gossamer layer of skin detach itself slowly from Narhuat’s body and slowly shuck off with the final convulsion.

When the skin had finally been shed all that was left was a leathery looking pod, the cocoon that Alex could see pulsate slowly with a green luminescent light, a sign of Narhuat’s life force. The colour of the cocoon changed from a lime green to a mottled brown as it dried and hardened.

He heard a deafening roar, a sound that cut through the air like a banshees howl from the depths of hell itself: A howl of tormented anger, hate and spite. The Deluge had awoken to Narhuat’s transformation and would soon find them both. Alex had to be ready and protect Narhuat else they both fall prey to its evil, and with them would die the final chance of Bellkipeg.

With each stage of the transformation Alex felt himself linked with Narhuat’s consciousness; his own awareness was expanding. He felt the fear of discorporatation; felt his own soul dissolve and then devolve, his memories scattering out in front of him and the ultimate irony as he finally understood who he was. The Deluge swarthed out of the water, absorbing the mass of the sea around it to become more powerful than it had ever been. As it rolled and oozed onto the land it devoured everything in its path, leaving behind it a dead landscape. It was the only way that it could be sure that it was powerful enough to stop the transformation. This time there would be no error for even if the caterpillar escaped there would be nowhere else for it to hide, there would be no hope for Bellkipeg this time.

With each of Narhuat’s convulsions Alex felt it in his very soul: repressed memories surfaced in his mind; instrumental in shaping his personality from years ago. Disappointments, betrayals, helplessness, and rejections; each causing gradual isolation and despondent depression. Each memory was stripped away from him like flash-cuts; pizzicato images strobing into the distance until he could finally shuck away the skin of dead memories that no longer held him. That which he had striven so hard to find no longer meant anything to him. They held him back and could now be discarded leaving the raw self to harden. The Deluge knew where Alex had hidden, there was only one way out and once surrounded they were trapped.

Alex sensed the Deluge outside and extended another sphere of golden light covering himself and the entrance of the cave. No longer limited by the disappointments of the past and the failures of the present he knew that the Deluge could not force its way through. So he concentrated on the chrysalis, aware now that Narhuat was no more. He had been broken apart on that cellular level, now just protoplasmic ooze. The cocoon pulsated again and Alex shivered in harmony. Just then the Deluge smashed into his barrier of light with an almighty roar that Alex felt through his very pores. The roar was one of thwarted frustration. Now Alex would face the real test; like Narhuat he had to affect his own transformation to his most primal self with the very predatory darkness ready to devour him should he fail.

T

he whole cavern was now in total darkness save for the light that Alex projected. It was impossible for him to know what time of day it was, or how long he had been guarding Narhuat. He still felt the energy flowing from himself into Narhuat, affecting his transformation and he wondered how long he could carry on protecting them both. He had seen the energy that Onyx had projected when they first encountered the Deluge and remembered his own barrier against the fog but neither Alex nor Onyx had been able to sustain it for long periods of time.

Alex also knew that the Deluge’s energy lay not only in its size and power but in its own ability to project and smother the environment, laying waste not only on a physical basis but also psychically as well. He could feel it now crawling into the darkest recesses of his mind. He shifted his position, being careful not to take his hands away from the sphere encircling Narhuat. Sitting cross-legged he made sure that his back was to the mouth of the cave. As long as Alex kept the circle of light strong he was sure that they were in no danger.

Silence fell over the cave. Suddenly it was shattered by the sound of first one stone rebounding across the wall in front of him and then another. He ignored them, it was impossible to tell if this was really happening or simply a hallucination caused by the Deluge. Then Alex heard a voice that was unmistakable.

“Creator, listen to me.” It was Allura. Alex wanted so much to turn around and embrace her, but he knew that he couldn’t and daren’t. “It’s all your fault, you hear me? I blame you! I should’ve killed you when I had the chance…” Alex could scarcely believe what he was hearing; it was unthinkable that Allura could be saying such things. “The Mirror of Sfel? It was a trap! It held a sliver of the Deluge within its matrix. When we opened ourselves to it my whole village was consumed by their own fear and anger. I’m the only survivor, and it’s all your fault!” Alex shivered at such accusations. He was about to turn round and remonstrate with her but then realised that such a thing could not be true. There was no way for the mirror to be possessed by the Deluge.

Hearing Allura’s voice had created a longing in him that he had not anticipated. He had been without human companionship for what seemed like an age. Even though he had been a solitary man in the past, there were times that he had wished to be amongst people, but he had never fit in. He often felt alienated and isolated; no matter how hard he had tried to become close to people.

It was that feeling that was stirring inside him now. It had started off as a flutter deep inside and soon he could feel it crawl over his skin like a jilted lover, leaving him ever colder. He tried to intensify his efforts to harness the energy inside of him but the more he concentrated the deeper the feeling became. Then to his horror he saw the wall in front of him shimmer. He could no longer see Narhuat suspended in his cocoon, instead the wall slowly coalesced, and warped until it formed a mirror where Alex saw himself reflected back with naked clarity.

He saw himself sitting in the heart of a gigantic bubble of light and it gave him such strength that he was capable of generating such power, but then the image became distorted. Something was wrong; the image became darker, but not from the edges where Alex expected, but from the centre, from Alex himself. He could feel the reflection warp and wend as he saw the darkness emanate from his very heart; from deep within himself.

You are not strong enough, boy.” He heard a voice say. “See the dark you hold within will destroy everything around you. It has already defeated you for you ARE The Presence. You can not deny it any longer, and as you embrace the darkness from within so the Deluge will embrace and claim you for its own.” Alex saw his whole body fade, the light in him slowly dying and as it did so, the circle of light around him becoming smaller and darker.

There was nothing he could do, Alex was not strong enough, he was being consumed from within, trapped by this cocoon of total darkness that was now constricting him; growing small with every breath, with every heartbeat. Alex saw all this happening before him in the deformed mirror and knew that there was no way he could sustain this level of attack anymore. His energy was all but depleted; never before had he felt so small and so powerless. Like the small child that had been consumed by the Deluge when he had first entered Bellkipeg, now everything had come full circle. Now he was being consumed from within, just as Narhuat was.

And then the revelation hit him, this was not just another trick of the Deluge, it was his own long dark night of the soul. The Deluge was manipulating the light to produce hallucinations in the same way it had used the waves to create the hypnotic state at the beach but it was also mirroring Alex’s own transformation, as he was facing the dark inside himself.

He knew now of The Presence that he held in himself, just as there is darkness inherent in every living organism; but he knew that The Presence was nothing to be afraid of. It could not exist without the light for the darkness defined the light, it was the ultimate source of the lights power and majesty; and it could never truly win for its energy was only a denser vibration: it could only entrap and deplete; depress and pervert. The light came from with, but it was of a much higher vibrational energy; it existed in the space between and gave hope; was eternal and transformative.

And Alex knew that he was a part of that light, of the love, and his energy, his light was simply an extension and projection of that light and could never be depleted, could never weaken or be extinguished. His light, his love, his power was all encompassing and as this awareness was dawning in him so too could he see Narhuat’s cocoon shudder and convulse as the time of his incubation was over. Now was the time for the hatching; the birth of the new soul.

81)

As Narhuat’s chrysalis convulsed and shuddered, so too did the cave in which they were hiding. The very rock was collapsing around them. Alex knew that his energy would prevent them from being hurt, but it would also mean that they would be completely engulfed by the Deluge.Suddenly an intense ray of light, far brighter than that which Alex was emitting, burst forth from the cocoon. Alex watched as the chrysalis split in two and the Butterfly slowly and triumphantly emerged from its leathery carapace.

Inch by torturous inch it pushed itself out of its dead skin until finally it emerged; its wings still folded as it hung precariously upside down from its spindly legs. It flexed them a few times before it unfolded its wings, which had been so long cramped inside the cocoon. It unfurled its proboscis, tasting the air many times. Alex felt the same sensations in perfect harmony with the butterfly; his own revelations and subsequent rebirth were now a reality and he felt anew.

“I am nearly ready to fly, Creator.” Alex felt the Butterfly’s words in his head. “You have played your part admirably! Onyx would be proud, as we all are. Your rebirth is magnificent!”

“As am I… I am re-made… whole!” Alex replied. “But what should I call you now? You are no longer Narhuat because that is the name of your other self.”

“You know who I am, and what I have become –and what you have become.” Alex nodded and smiled, it was obvious really. “Say my name and reclaim your birth-right.” The butterfly said.

“Bellkipeg.” Alex replied triumphantly.

Bellkipeg.” The butterfly responded, nodding. “Now I must spread the hope and the light across the world. I am the messenger of the triumph and the reclamation. You must fulfil your destiny as the Creator and make whole that has been torn asunder.”

I bid you farewell. Thanks seems somewhat small for all that you have given and taught me.” Alex bowed.

“I thank you.” And with that Bellkipeg flexed its wings, extending them fully. “Now I must away.” Bellkipeg looked to the Deluge which was still kept at bay by Alex’s energy. “You will not keep me, Dark, for all your vaunted size and power. You have no dominion over me!”

With strength that belied his size, Bellkipeg beat its wings and flew up into the air. The Deluge howled in triumph, anticipating the claiming of such a prize, but the howls soon became cries of anguish and pain as the butterfly cut a swathe of light effortlessly through its gelatinous mass. Alex waved as it passed back in all its glory. He knew that he was now alone against the Deluge, and could feel its fury at allowing the escape. It was now exerting incredible pressure upon all sides of Alex’s light, squeezing with an almighty force and he could feel it the bubble start to buckle under the strain.

“No.” He calmly spoke, and waved his hand across his body. The Deluge responded in kind, and cleaved in two falling either side of Alex; the connection to its dark master severed. It could no longer threaten anyone else every again. Alex sent a burst of pure energy to the Deluge and it welled up beneath him like an almighty tsunami. Alex was truly the Creator, and he was now ready to confront The Presence and reclaim the land, as it had been written.

The Deluge swelled beneath him, rising him up on the crest of its shining viscous-black wave. There it carried him all the way back to the shore of the very land he had tried to escape from. Alex stepped off it and looked behind him, the Deluge now meekly waited for his next order – it was his to command, but in truth it always had been. He was of a purpose now.

In the distance he saw one lone horse and rider cleaving through the surf towards him. This was one of The Presence's guards. It had but one purpose now, to slay him before it was too late. The horse whinnied and snorted before stopping, hoofing at the pebbles and it was now that Alex could see clearly the rider. It wore black chain-mail armour, a cloak and hood hiding most of its face in shadow. It dismounted in a smooth, almost liquid fashion barely making a sound when it landed on the pebbles.At eye level now, Alex could see the creatures face. It was almost featureless, smooth and mottled like a fish, and a large ovoid mouth with needle sharp teeth lining its jaws like a huge lamprey. To his horror, deep inside its mouth was a single glowing eye, a deep bloodshot red.

The creature unsheathed a sword from nowhere and took a step towards him. Alex shook his head slowly and took a step backwards. He gestured to the Deluge which suddenly uncoiled, shooting out towards the creature in a stabbing motion before enveloping it. Only the sound of the wind on the waves could be heard. The Deluge withdrew again. Of the creature nothing remained except for the chain-mail armour and sword. The horse stood still, transfixed under the Deluges influence. Alex calmly put the creatures armour on for it was now his time to do battle. He mounted the horse in a fluid motion as if it was the most natural thing in the world for him to do, yet it was the first time he had ever done so. The horse accepted him as a rider and together they set forth towards the centre of Bellkipeg; to The Presence himself.

82)

The journey was swift for there were no more obstacles for Alex to overcome. The Deluge remained on the beach; it was no longer needed for Alex knew that there would be no further resistance.He travelled across the landscape of Bellkipeg watching it change like a flicker book until he finally arrived at the very heart. He smiled for he was in another wood, but this one was unlike the others he had previously traveled through.

Paradoxically it seemed very young; all the Birch and Beech trees were aligned in mis-matched rows closely packed together like a plantation. Their thin canopy still managed to strangle the light from the day, and the wind held its breath in dread and anticipation.Soon even the horse would go no further and Alex was forced to walk the rest of the way. The closer he got to the source of the dis-ease the staler the air became and the darker it got. Alex had no idea what The Presence's abode would be like for up until now he had only thought of The Presence as an intangible boogie-man.

The wood thinned out again and as it did so Alex could see a distinct glow in the distance. As he walked ever closer to the inevitable he realised that the source of the glow was gaudy electric lights, flashing and strobing neon’s. He was both alarmed and confused by what he was witnessing. Alex had preconceptions of a castle, a cottage or even the re-appearance of his own home, which was where he believed The Presence had been conceived, but the sight that now met his eyes was incomprehensible.

It was a Fun House; a prefabricated, gaudy monstrosity; something more at home in a fairground rather than in the middle of the woods. It was built like a haunted mansion with mock Gothic columns either side of a huge door with cobwebs festooning the arches. The mansion towered above him, the many windows all shining with sickening yellow and green lights. But it looked as scary and realistic as a papier mache building and Alex wondered just what he was walking into.There were loud speakers either side of the entrance and Alex could hear faux-scary voices, high pitched screams and sobbing. A deep voice boomed out “Welcome to the Fun House… You’ll never leave.” Alex found it hard to suppress his smile.

In amongst all the b-movie wails, moans and screams Alex could hear the sound of a child sobbing, alternating with cries for his mummy and daddy. Alex felt a shiver traverse the length of his spine and he knew that all his answers lay beyond the doorway. He walked through the door brushing the cobwebs away and as he looked behind him he saw the world slowly fade away to a misty nothingness before the darkness enveloped him.

83)

The sight that met his eyes was even more bizarre, confounding his expectations once again. It was like standing in an abandoned movie set of a dungeon, complete with stone walls, wooden doors and a spiral staircase leading up at the far end of the corridor. Behind him was another wall with no sign of where he had entered. There was no ceiling overhead, simply blackness. The corridor smelt musty, unused and old with faint aromas of plywood and paint-thinner. Alex knew that he would find Onyx in one of the cells. He could feel the story of Bellkipeg draw around him with every echoing footstep, drawing to its inevitable conclusion.

Onyx was actually in the ninth cell on the left, exactly where Alex knew he would be. However as he approached the cell he saw that there was no way for him to actually enter it, there was no door handle or even a key hole. Unperturbed Alex simply punched through the balsa door and pulled. The door was as sturdy as it looked and came apart easily, and as Alex walked into the cell and looked around he could see that it was only a movie set complete with support braces keeping the very walls up. It was getting more surreal by the minute!Onyx sat in a corner, unharmed but aged and in chains. He was grey of beard and pockmarked with liver spots, his skin worn and dry but his eyes still had a spark and lit up upon seeing Alex.

“It’s ok, old friend.” Alex said as he knelt down to him. “I’m here. I’m so sorry I took so long to come to my senses.” Onyx smiled and tried to chuckle, but the sound strangled into a coughing fit. When it subsided he said.

“I am glad that you made the choice to come here at all. I know it was hard for you, Creator.” He coughed again with the exertion of talking. “For Creator you truly are now.”

“Yes. I am.”

“And you know now what must be done?”

“Yes I do, old friend. We’ve been apart for far too long. It’s time I realised myself and stopped trying to externalise it.” He held his hand out to Onyx. “Thank you, you have always been so patient with me.” Onyx took his hand and as he did so his whole being shone with the most transparent of lights, his very outline shimmered and then disappeared as his energy flowed into Alex. Standing up, Alex had never felt so sure of himself, so powerful and yet completely at peace. The energy he had witnessed upon Narhuat’s transformation was nothing compared to what he was feeling now. He felt completely aware and with that awareness he felt emptiness, some kind of imbalance and he knew what it was and what needed to be done.

He looked around him at the flimsy sets and props which had outlived their usefulness and in a quiet but powerful voice he said “I no longer need this..” He gestured around him. “this… ego scaffold. I can see now… Show yourself to me and we will finish this.” Suddenly the dungeon was plunged into darkness and in the distance was a circle of light, and standing in that circle of light was a small boy.

84)

Alex walked towards the circle, treading carefully with each step measured; his knees slightly bent with each footfall connecting with the heart of Bellkipeg. He knew who the small boy was even though the boy had his back to Alex. The boy turned at this acknowledgement and smiled. It was Alex aged nine.

“Well met, my brother.” The boy said.

“We’ve no need for the façade any longer.” Alex replied, smiling back.

“Awww…” The boy wined. “You take the fun out of everything… but then you always did.” Alex remained calm and simply stood just out of arm’s length. The boy smiled again, more excitedly and stood up, dusting himself down. “Did you see the Fun House exterior? I thought that was pretty cool, and funny. Did you think it was funny?”

“It was lost on me, I’m afraid. I didn’t really understand the relevance of it.” Alex replied, shaking his head.

“You mean you don’t remember?” The boy hung his head and seemed to sulk before looking up again. “Ah, of course, more time would have elapsed for you than it has for me. For me it still seems like yesterday it happened.” The boy laughed, but the laughter seemed hollow. “Believe it or not, it’s where I was born. Do you seriously not remember?” Alex shook his head. “We were nine.. well, I still am.” He sniggered. “There was this fun fair in Stapleford, or somewhere like that.. and nothing really interested us except for this fun house. It looked like the house out of the Munsters.”

“And we wanted to go in alone.” Alex interrupted. “Mum wouldn’t let me, but I persuaded her; wore her down by pleading that we were big enough to do it by ourselves. Eventually she relented.”

“And we walked in, didn’t like what we saw; got lost in the dark and screamed for her to come and get us.” The boy laughed.

“Yes, I do remember now,” Alex admitted. “but I don’t understand how that could have given birth to all this.”

“Do you remember what was in the dark that made you so scared?” The boy asked, wryly.

“No… “

“That hardly surprises me. That memory block is partly the reason why I’m still here. It’s the part of yourself that still can’t acknowledge the whole story despite your vaunted awareness!” The boy shook his head and tutted loudly. He began to walk a tight circle around Alex, gesturing. Every time he gestured a mirror suddenly rose up from the blackness.

“Inside the dark was a hall of cracked and warped mirrors. There was enough residual light to form glimmering reflections that fractured and splintered each time we moved. It was the first time that you saw yourself as such a fractured and splintered soul, and it was too much for your nine year old brain to handle. That was why you were in a near-catatonic state when mum found you, and she had to walk us out of the fun house. You repressed those sights but in doing so you created me.” Both Alex and the boy were now surrounded by a circle of mirrors and it was then that Alex realised that the light was becoming dimmer.

85)

“I grew in time, fed by your increasing inadequacies. The teenage years were such fertile ground and we grew with each passing year. Don’t get me wrong, we never meant any harm. With each moment of despair or when you felt at your lowest ebb we hoped and prayed that you’d realise the root cause of your unhappiness and rescue us from the darkness… But no!” The boy stopped walking round and faced Alex, his eyes now deep in shadow. “You retreated into a world of fantasy, anything you could do to escape your unhappiness. Rather than rescue us you tried to run further away. The fantasy stirred something deep inside of you and part of you responded deeply by writing your own.” The boy shook his head in disdain. “But you even screwed that up. It became too real for you and you just backed away from it… but the damage had been done. Bellkipeg was born as a way for you to exorcise your demons and actually find me, but you couldn’t even do that! But I could…”

The boy smiled as the lights dimmed even more, the reflections in the mirror becoming nothing more than shadows and each of the shadows swallowed up more of the mirrors surface. “I found that I could actually exist in Bellkipeg and grow strong, feeding on all that negativity that was still flowing freely. I could grow stronger and in time I knew that I would be able to control the land and then control you. It was me that caused your black-outs and panic attacks, and with each attack I took another piece of you, another sliver of your life essence leaving you weaker. However, there was part of you that would not be denied, that spark in you that refused to be extinguished, damn you!” He pointed at Alex in a stabbing motion. “Bellkipeg flooded your dreams, became waking visions –desperately trying to jolt you into ‘awakening’”

“But I couldn’t see it.” Alex interrupted.

“Didn’t want to see it, more like.” The boy shouted.

“No – I couldn’t bare it…”

“Yeah, you took the easy way out. But you couldn’t even commit suicide properly could you? You didn’t end up where you expected, eh? Bellkipeg’s final, desperate gamble.”

“I woke up in Bellkipeg before dying?” Alex asked. His wrists throbbed again, he put his hand to one and recoiled in pain. His hand was wet and sticky with blood.

And you’re dying still, you just haven’t realised it.” The boy smiled triumphantly. “And when you die here your life essence will flow to me.” With that the lights were suddenly extinguished and the last thing that Alex saw was the boys smile; one of a great and terrible innocence.

86)

“You forget one thing, young one.” Alex whispered. “We are one another, and if I die, so do you..” He could hear the boy snort in derision. “But I am not dying today, and neither are you.” The light was barely a glimmer to start with. "Everything has led up to this moment, don't you see?"

The glow intensified and the boy could see it now and took a step back. I had to be brought to this point; reduced to my lowest ebb in order to actually feel it." The most beautiful light was now emanating from Alex."I'm not the only one who was escaping. You were too, retreating into fear and anger... Look at your wrists now.” Alex told the boy. The boy looked at his wrists and recoiled in terror. There was blood dripping from them as there was from Alex’s.

“It doesn’t have to be this way.” Alex spoke and placed his right hand on the boys left wrist and then his left and on the boys right. When he took them away again there was no more blood; the cuts had simply disappeared.

“How?” The boy asked in tears. “I don’t understand…”

“You were right about Bellkipeg.” Alex explained. “It was the only way for us to be re-united. We had become irrevocably split for I no longer wanted to associate myself with the lost and lonely little boy that I saw cowering in the mirror, and did everything I could to deny him. You found solace in the darkness of the other, gathering strength from that darkness, but all the time being limited by our journey. And that journey has finally reached its conclusion.” Alex gestured, sending the mirrors scattering off into the distance. “We have no more need of warped reflections. We are the mirror image of each other.”

The boy nodded as tears flowed down his cheeks. “And we must become one.” He said. Alex started to cry too. “Yes, we must become one.” He took a step forward, the boy hesitated before following suit. “I am so sorry for denying you for so long, but no longer.” He said. “I am… We are the Creator, the nurturer and we will nurture each other. We will stronger together.”

Alex held out his hands, as he had with Onyx. The boy reciprocated and as their hands touched Alex could see all his adventures in Bellkipeg flash before him as he closed their eyes and became one. When he woke up again he was surprised to find himself in another wood, but this was the wood he had encountered when he first woke up in Bellkipeg at the start of his journey.

87)

He stood and looked around him. It was exactly the same wood, of that there was no doubt. Behind him was the tunnel of holly, the ground around him still smelt of loam and fresh rain. In front of him the stream still babbled, and as he walked down the slope he saw the Stag standing magnificently in front of him he understood why he had been brought back.

The Stag was at peace, glowing with the energy of the collective souls of Bellkipeg. He knew what the Stag represented and why the boar had attacked him so mercilessly. He also knew that there would be no further attacks; the essence of the boar had been acknowledged, assimilated and integrated. He could reach his higher purpose and become one with the Stag.

He didn’t know what would await him upon crossing over, it must surely mean a hard road in order to successfully implement what he had learnt, but he knew that it would be worth it. The Stag looked deep within him and nodded its head. It was time.

Walking up to the Stag he placed one hand upon its flank and the other one on its head. As the Stags energy flowed into his own he saw the world of Bellkipeg slowly fade away and blur until he found himself staring into the mirror of his own bathroom… in his own flat.

And then he woke up.

Epilogue

Morning. A warm, comfortable feeling of contentment soothed me as I stirred in the first dawnings of wakefulness; wrapped snugly in my duvet; in my own sofa bed. I was so reticent to shatter the hopes of this being real that I took a deep breath before slowly opening my eyes.

I reached for my glasses –they were exactly where I expected them to be; perched precariously on the arm rest. I was calmed by the sense of familiarity as I looked around. The canvas print of Hopper’s “Nighthawks” glowed reassuringly back at me, and the tv reflected the world back.

The shelves were still crammed with books; cd’s and dvd’s, but there were no 4 inch poseable action figures and a laptop stood where once before a word processor might have held pride of dust. I carefully got out of bed, tried to put my slippers on without teetering over and shuffled to the bathroom in a daze. What the hell had happened to me? How much of it was dream and how much of it had been real?

The knife was still in the sink where I had left it, in a small but congealed pool of blood. I looked at my wrists and there were two parallel lines running from left to right on, just scars. I ran my finger along each of the lines and there was no pain, just a numb sensation. I felt coldly detached from it all, as if any minute now a giant boar would shatter my reverie, or a cloud of ravens would envelope me suddenly but nothing happened. I ran a bath and looked at the stranger in the mirror. I stared at the face reflected back; no haggard, grimy faced boy returned my gaze; just me, myself; slightly bloodshot and hung-over.

atching the steam dancing around me I saw flashbacks of my time in Bellkipeg and thought of all the people, Unicorns and Skincrawlers I’d met; all the experiences and trials I’d undertaken. But did it really happen? What was the purpose of it all and just why was I left with these scars? I watched the mirror mist up and ghostly writing appeared upon the surface. “A little something to remember the experience by, Creator; don’t let it go to waste. Do something about it!”

I opened the bathroom door and ran to the easy chair next to my sofa-bed. My mud dried jeans were still haphazardly on the back where they’d been thrown. Rifling through the pockets I found that they were stuffed with crumpled sheets of paper, smeared and worn but still legible; I remembered finding them in a cave and by a stream. In another pocket a black arrowhead and a heart made of turquoise greeted me; gifts from the Faire-folk for the trials that I undertook and I smiled with all my heart; it had not been a dream after all.

And it was then that I remembered a promise that I had made to a Grugrk under a run-down old bridge, and I knew what I had to do next…