|  Author | Topic: I am Seph (Read 19 times) |
Seph Silvertounge and Mehaimon
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Meh, Kill'em.
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Joined: Jul 2009
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Location: Citagazze
|  | I am Seph
« Thread Started on Jul 8, 2009, 10:24pm » | ![[Quote]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/buttons/quote.gif) |
Hey. I am Seph and my daemon is Mehaimon.
This is Me and Him. Well, you can see it at the bottom.
I
He got to his feet quickly, alert, and listened. He strained to hear over the sound of the waves lapping against the shore and the birds singing overhead. Then he heard it. They were coming! He desperately looked around, trying to work out which direction they were approaching from. Then he ran! He sprinted along the beach, the soft sand beneath making his progress slower than he would have liked. On several occasions he stumbled and almost fell, but he managed to keep his balance and he pushed on, putting all his energy into getting away, far away.
Behind him he could hear them gaining on him. Even though it was pointless to look back, as they were invisible except in darkness, he found himself constantly looking over his shoulder, trying to judge how close and how many of them there were. He had been lucky on this occasion, as he had heard their approach, usually you received no warning of them until they were so close that you could sense their very presence in the air, but by then it is far too late to escape. He had seen first hand what these creatures did to people and he had no wish whatsoever to fall prey to the same fate.
He looked over his shoulder once more; he was sure that there were many of them following him, at least five or six. He considered for a moment turning and heading back towards the town, but he knew that there were likely to be even more there, as they usually didn’t venture this close to the sea. The golden sand stretched out in front of him for miles and he knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep up this pace for long, and his tireless pursuers would soon catch him. There was only one thing for it then. He turned and ran for the sea, hoping that whatever force it was which usually stopped them venturing down to the beach would stop them from crossing the water as well. He reached the waters edge and ran as quickly as he could into the freezing sea, splashing the salty water all about him as he did so. Soon the water level was nearly up to his neck and he began to swim.
After a few minutes he turned and looked back at the beach. He strained his eyes trying to make out any hint of whether they were still following him or not. He had no idea if he was safe, floating there in the sea, or if he was just a sitting duck, waiting as they closed in on him. Even if they didn’t venture out across the water, he couldn’t stay there forever - eventually he would have to return to the beach where they would surely be waiting for him. He continued to float there silently, his eyes darting this way and that, trying to look for the slightest hint as to whether he was safe for the time being or not. Then he heard something. It was such a tiny sound that he couldn’t identify it. It could have been the water splashing gently, a fish swimming somewhere close by, the wind gently picking up…or it could have been them closing in on him.
Suddenly he felt them – their icy fingers reaching out, chilling his already freezing skin, their relentless hunger driving them on, filling the air almost like it were a physical force. He had a split second to react and he did the only thing he could think of, he plunged beneath the surface.
The rush of cold water hitting his face, filling his nostrils, almost made him gasp out for breath. He tried to open his eyes, but the salt water stung them and made it very difficult for him to make out more than a dark blur all around him. He threw his body forwards and pumped his arms and legs, taking him deeper below the surface. He could still feel them close by, but it wasn’t as strong as before, maybe they were having difficulty breaking the waters surface. He didn’t feel like stopping to find out though, so he dived deeper and deeper into the seas murky depths. He had no plan at all, and he knew that he only had a minute or so before he would either drown or be forced to surface and face a prospect much worse then simple death.
As his lungs began to strain and his head began to pound at the lack of oxygen, his mind flashed back to the first time he had seen what those things were capable of.
He had been sitting on the end of the pier some days ago, looking out over the sea towards the rising sun. A man – probably in his early forties – had been standing close by. Then they had attacked. He had only noticed that they were even there when the man started acting strangely – batting at some invisible attacker, crying out, trying to run but finding no strength in his limbs. He had watched as the man’s face had contorted in absolute horror, before being drained of any life at all. Then as quickly as they had arrived, they were gone, leaving the shell of a human being behind, standing there, staring out over the sea.
He struggled to keep his eyes open as the lack of air started to make him feel faint, but it was no good, he couldn’t stand it any longer, and even if he wanted to, there was no way he would be able to reach the surface in time now. He took one last look into the dark and murky depths of the sea, caught the slightest glint of something out of the corner of his eye somewhere below him, then everything went black.
II
Alan was walking along the snow covered beach, his dæmon Aureai – in cat form – tucked up inside his coat, her soft fur and the gentle vibration of her purring against his chest warming him slightly.
The sun had only just risen about an hour ago, and its bright light still bounced off the seas surface, forcing him to shield his eyes occasionally. It brought no heat to the morning though, and the snow – which was still falling – showed no signs of melting any time soon.
‘What’s that over there?’ asked Aureai, poking her head out of Alan’s coat.
‘Where?’
‘Over there by the water.’
Alan followed her gaze over towards something lying beside the waters edge in the distance.
‘I don’t know.’
They began to make there way towards it and it soon became apparent that it was a person lying motionless. Alan began to run and Aureai jumped out of his coat and turned into a seagull and flew towards the body. She arrived before Alan and began pecking at the boy’s ears to try and wake him.
‘Is he okay?’ asked Alan, panting as he approached.
Aureai looked up at him and shook her head. ‘It doesn’t look good,’ she said quietly.
Alan leaned over the boy and looked at him. His skin was deathly pale and wrinkled from his time in the water. He lifted his eyelids and saw that his eyes were incredibly red and sore, most likely from all the salt in the water. He checked for a pulse but could find none. Aureai looked up at him, hoping that she had been wrong, but all Alan could do was sigh and she knew the truth.
Suddenly the boy’s eyes flickered slightly.
Alan had turned away so he didn’t see it, but Aureai did.
‘Alan! He’s alive!’
‘What?’ he said, turning to face the boy once more.
As he spoke, the boy coughed and spluttered and water poured from his mouth. Alan bent down to try and help him, as he spat up more water and then gasped desperately for air.
‘Are you alright?’ he asked, not really sure of what else to say.
The boy took several deep breaths then looked up at Alan, his face a mixture of fear and confusion. Alan helped him to sit up and put his coat around him, as he was shivering violently from the cold.
‘Wh…what…’ He tried to speak but his throat was incredibly sore and painful.
‘It’s okay,’ said Alan, ‘come on, you need to get in out of the cold!’
Alan helped the boy shakily to his feet and began to walk slowly along the beach. Then the boy snapped his head up, as if suddenly remembering something.
‘Where are they? I’ve got to…get out of here!’ he croaked.
‘Who?’
‘The ghosts! They’re coming, we have to go!’
Alan exchanged a worried glance with Aureai but neither said anything.
‘There’s no ghosts here,’ he reassured the boy. ‘Come on, you’re not well, you need to get inside into the warm.’
The boy struggled for a moment to try and get away, but in his weakened state Alan easily kept hold of him, and eventually he gave up and walked with them, occasionally looking back over his shoulder though.
As they walked, Alan realised for the first time something which many others would have been horrified or even disgusted to realise, but something that he acknowledged with no more than a curious frown – the boy had no dæmon. Many peoples’ dæmons took on small forms which could hide in a pocket or a coat, but even when they were out of sight it was still obvious that they were there – there was just something about the person that stood out, like a spark. But looking at the boy now, it was obvious that there was something missing.
He looked over at Aureai, who had just noticed it as well, but once again neither said anything. The boy had obviously been through a lot and now was hardly the time to start questioning him about these things. Alan worried about how his family would take it though when they got home, as seeing someone without a dæmon was almost like seeing someone without a head – it just wasn’t possible. He hoped that they wouldn’t be too shocked and make things even more difficult for the boy.
III
Alan closed his bedroom door and went to sit down at the kitchen table. His mother looked at him with a mixture of worry and anger. She had initially been horrified by the boy, but her paternal instincts took over and she helped to warm the boy up and made him some soup. And Alan had given him his bedroom to get some much needed rest.
‘How’s he doing?’ asked his mother.
‘He’s sleeping,’ he replied, moving a little closer to the roaring fireplace.
Aureai – in raven form – fluttered over from the table and landed on Alan’s head, her sharp feet getting tangled slightly in his hair.
‘Do you think he’s never had a dæmon, or he lost it somehow?’ asked the bird.
‘I don’t know,’ replied Alan’s mother, ‘but I don’t like it, it gives me the creeps.’
‘It’s not his fault,’ said Alan.
‘I know, but still…’
‘He doesn’t look ill except for being so cold,’ said Alan’s mother’s dæmon, a large, black cat, as it jumped up onto a nearby chair, ‘so I would suspect that he has never had one.’
‘How is that possible though?’ asked Aureai.
‘I don’t know,’ replied the cat in his deep, formal voice, ‘but he would surely not have survived if he and his dæmon had somehow become separated.’
Alan nodded. He remembered hearing stories of people who had been separated from their dæmons - how they had suffered such indescribable pain before slipping away, not able to live without them. He and Aureai – like almost every child and dæmon – had tested their connection by seeing how far away they could move from one another, and even that was incredibly painful, both physically and emotionally, so he seriously doubted that anyone could possibly survive total separation.
‘When is dad back?’ asked Alan.
‘Not for a few days,’ his mother replied.
Alan nodded. That was probably for the best, he didn’t know how his father would react to this boy, but it was likely to be worse than his mother had.
‘Here put these by the fire,’ said his mother, handing him the boy’s soaking wet clothes.
He walked over to the fire, water dripping on the floor, and placed them as close to the flames as he could. As he was doing this, he felt something hard in one of the boy’s pockets. He looked around but his mother had gone back to cleaning and her dæmon looked as if it was taking a nap. He opened the pocket and took it out.
He had no idea what he was looking at. It was a small, round, metallic object about the size of his palm. The metal was painted gold and was surprisingly heavy. On it were many engravings – pictures of animals and people, and inscriptions in a language that he didn’t recognise. He turned it over and what he saw nearly took his breath away. On the other side of the object was a rounded glass cover, underneath which was a swirling pool of purple mist. The way it moved slowly, swirling, rippling, was almost hypnotic and he found himself just standing there staring at it. Then he began to notice that the metal was heating up in his hand and it was beginning to glow. He looked once more into the colourful depths and he was astonished to see the mist begin to slowly disperse and reveal the image of a vast beach, not unlike the one they had just come from, and a boy, running. He could actually see him running, like he was standing there witnessing it all as it unfolded. The boy was terrified of something and he kept turning and looking behind him.
‘Ow!’ Alan cried out and dropped the object. He had not even noticed how hot the metal had become and it had scalded his hand quite badly.
‘What’s the matter?’ asked his mother.
‘Nothing,’ he replied, quickly picking it back up and putting it back in the boy’s pocket. His mother’s dæmon eyed him suspiciously for a moment, before closing its eyes once more.
‘Did you see that?’ Alan whispered to Aureai once they were out of earshot.
‘Yes.’
‘What do you think it was?’
‘I have no idea, but the boy looked like the same one that we rescued.’
‘Yeah, but what on earth was that thing? How could we see that?’
Aureai hopped down onto the windowsill and looked out over the snow covered ground. ‘I don’t know.’ She sighed.
Alan reached out and gently stroked her feathers as he tried to make some sense of what had just happened.
IV
A week passed. The boy - Elliot - spent most of his time in bed recovering from his near drowning and prolonged exposure to the cold. Alan sat with him when he was awake, as his parents – although happy to let him stay – didn’t like to go too near him, so avoided him as much as they could. He listened to the boy’s story of what had happened, but he couldn’t decide whether he believed it or not. He told him that he had been chased by ‘ghosts’ and had swum out into the sea in an attempt to escape them, but had had to go underwater when they had followed him, then he had blacked out and eventually woken up on the beach. He was astonished when Aureai spoke for the first time in his presence and it soon became apparent to them that he had never even seen a dæmon before, let alone had one. Alan wasn’t sure what he thought of this. On one hand it meant that he wasn’t ‘disfigured’ as they had first expected, but having grown up with dæmons as a natural part of life, he found it difficult to understand how someone could possibly live without one.
As the days passed, Elliot told them more about where he came from, and astonished them with descriptions of things like cars, aeroplanes, televisions and many more wonders that Alan and Aureai could barely imagine. Still, they didn’t truly understand what this meant. Did it mean that they were from two separate worlds? And how was this possible? Of course it was possible that Elliot was simply making all this up, but it still didn’t explain the absence of his dæmon…
Alan and Aureai felt sort of sorry for the boy having never had a dæmon, a companion to share all your experiences with, so they didn’t bring it up much after the initial questions they felt unable to refrain themselves from asking. There was an awkward moment however when he absently stroked Aureai – in cat form – while she lay on the bed. Alan didn’t like to tell him how big of a taboo he had broken, so from then on Aureai simply stayed just out of reach so as to avoid any further embarrassments.
V
The raven Aureai skipped along a brick wall beside the road. Alan and Elliot walked a few paces behind her, comfortable in their silence. Over the time that Elliot had been staying with them, he and Alan had developed quite a good friendship. Although Elliot still found it a little strange to converse with Aureai, so he often looked at Alan when talking to her. She would usually have found this quite rude, but she also understood how strange it would seem to someone who had never encountered anything like this before, so she forgave him that.
Alan’s mother had asked him to go and pick up a few things from the market, and since Elliot now had the strength to leave his bed, he was eager to accompany them and get his first proper look at the world he now found himself a part of.
He noted that much of it seemed to be just like an old fashioned version of his own world – cars replaced by horse drawn coaches, aeroplanes replaced by hot air balloons and blimps, and yet everything still had something about it that looked so foreign to him, such as the buildings – everything seemed much bigger than he was used to and most buildings were built in an almost gothic style, but still uniquely different. They passed a huge college campus on their way and he marvelled at the sheer size and magnificence of the buildings, bemusing Alan and Aureai who saw nothing special about it.
‘Alan, look over there.’ Aureai pointed her beak towards a crowd of people across the market square.
‘What am I looking at?’ he asked.
‘Do you see that man dressed in black? He’s been following us for a while.’
‘Following us! Are you sure?’
‘Yes!’ she replied, hurt that he wouldn’t automatically trust her.
‘Where?’
‘Just there, standing by the wall by the fruit stand.’
‘Oh yeah I see him.’
The man was dressed in a loosely fitting black shirt and trousers and was leaning with his back against the wall to a nearby shop. His hair was as black as his clothing and it shone in the early afternoon sun. As Alan looked at him, he glanced up and realised he was being watched. For a moment the two of them just stared at each other, then he slowly moved away and slipped into the crowd of bustling shoppers, out of sight.
‘He’s gone now,’ said Alan.
‘Well he’s been following us for about twenty minutes, ever since we passed the college.’
‘Why?’
‘How should I know?’ replied the bird, ruffling her feathers irritably.
Alan looked over at Elliot who was sitting by the fountain in the middle of the square, looking into the water at all the coins people had thrown in when wishing for good fortune. He had a strange feeling that the man may have been following him rather than Aureai and himself.
‘Maybe we should go now; I’ve got everything we need.’
‘Good idea.’ Aureai nodded.
Alan called Elliot over to them and they began to make their way back through the ever increasing crowds. The market square was very large and it accommodated hundreds of stalls, and as such it was always very busy, but Alan had never seen it this busy. As they pushed their way through the oceans of people – all of whom seemed to be very rude and too interested in their own lives to even apologise for knocking into them – Aureai began pecking furiously at Alan’s ear.
‘Ow! What is it!?’
‘He’s following us again!’
‘Where?’ he asked, trying to see through the crowd.
‘Behind us, about ten people or so back.’
Alan turned and tried to make him out, but he was knocked this way and that by people as they pushed past him and he couldn’t see him anywhere.
‘Where? I can’t see him.’
‘I don’t know, I’ve lost him as well now,’ she replied worriedly.
‘Come on let’s just get out of this crowd. Hey! Where’s Elliot?’
They looked around but could see no sign of him either. Alan swore to himself and tried to move back the way they had come, but to no avail.
‘Fly up overhead and see if you can see him…either of them.’
Aureai jumped off his shoulder and flew above the crowd of people, searching for any sign of them. After a moment or two she called down to him.
‘Over here!’ She began diving down towards someone in the crowd and Alan pushed his way through to get there too.
‘Sorry I got lost,’ said Elliot when Alan managed to finally get to him.
‘It’s alright,’ he replied, ‘come on, let’s just get home.’ He looked around nervously but could see no signs of the suspicious man.
They pushed on, trying to head in the right direction by joining a flow of people heading towards the meat stalls.
‘Ah!’ Elliot cried out as he tripped over his laces and fell hard to the ground. Alan grabbed him as the crowd continued on around and over him, knocking him down again as he tried to stand.
‘Oh this is ridiculous,’ said Alan, ‘come on, in here.’ He pulled Elliot – stumbling as he tried to get to his feet – into a nearby alleyway, leading to the back of the shops. ‘Are you okay?’ He asked once they were out of harms way.
‘Yeah, I just grazed my hands on the ground.’
As they were standing there trying to decide whether to try and get back into the crowd or go through the back alleys, something stirred in the shadows near them.
‘What’s that?’ asked Elliot.
They strained to get a better look, and as the sunlight filtered through a wooden beam above their heads, they could just make out the dark silhouette of a man.
‘Who’s there?’ asked Alan, although he already had a fair idea who it might be.
The man stepped out into the light and drifted his gaze over them. Looking at him close up it was obvious that he was of Latin descent – his skin was tanned and slightly oily, which made his face shine in the sunlight and he had a thick layer of dark stubble across his cheeks and chin, giving him a rugged look. When he eventually spoke, their suspicions were confirmed, as he spoke with a strong Portuguese accent.
‘I have been looking for you for a while.’
Aureai fluttered down and turned herself into a black panther, bearing her teeth and staring menacingly at the stranger.
‘Why have you been following us?’ asked Alan.
‘I have not been following you,’ the man replied. ‘He is the one I seek.’ He pointed slowly at Elliot.
The boy nervously looked at Alan and moved behind the impressive form of Aureai.
‘Why?’ asked Aureai. ‘Who are you?’
‘My name is Jóse. I was…sent to find you.’
‘Why? By who?’ asked Elliot, finding his voice.
The man smiled arrogantly at the boy, his thick eyebrows raising slightly at the question.
‘My…employer…is under the impression that you are currently in possession of something that belongs to him. I think you know what I mean.’
Alan looked at his friend as he slowly withdrew the strange object from his pocket. He had never mentioned to him that he had ever seen it, but he had badly wanted to on many occasions.
The man’s eyes lit up as he saw it and he took a step forward, but stopped when Aureai snarled at him. He eyed the dæmon with a mixture of revulsion and anger, but made no further attempts to move closer.
‘I will be taking it now and will be on my way,’ said Jóse.
‘Why?’ asked Elliot. ‘What is it?’
The man sighed and looked away, painfully irritated by the boy’s ignorance.
‘That,’ he said stingingly, ‘is The Providence Mirror. It belongs to my employer and he wishes greatly to have it returned to him.’
Elliot made no attempt to hand it over though and instead stood staring at it as the mist inside swirled around hypnotically.
‘I have no time for this,’ said the man angrily and reached forward to take it from his palm. As he touched it though a blinding flash of light filled the alley and he was sent flying backwards as a jolt of pain shot through his entire body.
Elliot cried out and dropped the Mirror, which clattered to the floor. He held his hand out; it was badly scalded and a red circle adorned his palm where the metal had burned his flesh.
The man shouted angrily and got to his feet. Aureai stepped in between him and the boys and he glared at the dæmon with a fierceness that burned with nearly as much strength as the Mirror. He cradled his injured arm and stared at the Mirror lying not feet away from him, but behind the menacing panther. Then, to their astonishment, he disappeared in a flash of black light, not before leaving them with a few choice parting words.
‘What the…’ Alan stared at the empty space where the man had stood just seconds before and shook his head. ‘Let’s just get out of here,’ he said.
Elliot picked up the Mirror and placed in back in his pocket, being careful to avoid burning himself again. Then, with one last look to make sure that the man had actually gone, they pushed their way back out into the crowd.
VI
Alan shut his bedroom door and sat down opposite Elliot, Aureai – a rabbit now - hopped up onto the far end of the bed and curled up in the sheets.
‘What on earth was all that about?’ asked Alan, talking more to himself than anyone else.
Elliot slowly took The Providence Mirror out of his pocket and placed it gently on the bed. The swirling mist behind the glass was changing colour and trying to draw him in, but he looked away.
‘Where did you get that thing?’ asked Alan.
‘I found it a couple of weeks ago on the beach. It was half buried in the sand and I only just saw it as I was walking past.’
‘Do you have any idea what it does?’ asked Aureai.
‘I don’t know,’ he replied honestly. ‘When I found it I looked at it for a while and after a few minutes I started to see pictures just behind the mist, but then it heated up and I had to drop it, and they disappeared.’
Alan nodded, not wanting to admit that he had actually seen something in it before, as he didn’t want Elliot to know that he had looked in his pockets.
‘I’d like to know who that man was though and why he wanted it,’ said Elliot.
‘And how he just disappeared like that,’ added Alan.
Elliot nodded his agreement.
‘You could try looking into it now,’ said Aureai, ‘see if you can see anything…’
Elliot looked at Alan, but he could think of no reason not to at least try, so he picked the Mirror up off the bed and held it gently in his hand. He stared into the mist, waiting for it to begin to take shape, but nothing happened.
‘Let me try,’ said Alan. He stood there staring into it for several minutes, but again nothing happened.
Exasperated, Alan dropped it back down onto the bed, where it bounced slightly before coming to rest near the edge.
‘Why doesn’t it work now?’ He sighed, slumping down into his chair.
‘I don’t know,’ replied Elliot, ‘but it didn’t even heat up this time, it was cold all the time. I think maybe it heats up when it is working.’
‘Yeah maybe, but that doesn’t explain why it’s not working anymore…’
Elliot shrugged and put it back in his pocket. ‘Maybe it only works at certain times.’
VII
Elliot was standing on the edge of a cliff, looking out over the stormy sea smashing against the rock below, spraying everything with white foam. Despite the storm in front of him, there was no wind atop the cliff and the sun was shining brightly, pouring down on him, making him feel a little too hot for comfort. He wiped the sweat from his brow and flicked it down into the water some fifty feet or so below.
A majestic looking dog with a silky, black coat approached and sat down beside him. It too looked out over the stormy sea, a distant look in its eyes.
‘Are you ready to see?’ it asked.
‘Yes,’ he replied quietly.
Immediately the air was filled with a chill which made Elliot shiver. The clouds rolled over the sky and blocked out the sun, making everything darker and colder. The black waves crashed harder into the cliff, as if taking out an eternity of frustration by throwing themselves at the rock. Miles off in the distance he saw the tiny shape of a ship being tossed this way and that by the ever increasing ferocity of the storm. Off to the side he saw the beginnings of a huge wave starting to make its way towards the ship. The ship continued to flounder helplessly as the wave grew in size and speed and raced towards it. It was closing in now, already twice the size of the ship and ready to rip the wooden structure to pieces with nothing the men on board could do to stop it.
The dog transformed into the shadowy shape of a human and Elliot found himself turning to face it. He watched as the shadows began to take form and a boy appeared before him.
‘Tell me, said Alan, ‘do you believe in fate?’
Elliot woke with a start and opened his eyes. Something wasn’t right; someone was in the room with him! He looked around frantically, only half awake and terrified as his confusion mixed with his initial fear. As his eyes began to adjust to the darkness and he shook off his slumber, he saw movement in the shadows beside the bed. He didn’t dare move, so instead just watched as they moved back and forth between the chair and the bed. Then they moved over to the window and opened the curtains just enough to allow a narrow stream of moonlight to shine in. Elliot was horrified to see that it was the same man from the previous day, and he turned and stared at the boy as he lay motionless in his bed.
The man stepped silently over to the chair where Elliot had placed his clothes…where the Mirror was still in his pocket.
‘Hey!’ said Elliot, finally finding the will power to break his paralysis.
The man spun round and glared at him, his eyes burning with an intensity made even more potent by the gleam of the moonlight. Then he disappeared just as he had before.
Elliot sat there staring into the empty room, expecting him to return at any second in the shadows of another corner, but he didn’t.
VIII
Over the next few days they saw nothing of the man and Elliot began to wonder if he had really seen him in his room or if it had just been a dream. They mostly stayed in the house – out of sight of Alan’s parents, who still weren’t comfortable around Elliot – and rarely ventured outdoors. But after a few days they had had enough of being cooped up and decided to take a walk.
They had no wish to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the city again, so instead they headed in the opposite direction towards the outskirts of the city where there was more countryside.
They walked for an hour or so, mostly in silence – neither of them really knew what to say, as they were equally as mystified as each other by recent goings on. They walked across a field, making their way through the frosty and brittle corn all around them, until they came to a small brook. It ran along the side of the field and was iced over in places, but not enough to stop it flowing. They sat down on the muddy bank and threw sticks and stones into the water, trying to break the small sheets of ice.
‘You know I don’t think I ever said a proper thank you for saving me,’ said Elliot as he threw a large stone into the water.
‘It’s okay,’ replied Alan, smiling and turning a pale shade of red.
Elliot nodded slightly and picked up another stone to throw.
Aureai – who had decided to become a small goldfish and swim around in the brook – jumped up out of the water, before returning to it with a splash.
Elliot smiled. ‘Well she’s enjoying herself then.’
Alan turned to look at his friend. He still hadn’t quite grasped the connection between a person and their dæmon – that they were in essence one and the same; he still thought of them as more of a pet. He nodded and walked over to the waters edge.
A few moments later Aureai jumped out again and he caught her as she promptly turned back into her usual raven form. He gently stroked her feathers and stared at his reflection in the water. Suddenly he saw the blurred shape of a man appear behind him. He whirled round to see who it was.
The man known as Jóse was stood behind Elliot, who was completely oblivious to his presence. When he saw Alan staring over him though he turned to see what it was.
‘You again!’ he said, standing up to face the man.
‘Indeed,’ the man replied.
Then several other men, all dressed almost identically to him, appeared all around them, until they were surrounded.
Alan and Elliot looked around for a possible means of escape, but there was none.
‘You know what it is I want,’ said the man, completely ignoring the hissing panther now standing in front of him. ‘You can do the intelligent thing and hand it over…or we can take it, it’s up to you.’
Elliot stared at the man angrily. He didn’t want to give them the Mirror, but they were outnumbered and he saw no other realistic alternative. Begrudgingly he slowly moved his hand to his pocket to retrieve the Mirror.
Then a sudden flash of blinding white light lit the air and Alan and Elliot found themselves falling. They could see nothing but white and had no idea where they were or what they were falling towards, but they couldn’t move to try and get a better look around them. A few moments later their feet hit solid ground and the light gradually began to fade away.
They looked around at the strange surroundings now all around them, trying to work out what had happened. They were standing in a vast field of dead, yellow grass, stretching as far as the eye could see towards a range of mountains far off in the distance. Some way off to their right was a long road and the sun was beating down on it, making it steam slightly. There was nothing else in sight; the field was totally empty…except…
The ghostly white figure of a woman appeared before them. She wore no clothes, but to look at her it would have seemed strange if she had worn any, there was something about her pure, natural innocence that made them almost overlook her nakedness.
‘Elliot…Alan…Aureai.’ She acknowledged each of them with a warm smile. ‘You must have many questions. Come. I shall explain all I can.’
IX
The woman led them on in silence, across the field and towards the mountains. They walked for almost an hour, all the way they were desperate to ask her what on earth was going on, but they were intimidated by their surroundings and her appearance and so just waited until she was ready.
Eventually she stopped, just at the base of the mountain, and turned to face them. She stared at them silently for a moment, then another woman materialised beside her, just as white and ghostly as she was.
‘Thank you Alahesr,’ said the second woman.
The first woman bowed and disappeared into thin air, leaving the remaining woman staring at the boys. She smiled at them and moved closer.
‘I’m sure you must be very confused by now.’
They nodded.
‘Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Xaphania.’
‘What are you though?’ asked Alan, still unable to come to terms with the luminescence of her being.
‘I am an angel. One of many.’
They looked at her incredulously, but from her appearance there seemed to be no other explanation.
‘What’s going on at the moment?’ asked Alan.
The angel smiled at them.
‘You have The Providence Mirror?’ she asked.
Elliot nodded and took it out of his pocket.
‘Ah, it has been such a long time since I have laid eyes on it.’
‘What is it exactly?’ asked Aureai. ‘And why has that man been trying to steal it?’
Xaphania looked into the swirling mist for a brief second then turned to face them once again.
‘The Providence Mirror was brought into being many years before I was, some say it has existed since the dawn of time, others believe it was created shortly after that. It has long been sought by angels and men alike, but few actually know how it works.’ She paused, leaving them hanging, desperate for her to explain further. After what seemed like an eternity she continued. ‘The Providence Mirror can show whom ever holds it…any time and any place in all existing worlds. It can show you past, present and future. The man who has been stalking you is not a man at all, he is an angel also…a fallen angel, banished from the true kingdom many centuries ago, he now serves those who we aim to defeat.’
Elliot cradled the Mirror gently in his hand and listened as Xaphania went on.
‘A war is under way in the worlds of men and angels. I will not attempt to explain to you what has caused the war, for it would take far too long and it is not really important, all that matters is that The Providence Mirror would prove a decisive advantage to whom ever holds it. Imagine a devise that would allow you to see and hear any point in space; you see why it would be so valuable in current circumstances…if you know how it works.’
‘And he wanted it to use against you then?’ asked Elliot.
‘Yes.’
‘And you…’
‘That is correct. We also wish to have possession of the Mirror and I am to ask you now if you are willing to allow us it?’
Elliot looked between the Mirror in his hand and the angel standing expectantly in front of him.
‘I don’t know. I need to think about it,’ he said.
‘Of course, we will not try to take it from you against your wishes, but I must stress that time is a factor and a swift decision would be appreciated.’
Elliot was about to speak again, but Xaphania cut him off.
‘Come. You will need somewhere to rest.’
X
Elliot stood up. Alan and Aureai were deep in slumber, but he couldn’t sleep.
Xaphania had taken them around to the side of the mountain where they found a small cave to keep them sheltered from the cold night. He stepped out of it and began to walk alongside the vast expanse of rock, reaching up into the clouds. After a while he stopped and sat down, resting his back against a large tree. He took out the Mirror and looked at it, watching as the mist beyond the glass danced elegantly with the shadows all around.
Suddenly he began to feel the metal grow hot. He held it carefully up to the pale moonlight, trying to get a better look at it. As the intensity of the heat grew, the mist began to disperse and reveal the images hidden beneath.
He was standing at the base of the mountain, Alan and Aureai beside him. In front of them Xaphania was engaged in a battle with many of the dark angels – Jóse leading the assault. Suddenly an explosion rocked the air and Elliot was thrown backwards, landing heavily against the rock. Then one of them broke free of the crowd and ran towards him, a blade in his hand, glinting in the sunlight. It all happened so fast – he plunged the knife towards Elliot who was too dizzy and hurt from his fall to move. The knife came rushing towards his chest and he watched the images with horror as he saw Alan throw himself in the line of the blade and fall to the ground, clutching his neck, blood staining the ground underfoot.
A hand touched his shoulder and the images faded away. He turned and saw Xaphania beside him.
‘The Mirror is so badly sought after,’ she said softly, ‘but only a few understand how it works.’
‘How…how does it work? Sometimes I see things and sometimes I don’t…’
‘You cannot use the Mirror to see whatever you want, that is something that they seem to be unaware of. It only shows you what you need to see, when you need to see it.’
‘Is it…always right? I mean is what is shows definitely going to happen?’
The angel smiled and looked deep into his eyes.
‘Do you believe in fate?’
‘I…I don’t know,’ he replied.
‘Then I cannot answer you. You must make your own mind up I’m afraid.’
With that she left him.
He sat there in the darkness for many hours, trying to put what he had seen out of his mind, but unable to think of anything else.
XI
Elliot spent much of the next day considering what Xaphania had said to him the previous night. Did he believe in fate? That sounded familiar, but he couldn’t remember anyone asking it before. He hated the idea that anything was in control of his life, that every decision he ever made was scripted and inevitable. But how far does mere coincidence stretch? Was it just luck that he was the one who found the Mirror? Was it sheer chance that he somehow managed to find himself in another world, when he should have drowned? He so desperately wished he had the answers to these questions, but he knew that he would never really know for sure.
The early morning sun was rising beyond the distant horizon when Alan came to speak to him.
‘Are you okay? You’ve been spending a lot of time just sitting out here.’
‘I’m fine, I’ve just…got a lot to think about.’
‘The Mirror?’
‘Yeah.’
Alan sat down beside him and put his hand on his shoulder.
‘I know it must be difficult to decide what to do, but I think you should give Xaphania the Mirror.’
‘Why?’
‘Well what use do you have for it? Even if you did know how to use it, it wouldn’t really be important to you. I’ve spoken to her quite a bit recently and she’s told me all about the war and why they are fighting, and if you gave it to them then they could use it for good.’
Elliot looked at the ground, totally unsure of what to do.
‘Good and bad are just words,’ said a voice behind them.
They turned and saw Jóse standing a few feet away, a tired expression on his face.
‘What?’
‘Who is to say they would use it for good? Good is nothing more than an illusion of grandeur created to defend one’s actions. Do you really think that they are any better than us? At least when I tried to take the Mirror from you I did it honestly.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Where is your friend’s dæmon?’ he asked, an arrogant smile crossing his face.
Elliot turned to Alan, he hadn’t realised before that there was no dæmon with him, but now that it had been pointed out he was shocked that he had overlooked it.
‘What’s going on?’
Alan lowered his head and began to disappear, revealing Xaphania in his place.
‘What! What are you doing?’ asked Elliot angrily.
‘She was trying to trick you into giving her the Mirror,’ said Jóse.
Elliot stared angrily at the angel, who looked ashamed but still defiant.
‘I am sorry Elliot, but we need the Mirror.’
Behind them, Jóse laughed.
‘You see, they are no different from us, so who is to say who would use it for good or not.’
Suddenly the other angels who had tried to take the Mirror days ago at the brook appeared beside Jóse.
‘But like Xaphania has no doubt told you, time is a factor, so we will be taking the Mirror now!’
They advanced towards him, but Xaphania stepped in front of them, blocking their path.
‘I will not allow you to take it.’
‘So be it,’ said Jóse. Then he and the others ran at Xaphania.
The air filled with flashes of white and black as the angels fought. It was obvious from the off that Xaphania would not have the strength to hold them at bay for long, and Elliot stepped back, away from the fight.
‘What’s happening?’ Alan, awoken by the noise, ran over to Elliot, Aureai pounding after him.
‘They’re fighting. They both want the Mirror.’
The Mirror! Suddenly he remembered what he had seen - the fight between the angels, he and Alan standing off to one side, watching. Before he had time to think, the ground rocked with a huge explosion and he was thrown off his feet. He landed with a sickening crack against the rock at the base of the mountain, smashing his head against the hard stone. He tried to get up but his head was spinning and his eyesight was blurred. His thoughts raced back to what had happened next in the Mirror – Alan had thrown himself in front of the knife meant for him. He desperately tried to shake himself to his senses, but his head was so painful and he could feel the blood trickling down his face. He heard shouts nearby and someone cry out. He tried to see what was going on, but it was like trying to see through a rainstorm, it was all too blurred. He fought with himself to get to his feet, remembering what Xaphania had said to him – “you will have to make your own mind up”. Well he had. He didn’t believe in fate. He was the master of his own life and he wasn’t going to let anyone or anything else control it.
Unfortunately though, the pain was just too much for him to bear, no matter how hard he tried to force himself through it. All he could make out before he blacked out was the glint of a blade, shining in the sunlight, moving swiftly towards him.
XII
Elliot came round to a splitting headache, made worse by the bright sunlight shining down from above. He took a moment to shake off the dizziness then he remembered what had happened.
He looked around frantically. There was no sign of any of the angels anywhere, but laying just a few feet away was Alan. He wasn’t moving.
Elliot crouched down beside him and turned him over. His neck was red with blood, as was the golden grass beneath him. There was no sign of Aureai anywhere.
He didn’t know what to do. He just kneeled there staring at his friend for hours – at the blood drying on his neck, at the paleness of his skin, at the distant look in his eyes. He realised now how Alan must have felt when he had first seen him. Now that he was used to seeing people with dæmons, he looked strange without one, as if there was a part of him missing.
Eventually, when the sun was beginning to descend beyond the horizon, he stood up and moved away. He went and sat against the tree he had spent many hours beside - contemplating what was going on in his life nowadays. He took the Mirror out of his pocket and placed it on the palm of his hand. He didn’t know much about the war Xaphania had told them about, nor about why this small object could possibly be worth so much, but if he was honest with himself, he didn’t really care anymore. Alan was dead. He was alone here in this strange world with no-one.
He didn’t even really notice when the metal of the Mirror began to once again heat up, and it was a while before he realised he was watching the images inside it.
He saw himself sitting beside the tree, just as he was now. Then the images changed, like a bird flying high above, he saw the vast field laid out below him. It soared by for miles and miles until they came to rest on a tall cliff overlooking a stormy sea. It moved closer and he saw himself standing on the edge of the cliff, Mirror in hand, looking out over the dark waves. Then he fell, down to the rocks and sea below.
He pulled himself away from the mirror and looked around at the darkening sky.
XIII
He travelled all through the night. Following the path the Mirror had set out for him, towards the sea. He barely noticed how much time went by as he walked – it could have been hours, it could have been minutes, but eventually he found himself looking out over the dark sea.
He made his way to the base of the cliff and slowly began his ascent up the steep path. The cold wind sent a chill down his spine and whipped his hair this way and that.
When he reached the top he slowly walked over to the edge and stared out, watching the waves build up and crash into the rock below. Off in the distance he saw a ship struggling against the storm, trying desperately to keep itself afloat.
He clutched the Mirror tightly in his hand. The metal was no longer warm, it was as cold as ice and almost painful to hold, but he ignored it. His mind flashed back to the events of the past few weeks – being chased by the ghosts, swimming out to sea, waking up in a strange world with no idea of how he got there, the man Jóse, Xaphania…Alan. He felt an overwhelming feeling of sadness and guilt when he thought of Alan sacrificing himself to save him. If only he had been able to do something, if only he had recognised what was about to happen before it was too late to act. But the Mirror had shown him what was going to happen, there was nothing he could have done to stop it.
A tear trickled down his face and dropped down into the harsh sea below. Was he really not in control of his own life? Was the future inevitable, with nothing he could do to change it?
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the cold sea air.
The question he had to answer…was did he believe in fate
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![[image]](http://tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:H3O5odwnNoRNcM:http://s-tiger.photovillage.org/photosDir/2363/thumb/800-As_Good_ as_Gold,_Ferret.jpg) Mehaimon and Seph![[image]](http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll305/Spirit-Whisper/Anime%20boy/Zero.jpg) Sleep. Who needs it? *SniFF* I do. |
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