Bluestone shadows, p.16
Bluestone Shadows, page 16
“Look at the size of that buck,” Gabe marveled. “’Tis a ghostly spirit.”
The white stag vanished.
“What does that mean?” Hilly asked.
“Shit. I think I pissed it off,” Chance replied.
Several deep grunts erupted from within the cairn in front of Chance. Startled by the sound, he staggered back several steps, his blade at the ready. Hilly and Gabe stood on either side of him, holding their weapons at attention.
As if moved by unseen hands, boulders lifted away from the front of the cairn and were carefully stacked in two piles on either side of the outcropping. After several moments, a luminescent light shone through a crevice between two boulders.
“The monster is coming,” Gabe whispered in a trembling voice.
Chance placed a hand on his cousin’s shoulder. “Steady, Gabe. I think we’ll soon be in the presence of something amazing.”
The last two rocky pillars lifted away, leaving behind a widened entranceway. Chance gawked at the cavity, and the white creature emerged and slowly approached him. Six-foot tall at the shoulder and carrying a sixteen-point rack on its head, the large buck bent down until his eye was even with Chance’s face.
“It has bright blue eyes,” Gabe whispered in awe.
The animal blinked several times before it sniffed Chance’s hair and then the triskelion mark on his arm. It opened its mouth and Chance tensed but did not pull away. A long black tongue lolled out of the deer’s jaws and the stag gently licked the marking until it faded away.
Fear me not, son of the earth.
“What?” Chance asked shocked by the thought that drifted through his brain. The stag backed up and tilted its head quizzically at Chance.
I’ve been sent by Lord Yr Wyddfa to welcome his son.
Unaccustomed to mind speaks, Chance struggled to respond using his mind. “I’ve never spoken via telepathy.”
“The stag is communicating with you?” Hilly asked.
“Yeah, in my mind. I don’t know how to answer.”
“Focus, Chance. Stay calm and try.” Hilly patted his hand reassuringly.
The stag stomped its foot. The earth spirit of Mount Snowdon, Lord Yr Wyddfa, wishes to welcome you to his realm. I am your spirit guide.
Chance squeezed his eyes to remove all visual distractions. He grimaced as he focused on his response. My spirit guide?
Well done, magician. Yes, I am your spirit guide. You seek your crystal, do you not?
Chance nodded.
I will assist you on your journey.
Chance rubbed his arm. Why did you burn the triskelion into my arm?
I did not mark you. ‘Twas the only way the Lord could identify his son to me. It was his action carried through my voice that left the symbol upon your body.
Chance nodded.
“What do you think they’re discussing?” Gabe whispered as he leaned toward Hilly.
“Shh!” she responded.
The white stag disappeared.
Chance opened his eyes and smiled. “Well, that was interesting. I’ve never chatted with a spirit guide with my mind before.”
“Can you tell us what he said?” Hilly asked.
“I can tell you that his name is Hildred, and he will lead us to the crystal.”
“So, the crystal is not located on this cairn?” Alden asked.
Chance shook his head. “No, Gabe was right. It’s on Carn Menyn. The reason I was driven to come to this hill was so Hildred and I could meet. Carn Goedog possessed the gateway for Hildred to enter into this world.” He grinned at Hilly. “It was an arranged date set up by Lord Yr Wyddfa, my earth father.”
“The lord of Mount Snowdon is your earth father?” Gabe asked excitedly.
“Apparently. He seared the brand onto my arm so Hildred could identify me.”
“We have company,” Benedict warned as he pointed into the darkness toward Foel Drygarn. “They just arrived. I noticed the pulse from their teleportation.”
Alden and Benedict closed their eyes. After several moments they turned toward the others. “There are three, all Cererian,” Alden advised.
“Jake’s father is not with them?” Hilly asked.
“Unless he has transformed into a Cererian, Ryan Pierson is not among the group in the distance,” Benedict explained.
“Jake’s in trouble,” Hilly blurted. “I’ll alert him.”
“I’ve already advised Darrius of the situation,” Benedict stated.
“I’m sure you have, Benedict, but I want to ensure Jake gets that information from me.” Hilly stared into the darkness and opened her mind. Jake, be on alert for your father. The Brethren arrived, and Ryan’s not with them. I’m sure he plans to intercept you and the others. Please respond.
Hilly anxiously awaited Jake’s reply. After several moments, she turned to the others. “He hasn’t responded.”
“I reached out to Darrius,” Alden said. “Jake is battling his father.”
Chapter 19
A Dimensional Battle
Jake had sensed his father lurking on Cadair Idris long before everyone gathered at the glacial lake Llyn Cau. His father’s taunts mentally prodded him as he flew toward Wales with Kai. Closing his mind to Ryan’s insults only produced a brain splitting migraine as his father’s mental tirade slammed against his head like giant fists pounding on his skull.
Talk to me, Jake, his father insisted.
Jake refused, but his father’s powers were noticeably stronger. How much has he changed since he joined the Yfel Brethren?
Encountering his father had been inevitable. Ryan was intent on stealing the crystal of air to halt the predictions of The Cererian Prophecy and stop the worldwide peace the Yfel yearned to prevent. Killing Kai and Fen would only be a bonus.
Jake reached out to the Sentinel boulder for answers. Sacred spirit, please guide me as I face this inevitable battle with a man whose powers are unknown.
My son, what you seek is within you. The earth spirit, bound by the restrictive nature of The Cererian Prophecy, could share only that which was allowed.
Jake was not surprised by the Sentinel’s answer. Intuition and instinct were his greatest allies, and the Sentinel alluded to their value in his reply. Of course, Jake’s battle daggers, Cathal and Cadmar, were worthy companions as well.
As he joined Fen, Kai, and Darrius at the lake, Jake decided not to tell anyone about his father—not yet. Not until he confirmed Ryan was on the mountain. Why burden Fen and Kai with the added stress of being stalked by a killer.
Jake remained vigilant as he led the others up the slope. The misty rain and fog complicated matters and made the landscape more treacherous. Jake wondered if Ryan conjured the weather to delay their arrival at the Guardian boulder.
With each step, he grew more bitter toward the man.
Hilly had once described her relationship with the evil Stygian as one mind sharing two bodies. She felt he was always close, probing for information he could use against her and slipping inside her brain and befuddling her thoughts. Banishing him into an interdimensional cell had removed him from her life, but the connection remained because they were bound by blood.
Jake felt the same way about his father, a man he hadn’t seen since he was five. Ryan was a magician who betrayed his friends and family in exchange for power and the lust for magic. He had become a monster—neither man nor Cererian—but he was still Jake’s father.
Several months earlier, while attending the ritual for the crystal of fire in the Alaskan Mat-Su Valley, Jake had learned of his father’s existence from the Sentinel boulder. The news shattered Jake’s world, but despite his anguish, he knew the earth spirit had shared the information because he and his father would meet soon.
That day had come.
As Fen rested in the grassy area, Jake had seen a dimensional glimmer, a quick opening of someone flipping between dimensions. Ryan had been snooping on them by jumping between realms. Time was of the essence. “We need to move,” Jake ordered as he trudged up the trail.
Once he reached the junction of the paths, the hairs on his neck stood up. Ryan was nearby, having tracked the group like a starving predator. When Jake left to investigate, he found his father perched on the summit.
As Jake approached him, Ryan telepathically reached out, I will soon kill both of the shamans and steal the crystal of air. I will be well rewarded by the Yfel. Then he vanished into another dimension.
Seconds later, Jake returned to the group and informed Darrius of the encounter. “I will engage my father once Fen and Kai have safely reached the Guardian,” he whispered into the Cererian’s ear.
Darrius nodded.
“Over there in the clearing,” Jake said as he directed Fen and Kai to the Guardian. As the siblings opened their minds and communicated with the earth spirt, Jake turned to leave.
“Be well,” Darrius said. It was an acknowledgement typically reserved for Cererians going to war, and Jake felt humbled by Darrius’ simple words.
Jake glanced one more time at Fen and Kai before vanishing in search of his father.
Led by the heat markers left behind by Ryan, Jake moved in and out of dimensions, which spanned space and time. Each world appeared the same with distinct differences. He materialized on the summit, but the boulders glowed technicolor, illuminating various hues from deep within their rocky surfaces. Flipping into another dimension on the summit, the landscape appeared crystalized like sugar granules.
Here I am, boy! Ryan screamed into Jake’s brain.
Jake knew his father couldn’t be trusted, and even as he stood at the summit, he knew in his gut, his father had betrayed him yet again. He psychically scoured the dimensions sensing for Ryan’s whereabouts. The information he received made no sense. Ryan appeared to be everywhere and yet nowhere.
“Doppelgangers,” Jake hissed.
Fen and Kai are in danger! Jake tensed at Darrius’ urgent message.
Body doubles had led Jake on a wild-goose chase while Ryan stalked the siblings. Jake had left his friends only seconds earlier, but in dimensional travel where time stood still, Ryan could kill them and flee in the blink of an eye.
Jake flipped to the original dimension where he had left the Kemps and stood on a cliff above the Guardian boulder. He detected Fen’s fear and Kai’s fury. Stay still! he messaged to them. I won’t let him hurt you!
When Jake dropped between his father and Kai, Ryan hesitated. Before Ryan could react, Jake tackled him and pulled him into a parallel universe far away from the Guardian boulder.
They tumbled out onto the icy peak of Penygader, the prominent summit of Cadair Idris. Gales howled as snow and ice swirled around them.
“My sweet boy,” Ryan cooed as he regained his footing. “Surely, you’re aware I’ve alerted the others.”
Jake circled his father with Cathal and Cadmar gripped in his hands. He sneered and lunged forward to measure his father’s reaction.
“You’ve grown into a fine magician,” Ryan placated as he calmly walked out of striking range while holding his sword pointed toward the ground. “I understand from my Brethren friends that you’ve been marked by the Cererian Prophecy, and you carry the sacred text on your body.”
A breath caught in Jake’s throat.
Ryan smiled and continued, “Imagine my surprise and delight, that my very own son had been selected to carry the Word.” Ryan licked his lips. “Imagine how sweet and satisfying your magic must taste.”
Ryan bolted into the air.
Jake launched after him.
The two men raced toward space, fifty miles above Earth. As they flew, Ryan flipped in and out of dimensions. Jake followed, switching between realms on the heels of his father.
They soared through galaxies millions of light years away, then zipped toward the Aurora Borealis as it shimmered above the North Pole. The men flipped into a cubist dimension where the planets appeared as boxes with square moons in orbit before they switched into a realm of complete darkness, then finally returned to their original dimension.
Jake soared close to his father’s boots and thrust Cathal forward.
But Ryan halted, turned, and struck Jake in the ribs as he flew by.
Jake inspected his side. A twelve-inch gash sliced along the left side of his ribcage. Blood soaked his shirt. He growled and soared after his father.
Ryan plummeted back to Earth. “You’re too slow, my boy!” he yelled as he hurtled toward the summit.
Jake found his father waiting for him atop a steep cliff. “You run away from me like a coward,” Jake ridiculed. “Stand and fight. Or are you waiting for the Yfel to handle your battles?”
Ryan’s eyes turned onyx. He sneered and his lips pulled away into a ghoulish smile. “I’ll teach you respect,” he hissed. “You don’t talk to your father that way.”
Ryan thrust his sword forward so swiftly the movement was blurred.
Jake reacted as quickly, and the two men bounded along the cliffs locked in battle.
From below, Darrius followed the combatants with his mind. He stood on the pathway in deep meditation, fingertips pressed together.
He sensed the siblings approach and opened his eyes.
“Has Jake returned,” Fen asked.
“No,” Darrius replied.
The battle raged on.
Darrius couldn’t interfere. As Observer, he could only watch as the battle unfolded. He closed his eyes and opened his mind. Images flashed in his brain: blood trails spattered each dimension that Jake and Ryan visited as they chased each other, wounded and weakened.
“Where is he?” Fen asked as she gently touched Darrius’ hand and immediately pulled away. “Jake needs our help!”
“There is nothing we can do,” Darrius replied.
“Where is he, Darrius?” Kai asked. “I may be weak, but I can help.”
Darrius placed a hand on Kai’s arm. “The Cererian Prophecy has already dictated the outcome. Nothing we do can change it.”
“Fuck the Prophecy!” Kai yelled.
“Kai!” Fen intervened. “Darrius is our friend.”
“So is Jake. Without him, we won’t be able to find the other Guardian boulders.” Kai turned to Darrius. “Please tell me where he is so I can help fight.”
A flash of lightning illuminated the black sky, followed by a clap of thunder that shook the ground around them.
Darrius bowed his head. “The battle is over.”
“How do you know?” Fen asked.
Before Darrius could answer, a blue light flickered high above them, and Jake’s body dropped from the sky.
He slammed into the ground face first and didn’t move. Cathal and Cadmar stabbed deep into the dirt several feet away.
“Jake!” the siblings cried out together.
Jake lay on his stomach with his head turned to one side. One arm twisted unnaturally over his back while the other remained pinned under his body.
Fen and Kai knelt beside him and gently rolled him over. “Oh, the smell,” Fen gasped as she held her nose. “Like roasted meat.” Smoke smoldered from what was left of his clothes, which were charred and tattered.
Fen placed two fingers on his throat. “There’s a pulse. It’s weak, but he’s still with us.” She hovered her hands over his body and scanned for injuries. “Almost every bone is broken, and he’s lost a lot of blood. Kai…Darrius, help me heal Jake.”
Fen pulled charred clothing away from Jake’s skin and threw them to the ground. Once she removed the remains of his shirt, the full extent of his wounds became apparent. A long, gash trailed down his ribcage, exposing bone and sinew where stab marks peppered his torso.
Blood covered everything.
“Kai, check for injuries on his arms and legs,” she requested. “Remove any scraps of clothing you find.”
“Darrius, please help me,” Fen implored. “My healing energy hasn’t returned since working on Kai and the Guardian boulder.”
The Cererian didn’t move. He remained in meditation with his hands pressed together and his eyes focused on Jake’s body as he mouthed a soundless prayer.
“Darrius?” Kai asked. “Please help us. We need to save Jake.”
Jake jerked and moaned.
“Jake?” Fen swiped the blood from his eyes. “Can you hear me?”
He jerked again, this time so violently his arms and legs jumped from the ground.
A soft blue light pulsed on his chest, quickly followed by a blue strobe on his stomach, and another one along his ribs.
“What the…?” Kai said. “What’s with the lights?”
“The Word is trying to heal itself,” Darrius stated as he knelt beside Fen. He ran his hand over Jake’s skin, removing the gore and revealing the black tattoos covering his body from his neck to his upper thighs. “Jake carries the written text of the Prophecy on his body,” he said pointing to the black markings.
Cleansed of the blood smears, the markings flashed blue one at a time and in no particular pattern. Slow at first, the pulsing quickened until the tattoos flared rhythmically to Jake’s heartbeat. “Ryan’s attack has disrupted the holy Word,” Darrius said. “If we’re not able to save Jake, the world will be plunged into chaos.”
“Are you saying Jake is the Prophecy?” Fen asked.
“No. Jake is the Chronicle, the vessel for the Prophecy.”
Jake began violently shaking.
“Remove the remainder of his clothing…quickly!” Darrius ordered.
The trio removed the remains of his jeans, some portions of which had fused to his skin. Kai and Darrius tugged off his leather boots that had melted around his ankles. Once all clothing had been removed, Jake’s skin glistened raw and angry.
“Kai, invoke a gentle rain, one that carries healing droplets from the goddess Airmed,” Darrius instructed.
“Airmed?” Kai asked.
“Just do it!” Darrius barked. “We’re running out of time!”
Kai raised his hands toward the night sky, closed his eyes, and mouthed inaudible words, an invocation to the deity known as Airmed. Soon, a fine drizzle drenched them all as they huddled around Jake.
