Descent into Darkness (Crystal Sphere Book 1)

by Ingrid Fry

  ‘Probably a few months before he disappeared. The Prof and I were going prospecting together, and she was at his place.’

  ‘Oh,’ I said, not sure how I felt about that.

  Ashley seemed puzzled. ‘Why, what’s happened?’

  ‘We’ve only just met her, is all. She was the weird woman I mentioned to you before.’

  ‘Oh really? Well, let me tell you, she and your dad were pretty darn cosy.’

  Jason gave Ashley a ‘you need to shut up now’ look.

  ‘Your dad hadn’t known her for long though,’ he said, noting Jason’s expression. ‘I reckon it was the first relationship he’d had since your mum died, all those years ago.’

  ‘It’s okay, you two,’ I said. ‘Dad’s entitled to go out with whoever he likes. I wonder why he never mentioned her, especially—’

  Jason sat up straight and interrupted. ‘Now, talking about the Maestro, we need, I need, to get something cleared up. Something we haven’t had the opportunity to talk about.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘The thing that set you off, when you tried to—’

  ‘Yes, go on.’

  ‘When you saw me hiding, staring at the Maestro … I’d been doing it for a while.’

  ‘And that’s supposed to make me feel better, how?’

  ‘While you were in the kitchen, she was fixing her hair, looking in the mirror. She behaved in an extremely odd way, making hand signals at the mirror, mouthing words and tracing her finger over the glass as if writing. She even kissed herself, kissed the mirror. It was too weird. I wasn’t lusting after her, Maggie, I was trying to glean what the hell she was doing.’

  ‘What were the hand signals?’ Ashley asked.

  ‘They were like army hand signals—pointing to herself, hand over her eyes, I can’t remember now, a bit has happened since then. It was strange. Almost as if she was trying to communicate with someone. Anyway, that’s what I was transfixed over. Not her.’

  I felt terrible. There was absolutely no justification for what I did. A misunderstanding triggered a strong emotion, which opened the door to absolute chaos—to the Dark Force. It could happen again, at any time, and next time the outcome could be far worse.

  My neck felt bare, and I realised I wasn’t wearing my Moldavite necklace. I’d promised myself I’d never be without it again. Even so, if push came to shove, I couldn’t be one hundred percent sure it would be effective. I could still end up killing everyone I loved. I couldn’t put Jason through it. He shouldn’t have to live with such a threat, and I couldn’t live with the thought of hurting him again.

  The crushing truth hit me. I had no other option. I had to leave.

  Jason touched my hand. ‘Maggie? What’s going on in there?’

  ‘I can’t do this anymore. I can’t.’

  ‘Can’t do what?’

  ‘Can’t be with you.’

  Ashley sat up straight in his chair, his sandwich paused midair.

  ‘What the hell do you mean? Was it something I said?’

  ‘I have to leave; I can’t be with you anymore.’

  Jason leaned his elbows on the table and covered his face.

  Ashley stared at me, mouthing, ‘What the?’

  I stood and headed for the door. I walked in a haze of sadness along the corridor, having no idea as to where I was going. Fresh air. I needed to go outside. Run.

  As I headed towards the lifts, there was the unmistakable sound of Ashley’s biker boots clinking behind me. His hand gripped my shoulder. ‘Wait,’ he said, steering me into a small lounge area.

  ‘Sit, luv, we need to talk.’ He gently pushed me into a seated position on a nearby plastic couch. ‘What’s gotten into you? What’s wrong?’ His eyes searched mine for answers. ‘Why are you doing this? You love Jason, don’t you?’

  Tears streamed down my face. He fumbled around in his jacket pockets and finally pulled out a crumpled, crusty, yellowing piece of material. He proffered it to me to wipe my nose, and I laughed in spite of myself.

  Ashley scrutinised it for a second and said, ‘Hmm, maybe not. Wait here, I’ll be back.’ He returned ten seconds later with a box of tissues. I gratefully took a handful.

  My emotions overwhelmed me, and I couldn’t stop sobbing. It’d been a hell of a day. Along with my emotions I was also trying to deal with a psychic avalanche of visions and perceptions, all hammering at my mind for recognition. It was as if someone had cranked up the dial on my psychic radar to the max, and I wasn’t sure how long I could maintain my grip on reality.

  Ashley put an arm around my shoulder and held me until the warmth and comfort stemmed the tide of my emotions. He handed me another bunch of tissues. ‘Here, luv, give your nose a good blow, and I’ll block my ears.’ I dutifully blew, making my signature trumpet noise.

  He wiped something off my nose with his thumb. ‘Now, tell me, what’s going on. Please?’

  ‘It’s all my fault.’ Emotion rose again. I took a deep breath, pinched my legs hard, and continued. ‘All this bloodshed, death and destruction is because of me, and I can’t do it anymore. I can’t put Jason in constant danger, or Boo, or you, or anyone else I love. It follows me for some reason, and I won’t, I can’t bear to hurt him again. I nearly killed him. I wanted to kill Boo as well. I let it into my mind, and part of it lives in me now. It uses my anger. I have to be so careful.’

  ‘You can’t do this alone. You need us, and we need you.’

  ‘No, I won’t allow myself to hurt Jason again. I love him too much. I’ve made up my mind. I can look after myself. It’s better I go, and go fast, before anything else happens.’

  Ashley took off his leather jacket and threw it on a chair. His white T-shirt appeared worse for wear—stained with blood, streaked with dirt, and the stitching around the armbands frayed from the pressure of his biceps. He knelt in front of me and gripped my upper arms. Veins tracked across the top of his strong, tanned hands; they could’ve wrapped around my arms twice.

  ‘Listen!’ he said, squeezing my arms and giving me a shake. His voice was low and hoarse. ‘If you walk out on him now, you will kill him. You might as well go rip his heart out of his chest. For Christ’s sake, he loves you, and after everything that’s happened, he needs you. More than ever. We’re a team. We can beat this together, not alone. Hell, I need you.’

  ‘Even though I’d be the last type of girl you’d go for?’

  ‘Sorry. I knew you’d be upset. It was for Jason’s benefit.’

  ‘It’s okay, I know you love your blonde, skinny Barbies.’

  ‘To tell you the truth, I prefer a woman who’s soft, warm and gorgeous to touch—a woman like you.’

  My face flushed and I looked away. He gently pushed my chin up to meet his gaze. ‘To be honest, something happened to me in the locker. Now I can’t get you out of my head. I know it’s too late for us now, but I wish I’d never let you go. I re-bonded with you in there, through our closeness, the danger. You’re like a war buddy. Truthfully, if you left, you’d rip out my heart too.’

  ‘Oh, Ashley. I feel the same; I thought it was only me. We have bonded, haven’t we? We are war buddies.’

  ‘We are comrades in arms, and we’ll beat this thing together, or die trying. If we die, we die together.’

  ‘Like the three musketeers?’

  ‘Like the three musketeers.’

  He held his hand for a high five. ‘Together?’

  ‘Together!’ I attempted to return the high five and botched the timing. I was never any good at high fives.

  ‘Up you come.’ Ashley took me in his arms for one of his bear hugs. Resting my head on his chest, I hoped I wouldn’t regret my change of mind.

  Ashley stroked my hair. ‘I’d like to stay here and hold you, but we need to put Jason out of his misery. He’s gutted, poor bloke.’ His eyes met mine. His hair was parted off centre, and a lock of it fell across his forehead as he looked down at me.

  ‘Your hair’s getting long. You look like a pi
rate.’

  He laughed. ‘Arrgh!’

  I rubbed my neck. ‘I’m getting a stiff neck from looking up at you.’

  ‘I can fix that.’ He lifted me and stood me on a kid’s chair. ‘There you go, eye to eye.’

  ‘Much better. Now I know how Boo feels when she’s on the deck at home, and I’m on the path below. I go to the edge of the deck and let her look me straight in the eyes. She loves it.’

  ‘I love it too.’ He held me close and kissed me.

  There went the knees. Ashley felt them buckle, and he held me tight, his hands under my arms, thumbs touching my breasts.

  He groaned and pulled away. ‘I’ve got to stop this.’

  ‘Don’t let me go,’ I whispered, as I wobbled on the kiddie’s chair, head back, eyes closed, lost in the moment. My brain was finally quiet. Not a thought. Bliss.

  ‘What’s going on?’

  It was Jason behind us.

  Ashley started and let me go as he turned towards Jason. I’d developed the death wobbles on the kiddie’s chair. My outstretched arms whirled like windmills as I desperately tried to regain my balance. The chair flicked out from under me, and I went flying—destination, glass coffee table. Jason launched himself forward, trying to break my fall, and landed on top of the table.

  His plan worked. I landed on top of him. There was a loud crack, and the glass table gave way beneath us. Ashley moved in like lightening. He grabbed us both, hauling us off the table just as it exploded into a myriad of deadly glass shards. Losing his balance, he staggered backwards, and we fell in a heap on the floor on top of him.

  ‘Oomph!’ The air left Ashley’s lungs. ‘Stacks on the mill!’ he gasped, making strange noises as he tried to breath.

  ‘Crouch over,’ I said. ‘Relaxes the diaphragm. It’ll help you breathe.’

  Ashley staggered to his feet and assisted me off the floor. He extended his hand to Jason, they locked arms, and he hoisted him to a standing position. Jason immediately slammed Ashley into the wall. He pushed him again, his hands thumping into Ashley’s chest. There was a loud crack as the plaster gave way.

  Ashley held up his hands in surrender. ‘Easy, Jace.’

  Jason pushed him again. ‘Don’t you bloody easy Jace me, mate.’

  ‘Please stop it!’ I said. He ignored me.

  ‘You!’ he said, grabbing Ashley’s T-shirt at the neck and twisting it tight. ‘I can’t trust you with anything. Look at all the glass! She could’ve been killed, you idiot.’ He slammed Ashley into the wall again.

  ‘I’m sorry mate, it was an accident. Calm yourself. All’s well that ends well. And, um … didn’t I actually just save both of you from being impaled by glass and bleeding out all over the floor.’

  ‘You are an idiot.’ Jason pushed him into the wall once more before letting him go.

  Turning to me, Jason appeared distressed. He examined my arms, checking for damage. ‘Are you hurt?’

  ‘I’m fine.’

  Jason gave Ashley a death stare. ‘Every time I leave you in his care, he cocks up.’

  Ashley’s mouth twitched with a smile.

  ‘Be fair, Jason. I’d be dead if it wasn’t for him.’

  ‘Maggie, don’t leave. Tell me what’s wrong, that I can fix things.’

  ‘Didn’t you hear what she said?’ Ashley asked.

  ‘When?’

  ‘In this room, before.’

  No, I wasn’t eavesdropping. I saw you balancing her on a chair. Like an idiot.’

  ‘We were about to come and tell you,’ Ashley said.

  Jason’s face turned pale. ‘Tell me what?’

  ‘Go on, Maggie, tell him.’

  I must’ve looked perplexed, as I wasn’t exactly sure of what it was Ashley wanted me to tell Jason. The ‘kissing bit’, the ‘I can’t get you out of my head bit’, the ‘war buddy bit’ or the ‘something happened in the locker’ bit.

  ‘Tell him what?’ I asked.

  Ashley gave me a look indicating he thought I was mentally challenged.

  ‘What you told me about why you wanted to leave. All of it. Tell Jason,’ he said, staring me down.

  Jason was distraught. ‘What? Maggie, for Christ’s sake, put me out of my misery.’

  ‘Alrighty, here it is as best as I can remember.’ I took a breath. ‘I felt I couldn’t stay with you for one moment longer because at every moment, I was putting your life in danger. At every moment, I was putting Ashley in danger, Boo in danger, and everyone I loved and cared about. But especially you. I love you. You’re my life. I couldn’t, and still can’t, bear the thought of losing you, of hurting you, of killing you with my own hands. Seeing you die or suffer. The injuries and pain I’ve already caused you. I couldn’t do it anymore. To be honest, I still don’t think I can.’

  Ashley nodded for me to continue. ‘And tell him what I said.’

  I figured I was on the right track of what Ashley wanted me to say, so taking another breath, I tried to remember. ‘Ashley said, if I walk out on you now, it would be as bad as killing you.’ I paused.

  Ashley motioned with his hands. ‘Keep going.’

  ‘Ashley said I might as well go rip your heart out of your chest right now, and get it over with. He said you need me even more right now, after everything that’s happened, and we can only beat this thing if we stick together. We can’t do it alone. We are war buddies, comrades at arms, and you don’t let your mates down. We’re a team and we need each other, love each other. We have to stick together. If we die, we die together. Like the three musketeers.’

  I looked to Ashley for confirmation; he smiled and gave me the thumbs up. Jason shook his head in surprise and stared at Ashley. Turning back to me he asked, ‘So what have you decided?’

  My bottom lip began to quiver as I teared up. ‘To stay. I want to stay. If you still want me.’

  Jason pulled me into his arms. ‘Please, don’t ever put me through that again. Of course I want you. I couldn’t make it without you. I love you. Promise me you won’t leave.’

  ‘Are you sure? After everything?’

  ‘Maggie, yes! Promise. Me.’

  ‘I promise.’

  Jason breathed a sigh of relief and kissed me like a long-lost lover. I opened my eyes for a second to see Ashley grinning and giving me the okay sign.

  Closing my eyes, I surrendered to the kiss. My knees went weak. Those damn knees. I’d seriously have to get them checked.

  A pair of strong hands gripped my waist from behind.

  It was Ashley, laughing, and holding me up.[20]

  Chapter 21: The Hotel – You Can’t Measure Love

  ‘Everything that is hidden will be made clear. Every secret thing will be made known.’ — Mark 4:22

  It was late by the time we left the hospital. Ashley’s ute had accumulated two parking tickets. We climbed in and sat there.

  We’ve got nowhere to go,’ I said. ‘We can’t go home. I can’t face all the mess. I can’t.’

  ‘You’ve forgotten the plan,’ Ashley said.

  ‘What plan?’

  ‘The plan I formulated before. I anticipated this and suggested we’d spend the night in a hotel. On me, by the way.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Yep, I sold a couple of decent sized nuggets and I’m all cashed up. I remember you saying how much you liked the Hyatt, so while Jason was checking out, I booked us a room. Sound good?’

  ‘Sounds fantastic!’

  ‘A room?’ Jason asked.

  ‘Everything was booked because of an event in town. They only had one room left—the Diplomatic Suite. Luxury, but only one bedroom and bathroom. I checked, and we can get a rollaway bed for me.’

  ‘Giddy up!’ Jason said.

  ‘Now, kiddos, I want you to know we’re going to let loose. No expense spared. I’m talking spa, massage, dinner, drinks, you want it, you got it. Hell, Jace, if you want a hooker—’

  ‘Ashley!’ I said.

  ‘Just kidding. About the hooker, anyw
ay.’

  Closing my eyes, I imagined the simple bliss of a hot shower. One where no tattooed psychos got in my way.

  ‘Oh, thinking of tattoos …’ I said.

  ‘We were?’ Jason asked.

  ‘I was. Do you recall the tattoos on those two hoods? Aside from all the hideous monsters, they both had spider-like Catherine wheels.’

  ‘Yep, I remember,’ Ashley said. ‘They were three overlapping 9s with arrows at the end, like little dragon’s tails.’

  ‘You’re good,’ I said.

  ‘I know.’

  ‘What’s the significance of three overlapping nines?’

  ‘Could be three overlapping sixes,’ Jason said.

  ‘Ah, the devil! Six, six, six. That sounds more like it,’ Ashley said.

  ‘I’ve seen a design like it before,’ I said. ‘For some reason, it seems familiar to me.’

  ‘Well, you’re the psychic, come on,’ Jason said.

  Ashley started his ute and we headed off. ‘Talking about your psychic powers—you said you could read the Marlon Brando dude’s fantasy. Was it deduction on your part, or could you actually see his fantasy?’

  ‘I could see his fantasy. In fact, I’m starting to get images from nearly everyone I see. It’s doing my head in. I’m working on how to turn all this junk off.’ The only time my head was quiet recently was when you kissed me.

  Ashley looked concerned. ‘Um, so can you see my fantasies?’

  ‘Don’t go there, Maggie,’ Jason said, tapping Ashley’s head. ‘It would be wall-to-wall Barbies, and God knows what else. You’d never recover.’

  ‘You may be surprised,’ Ashley said.

  ‘I haven’t gone there, and I won’t go there.’

  ‘What about me?’ Jason said.

  ‘Oh, for God’s sake, you guys!’

  ‘What about you, Mags?’ Jason said, tickling me.

  We laughed, and I was so grateful to Ashley. It was the nicest feeling, anticipating something lovely, something luxurious after the hell we’d been through. I must’ve been smiling because Jason said, ‘It’s wonderful to see you happy again.’

  Ashley winked at me. ‘Sure is.’

  This was a moment with no death or destruction. This was a moment of joy, and I gave myself to it fully.