They were only a couple of metres above the ground now and Fayne had dropped her speed to a few miles per hour as her feet came to a slow run on the ground causing the group to cling on tightly as she lurched from side to side. Moments later she collapsed to the ground by the river.
Helena jumped off first and rushed around to Fayne’s head. She placed a hand on Fayne who groaned in pain. The groan was as loud as thunder and birds flew up from the trees in panic.
“Well you should nae have been trying to impress this lot then should you” she smiled hoping to raise Fayne’s spirits. She groaned half-heartedly.
Frankie had lowered the ladder and the group alighted. Once Clive had climbed down, Fayne rolled over onto her side making the ground groan under her weight.
Helena made her way around to examine Fayne and what she saw wasn’t good; four bloody slashes, a metre in length, ran down her underbelly. The wounds were inches deep and were quickly becoming infected. The size of the wounds meant Helena was powerless to do anything with them. She was no dragon physician; she knew she needed to get help.
The group stood behind Helena looking at Fayne's wounds. Dozens of smaller but deep gashes spread across her body where Sabula had ripped his way across her and penetrated her flesh with his claws. It was true that dragon’s skin was immensely tough but Sabula’s claws were made for such things. Their cutting effect was rivalled only by the sharpest Fenvaire blade and his claws could rip through most things like a hot knife through butter.
Aaron saw the four large gashes that Helena was more concerned with and saw how bad they looked. Blood was mixed with a green yellow discharge which seemed to be crusting around the edges of the wounds. They all knew she was in bad shape.
“Is she going to be alright?” Lily asked worriedly.
“I can’t say. Her wounds are infected. We should have stopped earlier.”
“Is she going to die?” Frankie asked unable to hold back.
“Not if I can help it” Helena said now turning to the group “I need to find some medical supplies but the only people outside of Nanantharim with access to those kind of supplies are the council or Delaius, none of whom we have any way of contacting.”
“There must be something we can do” Lily said hopefully.
Helena looked around as if lost “I’m not sure” she said gazing out into the green land around them “I need specific plants, if I can find some it may buy her some time. I can move a lot faster on my own. You five stay here, find somewhere to set up camp further into the woods, we’ll be here for the night” she told them.
“You want us to leave Fayne?”
“She’ll be fine here” Helena told them.
“What you’re leaving us here” Clive started “you can’t be serious. What if those…those things find us?”
Ben was stood next to him nodding in agreement which made Lily furious but it was Helena who spoke before Lily could let her anger loose.
“You’ll be fine here, we’ve covered a lot of ground, it will take them time to reach us. We have the advantage here.” She reassured him.
Fayne groaned again, this time louder and Helena moved to her giant head to comfort her. Clive and Ben were still complaining to the rest of them, though none were paying them much attention and when Lily shot Ben a fierce look he gave up arguing, though silencing Clive wasn’t as easy as he was still moaning on despite being told to shut up by Aaron and Frankie.
Helena looked into Fayne’s enormous eyes and could see she was in pain. “I’ll be back soon, just rest.” She told her.
Fayne lowered her head to the ground and closed her eyes. Helena turned back to the rest “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” She told them before heading off to the North.
“You can’t just leave us here” Ben shouted.
Helena turned and he’d instantly regretted saying anything. If he’d have just kept his mouth shut Clive would have probably said it, but now Helena focusing her anger on him.
“I will nae let her die!” she shouted, the power of the vampire radiating from her.
Ben went stiff with fear “right…yeah of course” he said trying to regain his manliness “we’ll err set up camp” he finished as Helena turned and sped off. Within seconds she’d disappeared.
Ben looked at Lily as if to say ‘Helena was out of line’ but Lily wasn’t having it “Someone needed to put you in your place and shut you up” she said as she moved away from the river and up the hill to find a place to camp.
“I hope Fayne’ll be ok. I think I’ll come back down and check on her once we’ve made camp. It’s so sad” Frankie said coming up next to Lily who shared in her sadness for Fayne.
The night sky glistened with stars as a large black wolf raced over the deserted moorland. All there was before him were the rounded mountains leading on to the forests surrounding Loch Lomond. As it ran, the wolf began to slow its pace as its strength seemed to be failing. The wolf’s face slowly began to change back into a human one, its long mouth receded. The wolf continued its run and shook its head frantically. The face briefly took its wolf form again but, just as before, it soon began returning to its human form. The wolf was unable to shake off the change this time and its whole body began changing, beginning with its back legs. As if unable to hold the weight of the rest of its body the wolf crashed to the ground and rolled ten yards. By the time the wolf came to a stop, its human form had returned and a man lay on the grassy hillside. The man was James.
He groaned in pain and got to his knees. His face was full of anger. His instincts forced him to return to his creator, the wolf who had turned him, however, unlike most wolves that are turned, James wasn’t returning to Balzac to join him. Balzac was there at the house when James was beaten and left for dead. Balzac had abandoned James and severed all ties to him. James was hunting Balzac, but given he was a new born wolf and he was riddled full of anger his chances of defeating Balzac were slim. He was unable to control his change and every so often he would turn back unwittingly. If this happened when he was in a fight then he would be easily defeated.
He roared in rage, screaming into the air. Still on his knees he placed his hands on the floor and leaned forward, concentrating as much as he could. After a few moments his body began expanding sending his muscles into overload. With an outrageous scream his face began protruding out and hair started springing out from his skin. It took less than half a minute for him to turn into the wolf again but he was massive, his long black hair glimmered in the night. He let out an angry growl and charged off towards the distant woods.
William was tracking James but was miles behind. However, although James had a good start, he was being slowed by his unwanted changes. William was gaining on him fast. It wasn’t hard to track James as his aggressive charge had left large footprints and damaged bushes as he’d passed, leaving an easy trail to follow.
William, in his wolf form, looked out across the expanse of hills and woods, searching ahead for a sight of James, his werewolf vision allowed him to see much further than a human, particularly at night. He stared hard into the distance and was rewarded when he caught a flicker of black crossing the side of a hill several miles ahead. As he watched it with unflinching focus, he saw that it was moving with speed, charging over the moor, unswervingly racing towards its target. William knew it had to be James. Taking his bearings to intercept him , William leapt forward and raced towards James.
chapter twenty-eight
Unlocking the Power within
Delaius had been leading Jack down the narrow passage for a few hundred yards when they came to a chamber with three passages, about a metre in, each was blocked by a rock wall.
“Now what?” Jack asked.
Delaius walked straight to the left passage. He placed his right palm in the centre of the wall. Moments later a glowing yellow light spread around the wall in thin rivers from where his hand was placed until the rivers of lines created an arched door. Delaius removed his hand and stepped back.
The light from the thin yellow lines began glowing brighter until Jack and Delaius had to cover their eyes. The light faded revealing a wooden door in the centre.
“This is madness” Jack said more to himself.
“It’s certainly different from what you’re used to” Delaius chuckled before opening the door, signalling Jack through before following him.
Jack stepped out of the doorway into a slate quarry. The rock face where they had come out was the bottom of a cliff of slate and it sealed itself shut behind them. Delaius led him up a path cut into the cliff; on reaching the top, Jack saw a cottage and he followed Delaius around to the front door.
The cottage overlooked the beautiful lakes, rivers and hills of the Lake District. The fresh and welcoming smell of spring filled the air and as Jack breathed in deeply it gave him a feeling of ease. The scenery was beautiful and, as much as Jack had enjoyed the view from Delaius’ house in Scotland, this was the better view by far. Jack realised that the cottage was in fact on top of a large hill. The boulder strewn slope ran down from the front of the house to a wooded valley with the rugged grandeur of Skafell Pike as its backdrop. Jack turned to Delaius who was rummaging under a small red gnome by the side of the sundial which stood about seven metres from the front of the house.
“Ah here we go” he said pulling out a key from under it.
He unlocked the door and they walked into a large room which occupied the entire width of the cottage. On the right was a comfortable looking living area and on the left of the door was a study area. Jack walked down a short corridor, with a bedroom to each side, and into the dining kitchen which had the utility and bathroom facilities adjacent. All the kitchen cupboards were made of oak and Jack couldn’t help but appreciate the state of this kitchen compared to the devastation in Delaius’ old one. Jack came back into the study area to where Delaius stood, looking out of the front window.
“Invest in a lot of properties?” he asked impressed.
Delaius raised an eyebrow “This…oh this is a holiday home, of sorts” he smiled. Jack didn’t know whether he was telling the truth or not but chuckled at the thought of Delaius having a holiday home.
Jack noticed Delaius looked preoccupied as he gazed out of the window. “What’s the matter” he asked.
“They should be here.” Delaius told him.
“Do you think…?” Jack began but Delaius knew what Jack was about to say and cut him off.
“No, Larcus and Kalerum could not have found them so quickly but they won’t give up and they will be pursuing them. Wurslo told me that Fayne was injured which means they might have had to stop”. Delaius paused and looked as though he was thinking to himself.
“I will send Wurslo with a message to Guinevere. She is head of the council and she will be able to find your friends with ease. They will be alright Jack, I am sure.” He added after seeing Jack’s concerned look.
“I believe you but I’m tired of being helpless, they’re all in danger because of me. If I’m truly what you say I am then show me how to get this power so I can help.”
Delaius smiled at Jack’s new found interest. He turned from the window and rummaged through his cloak. Moments later he pulled out a small blue book and sat down at the empty table next to him and flicked through the pages.
“What is it?” Jack asked wondering what Delaius was doing.
“It is a book my sister Elysia made before she died. She foresaw this day would come and so she wrote it for you, in hope that it might help you learn about the amulets. You won’t be able to read it now but, once you unlock your power, the words should make sense to you.”
He continued to flick through the pages. He stopped on a page with scribbles on it. Jack noticed the writing wasn’t English or any other language he’d ever seen and so he couldn’t read it for the life of him.
“What does it…?”
“Shush” Delaius said holding his finger up. A minute later he turned to Jack and held up the book he was reading. “This book is all the notes my sister wrote down about the amulets, which she passed onto me before…”
“Your sister was the guardian of the second wasn’t she” Jack said with sorrow. “I’m sorry Delaius.”
“Elysia knew what Redmond wanted, she knew she would lose to him and so she hid the amulet, the one you found, before she faced him.”
“Would she not have lost her power?” Jack asked.
“No, a guardian always has the power regardless of the amulet. It only takes a touch. There was someone close to her who was working for Redmond and she knew it though she did not know who. So she hid the amulet, stopping Redmond from being able to gain all three. She knew it was only a matter of time before Redmond found her and he did, he tortured her for weeks but she never gave up the location. Eventually he left her to the banshees hoping that would get her to talk but instead it killed her.” Delaius said emotionally.
“I’m sorry” Jack said again not knowing what to say.
“It says here that you need to accept the power of the amulets. You must believe in yourself for the power to be yours. Understand and control it.”
“But I don’t know how to.”
“When the amulet was first entrusted to my sister, our mother, who had been guardian before her, had made her meditate.” Jack listened intently. “She would sit there for hours. After weeks of this meditation she was at one with it. I believe that this is what you must do Jack.”
“We haven’t got weeks. They’re in danger now.”
“Like I said back in the cave; I believe you will pick it up much quicker than Elysia ever did, and if you want to find your friends and help your brother then this is what you must do. Do not think about them, do not think about time or surroundings, instead empty your mind and feel the power. The power is not in the amulets but within you. They are simply a trigger. The knowledge is already in your mind Jack, the amulets simply give you access to that knowledge and now you know this and have had contact with the amulets, you will be able to feel it. But first you must focus on it.”
“If the power is within me then how did the amulet heal me?”
The amulet has a part of the power already in you. Each of the amulets has power but the guardians already possess each of their amulets power. They are entrusted to protect the amulets only from being used as a key. It is the guardians that have given the amulets their power. Each of the guardian’s power lies within an amulet. You can gain access to your own power through the amulets but also gain the power of the fore-bearers of these amulets. All you need to do is unlock your own capabilities and absorb those which lie within each of the amulets.”
“Well if that’s the case then why would Kalerum want to unlock the chamber if he can gain the power of all three?”
“Because he can’t”
“You just said we can”
“I said you can”
“Kalerum has the blood of the guardians but you carry the blood to wield the power of all the amulets, think of yourself as a miracle” he smiled to which Jack grimaced as if Delaius was talking rubbish.
“Like I said, your power is blocked; all you need to do is to use the amulets to unblock it.”
“You make it sound easy.”
“For you Jack, possessing its power is easy. It is learning to wield it that will prove the trickiest part. But due to the current circumstances, I fear we have no choice but to do this and you must try and access your power. Come.” he said. Jack obeyed and sat where Delaius indicated on the floor in the centre of the living area. Bemused, Jack sat, legs crossed while Delaius knelt down to come level with him.
“I want you to hold the amulets” he said. “Both hands” he added after seeing Jack holding them in his left hand.
When Jack had both hands around the amulets Delaius continued. “Ok, I want you to close your eyes and feel the amulets. Not with your hands but with your body and mind. Feel their energy; allow it to course through you. Remember, their power is your power; you were d
estined to control it. The power is within you, not in the amulets. Be patient, empty your mind and feel their energy flow into you.”
Jack sat there for a good few minutes doing what Delaius had asked him but there was nothing but silence and the darkness of his closed eyelids. He became agitated. He opened his eyes and looked to Delaius who was now sat on the chair next to him reading through the small blue book.
“I can’t feel anything” he told him.
“It takes time Jack. Be patient. It is you who wanted this, so eyes closed and relax. Let your mind go blank. Once you master one, the others will only take a touch. You must overcome this Jack.”
“But I don’t understand what it’s doing.”
“What it is doing, is breaking your mental block and giving you access to your own abilities. The amulet will then be one with you, like two halves, you are drawn together. It will transfer what power it has acquired to you. The amulet is a key not a weapon. It is the guardians that are the weapons. The amulets are a source of power but first you must channel their power so that you can use it”
“And if I don’t feel anything?”
“Then my belief in you will prove false”
“That’s comforting” Jack mumbled.
Jack took a few moments to absorb what Delaius had told him and then, relaxing, slowly closed his eyes and let his mind sink into nothingness in an attempt to try and ‘feel’ the energy of the amulets.
“Empty your mind, Jack, so it can be refilled with all that the amulets possess.”
He was getting frustrated as he sat cross legged on the floor. He closed his eyes and pictured what he saw when he arrived; the beautiful landscape, the quarry at the back of the cottage. The mountains in the distance standing out like a picture book.
Jack’s thoughts fell to Lily. He knew he’d put her life in danger but how could he have known any of this was going to happen. Even so, he blamed himself and if anything was to happen to her he couldn’t live with himself. He tried to put her out of his mind and instead he concentrated on the two amulets in his hands, feeling them, every ridge and hollow, how different each felt and the weight of each.
The Amulets (An 'Amulets of Andarrin' tale) Page 22