Colin and The Rise of The House of Horwood
Page 19
Chapter Eight: Waking Dreams
In the middle of his sleep, Colin floated into that peculiar place where he had met Grandfather Thunder, the place that needed no sun. He found him sitting on the grass, holding a flower up to his nose, and staring into a drop of water on one of the petals. The old man shook his head in disappointment, placed the flower back into the earth, and greeted Colin with a warm smile.
“There’s something I need you to do,” said Grandfather as they strolled over to the lip of the cliff and looked down at the vast expanse of water before them.
“What?” asked Colin trying to ignore the pull of the tiny beach far below.
Grandfather Thunder scanned the sky one last time for any black dots; when he was satisfied, he took a large step off the cliff and into the abyss. He didn’t fall, but began to sink gently as though he was going down in an invisible elevator. Half way down the cliff he shouted back, “Let’s go, Colin, we don’t have much time!”
Taking a large breath and trusting completely, he stepped out into space. His descent was controlled: by willing it he could speed up or slow down. (Spike would go bananas when he heard about this!) Air rushed by his body until he caught up with Grandfather Thunder, who continued to fall, comfortably cross-legged, to the earth.
Everything below and around him was changing. Instead of the vast body of water, there was now a wide-open expanse of grassland, golden and heat-baked, that stretched from one horizon to the other. The strange preternatural feel of this place wasn’t just due to the absence of a sun, but they also seemed to be the only people there. They continued to fall, and now it seemed that their target was one of a small grouping of trees dotting the landscape.
“Slow down,” cautioned Grandfather Thunder. They were getting closer to the skeletal fingers of a particularly massive, leafless tree. It looked as though it had been planted upside down, its gnarled roots substituting for branches. He pointed toward the interior of the tree where there was a mass of dark, convoluted matter. It was a nest. “Our destination,” he said.
They landed and Colin was immediately struck by the enormity of the nest. It was like being in a very large boat. The only thing that provided him with some scale was the magnificent, blue, spotted egg in the center of the nest. It looked more like a space capsule than an egg, and he eyed it warily. Yet, even with the enormity of the nest, and the likely size of its owner, Colin didn’t feel a sense of danger or threat, but one of strange comfort. He wondered about that and why Grandfather Thunder had brought him here. He reached out and gently touched the egg.
“You are right to treat this egg with care. A Phoenix can be particularly possessive of its egg, considering it lays only one every thousand years,” said Grandfather Thunder in a distracted manner. He was down on his hands and knees, crawling about, looking for something.
“Do you need any help?” offered Colin backing away from the egg cautiously.
“No, I’m sure it’s here. Just watch for Nixes, but don’t worry, even if they appear, they wouldn’t dare come too close to a Phoenix nest.”
“Why are we here?” asked Colin.
“You need to give Rhea her guardian spirit. Each case is different. For Spike and Melissa, it was easy; their cultural background was my background. I knew exactly what to choose, but Rhea, now that’s a different matter… not impossible, just more difficult. Ah!” said Grandfather Thunder triumphantly, straightening up, still on his knees, holding a black shiny stone attached to a golden chain. “I knew she would have prepared it. You see Phoenix’s are very considerate, logical creatures. They know what’s needed before it’s actually required.”
“You sure we’re safe?” said Colin trying to get a closer look at the pendant. “What is it?”
Within the dark stone, a pearl of light shone.
“We’re perfectly safe ... unless we damage the egg.” Grandfather Thunder casually tossed him the necklace. “It’s a Phoenix tear. Very rare, yes indeed, very rare. It will allow Rhea’s guardian to manifest itself. Remember Colin, you have a very special friend in Rhea.”
Then suddenly, Grandfather Thunder disappeared. There was no fading, just an abrupt blinking out.
“I wouldn’t hang about too long,” said his voice from out of the ether. “The Nixes are bound to find you, sooner or later.”
Colin glanced around checking the skies, but when he went to move, he couldn’t. And he had no idea how to make himself move. This wasn’t his only worry. He had absolutely no idea how to get out of this Inbetween realm. A terrible fear gripped him, and the air around him grew thick and dark. The skin on the nape of his neck prickled with warning. He looked up. The sky had filled with dots, black dots that were quickly descending on him. In mere moments, Shadow Nixes ringed the outside of the nest. They were large and palpable, seething with the dark absence they carried, a fevered, hungry need. He had never seen so many at once, nor felt them to be so strong. Reaching down and tugging a big stick free from the nest, he waved it about his head in a pathetic attempt to defend himself. He looked down at the stick and dropped it from nerveless fingers. Somehow it had been turned into a human shinbone, with the foot still attached. A mocking chorus of laughter filled his ears, but that laughter, even though strong, was soon shredded asunder by a loud piercing screech. The darkness about him fled, the Nixes dispersing as quickly as they had come. The tree shuddered, buffeted by a hot wind that was coming from every direction at once. The shaking was so severe that it knocked him flat on his back. He stared up at the swirling air above him--orange-red flames of fire. In the midst of that fire, two huge, intense, blue eyes flashed. The intensity of the eyes was hotter and more concentrated than the flames that threatened to engulf him. He pinched himself, and felt pain. He shut his eyes and pulled himself into a fetal position, the only escape panic allowed.
He felt the comforting, soft fur of the buffalo skin he had ensconced himself in upon going to bed. But instead of feeling secure, he felt as if he were suffocating, as though it was impossible to get enough air into his lungs. The memory of the heat from the flames…and the after images of those piercing, blue eyes made him break out in a cold sweat. He threw off the blanket and sat up gulping in huge drafts of air. After a minute or so, he fell back, shivering, and pulled the buffalo robe around him.
The dream, if that’s what it was, had been so real, so tangible; it was impossible to distinguish between it and reality. He had even felt the pain of the pinch he’d given himself. Part of him was grateful to be out of the nest and away from the Nixes and the Phoenix, but another part of him wanted to stay longer, to let those piercing, bright blue eyes search through his entire being, and bring to light who he really was.
Something dug into his side. Pulling the object free, he rolled onto his back and held it up in front of him. Swinging on its golden chain, with the inner glow of some distant star, was the Phoenix tear Grandfather Thunder had given him.