The Traveller's Stone

by S J Howland

  Len and Ollie had stood watching him in silence and he looked over at them, shaking his head ruefully. ‘I don’t understand it,’ he said. ‘There’s nothing here, just like Reeve said. How could this ever have activated or sent us those messages? It’s just not possible.’

  Ollie frowned but Len turned and perched herself on the desk, legs swinging blithely. ‘You’re not looking at this right,’ she said, with certainty. ‘We all three of us saw it, so we know that it did happen. Someone or something made sure that you got that message, so the more interesting question is, who or what are they, and why did they send it to you? The ‘how’ is not really relevant.’

  Xander took a moment to consider this and then looked up at her.

  ‘You’re right,’ he said slowly.

  Len smirked at him. ‘Of course I’m right,’ she retorted. ‘I’m always right.’

  Ollie rolled his eyes.

  ‘Let’s not get carried away,’ he said wryly, ‘unless you plan to supply us with the answers as well.’ He fished in his pocket and pulled out a much-folded and grubby piece of paper. ‘We’ll add it to the list,’ he said, scrawling a couple of words beneath several crossed-out items. He looked up to see Xander and Len suppressing grins. ‘What?’ he said defensively, as he returned the paper to his pocket. ‘I just like to keep track of where we are.’

  ‘Come on,’ said Xander. ‘We’d better get out of here before we get found and thrown out.’

  ‘That would be an interesting first for us,’ agreed Len, jumping down from her perch.

  *

  Heat seared up from the stone steps as they left the Halls and the sunlight momentarily dazzled their eyes. When Xander stopped squinting, he realised that the square was no longer deserted.

  ‘Oh, great,’ muttered Len, with heavy sarcasm. ‘That’s just perfect.’

  Directly before the steps, lounging indolently on the low stone walls enclosing the fountain pool, was a small group of teenagers and in the centre of them all were Larissa Larcius-Thorne and her brother, Roran. Larissa did not spot them straight away. She was sitting with her face tipped back to catch the sun, her long blonde hair almost tumbling into the pool behind her, but one of her friends glanced over and then nudged her, whispering something in her ear. Larissa’s eyes opened and focussed on the three standing on the wide stone steps.

  ‘Just walk past and ignore them,’ said Xander. ‘Who cares what they say?’

  He led the way down the steps, his face colouring slightly as he felt Larissa watching him intently. He tried to ignore all the whispering and giggling, knowing that they were only doing it to make him feel uncomfortable. They had almost got past when Larissa’s mocking voice finally rang out.

  ‘And for his next heroic feat,’ she said, in that poisonous little drawl, ‘he’s taking the freaks out for walky-time.’

  The whole group burst out laughing, except for Roran who stood glowering at them, his face disdainful.

  ‘Just ignore them,’ said Xander, between gritted teeth. ‘Keep walking.’ Ollie marched on doggedly next to him and Len tilted her chin, putting her nose in the air.

  Larissa did not like being ignored. She stood up and called out loudly enough for the whole square to hear. ‘Half of the Council say that you’re nothing more than vandals. My father should sue you for damages for what you did.’

  Xander’s jaw dropped and, despite himself, he spun around to face her. She smirked in triumph at having got a reaction.

  ‘Damages?’ he said, in furious disbelief. ‘Your father was behind all the destruction at the hobs’ Core. He’s corrupt and evil. He may think he can slither out of responsibility but I know that it was him and his friend Gage who did it all.’

  Larissa bristled, but it was Roran who responded, stepping in front of her and looking at Xander with that familiar, arrogant stare.

  ‘Prove it, why don’t you?’ he said coolly. ‘Oh, yes – you can’t!’

  ‘Not yet, but I will,’ Xander snapped back.

  ‘Please,’ Roran said contemptuously. ‘Why don’t you just gather up your little band of losers and misfits, and go home before you embarrass yourself further.’ Larissa sniggered, quickly followed by the rest of the group.

  Xander felt Len stiffen beside him and saw a dull flush stain her cheeks before she ducked her head down to let her hair fall over her face. Anger bubbled up inside him and he blurted out, without thinking, ‘Maybe if you tried to be a bit more like your mother’s side of the family, you’d embarrass yourself less.’

  Roran’s eyes blazed and his face twisted with fury, the supercilious air dropped in a moment.

  ‘You know nothing about my family,’ he snarled.

  Larissa laid a hand on his arm, drawing him back. ‘Of course they don’t,’ she said, with a spiteful look at Xander. ‘They’re just pathetic freaks and no-one who actually matters in Haven could care less what they think.’

  She turned her back ostentatiously, with a flick of her glossy hair.

  Xander took a deep breath, anger at her and her obnoxious brother boiling up inside him. His orb started to flicker in response to his surging emotions and Ollie’s hand clamped on his arm, tugging him away.

  ‘Not worth it, mate,’ he muttered. ‘They’re just looking for you to give them an excuse to complain. Keep walking.’

  Xander let himself be pulled away and tried to concentrate on breathing slowly in and out. The rage that had triggered a response from his orb was still simmering, but he knew Ollie was right; blasting a hole in the middle of the square and dropping them all into it would not be a good idea, however satisfying the thought. They had almost made it out of the square before the first scream rang out behind them, followed by hysterical screeching and yelling. Xander swung around to see absolute chaos erupting around the fountain pool.

  All of Larissa’s group were dripping wet, some of them actually sprawling in the water, while others batted at their hair with frantic squeals. Xander’s jaw dropped in astonishment. The previously tranquil pool was now seething with many-coloured nixies, splashing water and pulling on hair and clothes indiscriminately. Their mouths were open in a disturbing approximation of grins and their sharp teeth glinted in the sunlight. For several minutes, mayhem reigned around the pool. Then, as suddenly as they had appeared, all the nixies turned and dived back under the water, with only ripples to show where they had been. The group fled away from the pool, shrieking, and a moment later the square was peaceful again, with just a few passers-by left to stand staring at the fountain pool in bemusement.

  Xander realised that his mouth was hanging open, and he shut it again quickly.

  ‘What just happened?’ he asked.

  Len shrugged, a secretive smile playing about her lips.

  ‘Just desserts, I would say,’ she said airily.

  Ollie’s snigger turned into a roar of laughter.

  ‘Did you see that?’ he choked, when he could breathe again. ‘That was awesome. There were actually three hanging off Larissa’s hair and she looked like she was going to wet herself. I may have to change my mind about nixies. It was a beautiful, beautiful thing.’

  Xander felt his own lips quirk, but he turned to eye Len thoughtfully.

  ‘What?’ she asked in her most innocent voice, which immediately made him even more sceptical.

  ‘I know you had something to do with that,’ he said finally.

  ‘Oh, please. Everyone knows that nixies aren’t trainable and besides, I was right across the square,’ Len replied, with a smirk which just confirmed Xander’s suspicions.

  ‘Fine,’ he said, calmly. ‘But at some point you’re going to have to come clean about all this. Maybe we should add it to the list?’

  Len just grinned at him, her eyes dancing, before turning to head home and, with a last look back at the quiet square, Xander followed her.

  *

  That evening there was the usual Saturday get-together at the Stantons’ house. Mrs Stanton took one look at the num
ber of people congregating in her kitchen and decreed they should all eat outside on the terrace. This turned out to be a lucky decision as shortly afterwards, Reeve appeared with Alf and another of the giants in tow, Alf beaming bashfully around as he was welcomed with great acclaim.

  Ari and Jasper handled the moving of the heavy kitchen table to join onto the one outside, while Ollie jumped in to help move chairs with great enthusiasm and alarmingly poor aim. After the events at the Pavilions, his parents had replaced his battered orb with a shiny new one and its coding flickered erratically as he attempted to control the moving furniture. He had a distinct tendency to shoot them unexpectedly skywards but managed not to blow any up, to Mrs Stanton’s evident relief. Xander himself and Len were loaded with handfuls of cutlery and stacks of plates and told to lay the table.

  Before long everything was ready, the table was covered with delicious food and everyone grabbed seats. The giants sat on the ground at the end of the table, so tall that their heads still loomed over the rest of the party, and talk and laughter rang out. Looking up and down the happy rows of faces, Xander felt that sense of warmth and belonging again. Twilight had fallen gradually, and the glowstones scattered down the table and hanging from the trees round about cast their soft light over everyone’s faces, while the warmth of the day lingered and drew out the rich scents of the flowers. The sky was a deep crystal blue and the first stars were just beginning to glimmer over the gabled roof of the old house. It was a perfect evening.

  Xander smiled as he watched Jenna poke Ollie in the side in response to some joke and then hug him, her affection clear on her face. Unexpectedly, a vivid recollection of his own mother came to him; his absent-minded, frequently distracted mother who couldn’t always be trusted to remember to eat a meal, but who never failed to poke her head around his door to check on him before she went to bed. Her soft murmur of ‘love you’ in the night was one of his earliest memories. There was a momentary lull in the conversation, and Xander suddenly knew that it was time.

  ‘I think I should go home,’ he said softly, but they all turned to look at him.

  Mrs Stanton was the first to respond, leaning forward to clasp his hand firmly in her own.

  ‘I hope you will also consider this your home, Xander,’ she said warmly, ‘but I do understand that you must miss your family.’

  Ollie pulled a face.

  ‘When will you come back?’ he demanded.

  ‘Regularly,’ put in Flint. ‘You have an orb, which is a responsibility, not a toy. As long as you are wearing it you need the same training as any other young Traveller. Of course, if you want to give it up?’ He let his voice trail off, raising an eyebrow. Xander grinned and shook his head. ‘Thought not,’ Flint said with a grimace, but his voice was amused.

  ‘You’ll stay tonight though,’ asked Ollie anxiously. ‘You’re not leaving right this minute?’

  ‘No,’ said Xander. ‘I’ll leave tomorrow.’ He wanted to savour this moment, surrounded by all the people he had grown to care about.

  At the end of the evening, as the guests were taking their leave, Ari popped up behind Xander with that familiar grin that wrinkled up her nose.

  ‘Do you want me to come to the Stone with you tomorrow?’ she asked. ‘Make sure you don’t accidentally zap yourself across the world?’

  Xander just laughed.

  ‘I think I can manage,’ he said and Ari grinned. She also pressed a piece of paper into his hand and when he glanced down at it, he saw that she had drawn the mark for a Stone she had told him about, not far from the British Museum, and a second symbol which she had labelled ‘Haven – come back soon’.

  Xander hugged her.

  ‘Thanks, Ari,’ he said, and he meant more than just the note.

  Ari seemed to understand. ‘See you soon,’ she promised, with a smile and a quick wink.

  Flint had been standing back, as ever on the edge of the group. He met Xander’s look with an unaccustomed smile tugging at his lips.

  ‘Good journey back,’ he said. ‘Do me a favour and try to stay out of trouble.’

  Xander felt a laugh break loose.

  ‘I’ve been trying to do that ever since I met you guys.’

  Flint shook his head, the wry smile widening. ‘Try harder,’ he advised.

  Xander’s last night was spent talking and laughing in the room he had shared with Ollie since his arrival in Haven, Len sprawled across the end of Ollie’s bed, until Jenna came in and insisted on them getting some sleep. After breakfast the next morning, Xander hugged everyone while Ollie made up wilder and wilder excuses why he had to stay longer. Mrs Stanton finally rounded on him in exasperation.

  ‘For Haven’s sake, Oliver,’ she said, rolling her eyes. ‘You’d think that you were never going to see him again. The sooner you let him go, the quicker he can come back.’ She turned and kissed Xander on the cheek, then enfolded him in a tight hug. Unexpectedly, Xander blinked back a faint prickling in his eyes.

  When she pulled back, she looked firmly at him.

  ‘Don’t forget, we’re family now,’ she said with her beautiful smile.

  Xander just nodded, his throat a little thick. ‘I’ll remember,’ he got out, and then stepped back. Suddenly, he knew exactly where he wanted to go. With a last look around, he leant into his orb and vanished from the kitchen, a faint glimmer of light from his wrist winking for a moment behind him.

  He reappeared an instant later, precisely where he had visualised. He was facing out towards the sea, standing on a narrow ledge with the dark entrance to a small hollow gaping open in the cliff behind him. This time, the sky was a clear, pale blue, and the sea sparkled merrily, while the white foam on the tips of the waves glistened in the sunshine. Overhead, a few seagulls circled lazily and their faint cries drifted down to where Xander stood. He took a deep breath of the rich, salty air and smiled, enjoying the peace and solitude.

  ‘Welcome back, Xander King,’ said a voice from behind him.

  Xander started so violently that he almost plunged over the edge. Wobbling slightly, he swung around to see the Tan sitting cross-legged by the cleft, his parchment face wreathed with amusement.

  ‘You made me jump,’ gasped Xander unnecessarily, and then – ‘How did you know I would be here? I only just decided myself to use this Stone.’

  ‘You are here because it is now the time for you to choose to go home,’ replied the Tan. ‘This is the place of your choice, so of course you would return here.’

  Xander stared at him blankly and then shook his head, thinking that of all the strange things he had encountered in Haven, the brownies might just be the most mysterious. The Tan continued to smile at him, as if he knew exactly what Xander was thinking and it amused him.

  ‘We did it, by the way,’ Xander blurted out. ‘We put all the clues together and found the ancient Core where the power saved Haven last time, like in your song. But you probably already know that,’ he finished lamely.

  The Tan smiled at him. ‘It brought us great joy,’ he said simply and Xander felt all of his awkwardness melting away.

  Gracefully, the Tan rose to his feet and reached up to clasp Xander’s hand in both of his small ones. ‘Good journey, Xander King,’ he said in a clear, formal voice. ‘May you always find a light for your path.’

  He vanished, and the ledge was empty once more.

  Xander cast a last look out over the sea and then turned to squeeze through the cleft in the rock face. Immediately to his left, the Stone still stood just as he had remembered, half buried in the pile of tumbled rocks. As he drew near, faint filaments of light flickered through the symbols as the Stone recognised his power as a Traveller. In the centre of the second row was the glimmering outline of the symbol the Tan had once shown him, which would take him back to the British Museum. With a last deep breath, and only a moment’s hesitation, Xander reached forward and firmly pressed his fingers to the Stone.

  *

  The symbol flared into incandescent l
ight and, for the second time in his life, Xander felt the world wrench sideways around him, exploding colours whirling behind his tightly shut eyelids. An instant later the sensation stopped and Xander felt the ground firm once more under his feet. He dropped his arm and opened his eyes.

  Hanging in front of him on the wall was an old stone tablet, cracked at the top and protected behind a thick perspex sheet. People were wandering past him, a couple of tourists standing a few feet away examining one of the other tablets. None of them seemed to have noticed that someone had just appeared out of thin air in their midst. For a moment, Xander wondered whether he had dreamt the whole thing and he would turn to see his classmates there, and his friend Will, muttering about cakes. He glanced down and saw the edge of his orb band peeking out from his jumper, the weight of it a solid reassurance on his wrist, and his lips twitched at the sight of his gleaming trainers. It had all really happened.

  Xander turned and re-traced the path he had taken, in what seemed like a lifetime ago, through the hall and into the central atrium. He paused in the middle of it, the beautifully intricate glass ceiling soaring overhead, seeing again that moment when he had first watched the Travellers walking through, their wards casting the rest of the world into dull shades of grey, muted and lifeless. He had just stood and stared as they passed by, an outsider.

  ‘I’m one now,’ he said, in wonderment and satisfaction. He blushed as a passing lady gave him a funny look, realising that he had once again spoken out loud. With a quick grin, Xander headed out of the museum and ran to catch his bus home. This time, the shadows stayed exactly where the sun had pinned them.

  *

  The hallway was silent and dark as Xander let himself in and closed the door behind him, leaning back against it for a moment. He was home again, and it looked strange to him, but he knew that was not because it had changed; he was not the same person who had fled out of here in a panic only a few weeks before. He dropped his keys in the bowl on the hall table.