by HR Moore
She reached down and placed the cylinder back in the box, a weight lifting as she let go. She left the meditation and woke up to find Timi pacing in front of her, deep in thought. ‘So it expelled you too?’ asked Anita, not attempting to hide the smug pang she felt.
‘Yes, and then when I tried to get back in again, it wouldn’t let me. It was like a brick wall was surrounding your mind.’
‘Interesting,’ said Anita, ‘Alexander never tried to get back into the meditation, I didn’t even know that was possible.’
‘It is if you know what you’re doing, but it’s much more difficult than jointly meditating from the beginning, as you’re essentially trying to force your way into a solo mediation, which requires an extremely deep level of concentration. Let’s try again. Now I know what to expect I should be better at defending against it.’
‘Okay,’ said Anita, ‘but you should know the second time Alexander was expelled by the cylinder, he was knocked out. It seems like the force gets stronger each time.’
‘Interesting,’ said Timi. ‘Okay, I’ll be ready.’
They re-entered the meditation and Anita crouched down to open the box, which was, she was glad to see, in the same position as she had left it. ‘Ready?’ she asked.
‘Yes, go ahead,’ said Timi, visibly steeling himself for the force that was about to come his way.
Anita placed her hand on the metal, keeping her eyes on Timi and expecting him to disappear as he had before. To her surprise, he didn’t, or not fully at least. His form was still there, but it was outside the haze surrounding her and looked as though the lower half of him was being sucked towards the back of the throne room, his arms stretched out in front of him, like his hands were desperately holding onto something that was keeping him inside.
Unlike all the other times she’d touched the cylinder, this time Anita felt the weight press down on her, but also unlike usual it got heavier and heavier, seeming to force her into the floor. The weight somehow came in from the sides too, compressing her body, the pressure on her chest making it difficult to breathe, her brain crushed under the immense burden. The edges of her vision started to blur, the air around her began to shake, like there was electricity everywhere, sparking as it came into contact with her skin. Darkness clouded her eyes, her pulse thundered in her ears until she could withstand it no longer, her body collapsing, lifeless, to the floor.
Anita woke up to see Alexander’s face immediately above her, a look of terror contorting his features. ‘Anita?’ he said, as she opened her eyes, ‘are you okay?’
‘I think so,’ she said, taking long, deep breaths, testing her limbs to see if they still functioned and blinking a few times until her eyes properly focused, wondering vaguely how Alexander had come to be here. She tried to sit up, hands rasping strangely against the rough fabric beneath her, but her head spun with such force that she slumped back to the floor, fearful she would black out again. ‘Might be best if I stay down here for a while,’ she said, smiling up at Alexander’s worried face. ‘What happened?’
‘Quite,’ said Alexander, venomously, ‘what exactly did happen, Timi, that resulted in you coming out absolutely fine and Anita lying blacked out on the floor?’
Anita hadn’t noticed Timi, who she now saw was sitting casually on one of the uncomfortable looking wooden benches. ‘Well Anita told me about the increase in force used to expel you the second time, so I knew I’d have to try something different to remain in her head. Instead of trying to fight the force of the cylinder pushing me out, I decided to anchor myself to Anita’s mind, holding on to that instead, pulling myself in.’
‘You decided you should use Anita’s own mind to try and overcome the force of the cylinder?’
‘I suppose you could put it like that,’ he said, nonchalantly, ‘it seemed likely that if anyone could overcome the power of the cylinder, it would be its host.’
‘You could have killed her,’ spat Alexander, using all of his self-control to remain at Anita’s side and not pin Timi against the wall by his throat.
‘Only a slim possibility at most,’ he said, as though he were objectively weighing the probabilities of an experiment’s likely outcomes, ‘it seemed an acceptable risk to take given the circumstances.’
This time Alexander couldn’t contain himself, standing violently and striding over to where Timi sat. ‘Anita is not a lab rat for you to play with,’ he hissed, his face inches from Timi’s.
‘What did you see?’ asked Anita, pushing herself up on her elbows, her inquisitiveness cutting through the strained atmosphere and refocusing them on the matter in hand.
‘Unfortunately, not a great deal,’ he replied. ‘I saw you looking in my direction, although it looked as though you were on the other side of some kind of protective shield. I felt the force trying to expel me, the strength of which seemed to increase as the seconds ticked by, and then you blacked out and I was expelled from your mind, so here we are. What did you experience?’
‘It was like usual, but this time I could feel the weight before letting go of the cylinder. It got stronger and stronger, feeling like it was pressing me into the floor, crushing my lungs, compressing my head, and then I blacked out.’
‘Well the head compression was probably because Timi was holding on to your mind,’ said Alexander, bitterly, now back at Anita’s side.
‘So we’re no further forward,’ said Anita, dejectedly. ‘What do you suggest we do now?’
Timi contemplated his answer. ‘I don’t know,’ he replied. ‘I’ve never seen anything like this. I’ll consult the works of the Spirit Leader who placed the cylinder in your mother’s mind. Other than that, I’d suggest solo meditation. You should see how long you can stay touching the cylinder and if anything else happens the longer you’re in there. You could also try meditating in the various rooms we have here; they’re designed to optimize the environment for different kinds of meditation, so you may find one helps.’
‘Are you researching anything similar at the moment?’ asked Alexander.
‘No,’ Timi replied, as I said, I’ve never come across anything like this before.’
‘What about those who are researching brass cylinders, or energy transfer? Can we speak to them to see if they have any ideas?’
‘No. I’m afraid we don’t share our research with those outside the Cloud Mountain. It’s a non-negotiable rule. I will however have a conversation with the monks researching those areas and let you know if there is anything that may help us.’
‘Why all the secrecy?’ asked Anita, hotly, not one to take the word ‘no’ lying down. ‘What have you got to hide?’
Much to Anita’s annoyance Timi ignored the question, instead saying, ‘you need rest Anita; it will take you a while to fully recover from our meditation. As I said, I’ll consult our records and speak to the other monks, and you let me know if you find anything through solo meditation.’
Anita was furious but knew there was no point in arguing; Timi’s mind was made up and nothing she could do or say was going to make any difference. She nodded at Alexander, shaking her head slightly to demonstrate her frustration, as if her energy wasn’t speaking loudly enough. He helped her up, Anita leaning heavily on him as they made for the exit.
‘Sleep well,’ said Timi, to their backs as they left. ‘See you tomorrow.’
They didn’t reply, both muttering ‘idiot,’ under their breath as they stepped out into the freezing night air.
Chapter 10
They stayed at the Cloud Mountain for another three days; it took that long for Anita to get back to full strength, and once she was, she wasn’t open to the idea of staying any longer. It had taken her such a long time to recover as she had completed a number of solo meditations in that time, in various different meditation rooms as Timi had suggested. However, the same results came out of all of them; nothing different than what she’d experienced before. The only difference was that she felt more tired after each session, proving what Alexan
der had said; that solo meditation took more energy than when meditating with someone else.
Timi’s research had been similarly disappointing. He had scoured through the records of all the Spirit Leaders back to the one Clarissa had meditated with, and found nothing at all of any use. There had been some reference to brass cylinder research, but all of it was now general knowledge, and certainly nothing sounding similar to the cylinder in Anita’s head. Furthermore, he’d assured them he’d talked to the monks currently researching anything that might be vaguely related, but they couldn’t think of anything that would help. In short, the visit had been a complete waste of time.
Alexander, Anita and Draeus left the mountain in the morning, leaving Anderson behind to participate in some top secret experiment the rest of them were apparently not authorized to know about. Anita assumed the Institution must have some kind of hold over Timi for Anderson to be allowed to stay. They thanked Timi for the hospitality they had received, a certain animosity still in evidence between him and Alexander; Alexander not yet willing to forgive the reckless action he had taken when in Anita’s head. Timi played the courteous host and wished them a good journey, inviting them back at any time, should they think he could provide further assistance.
They travelled at pace, making their way all the way to the bottom by the end of the day, each of them breathing a sigh of relief as they reached the mountain’s foot, by that time, the moon the only light to guide them. They picked up the kit they’d left at the trading post at the base and put their tents up far enough away that the post’s visitors would have no reason to come across them. They ate a dinner of chicken pie and salad that Draeus had bought from the trading post, washed down by a decent quantity of wine, all feeling more relaxed than they had in days, like they’d just escaped an oppressive parent. ‘Strange visit,’ said Draeus, ‘they’re definitely up to something up there. Need to find out what.’
Alexander nodded, ‘definitely something strange going on. Now we’re back down here, it feels like the energy is somehow less heightened, don’t you think?’ he asked, looking at Anita.
‘I know what you mean,’ she replied, ignoring the surprised look on Draeus’ face as he learned she too was a reader. ‘It’s less concentrated down here and not nearly as positive. You would have thought something like that was impossible to sustain.’
‘Well I just found it bloody tiring,’ said Draeus, ‘you don’t need to be a reader to know there is something weird going on.’
‘You’re right,’ said Alexander, ‘it was surprisingly tiring for somewhere where the energy is so intensely upbeat.’
‘Maybe it’s just that; the intensity,’ said Anita, pondering, ‘you’ve got to deal with so much of it, it’s tiring to have that coming at you all the time.’
‘I suppose so,’ said Alexander, ‘but then there were all those doors we weren’t allowed to go through and labs we weren’t allowed in. It’s all so unnecessarily secretive and you’d think that would breed some negativity.’
‘Well presumably all the monks must have access. And now so does Anderson,’ said Anita, a little bitterly, ‘why do you think he gets to see what they’re doing?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Draeus, ‘but I’d imagine it’s on Institution orders. Timi’s a member, so he too must answer to those further up the hierarchy.’
‘But he didn’t get involved in any of the research for the whole time we were there,’ said Anita. ‘Did he mention to you he was going to stay before this morning?’ she asked Draeus.
‘No,’ he replied, ‘I was as surprised as you were. Had no idea.’
‘What did Timi want from you on the first night?’ Alexander asked Draeus, realizing they had never been filled in on the specifics.
‘He wants regular supplies for the mountain; inordinate amounts. He wants herbs, spices, cocoa, metals, energy meters, various chemicals, loads of things he’s never asked for before. I suppose they’re for all the experiments they’re running up there.’
‘In any case that’s no doubt what he’d say if you asked,’ said Alexander. ‘So you’re going to do it?’
‘Of course,’ Draeus replied with a rueful smile, ‘I’m a trader and Timi pays good prices for me to be discrete. He pays upfront and he gets monks to take the supplies to the top of the mountain so I only have to deliver to the trading post; he’s a dream client.’
‘I don’t trust him though,’ sniped Alexander.
‘I wouldn’t trust him in anything but trade either,’ said Draeus, ‘and I don’t blame you for being especially wary given what he did inside Anita’s head.’
‘It’s like he didn’t care if she died,’ said Alexander. ‘He was careless, like testing his abilities was more important than Anita’s life, regardless that if she did die, the cylinder and its contents would be gone forever.’
‘Well I’m still here,’ said Anita, not appreciating being spoken about as though she wasn’t there. ‘But there’s no way we’re telling him if we find a way to open it.’
‘The Institution will do that for us,’ said Alexander, dryly.
‘Only if we tell them,’ said Anita, sending a wary glance in Draeus’ direction.
‘Keep me out of this,’ said Draeus. ‘I support the Institution’s aim of energy stability and as such I’m a member and I follow my orders, but when it comes down to it, I’m a trader. I make a living through buying and selling things and I’ve never been asked to do anything other than gather information and carry messages. I don’t want to know if you find out what’s in that damned cylinder; it would put me in an awkward situation. Cleo would kill me if I ever betrayed your confidence Anita, so just do me a favour and keep me out of it.’
‘Fair enough,’ said Anita, glad that Draeus had laid his cards on the table. ‘We won’t tell you if we find anything.’
‘Thank you. Now, we’re taking a different route back and I want to get to the coast before dawn so it’s going to be an early morning; time for bed.’
*****
It felt like they’d only been asleep for minutes when Draeus shook Alexander and Anita awake. They quickly packed up their kit, piled most of it into the 4x4, then climbed onto horses Draeus had somehow made appear overnight. Neither of them asked where they had come from, knowing he preferred it when they didn’t ask questions about his friends and connections. Instead, they mounted up and plodded along after Draeus, eating delicious apple flapjack that, happily, had appeared along with their steeds.
They made it to their destination, the coast, and more specifically, Sky Dock, just as the sun was coming up, golden rays piercing the reddish orange horizon. The dock currently only boasted one large trading ship, however this didn’t seem to diminish the level of activity, a swarm of people scurrying this way and that, moving crates from land to boat with startling efficiency. ‘Leave the horses here,’ said Draeus, dismounting and handing his reigns to a young boy with scruffy hair. Alexander and Anita followed suit, trailing after Draeus as he climbed the ramp from dock to ship, narrowly avoiding being flattened by one of the crates being bundled aboard, those manoeuvring the cargo seeming to have a callous disregard for the safety of all involved.
The boat, made of steel, must have been a hundred feet long. Its hull was black with round white railings and it was powered by an energy store similar to those used in cars and trains, but it needed three dumpy chimneys spread down the centre to allow steam from the engine’s cooling system to escape. A row of perfectly round portholes punctuated the side, indicating the presence of cabins below deck, and five minutes later they’d been ushered into one of them, the Captain’s cabin in the stern, where they tucked into bacon sandwiches and steaming mugs of tea, Draeus explaining in no uncertain terms what was going to happen next. ‘I’ll take you as far as Wild Flower,’ he said, ‘it’s only a few hours from here so we should be there by mid-afternoon. That’s where we will part ways and you’ll make your way back to Empire alone.’
‘Wild Flower?’ Anita
asked, she’d never heard of Wild Flower, nor was she clear why they were splitting up now.
‘Wild Flower is a tiny part of the Wild Lands that was taken over by a group of prominent and enterprising Spirits decades back. The ruling Spirit Descendant at the time was in on the deal and he founded a sort of safe haven for leading Spirits when they needed a place to escape. Over time, the most prominent Spirit families have built houses on the coast there and have formed a very lucrative business, harvesting the flowers that grow in abundance, turning them into perfume, and selling it across the world. It will provide us with a cover story for where we’ve been all this time, and it will protect Draeus if we don’t arrive back in Empire at the same time as him.’
‘Indeed, not that I’m going back to Empire for the moment,’ said Draeus, ‘I’m heading for Kingdom, putting even more distance between you two and me.’
‘I see,’ said Anita. ‘How are we to travel back to Empire then?’
‘We’ll take one of the sailing boats from Wild Flower,’ replied Alexander, ‘they’re always going backwards and forwards carrying Spirits to and from Kingdom and Empire. It’s quite a pleasant trip, but it’ll take a couple of weeks.’
‘And this ship is yours, Draeus?’ asked Anita, sinking back into a well-padded arm chair and cradling the tea in her hands.
Draeus nodded, ‘yes. I’ve got several boats that transport cargo for me, and seeing as this one was scheduled to be here anyway, it all worked out quite well. I’ll come ashore and trade a crate of alpine flowers from the Cloud Mountain when I drop you off, so there will be a legitimate reason for me to be there.’
Anita nodded, feeling a little uncomfortable that events were so out of her hands, but supposing she didn’t have much choice but to go along with it. ‘You two make yourselves at home in here,’ said Draeus, ‘I’m going to check we’re ready to leave. It would be better if you stayed down here until we get to Wild Flower,’ he posed it as a suggestion, but they all knew it was an order; Draeus easily stepping into the role of Captain aboard his ship, ‘as I said, it shouldn’t be long.’