The Door Within

by Wayne Thomas Batson

  33

  EARLY DEPARTURE

  Two days had passed since the celebration by the fountains—two days of the most powerful happiness Aidan had ever experienced. Some of the time Aidan spent with friends, old and new.

  He went to Alleble’s armory to visit Kindle and to thank him.

  “It was you, wasn’t it?” Aidan had asked, a finger pointing with amused accusation.

  “What, me?” Kindle replied. He held his hands up, feigning innocence.

  “I saw the way you looked at me when I first saw Fury in your case! You went to Naysmithe, didn’t you? You asked him to forge Son of Fury.”

  “Aye.” Kindle relented. He stared at Aidan’s breastplate. “And though I doubted it then, I see now that my course was charted by the King. For that blade served you well, m’lad.”

  “It did, Kindle,” Aidan replied. “And now it rests with Captain Valithor in Mithegard. But I thank you for all that you’ve done. And, Kindle, guess what?”

  “What’s that, Aidan, me boy?”

  “I finally know which piece of armor goes on my head!” They both laughed long and hard, and for several hours they spoke of many other glad things.

  Later Aidan went to the training yards, from place to place visiting his teachers—telling them how what they taught him was well put to use during his adventure.

  He spent time too with the knights of the Elder Guard, especially Mallik and Nock. They spoke of the Timbers of Yewland and the Blackwood and of fields where untamed unicorn roamed free. They spoke of the Blue Mountains, of tall stone keeps and the doughty folk who made them, and of the quiet moors beyond.

  But most of the time was spent with Gwenne, walking in Alleble’s gardens, wading in the streams at the foot of Pennath Ador, and reading the lore of Alleble’s Knights of the Dawn—of which Aidan now was one.

  But there was a longing within him that he could not quite identify. His heart was content, but it felt as if there was something yet unfinished. So it was not surprising to Aidan when Gwenne appeared one late afternoon at the entrance of his chamber.

  “It is time,” she said with a tear cascading down her pure white cheek. She stooped and picked up a package and brought it into the room.

  “You’ll find your clothes, the clothes you wore when you came . . . all washed and mended,” Gwenne said, handing Aidan the package. “Summon me when you’ve changed.”

  Aidan went into the room and reluctantly took off his armor. The sunlight sparkled off each piece as he laid them on the bed. He liked being a knight. He didn’t want to go back to being just plain Aidan. But as he put on his old jeans and his T-shirt, he realized that no matter what he wore, he was and always would be a servant of Alleble.

  Aidan walked over and opened the door for Gwenne to come in. She smiled, and Aidan’s stomach churned. She led him over to the arched window where they looked out upon the sun-bathed land of Alleble. There was the courtyard where he had trained to become a knight. It looked strange and empty this time of day, and Aidan’s imagination conjured ghostly images of Glimpses dueling and sparring as they no doubt would at dawn.

  Aidan’s eyes wandered out of the courtyard to the Seven Fountains and beyond The Realm’s main gate. Somewhere in the darkness was the trail that had led Aidan and Gwenne to the Grimwalk. Farther still was the dark mountain range called the Prince’s Crown where the enemy dwelt, smoldering over his losses but ever plotting new conquests. Somewhere beyond the enemy’s land lay the curling ranges of the Black Crescent where, in the caverns beneath, Falon waited. And then Mithegard was there too. Mithegard, rebuilding with stone, mortar, and hope.

  Gwenne’s hand found Aidan’s. And they stood and watched as clouds drifted slowly across the quiet sky.

  Gwenne let go and sat down. Tears streamed down her face. “I don’t want you to go,” she whispered.

  Aidan sat next to her. He didn’t want to leave either, but he knew he had to. His family was waiting. His life was waiting.

  “Gwenne,” he said, “I need to go back. My mom and dad, my friend Robby, they’ve got to know—my whole world has got to know the truth. But I’ll come back.”

  “You do not understand.” Gwenne choked out the words.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You were called here by the King,” she said. “And King Eliam rarely brings people from your home here. I know of none he’s allowed to return until . . . until you die and go to be with all who have passed into the Sacred Realm Beyond the Sun.”

  The news hit Aidan like a thunderclap, but the storm passed quickly. And somehow, Aidan did not feel alarmed. He knew that King Eliam had allowed he and Gwenne to become friends for a reason, and now Aidan knew that the King was allowing them to part for a reason.

  “Can you visit me?” he asked.

  “If the King wills it, I could visit you. But it is unlikely.”

  He did not say anything to Gwenne. He reached over and lifted her chin with his hand. Then he wiped away her tears. And for a long moment, they just stared at each other. Gwenne smiled again.

  “I brought you something,” Gwenne said as she stood and walked out of the chamber. “Since the Tempest took the one you brought with you into The Realm . . .”

  She brought Aidan a thick bundle of scrolls, tied round with silver and blue embroidery. She handed it to Aidan.

  “I’ll keep these safe,” Aidan said, and it was his turn to stifle tears.

  “Our story is in there, you know,” she explained.

  Aidan nodded.

  “You need to open to the end,” she whispered. “When you touch the final word of the final page, you will begin your journey home.”

  Aidan stood, untied the lace, and opened the scroll to the last page. But he did not touch the last word. Not yet.

  “Gwenne, I was wondering,” Aidan said. “You said you never met my Glimpse.”

  “That is true. I never met him. In fact, it was not until King Ravelle said he had a son that I knew if your Glimpse had even been yet born. Remember that time works differently in our world.”

  “Okay,” Aidan replied, squinting, deep in thought. “But that means I do have a Glimpse out there somewhere. And he looks just like me, right?”

  Gwenne smiled. “Yes and no,” she said. “Yes, your Glimpse would look just like you—though he might be older or younger. But no, your Glimpse is not out there, for a Glimpse and his twin can never meet. He has gone to your world for a time and will return to The Realm when you return to Earth.”

  Aidan frowned. If Mom and Dad saw Aelic!?

  But then Aidan had an even stranger thought. “So then, my Glimpse will be here again, after I leave?” he asked.

  “Yes, that’s true—”

  “And all the Glimpses here,” Aidan interrupted, an idea budding, “have a person just like them in my world—even you, right?”

  “Yes, but why do you—”

  Before she could finish the question, Aidan kissed her on the cheek. He stared at her with a sly grin and said, “I’ll see you soon!”

  Gwenne looked perplexed. “But, Sir Aidan—”

  Aidan held up a hand and winked at Gwenne. Then, he placed his hand upon the final word of the final page of the scroll and left Alleble, never to return until his life’s end.

  PASSAGE

  Aidan had once again passed beyond The Door Within, and as before, his senses were changing, transforming. He felt that peculiar movement from within, and walked again the gray road. There were voices and visions. There appeared an image of a dark army marching forth from a black castle. They carried torches that blazed violently in the wind. The torchlight became the candlelight of a large chandelier in a grand room of some kind. There in the room was a great assembly of Glimpses. Some had red eyes and some green. Before the image flickered away, it seemed to focus on a young Glimpse who was somehow familiar to Aidan. The young male Glimpse’s pale skin hid his exact identity, but he had to be someone. . . . The vision faded, and a new one replaced it
. There was a young girl on a lonely tower that reached high above the clouds. But soon this image dissolved into yet another, and another after that. Aidan could not follow them, they came so fast, but suddenly, they stopped, and everything went black.

  The visions and voices had disappeared. Aidan felt his senses returning to normal, and his thoughts began to organize. It was then that he realized he knew the young Glimpse he had envisioned in the elegant room. That young Glimpse was a Glimpse of Robby . . . and his eyes had been . . . red!

  34

  EYES THAT SEE

  Aidan did not know if he had been asleep or unconscious, but he became aware that he was back in his bedroom in Colorado Springs. It must have been after sundown because it was almost totally dark. But after crawling blindly through moonrascal tunnels and feeling his way down through the blackness of Falon’s Stair, the dark in his room was nothing. He shook the disorientation from his head and stood.

  But there was no illusion this time. He knew where he had been, and he knew it had not been a dream. Aidan had the new scroll from Alleble in his hands, and he had a large fresh scar on his right forearm.

  Aidan gripped the scroll and strode out of his room. There was light from the stairs, so someone had to be up.

  But Aidan froze at the top of the stairs.

  How long have I been gone? Nearly two weeks?! he wondered. Gwenne had said that time was different, but how much different? And had Aelic been here?

  Aidan knew his parents, and he knew they would have been frantic. They probably started a nationwide manhunt for me after I was missing for a couple of days!

  He laughed nervously as he imagined his picture showing up on milk cartons all over the country. Aidan knew his parents and everyone else would no doubt demand to know where he had been and why he had been gone. This presented an unusual problem. Aidan would tell everyone the truth, but who would believe it?

  King Ravelle now followed the King of Alleble, Aidan reasoned. So then, his father would come to believe someday. But what about Mom? And Grampin, Grampin would—

  A tide of sadness rushed into Aidan’s heart as he remembered that Grampin was linked to Captain Valithor. And the Captain had died in the battle at Mithegard. How soon would everything take place? Aidan did not know.

  Standing there wondering in the dark was doing Aidan no good, so he trotted down the stairs and looked around. There weren’t any policemen or FBI agents hustling around planning a rescue. In fact, there were no noises coming from anywhere in the house. Aidan walked into the kitchen and saw the digital clock on the microwave. It was ten o’clock—so perhaps they were all asleep.

  Then, Aidan walked into the dining room, and there he found his mom. She was asleep at the table with her head resting on her arms.

  “Mom,” Aidan whispered gently. No answer. “Mom? It’s me . . .”

  Slowly, his mother’s head rose from her arms.

  She brushed aside her long dark bangs, and Aidan saw her eyes. Puffy, swollen from crying, but opening wide with recognition.

  “Aidan!” she cried, standing up abruptly and knocking her chair backward. She ran to her son and threw her arms around him. Her body shook, and Aidan could feel her warm tears on his neck. Then, suddenly, she released her embrace and held Aidan at arm’s length.

  “Aidan, where have you been?!” she demanded, hands on her hips and her eyebrows pinching. “And what happened to your arm?”

  “It’s a long story, Mom. I—”

  “Do you have any idea what you’ve put us through?!”

  “Mom, I’m sorry. Let me explain—”

  “Explain?!” she echoed. “Son, you were supposed to be home over four hours ago! How can you be four hours late and not even call?!”

  If Aidan had been in a plane, the orange oxygen masks would have dropped out of the little overhead compartments. There was definitely a loss of cabin pressure in his head!! Four hours?! But I’ve been gone for weeks . . . did time pass that much differently in Alleble?

  “Four hours, son,” his mom continued, interrupting Aidan’s puzzled thoughts. “You should have at least called.” Her tone then softened. “Aidan, we can talk about your punishment later, but we need to talk about something else.”

  Aidan knew what was coming.

  His mother took a deep breath. “Aidan, I don’t know how to tell you this, so I’ll just say it. Your grandfather had a heart attack this afternoon. Dad found him when he got home from work . . .” Her voice began to crack. “He, he’s in intensive care now. Your father is with him at the hospital.”

  “It’s okay, Mom,” Aidan said, gently putting his hand on her shoulder.

  “No, Aidan it’s not okay,” she corrected. She wiped her eyes, smearing the mascara. “The doctors say it’s very serious.”

  “I understand, Mom. But really, Grampin will be okay, ” Aidan persisted, and taking a deep breath himself, he charged ahead. “Grampin believes in Alleble. If he dies, he’ll be with the King . . . in the Sacred Realm Beyond the Sun.”

  Mom shook her head and put her hand up. “Oh, Aidan, not that story again. I know that story might make you feel better, and I suppose that’s okay, but this is real life.”

  “Mom, I’ve been there . . . to Alleble. It’s ALL real, every bit of it, and Grampin believes, so he’ll be just fine no matter what. You’ll see.”

  Aidan’s mom tried to smile, but her cheeks showed tension and her lower lip trembled. She started to speak but hugged Aidan instead. She hugged him so tight he thought a rib would crack. Again, he felt the tears on his neck. Aidan hugged back and lightly scratched his mother’s back, wishing she could understand and believe. Then it wouldn’t hurt so much.

  “Can we go up to the hospital to see Grampin?” Aidan asked as they parted.

  “We’ll go see him in the morning, son,” she said quietly. “I think you need to get some sleep.”

  Mrs. Thomas walked Aidan into his room and tucked him in. She kissed Aidan on his forehead like she used to do when he was little and then clicked off the overhead light.

  “Good night, sweetheart,” she said tenderly, sliding easily off the bed and walking to the door. She stood there, half illumined by the golden hall light. Longer than usual she stayed, just staring at Aidan warmly. She turned to leave, but paused one moment more.

  “Y’know, Aidan,” she began, an eyebrow raised, one corner of her mouth showing just a hint of a smile. “You seem different to me. I don’t know what it is exactly. Something about the way you reacted when I told you about Grampin—I don’t know. It’s probably nothing. I’m just so glad you’re home safe. Good night.”

  “Night, Mom,” Aidan replied. Mom is right, Aidan thought. I am different.

  Something awakened Aidan in the still hours before dawn. He had a fleeting thought that maybe, like before, he would find himself in Alleble with Gwenne standing near his bedside. Perhaps the King had called him back for some other adventure.

  No, Aidan wasn’t in the castle—just his own room in Colorado. His arm wasn’t around the neck of a friendly dragon—just his down pillow. And it was not Gwenne who awakened him—it was his father.

  It was dark, but Aidan knew it was him, silhouetted against the window. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, and he seemed to be rocking back and forth slightly.

  “Dad, what is it?”

  He nodded ever so slightly. “Aidan, I-I’m so grateful that you’re okay. I wouldn’t be able to bear it if . . . if you and my father . . .” His voice trailed off for a moment, but then he gathered his strength and spoke more assuredly.

  “Grampin was in a coma, for almost the whole time after the heart attack, but once, when no one else was around, he just woke up and started talking to me. He told me a whole bunch of crazy stuff about the Kingdom of Alleble, just like you said the other night. He said all I had to do was believe it was true and choose to follow the King of Alleble, and it would all become real to me.

  “He even got a little mad at me when I told hi
m I didn’t buy into any of that pie-in-the-sky fantasy garbage. He said, ‘Boy, ye better open up yer eyes to see, fer it gets too late!’ I think we both fell asleep after that, Aidan. But I tell you, I had the most amazing dream. I don’t remember too much of it, but Grampin was in it. He was dressed in bright silver armor, and he looked younger, happier, and more alive than I have ever seen him. In fact, he was riding on a flying dragon, doing loop-the-loops in the sky above a breathtaking castle.”

  Aidan’s dad paused for a while, swallowed hard, and then continued. “When I woke up, Grampin was already gone. He . . . he died, Aidan.”

  Dad wiped his tears with an abrupt swipe of his forearms. Aidan just waited patiently and listened.

  “Y’know, on the drive home from the hospital, I got to thinking about what Grampin had told me. In some ways, I wanted to write it off as the nutty fantasies of a senile old man. But I just couldn’t, Aidan. I mean, when he was speaking to me, he seemed as clear-minded as can be. He completely believed everything he said to me, and there was such a powerful look of hope in his eyes that I had to listen.

  “He must have known that he was close to death . . . he had to know. But there wasn’t the slightest hint of fear in his eyes. I think my crazy old man was actually looking forward to it! Then, it hit me so hard, I had to pull the car over to the side of the road. I made a decision there, son, and I wanted you to be the first to hear it.”

  Aidan was so thrilled he thought he was going to pop!

  Aidan stared anxiously at him. Aidan could tell his father was staring back. Finally, he announced: “Aidan, I believe it. I believe it all!”

  The happiest of tears bounced down Aidan’s cheek. “I know,” he replied joyfully.

  “What!?” Dad blurted out.

  “It’s a long story, Dad,” Aidan said, smiling. “It’s a long story.”