Pledged

by Gwynneth White

  “Why? It’s incredibly beautiful. And probably very valuable.”

  “Erin, when the dreams started, I saw that exact diamond.” Seth suddenly shouted out to Gideon, “So whose side are you on in the war I’m supposed to be choosing sides for?”

  There was no reply. They turned to look for him, but Gideon had vanished.

  “He must have walked off,” Erin said. “We’ll see him on the pan.”

  Something said to Seth that their mortal eyes would not find Gideon. He was right. Whichever way they looked across the flat, moonlit landscape, there was no trace of their host. Seth stomped over to the fire, flopped down in his chair, and started chewing his fingernails.

  “He can’t just vanish! For crying out loud, tell me what’s going on!” Erin pleaded.

  Seth pulled her chair closer to his. “Sit.”

  She obeyed, sitting on the edge of her seat.

  As far as he knew there was no recipe for telling people that the man they had just shared dinner with was a walking corpse. But he’d promised himself to tell the truth. And he never broke his promises. “Erin, I think Gideon’s dead.”

  She sank down into her chair, folded her arms and stared at him.

  “I knew you’d think I’m insane.” He stood up and paced the campsite. “These stupid dreams. Gideon was in them. There was a terrible battle somewhere back in ancient times – in Shenaya. Remember, from the poem? Anyway, Gideon’s army was defeated. But Gideon survived – until a guy named Reuel disembowelled him, skinned him alive, and dragged his body through the streets of the Lost City.”

  Erin shivered. “That’s some nightmare.”

  “It wasn’t pretty.”

  “So how do you know it’s the same Gideon? It could be a coincidence because he looked very much alive to me.” She forced a smile. “There was nothing ghostly about him at all.”

  Seth stopped pacing. “Tonight, round the fire, Gideon spoke in my head. Like you said happened with you when the hyenas attacked. And I’ll bet everything I own he was reading my thoughts. Just like Sophia did.”

  Erin pulled herself to her feet. “Let’s get a bucket of water and wash the clay off this thing so we can see what we’re really dealing with.”

  Seth reached into her tent for her bucket. His sword was lying on her camp bed next to the torch Gideon had left her, so he grabbed them too. He strapped the sword to his belt and put the bucket at her feet; then he sat opposite her, shining the torch into the water. “Let’s do it.”

  She dropped the object into the bucket. With their heads almost touching, they watched the sand-clouded water as Erin rubbed the clay away. Finally her fingers brushed a hard surface. “Seth, I’m there.”

  “Pull it out.”

  “You sure you want to do this? Maybe there’s no going back.”

  Their eyes locked. Then Seth plunged his hand into the bucket. “We’ve come this far. Let’s finish it.”

  Together they pulled the chain out of the water. A stone followed. It was the size and shape of a large strawberry. Erin held it in the palm of her hand. A colourless crystal, rough to the touch, it was obvious that no tool had ever touched it, other than to attach the gold chain. Seth pointed the torch beam at it and the stone exploded into a million coloured flares. And they knew it was the diamond from Seth’s dreams.

  Then everything changed.

  Chapter 4

  THE MISTS OF TIME

  They were plummeting towards a huge glass triangle. Erin screamed in terror. Seth, holding her hand, kicked his legs in a desperate attempt to stop their free-fall. It didn’t help. A needle-sharp steeple loomed up to meet them. They closed their eyes, waiting to be shredded by the glass. The pain of impact never happened; just seconds before the crash, the triangle parted. Now, weightless as dandelion seeds, they tumbled into a swirl of mist. Soundlessly, their feet landed on a glass floor.

  “What happened? Where are we?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine. But I’d say we’ve gone into the diamond.” Seth pointed at the walls, gleaming through the mist. “It looks like it could be a massive octahedron.”

  “That’s insane, Seth.”

  “That’s visions, Erin. Is this concrete enough for you?”

  “A little bit too concrete. What do we do now?”

  “This is new to me. The stuff I see just happens in my head. I’ve never been physically taken anywhere before.”

  A kaleidoscope of lights burst around them.

  “They’re so beautiful! I have to touch them.” Erin started running, pulling Seth with her. Like fireflies, the beams flitted ahead, leading them effortlessly through another crystal wall. The lights burned brighter now, and the misty chamber hummed with whispered voices.

  “Can you hear them?” Erin breathed in excitement, squeezing Seth’s hand. “It’s like everyone I’ve ever loved is wrapped up in those sparkles.”

  “And everyone I’ve ever hated.”

  Erin looked at him in surprise. “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t know. I can’t explain it. But something in this place turns my blood to ice.” He didn’t add that it also made him want to pick Erin up, clutch her to his heart and start running – in the opposite direction.

  “The lights? They turn your blood to ice? But how can something so wonderful make you think of hate when all I can feel is love?”

  “It’s not the lights. I like them. It’s something else . . . something I can’t describe.”

  She tried to understand, but his experience was so different to hers that she turned away, defeated. A single beam shot towards her, more beautiful than all the rest. It stopped before her face, dancing there, as if it wanted her to touch it. But as she reached out, it moved away from her, leading her on. She dropped Seth’s hand and ran after it, shouting through her laughter, “I think Gideon must have drugged the food, because I swear that light is guiding me to the one person who can make me happy – forever.”

  Seth tried to grab her. “Please Erin, wait. I can’t explain it. But I know if you follow it I’ll lose you again. Like I almost did with the storm and the hyena.”

  But Erin slipped away from him, darting after the brilliance. Seth quickly caught up with her. Together they raced into another crystal chamber, and slid to a halt. The lights were converging around two crystal pedestals. They suddenly began to settle, transforming as they did into radiant young beings.

  Erin and Seth inched forward to get a better look. Erin’s first thought was that they were human-sized fairies, but her practical mind instantly rejected that. The beings, girls and boys, looked like real people, except their bodies gleamed like rainbows. All seemed to be roughly Erin’s and Seth’s ages.

  Erin instinctively knew it was a boy who had led her here. She longed to see him, because deep within her she was convinced they’d known each other for a long, long time. But even though she studied each face, she couldn’t find him in the crowd. It made her sad, almost as if she had lost something of great value.

  The beings weren’t alone. Gideon was there too. No longer dressed for camping, he wore a long white robe. His body still had the solid quality of a living human being, except it gleamed like mother-of-pearl. None of them seemed aware of Seth and Erin.

  A tall, thin man bustled towards the gathering, trailing tendrils of mist. Seth grabbed Erin’s hand, and, without knowing why, drew his sword. Erin was about to whisper to him to relax, when Gideon spoke. “Ah, Nathan. In life, a devoted Custodian. In death, the most diligent Silent Note-Taker. But still late. Even after all this time.”

  “Apologies, all.” Nathan bowed before holding out his hands to Gideon in a gesture of mock defeat. “Maybe in another thousand years I’ll have conquered the challenge of time.” His voice rang with the by-now familiar old-world accent.

  “But Nathan, my dear brother,” Gideon said. “You’ve already had over a thousand years to work on that particular problem.”

  “Ah, but those are Earth-years, Gideon.” Natha
n smiled, showing a mouthful of crooked teeth. “They don’t really count here, do they? That’s why I love this place so much. There are no bothersome clocks and schedules to keep.”

  “Um . . .” Seth interrupted. “You guys seem to know what’s going on, but we’re still a bit clueless.”

  Nathan spun round to face him. “Seth! Erin! Welcome to the Mists of Time.” Chuckling at their startled expressions, he added, “Oh yes, this is the place where all time comes together. Here we can see the past.” He waved his hand at the beings; then he pointed to a wall behind them where changing scenes from world history flickered. “And the present: the two of you standing here in all your mortal splendour.” He gestured to the misty space in front of them. “And finally, the future. Well, some of us can see the future. But for you two, that view is closed.”

  Gideon smiled. “Nathan, let’s try not to overwhelm them with too much information, shall we? We want their minds clear and focused as we discuss important matters.” He turned to Seth and Erin. “The diamond. You brought it with you, I presume?”

  Erin felt the rock in her hand. She held it out to Gideon.

  It was Nathan who reacted. “My dear girl, only the spirits of those destined for birth into mortality, and the living, can touch that stone. It’s a built-in defence mechanism to protect it from those who would gladly kill for it.” Seeing her dumbstruck expression, he added, “Oh yes. The dead will be swarming around you now that you’ve found the stone. It’ll take all of your and Seth’s combined ingenuity to beat them off.”

  Erin dropped her hand back to her side.

  “Nathan! As brave as they are, you’ll frighten them off.” Gideon smiled at them. “He’s right, of course. On both counts. Only you, the living, and–” he nodded at the beings “–and these, the spirits of people awaiting life on Earth, can touch the stone.” He reached for Erin’s hand. Too stunned to resist, she opened her fist, but when he tried to pick up the diamond, it slipped through his fingers. “You see. Not even I can touch it.”

  “Okay. So Seth wasn’t crazy. You really are dead.”

  “Indeed,” Gideon said. “We’re immortal angels. Dead people who once lived on Earth – just like you. But, unlike many others amongst the dead, our choices in mortality qualified us to have our bodies returned to us. You can call us Guardians.”

  Erin’s mouth dropped. “Angels? Now I know I’m dreaming.” She was about to ask Seth to pinch her, when Nathan snapped indignantly:

  “Dreaming! Did I hear you say dreaming?”

  Erin took a hasty step back. Seth wrapped his arm around her and held his sword out protectively in front of them. Gideon’s hand closed over the blade and before Seth registered, it was back in its scabbard.

  “Erin,” Gideon said. “This is no dream, no drugged state. But you and Seth are free to leave anytime you chose. Just say the word and I’ll deliver you back to the campsite.”

  Erin was about to say that she wanted to go when her eye caught a sparkle. Although she couldn’t see him properly, she knew who it was – the spirit boy who had led her here. She could feel – almost see – love radiating from him towards her. He wanted her to stay; and he wanted it so badly that it hurt. She felt Seth move beside her. He was looking at her questioningly, and it was clear that if she offered to leave, he would go too. “I want to stay.”

  Seth nodded, then turned to Gideon, “You call yourselves Guardians. Who do you guard? And against what?”

  “We guard people like you and Erin,” Gideon replied. “Against the disembodied dead. You would know them as ghosts - or demons. We call them Gefallen – the fallen in battle. They have not yet earned immortal bodies. And although the world of the dead houses many such spirits, we – Nathan and I – are charged with protecting you from the Gefallen who worship a particular man named Reuel.”

  “Reuel? The guy that murdered you?” Seth asked.

  Sadness clouded Gideon’s face. “The same. He was our brother – that is, Nathan and my brother. Now he’s clawing his way up the pinnacle of evil. You had a brush with his Gefallen earlier today – the feral dogs, the runaway-garbage bag, the dust storm and hyenas. The Gefallen come in many forms. Like demons, they can possess the souls of the living.”

  “Yes,” Nathan interrupted as if he hadn’t heard a word his brother had said, “Though, Erin probably knows Reuel’s dreadful pet. Does the Lightning Bird mean anything to you?”

  “She did a school project on it,” Seth replied. “And if I know anything about her, she probably got an A for it. Now what do want with us?”

  “Good question, Seth,” Gideon replied. “Erin, please put the diamond on its pedestal.”

  Erin looked over at the two pedestals to see what Gideon was talking about. One already held a stone, the other hummed with an expectant air as if it knew it was about to be united with its diamond. Erin started to walk towards it, trying not to glance at the place where she knew the boy was floating.

  “Seth.”

  An imperative in Gideon’s voice made Erin stop.

  “Seth,” Gideon repeated. “Was Erin alone when she found the diamond?”

  Seth shook his head.

  “Did you help her pull it out of the bucket?”

  “I guess you know I did.”

  “Then, let that be a lesson to you both. Without the one, the other fails.” Gideon gestured for Seth to join Erin.

  She smiled at him. “I told you there’d be no going back.”

  “Sometimes I hate it when you’re always right,” Seth muttered under his breath. He wished he felt as comfortable as Erin seemed to be, but something told him that his life was about to change in ways he couldn’t even begin to imagine. Or like.

  Erin put the Stone on the pedestal.

  Nathan immediately bent down, his eyes filled with yearning as he peered into her and Seth’s diamond’s fiery heart. “This is a Seer-Stone. A miraculous device designed to record and playback history. After the fall of Jerusalem in 136AD against the Romans, it was given to Ishmael, our forebear, by his guardian angel. He and his family joined the Diaspora, but their wanderings brought them to a sparsely inhabited land in southern Africa washed by a great lake. Since that day their story – our story – has been captured in its heart. So you see why it’s so precious to us.” Nathan looked up and saw scepticism on Seth’s and Erin’s faces. “Oh yes. It’s all here.”

  Gideon smiled at his brother. “Indeed a faithful record, for which Nathan gave his mortal life.”

  Nathan hooked his fingers into the girdle around his lanky middle and began pacing. “It’s well known that Reuel executed me for refusing to give him the Stone–”

  “So Reuel, your own brother, killed you? Just for a rock?” Seth interrupted. The thought turned his stomach.

  Nathan’s eyebrows locked. “It’s hardly just a rock, Seth. But to answer your question, yes, Reuel did. He also murdered Gideon, but for a different reason. You see, Gideon dared to prophesy against him and his cursed descendants.”

  “Nathan,” Gideon said, “as we both know, there are worse things that can happen to the human spirit than death, which is inevitable for all born into mortality.”

  “Worse than death?” Seth asked. This was getting weirder and weirder. He glanced at Erin; she was nodding her head, agreeing with him. That at least was encouraging.

  “Yes, my friends. There are things far worse than death. It’s the loss of one’s soul mate for which one must truly mourn.” Gideon turned away and floated over to join the spirits.

  Erin and Seth noticed for the first time that the spirits where divided into couples, some embracing, others holding hands. Erin’s heart slumped. ‘Her’ boy, the one who had led her here, had his arm around a spirit girl. She tried to see his face, but he was looking the other way, almost as if he was avoiding her now.

  Gideon’s voice pulled Erin’s thoughts back. “You’re all soul mates,” he was saying, “chosen for your particular strengths – and, might I add, weaknesses –
to be born onto Earth as warriors in a war–”

  A loud cackle and a flash of dusky brown interrupted him. An eagle-like bird, grotesque with two heads, glided out of the mist and dive-bombed the pedestal. Its talons snatched at their diamond, squealing like chalk on a blackboard against the Stone. But the diamond didn’t budge. The bird puffed its tawny feathers, which morphed to crimson and black, and with a screech settled on the floor next to Gideon.

  “Ah, the Lightning Bird,” Gideon snorted, looking down at the creature. “No doubt your master isn’t far behind.”

  A man emerged from the mist. Although clearly once human, he looked nothing like his brothers. His body, the colour of clotted blood, was wraith-like, radiating no light.

  Seth sucked in a deep breath. His core temperature was dropping – he could actually feel it sinking – as icy dread seeped through his body. He had never before been so cold; it was as if every cell was shutting down, freezing sold. Erin felt him trembling. She wrapped her arm tighter around him, trying to warm him. It didn’t help.

  “Reuel. I wondered if you’d come.” Gideon’s face had hardened.

  “Come?” Reuel gave a mocking laugh. “How could I possibly miss your rousing battle cry? Your pitiful attempts to enlist fighters to your cause?” He snapped his fingers. The Lightning Bird scampered up his front, perching on his shoulder. It stared at Seth and Erin with piercing red eyes. They tried to break its magnetism by looking away, but their necks and heads seemed to have been cemented in place. There was nothing they could do, but stare back at it.

  “There’re only two sides in this war,” Reuel said. The bird looked away as he spoke, releasing Erin and Seth from its thrall.

  “Yes,” Gideon agreed. “You either fight alongside Reuel and his Gefallen, or–”

  “Or you join the losing side by following my brothers – with their paltry handful of supporters,” Reuel finished.

  “The side with which you enlist is up to you,” Gideon continued, as if Reuel hadn’t spoken, “but understand what you’re fighting for. Reuel and his Lightning Bird seek to curse you. Forever.