The Dark Rider (Fading Light)

by Andrew Critchell

  ‘I told you,’ the boy shouted in manic glee before running off again.

  Neil pushed himself gingerly from the floor, his head spinning. He was examining the cuts and grazes on his hands and knees just as Vicky appeared in the gap in the wall. Seeing her brother she knelt down beside him.

  ‘Are you ok?’ she asked.

  ‘Yeah, just a little shocked,’ he replied getting slowly to his feet using his sister as support. ‘Should’ve known better.’

  ‘What now?’ asked Vicky.

  He looked at her and grimaced.

  ‘I think we go back home for now. I’ve had enough adventures for today.’

  ‘I guess you’re right,’ said Vicky. ‘Come on then mister injured warrior, let’s go back.’

  With that the children began the hike back up the hill towards the cottage and home.

  Nicola and Paul had dinner in the alcove of a small bay window tucked away in a quiet corner of the hotel dining room. They ordered a bottle of wine and then, with the dinner finished and the plates cleared away, they sat finishing their glasses in the half light of the evening. Outside the sun was setting, filling the dining room with blazing shafts of light and columns of deep shadow.

  ‘So, revision time,’ said Paul. ‘What are you going to do as soon as you get home?’

  ‘Resign from banking, move back home with my parents, volunteer for Greenpeace and then have a paid job with them within six months,’ said Nicola defiantly.

  ‘And what are you not going to do?’ he said sternly.

  ‘Get back with my boyfriend and carry on working in the bank while waiting for someone else to come along and change my life for me. I am the only person who can do this,’ she said.

  ‘Well done,’ he said laughing. ‘You’ve passed the exam. One gold star for Nicola.’

  She grimaced. ‘If only it was that easy.’

  He leaned forward taking her hand in his.

  ‘That’s the trick you must remember,’ he said. ‘It is that easy, once you’ve made the decision.’

  She smiled at him gratefully. ‘I wish I had your confidence.’

  ‘Anyone can be confident once they believe in themselves. Besides,’ he paused. ‘I’m not that confident.’

  ‘But you are,’ she replied. ‘At least in my eyes.’

  He looked around himself. The evening was drawing in and this time would soon be ending. He turned to her needing to confide in her, to hang on to this as long as he could.

  ‘Nicola,’ he said softly. ‘Do you believe in good and evil?’

  ‘I guess so,’ she replied. ‘I think there is good and evil in everyone.’

  ‘There is another world Nicola,’ he said, his eyes a dull gleam in the shadow light. ‘Where good and evil are,’ he paused. ‘More defined.’

  Nicola stared, his soft words transfixing her.

  ‘There are places where the worlds come together. That is how my aunt came here. She told me of a place where Light and Dark do battle.’ He paused as the last rays of the dying sun began to fall from the walls.

  ‘The Dark is winning, Nicola,’ he said.

  She felt the world falling away to leave just the two of them sitting together at this one table, this one void.

  ‘You can see it in everything that is happening in the world. Global warming, extinctions, overcrowding, selfishness, arrogance, despair, inequality, suffering. Like a tumour it grows, imperceptible at first, yet slowly and inevitably poisoning the body that carries it. By the time it is recognised for what it is, it is too late.’

  He leaned forwards, his eyes seeking her, wanting to see the truth of belief in her as he spoke.

  ‘There are races, people who still fight,’ he said. ‘My aunt was one of them. She told me I am one of them. She told me I will replace her as the bridge that links her world and ours, that this would happen on the seventh day after she died. She called it an awakening. Can you believe this, Nicola?’

  She nodded, unable to look away from him, to think for herself. Only to listen.

  ‘Because I don’t know if I can anymore,’ he said. ‘And it torments me.’ He dropped his head, running his hands through his hair as he did so. He looked up to see endless flights of gulls drifting across the horizon outside. He drew a deep breath before continuing. ‘She said there was a prophecy. That there would be one who came and united the old races and defeated evil forever. She said that person was me. In all the years I knew her she was teaching me, preparing me for this moment.’ He looked back at Nicola, his blue eyes burning.

  ‘That day is today. It has nearly ended and I have felt nothing Nicola, nothing. I don’t know if I believe her anymore. I don’t know if she was just some crazy old woman. But if she was right then why do I feel nothing? What am I doing wrong?’

  He stopped, unable to continue, his head falling forwards. Nicola’s heart filled her with emotion for this young man sitting opposite her, so troubled, his story so wild that she almost believed him. She wanted to believe him, to know that there was another force acting in world, that there was still hope for the wild spirits of life, the mysteries and magic that once inhabited the very fabric of the land which had now been driven to the very edges of our consciousness, buried under industry and economics, money and power, the seeping dislocation and decay of anything that is good in the world. Most of all she wanted to comfort him, to heal his wounds so raw and open and she wanted to lose herself with him, with the moment, with this spirit from another land, another life. She reached forwards, taking his hand in hers. The physical connection electrified her and she shivered. She had never before wanted someone so completely and as the moon began to rise she released herself to desire.

  ‘Come up with me,’ she said quietly. He looked into her eyes, their souls communing with each other, knowing what was to come, what must be. Rising from his chair, he followed her up the stairs to her room. With trembling hands Nicola unlocked and opened the door and went inside into the deepening shadows. She pulled her t-shirt over her head and slipped off her jeans and underwear and turned naked to face him. He stood aloof from her, the teenager in shock, the other consciousness remembering her slender body, remembering the touch of her smooth skin in his hands. He began to undress and they moved to the bed and lay together in the darkness, skin against skin.

  They kissed urgently, hands gripping, exploring, their beings joining in a union and, as she lay there, the room seemed to melt around her until they were in their dream. Her mind jumped as memories and knowing unlocked from hidden depths and tumbled and flashed through her consciousness, hitting her like a huge adrenaline rush until she felt herself drowning under the weight of another life. As memories and knowledge hit her something else seemed to be spreading under the surface of her visions. As the moments passed it grew and grew until it was roaring through her, filling her veins, her muscles, her skin, flooding out from her and shooting across the world, touching all life in a great rush of wild force, and after it had touched everything, had reached the far limits of the wild world, it came back, roaring and searing like electricity through her, carrying all the goodness and wildness of life and tainted with all the evils and darkness, and she saw faces and visions that flashed with recognition, anger and malevolence, and for a moment she could not control it and her mind tumbled and spun in a whirlwind of chaos until she thought it would burst, but a voice called to her in the roaring void and began to pull her back.

  ‘Nicola.’

  That one voice that she could hear, that she could lock herself onto.

  ‘Nicola.’

  The roaring began to subside, to lessen.

  ‘Nicola.’

  Slowly she opened her eyes.

  Senses, feelings, minds, desires, actions, millions of consciousnesses trying to get into her mind, a constant noise that surrounded her and she fought to see.

  ‘It’s you.’ She heard a voice full of disbelief. ‘All the time she said it would be me but it’s you.’

  She strug
gled to bring her ragged mind back to a reality. She blinked but it was dark in the room.

  ‘Nicola.’ A face came into her vision. It was Paul.

  ‘It was supposed to be me,’ he said. ‘But she was wrong.’

  Nicola closed her eyes again. The noise returned, screaming at her, roaring against her mind, her muscles, her skin.

  ‘But something has happened,’ he said. ‘And where is she now to help me?’

  Nicola focused on the voice again, making one last effort to push herself up. She hugged her knees, feeling her nakedness. ‘Hold me,’ she said, reaching out to him.

  He pulled away, grief and disbelief making him recoil from her.

  ‘This is why I felt nothing. There was nothing to feel.’

  Reaching for his clothes he began to pull them on.

  ‘I have to get dressed, get my things,’ he said. It was too much for him. Too many questions poured into his mind.

  ‘Paul, don’t do this to me,’ she pleaded. ‘I don’t know what is happening to me, to us.’

  He strode forward thrusting his face close to hers.

  ‘You have stolen something from me. What do you want me to feel?’

  She shrunk away from him.

  ‘I don’t know what I have done,’ she said fighting back tears.

  ‘This is not how it was supposed to be,’ he said, fear and loss filling him, directing his actions, his speech. He did not know what to do. Everything that Gwen had taught him, had said to him, was wrong. The certainty she had placed in him since he was a young boy was shattered.

  ‘I don’t know what I have done,’ she said fighting back tears.

  ‘You have betrayed me as she did,’ he raved at her. ‘I was supposed to be awakened, not you.’

  She grabbed at his arm with her hand in desperation. ‘Paul, I don’t understand.’

  ‘Understand this,’ he said. ‘We are out of control, out in the deep. This morning I knew everything and now all I know is nothing. I don’t know who I am or who you are. I don’t know what has happened to my life because its meaning has just been taken from me, by you. All I know is that I have to run right now because something bad is going to happen and you cannot stop me.’ He moved closer, pulling himself towards her through her grip on his arm. ‘I was prepared to be awakened. I learned its meaning. I was ready. You are not.’

  He felt it now, the presence of the rider within him. Stronger it had become as the night approached and now its urgency pulled desperately at his mind. Unable to cope he pulled away from her and strode to the door twisting the handle and pulling it open. Light from the corridor flooded into the darkened room. He looked back at her on the bed, her hand held up to shield her eyes from the light, her outstretched arm rigid. In that moment he knew he had lost her and he turned away walking quickly down the corridor, the image of her burning in his vision. He heard her call behind him, one desperate cry that he forced himself to shut out from his memory. He ran down the stairs to the hotel lobby and then he was free, through the front door and out into the cool of the night where he called out to a darkness heavy with rain cloud. He moved quickly across the land, desperation and confusion scrambling his mind. At the edge of his mind the presence of the rider was strong. As he neared Aunt Gwen’s house he began to run.

  Chapter Twelve

  Nicola called out to Paul but he was already gone from the open doorway. She pulled the duvet around her and went to the door but all that met her was an empty corridor.

  How could he have done this to her? Abandoned her, just like Stefan had done a few nights ago, but this was worse, far worse. Something was happening to her and Paul was the only one who had the answers. Now he was gone and she was alone again. This time she could not escape the darkness that threatened to consume her.

  Nicola stumbled back into the room almost falling over the sheets wrapped tightly around her. She sat on the bed feeling unable to breathe, her heart pounding in her chest. A paralysis held her and she could not move. Her mind was a chaotic torrent, while the noise rang in her ears, the life force raging through her. She fell back onto the bed and squeezed her eyes tightly closed trying to shut everything out but the noise was so bad she wanted to scream.

  Slowly the noise lessened, the life force calming her. She felt it now as a presence, raw and wild, alien to her in its thoughts and emotions yet with a consciousness she could recognise. It was gently probing her mind and soul, searching for something she did not know how to give, but at the same time it gave her respite from herself. The presence was pulling at her, urging her to follow its guide and she found her body responding again, muscles pulling limbs into movement. More urgently now it called to her, and she rose from the bed, the duvets falling away from her. For a moment she saw herself in the mirror, the wild beauty of her slender body, and she did not recognise herself. She moved to the patio door of her room as if in a trance. She slid the door open and stepped out into the darkness. Rain was falling gently and, as she walked out, part of her felt it on her skin, felt her hair beginning to dampen and stick to her face, felt the wet earth on the soles of her feet, and all the time the presence was controlling her, gently but firmly, and all she could do was follow and part of her mind recoiled in shock, unable to comprehend yet unable to act.

  She began to shiver as the rain covered her body and cooled her in the summer night and deep down she knew she had to go back to the hotel, to warmth and safety, but she could not. Her remembering mind was a sludge like treacle, seeing through a thick mist, while the presence saw everything through her, fields, hedgerows, the cliffs, the sea moving restlessly in a deep swell, the rocks glistening with moisture.

  Nicola wanted to sleep, drowsiness filling her, yet all she could do was walk away into the night, further and further from the hotel, from people, from life. She was shivering uncontrollably and heather was scratching her legs as the presence pulled her up onto the downs that sat above the cliffs. She did not know how far she had walked or where she was, only that there was nothing around her, no lights or signs of life where she could call for help. Fear began to creep through the numbness in her mind and she tried to pull away, to stop walking and turn around but the presence would not let her. She wanted to run, to call out but it was as if a clamp held her mouth and rope was coiled around each leg, pulling her onwards. The rain began falling heavier now while in the distance thunder rumbled ominously. She suffered intense bouts of shivering as her body tried to keep its temperature, her hands and feet, arms and legs becoming leaden and numb, yet still she was not allowed to stop.

  Nicola stumbled and fell. Mud was cool and clammy against her skin, heather pricking her back and face. She curled into a ball hugging herself for warmth. The presence was angry now, a cool alien emotion that she recoiled from, and as each second passed, the anger filled every pore of her being until she could stand it no longer. Nicola pushed herself up and stood with the rain pouring down on her, mud running in streaks down her body. The urgency to move, the pulling of the presence was strong and she forced herself to begin walking again. It was pitch black now, the darkness of the rain too much even for the eyes of an owl. All she could see was a faint horizon stretching around her on all sides, where one darkness ended and another began.

  Nicola took another step forward, her feet resting heavily on prickles of heather, and she fell to the ground in pain and exhaustion. Part of her knew she had to carry on, to keep walking until she found life, for if she gave up to the endless sleep that now so seductively tried to take her, she may never wake up. She tried to push herself up but her hands slipped and slid on the mud and she fell back to the ground. Closing her eyes she tried to shut out the pain and there she lay, her shivering body a pale glimmer in the night.

  Paul felt her, a tight burning in his chest. He gasped out aloud and stumbled forwards, grabbing a banister for support. Aunt Gwen’s house mocked him with a heavy silence while rain lashed against the windows and wind howled against the walls.

  The im
age of Nicola burned brightly in his mind. Her outstretched hand shielding her from the light of the hallway, her whole being pleading with him to stay and all he had done was run away. Guilt and shame racked him. How could he have done this? How could he have left her?

  He stumbled down the stairs towards the door, his heavy rucksack swinging from side to side on his back almost causing him to overbalance. He reached the foot of the stairs and stopped, leaning against a doorway. The burning in his chest had lessened but the tightness gripped him until he thought he could not breathe. He tried to calm himself, to steady himself, and slowly he raised his head to look outside to where he saw the rain coming down like stair rods and hammering the roofs of the house opposite, yet he knew he had to go back out, to get back to Nicola.

  He took a step forwards, reaching out towards the front door and suddenly he saw movement through the glass, a figure looming menacingly out of the darkness towards him. Paul stepped backwards, the door handle twisting slowly in front of his eyes. He looked up in fear as the door swung inwards and for a moment he thought that she had come for him, for a girl stood before him in the doorway, light falling across her face. For a moment neither recognised the other until with a deep exhortation of breath his sister murmured ‘Paul’ and reached forwards to take his head in her hands, to look him in the eyes and he stared back seeing his sister.

  ‘Alex,’ he whispered, tears running down his face to mingle with the moisture on her hands.

  ‘Paul,’ emotion ran deep in her voice as she looked down at her brother. ‘You’re eyes.’

  He looked up at her.

  ‘They’re so blue.’

  ‘Alex,’ he said drawing her nearer to him.