‘Hello, Ben,’ said Pinchkin, her voice ringing melodically.
‘Pinchkin,’ said Ben once more. ‘Is it really you?’
‘Yes,’ laughed Pinchkin. ‘It’s me.’
‘You’ve changed,’ he said looking intently at her face. ‘Your eyes seem to sparkle and your hair, your face,’ he shook his head. ‘You look so much younger.’
Pinchkin laughed. Her laughter chimed through the clearing causing everyone to join in with the merriment. ‘Silver-tongue,’ she smiled.
‘I didn’t mean you looked old before,’ he stammered. ‘It’s just that you…’
‘I’d stop there, Ben,’ she advised. ‘Better to leave it sounding like flattery eh?’
Ben nodded.
‘Grubs up,’ called Leonard, much to Ben’s relief.
For quite a while, nothing much was discussed as food became the priority. Eventually, after a lot of small talk and a few questions and answers concerning their various encounters, Ben, Noj and Trep turned expectantly toward Pinchkin.
‘I can’t say it was all fun,’ said Ben. ‘But I think I’ve learned a lot about myself and,’ he grinned, ‘about other people.’
Pinchkin smiled although her eyes appeared to be seeing other events that were yet to happen.
‘What I don’t understand though,’ continued Ben. ‘Why am I here?’
With a nod, Pinchkin looked directly at him. ‘You were an outsider,’ she replied. ‘You hadn’t become tainted by events here or formed opinions that would affect you ability to carry out those tasks that only you could perform.’
‘Me?’ queried Ben with a hint of suspicion. ‘What’s so special about me that I had to be dragged into all this?’
Pinchkin’s eyes narrowed. ‘You have gifts that you are barely aware of and that are still being developed.’ She smiled and nodded at Ben. ‘I’m sure we’ll see and feel the benefit of those gifts the next time you drop in.’
‘Next time!’ yelped Ben. ‘What next time? I’m done, finished, complete, had enough, big time!’
Telu leaned over and took Ben’s hand. ‘You don’t want to see me again?’ she asked mischievously.
‘Er, well,’ squirmed Ben. ‘It’s just that, I thought sort of…’
‘And just,’ continued Telu still holding Ben’s hand. ‘Just when I thought this was the start of something good,’ she said with a huge grin.
‘She’s joking?’ asked Ben looking at Pinchkin. ‘I mean, you know her, right?’
Pinchkin gave a slight shrug. ‘In my experience,’ she said. ‘Telu rarely jokes.’
Trep suddenly fell backwards from his chair clutching his sides with laughter. As the others joined in with the laughter, Ben pulled his hand away from Telu’s grasp and looked pleadingly at Leonard.
‘Do you need a hand with the washing-up?’ he asked.
Leonard shook his head. ‘Washing-up?’ he said grinning. ‘There’s more food to be eaten. Besides,’ he added, ‘I think Briel wants a word.’
The laughter stopped as quickly as it had started and all heads turned to see Briel standing at the edge of the clearing. He strode over to the barbeque, snatched a sausage and promptly sat on the nearest chair.
‘Tasty,’ he said eventually. He winked at Ben and the others. ‘I know you wish for questions to be answered so, rather than beat around the bush, I’ll tell you what I think you need to know.’
Now,’ he began with a lick of his lips. ‘Any chance of another sausage?’ he laughed as Leonard produced a small plate piled with various barbequed snacks. ‘OK,’ he said between nibbles. ‘We knew it would be impossible to begin reclaiming our lands and defeat the Jaresh without being devious to say the least.’ He nodded at Ben. ‘Firstly, it was necessary to have someone who was unaware of our situation and who had certain gifts that would prove useful now and in the future.’
‘You mean that when I fell into…’
‘Later, Ben,’ interrupted Briel with a raised hand. ‘Now, it was also necessary to send the four of you on a mission under the pretext of searching for and rescuing Alisha.’
‘I rescued myself and them,’ said Alisha haughtily. ‘They would have been lost to the world had I left them where they were.’
‘Agreed,’ replied Briel. ‘But while everyone, including Cedric thought that the focus of your mission was to rescue Alisha, it was possible to perform the real purpose of the journey and that was to restore four key elements to their rightful place and start the liberation of our lands.’
‘Couldn’t you have just told us what we were looking for at the start and save all this subterfuge and messing about?’ snapped Trep.
Briel shook his head. ‘Too dangerous,’ he replied. ‘Knowing that we had a traitor who would immediately inform the Jaresh of our intentions meant that we had to use some diversionary tactics.’ He rubbed his hands together. ‘The first element was the fruit that Pinchkin gave to Mak,’ said with a sigh.
‘Yes,’ said Noj coldly. ‘And it cost him his life.’
‘I’ll come to that in a moment,’ said Briel. ‘The diamond and the bell, the second and third elements, were essential to restore our rivers to the sparkling and babbling waters that had once brought such vibrant life to our lands.’
‘That all sounds a bit nauseatingly romantic to me,’ said Ben. ‘The Jaresh will simply dirty them again and you’ll be back to where you started.’
‘Not so,’ replied Briel firmly. ‘Although a symbolic act, the Jaresh are a superstitious race. Now that those two essential elements have been returned to where they belong, the Jaresh will not go near or do anything to the rivers. They’ll avoid them at all costs.’
‘You could have told us to look for a bell and a diamond,’ said Trep. ‘It would have saved us a lot of bother.’
‘And what diamond and what bell would you have looked for?’ asked Briel. Nobody could think of an appropriate answer. ‘Precisely,’ said Briel with a nod of his head. ‘You would have spent your time aimlessly wondering about, picked up a couple of pieces of junk and thrown them into the rivers and…?’ he looked at the group for answers.
‘Nothing,’ said Noj. ‘Absolutely nothing.’
‘Exactly,’ replied Briel. ‘It was important that those two elements found you.’
‘And the fourth?’ asked Ben.
‘Alisha,’ answered Briel with a smile in her direction. ‘In her runs the true blood-line of an ancient people, a people who ruled long before even I can remember.’ He gave a distracting cough. Briel looked directly at Alisha and held her gaze. ‘Lord Tolc is your guardian.’ He laid a reassuring hand on hers as she began to question his words. Tears rolled gracefully down her cheeks. Gently, Briel wiped her moist face with his finger. ‘It doesn’t change things,’ he said with a smile. ‘Lord Tolc has treated you as his own from the start and you have been a loving daughter in return. That will never change. But,’ he said with anger colouring his cheeks, ‘somehow that odorous individual, Cedric discovered your true identity.’ For a moment, Briel appeared lost in thought. ‘Cedric must have spent many an hour in the library, searching through long forgotten books to find the truth. I must remember to have a word with Owl about that,’ he said almost to himself.
‘So why…’ began Alisha.
Briel held his hand towards her. ‘My dear, he said quietly. ‘If the truth about you had been known from the start there wouldn’t have been a future for you. Once Cedric revealed your true identity to the insidious evil that brought the Jaresh to these lands, the only option he had was to abduct you and place the blame on the Sirens, allowing him to maintain his treacherous dealings and no-one the wiser.’
‘That’s all too much to think about,’ replied Alisha. ‘And it’s too much to bear.’
Briel nodded. ‘For now,’ he said. ‘But the time will come.’
‘And what about Mak?’ asked Noj sadly.
Pinchkin sighed. ‘It was his choice,’ she replied. ‘He chose to take the fruit even though I told him
it might demand everything of him.’
Trep wiped a trace of a tear from his eye. ‘But what if he had refused,’ he asked.
‘I would have asked you,’ said Pinchkin looking into Trep’s eyes.
‘Did he know what was expected of him?’ asked Ben.
‘Only that he had the fruit and it would be necessary to use it to restore the sacred tree in Janring,’ said Pinchkin as her own eyes began to moisten.
‘It really needed him to lose his life in the process?’ said Ben feeling anger rising within him.
‘I couldn’t be certain,’ began Pinchkin as her voice became faint. She swallowed before continuing. ‘The tree, like the rivers, once restored and in such a dramatic way, the Jaresh will refuse to touch it. They’ll try and find out if some form of sorcery can be used against it but there is none, they’ll waste their time searching but find nothing.’
‘I think,’ said Briel leaving Pinchkin to grieve silently. ‘It will be appropriate to erect some form of memorial to Mak near his home.’ He bowed his head. ‘I will give it some thought.’
For a few moments everyone was quiet, it didn’t seem fitting to say anything while they remembered Mak.
‘What was with the posh frock and whirlwind then?’ asked Ben feeling the need to break the silence.
Pinchkin answered as Briel took the remaining few snacks from his plate and placed them all into his mouth.
‘It was time to announce the emergence, once again, of the Wise Beings,’ she said, her eyes sparkling. ‘It was time for us to make our presence known once again.’
‘And you’re also…?’ asked Ben.
Pinchkin nodded. ‘There are others who will become known as and when time dictates,’ she smiled.
‘Cool,’ grinned Ben. He looked at Briel who was busily licking the final few morsels from his plate. ‘Just one more thing.’
‘Fire away,’ replied Briel. ‘Fire away.’
‘You’ve a daughter?
Briel swallowed and suddenly began to choke. Leonard reached over and, with a few well-placed smacks on Briel’s back, helped to bring some normality to his breathing.
‘Yes,’ coughed Briel. ‘I have a daughter. Is that so hard to believe?
‘Not at all,’ chuckled Ben. ‘And Mrs Briel?’
‘Enough with your maddening questions,’ replied Briel irritably. ‘Another time, another story. Any more food?’ he asked looking firmly at Leonard.
‘Good idea,’ smiled Trep. ‘It’s about time we began to celebrate a little.’ He turned to Noj. ‘Shall we?’
Noj looked for a moment and then grinned. ‘Why not,’ he laughed. ‘We could all do with a bit of a laugh.’
Without another word they grabbed Ben and, holding an arm and leg each, ran over to the small pond that lay just beyond the barbeque. Even Ben could see the funny side of what was happening and joined in with the laughter. He didn’t really mind getting wet if it helped everyone feel happier. Suddenly, he stopped laughing. He remembered what Briel had said in answer to his question of how he would get home.
‘Hey, no, hang on a minute,’ he called. It was too late. Noj and Trep had swung him high into the air, his body arcing over the pond and then dropping. Ben felt the impact as his body hit the surface of the water. The coldness took his breath away as he felt himself start to sink. He thrashed at the water, kicking wildly but to no avail. Slowly the water engulfed him. He felt himself drifting downwards, the circle of light above him becoming dimmer. His chest ached as he felt his lungs banging on his ribs in desperation. Everything went black. Ben felt nothing, no need to breathe or move. His body seemed to float in the blackness that cocooned him.
‘Ben!’ yelled a voice. ‘Ben, what on earth have you been up to?’
Chapter 42
‘Ben,’ called the voice again. ‘That was a daft thing to do.’
‘You’re telling me!’ gagged Ben as he tried to rid his mouth of the foul tasting water. ‘I’m soaked.’
‘I can see,’ said the voice. ‘Just look at the state of you.’
Ben swallowed and immediately wished he hadn’t. Finally, he sat up and rubbed at his eyes. ‘Good job it wasn’t the same filthy river water that drenched those Jaresh guards.’ He chuckled to himself. ‘That was a sight.’
‘What are you gabbling on about?’ asked the voice.
Shaking his head, Ben peered in the direction of the voice and gasped.
‘Dad?’ he asked breathlessly. ‘Is that really you? How did you get here?’
His father sighed with exasperation. ‘The same way as I always do,’ he replied.
‘You’ve been here before?’ asked Ben incredulously. ‘Why have you never said anything?
‘Ben,’ said his father sharply. ‘Look at me.’
As much as he tried, Ben couldn’t bring his surroundings into focus. The face of his father loomed out of a dark mist. He rubbed his eyes hopefully but the same impenetrable haze filled his vision. A feeling of confusion and overwhelming tiredness engulfed his body. Ben didn’t want to think anymore, he wanted to sink into a hungry mattress and sleep for days. Suddenly, his body shook.
‘Come on, Ben, wake up,’ coaxed his father. No more games.’
‘I am awake.’ ‘You could have fooled me. Now, listen.’ His father spoke sternly. ‘Concentrate on my voice and keep your eyes open.’
‘I’m trying, Dad, honest.’
Ben felt himself lifted from the floor until he was upright. ‘Right, I’m going to let go and you’re to stand without my support. Ready?’
Nodding, Ben felt the floor tremble, or at least he thought it was the floor but his legs felt so uncoordinated that he couldn’t be certain.
‘Right,’ said his father firmly. ‘Concentrate, look around, what do you see?’
Slowly Ben allowed his eyes to focus on his surroundings. He frowned. ‘What am I doing here?’
‘It’s where you have been for the last twenty minutes.’
‘How?’
‘Precisely,’ said his father irritably. ‘How did you make such a mess?’
Slowly, shapes and images began to display themselves clearly. Ben looked at his feet, which were two islands in a shallow pool of water. Turning his head, he saw the large aquarium virtually empty of water and the small stepladder lying on its side.
‘So, it was all a dream?’
‘You were certainly in a daydream of some sort. How else could this disaster have happened?’
Ben looked quizzically at his father. Had all the events he’d experienced merely been a product of his imagination? Shakespeare’s words rang in his head “Come what come may, time and the hour runs through the roughest day.” Ben shook his head. The whole thing was bizarre. It had all seemed so real.
‘I still haven’t found my watch either,’ grumbled his father. ‘What a day,’ he muttered walking toward the stairs. He turned to Ben. ‘Clean up your mess, quickly.’
Ben sighed and pulled out a piece of cloth from his pocket to wipe his face. Looking at the scarf in his hand he smiled. Telu, thought Ben with a grin, Telu!
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