The Tapestry

by Wigmore, Paul

  ‘What’s wrong honey?’

  ‘The fleas Dad, they’re everywhere, my friends, they’re all... they’re all’ and then she broke off.

  ‘Sophia...Sophia, honey what’s wrong’ he screamed into his phone. Clara touched his arm,

  ‘We’ll make it right’ she said soothingly only to be shrugged off by Seb this time.

  ‘Sophia, answer me Sophia’

  Clara looked down towards the village and she saw the children that were out playing holding hands and she knew what was coming. She heard it from Sebs phone; all the children simultaneously began to recite the age old verses of that god forsaken rhyme.

  ‘Sophia...stop that, you hear me, stop that now, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. Her singing joined every other child on Earth as they sang the song of death amongst them.

  Ring a ring o’ roses

  A pocket full of posies

  A-tishoo, a-tishoo

  We all fall down

  Ring a ring o’ roses

  A pocket full of posies

  A-tishoo, a-tishoo

  We all fall down

  Ring a ring o’ roses

  A pocket full of posies

  A-tishoo, a-tishoo

  We all fall down

  Clara saw the children down below in the village that had joined hands to recite the rhyme all fall down at the end of the last verse and she had no doubt that Sophia had also done the same.

  ‘Sophia...Sophia, stop it now you hear me, stop singing that stupid song, do you hear me girl... stop it’ Seb knew he was no longer talking to anyone. He fell to his knees holding the phone to his ear, whispering “stop it, stop it now, listen to daddy” tears ran from his eyes and snot ran freely from his nose as he realised he was no longer talking to his daughter, but only what remained of her. He looked up to Clara who had knelt down beside him.

  ‘Stop this please’ he begged her through a sob, ‘Please, stop this now’.

  ‘I’ll do what I can my love’ she said then grabbed his face and turned him towards her and kissed him fully on the lips as she felt the Trident warm in her hands. She stood up and took in the desolate view surrounding her.

  ‘Come’ she said, ‘we have work to do’ as she lifted him from his knees.

  If there were any news reports that day, or papers printed, the headlines would just be three desolate, desperate words, “SAVE OUR CHILDREN” for the moment they fell down, each child across the world became infected with the plague, or the “black death” as some called it. No matter what its name, its effect was the same, cold, hard and unrelenting death for all of gods’ children.

  Clara cried out in despair as she lifted Seb from the floor, that murderous, evil sound broke through. The sound she had heard that night when she first held the talisman in her hands. She knew what it meant, Saul had escaped. The dragons had told her of the hallowed ground that he had been held captive in and why he needed Gavin, to help him escape. The sound was soul destroying and the pain in her head was all but unbearable but she stood defiant with Seb who had also heard the sound.

  ‘Jesus Christ, what was that?’ he asked. His hands went to his ears as if to dull the sound, but it was a mighty roar that wasn’t heard through your ears. The sound imbedded itself into your mind so there was no escape from it. They both turned to look at the brilliant explosion that ripped through the already dark sky caused by the smoke of a hundred burning buildings looming over the city of Manchester not so far away.

  The sky turned a deep orange high above the warehouse in Manchester before turning a deep crimson red, although the redness in the sky wasn’t just localised over the warehouse. They looked on aghast as it spread further and further like a dye in a pool of water. It was just like in the vision the dragons had shown her. Saul had escaped because the angels guarding him, were now needed to tend over the children that had been stricken down which had left Saul free to break out.

  This time it wasn’t only Clara that could hear the mighty cackle of victory from Saul. The throaty bellows were heard for many hundreds of miles, it was the sound of death gloating its victory call across the land. And then those words that struck terror in the heart of The Guardian. It felt as if the words stabbed through her heart like a cold steel blade.

  ‘Guardian...prepare to taste the blood of my victory’

  There was a moment of deafening silence before the great demon appeared in the sky only a few miles away. He lifted his great arms above his head and let out another mighty roar. Seb could see the red of his eyes from where he stood, it was that brilliant it matched the red of the sky surrounding him. His legs nearly turned to jelly and he had to grab hold of Clara to stop himself from falling.

  ‘You’ve got to be shitting me’

  ‘I wish’ replied Clara ‘Come on quick, we’ve got to get that egg’ she explained as they ran to the hill with the largest oak how the dragons had told her that she was the only obstruction for Saul to defeat before he would have full reign over this dominion. Something that the devil himself had never quite managed, how Saul had grown maybe too powerful for the devil himself to control, so had tricked him into the hallowed ground until he could think of a way to control the beast, and how it was now all up to her and her alone to bring him down.

  She stood before the great oak, it looked as if it had been there as long as the egg beneath it and took the talisman from the chain she had fashioned from some old bootlaces which she had placed around her neck and placed it into the hole of the middle prong on The Trident.

  There was a dazzling bright yellow light that split across the field and blew Seb to the ground as it sealed itself into the fixings. He sat dazed for a second putting his hands up to his face to protect his eyes from the blinding light. When he shifted his hands he saw Clara although now she really wasn’t Clara anymore, she was “The Guardian”. She stood before the tree with the Trident in both hands repeating some incomprehensible words. She was now dressed somehow in a long flowing white cloak that kissed the ground with its soft hem. Her hair had grown long and flowing and now matched the colour of the billowing cloak. The only thing that remained was the bright blue of her eyes.

  He knew what had happened; she was now truly “The Guardian” in all her glory. She had become, and she was beautiful. She stood before the old oak tree looking as strong and beautiful as the tree itself.

  The ground beneath him began to shake and rumble as if there were an earthquake. He attempted to stand, then thought better of it. The Talisman grew brighter and brighter as The Guardian chanted the name of the Earth over and over, commanding it to move. The mighty tree began to quiver as the soil from beneath it was displaced. It’s very roots were freed and the tree fell with an almighty thump that reverberated around them for a while after it fell. When the ground had settled and Seb thought it safe to stand he joined The Guardian to see the egg that had been settled beneath the roots of the great oak.

  ‘Glad you finally figured out how to use that thing’ The Guardian smiled at him, her face was a picture of calmness.

  ‘I’ve always known’ she said as she looked deep into his eyes, ‘since Mother Nature whispered her first breath or planted her first seed, I’ve always known, I just forgot, now I’ve been reborn, I remember it all’

  He wasn’t quite sure what to make of that so didn’t even try to understand.

  ‘So what now, there’s the egg, how do we crack it. I’m not sitting on it. The Guardian gave him a reproachful look that said, now is not the time for childish jokes.

  ‘Sorry’ he whimpered as he took his gaze from hers back to the egg.

  We must hurry for he will find us soon, and we must be prepared’

  Seb really wasn’t sure what he was doing here, how was he going to be of any use? A mere mortal amidst a battle of giants, a battle between good and evil to save the world? All he knew for sure was that he was going to stand at her side throughout.

  The Guardian held her Trident in both hands and called the
true name of the water and begged it do her bidding.

  The Guardian knew that Dragons eggs can take days, years or even millennia to hatch. Of course, there had never been any real research on the subject as they were thought to be just stuff of legend but there were many theories. Forces of nature, acts of God or even atmospheric conditions, but she knew that Dragons were born from water and lived most of their lives under the water. It made sense that water would be part of the hatching process.

  As she called the water from the seas to come to her, the Trident began to shake in her hands; the wind around them grew fiercer. Her robe billowed around her and then the rain came. The wind encircled her so that it looked to Seb as if she was stood in the middle of a typhoon, but she stood tall, not moving. The lightning began to crack in the air above her as she repeated the name over and over at the top of her voice, commanding the water to her bidding and then Seb caught sight of something snaking its way across the red sky. As it drew closer he realised what it was. It was a vein of water flowing across the land to The Guardian. It finally struck the Trident itself with the force of the Great Sea behind it, but through the wind and the rain, The Guardian stood hard as stone as the vein of water was projected through the Talisman and smashed itself against the egg.

  The force of the water smashing against the egg didn’t crack it at first as Seb thought it might. He marvelled at how strong the egg must be, then he marvelled at how strong and even more beautiful Clara had become before he felt the ground shaking beneath his feet again, and that demonic laughter, much, much closer now, in fact if he were to turn around he knew he would be almost face to face with the demon Saul.

  CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

  Saul had been searching for The Guardian since he broke free from the confines of the warehouse. She should have been easy to find but somehow she had put a shield around herself so that she could not be found.

  She had to have some kind of magical help as he knew that she was not capable of meddling with magic. She had only control over the forces of nature and that alone would not help her. He had to find her and destroy her as she was the only thing in his way of ruling the earth. It should have been easy but he searched and searched to find the one mind that was actively aware of him but there was nothing, just a void.

  She had help from someone with a near true power over the dark forces. While this puzzled him, he relished the challenge it would put to him.

  He stood a towering eighty foot tall and loomed over the city of Manchester as he went on his stampede, crushing the already burning buildings underfoot. He raised his gargantuan head towards the crimson sky, a horned silhouette against it, and let out another victory roar. He would not be stopped no matter who “The Guardian” had called upon to help her. He couldn’t find her because of the shield that had been put around her but when he saw that vein of water tracing its way unnaturally across the skies, he knew it had to be her and he followed it to its destination. The ant like people were either crushed underfoot or the lucky ones just that just managed to get out of his path ran in the opposite direction to the beast, praying to God for this day to end, and wondering if the sun would ever rise again.

  The Guardian felt the great demon land before she saw the beast appear at the top of Trident Hill. It was of a gargantuan size and its horns were a cold blackness against the red sky, they protruded from either side of its great head and curved inwards towards the top. His red eyes bore straight through her and his nostrils billowed an acrid black fog.

  ‘So Guardian, you think you can stop me from ruling this land? Nothing can stand in my way now. And don’t make me laugh, what do you intend to do with that little water toy?’

  The water was still rushing through the Trident to smash against the egg, but it appeared to be having no effect on the egg. The Guardian was confused... confused and terrified but she stood her ground and carried on hoping against all hope for just the tiniest crack to appear, but there was nothing. Before she knew it Saul’s massive claw had struck her and lifted her off her feet, she flew through the air, she went one way and the Trident went the other imbedding itself into a nearby field.

  ‘Ha ha ha, worthless tiny ant with delusions of Godliness, I spit on you, are you the only defence humankind has sent against me’

  He beat his chest with his mighty claws and roared his demonic laugh.

  The Guardian was shaken but somehow unhurt, she lifted herself above the trees so that she was at eye level with the beast and called her Trident to her. Her hair was splayed out magnificently around her head and her robes shined an incandescent white against the darkness around them. She shone in the face of evil and she defied him.

  ‘You will not take this land from us, I’ll send you back to the fires of hell where you belong, and I wont waste any spit on you worthless demon’.

  A bolt of fierce yellow flame shot from the Trident and struck Saul straight in his face, he did nothing but wince at the puny effort.

  ‘I live and breath fire you silly little human, you think fire can harm me bitch’ and swatted her away again’.

  ‘Oh, good move’ thought Seb who had beaten a hasty retreat to the side of the pub, (so much for staying by her side).

  He watched as the two exchanged blow after blow, she managed to lift the beast up in a hurricane at one point and fling him into another field. Seb grew hopeful at this point but the beast just laughed and turned the hurricane against her. She lifted the mighty oak with the help of the Trident and it flew through the air like a javelin and smacked the beast square in the face, this only enraged him more. She should have been dead by now, but something or someone was protecting her, Saul needed to find out who or what was helping her. He tried to look into her mind, but that too was protected. He was growing weary of this tiresome battle now, if he could find out who was helping her then she would be no more, this meddlesome little bitch. He flung himself towards her in a fit of rage and then while Seb was watching the beast stampede towards her he had an idea that struck him like, well... like lightning really.

  ‘Use the lightning Clara... use the lightning to crack the egg’ he shouted hoping that she could hear him.

  She did hear him, of course... ‘why didn’t I think of that, stupid Guardian’ before she had time to chastise herself too much she called forth the lightning that was cracking whips above their heads, it hit the Trident with an electrically charged snap and she guided it towards the egg. It struck with an almighty clap and the egg cracked open.

  Clara fell to the ground exhausted from battle just as the Dragon emerged from the egg, it looked to be no more than the size of a Shetland pony and The Guardian felt hope ebbing away before she closed her eyes.

  What The Guardian didn’t see was the Dragon as he soared to the skies, he grew in size. Seb was astonished at how he grew. By the time it had reached the top of its upward flight it appeared to Seb to be the size of the other two dragons in one, It was humongous.

  ‘You have tarnished the motherlands demon, you will go back to whence you came’ it looked down on Saul as if it had just found its first feed.

  ‘Aha, a worthy adversary at last’ Saul actually looked pleased at the sight of the beast. Seb saw his chance and ran to where The Guardian lay hoping he would be ignored. (Unlucky for him) Saul turned his head to see him running from the safety of the pub across the open field and Seb stopped dead in his tracks when the beast locked eyes with him. It sent cold icy fingers of fear right down his throat into his gullet.

  ‘You, you must be the one protecting the little bitch, well watch me now as I squash her underfoot’ and the beast stamped his foot onto the ground where The Guardian lay.

  ‘Noooooo’ screamed Seb in anguish, but then he saw the look of puzzlement spread across the beasts face as his foot stopped inches above where she lay. No matter how hard he tried he could not break through. Saul fumed at this and bounded over to Seb.

  ‘If it is you protecting her, then it is you who must die’ Seb was paralyse
d with fear but still managed to wet himself. As Saul came closer, Seb closed his eyes and prepared himself to take his last breath. When it didn’t come, he timidly opened his eyes again to see the mighty Dragon had picked the Demon up in its’ eagle like claws. It had lifted the demon off the ground and soared high above them. Seb watched in astonishment as the Dragon soared higher and higher above them and then... well then it stopped and flew back towards the ground at breakneck speed.

  ‘Holy shit’ he cried when he realised what the Dragon was planning... the ultimate piledriver. He ran as fast as he could back towards the pub as he heard the mighty roar of protestation from Saul and the screech of dogged determination from the Dragon.

  When they finally hit the ground the earth moved and the trees shook from their roots to their tips. Saul cried out in pain. The crater caused by their landing was probably half a mile long. There were screeches and roars as the two mighty beasts battled it out in the crater tearing at each others bodies with claws and horns.

  Seb was contemplating running over to Clara again to see if she was still alive before the decision was made for him. Saul rose from the crater first and would be looking for him. Shit he thought, what now? panic mode overtook him and for some reason he picked up a plant pot from the pub garden and hitched it through a window of the pub. He scrambled through the window pane and ducked down beneath a table in the hope he hadn’t been seen... but he had.

  Saul had watched him climb through the window just as he pulled himself over the lip of the crater. He had managed to subdue the dragon for now, beating it into unconsciousness, he could kill the dragon right now, but like a cat, he liked to play with his food. A smile spread across his demonic face as he picked up the dragon by its tail and spun it round and round like a hammer. The dragon woke from its reverie but all too late. Saul’s aim was true and the dragon found itself flying through the walls of the pub. It did little damage to the dragon itself but Seb was crushed under the weight of the Dragon and the rubble, the table he had hidden under for protection snapped in two and pierced his lungs.