Beneath the Elder Tree

by Hazel Black

  ‘It’s not death,’ he assured me. He placed his hands on my shoulders and kissed me gently on the bridge of my nose. ‘We cannot die, remember? It’s a luxury we will never know. What you just passed through is called the void. It is another world - one that Emily obviously didn’t tell you about - or didn’t know about. Time and space don’t exist in that place, allowing us to bypass those two fundamentals of existence - allowing us to conquer time and space. In that world we can travel great distances in no more than a few seconds.’

  ‘To what end?’

  ‘To this end.’ He released me and spread his arms out as he walked away. ‘Look. We have travelled hundreds of miles in a matter of seconds. The void is a dreadful place, but it is not without its benefits. It can deliver us from the gaze of our oppressor. The shepherd only exists in the spirit worlds. He can’t enter the living world or the void. This is a good way of dodging him … I’d still prefer to kill him, but let’s not waste the night talking about him. Let’s enjoy our time away. You weren’t expecting this, were you?’

  ‘No.’ I looked around at the endless strip of dark sand. There was no sense of any mortal. There was life, though, and it was magnificent. ‘This never crossed my mind…’

  ‘I thought it would be a nice surprise.’

  I faced the raging ocean. The sky and our surroundings where pitch black, which made the waters even more spectacular. The sea was teaming with life. The water itself had life. The sea was glowing bright with a dazzling array of colour. The brightness of the city was ugly and artificial in comparison. I was speechless as I walked the soft cushion of the beach to the water’s edge. The ocean was spellbinding to look upon. I couldn’t stop myself from giggling.

  ‘It’s one hell of a view, right?’

  ‘It is,’ I breathed. ‘There seems to be one surprise after another in this world. I can’t believe how bright the water is. I could look at this all night.’

  ‘Oh, we didn’t come here to look at it.’

  ‘We didn’t?’

  ‘No.’ Tim outstretched his arms and his clothes melted from his body, revealing a shimmering naked form, perfect in every single aspect. ‘We came here to go skinny dipping.’

  ‘You can’t be serious?’

  ‘Of course I’m serious,’ he laughed. ‘What’s wrong? Afraid someone might see you?’

  ‘No…’ It was a complete lie. The human trait of shame remained. ‘How do I remove my clothing? Is it possible for a guide to do?’

  ‘You did it last night.’

  ‘I did?’

  ‘Yes. You were just too busy to notice.’ He strode to the water, the luminous waves slapped his legs. ‘Just let it all go, Lucy. Purify yourself.’

  I wanted to follow him. I wanted to be brave and free. A surge of strength came to me and all the fears that had tormented me in recent days evaporated - as did my clothes. I walked forward. My body glowing in the face of the mighty ocean.

  The waters sizzled at my feet, burning me at first, before cooling around me and soothing those initial feverish sensations. This was like the spirit equivalent of taking a hot bath. I kept going, following Tim’s lead, until the water was swirling around my neck. I tried to take a deep breath, forgetting that I didn’t need air. I closed my eyes, tried my best to relax, then I gave myself to the watery aura and was gently coaxed into the depths. There was so much life beneath the surface that it was impossible to focus on any one stream of aura. It was everywhere. I was swimming in a vast basin of kaleidoscopic light. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought this was heaven.

  I quickly lost sight of Tim in the immense cauldron of light. I swam hard, going deeper and deeper until his red eyes became visible. He took hold of me as I swam back to the surface and his arms slipped around me. There, with the endless light beneath us and the endless blackness above, we made love in that most majestic of settings. It was pure magic.

  For two hours or more we were one in the ocean of light. Ecstatic we glided through the swirling waters like dolphins and I became a stranger to the rest of the worlds and all the problems they presented. Time was flowing in strange ways and I eventually lost track of it completely. I had been in the water for hours, yet it seemed like days. Nothing was real. It was like a beautiful dream that I didn’t want to wake up from.

  The inevitable awakening was not pleasant. In fact, it was the worst and most terrifying experience of my spirit life. There was suddenly a darkness in the water, coming at me like a monster from the deep, ready to swallow me whole. An intense anxiety took hold and I struggled to swim. My body felt heavy and I was unable to rise to the surface. I sank deeper and deeper. Crazed voices were in my ears. Laura was calling for help. Was this a dream? Was this really Laura’s voice?

  ‘Tim!’ I screamed as I was dragged down. ‘Tim, help me!’

  - CHAPTER SIXTEEN -

  The Mistake

  Paradise had turned into hell. My mind began to shut down as the force of countless auras crushed me from above. It would be impossible to rise through it all. Even amidst the panic, the irony of being killed by too much life was not lost on me.

  Tim was made of a different energy and was able to cut fast through the gleaming water. A black hand emerged through the wall of white and grasped my arm, wrenching me from the downward spiral. I held on as best I could as I was lifted from the depths. The waters refused to give me back at first, but Tim’s will was stronger. His desire for me - a desire I could feel even in that desperate struggle - could overcome any obstacle, including the mighty ocean.

  There was an intense struggle in the glowing waters before we could free ourselves. Eventually Tim was victorious and we rode the high glowing waves to the blackness of the shore. Tim literally dragged me up along the beach to the dunes. I was so weak that I couldn’t even stand. This made no sense; I could not tire as a spirit. My fatigue had nothing to do with the struggle against the waves. No, there was something else at work here. Something had drained me and that’s why I sank to the bottom so unexpectedly. It was not the ocean or something lurking under the surface that had pulled me down.

  ‘What happened out there?’ Tim asked, kneeling next to me. He watched me carefully and swiped the hair from my face. ‘It was like something had gotten hold of you.’

  ‘That’s what it felt like… ’

  ‘Describe how it felt.’

  ‘It felt like pain. I was grabbed by a dark shape and thrown down. I was hit hard. Something terrible had its hands on me…’ Then I remembered hearing Laura’s screams. ‘Oh no…’

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘Someone was attacking Laura. I was experiencing part of it because of my bond with her. Something terrible has happened, Tim.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘We have to get back there, Tim! Bring me back now. Laura is in danger.’

  ‘What do you mean? How is she in danger?’

  ‘Tim!’ I screamed at as I clambered to my feet. I was becoming hysterical, pounding at his chest. ‘Take me back!’

  ‘Give me a moment to compose myself.’

  ‘There’s no bloody time for composure. Did you not hear what I said?’

  ‘I hear you, Lucy. I have to be calm to navigate the void. Otherwise we might get trapped there. And I don’t think you want that.’

  I didn’t respond to him. I simply crumbled into the sands as pain shot into my mind. My body started to become dreadfully cold and I felt my aura fizzling away. I could barely move I was so cold. ‘What’s happening to me?’ I looked at my hands and they tensing up and cracks appeared on my skin. ‘Tim, what is this?’

  ‘You’re…’

  My skin was becoming grey. My arms fell by my side. They were simply too heavy to lift. I had seen this before, when Emily was in h
er final hours. ‘I’m dying, Tim.’

  He reached down and lifted me from the ground, pinning me to his chest with both arms. ‘Hold on,’ he whispered in my ear. ‘Just hold on, Lucy.’

  A cloak of black mist whipped around us and the world lost definition as the void took us. It had been difficult the first time. Now I was practically blind with pain. Every sound was a deafening roar. The cold was intense and paralyzed me. Would I even make it back to Millbrook? The journey seemed to last much, much longer this time. It seemed like it would never end.

  I was thrown from Tim’s grasp when we re-entered night world. I was so heavy he could not keep hold of me and I was shot from his arms and hit the pavement like a cannon ball. It took me a moment to get my bearings and to lift myself from the ground. I was kneeling across the street from the apartment block. The sense of fear instantly transformed into panic.

  There were blue and red flashes swirling across the building’s exterior. They were not the aura lights of night world. These were the artificial spinning lights of police cars. I was a little stronger now and was able to rise to my feet. My vision cleared and I fixed my gaze on the top floor of the building. The lights of all the apartments were on. Dark shapes were moving around inside each room. Something awful had happened to Laura. I was almost afraid to take a forward step. I was terrified by what lay inside those bland concrete walls. I had wished to be set free of this place, but not at Laura’s expense. Her life was too precious to end prematurely.

  ‘She’s dead…’ I panted. ‘Tim, she’s dead. I can’t sense her - I can’t feel anything.’

  ‘No, she’s not dead,’ he replied. He was standing in the centre of the street, staring up at the top floor. ‘If she was dead, you’d be floating off into the light right now. You’re still here, Lucy. That means your chosen is still alive.’

  He grasped my hand and led me across the road to the apartment building. He didn’t bother entering the usual way. Tim wrapped his arm tightly around my waist and we floated upward, past many windows showing shocked faces that were busy with chatter. We entered the vacated apartment next to Laura’s to find it occupied. There were two police officers tossing the room. I paid them no heed as we passed through the wall and my feet met the bare floorboards. I also ignored Tim as I broke free of his grasp. All I could think of was Laura. I dissolved through the wall into her apartment and called her name over and over again.

  I sank through the layers of concrete and timber and found myself stumbling into the bathroom. There were three police officers standing by the doorway deep in discussion. I moved past them and found myself surrounded by more police officers and men in suits. I passed right through them all. I went to the sitting room to see Grace sprawled on the couch as she often was. It was so different this time. She had been literally butchered.

  There were dark blood stains on the cushions of the couch. Fresh pools of it on the floor. Streaks of it on the walls. The ceiling looked like a Jackson Pollock painting. Someone had hacked at her body so viciously that one of her arms had been completely severed. Her neck was just a dark mass of muscle, sinew and blood. Her head was almost separated from her upper body, hanging like bauble from a Christmas tree. I was so shocked by the scene that I forgot myself and approached her body. An invisible force pulled me forward and it took all my strength to break free of it. I wasn’t thinking straight at all. I had forgotten how dangerous dead bodies were for spirits and was almost sucked into Grace’s corpse - a place there was no escape from.

  I staggered away from the gory scene and passed through the wall into Laura’s room. She was lying on the ground, surrounded by paramedics. There was blood sprayed on the walls and carpet. A paramedic was pressing on her chest and an oxygen mask was strapped to her face. Her aura was so weak that I could barely see it. I tried to pass some of my power to her, but my clumsy attempt was futile. I was almost as weak as she was.

  ‘What happened here? Who did this?’ A detective asked. I turned to see him lurching over a young man slumped in the corner of the room. His arm was badly cut and his face was taut and pale. It was Mouse.

  ‘I recognised him,’ Mouse said to the detective. His entire body was shaking and I sensed an intense fear inside him. ‘I remember seeing him hanging around the old house on the night Josh was killed.’

  ‘Josh Mathews?’ the detective asked. ‘The young man murdered last week?’

  ‘Yeah,’ Mouse answered. ‘I never came forward to make a statement, but I was in the house that night. I didn’t see Josh being killed, though. I swear I wasn’t involved.’

  ‘I believe you. I do. Now, tell me what happened here? Help me catch this monster.’

  ‘I recognised him because he walks with a limp. I saw him hanging around the estate a few times. I was just about to call some friends to help me kick his head in when he made his way over here. I followed him, thinking that he’d be hanging around downstairs or something… I’m not sure what I expected. I got inside the main entrance and he’d already gone up the flights of stairs. I went after him, but by the time I caught up he was inside this apartment. He was hacking that poor woman up! I ran up behind and him and hit him with a punch. He fell down but was on his feet in a flash. I tried to hit him again but he swung at me with the cleaver. He nearly took my arm clean off! I couldn’t stop him getting in here. He was after Laura. He was like a rabid dog. Laura was screaming. He kicked in the door and started laying into her. I hit him as hard as I could. I think I broke his cheek or his nose or something - heard a bad crack. Then I hit him again. He kept fighting and knocked me over. Then he ran off. I didn’t have it in me to keep chasing him. You have to believe me. I didn’t have anything to do with this. I tried to save her.’

  ‘I know,’ the detective said. He rested his hand on Mouse’s shoulder. ‘One of the neighbours saw the man running off down the corridor with a knife in his hand. You did your best.’

  I’d lost any semblance of interest I’d had in the conversation. I stood there, motionless, staring through the bodies of the paramedics at my chosen. The voices in the room faded to whispers. I read the thoughts of the people trying to keep her alive. None of them believed she would survive.

  Amid the confusion, I saw Tim standing at the other end of the room, the fire of his eyes extinguished, with only hollow shapes remaining.

  ‘What can I do?’ I asked him. ‘Tim, how do I fix this?’

  ‘I don’t know, Lucy. I don’t know what to say.’ He ran his hands through his raven hair and shook his head. ‘I can’t stay here.’

  ‘Don’t leave me now, Tim. Don’t leave in the middle of this.’

  ‘The shepherd is above the building, Lucy. I can’t be found here. I can’t fight him if he finds me in the middle of a murder scene. He’ll blame me for this if he sees me here.’

  ‘But you had nothing to do with it.’

  ‘He won’t listen to reason. How many times have I told you this?’

  ‘Then go. Don’t sacrifice yourself if you can do no good here. This is not your responsibility.’

  ‘I’ll be watching from a distance. I promise.’

  ‘Don’t go too far.’

  ‘I won’t,’ he said as he melted into the floor. ‘You know I will never leave you.’

  * * *

  The paramedics kept Laura alive, but she was not far from death, meaning I was not far from it either. My spirit was body was virtually powerless and I struggled to keep up with the medical team as they carried her down the stairwell to the waiting ambulance. She was put inside and immediately hooked up to a drip and a machine to monitor her heart. I managed to crawl into the back of the ambulance before they slammed the double doors shut. I lay there as helpless as my chosen as the ambulance powered along the freeway to the city. A young paramedic spoke with Laura all the way. I couldn’t hear his wor
ds over the scream of the siren and the bleeping of the machine. I could no longer sense the feelings and thoughts of the mortals around me. I put all my energy into my bond with Laura. I sensed nothing at all from her. It was as if she was already dead.

  It took more than thirty minutes to reach the hospital. They rushed her into the emergency unit as soon as the ambulance ground to a halt outside the door. I was terribly drained and couldn’t keep up as she was wheeled along the busy corridors. She was already surrounded by doctors in one of the theatres when I finally caught up. I was barely able to move at that point. I couldn’t see clearly either. It was as if the bright lights of the operating room were too powerful for my spirit eyes to deal with. Deep down I knew the brightness of the room was not artificial. The portal to the world beyond was ajar. It was swinging ever wider.

  I collapsed on the tiles and watched the doctors and nurses rushing around the room. An hour drifted by as they fought to save Laura. The living world was becoming distant, like a dream that rolls away after you wake. For the first time since my death I felt tired. I was sleepy. It was almost peaceful. My soul was calm for the first time ever.

  One of the mortals shouted in frustration and snapped me from the daze. I looked up but saw no one. The living world was no more. All I could see was a blank landscape and a bright light growing above me. The fear and confusion I had felt since I was dragged down in the ocean was banished completely. The light filled me with confidence and anticipation.

  It was more than light. It was life, pure and simple. The light was a life so strong that it made the previous forms of life feel like death. The light was made up of endless spirits. They reached out to me and beckoned me forward.