Bound (The Grandor Descendant Series Book 3) (33 page)

A second later, Chris dropped to his knees. Ari made to rush forwards but Lea kept hold of her hand, locking her in place. Looking up, Ari realised that none of witches were looking at her anymore. They all had their eyes closed, their heads bent back as they faced the ceiling.

A sudden rush of wind blew Ari’s hair, flinging it wildly around her face so that is shot in all directions. When the gale finally settled, an odd silence filled the room. No one else in the circle moved. Their bodies remained motionless, their heads bent back, and Ari thought that perhaps she had stopped time. She looked at Lea, and felt an icy coldness emanating from the hand that was stiffly clasping hers. 

Then Chris stood. His eyes were black, completely devoid of colour, as if they had become giant gaping pools that delved deep inside him. Ari stared at him in horror. She had seen this look in Chris when he had attacked Ragon, and though she wanted desperately to believe that Chris was good and would not attack her, there was a horrible lurch in her stomach as she feared the worse. Slowly Chris walked towards her, his hands outstretched. Two frosty fingertips touched her face, gently tracing a line down from the centre of her forehead to her chin. She didn’t know what to do and before she could ask, Chris had pulled her away from the circle. Ari hadn’t felt Lea’s hand release hers, and when she looked back, her heart skipped a beat. There she was, still standing in between Lea and Briana, their hands still grasping hers and forming part of the circle of light which encapsulated the group.

What the hell was going on? How were there two of her? Looking down, Ari saw that her body had become fluid and transparent, as if she were a ghost. Was this her spirit? Had her body remain behind as part of the circle?

“What’s happening?” asked Ari, still staring at her mirror image and the motionless circle of witches around her.

Chris did not reply but continued to walk her back to the centre of the circle, now clutching Ari’s hand forcefully, his frosty fingertips intertwined in hers tightly, as if he were afraid she might float away. 

“Chris,” she asked again, “what are you doing? Can you hear me?”

Still Chris did not respond, rather he moved so that he was facing her, his hands still holding hers and then he embraced her, bringing his icy body against her ghostly one, as the pair united. Immediately Ari felt darkness press down on her, seeming to come from the inside out, as the room, the circle... everything faded into nothingness.

She wasn’t sure how long it had been before she saw something again. Her mind had woken to a light, so bright that it seemed to pull her from the darkness, like a magnet. There was nothing at all surrounding the light, no scenery, not even her body, and it made her feel as if she were disjointed from the world, if she was even still in the world. 

When she reached the light, she heard a voice; it was kind and familiar and she smiled when she saw the face behind the voice.

“What took you so long?” asked Chris.

“What happened?” asked Ari, and she was pleased to see that Chris’s eyes were no longer black and empty, but green and kind looking.

The moment she spoke, everything around her shimmered gold and then, as though a veil had been lifted, she saw where they were. She and Chris were sitting on emerald grass by an enormous lake. The lakes crystal blue water seemed to stretch only a short way, though Ari couldn’t see anything at all beyond it, as if the world ended at its edge. In the centre of the lake was a small island, no bigger than a few metres and from which an enormous weeping willow grew, it’s long and slender branches reaching out and bending near the water, so that tiny green leaves brushed against the lakes still surface. There was something odd about the shape of the tree. It was as if it were made of three trees and the trio had grown together, wrapping and weaving so closely that they united as one.

“What is this place?” she asked.   

“This,” Chris said, indicating the lake, “is death. Not too shabby, hey?”

“Death?”

As she looked out, Ari realised that off to the side of the lake, only just visible, was a line of people. She was too far away to see any of their faces, though from the distance that separated her from them, she could tell that they were naked. The man at the front of the line moved into the water, his entire body quickly swallowed up by the crystal blue lake, so that only his head was visible. He continued further into the lake, wading through the water until he reached the tree in the centre of the island. The branches of the tree seemed to bend towards him, as if a great gust of wind had directed them, and Ari watched as the tree began to unwind, the thick branches slowly coiling away from each other until there were clearly three trees.

But they were not merely trees… Ari didn’t know how to describe it; it looked as if they were three ancient, petrified women. They were partly formed from branches and leaves, but with obvious human traits, faces carved into the trunks and what looked like branches for limbs. All three tree-women appeared to be of different age. The closest to Ari was the tallest of the three, with a far less wrinkled face etched into the trunk and long slender branches and bright green leaves. Next to this was another tree, obviously older, the face resembling that of a middle aged woman. Her branches seemed to droop lower and there were a few yellowing leaves that gathered around more coiled twigs. The final face was so heavily wrinkled that it appeared more of a knot in the tree than a true face. This trees branches were leafless and curled down low, as if time had forced it to bend. 

When the man in the lake approached the trees, he hovered in the water, sending tiny blue ripples across the surface. For a moment the three trees remained motionless, their tiny wooden eyes apparently contemplating him. Then there was a rumble and a giant wave of water crashed down on the man, sending his body over the edge of the lake… into the nothingness beyond.    

“What, what just happened?” asked Ari. “I thought that you were supposed to bring Grandor back to the circle.”

“I think you’d rather be here,” said Chris.

“Why?”

But it wasn’t Chris who replied, rather a kind voice spoke. Immediately the aroma of flowers wafted over to Ari. She breathed in the sweet smell and something triggered in the back of her mind, like the distant echo of a long forgotten memory.  

“That is the pool of death,” said the kind voice. “The newly departed meet here. They are judged. Then they are taken beyond.”

Chris and Ari stared up at the woman who had spoken. She was short, with dark hair that reached to her waist and light blue eyes. Next to her was a man, tall and strong looking, but with the same dark hair, though he had green eyes. Both figures seemed to glisten, as if illuminated by bright sunlight, giving them a transparency that made them appear not quite there. 

“Mum… dad?” said Ari, and though she had never seen her parents before, she was certain that it was them.

It felt bizarre and wonderful to say those two words... mum and dad… like her whole life her parents had just been a story she had heard of. Now they were standing in front of her. They were real.

“Yes Ariana,” said the man, smiling kindly down at her.

“Is it, it is really you?” asked Ari, and they both smiled and nodded, and Ari watched as a tiny glistening tear, so bright gold that it seemed to glow on its own accord, traced its way down her mother’s cheek, leaving a shimmering line behind, just like glitter.

Ari jumped to her feet and wrapped her arms around her parents. She had been worried that she might not be able to touch them, that they would disappear the moment she reached them, but as she hugged them she felt the warmth behind their embrace and squeezed harder, afraid to let them go. Far too soon, Ari felt her mother slip her hand in hers as she pulled out of the hug, moving to stand in front of Ari so as to look at her better.

“You are so beautiful,” said her mother. “We’re so proud of you.”

“We watch over you all the time. But why have you come here?” said her father, his voice tight, even scared.

Looking up in awe at Ari’s parents, Chris said, “I brought her here.”

Ari’s father looked down at Chris. There was an odd smile on his face, but his eyes shone of sympathy or was it pity?

“But why did you… how did you,” Ari stammered, trying to compose her thoughts.

“You called for your ancestor, Grandor, we heard the summoning and came,” said her mother, looking back at the lake and the tree in the centre. “We can’t stay long.”

“But…” said Ari, and her voice trailed off when she too glanced at the weeping willow; the carved faces in the tree were watching them and though Ari wasn’t sure, it felt as if they were counting down the seconds before they would pull her parents back into death and beyond.

“I don’t want you to leave,” said Ari, and like her mother, her face suddenly shone with tears. “There’s so much I need to know… and I don’t want to lose you, not again.”

“I know baby,” said her father, looking down proudly at her. “We didn’t want to leave you.”

“And you will never lose us,” her mother added.

“We haven’t got long,” said Chris, and Ari turned to see him staring in concern at the tree, his face almost pleading as he glared at it.

“We come with a warning,” said her father, hurriedly whispering. “Times are changing and the enemy has the power to upset the balance; they could destroy everything. Your ancestor, Grandor, knew of his mistake, but by the time he realised it, it was too late. Already he loved the immortal races he had created. That is why he passed his power down his line. So that you might do what he could not.”

“But, but, you mean I am supposed to get rid of all the immortals? Kill all the wraiths and waeres and vampires? I can’t do that. They aren’t all evil.”

Ari’s mother looked at her, her face glowing as she said, “You have been alone for so long. We didn’t want to leave you. But you have grown into a beautiful and compassionate woman. The power you have, it comes with responsibility, but it is your decision as to what you do with it. You must trust to yourself to do that which is right.”

“But how am I supposed to do that? How am I supposed to know what the right thing is? I don’t know anything about being the Grandor descendant, why I have all these powers, what I’m supposed to do with them?” Ari stammered, finding it difficult to speak her thoughts. “That’s why we came. I need someone to teach me, to tell me what to do. I can’t do this on my own.”

“You are the blood of Grandor, the blood of the true immortal,” said her mother. “You command the sunlight. The darkness fears that.” 

“Your voice,” said Chris, and his eyes had become wide, “I’ve heard it before… when I died.”

Slowly Ari’s mother nodded, saying, “You are unique Christopher Bolt. A wraith who is good. You must learn to control the shadows,” she said, still looking at Chris. “Ari may control the light, but you control the darkness.”

“It was my mother’s voice you heard? But, but then, was you who told Lea about Riley being pregnant?” asked Ari.

Again Ari’s mother nodded.

“What do you mean, control the shadows?” asked Chris. “I thought it was Ari’s destiny to fix Grandor’s mistake, but you keep talking about these shadows, like they are something specific.”

But Ari’s mum and dad suddenly looked scared, their faces becoming more transparent. Ari clamped down on her mother’s hand, feeling nothing but cool air there.