Nyteria Rising (The Thirteenth Series Book 3) (14 page)

Val found it hard to watch as Wendy kissed his cheek. “I know; I saw you in a vision. It’s time to do the right thing,” she said to him.

“Yes it is.” His eyes closed again and he just lay there passively: no movement, no aggression and no teleporting.

Sam signalled to Val to follow him out of the room. “You need to see Jason,” he said as they joined Zac, Mike, Susan and Belinda on the landing.

“Mum, I’m sorry I bailed on you all.” She looked at the floor not sure if she could make eye contact without crying her heart out again.

Susan’s voice was shaky, “Go and see him, Val.”

“Ok Mum.” With Zac following her like a lost dog that had been left home alone, she entered the room to find Jason still holding onto his dad’s hand.

“Hey, you’re back,” he greeted her softly.

“Yeah. Sam came to give me the talk on revenge not being an option, and I’m here to pass it on.” Fran released Jason and stood to hug Val.

“I’m going to get Jason a cup of tea, do you want one?”

“Yes that would be good.” Val made her way to Jason’s side. “I’m so sorry.” She laid her head on his shoulder and just breathed in and out.

“You did the best you could and he knew that.”

Fran returned with hot cups of tea and they just sat in silence together. They were joined a little later by Sam, holding what looked like a glass sphere. He stood very still and she could see it was slowly growing in size.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

Jason nodded. “Yes, are you coming Val?” he asked as if she knew what was happening.

“I’ll do whatever you want me to, but what is it we’re doing?”

“We’re burying Dad.” The glass ball was growing faster now.

“What?” Val was shocked. It seemed so sudden. Didn’t they have to fill in forms and stuff? The glass ball began to cover Shane, then it engulfed Zac, Sam, Jason, Fran and finally Val. It didn’t hurt, just gave her a feeling of oneness with the others inside. The bubble grew and the world outside seemed to darken. She stood and Jason stood with her. Then their cocoon of protection began to disappear and Val caught a breath of what smelt like the sweetest scent she had ever inhaled.

“Where are we?” She looked around.

“We’re inside the Space Val,” Sam replied.

“But it’s so green.”

“Yes, we’re in an area made of something very similar to your volcanic soil. To respect our lost friends we have created this place for fallen soldiers.”

Val looked around, but there were no gravestones, no memorials, and nothing to indicate the purpose of this place.

Sam made his way over to Shane’s body. “I will miss you old friend. You were a truly inspirational warrior. I swear to protect your son and Val with my last breath.” He touched Shane’s face with affection. “Zac, come with me, I have something to show you.” He left Val, Fran and Jason alone.

As they stood by Shane’s body, Val began to wonder what was going to happen. Then she saw a glimpse of a leaf weaving up towards Shane’s ankle. “Jason look!” she whispered.

He moved towards his dad, kneeling by his head. “Dad, if you can hear me, I love you. I didn’t say it earlier, I’m sorry.” Jason was choking on his words. Fran sat next to him, placing her hand on his. “I want to make you proud. Please help me do that. Watch over me, Dad.” He placed a kiss on Shane’s cheek. Vines now covered almost all of his body. Jason looked at Val. “He loved you, Val. He said that to me once when I asked him why he was taking so many risks to keep you safe. He said you would make the world a better place to be in. Will you?”

Val placed her hand on the vines that were now taking Shane completely away from them. “I swear I will.”

Jason’s tears fell as they watched the land take Shane back. Then, out of the mass of green, there appeared one
white flower. It was a lily. The lily opened and the sweet smell engulfed them as a breeze, that hadn’t been there before, washed over the three of them.

“He’s gone.” Jason stood up, pulling Fran to her feet. “I want to go home now.” She nodded.

Wanting to give Jason and Fran some privacy, Val went to join Sam and Zac who were standing to one side.

“How’s it going?” Sam turned to them.

“Painful. How’s it going here?” Val responded. She could see that Zac’s face was full of emotion. “Are you ok?” she asked him.

He pointed to a mound. “They found my Guard and brought him here, an honourable resting place.”

“Oh Zac.” She moved over, putting her hand through his arm and pulled him closer. She knew that this would mean so much to him. He had been prepared to be extracted for his Guard and she knew how much it had hurt him leaving his body on an alien planet. They all stood together for a moment’s silence and then, without need for words, Sam created another bubble and they were all returned to his house.

Susan walked in with a new tray of drinks and, seeing that Shane had gone, she placed the cups down and held Jason as he sobbed into her neck.

Sam waited respectfully for Jason to compose himself, and then they drank. “Ok, are you ready to make plans?” Val and the others nodded.

“Can I be in on this?” Wendy asked from the doorway.

“Of course. How’s Daniel?” Sam asked graciously.

“Asleep.” She came in and sat down.

“Good.” Val hugged her and they all sat together on the bed.

Sam summoned the others and, for the first time, Belinda was able to welcome her daughter, greeting her with a kiss on each cheek.

“Where’s Fourteen?” Sam asked.

“You mean David Beckham?” Val raised her eyebrows at Jason who mustered a sad grin. “He’s in one of the bedrooms with his Hunter. Had a run in with a Novelia and the rest is history. But like I said to Zac, if he’s still alive in the Interspace, we may be able to save him.”

“Well it’s never been done, but most of the things you do have never been done.”

“Yup that’s me – professional galactic rule breaker.”

“So where do we go from here?” Mike asked.

“We go to Mistley Heath,” Sam replied.

“Where?” Val asked.

“Mistley Heath is the place of the coming alignment. Its location is a place called Manningtree - one of the most powerful energy points on your planet. Do you recognise the name?” Sam asked.

“Should I?” Val shrugged her shoulders.

“I do,” Belinda said with sadness in her voice. “It’s not a place for witches, Val. It’s a place full of painful memories. It was where more than eighty-five of our sister and brother witches were killed: healers and simple folk hunted down by a man called Matthew Hopkins who ran amock. He was known as the Witchfinder General.”

“Sounds bad, but what has that got to do with us?”

“The events that Belinda, so correctly talks about, happened between 1645 and 1647,” Sam told her.

Val had definitely heard those dates before. “I was initiated in 1645. That’s when Wyetta said that witches were being killed by Excariot.”

“Yes, you were born at Manningtree, but the story starts after your father arrested Excariot, and Lailah. Excariot managed to escape to Earth, knowing his chances of survival here where much higher. When your father came after Excariot, he met Wyetta and they fell
in love. Shortly after that, you were born and news travelled of the birth of a star child. As a consequence, Excariot was one of the main instigators of the witchhunt devastation. He wanted to find you and destroy you before you became too powerful. He knew even then that a witch mixed with a Guard would create something special. But he also had other motives.”

“Are we talking about Lailah?” Val asked.

“Yes, he wanted to free Lailah, but to begin with had no way of achieving his goal. Do you remember I was there?” She nodded. How could she forget? “Elizabeth was with me at the time. We were also sent to Manningtree. The Prison had seen a great deal of energy emanating from there and wanted to see if it was possible to use Earth as an extension to the Prison. They had proof that a human could be possessed, with Flo making it look easy. We both knew that this would be the end of the Earth if they also knew about the alignments Elizabeth had mapped out, and so we hatched a plan to keep her maps safe.”

“How did Excariot know about the alignments?” Val asked.

“Excariot knew the power that Mistley Heath held for the witches, and was brutal enough to interrogate sufficient witches to find out that your initiation would be held on a special date. That’s why I got involved. It wasn’t my job, but I got emotionally attached to the situation.” His eyes met Val’s for one second and she blushed. “When he failed to open a portal the first time, and we sent you to the future to Susan and Mike, he was determined to take you back in time. Luckily for us, he didn’t know the maps existed, or he would have known not to bother with all that hard work of taking you back
to your initiation in 1645. He would have had other opportunities, like the one Lailah is about to use. As soon as you told me Lailah was here, I contacted Shane and told him to get the maps. I knew she was crazy enough to do something like this.”

“Crazy is an understatement,” Susan said.

“When the Prison saw what Excariot had achieved second time around by teleporting a couple of hundred prisoners, they were so excited, I had to convince them that this half-hearted attempt was the only chance they would have to transport prisoners in bulk to Earth, that they should look elsewhere for a holding planet. Elizabeth and I had never told them about any of the other alignments, but some of the information Excariot had at the time, he passed to his followers - one in particular.”

“Who?”

“Flo. She was with him, willingly or not, and remained with him until the arrival of Delta and Lailah. Flo knows everything about Manningtree and the power of the Heath and, from what I can see, she has - with the help of Eva - worked out the next date powerful enough to open a portal and passed it onto the others who will be heading there tomorrow night. Without the Dellatrax, this could be Lailah’s only chance at opening a full portal, so she will be there, no question.”

“How do you know that?” Fran asked.

“Elizabeth’s astrology charts told us that tomorrow will be one of the major dates for the crossing of energy paths.”

“So Shane was right?” Val said.

“Yes. You see there are more than one or two alignments. They happen on a regular basis, but some
are special. This time Earth is the planet coming into alignment with the Prison. Which means Lailah can open a large portal to Alchany.”

“Will their attack be the same as Excariot’s?”

“Much worse I’m afraid. If the Prison didn’t have enough problems with the Nyterians attacking, they would still struggle to fight this one. It could mean devastation for everyone. I don’t even think Lailah knows what she’s doing. She’s looking for a way to release her subjects, a group of powerful sister Ranswars who were imprisoned hundreds of years ago, but with this sort of power they won’t be able to pick and choose what they get, or how many.”

“Great, we met some of the wonderful creatures she’s created already today. So, how do we stop her?” Val asked.

“We need to block her, which means we can’t step in until she opens a portal. It’s vital that we halt her and anyone who’s with her. She must not succeed.”

Val looked at the others. They had been through so much and yet they all listened attentively ready to make the next move. “Tell us what you want.”

“Everything you can bring to the table at this point. We’ll need to leave in the morning.”

“Are you sure about all this?” Mike’s voice had a faint shadow of fatherly concern.

“Dad, Shane’s gone and I’m not going to lose you or anyone else on this planet to some messed up alien invasion, so let’s get a plan before they get to us, because it’s going to happen.”

“No disrespect, Mike, but I actually don’t need you or Susan to come with us. I only need Val, Wendy, Belinda and Zac,” Sam apologised.

“What about me?” Jason asked.

Sam patted his arm affectionately. “We need you here. Your eyes will be the only way we’ll know they’re coming.”

“Ok.”

“But tonight we need to rest. Tomorrow we will make our way to Manningtree. We’ll travel by car, we don’t want Lailah to know myself and Wendy are here. It will give us the upper hand.”

“How long will it take?”

“It’s quite a journey, several hours by car.”

Mike piped up, “Then you’re going to need me to drive. Val hasn’t quite mastered the art yet.” Val rolled her eyes.

Sam nodded. “You’re right Mike, I do need you. Susan, if you and Fran could look after Fourteen and his Hunter.”

“And Daniel?” Wendy whispered.

“Don’t worry, we’ll look after them all,” Susan replied.

Belinda stood up. “Although the house has a protection spell over it, I think we should all stay close tonight, maybe take it in turns to watch. I can take first watch with Wendy.”

“I agree.” Sam stood. “Mike, we need to get the car ready for the morning. Everyone else, rest.” Mike and Sam left the room.

“I can’t sleep here.” Jason looked at the bed.

Val could understand how he felt, the room felt so empty and cold now Shane was gone. “Let’s take some mattresses downstairs.”