portal prophecies 01 - keepers destiny (6 page)

“I did read a book earlier that mentioned the same races though. Do you think they could be real? I mean a race of evil snakes is disturbing to say the least and all that drinking of blood. Yuck. Who could do such a thing?”

“That's what makes the story so great.” Dezi stuck his head between them and laughed. “You aren't scared of a little sensationalism are you? You sure you can handle being all alone tonight? Who knows what might find a doorway into our world and attack you. Now, if you need some company to keep you safe.”

“Don't ask Dez cause you definitely wouldn't be safe!” Clairity laughed. The laughter grew louder as everyone else joined in. The trio were dressed similar to each other tonight and had held the attention of several of the girls over the story for most of the evening. They were the three most eligible prospects for young girls looking for a future husband, including several who were living in the castle.

“I think if there was anything, including doorways to other worlds hidden in the forest someone would have found it by now. Think of all the times we have played hide and seek and never came across anything,” Willow answered.

“No one has ever found where the forest ends though, so...who knows what could be out there.” Pete smiled as he teased the girls.

“Okay, enough I am going to have night scares in my dreams.” Clairity had a real sense of worry on her face. Willow understood the feeling, all the talk of monsters and blood was frightening, even if she wouldn't let the others see how she felt.

It was late and she had to be up earlier than the others so she turned to say goodbye catching sight of something out of the corner of her eye that stopped her dead in her tracks. It was Arnold and he was standing in the space beside the Waddington house. It was almost as if he were hiding in the shadows. She motioned again to Jessie who turned and looked. The boy backed up and started walking away as if nothing unusual had happened.

“He was watching us. It's a little creepy,” Willow whispered to Jessie.

“That story really got to you didn't it?” He laughed. “Arnold isn't creepy. He is just another kid. Probably wanted to join in the conversation but was too scared of rejection. I think you should call it a night.”

Willow agreed and muttered, “See you tomorrow,” as she headed to her one bedroom shack for the night. Once inside she changed into her bed wear, lay down and pulled the cover over her head.

Closing her eyes, images of the story haunted her imagination. Sleep wasn't going to come easy, if she kept thinking about frightening things. She put the thoughts out of her mind and concentrated on the forest and its trees. The thoughts soothed her, made her feel better.

'Sleep child, you are safe tonight,'
the female voice whispered gently and the world swirled around as Willow drifted off into a deep sleep.

Chapter Four

Willow could feel the motion of her breath rhythmically moving in and out of her chest. A cool breeze brushed against her face. She opened her eyes to find herself standing in the middle of the town road wearing nothing but a full length, white silk nightgown. Her long red hair hung loose, flowing behind her gently as if harmonized with every breath she took.

A fog crept low to the ground, rolling in from the forest. The eerie mist swirled around her bare ankles. In thinner patches, she noticed the ground was lined with faceless bodies, none moving. She headed down the street towards the tree line to see what she had thought to be fog was actually smoke. The forest was set a blaze in giant blue flames, everywhere. The clouds began to rumble with thunder and lightening lit up the sky as rain began to pour down on her. She tried to scream for help but she couldn't make any noise. Her mouth fell open gasping for words.

Her feet began moving, running aimlessly up the road. There was no other life...no signs of people. She approached the castle gates, but they were destroyed. Broken stone scattered throughout the grounds and only parts of the castle still stood amidst the rubble. The coloured windows were shattered, the stone table cracked in half. Disaster and destruction were everywhere.

There was nowhere to go. Then out of the blue she found herself running as fast as she could, climbing the great hill to the top. Sitting there was a tree, dying. She tried to help it, heal it, comfort it. A branch broke off hitting her in the head. She fell to the ground and watched as the rest of the tree burst into blue flames.

Willow tried to scream again. This time she burst out, “Help! Please someone help me!”

“Come towards my voice,” she heard from a distance. Looking around she could see the face of her friend Ashlyn in what appeared to be a hole in the sky. A hand extended through the opening. Willow reached as hard as she could, finally grasping the hand. She felt herself being pulled up, escaping.

Like a jolt of electricity had hit her, she sat up straight in bed, sweat dripping down her face and her heart racing. '
It was a dream, just a dream
,' she told herself.

'
What was it about child?
' The male voice asked with concern.

'You don't know? I thought you were always with me,'
she said.

'
We can not enter your dreams. Only a dream walker could do that. Dreams are for you and you alone. You can choose to share what happened with us and we can try to help you decipher the meaning if you would like.'

Willow went over the dream in her mind and decided, with the help of the voices, that the visions she had were just the result of her imagination playing on the story from the night before. There was little time to linger over it. She had to prepare for the day, so she got up and dressed as usual and was surprised by a knock on the door. Answering it, she saw Ashlyn standing in front of her, still in her night clothes and holding on to a little rag doll as tight as could be.

She lunged forward throwing her arms around Willow in a tight hug, as she burst out, “Are you okay?”

“You mean that was real? You were there? How?” Willow placed a hand over her mouth, her mind racing with questions.

Ashlyn shook her head. “I can't explain it. I have never gone into another person's dream before, just called my mom into a few of my night scares. It started about a month ago. The dreams are similar to the one you just had. Mom thinks they are a warning of some sort... of something that is coming, but we don't know what.” She looked down at the ground. “They scare me, the bodies with no faces. Who do you think they are?”

“I don't know. People I guess, maybe from here, maybe from somewhere else,” Willow replied.

“Can I stay with you today? I can help if you want.”

Willow smiled. “Sure, but you will need to change into regular clothes first. We can meet back at the stands and sit together.”

Ashlyn headed off across the street to change. Already behind, Willow began her daily ritual. She had just finished bringing the produce round front to the stands when her friend returned. After filling the stands the two girls sat down.

“So you are a dream walker,” Willow said breaking the silence.

“I don't know what that is.”

“You can move through the dreams of others and pull people into your own. It's a rare ability I bet.” Willow added more apples to the fruit display in front of her.

“Yeah I guess,” she answered with little enthusiasm. “Not what I would have chosen. I can't think of a situation where it would ever be helpful.”

“You pulled me out of that night scare. Do you think you can die in your dreams? Could something have actually happened to me? You said the dreams were the same. Do you know what happens next?” Willow sat down again her legs fidgeting.

“No,” Ashlyn answered with a mouth full of berries. “I get to the same point, on the great hill when a branch falls and the dying tree catches fire, then I call out. Mom pulls me out, the same way I did to you.”

“Should we try to see the rest? You know see what happens?” Willow asked.

“No, I don't think that's a good idea. Something bad could happen. I just wish it would go away.”

The town's daily activities had commenced while the girls were chatting and, coming towards them, Willow could see Jade and her entourage as well as their mothers. The three girls had almost a skip to their walk and smiles that reflected the sun in such an intense manner, that they could make you squint from the brightness. The boys seemed happier the group was moving faster than normal. Nebulah, Nyssa, and Ashley strolled behind them, with a look of pride on their faces.

When Jade reached the produce stands she barked, “Just put together baskets. You should know what we like by now. We will be back in a bit.” Without even stopping, she continued on.

“They are going to get new jewelry I bet.” Ashlyn didn't take her eyes off of the girls until they reached the Shinning house and entered. “Aha, I knew it!”

Willow looked up from the baskets she was preparing just in time to see the group disappear into the house of the gem maker. Shortly after, Victoria emerged from the house and ran over to where they were sitting. She was still dressed in her sleep wear and looked as if she had left home in a rush. Normally, her long wavy hair would be neatly tied back in a pony tail or braids, but today it was loose and hadn't even been brushed.

“Can I join you? It's getting crowded at home,” the young girl asked.

Ashlyn was quick to answer, “Of course you can. So what's going on over there anyways? Why the rush for new shinny stuff?”

“Something about a dance at the castle.” Victoria was more interested in choosing something to eat from the fresh fruits in the stands in front of her than discussing details of some dance.

“A dance?” Ashlyn smiled. “Do you think we will be invited?”

Willow looked at her perplexed. “No!” she snorted. The two broke out into a round of laughter at the thought of Jade extending an invitation to them to join in anything.

A few moments later the Council group emerged and swiftly moved to Ashlyn's house.

“I bet that's a lot of clothes they are ordering. Looks like I am going to be busy helping out for a while.” The tone in her voice showed her lack of enthusiasm towards the task of making beautiful outfits for a dance she probably wouldn't ever see.

Two guards sent to town for supplies stopped at the stands and were looking over what was available. Faramund pointed at corn. From the corner of her eye, Willow noticed a picture on his lower arm, not like the ones she had which were life-like. Iskander, the other guard made a similar motion towards the grapes and peaches. The same image appeared on his arm. A scowl crossed her face. How had she never noticed before?

“What does that symbol mean? The one on your arms,” she asked.

The two guards looked at each other and then at the girls all bursting with curiosity. Both guards were tall and muscular. Iskander's pale skin was so strikingly different from his friend Faramund's golden skin tone, that it made him look a distinctly paler white than he might have appeared if he was alone. This combined with his fair hair colour and one could have thought he had been so frightened that the colour had completely left his body.

Faramund pulled his sleeve back revealing the picture to the girls. It was an oval shape with four swords, one representing each direction, north, south, east and west, tips meeting in the middle and was a deep blue colour.

“The oval represents a door, or...” he paused for a moment looking at the other man as if they were somehow discussing what to say. “A gate, with the four swords intersecting representing two guards on each side. The swords meet at the middle allowing no one to pass. Put simply it is a sign of our birth right to protect.”

“So every guard has that picture?” Willow continued her interrogation.

“Yes,” Iskander answered. “When chosen for service as a guard, the symbol will appear. It is a great honour to be given the responsibility.”

“If I wake up one day and have the same symbol, I would just be a guard?”

Both men laughed. “Something like that, but guards are appointed based on need, and there hasn't been a need for new guards in a very long time,” Faramund replied.

“Does that mean something would have to happen to one of you for another to be needed?” Ashlyn asked with a mouth full of berries, a red ring forming around her lips from the ripe juices.

“I hope that doesn't happen, but, it is a way in which a new guard could be needed. The most common way still is an increase in the number of ... gateways that need protecting,” Faramund replied.

“In other words, a new guard won't be appointed unless there are not enough guards alive or available in relation to number of gateways needing guarding,” the other man offered.

As interested as Willow was to continue the conversation with the two men, Jade and the others were emerging from ordering their new clothes. She had no desire to be on their bad side or get anyone else in trouble, so she thanked them for the conversation, handed them their baskets. The two men were on their way to the baker's when the Council group picked up their orders. As suspected no invitation to the dance was extended.

The rest of the day was dreary. Victoria returned home. The whispers in the line of who was invited and who wasn't was too much for Ashlyn, so she headed home to help her parents. Since very little happened on a daily basis, the dance was going to be the hot topic for the next couple weeks until the event was over. Willow herself was glad when it was time to drop off food to the orphanage.

Dezi came over to help with the delivery today. He was fun to be with, quick with the jokes and always made Willow smile. All the way there, she managed to avoid the dance topic. She already knew that the brothers had been invited and in her opinion there was nothing to discuss.

Today Micca was already waiting for them out front. There was no need to go inside. The thought crossed Willow's mind that it had something to do with Arnold sneaking out the night before. There was no sign of the boy.

The way back was unusually quiet, almost to the point of being awkward. A couple times it seemed that Dezi was going to start to say something but changed his mind. He would sigh, rub his hand through his hair, then shove both hands in his pockets before continuing the walk. They were about half way when he came to a complete stop.