Frog and the Sandspiders of Aridian (10 page)

14

Revelations

Frog threw his arms around his father.

‘I knew that you were alive. I knew it. I knew it,' he sobbed, burying his face into the folds of the man's robe. ‘I've really missed you, Dad.'

The man put his hands on Frog's shoulders and gently pushed him back, his eyes searching Frog's face. ‘You know me?'

Frog stared back. ‘Of course I do; you're my Dad.'

The man's eyes searched again. ‘Forgive me. I have no recollection of you.'

Frog turned to Nadiah. ‘I don't understand. What's wrong with him?'

The tall, auburn-haired woman moved forwards. She took Frog's hands and clasped them around his father's.

‘The ancient Magic of the Guardians nearly killed him and in the process it took his memory, but you have the power to restore it, young Frog. Now, place his hands on your forehead and let the light of The Chosen reach out into his mind.'

Frog looked down at his father's large hands and noticed the platinum wedding band that adorned the
third finger of the left hand, a replica of the one that his mother wore and had always refused to remove. With her image in his mind, he leant forward and brought his father's hands up to his forehead.

A sudden, bright illumination of golden light spread from his brow and melted into his father's palms. The light was so intense that the others in the room had to look away and shield their eyes. They did not see the rich, yellow aura envelop his father and melt into his robes until his whole body shone with the radiance. Then, in moments, it was gone and Frog's father fell to his knees, his head bowed. They all stood around him, their eyes blinking in the pale light of the crystals.

Frog knelt down and lifted up his father's head. ‘Dad? Are you all right?'

His father smiled. ‘Hello son. You're full of surprises.'

For a few moments, the others stood in silence and witnessed the joy of a father's reunion with his son.

Finally, Frog spoke. ‘Do you remember anything, Dad?'

‘I remember more than I ever knew, including your adventures in Castellion.'

The woman stepped forward again. ‘The power of The Chosen has not only restored your father's memory, but has also transferred the knowledge to him of everything that has happened to you since you came to the Dimensions.'

She held out her hands, helping Frog and his father to stand.

‘Let me introduce myself. My name is Pasha and it was I who found your father in the tunnels long ago. He was badly injured and unconscious for many days
and it took all of my skills to keep him from death's eager hands. I knew from his clothing that he was not of Aridian, but the two pieces of animal skin that he held in his hand eventually revealed the importance of his sudden appearance.

‘He had no memory of who he was or where he had come from and so I took the skins and consulted with the Guardian Cassaria. She advised us to care for and guard him in secrecy. This has not been difficult as we have lived in isolation for many years and we have kept ourselves away from the conflict of the Aridians.'

She turned. ‘This is Fray, my brother.'

The man moved to her side and took her hand. ‘We are among the last of the Firefox,' he said.

‘I can never thank you enough for saving my dad's life,' said Frog.

‘It was meant to be,' said Fray. ‘He is here for a reason. There is much to be said. So, now, let us retire for a while to surroundings that are more comfortable.'

They led the way to a softly lit antechamber, at its centre was a knee-high, wooden, circular table made from a cross section of an ancient tree. It was about 2 metres in diameter and surrounded by plain-coloured cushions. In a small recess, there were two, simple, raised camp-style beds and in another corner, there was clean, straw-like bedding.

While the girls, Nadiah, Frog and his father made themselves comfortable around the table, Fray and Pasha busied themselves, providing goblets of fresh water and bowls of fruits until they finally took their places at the table.

Frog sat so close to his father that the others thought
that he would dissolve into him. With his father's arm around him, the bond between them was clear for all to see.

‘So,' said Pasha. ‘Let us now hear about The One's journey to Aridian.'

‘You don't have to call me that anymore; I know who I am now,' said Frog's father.

‘All the more reason for secrecy,' said Pasha. ‘Your son must remain as he is known in the Dimensions; his name is Frog, even to you and you must be known as The One to him and to all others.'

She produced the dried animal skins and placed them on the table. ‘Somehow, these bind you both to the Dimensions and the evil that would return as Lord Maelstrom. Now tell us what you remember so that we can understand further why you have been brought here.'

Frog's father absently rubbed the scar on his forehead. He took a mouthful of water and then he recalled the events that had led to his arrival on Aridian.

‘I was in a tomb that had been discovered a few kilometres from the Bou Craa phosphate mine in the Sahara desert. With a small team, I had been comparing the hieroglyphics on these ancient animal skins with those on the broken sections of a sarcophagus lid. No one had ever seen symbols or ciphers like it and I was still trying to recognise a pattern when I started to piece some of the lid fragments together. Then I noticed that the only symbol that appeared once on one of the skins and on a lid fragment looked like a door opening in a wall. That's when I had the idea of a hidden doorway in
the tomb. We set to work examining the walls until eventually one of the Moroccan guides found the same symbol carved into a small single block of stone at the base of one of the wall sections.

‘I was sure that this would operate the mechanism to open a doorway to another room. I placed my hand over the symbol and gave it a push. As it sunk back into the wall, we could hear the grinding and rumbling of moving rock. Dust started to fall from the ceiling and walls and we were about to evacuate the tomb, when the wall in front of us suddenly slid back to reveal a long dark passageway. Along its right-hand wall, another series of hieroglyphics were carved out in a line, which faded into the dark.' He paused for another drink, perspiration showing on his brow.

‘It was decided that I would lead a small exploratory party into the passage and so, after equipping ourselves with torches and taking the animal skins so that I could continue to look for any translation, we moved slowly into the dark corridor. We had not gone far and were within shouting distance of the rest of the team at the tomb's entrance, when the shadows fell back to reveal another chamber. We were astonished at what adorned the walls. In striking pastel colours on the wall in front of me was a medieval scene, a castle with large flags flying from its turrets, each one decorated with a burning sun on a bright blue background.'

‘Castellion!' exclaimed Frog. ‘The sign of Castellion and The Chosen.'

‘On the next wall,' continued Frog's father, ‘was a desert landscape and hanging in the sky were two burning suns.'

‘Aridian,' confirmed Pasha.

‘To my left was the drawing of a tropical forest with a snow-peaked volcano standing in the background. I turned to look at the wall behind me, the one from which the passage emerged. It was painted with the view of a city landscape, skyscrapers and office blocks. There was an aeroplane in the sky above the scene. How on earth these images had been painted onto the walls of a Moroccan tomb was beyond me.

‘I turned my attention to the floor in the centre of the room. A circle, large enough to stand in, was carved into the stone and within the circle were twelve symbols. I can remember kneeling in the middle of the circle, holding onto the animal skins. I matched all of the symbols in the circle to ones that were on the skins and I tried to interpret what they meant. I consulted Joe Stein, one of my colleagues who was with me; he also noticed that the same symbols appeared on each of the walls and we agreed on what we felt each one represented. We decided that while I shouted out each symbol he would try to locate its position on the walls.'

Frog could see the immense concentration and anxiety on his father's face as he wiped the sweat from his brow and recalled the final events.

‘The first symbol that I touched and called out resembled a tree and to our amazement, the icon on the floor gave off a bluish glow as did the one on the tropical forest painting. The next resembled two fiery orbs and again when I touched it and shouted this out, the same image glowed on the floor and on the desert landscape. As I continued, various symbols illuminated on the floor
and on the matching walls. I had just called out the seventh symbol, a spider, when the whole circle lit up around me, as did the desert painting. Cracks tore through the wall and jagged shafts of light burst into the room. The ground beneath me gave way and as I fell, I looked up only to see the roof caving in on my colleagues and a large piece of rock following me down into the hole and striking me on the head.

‘I don't remember anything else from that moment until I opened my eyes to see Pasha leaning over me and wiping my face with a damp cloth. I had no idea who I was or what had happened to me.' He looked down at his hands, sorrow on his face.

‘I lost some good friends and colleagues in that room and I still don't understand what really happened or why.'

‘I can only tell you what was revealed to me by Cassaria,' said Pasha. ‘You found an ancient gateway into the Slipstream. The secret of its existence was only revealed through an unforeseen shifting in the desert sands. It had remained hidden for aeons since last the elder Guardians, one of whom was buried at the site, had used it. The Guardians had many such gateways throughout the Dimensions; they used them to travel between the four Dimensional worlds to correct the balance between good and evil whenever evil threatened to become the greater force.

‘The hieroglyphics were codes that, when used correctly, would open the Slipstream into each Dimension. A protective spell was placed on the gateway lest dark forces tried to use it and when you applied the symbols randomly, it triggered the spell
designed to destroy the gateway and those attempting to use it. Sadly, those that were with you have perished and you would have also, but for some reason the Slipstream chose to draw you in and bring you to Aridian.'

Frog turned to his father.

‘Look, I know it's sad that people were killed, but you were saved for a reason. I don't think it's a coincidence that we've been brought together in the Dimensions, especially since an old friend gave me some good advice when I first came on this crazy adventure. He told me, “Things are not always as they seem.” And he's been proved right on several occasions. All I know is that I have been chosen to help stop some really evil people from taking over places that I never knew existed. Other people are prepared to die protecting me; in fact, some already have and I have to repay that sacrifice.'

His father studied Frog's face for a moment then he looked directly into his eyes and said. ‘I cannot believe how you have suddenly grown in character since I last saw you. You're still my son, but you speak with such maturity and confidence. You're the same, but different. Does that make sense?'

‘It totally makes sense,' said Frog. ‘I'm two people. At the moment, I'm the one that they call Frog, but inside I'm still me, your son, Chris, and I can't think of anyone that I'd rather have here with me than you.'

His father looked down at his wedding ring.

‘I only wish we were with your mother. I miss her so much.'

In the short silence that followed, a low howl echoed from the passageway.

‘It's Jenna,' said Fray. ‘Something's happening and she brings us news.'

All eyes turned towards the entrance to the chamber until another Firefox appeared. It ignored everyone else and went straight to Pasha who crouched down to let the animal lick her hand. She whispered gently to it and then stood back.

They all watched as the metamorphism unfolded again before their eyes. The animal's coat shimmered and flexed and then the human form took shape. A shock of short, deep-red hair framed the woman's dark face, brown eyes and small, pointed nose. As with Pasha, her lips were crimson red.

Fray introduced Frog and briefly told Jenna about the restoration of The One's memory, until finally Jenna spoke to them.

‘I come from Cassaria with news and instructions. Sanctuary has been saved and the evil repelled, but at great cost. Many of the young students have been lost in the fight. If it had not been for her, then the loss would have been greater.'

One of the girls spoke. ‘We must return to Sanctuary, Nadiah. We will be needed in the healing process.'

‘The girls may return to Sanctuary,' said Jenna. ‘They can make their way back through our safe passageways. However, your place is with us, Nadiah. Your future must be alongside Frog and The One. Say your farewells quickly as we too must leave to join another guarded assembly.

‘Death and destruction spreads its vile shadow on the surface of Aridian and threatens the survival of all its good people. Sanctuary is not the only safe haven
that it has infiltrated; we fear for the very heart of Aridian as the worst has now been realised. Lord Maelstrom has been released from the Void and descends upon us with a determined vengeance. His quest to invade the Dimensions and to enslave all who survive has been renewed.'

15

I am Released!

Belzeera had delved deep into Billy's subconscious; she had probed his memories and found much satisfaction in taking his mind to the brink of insanity. She had discovered many things about Billy's friendship with the boy who was now Frog; she knew how they had come to Aridian and she glimpsed his conversations with Cassaria, including the Magic of making him appear as Frog's double. She had also discovered the mobile phone hidden on him and she had learned of its use and function. She was particularly interested in its ability to capture images and while the body of a now deathly pale Billy lay on the floor, she proceeded to work her evil Magic.

She turned on the camera function and took an image of herself and then, retrieving the picture onto the screen, she placed the phone on the floor in front of her.

‘Now is the time dear brother. Through me and the science of a Dimension yet to be captured, you shall be released.'

She then rolled up the sleeve of her robe and produced her wand. She pressed it onto the exposed
skin of her arm, holding it over the mobile phone, her image glowing on the small screen.

‘Come to me now. Use me as the channel to freedom.'

Her eyes rolled back into her head and Lord Maelstrom's voice boomed from her mouth, the ancient language of Dark Magic spilling out, resonating around the walls and quaking the very ground. Belzeera's hand involuntarily pulled the twisted wand across her arm and a thin line of blood ran along the flesh and dripped onto the small screen. A red mist poured out from the small illuminated panel and within the mist, an image formed. It morphed and shifted, the vapour turning into a tall, scarlet, billowing figure, until Belzeera stared at her mirror image floating before her.

Lord Maelstrom's voice boomed again. ‘I … Am … Released!'

A jagged line of red-hot lightning streaked from Belzeera's mouth and into the shifting image that exploded. Fragments of it flew around the room until it slowly reconstructed its form and the atmosphere became still and eerily silent.

She smiled in wicked satisfaction as the figure stepped toward her.

‘Welcome back, brother.'

His face was pale and bony and his red eyes held large black pupils. He was bald except for a long, black, plaited ponytail reaching down from the crown of his head and curling around his neck. The skin of his scalp was etched in black with the ancient runes of Dark Magic. His tall, wiry frame was clothed in a sickly green material that shifted
and glistened, a high-collared tunic framing his skeletal features.

‘Sister, we have work to do,' he said and walked to Billy's body, which floated up into his outstretched arms.