The Guardian's Protector: The Chamber of Souls (25 page)

‘He won’t hurt you here, mate,’ Jack promised. ‘I’ll chop his head off with my swords. What the hell is
wrong
with that kid?’ he added to Amy. ‘Shouldn’t he be committed or something? Why doesn’t that Kate do something? Why doesn’t anyone do anything? It’s not on, he’s just not right in the head!’

Winston and Mark just shrugged, acting like his questions were rhetorical. Amy raised her eyebrows in an agreeing response but she dared not open her mouth. She feared what she might say in her current mood. He was the only one around her who didn’t know the truth, and he was also the only one she wanted to talk to. She used to tell him everything. She felt like she’d not only lost Mark but Jack as well. Amy wept, her tears making white marks in her ash-blackened face.

‘It’ll be okay, Amy. We’ll take care of you,’ Jack promised, holding her in a tight, brotherly hug.

‘I’ll show you to your rooms,’ Mark offered, trying hard to make Amy look into his eyes.

Amy took Tom’s hand and, her face cold and void of emotion, followed Mark up both flights of stairs to the third floor. After walking along the carpeted corridor, he showed Amy and Tom to two adjoining rooms.

Both rooms were the same. Simple, but clean. One bed, one bedside table, one wardrobe and one set of drawers. Their en-suites had a bath, shower, toilet, and sink with a mirrored cabinet above. Mark pulled out a set of pyjamas from Tom’s set of drawers that were not only too big but looked like they were from the 1800s.

‘I’ll buy you a new set tomorrow,’ Mark said, handing them to him.

‘
I’ll
buy him a new set tomorrow,’ Amy retorted. ‘I have money in my bank account, you know!’

Mark smiled politely. She almost wanted him to look at her the way she deserved so she could shout at him for doing so.

‘Until we can afford another place, I’ll pay my way. Once I get another job I’ll be out of your hair,’ she added.

‘You’re part of the Order. You never have to work again and we…
I
don’t want you to leave here,’ he said, like the matter wasn’t negotiable.

‘Whether I leave here or not, I’m not a free loader!’

Mark nodded respectfully. ‘There are towels in here,’ he said, pointing to the bottom drawer. ‘And there should be something for you to wear in your set of drawers for now until…
you
sort something else out.’

‘Thank you,’ she said, more for Tom’s sake than out of politeness. Amy made it clear from her expression she wanted him to leave. Mark gave a respectful nod before he did.

After showering Tom and David, Amy dried them and stayed until Tom fell asleep. Leaving David curled up beside him, Amy took a lingering glance at him before she made her way out of the room and became choked by the fact that she could have lost him.

In her own en-suite, hoping the hot water could rinse away the angriness she felt inside, she took an extra long shower. She let the water run into her mouth, hoping it would reach the lump in the back of her throat but the water, only tickling her lips annoyingly, wasn’t relieving anything; the lump was thick and suffocating. As a wave of exhaustion hit her, she held on to the tiles to stop herself from collapsing and, after taking in an almighty breath, let out a heart-wrenching howl.

The howl was short lived; two things in her body were blocking her cry: a huge knot in the pit of her stomach, making its heavy presence known, and a horrid, tight pain in her heart, like it was being squeezed.

With a feeling of total despair, she turned off the shower and a cloud of depression descended upon her.

After drying herself, she found an oversized dressing gown that, unhelpfully, smelt like Mark. She threw herself down on the bed. Curled in a foetal position, holding her stomach to comfort the churning, she let the flatness set in.

SOMEWHERE BETWEEN WORLDS

THE VISION

Amy floated and swirled into the milky light, feeling at ease and at peace. The pearly male with the sonorous voice was talking, but it wasn’t to her. She didn’t take much notice at first as she was too busy basking in the feeling of bliss, but then something caught her attention.

‘Bright One,’ the voice said, ‘you are our only hope.’

Amy stopped floating at once. Her heart beating fast against her chest, she followed the voice with her mind and rushed through the light at high speed. The voice became louder: ‘We can’t thank you enough.’

Amy turned and saw the pearl white metallic being talking to an unbelievably luminous gold figure. The figure was hard to focus on for a moment, as it produced such a bright light that even its eyes were filled with blinding glittery rays but, after her eyes adjusted, she obtained better vision.

As she peered into the being’s vulnerable, green eyes, an intense emotion of love burst through her and, as she felt an overwhelming need to protect what she now knew was a young male soul, a shower of violet dust engulfed her. After the dust cleared, she wondered how she knew he was young, and then realised it was something in the way his wings flickered, like they didn’t work properly. The urge, and the violet shower, let her know that she cared for this being deeply.

‘I just hope I can do what is necessary to help,’ the gold soul said in a pale, masculine voice, his being flashing intensely as he did.

As he spoke, his voice seemed to pull on her heart and Amy felt the need to shout out, tell him not to agree, but after several attempts she realised she couldn’t speak in this place. She knew he was agreeing against his will. She knew he had no other choice. Unable to help, to stop him, frustration, worry and despair consumed her.

‘The fact that you are willing to try,’ the pearly man said, ‘is the greatest help we can ask for right now.’ Even though the intriguing man had spoken, his voice so smooth, calm and persuasive, Amy couldn’t take her eyes off the bright gold male. She knew he was in danger and she loved him with all her heart.

It was when the pearly lady appeared and placed her wings on the youngster as if embracing him that Amy realised why: that bright young being belonged to her somehow. Not only that, they wanted him—as innocent and pure as he was—to fight a war.

‘
I will help you,’ the lady, whose name Amy remembered as Nevaeh, and who Amy felt was some long lost part of herself, told him. The young male smiled up at her, his eyes full of sadness, and let his wings sink into hers, needing every inch of the comfort she provided.

Amy watched with a lump in her throat and pain in her heart as their silky beings blended, swirled and danced in a loving embrace, and as a violet band formed around the two, she knew they were now connected.

The distant echoes of the lost memory haunting her mind, Amy writhed in her sleep.

CHAPTER 17

THE DEAL

‘Leave him alone!’ Amy screamed as she woke in a sweat, the dream more real to her than anything she’d ever felt. The sound of birds tweeting and the smell of a sunlit meadow coming through the window above her bed jolted her back to the reality of the previous night.

She trudged to Tom’s room with the arms of her dressing gown hanging as low as her head and thought about calling her mother to bring some of her clothes. She dreaded having to explain why.

‘Tom?’ she said, opening the door to his room. ‘David?’ They weren’t there. After walking to the middle of the corridor and peering over the balcony, the smell of toast making her knotted stomach rumble, she heard many voices coming from the kitchen. She walked down the first set of steps and the voices became clearer, Tom’s more than anyone’s.

‘One day I’ll be able to make you see, Mary,’ he promised.

‘Thank you,’ Mary said humorously.

Jack laughed; he must have been next to him.

As she reached the hallway, silence rolled across the kitchen table until every mouth had closed and every set of eyes had turned to check out the new arrival.

‘Come get some breakfast!’ Jack called, pulling up the chair beside him. There were three males in their late fifties who she didn’t recognise, but Mary, Mad-Doris, George, Harold, Lucy, Winston, as well as Tom, sitting between Jack and Mark, all smiled at her. There was another person sat at the far end of the table next to Mark, her mere presence making Amy’s stomach turn further, however, who wasn’t smiling.

Amy entered the room, holding her dressing gown tight to make sure it showed no flesh whilst she caught Adaizi’s eye. Thankfully, although she wasn’t smiling, her face was as solemn and patient as ever. Amy couldn’t believe Adaizi showed no anger towards her.

‘Fire!’ Mad-Doris shouted abruptly, breaking the silence and making a few people jump.

‘Here,’ Jack said, passing Amy a piece of toast as she sat. Before anyone else spoke, a key turned in the front door and, after the door closed, a hunchbacked lady walked into the kitchen. Without greeting anyone, she took a mop and bucket from the cupboard next to the sink and began to fill it with water. Just as she was about to leave the kitchen with it, she stopped dead, fixed her beady eyes on David and shook her head.

‘Oh no,’ she spat, shoving her mop back in its bucket. ‘It was bad enough with all the
people
in this place, but I’m not putting up with a filthy mutt.’ Tom covered David’s ears so he didn’t get offended. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, taking her yellow, rubber gloves out of her pocket and throwing them at Mark, ‘but I quit!’

After Amy watched her storm out, slamming the door behind her, she turned to Mark to see his reaction.

‘Thanks David,’ he said, patting his head. ‘She was a rubbish cleaner!’ Everyone except Amy laughed. ‘So,’ he said, looking directly at Amy, ‘there’s a cleaning job going if you want it. I’ve always wanted live-in help.’ He looked hopeful, but also like he didn’t want to push her.

‘I’ll take it,’ Amy said dubiously. ‘I’ll still pay keep though if we’re living here permanently!’

‘Live-in cleaners are on
more
money than normal cleaners so if I just pay you the same as Dee, we’d be even. If you feel you need to earn more
keep
, though, there’s always a night spare to do the cooking.’ Amy felt overwhelmed. She couldn’t believe his smile still had the same effect on her after all that had happened.

‘Deal,’ Amy agreed, trying not to show any kind of emotion.

‘Talking of deals,’ Adaizi interjected, her eyes brightening as she spoke.

Pretending she hadn’t spoke, Amy diverted her attention back to her toast.

After a long breakfast, Amy followed Adaizi and Mark into the living room, the move done in such a way that nobody in the home noticed they were headed for a formal meeting. They walked to the seating area at the back of the room so people couldn’t overhear.

Amy sat on a red swivel chair by the window and began fiddling with the velvet curtains mindlessly while she gazed at the koi carp swimming in the pool. Mark and Adaizi sat on the three-seater opposite, both looking anxious, though it was barely noticeable from their otherwise calm demeanour.

‘Mark’s told you that you have until your birthday before we open your channel, hasn’t he?’ Adaizi asked.

‘Yes,’ Amy said, her eyes darting back and forth between the curtains and koi carp.

‘We want you to be aware of what that entails so your mind can come to terms with it,’ Adaizi said.

‘I thought I had to go talk to myself or whatever?’ Amy replied, acting uninterested although her insides were churning.

‘You will
resonate
with your higher self, but that’s when you visit Omnipion. You will then
remember
your former, higher self—that’s what gives you the power of light.’

‘Oh,’ Amy mumbled, making it obvious she wasn’t about to look interested at any moment.

‘That only happens after you’ve opened a channel, though, and after your mind is in a state of accepting,’ Mark said.

Amy didn’t answer him; she couldn’t bear to look at him.

‘Do you not wish to know what you will have to do to open a channel?’ Adaizi asked, like she was a five-year-old child.

Amy shrugged as if she were one.

‘You will be taken to Stonehenge, where we will create a vortex in the universe to open a channel inside your system.’

‘What?’ Amy turned, unable to help the look of panic that flushed to the surface of her face, dispelling all her careless front.

‘It’s not a painful experience,’ Adaizi said.

‘No,’ Mark seconded. ‘It feels wonderful, in fact. Like how you’d feel if you won the lottery.’