Tomorrows Child (12 page)

“Thank you,
Phoenix. Then I graciously accept.” I felt humbled and foolish as
he hung the necklace around my neck. Phoenix didn’t deserve any
more angst from me today or ever.

I placed the
damp, sweaty crystals I still held in my hand on the table. Phoenix
reached out and pushed them around with his finger, “That’s lapis
lazuli, quartz and there’s more amber,” he said.

I hadn’t even
looked at what I’d picked. “I could help if you like,” Navarre
interjected as he walked over and sat beside me. “Let me. I’ll make
you something.” Before I could respond, he scooped up the
beads.

“Sure, I don’t
know what to do with them anyway,” I replied.

Navarre worked
away in the dim light of the candle. He reached over, wrapped his
warm fingers around my wrist and cut a few lengths of cord. I
watched, mesmerised by the way his long fingers coaxed the thread
into tiny knots and wove the beads into place. Then he slipped the
bracelet over my hand and tugged at the loose ends, the bracelet
adjusted and slipped snugly in place.

“Wow, thank
you. You boys have many talents,” I said as I admired my new
charms. It felt like my birthday again. Warmth rose up my arms and
across my chest, a blush; but even as the flush of colour heated my
cheeks, I knew it wasn’t from embarrassment.

“How can I
thank you? I have nothing I can offer either of you in return.”

“Like I said,
the necklace is a gift. But if you want to repay me, promise you
won’t go into the forest alone and don’t go anywhere without
wearing these,” Phoenix said.

Navarre just
smiled, “Happy to help, but a kiss from a distressed damsel will
keep my heart warm on cold winter nights,” he touched his finger to
his cheek.

“Navarre!”
Tahinah chastised, but smiled at her cheeky son.

I stretched up
on the tips of my toes and kissed him lightly on his cheek. “I
thought you were an Apache warrior, not a knight in shining
armour.”

“Ahhh, whatever
the situation calls for, really.”

I turned to
Phoenix, a tiny glint of something familiar caught my attention,
and I reached up and kissed his cheek as well. My lips tingled, a
spark stabbed my chest and a knot twisted in my stomach. What was
that? Navarre’s kiss was warm and sweet, but Phoenix’s was like a
jolt of lightning. As if I had been asleep and was now fully
awake.

“So you really
think they’ll work?” I shook off the bizarre feeling and pretended
that nothing had happened, nothing had changed.

“Who cares if
they work?” said Navarre. “They look good, and if you need
protecting, just call me! Like I said, happy to help.”

Phoenix frowned
at his brother, “Well, they should. It’s good to fight magick with
magick and the mundane with less magickal means, but we still don’t
know who or what we’re dealing with or even if there is a who.”

“So you don’t
think those hell beasts are controlled by an evil master?” I
laughed at the thought of it. It sounded more like a scene from a
dark fairytale.

“Maybe, maybe
not.” As usual, Phoenix was way too serious. “But it shouldn’t be
happening. The veil shouldn’t be letting through anything like that
yet. They really come from a different dimension.” I looked at him,
confused.

“It’s like a
different time and place; it’s still from earth, but from a time
we’ve moved beyond. Remember the energy you felt in your hands?
That’s new energy. The world is different now, vibrating faster
with lighter energy. That beast is from a time when everything was
denser and vibrating much slower. Old energy shouldn’t be able to
exist here, even if the veil is failing, they still shouldn’t be
here.”

“So you do
think it’s some type of hell beast, you just don’t know why.”

“Libby and
Tahinah are convinced, but they believe the ancient magick is still
in play. The earth is changing, but even if the veil fails
completely and the dark magick becomes more accessible, it
shouldn’t allow the passage of beasts from a time that really
doesn’t exist anymore.”

“You really
confuse me sometimes. First, it’s magick, now it’s demon beasts
from a different dimension. I’m expecting Merlin to walk in the
door any minute,” I said. I couldn’t get my head around any of
it.

“That’s why
there can be no more delays in your training.” Libby had heard me
and now contributed to the conversation. “Tomorrow, there will be
no excuses. Immediately after breakfast, we will continue where we
left off. And it wouldn’t hurt you to add a few notes in your book
some time.”

“I still think
we need to take a more active approach,” said Ruben. I had
forgotten that Ruben and Tahinah were still here. “You realise that
I’m not giving up on this, Libby. We all need to be able to defend
ourselves. With all our preparation, we failed to include any
defence training. Even basic self defence would be better than
nothing.”

“I agree, but
we need to avoid turning the valley into a military encampment.” I
didn’t expect Libby to agree. Magick was her answer to
everything.

“You agree?”
Ruben was even more surprised, “Good then, I’ll focus on the skills
we have and devise a plan that allows some room for the wishes of
everyone. But, like everything else, those with the skills and
knowledge will be required to teach everyone else. And I do mean
everyone.”

Ruben looked at
me and raised his eyebrows. “Ever fired a rifle, Psyche?”

“No.”

“Well then,
that’s a good place to start.”

Guns scared me.
Perhaps magick was an easier option.

“We should go,
unless you’re about to show her how to shoot the moon,” said
Tahinah. “Come on, boys.”

“You know I’m
going to dream tonight,” I whispered to Phoenix. “You can’t load me
up with all this new information and expect pleasant dreams.”

“I know,” his
eyes twinkled as he poked me in the ribs, “so don’t start without
me.” He was teasing, but at least now, we were joking about it.

Libby and I sat
alone in the kitchen, “Well this has been a productive day after
all. You have gained a lot more than you realise, even if you don’t
understand it yet. You are opening to the fact that not everything
is as it seems.”

“I’m a bit
overwhelmed, that’s all. I don’t mean to take it out on you and
Phoenix. You’ve had your whole life to get used to it; for me it’s
only been a few days. On top of all that, I don’t know what to
believe.”

“It doesn’t
matter if you believe or not. You don’t have to believe in
something for it to be true. If something exists, then the truth of
it will eventually be discovered.” Like demon beasts, I
thought.

“What’s more
important is why you believe the things you do. Knowing is
different and far more important. Belief is wishy-washy and
limiting. When you base your life around that without questioning
why, you never become truly grounded. On the other hand, if you
know something to be true, whether you can see it or not, then
knowledge becomes your grounding. Faith based on knowing is a far
greater way to live your life.” Libby spoke with such authority I
wouldn’t dare question her reasoning; but I was still confused.

"You should
always question why you believe something." She did have a point,
no matter how strongly I believed that the moon was made of cream
cheese, or even if I wished it to be, it didn’t mean it was true.
And it didn’t matter if I believed in magick or not, it certainly
didn’t matter if I believed in demon beasts. My beliefs were
irrelevant and indifferent to the truth.

“You know your
mother has a Book of Shadows; Do you know where it might be? I’m
sure it would help. If you had her book, you might be more willing
to accept the magick and your role.”

“I’ve never
seen it. Is it the same as the one you gave me?” I should have seen
it in the confined space of the bus where there had been no room
for secrets. “Maybe she left it here or threw it away.”

“She might have
taken you away from the magick, but she never turned her back on
her duty to respect it.”

“I guess I
could have a look in the bus. She must have hidden it well or I
would remember,” I said, but the book would have to wait until
tomorrow. The last remaining candle spluttered and flicked us into
darkness… Tonight was at an end.

I was right
about the dreaming, it came to me faster than ever before. The
beast stood, larger and more menacing than I remembered, probing me
with his fiery eyes. The heat from the fire was blazing and harsh,
I stood too close to the flames. Fear swelled and crashed over me
like a wave in a storm. It tasted salty and dry in my throat. I
looked for the children, but they were gone… and so was everyone
else… I was alone.

The beast
growled low and ominous, while beneath my bare feet, the ground
trembled. Phoenix wasn’t here. Where was he? The beast lunged back
like a coiled spring, preparing to attack… sweat and fear trickled
down my face. I braced myself for what was about to come… and felt
a thump on my shoulder. Then the full force of earth rose up to
meet me. I opened my eyes as I hit the ground and saw the beast
dissolve into the mist of my dream. “I told you not to start
without me.” It was Phoenix. He had shoved me out of harm’s way.
There was no doubt now… he truly was in my dreams.

Autumn mornings
were unusually frosty. Some days, the mist was so thick it was like
living in a cloud, but we were high in the mountains so it could
have been clouds. Tree limbs hung low under the weight of the
frozen dew and glistened gently in the early morning light. On days
when the sun was able to break through the mist, it sparkled like
diamonds and dazzled until the sun melted the frost.

I loved autumn
even more than I loved spring. The change made it exciting. In
winter, we had the cold, in summer we had the heat; but in autumn
and spring, we had change. The crisp mornings reminded me I was
alive and sane.

I had trouble
sleeping the previous night and it was more of an effort to stay in
bed than get up and start my day. Libby was still sleeping and
Phoenix wouldn’t arrive for hours. I padded across the wet grass,
letting the chill soak into my bare feet. My pyjama bottoms were
soaked through and coated with little green knobs of weed.
“Sticky-beak,” Libby called it. It didn’t stick to denim so much,
but flannelette was like a magnet to the tiny seeds, and
hand-washing was a bitch.

But I wasn’t
out here to enjoy the morning. There was no water in the bathroom.
If the tank was dry, I’d have to go to the creek and turn on the
pump. The pump was supposed to be automatic, so I wasn’t even sure
if I could turn it on. But my hair was a crazy mess and my eyes
were gritty, so I had to try.

The path to the
pump was well formed and easily defined from the forest; but
walking to the pump meant walking into the forest. As shoddy as my
inner compass was, I couldn’t get lost if I stayed on the path.

In these early
hours, the forest was alive with birdsong. Spider webs stretched
between the trees and blocked the path. I was hesitant to remove
them, especially since many were still inhabited by their
eight-legged owners. I ducked under the first and swerved passed
the second. Most were at head height and I was careful not to come
face-to-face with these residents of the night-time forest.

The pump
hummed, but the lack of water made it obvious that something was
wrong. The pipe hanging in the water was smothered with leaves and
debris. While I didn’t know much about pumps, I figured this was
probably causing the water stoppage.

I skidded down
the bank on my bum and watched the flow of dirt and leaves precede
me, making the crystal water murky and dark. Bracing myself for the
cold, I skidded into the water, which was deeper than I thought. I
shook the pipe, but the leaves were stuck and my arms were too
short to clear away the muck. I sucked in a breath and dunked
myself into the murky depth.

The icy water
forced the air from my lungs. I rose to the surface, took another
breath and dived down, swimming to the bottom. Wrapping an arm
around the pipe, I anchored myself beneath the water and cleared
away the rotting leaves. Finally, I felt a twist of water curl
through my fingers as the pump sucked up the dirty water. I might
have fixed the problem, but I was about to fill the tank with muddy
water.

Scrambling up
the bank sent another avalanche of dirt and leaves into the stream.
I shuddered against the cold; and as I turned to leave, a flash of
light caught my eye. There wasn’t much sunlight filtering through
the canopy, and for a minute, I thought I had imagined it; but
there it was again.

I spun around,
knowing that the spark of light didn’t belong here and headed
toward it, away from the path. The light flashed again. As I got
closer, my heart beat faster. I wasn’t afraid, I was excited. Then
there was nothing, I searched the area where I was sure I’d seen
the tiny flash of light, but found nothing.

I leaned
against a giant tree and slid down the trunk until I sat on the
forest floor. Water pooled around me and I scrunched my toes in the
earth, creating mud with my bare feet. I held my hand against the
amber heart. It was warm against my bare skin, while the rest of me
was frozen. I must remember to take it off when I sleep; I couldn’t
bear losing it.

“Eek!”

What was that?
The sound was close.

“Eek!” The
noise was very close. I looked behind me and beside me and could
see nothing, then I heard the noise again. I flipped over and
rested on my knees, the sound was beneath me.

I brushed aside
the first layer of leaves and saw a small reptile, a lizard of some
sort, looking pale and half-alive or half-dead. A feeble sound
gurgled and the creature moved, but the sounds were weak and sad,
the last breath of life perhaps. So now, I was a murderer, another
thing to add to the list of crappy things I’d recently become.