Guardians of the Akasha (30 page)

Marco knelt down and pressed his hands on the ground. A quick incantation and a small green vine erupted from the mud. It grew thicker and thicker and, in a matter of seconds twined itself up the wall and over the top.

“So, you have a thing with plants?” Keira asked with her hands on her hips.

“Among other things,” Marco grinned back. “Let’s go,” he said and held his linked hands for Keira. He gave her a boost up and she climbed the now-thick vine to the top of the wall. Marco was right behind her as she swung her leg over the edge, and they lay panting on their stomachs. The wall curved away left and right, forming a circle around the courtyard and inner buildings. Across the yard, they could see the through the open gate and over the lowered drawbridge. A battle was raging outside around the Draaken, who had formed a circle and were fending off attackers from all sides.

“I can’t see Daemon!” Keira whispered.

“There,” Marco pointed. Daemon was stalking up and down, shooting energy bolts from his safe position at the top of the wall. Keira could see his face, contorted with rage.

The urge to run at him and engage him in battle was overwhelming, but, as if reading her thoughts, Marco put one hand on her arm and pointed with the other to the nearby stairs.

Silently they crept down the stairs, their backs to the wall, keeping a wary eye on Daemon’s outline, as well as a lookout for any stray Watchers. There was a small wooden door at the bottom of the stairs; Marco softly turned the handle and they slipped inside the castle.

They were in a storeroom. Wooden crates were stacked against one wall and, against another, metal shelves held tinned food and cleaning supplies. Marco beckoned at Keira to follow as he carefully found his way around brooms and mops lying on the floor.

He slowly inched another door open, peered through the crack, and, satisfied that there was no one there, pulled Keira by her hand into the kitchen. Gleaming copper pots hung from hooks in the exposed wooden beams. A long oak table stood in the middle of the room; the edge of a worn woollen blanket was visible underneath it. They crossed the tiled floor and went up a flight of stairs on the other side of the room.

Keira felt as if her heart was climbing into her throat and anxiety gripped her stomach tight. Then she looked at Marco’s broad back in front of her, his body alert to every sound and movement in the passage beyond, and she was suddenly very grateful he was there. She didn’t know how she could ever have done this by herself.

“This way,” Marco whispered, indicating the long hallway leading into the heart of the castle. Keira had not been here before and had to trust Marco as he took them down twisting and turning steps, passages and corridors.

Soon, she recognised the Library’s big double doors. They crept closer and Marco indicated that Keira should wait to the side, against the wall. He pulled one of the doors open and scanned the room; it was clear. He beckoned her closer.

They slipped inside and Marco closed the door. Keira walked to the middle of the room, then slowly turned and looked at all the bookshelves surrounding them.

“I don’t know why I thought we should start here,” she whispered.
Besides the fact that this is the last place I saw Aunt Vic alive
, she thought.

Keira looked at Marco in despair. “I don’t know what to do!”

They were both silent. A clock on the wall was ticking, reminding them that time was running out. The sounds of the battle couldn’t penetrate the castle walls, but that didn’t stop them from imagining what their friends were facing.

“There must be a way—a reason—why only you can find the Gateway. Why Daemon can’t.” Marco paced. “Keira, when you were with Cassandra, did she teach you how to sense magick, the way that Victoria could?” He stopped, sudden hope in his eyes.

“Yes, she did,” Keira replied. “Oh! The Gatekeeper is a creature of magick, so I should be able to sense that magic in the Akasha. But, why didn’t Daemon find it then? He’s been looking for it forever?”

“It has to be something about your position as High Priestess. It could even be in your blood,” Marco said.

“Okay, it’s all we’ve got. Marco, I will have to connect deeply with the Akasha to find that trace. It might take some time—”

“You do what you have to, I’ll keep watch,” he replied and went to stand guard by the library’s door.

Keira nodded, closed her eyes, crossed her legs, and extended her arms, palms upward. She took a few calming breaths, allowing her conscious mind to slip away and her unconscious mind to connect with the Akasha, the space around her.

She immediately felt that warm, tingling feeling across her body. Even though her eyes were closed, she could see her environment through her senses. The air was a hazy colour of grey, and, through that, the multi-coloured ribbons of the Akasha that tied everything together shone like a glittering fisherman’s net. A particularly beautiful scarlet ribbon connected her to Marco.

Keira left her body and drifted on the currents swirling through the room. Magick was everywhere, its scent as rich and varied as the people who used it, but Daemon’s brand dominated the room. Dark ribbons of sludge crept closer and wrapped around her corporeal form, dragging her down and threatening her control.

Is this how Chloe felt when he trapped her?

A sudden image of roses and dew and sunshine entered Keira’s awareness, giving her the strength she needed to kick the darkness away. Fresh grief hit her as she felt the lingering trace of Victoria’s magick.

Free from Daemon’s influence, Keira extended her senses even more, beyond the room and down the castle’s hallways, outside and up until she was hovering above the ancient fortress. Beyond the drawbridge, a golden orb spun and was on the edge of being overwhelmed by the spread of inky blackness.

Keira concentrated harder and entered a level of the Akasha that was deeper than she had ever gone before.

There
…. A hint of coldness caused goosebumps to break out over her physical body.
Got it!

She slammed back in her body. Marco still stood by the door.

“How long did that take?” Keira asked, jumping up from the floor.

“Only a few seconds. Did you find anything?”

“Yes, let’s go. Daemon will know I’m here.”

They ran from the room. This time, Keira led the way. She hadn’t seen any Watchers nearby while connected to the Akasha. But even if she had, there was no time for stealth.

Keira was like a bloodhound on a trail. The cold ribbon called her in the right direction.

Soon they were in a part of the castle even Marco didn’t know. They followed stairs up and down, ran along narrow corridors that twisted and looped, and crossed dusty halls that clearly hadn’t been used in years.

The coldness was getting stronger. It was an arctic splinter in her mind and Keira’s insides slowly filled with dread.

“We’re getting closer,” she whispered over her shoulder and slowed down to a walk.

Marco nodded. “I feel something too.”

They turned another corner and stepped into an empty, circular room. There was no other way forward. Bare, grey stone walls closed them in. The room must have been twenty feet across and the walls rose another twenty feet then met in a dome above their heads. The only light came from the passage behind them and even that was dim. They walked along the walls and pushed and prodded the stones, looking for hidden levers or buttons that would open a doorway, but there was nothing.

Chapter 33

Keira was freezing. She rubbed her arms, trying to get rid of the cold and the fear inside of her. “It must be here,” she said, swallowing hard.

Marco wrapped his arms around her when he saw how cold she was. “Well, it has to. But where is the door—”

“It must be in the Akasha. That would explain why we can’t see it.”

“Yes,” Marco agreed. “Can you find it?”

Keira didn’t answer immediately. Every fibre of her body was screaming, warning of danger. She nodded. “I’ll have to.”

“I’ll keep watch,” Marco said. “Please be careful,” he whispered in her ear and gave her a last kiss, the warmth of his lips reaching through the frost in Keira’s body. He left to position himself just outside the arch leading into the passage winding back they way they’d come.

Keira sat down on the floor, her back to the wall, crossed her legs and closed her eyes. Her body immediately felt as if it had been dumped in liquid hydrogen. She wanted to scream Marco’s name, but couldn’t. She was encased in ice, she couldn’t move or even moan to voice her fear.

A battle raged in Keira as she strove to slow her pounding heart down and banish thoughts of death and destruction. Little by little, she clawed her way back to control until she was able to focus, calmly and clearly. A deep breath and she connected to the Akasha, seeing the room through her senses.

A section of the wall directly in front of her shimmered and rippled like a mirage. Then, the stones slowly disappeared and revealed a tunnel, softly lit by a swirling mist a few metres in. Keira let go of her body and drifted into the tunnel.

The Akasha wasn’t beautiful here. It was stark white. There were no scents, only a metallic vapour that burned her throat and nose. She couldn’t see beyond the mist and fought for control of her senses, trying not to get lost as she moved, in what she thought was a forward direction.

After what could have been an eternity, Keira discerned a slight breeze touching her face. The Akasha shifted, as if it was lifting, and Keira eagerly drifted towards a shape in the distance.

Blue
….

Keira wanted to sob in relief to see the blue gateway after the endless white. It stretched up so high into the mist, she couldn’t see the end of it. It was wide as well, at least thirty feet. As Keira got closer, she saw that every inch of its surface was covered in small, teardrop shaped tiles painted with intricate patterns and
nazars
, the blue, white, and black Turkish wards against the evil eye.

A young girl stood in the gateway. Her eyes were the colour of a lion’s, a golden yellow that welcomed and warned at the same time. Long, waist-length black hair rippled down her back. Her white gown floated like gossamer in the breeze, and her small white hands were clasped in front of her.

Welcome Keira.

Who are you? How do you know my name?

I am the Gatekeeper, Keira. I have been expecting you.

Then…then you must know why—

Yes, you have come for the Book of Knowledge.

So, is it here?

To find the answer to that, you have to enter the Void…and find your way back.

What do you mean? Is it there?

Keira tried to see past the girl, through the gateway…and was robbed of her breath. What she saw on the other side was beyond anything—it was nothing. The Void was exactly that—a black hole in space, devoid of matter, and it stretched away into infinity.

There is nothing!

Yes.

How can that be?

It is simple. It is like everything else, yin and yang, matter and anti-matter, Akasha and Void.

Dim sounds reached through the mist to Keira’s awareness. She turned and peered through the greyness. She thought she could hear Marco’s shouts and the sounds of fighting.

Marco!

She immediately tried to reach back to the stone room.

Stop!

The girl’s voice dragged her back to the gateway.

I have to go! Marco needs me!

You have been followed here. You have opened the portal. If you go now, Daemon will enter the Void and may find the Knowledge. Are you willing to let that happen?

No! But Marco…my friends!

They will keep Daemon away from the Gate, giving you time to do what you must.

I can’t let them die for me. I have to help them!

Are you going to make the same mistake Victoria did?
The girl asked very quietly.

The realization slammed into Keira like a freight train.

She—she was here.

Yes.

And…Roberto…he died here.

Yes, in that room behind you, protecting her body from Daemon’s grandfather.

And—the mistake she made—she never entered the Void, did she?

No. She never found the Knowledge. She turned around, went back to the room, but she was too late.

A moan dragged itself up from the deepest part of Keira’s soul, wrenching its way out her mouth. Victoria’s choice had repercussions, the biggest of which led to Keira being the one standing in front of the gateway, facing that same impossible choice.

Would she do the same? Would she turn her back on the one thing that might save them all, to try to save the man she loved? Choices spun out before Keira, each leading to their own resolutions.

Back in the circular room, a frozen tear rolled over Keira’s still cheek, unseen by her battling warrior.

You have to choose
, the girl whispered.

Before she could change her mind, Keira flung herself through the gateway and into the Void. She was immediately lost. There was no sound, not even the rush of air as she kept tumbling…trying to find something to hold onto. There were no stars, no way to tell which side was up and which was down. There was nothing.

Keira’s control fled as fear wormed into her like maggots and panic overwhelmed her. She was blind.

Cassandra! Victoria! Help me!

There was no answer to her plea. Despair robbed Keira of any hope and courage she might have had left. She would be trapped in the Void until the end of time, her body slowly rotting away on the earthly plane. Her friends and family would age and die, never knowing of her endless torture.

It would be so easy to give up, to release herself from the pressures of responsibility and duty and other people’s expectations. She could float forever, not affected by the world and its insanity.