Message Bearer (The Auran Chronicles Book 1) (24 page)

After the initial exhilaration of Seb’s
first take off, where the jet rose rapidly into a reddening sky, attention
quickly turned to the task at hand. There was a meeting area halfway down the
craft where the team gathered. The magi, Seb included, took to the table, along
with Cade and Reuben. The rest sat to one side
watching a movie
on a TV screen that was bigger than the entire wall in his room in the Drain.

‘As far as I know, only
myself has been down this particular Way in living memory, and the world was a
lot different then to what it is now,’ Cian said. He opened up the holdall and
rolled out a large map onto the table. The sketch was yellowed with age, the
lines faint, but the sprawling mass of tunnels stood out for all to see. Cade
shook his head.

‘It’s a maze. How are we
supposed to make it through to the other side?’

‘Follow me,’ Cian said.

‘Those neurons still
there, old man, we don’t want you hitting a blank spot that leads us to our
doom,’ Reuben said.

Cian ignored the comment
and continued, ‘Now, the Way is what’s called Pan-Dimensional, meaning that it
exists this way in all Shards, not just here. Anyone who gets in, from anywhere,
will experience anything that’s already there.’

‘Why does that not sound
so good?’ Don said.

‘It means if the sheol
are there, they will be in their native forms, not forced into a human. Their
powers will be theirs, not watered down by the Consensus.’ Seb said, not really
knowing he was talking until he noticed all eyes on him from around the table.

‘The boy’s right, but it
also means that as their abilities are unhindered, neither are ours. Remember
that should we encounter them.’

Cian then pulled out a
small item wrapped in a cloth the colour of damp stone. He pulled the material
apart, revealing an irregular shaped gem inside. It was emerald in colour, but
translucent, with faint white specs inside it. Runic Script was carved on the
surface, but the scrawl was too small for Seb to even attempt to translate.

‘What is this sorcery?’
Reuben said, his yellow eyes wide as he reached a pale hand towards the gem.

‘Our escape, should we
need it. This is a Home Stone, one of only three we have left at the mansion.
It is bound to the Inner Sanctum. To use, smash it on the floor. The portal it
produces will only last sixty seconds. Remember though, it’s not selective. Just
as we can use it, so can anyone else.

‘So what’s the plan?’

‘Simple. We go in, find
the Nexus, speak to Woden,’ Cian said, rolling up the map.

‘Sounds straight forward
enough, what could go wrong?’ Don said, the tone of his voice not matching the
smile on his face.

They flew for another
hour. Seb watched out of the window as the rugged mountains of the far north of
England gave way to black seas, tufts of white dotting the endless night. The
men sat in silence, lost in their own thoughts.

The plane began to
descend just past midnight, Seb feeling an uncomfortable popping in his ears as
the ground grew nearer at an accelerated rate. He looked out of the window, one
hand held over his forehead to shield out the light from the cabin.

‘Where are we?’ he asked,
strapping himself in as the seatbelt light lit up.

‘Fourtha, an island
somewhere between Scotland and Iceland,’ Mik said.

‘That’s a nice and
specific location,’ he said with a smile.

‘What can I say, I’m all
out of coordinates.’

Seb grinned and stretched
tired legs.

Strong winds buffeted the
plane as it descended. For a few heart stopping moments Seb was sure that the
pilot had miscalculated. All he could see, aside from a few wispy clouds, was an
endless expanse of ocean, only now he could see the giant waves, undulating to
some unknown rhythm. The thought of dropping into that void filled his chest
with ice, and he forced himself back into the seat.

‘First time in a plane,
eh?’ Don said.

Seb managed a shaky nod.
He gripped the seat arms, staring forward at the wall.
It’s going to be
fine, it’s going to be fine,
he chanted to himself.

His stomach lurched as
the plane bounced on invisible bumps of air. He stifled a cry of panic, trying
to draw solace from the relative calm of his comrades. He dared another look
out of the window, and was about to cry out that they’d missed, that the sea
was upon them, when the void was suddenly replaced by material of a different
shade, land.

The plane lowered,
bouncing once on the landing strip. Something roared at the back of the plane,
what
the hell?
But again, no one seemed to panic. He felt the resistance against
his seatbelt as the plane slowed, eventually coming to a halt at the end of the
runway. Moments later the seatbelt sign dimmed, and Seb managed a breath for
what seemed the first time in ages.

It was past 1 am as they
descended the stairs that led out from the craft. The wind howled, a biting
chill numbing his face. Iced rain lashed against them, bouncing off the plane’s
hull like bullets.

An unmarked van was
situated at the base of the stairs. Where the hell were they? He looked around,
but aside from one solitary building and a few feeble lights it felt like they’d
landed at an airport in the middle of nowhere. Outside the range of the lights,
darkness ruled, surrounding them like a wall of nothing.

The others hurried into
the waiting van, ducking as they stepped into the gloomy interior. Seb followed
in a hurry, a sudden unease upon him that he couldn’t shake off. A man he didn’t
recognise, and who wasn’t imbued, sat at the wheel.

‘This all of ye?’ he
grunted as Don stepped in last.

‘Yep. You know where we’re
going.’

‘Yup, Shaalds  Stack,
although if you don’t mind me saying, it’s probably not the best night to be
doing a trip like this,’ the driver said.

‘You’re being paid aren’t
you?’ Cian snapped. The driver nodded at him through the rear view mirror. ‘Then
drive.’

‘Shaalds Stack?’ Seb
said as Cian sat back.

‘Shut up. Sit back. This
is the last rest you’ll get for hours. I suggest you make the most of it.’

Fatigue won over curiosity.
The magi were already dozing on their packs. The brothers were in a subdued
silence at the back. Seb took the hint and closed his eyes.

***

Seb
woke with a start as the van came to an abrupt stop. He shook the lingering
images from his mind and reached for the bag by his feet. His heart pounded
from an unknown panic. His
sense
prickled, the echoes of
those around him bouncing back.

‘You okay?’ Cade said as
they got dressed in outdoor gear.

‘Sure. Why?’

‘You look, I don’t know,
peaky.’

‘Peaky?’

‘Yeah.’

‘What the hell’s peaky?’

‘Who knows? I heard it
used once. I think it means sick as a dog.’

‘So you’re saying I look
like shit?’

‘More so than normal, yeah.’

‘If you could save the
flirting for later, I believe we need to focus on the task at hand,’ Cian said
then, marching past them down a track that led between two mounds.

They trekked down a
narrow path that curved to one side, the mud slowly turning into sand as they
emerged onto a narrow strip of beach. The tide was in, and water lapped not a
few feet from where they stood.

‘There it is,’ Cian said.

Seb didn’t need telling
what he was looking at. It stood out like a sore thumb, a massive, natural arch
of rock that lunged out of the sea. The stone was veined with glowing rivulets
of purple energy. The outside edges pulsed in rhythmic bursts, illuminating the
bay with every surge. A pillar of burning lightning, the same bright purple,
lanced down from the sky, the clouds rotating round the bolt like water going
down a plughole.

‘How has this not been
discovered yet?’ Seb said, opened mouthed at the sight.

‘Think about it, lad. You
don’t think this looks this way to every Joe that comes out here, do you?’ Don
said. ‘To the unware it’s just a rock. A pretty rock, but a rock just the same.’

‘That’s the Crossing Way?’
Cade said, standing atop the mound to get a better view.

‘Aye, that’s the one. The
only entrance we know of in Europe.’ Cian said. He trudged down the sand, his
feet leaving deep imprints where he stepped. A few feet into the sea, with the
water sloshing round his ankles, he turned back to them. ‘So, are we getting
started or what?’

‘What do you need?’ Seb
said.

‘Not you, Tweedle Dumb
and Tweedle Dee over there. Get your arses down here so we can get this
started.’

Mik and Don hurried past,
joining Cian in the water. ‘Reuben, get your guys to take point. We can’t
afford this being seen. Seb, give us a wide sensing, just to be sure.’

Reuben scowled, obviously
not used to being the one receiving orders. Seb suppressed a smirk. Reuben reluctantly
complied. He nodded to the brothers who vanished without a word. The feat
itself was impressive, and if it wasn’t for the faint auras that Seb could
detect he wouldn’t have known they were there. He turned back then, closed his
eyes, and
sensed
.

The burden was light
here, the effort almost too easy. He scoured the area, his sense acting like
the wide beam from a light house, illuminating the landscape with an invisible
energy. Aside from the fluttering auras of the local wildlife, their initial
thoughts were confirmed, and not one sentient, awake anyway, lurked nearby.

‘It’s clear.’ He shouted
down to the magi in the water.

Cian nodded, then did
something that made Seb’s blood boil. He looked at Reuben, ‘You concur?’

‘No other idiot stupid
enough to be out here at this time of night.’

Seb scowled as he fell in
beside the brothers as they descended onto the beach.

‘Right, we’re in the
clear here, the Consensus is non-existent, so it should be straight forward
enough,’ Cian said. ‘Step away, the bridge is already here, we just need to
bring it back.’

Seb edged round the side
of the group. He wasn’t part of this ritual, as far as he could tell, but it
didn’t stop him enhancing his hearing, the words of the magi drifting to him
over the howling wind. Cian was stood between the two kneeling magi, his face
turned towards the massive rock arch. He raised his staff about his head as the
air began to crackle. Seb felt that familiar hum in his ears. Cian stepped
further into the water, the staff rippling with energy across its length.

‘In the name of Woden the
First, I command thee to reveal thyself!’

A white fire burst into
existence that covered Cian in his entirety. Seb could only watch, stunned as
energy filled the air, Cian acting as a conduit for the Weave at a level he’d
never conceived before. The world seemed awash with power, flashes of purple
lightning forking down, striking the arch, the water, even Cian himself. The
wind grew in intensity, the sand lashing them, the waves growing and crashing
with a renewed vigour. It was as if the very world itself was reacting to this
manipulation of its natural form and was far from pleased.

‘In the name of Woden the
First, I command thee to reveal thyself!’ Cian cried again, his voice amplified
by his Avatari, echoing around the bay. A bolt of lightning fired down,
striking Cian. His aura bloomed then, the flames engorged, his very form a
furnace of Weave-fire. With a final roar, Cian slammed the staff down into the
water.

Something cracked, like
stone hitting stone. A zigzag of white light erupted from the staff, snaking
towards the arch. The water bubbled and frothed as a narrow strip of black
stone rose up from its depths. The ground rumbled, the earth growled, but it
didn’t prevent what Cian was doing. The black stone, a path, that Seb could
see, settled a good foot above sea level. The light faded, the lightning
subsided. Cian dropped to his knees, Mik and Don rushing to help him.

‘Well, now I’ve seen
everything,’ Cade said.

‘That was amazing,’ Seb
said, as they re-joined the magi. Cian was rising now, covered in sweat or
seawater Seb couldn’t tell. The mage’s face was drawn, lined with fatigue, but
his eyes blazed, the Weave still channelled inside him.

‘Right,’ Cian said, ‘This
is the point of no return. Once we go in there, time and space as you know it
won’t mean anything. Only a mage can navigate the Way without getting lost. It’s
a vicious, treacherous place, not friendly to life in any form. If you get
separated from us, do yourself a favour, and use those blades of yours on
yourself. Trust me, there’s much worse out there than death.’

‘Save the talk, mage,’
Reuben said, his yellow eyes glinting in the moonlight. ‘Get us there, and we’ll
do what we need to do. Just ensure you do what’s required, as it’s due to your
kind failing in that very thing that we’re here in the first place.’

Seb bristled, his muscles
suddenly tense. He felt the Weave flare briefly in the magi, but none
responded. Cian glowered at Reuben, but did not comment further. He turned away
from them, walking towards the rippling surface of the Way.

With one last look at the
only world he had ever known, Seb took a deep breath, swallowed hard, and
followed.