Beneath the Elder Tree (14 page)

   ‘You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t feel comfortable.’

   ‘It’s all right. It happened a long time ago and I’ve gotten over it. Mum hit the bottle after he died. I think she blamed herself for it. After a couple of years she couldn’t do without the drink. That’s when she started to shift the blame for his suicide on to me. After a while I started believing her. I didn’t do well at school. She told me I was useless and I believed it. She shouted all the time. Always shouting like a was deaf. I stopped going to school two years ago and started hanging out with Josh and the others. I stopped giving caring about everything, including my mother. I started shouting back. Nowadays she’s too scared of me to shout. I don’t even know her anymore. She’s not my mother. Just some drunken hag that I sometimes share a house with.’

   ‘I know how you feel.’

   ‘Yours giving you a rough time?’

   ‘Let’s just say it’s not easy sharing a tiny apartment with her.’

   ‘What are you going to do?’

   ‘I’ll put up with it. That’s the only thing I can do. I gave up trying to get her off the booze a long time ago. My mother will never be able to live without it. I guess I’ll just endure it until I leave school. Then I’ll move to the city and get away from here.’

   ‘Maybe we can meet up when you do.’

   ‘You’re moving to the city?’

   ‘Yeah. I have to get away from here soon. Josh is dead. That means the gangs will start fighting for power again. There’ll be beatings and probably a shooting or two. I don’t want to be beaten up. I definitely don’t want to be shot.’

   ‘Good for you.’

   ‘Yeah, well that’s the excuse I’m giving everyone.’

   ‘There’s some other reason?’

   ‘There is.’ Mouse’s hands were shaking and he was nibbling the inside of his lower lip. ‘Do me a favour, will you?’

   ‘What is it?’

   ‘Don’t ever go near the old house outside the estate. No matter what happens, never go to that place. Don’t even walk on that street.’

   ‘I think the murderer is long gone. It wouldn’t make a lot of sense for him to go back to that place.’

   ‘I don’t know who killed Josh. I don’t know what killed Josh. All I know is there’s something evil in that house. You’re a good person, Lucy. I wouldn’t want you to be hurt by it.’

   ‘What do you mean by evil?’

   ‘I saw something very strange in that house on the night Josh died.’

   ‘What was it?’

   ‘I’m not saying another word about it. You just stay away from that place, you hear!’

*   *   *

They spent more than two hours talking on the hillside. They were amazed by how much they had in common, once they’d gotten past appearance and reputation. Laura was as happy as I’d ever seen her as she made her way back to the apartment late that afternoon. She was really buzzing, despite Mouse’s stern warning about the old house. I couldn’t escape the feeling that he had been referring to Tim when he said there was true evil in the house. My lover must have put on quite a show that night. I prayed I would never see that side of him.

   We entered the apartment to find Grace sitting by the kitchen table in her night gown, a half smoked cigarette balanced on her lower lip. It was a sight that would put anyone in the rotten mood. Laura ignored her mother and went to her room. She spent the remainder of the afternoon and early evening trying to replicate the tune that I had played through her hands in the music store. She had the melody right, and was humming it over and over, but it would take her time to learn how to play it. She lacked skill but had determination, which is the most important quality for a musician. She sat on her bed and played for more than four hours. I didn’t help her, as tempting as that was. Laura didn’t need my help. She would learn this song for herself and would be better for it.

   Her fingers were burning by 6pm and finally she put the acoustic guitar aside and went to the kitchen to make some food. Grace had gotten dressed and was sitting on the couch clutching a glass of rum. She asked Laura to go to the store for cigarettes when she finally left her room. Laura gave her a cold stare and said: ‘I’m not your slave. Go get your own damn cigarettes.’

   She’d stood up to her mother many times, and on every occasion Grace got the better of her and won the argument. This time it was different. Grace didn’t even respond. There was something about the way Laura had looked at her. There was also steel in her tone of voice. I think it was the moment that the balance of their relationship was tipped in Laura’s favour. She was growing stronger by the day. She was changing at a rapid pace and I knew it had something to do with the bond we had made. Some measure of my strength and will was being passed to her, hastening the transformation into the person she was destined to be.

   Grace stormed out of the apartment minutes later and didn’t reappear. She was probably drowning her sorrows at the local bar. Laura took advantage of the quietness and lay on the couch and read one of the books she bought the day before. That left me with a quiet moment to hover by the sitting room window to watch the grey sky surrendering to blackness. Night world had arrived again. Tim would be with me soon.

- CHAPTER FIFTEEN -

A Shadow in Water

Laura had astounded me that day by proving to be both talented and determined. She had shown an act of kindness that made a real difference in the lives of those who were the true victims in Millbrook. Through her charity she had demolished a barrier with Mouse. She’d also displayed a resilience that was uncommon for a girl of her age when she stood up to her mother. I suppose the experiences of that day led me to believe that she didn’t need to have a guide around all the time. I was confident enough in Laura to leave her for a few hours. I would be free to indulge my lust for adventure with Tim. That’s where my mind was at when he arrived.

   I felt him before I even saw him. The remnants of the dark energy that was passed into me the night before became lively and tickled my aura when he approached. A black cloud formed on the ceiling before he descended through it into the centre of the sitting room. He still looked strong and confident, as he had the night before.

   ‘You’ve survived another day in the mirror world,’ he said as the black mist around him evaporated. ‘And you can still manage a smile for me.’

   ‘Don’t get carried away with yourself, Tim. I’m smiling because I had a good day, not just because you’ve decided to come back.’

   ‘Oh,’ he laughed, rubbing hands over his biceps, ‘has it suddenly gotten cold in here? I think your icy heart is freezing the very air around us.’

   ‘You know full well I’m not cold inside.’

   ‘I do.’ He raised one of his jet black eyebrows and grinned. ‘I know exactly how you feel inside.’

   His fingers skated along the side of my face. His eyes grew fiery and his playful grin was severed by his black tongue flicking his lower lip. I felt like I was in the grasp of a vampire of the dead, wanting to sink invisible fangs into my neck and draw out my living aura.

   ‘No,’ I said, brushing him off. ‘Not here and not now.’

   ‘Why not?’

   ‘My chosen is sitting on the other side of the room.’

   ‘So what?’ he shrugged. ‘She doesn’t even know we exist.’

   ‘That doesn’t matter. It still won’t feel right.’

   ‘Whatever you say.’ The colour of his eyes faded and he crossed the room and relaxed into a chair right next to Laura. ‘What shall we do?’

   ‘I thought you were going to suggest we visit one of your secret places…’

   ‘I was hoping you’d say that.’ The boyish grin quickly returned. ‘Are you comfortable enough to leave your chosen for the night?’

   I looked at Laura, still calm and content, as she had been all day. I believed she would be fine without me. 

   I turned to my lover and smiled. ‘She’ll be all right for one night on her own.’

   ‘Good,’ Tim said eagerly. ‘Now we can indulge our experimental tendencies.’

   ‘What will be tonight’s experiment?’

   ‘I simply want to open your eyes a little more to what is possible in this place.’

   He’d been sitting on the opposite side of the room before he vanished. I twisted round, my eyes darting left and right. How had he done it? How was it possible to simply disappear? Then out of thin air he reappeared by my side.

   ‘How did you do that?’

   ‘It’s simple to do, but hard to explain.’

   I jolted away from him when I remembered that Emily had said that exact thing when I asked her how her eyes changed colour. Was this a coincidence? How could he repeat those exact words?

   ‘Lucy, what’s wrong?’

   ‘Nothing,’ I replied, shaking my head. ‘I’m being silly again. Just what you said reminded me of something.’

   ‘You’re a bit jumpy tonight. Are you sure you don’t want to remain here?’

   ‘I’m fine. How did you disappear?’

   ‘I have discovered lots of new powers lately. Travelling from one location to another in the blink of an eye is one such power.’

   ‘How far can you travel like this?’

   ‘Far enough for what we are going to do tonight.’

   ‘I don’t know how to teleport… hell, I don’t even know if guides can teleport.’

   ‘I can do it for us both.’

   He took a firm grip of my arms, hard enough that it hurt, then pressed his forehead against mine.

   ‘Close your eyes, Lucy.’

   We were abruptly torn from the spirit world into a place that was less tangible, where matter and time had long been abandoned, replaced by an emptiness that made mirror world seem abundant. There was a bareness that begged for the energy that held my soul together. It was a place that nothing could exist in for very long. Fear was creeping into me. I was told I would live for all time as a spirit. Not in this place. This was a place where no life could endure. I cursed Tim for exposing me to it. He held me fast against him as light and shadow bent around us. Distant voices rang out. Shapes flittered under me. All the while my spirit body grew colder than cold. A cloud of dark vapour consumed us, blinding me to everything. I shut my eyes and screamed for Tim to end it.

   ‘Do not be afraid.’

   The calmness of Tim’s voice brought me to my senses. I felt a soft surface beneath my feet and a familiar sweeping sound met my ear. I opened my eyes to see my lover standing before me.

   ‘What was that place?’ I asked. ‘It felt like death.’

   ‘It’s not death,’ he assured me. He placed his hands on my shoulders and kissed me gently on the bridge of my nose. ‘We cannot die, remember? It’s a luxury we will never know. What you just passed through is called the void. It is another world - one that Emily obviously didn’t tell you about - or didn’t know about. Time and space don’t exist in that place, allowing us to bypass those two fundamentals of existence - allowing us to conquer time and space. In that world we can travel great distances in no more than a few seconds.’

   ‘To what end?’

   ‘To this end.’ He released me and spread his arms out as he walked away. ‘Look. We have travelled hundreds of miles in a matter of seconds. The void is a dreadful place, but it is not without its benefits. It can deliver us from the gaze of our oppressor. The shepherd only exists in the spirit worlds. He can’t enter the living world or the void. This is a good way of dodging him … I’d still prefer to kill him, but let’s not waste the night talking about him. Let’s enjoy our time away. You weren’t expecting this, were you?’

   ‘No.’ I looked around at the endless strip of dark sand. There was no sense of any mortal. There was life, though, and it was magnificent. ‘This never crossed my mind…’

   ‘I thought it would be a nice surprise.’

   I faced the raging ocean. The sky and our surroundings where pitch black, which made the waters even more spectacular. The sea was teaming with life. The water itself had life. The sea was glowing bright with a dazzling array of colour. The brightness of the city was ugly and artificial in comparison. I was speechless as I walked the soft cushion of the beach to the water’s edge. The ocean was spellbinding to look upon. I couldn’t stop myself from giggling.

   ‘It’s one hell of a view, right?’

   ‘It is,’ I breathed. ‘There seems to be one surprise after another in this world. I can’t believe how bright the water is. I could look at this all night.’

   ‘Oh, we didn’t come here to look at it.’

   ‘We didn’t?’

   ‘No.’ Tim outstretched his arms and his clothes melted from his body, revealing a shimmering naked form, perfect in every single aspect. ‘We came here to go skinny dipping.’

   ‘You can’t be serious?’

   ‘Of course I’m serious,’ he laughed. ‘What’s wrong? Afraid someone might see you?’

   ‘No…’ It was a complete lie. The human trait of shame remained. ‘How do I remove my clothing? Is it possible for a guide to do?’

   ‘You did it last night.’

   ‘I did?’

   ‘Yes. You were just too busy to notice.’ He strode to the water, the luminous waves slapped his legs. ‘Just let it all go, Lucy. Purify yourself.’

   I wanted to follow him. I wanted to be brave and free. A surge of strength came to me and all the fears that had tormented me in recent days evaporated - as did my clothes. I walked forward. My body glowing in the face of the mighty ocean.

   The waters sizzled at my feet, burning me at first, before cooling around me and soothing those initial feverish sensations. This was like the spirit equivalent of taking a hot bath. I kept going, following Tim’s lead, until the water was swirling around my neck. I tried to take a deep breath, forgetting that I didn’t need air. I closed my eyes, tried my best to relax, then I gave myself to the watery aura and was gently coaxed into the depths. There was so much life beneath the surface that it was impossible to focus on any one stream of aura. It was everywhere. I was swimming in a vast basin of kaleidoscopic light. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought this was heaven.

   I quickly lost sight of Tim in the immense cauldron of light. I swam hard, going deeper and deeper until his red eyes became visible. He took hold of me as I swam back to the surface and his arms slipped around me. There, with the endless light beneath us and the endless blackness above, we made love in that most majestic of settings. It was pure magic.

   For two hours or more we were one in the ocean of light. Ecstatic we glided through the swirling waters like dolphins and I became a stranger to the rest of the worlds and all the problems they presented. Time was flowing in strange ways and I eventually lost track of it completely. I had been in the water for hours, yet it seemed like days. Nothing was real. It was like a beautiful dream that I didn’t want to wake up from.

   The inevitable awakening was not pleasant. In fact, it was the worst and most terrifying experience of my spirit life. There was suddenly a darkness in the water, coming at me like a monster from the deep, ready to swallow me whole. An intense anxiety took hold and I struggled to swim. My body felt heavy and I was unable to rise to the surface. I sank deeper and deeper. Crazed voices were in my ears. Laura was calling for help. Was this a dream? Was this really Laura’s voice?

   ‘Tim!’ I screamed as I was dragged down. ‘Tim, help me!’