Beneath the Elder Tree (20 page)

   ‘Many spirits can do that. Even I can do that.’

   ‘Spirits reach into the physical world all the time, yes, but there are not many who can reach into the physical world to kill a mortal.’

   ‘Dear God,’ I breathed. ‘How many has he killed?’

   ‘Only one.’

   ‘Who?’

   ‘The person who he wished to have here as a companion’

   ‘No…’ I felt dizzy. Heartbroken. Furious. This was the ultimate crime. The ultimate betrayal. ‘It can’t be!’

   ‘It is the truth. It was cruel of me to keep this from you for so long. I should not have allowed him to continue to manipulate you.’

   ‘Tim killed my mortal body…?’

   ‘Yes. He did it so he could seduce you in the spirit world.’

   I thought back to a conversation I had with Emily about my mortal death. She had said it was the first time in months that she had not been at my side. Tim had said he followed Emily and tried to talk to her. He must have followed me home that evening. He decided to kill me so that he could have my spirit as a companion. I felt crushed.

   It didn’t take long for the shock and sadness to be replaced by hatred and rage. How could anyone be so cruel? He had destroyed my mortal life. He had then destroyed my spirit life. And now he was trying to control my last chance at life. He would not succeed. I would no longer be his fool. Now I could finally separate friend from foe. I now knew who my real foe was. I would never be fooled again.

   ‘Mia, you spoke of redemption. Would I be redeemed in the eyes of the shepherd if I stopped Tim and his chosen from continuing these crimes?’

   ‘I cannot say. It may take more than that.’

   ‘But it won’t hurt my chances if I could kill them both.’

   ‘True.’

   ‘I don’t know how to kill a spirit. Is there a way to kill him? Can I even hurt him?’

   ‘One spirit can hurt another with their tears. It is part of the inner aura and can burn any other spirit it touches. It is not, however, enough to kill. But you don’t have to kill Tim in order to stop him.’

   ‘How do I stop him?’

   ‘You can only do that by inflicting the worst punishment a spirit can suffer.’

   ‘And that is?’

   ‘Imprisonment for all eternity.’

   ‘A grave. I have to cast him into a grave. That’s how it’s done, isn’t it? Emily told me to stay clear of them.’

   ‘Yes, a grave is the only way. Getting him close enough to one will be the hard part. He is very dangerous, so if you plan revenge, I would suggest you hide your emotions as best you can. I would not like it if you were to be punished as I have been.’

   ‘He’ll never hurt me again, Mia. He’ll never hurt anyone again.’

   I cupped her thin face in my hands and allowed my aura to mingle with hers. A small part of my spirit was passed to her, and with it she gained strength - enough to allow her to walk at least. I felt I owed it to her. She’d kept the terrible secret from me, yes. But part of her was evil. At some point she became too weak to resist that growing evil. I was thankful that some shimmer of her previous self kept breaking the black clouds inside her and forced her to reveal the truth to me. I felt dreadful, but I was glad I knew the truth.

   I left Mia in the woods and continued to the centre of Hampton. The soft shapes of the living passed me and I longed to be one of them again. I should still have been walking the streets of this quiet little town, going about my mortal life and discovering all that the real world had to offer a young woman. Tim had robbed me of so much. I had never fallen in love in the living world. I was robbed of that opportunity. I was robbed of my family and friends. I was robbed of everything that could have happened.

   Tim had also robbed Laura of so much. How twisted could an entity be to do such things, while masquerading as someone who cares and loves for those he manipulates and tortures. Natalia had been right about him; he was not to be trusted. He was not the companion I needed or deserved. He had committed the ultimate betrayal and simply smiled while he did it. I wanted him to die. It was gone far beyond hate. I wanted him to suffer forever.

   I made it to the far side of Hampton near midday and found myself standing in the kitchen of the my family home, watching my parents sitting at the table in silence. I placed myself at the third seat - the one I had always sat on while the three of us had breakfast. It had been a small but loving family. Now there were only remnants of the good times. I was a spirit. They were broken hearted mortals.

   Their thoughts were easy to read - painful to experience. I had no means to help them. The dark energy that I was now made of was no good to them. Only now, sitting next to them, did I realise this.

   I was helpless. The anger towards Tim was boiling over. Black tears streaked my face and the inner fire of my soul was out of control. There was a mighty rage threatening to escape and this was not the time nor place to lose control. My parents could be affected by such an intense release of dark energy. No more harm could be done to them. They’d suffered far too much already.

   I left them to their misery and roamed the upstairs rooms while I tried to clear my mind. I soon found myself in the spare bedroom. This was where my grandmother spent many nights in her final years. She’d fallen out with aunt Hillary, and my mother thought it would be best to move her in with us. The room was as she’d left it. I guess my mother had a major problem letting go of loved ones.

   I sat on the bed and wiped the tears from my face. I gazed at the room and thought back to evenings sitting there with my grandmother telling her old fairytales. She’d gone a bit crazy in those final years and I think she believed most of the things she used to tell me. As a youngster I found her stories fascinating. I remembered all those tales about werewolves, dwarves, gnomes and elves - yet she didn’t call them elves, she called them elders, on account that they lived for a very long time.

   I was so confused and so hurt. My spirit life was a lie. It was a crime scene that I’d never escaped. I had remained there in death and fallen in love with the monster who had killed me. My grandmother’s stories were strange, but not nearly as strange as the life I went on to lead. What would she make of it all…?

   I shot to my feet.

   The elders…

   It had come to me like a bolt from the deadest reaches of the universe. The elders… This could be the way to gain revenge. This could lead to my salvation. This could lead me to the road to redemption. The elders. The elder tree. The shepherd.

   The only way I could truly avenge myself was to trap Tim in a dead body - they were like magnets for spirits. Emily had warned me never to walk over a grave, because the empty vessel can pull you into it. Once in there, you can never escape. Mia had agreed that this would be the only way to trap Tim. The problem was getting him to walk over a grave. He was too clever to ever stray near a graveyard, let alone walk over an actual grave. But perhaps he could be fooled into walking over an unmarked grave. The only one I knew about was beneath the elder tree in the park in the city centre. Emily had told me the story about a secret burial there decades ago. 

   And now I remembered the old folk stories about elves that slept under trees. Maybe I could convince Tim that the old stories had some truth hidden within them. He had always wondered where the shepherd went during mirror world. He was going crazy to punish the shepherd - maybe crazy enough to believe that the shepherd slept under the elder tree. It did sound completely insane, but everything in the spirit world was insane.

   It was worth a try - even though there was a chance that it could also backfire on me spectacularly. If Tim knew about the body beneath the tree, he would know I was trying to lure him into a trap. If he decided it was believable he would probably want to call on the others to help him. I couldn’t allow that to happen either. It was fair to assume that at least one of them would know about the unmarked grave - some of those spirits had been around for centuries. No, Tim could not be allowed to inform the others. It would have to be just the two of us. And as soon as the grave began to pull at him, I would have to push him forward into it. This would be fraught with danger. If anything went wrong I might be the one to be cast into the grave forever. Was it really worth the risk…?

   My chain of thought was interrupted when my mother climbed the staircase and I saw her through the open door shuffling towards my old bedroom. I followed her inside and found her sitting on the bed with an old diary of mine open on her lap. I’d have been furious with her if I was still alive for reading my most intimate feelings and experiences. Now it didn’t bother me at all. I was actually happy that she’d found it. Those rushed passages would help her know the true me, not just the person I pretended to be in front of others.

   I couldn’t linger any longer if I was to make it back to the city before nightfall. I couldn’t raise Tim’d suspicions by missing another night. No, I would have to go to him and draw him into the trap without delay.

   I didn’t want to leave my mother in such a state, so before leaving I crossed the room and crouched by the child sized guitar standing against the wall. This was the first instrument I had ever played and was my most prized possession before I died. Emily told me it was not my place to reveal to the living that there was life after death. I didn’t reveal anything. I simply gave my mother a hint that I was in the room by stroking the strings on the guitar three times. The diary fell from her hands and she turned to the guitar, and in that instant she was looking into my eyes. I looked in hers and saw the recognition. She knew I was with her, despite not being able to see me. Tears of happiness rolled along her cheeks. There was hope in her heart once more.

   I’d done what I came to do and now it was time for me to return to the city. The anger inside me became overwhelming as I past along the streets of Hampton. It took all my strength and conviction to keep it in check so that I could think clearly. I focused on the plan. Trying to imprison Tim was a dangerous course of action and I was running the risk of being found out and punished severely.

   It is worth the risk, I told myself.

   My hate for Tim grew with every forward step.

- CHAPTER TWENTY ONE -

Beneath the Elder Tree

I kept my distance from the cathedral until the night was old and mirror world was drawing near. I climbed to the roof of a building nearby and watched for any sign of Tim or the other ghosts. As the first light of the sun was cast into the sky I caught sight of him. He crawled powerfully up the side of the cathedral and sank into the roof. I waited for almost half an hour, to be sure no other spirit was near, before going to him.

   I entered the attic to find him curled up in a black ball in the corner, his scarlet eyes the only hint that he was alive. I approached confidently - despite being in turmoil inside. I focused on shielding my thoughts and emotions as best I could as I watched him unravel from his resting place like a black cobra.

   ‘Where have you been, Lucy?’ he asked, his voice full of suspicion and anger. ‘I searched the entire city for you this night. Why do you insist in hiding from me?’

   ‘I wasn’t hiding from you, Tim. I went to Hampton to look over my parents one last time. I wanted to give you some space - I know you have so much to deal with now that you are leading the others against the shepherd.’

   ‘Leading?’ he scoffed. ‘They do nothing but quarrel. There will be no revolt. There will be no action. The others don’t believe that we can achieve success because they are all afraid of the shepherd. We’re all destined to the same horrible fate, yet they fail to act. Cowards, the lot of them.’

   ‘Forget them, my love.’ I went to my knees, leaned into him and ran my hands over his cheeks. I smiled lovingly, when all I really wanted to do was crush his face in my hands. ‘There is another way to kill the shepherd.’

   ‘What?’ His eyes lit up and his hands grasped impatiently at my shoulders. ‘What are you saying?’

   ‘I have been told there is another way.’

   ‘How? Who told you this?’

   ‘I came across a lost spirit in the woods near Hampton,’ I lied. I had dreamed up this part of the story as I waited for him to return to the cathedral. ‘She was so old that she appeared to be at one with the very ground I walked on. I spoke with her, Tim. She told me of an ancient tale.’

   ‘Tell me of this tale.’ A smile began to grow on his white face. He appeared to be taking the bait. ‘Tell me now!’

   ‘My grandmother used to speak of elves that lived beneath the elder trees. Have you heard of that?’

   ‘They’re old wives’ tales. Ghosts living under trees. Gollums under oaks. Nonsense the lot of it.’

   ‘No, Tim. The oldest of the tales is about a great elf that slept under a tree. This elf was said to be very powerful and slept during daylight. This is the story that all the tales were based on. The original story was very specific about the type of tree it slept under. It always rested beneath an elder tree. I spoke with the old ghost about myths and how they had come about. I mentioned this tale and she confirmed there was truth in it. Except there was no elf. Tim, the shepherd sleeps in mirror world under an elder tree.’

   ‘What elder tree? There are countless elder trees surrounding the city.’

   ‘This one is not outside the city at all. It is in the very heart of the city.’

   ‘Where is it, Lucy?’

   ‘The elder tree in the centre of the old park. You know it?’

   ‘I know it. It’s not far from here.’

   ‘Mirror world is in ascendancy, Tim. The shepherd will now be sleeping. We could do this. Just the two of us. We could be the ones to kill the shepherd. You could be the one to free this world.’

   I fed his ego and it worked a treat.

   ‘You’re right.’ He grabbed hold of me and pressed his lips against mine. ‘I told you we could rule this world. You will be empress of all you survey.’

   ‘And you will be lord, my love.’

   He brushed me aside as he got to his feet. He paced the attic floor and his excitement was growing the more he contemplated the lies I had told him. He began whispering to himself and laughing like a lunatic.

   ‘How do we kill him?’ Tim asked. ‘We know where he is, but that doesn’t help us kill him, Lucy.’

  ‘The old tale states that the elf is weak when it sleeps. And that only fire can destroy him…’

   ‘Fire?’

   ‘Not the fire of the mortal world. The fire within, Tim. Our inner aura.’ I was literally making it up as I went along. I was desperately hoping that he would stay in this excited state and abandon logic entirely. ‘You’re strong, Tim. You could do this. You could be the one to free this world from our tormentor.’

   ‘We need to prepare. We should rest today and I will consult the older ghosts tonight. They will know more about this. They must know.’

   ‘No!’ I protested. ‘Why would you include them in this? We don’t need them. You don’t need them, Tim. You’re stronger than all of them. I can see it in you. I knew you were special from the first moment I set eyes on you.’

   ‘You think we should do it now?’

   ‘Yes. Let’s go together, Tim. Let’s not delay this!’

   Then came the moment. A smile slowly grew into Tim’s face. In it I saw that he believed my story. In it I saw the selfishness and evil that really lurked within him. I had seen this smile many times before, but only now, knowing what he really was, could I identify what was behind it. All Tim cared about was power. He was pure evil. He cared for nothing else but himself and was willing to destroy and murder anyone who got in his way. Thankfully the shepherd was in his way, and that was driving him crazy even enough to believe the yarn I spun for him.

   ‘This will be a morning long remembered. One of the great shepherds will be eradicated. In its place I will become master of this domain.’ His aura became visible and billowed grey around his limbs. ‘Come.’ He extended one of his flaming arms towards me. ‘Come with me.’

   The mere notion of touching him made me sick. I had to put that revulsion aside until this was over, though. I took his hand. The first part of my plan had worked.

   We climbed out of the attic and stood on the apex of the beaten roof. The sun was already high and the world was grey and misty. It was a sombre sight, but I found it quite enchanting that morning. Perhaps because it might be the last time I would look upon the world. There was a very real chance that my plot would be uncovered and that I would face Tim’s wrath. It was still worth the risk. I was not going to give in.

   We strode hand in hand through the streets. The blurred shapes of the living passed through us. I barely noticed them. My mind was fully focused on the elder tree, and what lay beneath it. Tim was strangely silent and never once let go of my hand. He looked like he was in a trance and even ignored me when I tried to talk to him. My anxiety was increasing each second he remained quiet. I started thinking that he had me all figured out and was bringing me to the tree to imprison me.

   ‘I can sense your fear,’ he said suddenly, just as we entered the thoroughfare that led to the park. ‘I don’t think it would be wise to express such strong emotions was we approach its lair.’

   ‘I’m sorry. If only I was as strong as you…’ Again I stroked his ego and again he fell for it. ‘You’re stronger than anyone, Tim.’

   ‘I am strong enough for us both.’

   I wanted to kill him as he said it. The thought of what he’d done to me. The thought of all that I’d allowed him to do to me. It made me sick to the core. I couldn’t get him to the tree quickly enough.

   The march to the centre of the park seemed to last forever, every second was like an hour. Tim paused again before we passed under the stone arched entrance. He silently contemplated what he was about to do, and still I could sense nothing from him.

   ‘What are you waiting for?’ I asked.

   He didn’t reply. All he did was give me a blank stare, as if he was trying to see into my mind. I closed my thoughts to him, and eventually he led me forward, through the arch and the tall trees that stood either side of it.

   We walked hand in hand until we reached the fountain with the old elder tree in front of us. There was a circle of flowers surrounding the foot of the tree and a small iron fence, that only rose to knee level, encompassing the flower bed. It all looked so quaint and harmless. What lay beneath was not harmless. The body under the ground meant a fate worse than death for one of us. 

   There was no grand speeches as we made our approach. Tim remained silent and I remained terrified that he might uncover my intentions. His hand squeezed mine harder and harder. The tension was becoming too great for me to handle and I knew he must have been feeling the fear inside me.

   ‘I can’t go any further, Tim. I’m too frightened.’

   He turned to me as I came to a stop at the small fence that encircled the tree. I looked into his deep red eyes and could feel nothing from him. Tim was either a master at cloaking his fear or he was he feeling no fear at all. I guessed it was the latter. He said nothing as turned back to the tree. We were only five yards from the foot of the gnarled elder and I could feel a slight pull from the grave. It was right in front of us.

   ‘Can you feel that?’ Tim finally said. ‘Feels just like a…’

   ‘Like a grave?’

   ‘Yes.’ He turned sharply and narrowed his eyes on me. ‘Why would that be, Lucy?’

   ‘Because it is a grave, Tim.’

   ‘Why would you bring me near a grave, Lucy?’

   ‘Oh, I think you know, Tim. I’ve brought you here to punish you for what you’ve done.’

   All the anger and bitterness that had been clogged up inside me was released. I moved at Tim and put all my strength into one single blow. I struck him flush in the chest and he was sent rolling backwards and the grave did the rest. It was like an invisible hand had reached up from beneath the elder tree and grabbed hold of his legs. He was dragged down. First his feet slipped beneath the flowers. Then he was jolted a second time and his legs went under. He was up to his neck within a couple of seconds. I thought right then that I had won a clean victory.

   I was mistaken. Tim’s right arm shot out and latched onto my ankle. I was pulled off my feet and sank into the earth as Tim went under the surface. I was up to my chest in no time. I could feel his hands grasping my legs and yanking me further and further towards the grave. I screamed out as I scratched at the grass and I managed to reach into the physical world and grab hold of the small iron fence.

   Tim still had a hold on me and was emerging from the ground as I pulled myself away from the tree. If I continued to crawl away he would be freed. If I let go he would drag me into the grave with him. His face emerged from the flowers and he was hissing wildly at me. His eyes were ablaze and his face morphed from beautiful to hideous. His true face had finally been revealed to me. He was wizened and wicked, a ghoul that could strike fear into the stoutest of hearts.

   ‘Why would you try to imprison me, Lucy?’ he hissed. ‘After all I have done for you.’

   ‘I know what you’ve done for me. You killed me. My real life was destroyed because of you. Then you tricked me into getting banished. You ended my life twice and for that you’ll pay with yours.’

   ‘I’m not letting go, Lucy. We’ll be together for eternity. One way or another. You make the choice.’

   I tried to kick him away from me but my clumsy efforts resulted in me being drawn back towards the grave. His sharp fingers were digging into me as he tightened his grip. I screamed out and tears streaked my face as my grip on the fence gave way. He was grasping at my shoulders and actually using my spirit body to climb away of the ground. I released my grip on the small fence and we slid towards the grave once more. Tim latched onto the surface just before we were pulled under and we were face to face.

   ‘How could you do this?’ he asked as we hung on. His face was beautiful and vulnerable again, just as it had been on the night we met.  ‘I love you, Lucy.’

   ‘I’ve learned that love hurts. Now it’s your turn to learn that lesson.’

   I grabbed hold of his head and pressed my face against his and kissed him. My tears, that were part of my inner aura, were smeared on his cheeks and he howled in agony as his face was burned. Through instinct he released me and clawed at his own face.

   ‘Enjoy eternity alone, Tim.’

   And with that I pushed myself upward and grabbed hold of the fence. I was free of him and in his moment of agony he had nothing else to latch onto. Within the blink of an eye he was torn down into the cold earth and I heard him screaming as he entered the corpse below me.

   I held the fence with both hands and slowly pulled myself out of the ground and crawled away from the tree. I lay there staring at the grey sky churning above the city and laughed. I could no longer hear Tim’s screams. No one would ever hear him. No one would ever find him. Justice had been served.

   I was finally free of the person who had murdered me and then murdered me again. His punishment would last until the end of time.