Book of Dreams (28 page)

This was so damn frustrating! He didn’t seem to be able to get anyone to hear him.

Since the hunters downed his guide, Kyle had been using the crystal ball Crystaleyes had given him to zip around with Kyron in the causal world, and warn those close to him against the tragedies unfolding in the north. Kyle had talked to Zoe in her sleep, but she’d forgotten everything when she woke up. Unfortunately, none of the living were acknowledging him. Kyle’s will and influence over physical matter had proven to be as useful as his
own
physical matter. It was the same with Kyron; it seemed they’d been locked out of the physical world and were only permitted to witness the events unfolding there.

I’m working on it, Matt. Say it!
Kyle was beside himself and completely disgusted. He couldn’t raise the slightest word of comfort from his unconscious body’s lips.
Come on, say it!

‘Hmm bur in m —’ Kyle’s physical person responded when pushed.

That’s going to make him feel so much better!
Kyle gave up trying to make a connection and so did Matt.

To Tim?
Kyron queried.

With a nod from Kyle, reality spun around and Kyle was standing on the flat land outside Arika’s forest, looking towards the mountain, as a sole runner approached; it was Tim.

If anyone is going to hear me it will be you.
Kyle projected his thoughts with all the will and imagination that he could muster:
Nivok sent two teams of hitmen up here. I suspect those teams are meant to meet in this place to serve the eviction notice that Nivok and Ivan failed to enforce twenty years ago.

Tim’s sprint slowed as the entrance to Arika’s oasis came into view, but he gave no indication that he might have heard Kyle.

It seemed his father was as deaf to his warnings as everyone else, so Kyle walked alongside Tim into the thicket-tunnel. The Matong Bargi Arika was the only hope Kyle had left of making himself heard. Kyle observed his father closely, feeling proud to walk alongside him at last.
You turned out to be a much better role model than I ever imagined … I can’t wait to get to know you better.

‘Don’t confuse the issue now,’ Tim mumbled.

Kyle was startled.
You can hear me!

‘Just shhh!’ Tim insisted, holding his head.

This is not your subconscious speaking. It is your son!
Kyle understood that Tim might not be able to tell one from the other.

‘If it is my son, then he will know we have no time to delay,’ Tim stated reasonably and kept walking.

But didn’t you hear my warning?

‘I heard it,’ replied Tim.

Kyle was confused by his attitude.
Do you want to die?

Tim stopped and looked about, thinking that his subconscious was not usually so blunt. ‘Equally as much as I want to live,’ he said honestly and walked on.

As intensely emotional as Kyle found the reply, he did understand it. Tim was torn between his desire to be with Alex and his wish to be a father to the son he’d just found. The thought of losing his father, when he now admired him, aspired to know him and be like him, really tore up Kyle’s feelings. And yet, having tasted what true love could be like, it was equally heartbreaking to keep anyone from pursuing such bliss.

Kyle raced ahead of Tim, hoping to grab Arika’s attention before his father got her distracted.
Matong Bargi!
He addressed the old woman’s carcass, nestled in the same tree and position as the last time that he’d seen her. She hadn’t moved a muscle.

Matong Bakkare.

Kyle turned to find the young spirit form of Arika standing behind him, and beside his great-grandmother stood his equally youthful mother.
Mum!
He’d never used the word, nor sought a mother’s embrace, but both seemed to come naturally in this instance.

My precious one.
Alex hugged her boy tightly, stroking his hair and kissing his head.

I can’t believe that BOTH my parents are here just when I need you most!
He nearly choked on the sentiment engendered by the realisation that his parents were great people who cared about him deeply.
It’s a dream come true.
Kyle thought that his physical form would surely be shedding a tear as he looked at Arika, thankful for the part the
Book of Dreams
had played in this reunion.

Your father has a big decision to make today,
Arika explained,
and he’s going to need the two of you to help him make it.

What’s happening?
Kyle looked from one woman to the other, alarmed, and yet he knew the answer.

Hush now.
Arika made this sound more like advice than a command.
Trust in the divine order and listen.
She turned to address Tim, who had taken a seat before Arika’s old, empty shell.

‘Once again I have come seeking your aid, Bargi,’ Tim began.

I have been watching all as it unfolds, and all that I can do has been done,
she told him and Tim suppressed a sigh of disappointment.
I am not permitted to influence outcomes; that is for a clash of wills to determine at the right time. I may only use my abilities to manipulate circumstances, and I have left no stone unturned in my final masterpiece. Much can happen in a moment … I would not fear for our cause unnecessarily if I were you.

Tim could hear the cheeky smile in the old woman’s tone. ‘Then I trust in your word as always, Bargi.’

The defence took their seats in the courtroom. Many of their key witnesses were still missing.

‘This is going to be the shortest case in history if something doesn’t give,’ Kimba muttered quietly to Zoe, who was checking her mobile again.

‘No messages.’ She closed the phone, frustrated. ‘What is going on out there?’

The two girls gazed at each other, trying not to appear disheartened. ‘Why does this feel like the final scene from “Thelma and Louise”?’ Zoe tried to make light of their tragic situation, but her nerves were starting to make her feel a bit queasy.

Kimba cracked a smile. ‘We ain’t going over that cliff, honey,’ she promised Zoe, as the court was called to attention.

Rising, Zoe spied a strange little otherworldly creature sitting on the judge’s bench. It was only in Arika’s abode that Zoe had ever seen such a creature in a wakeful state, and she rubbed her eyes to be sure she wasn’t imagining things. No, it was definitely there, and it was the same little creature to which Zoe had gifted her bracelet, the day she’d learnt the sad truth about the history of the mountain they were now trying to save. In fact, the wee beast proudly wore the bracelet around its neck, and as it noted Zoe’s attention on it, it winked at her.

Before the judge entered the courtroom, it was explained to the court that the judge previously chosen to preside, and several other judges, had been taken ill and so a replacement had been assigned.

Zoe immediately looked at her uncle to see if the news made him smugger than ever — he might have had something to do with this change in the proceedings. It was a pleasant surprise to find that James Nivok was looking decidedly annoyed as he grilled his counsel about the change.

Well, this is an interesting development,
Zoe thought, hoping that her uncle had paid off a judge to no avail. Back on the bench, the wee creature dangled its feet over the edge, swinging them merrily as it chuckled with delight.

‘All rise! The Honourable Judge K. Rupert presiding.’

Every jaw in the courtroom dropped as the replacement took the bench, for Judge K. Rupert was a middle-aged female, her skin a deeper shade of black than Kimba’s.

Zoe looked at Kimba, who had never worn a smile so large as now, and James Nivok had never appeared more devastated. ‘Things are looking up.’ She looked back at the wee creature watching over the proceedings from the judge’s vantage point, and mouthed the words,
thank you.

You have greater concerns this day,
Arika told Tim, as if he already knew this.
I await assassins who have been sent to finish me off, and you must not be seated with me when they arrive, or you WILL be killed along with me, Tim … I have foreseen it.

Tim closed his eyes and a great weight seemed to lift from his shoulders; it seemed the news of his imminent death brought the sweetest relief to him. ‘I will stay and protect you, Bargi. You know I will.’

Arika was heard to laugh with great affection.
You are certainly an original for your breed, just like my dear Lance, and I treasure your devotion dearly. But you cannot stay on my account,
she said, well aware of Tim’s desire to join his wife, in spite of his love for his son.
It is important that my time in this world ends now. It is meant to be, and you must
not
prevent it.

‘If that is your wish, Arika, I will respect it,’ although Tim really couldn’t bear the thought of losing her counsel, ‘but what to do about my own plight … that is a harder question to answer. I
love
my son. I want to live on and teach him and support him, because I did not have the chance to do so in the past. However, Kyle has come so far on his own that his wisdom will soon outgrow any that I can offer.’

No!
Kyle reacted, but was silenced by a gentle shake of Arika’s head. The look on his mother’s face conveyed that she understood it was hard for Kyle, but Tim had to make this choice himself.

‘When I consider another twenty years without Alex. Another day even!’ Tim shook his head, unable to find the words to express his pain. ‘The last twenty years without her have left me little more than a walking corpse, whose spirit has perished for want of release. I know Alex will wait for me. I just don’t think I can stand being in this world without her for much longer.’

Your time as a husband and lover was short-lived and cherished, it is true,
Arika said,
but you have never had the chance to be a father and therefore you cannot underestimate the effect it will have on your quality of life henceforth.

‘And what if our relationship sours, or I cannot live up to my son’s expectations?’ Tears of desperation began to start from Tim’s eyes, for his psyche could sense danger approaching, ‘And I pass up this gift of a swift death for a loveless and lonely existence without her?’

Arika held a finger up to silence Kyle’s comment before he’d even made it.
And what if I tell you that your son is going to have a great responsibility put on his shoulders and will surely benefit from your guidance?

This ‘responsibility’ was news to Kyle. He’d never much liked that word; its implications were daunting. Who in their right mind would bestow a huge responsibility on his shoulders, anyway?

Then it occurred to Tim to ask, ‘Is Kyle here, Bargi?’

He is,
she replied, to Tim’s great distress and relief.
Alex is here with him and they are both ready to support whatever decision you make. But destiny is fleeting, Tim, and fate is hot on its heels … choose, or the choice will be made for you.

Tim could hear the paces of a small force advancing slowly down the only approach to the forest dwelling. Tim smiled and clasped both hands to his stomach. ‘
An ungune
, Arika, and happy journeying to you. I shall miss you as much as I miss your granddaughter.’ He threw his arms wide. ‘I choose life.’ Tim scampered for cover behind Arika’s tree.

Right.
Bargi’s youthful spirit turned to face Kyle and Alex, who were both pleased by Tim’s decision.
If your father is going to make it out of here alive, you’re going to have to do the saving.

Kyle was horrified to discover that Arika was looking at him.
Me! But I’ve been completely useless today.

Because your power stems from the restrained Turramulli, but I have some inheritance for you, young warrior.
She smiled reassuringly, her eyes fixed on Kyle, as her assassin raised his gun and took aim at his target.
Any moment now.
The bullets caused Bargi’s spirit form to reverberate with each impact, but her pain and distress were fleeting and again she smiled.
Now they’ve done it.

Kyle noticed Book’s creatures stirring in the shadows; he heard them too and they didn’t sound happy.

‘The old bugger was a sitting duck!’ commented the sniper to his three mates, who left the cover of the tunnel and came out into the open. ‘What the hell was the boss on about? That was
easy
.’

Arika turned to her physical body. At the crown chakra, located at the top of the old woman’s head, her remaining life force was coming together in a ball of sparkling energy. With her fingers Arika beckoned the mass to her and she regarded it fondly for a moment, before turning to Kyle.
This is the blessed gift given to me by the Great Spirit a lifetime ago. It is mine to pass to whomever I choose … and my elemental friends agree that the inheritance must go to you.

Me!
There was a time when Kyle would have been excited by this gift, but instead he felt overawed, surprised and humbled. ‘I am not worthy, Matong Bargi, or ready for such a responsibility.’ He took a step backwards only to have five sets of hands push him forward. Turning to investigate, Kyle found Kyron, Crystaleyes, Adreana, Blue and the fiery girl child, Burn-a-debt, all nodding in encouragement. Book’s elementals were gathering around the otherworldly guardians of his being, in vaster numbers than Kyle had ever known.