38)
“Where are Anjinn and Onyx?” Alex shouted, panic now welling in his very soul for without his light there was no hope for them; they would be swallowed by the Deluge for sure. He had still managed to keep his light shining through sheer force of will but the mist had become thicker around them as if it sensed their end was near. He had to keep his light shining as bright as he could, but that meant Allura had to be receptive and at the moment she was acting as a drain to his energy. What was going on?
Alex turned to face her and was shocked to see her almost wide eyed in fear. He knew that there was no use trying to talk to her; something had shaken her to the very core, which left him with only one option.
Never letting go of her hand, he slapped her with his free hand; it took less than a second for her to snap out of her stupor and Alex was amazed at her self-control. He had feared that Allura would attack him for daring to slap her but she immediately knew what was happening and spoke firmly to him, “You must concentrate on getting us clear of the wood, Creator.” She sensed his first question and shook her head, “We can not help them at the moment, for if we try we shall all be lost and ultimately so will Bellkipeg. You know this is so; we owe it to Onyx to get clear of the wood and from the influence of the Deluge.”
Alex felt his energy dip slightly as the truth registered, but Allura squeezed his hand gently to reinforce the point and he redoubled his efforts to maintain the light. “You know this to be true, Creator.” He nodded. “We must run now for the Deluge will do everything in its power to stop us from escaping, but you need to concentrate. Your light will show us through.” They both turned and faced the edge of the wood.
“We can’t run, Allura.” Alex stated firmly. “If we run then we’ll be at the mercy of the Deluge; it’s too powerful now. It will become so thick in front of us that it will force us into another direction so we’ll end up deeper into the woods and completely helpless.” He shook his head again. “I can’t maintain the strength of the light whilst running in these conditions. We walk firmly and at a faster pace, but we must be more vigilant now than ever.”
Grasping each other’s hands tight they advanced through the Deluge, the tree-line getting closer with every step. Alex felt the Deluge try to crush them now; the mist had become a thick, dense fog and with each step they took the pressure increased and Alex felt himself buckle.
It was then that he felt the presence of Onyx envelop him, “The Deluge can not harm you all the time your power is shining bright.” The voice was soothing and allowed Alex to concentrate on increasing his energies. “Anjinn and I are safe and will find you, but you must not come back for us. We will find you, Creator.” With that Onyx was gone.
Alex forced a beam of light in front of him. Allura gasped at the sight, she hadn’t realised that Alex was that powerful. There was now a clear path to the edge of the wood where they could see blue sky just feet away. When they finally reached the edge of the wood Alex said one word knowing that Allura would understand perfectly.“Run.”
39)
They ran until every breath burned. The adrenaline rush that had allowed him to draw on his reserves was almost gone, and Alex could feel his body shake through the over-exertion. Surely they were in the clear now; there had been no sign of the Deluge since they had left the wood.
Allura sensed it was safe for them to stop running. Alex just collapsed, he couldn’t help it; he had been running for so long his legs felt like rubber. The pain was indescribable, his calves burned as if the muscles had been rubbed with lye. He massaged them to try and ease the pain in them. He fought to draw each and every breath for it was sheer agony; his lungs not used to being taxed beyond their limits.
“We are safe, Alex.” Allura said, allowing Alex to get his breath back. “The Deluge can not attack us here for it is still linked in to the heart of Bellkipeg. All the time there are places loyal to the land there is still hope.”
“What… What happened out there?” Alex asked. “What made you let go of Onyx’s hand? What the hell were you thinking?!” Alex was beside himself now with fear and anger over what had happened. He could see the same in Allura’s eyes.
“I can’t explain, Paige…” Allura turned away, unable to face him. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me.” He said through gritted teeth. “You owe me that much: after all you’ve put me through since we first met; you owe me, Allura. You certainly owe it to Onyx and Anjinn to explain what happened.”
“You are right, of course.” She replied. “I do owe them that, and you so much more.”
“Cut the crap, Allura.” He snapped, “Now is not the time.”
“You must understand that I was always brought up to believe that I would be the one to save our tribe.” Allura continued, “As the Priestess it was my responsibility to protect the tribe. This was interpreted to mean that I would become the Lightbringer, the one that found the Mirror of Sfel and bring our land back from the brink of tragedy.”
“Is that the reason for the antagonism towards me? It wasn’t just the mistakes I made when we first met; there was always more to it than that.”
“You have grown so much in your perceptions, Paige.. I wonder if even you know by how much.” Allura replied. “It is only now that I can see that it was due to my own arrogance and ego that I allowed my feelings of inadequacy and resentment fuel my quest. It was that which allowed The Presence to attack me so easily when I scanned your thoughts. It was those feelings that the fog used against me. It attacked me through my pride, turned my very arrogance against me.”
With that she turned away. Alex could see the pain that Allura was suffering, the once proud warrior humbled by her own mistakes. It was hard enough for him to accept such emotions, but for her it must have been crippling.
“Allura,” He said, placing his hand on her shoulder, “now is not a time to let guilt cripple you. Onyx and Anjinn are not lost to us, they are simply waylaid.” She looked to him, a glimmer of hope flickering in her eye. “Just before we ran into the woods Onyx spoke to me, in my mind,” Alex tapped the side of his head with his index finger. “They are safe, and will catch us up, but it’s important that we keep moving.” He put his hands on her shoulders again and looked her straight in the eye. “It feels weird saying this to you, Allura, but you have to pull yourself together. Too much is riding on this, and you know it. You are a warrior maiden of the Wyxann and you have made a mistake, nothing more. Get over it.”
Allura let out a sharp, but good natured laugh. “Ha! My; how the tables have turned, Creator. I now know what Onyx see’s in you. You are right, as well… we are equals, now. And we must carry on; the Mirror of Sfel will not find itself.”
40)
They walked on for miles before talking again; it was strange not to have Onyx to guide them, although Allura knew instinctively which way they had to go. Soon they entered another wooded area which felt different to the others he had walked through. It felt warmer, verdant and more welcoming; the light that radiated through the leaves felt heavenly on his skin after the coldness of the fog. The birdsong was sweet and harmonious, and Alex could imagine them singing about the joys of living in the light; he could wholeheartedly agree with them and felt like singing too.
“I wouldn’t recommend it.” Allura chirped in, it was obvious she was still brooding over what had happened, but at least she was able to see the funny side of things again. “Creator you may be, but I doubt very much that your singing voice would be able to do justice to the beautiful melodies you hear around you.” Alex smiled. “You must keep your senses aware though, Alex. Don’t let one over-rule the others.”
“How do you mean?” he asked, this might be the way of getting her mind from her troubles.
“At the moment you are letting your senses be overwhelmed by all that is around you.” She explained. “First you are in awe of all the beautiful trees that are around you. You have noticed, no doubt, that they all appear so much healthier than the other woods you have seen, and I’m sure you can understand why that is.” Alex nodded. “Then you are assailed by the birdsongs that then takes precedence over what you are seeing. You forget to see, instead you just look around you as you marvel at all the different melodies.” Alex could only agree with what Allura was saying, he was finding it very hard to keep focused on the bigger picture. “It is possible to still appreciate the beauty around you without losing yourself in the details. Your world view becomes fractured, and there are entities that will be able to sense that about you and will use that against you.”
“What do you mean?” Alex asked, puzzled, and also slightly edgy now.
“It’s nothing to be overly alarmed about, Alex. I’m telling you this now so you’ll be more aware in future. At the moment you are easily distracted; it would be very simple for a diversion to be created, and for your attention to be snatched away, even for the briefest of seconds, then it would be too late.” Alex understood exactly what Allura meant.
“What must I do, then, to prevent this from happening?” He asked.
“Learn to become detached from your surroundings.” Allura replied. “This sounds like an oxymoron, I’m sure… but let me explain.” She turned to look at him. “Learn to scan your environment. Don’t focus on what is directly around you, but utilise your peripheral vision. Try it now. Fix me in your gaze and describe what you see around me without looking anywhere else, then we’ll try again using your peripheral vision.”
No comments:
Post a Comment