The Dark Rider

CHAPTER Fourteen



Alex stood on the porch of Gwen’s house, her sodden clothes dripping great dark pools onto the stone floor. She pulled them off and left them in a pile by the door. She sank to the ground, a numbing fear gnawing at her stomach and clenching her body. With one last effort she dragged her rucksack over and opened the top, eventually finding some dry clothes which she put on before sinking down again and pulling her legs up to her chest, hugging herself while her brain tried to shut out what had just happened to her.

She did not know how long she sat there with her eyes squeezed tightly shut against the visions of the night, but at some point calmness entered her mind, a soothing presence that replaced her fear with quiet. Warmth pervaded her body, the glow of a rising sun becoming bright behind her closed eyes. The deep aroma of woodland filled her nostrils, fresh and crisp in the morning air. She felt leaves beneath her, while from somewhere soft music was carried to her, a whisper on the breeze mixing with the gentle murmur of moving leaves.

Alex opened her eyes.

She was in a wood. It was autumn, golden yellows and browns highlighted by the rising sun, the bark of the trees glowing as if on fire. She lay on what seemed like a faint path between widely spaced trees. In front of her the trees gave way to a clearing where short grass glistened, brushed lightly with frost. She stood up, feeling calm, a sense that everything was right and as it should be, and she remembered when she had felt this before.

As Alex stood, a mist began to creep through the trees, almost unnoticeable at first but soon thickening to hide the far reaches of the clearing in damp greyness. Soon Alex could only see a few feet in front of her, and as she stared into the mist she saw cloaked figures moving towards her like waifs. The figures stopped in the mist except one which carried on towards her. As the figure approached, Alex saw that it was Gwen, her white cloak glowing in the shadows, her deep, intense eyes holding Alex’s gaze and sending calm and reality spreading through her consciousness.

“Welcome again to our wood, Alex,” said Gwen. She stood in front of Alex, her gaze seeming to look through her. She took Alex by the arm and guided her forward, the touch again sending electricity coursing through her body.

“I must apologize for this mist,” said Gwen looking up and around her. “It is spoiling your view of the wood.” She looked at Alex and smiled. Alex felt her gaze searching deep into her consciousness, the smile fixed, time stretching to the horizon. Gwen looked away as she spoke again. “It comes more frequently now.”

“I found Paul,” said Alex.

“I know,” said Gwen staring ahead. “We must speak of him.”

The two carried on walking, time almost visible in the mist of the wood. Alex looked to Gwen but the woman did not meet her gaze. Alex looked away again and gasped in surprise. They were standing in a clearing on a mountaintop. Bright sunlight filled her gaze and she saw the vastness of the forest reaching out for miles on either side, a deep cloak of golden yellows, reds, and browns rising and falling across deep valleys and mountains as far as the eye could see. Alex could see mist hanging within the trees, lit like wildfire by the intense light of the sun. Above them the sky was a deep blue, and she saw a falcon soaring high in the air. She watched its powerful wings burnt gold with morning light.

“It’s beautiful,” whispered Alex. “I have never seen anything so beautiful.”

“I am glad,” said Gwen, humor and warmth touching her voice. She turned to Alex, her voice soft.

“A winter is coming,” she said. “And snow borders our wood.”

Alex looked east, shielding her eyes from the light of the rising sun. Far in the distance she could see a faint streak of white, a fine dusting of powder on the horizon where the forest began.

“But it is autumn here,” said Alex.

Gwen touched her arm. Again warmth and calm spread through her, the sense that this was real, that this was supposed to be.

“Time runs its own course here.”

Through a gentle pressure on her arm Gwen urged Alex forward, and they walked towards a solitary oak tree that stood in the middle of the clearing.

“Time is running differently in the land,” said Gwen as she led Alex under the branches of the oak. At its base, gnarled roots formed a natural platform.

“Please, Alex, sit down.”

Alex sat, the wood of the oak solid yet seeming to pulse with life. Gwen gathered her cloak and sat next to her. Something made Alex turn. She saw armed men and women at the edge of the clearing, their brown and gold clothing blending with the nature of the wood. Alex looked back to Gwen, the tree’s great branches framing the sky behind her. She felt an urgency she had not felt before, as if something had changed in the air. Gwen remained passive, her eyes looking elsewhere.

Alex looked away to the horizon, bright with sunlight. Within the sunlight she saw her brother, his eyes burning deep blue, the lightning forking through the sky behind him. She felt him pull away from her grip, remembered his words, remembered what she had seen in the brief instant of lightning. The vivid memories troubled her, yet the calmness of the wood soothed her, and again she had the feeling that everything was right.

“Paul said there was no awakening,” she said. “I found him in your house. There was a storm and it was raining, I found him by the front door. He was going away, his eyes...” A deep upwelling of emotion swept across her. “They were blue, a deep blue, burning into me. He kicked me.” She felt the bruise on her shoulder. “He said you were wrong. I tried to follow him but it was too dangerous. I don’t know what’s happened to him.”

Alex found herself looking into Gwen’s eyes which filled her vision. She felt Gwen’s hands holding her face, the touch so light yet pulsing with the force of life.

“Darkness is spreading across the land,” said Gwen. “I fear that the Dark holds your brother.” Alex felt as if she was in a dream. All that filled her vision were Gwen’s eyes. All she heard was Gwen’s voice, seeming to come from inside her head.

“Paul is wearing something but I cannot tell what it is. It has blocked him from me.” Sadness filled Gwen’s voice, filled Alex’s consciousness. “Who gave it to him? Why are they hiding him from me? Paul is the chosen one. He is the truth, the awakening. The land is calling to him, Alex, but he has not answered.” Urgency filled Alex’s mind, a sudden desperation of seeking so strong that Alex gasped. She wanted to pull away, to stop the intensity of power that was coursing through her mind but Gwen’s touch, so light, so delicate, gripped her mind like a vice and would not let go.

“I see things through your eyes that should not be,” said Gwen. “I see someone hiding your brother from me. I see the storm that he brings to the land, and I see the Rider on horseback where Paul should be. The Dark is rising, Alex.” Alex felt herself being pushed deeper into her mind, the current of life force flowing from Gwen’s touch overpowering her. She felt as if she was falling away from the sky, deep into the land and into darkness, and still Gwen’s voice held her. “I can see the land, Alex. I can feel its pulse and rhythm. It has found the one. But it is not Paul.”

For long moments Gwen did not speak, the touch between them still unbroken, and Alex floated in a void detached from the events happening around her.

“No, it cannot be.”

Abruptly Gwen pulled her hands away from Alex’s face. Alex felt herself coming awake, her eyes opening. She found herself still in the wood, everything as clear and fresh as before.

The sun had risen higher from the horizon, burning away some of the mist and lighting the shadows of the wood. Still the falcon soared high in the deep blue above them, its shrieking cries falling harshly on the air, while the branches of the oak reached skywards. Beside her Gwen looked down, her eyes shielded. When she raised her head her eyes were filled with a deep sadness, and Alex was shocked to see the path of a single tear on her cheek. Alex felt such sadness and loss radiating from the woman next to her that she wanted to cry. All around the autumn wood was still and heavy with decay.

“What is wrong?” asked Alex, suddenly afraid of the answer.

Gwen turned to face her, her eyes heavy with emotion.

“Much is lost,” she said.

“What is it?” asked Alex suddenly scared. “What has happened to Paul?”

Gwen simply stared into her eyes for what seemed an eternity. Above them the falcon screamed and Alex looked up as it tucked its wings into its body and plummeted down from the sky like a stone. The falcon levelled out and flashed across the clearing. Then, as Alex watched, it seemed to shimmer and dissolve in mid-air, and suddenly a tall man with cropped orange hair was running towards them where the falcon had been a moment before.

Gwen rose to meet him and he stopped a few paces from her, piercing blue eyes taking in Alex and then meeting Gwen’s gaze. Alex stared back at him in disbelief. His eyes, that seemed to see through her, were set in a face that was striking rather than handsome. Rough stubble covered his chin and cheeks while sharp, angular features gave him an almost alien look. He was clothed in browns, yellows, and reds, with lightweight armor covered by a cloak that seemed to ripple and merge with the autumn colors. Beneath it Alex caught glimpses of a sword and, strapped around his torso, a short bow. All around them armed fighters were appearing from the trees to circle the clearing. Alex turned her head from side to side, suddenly scared as to what was happening

“What is it?” asked the man. “What did you see?”

Gwen looked up at him. Her mouth opened to speak but for a long moment no sound came.

“Gwen?” he said, his features etched with concern.

“It is over.”

“What do you mean?” he asked urgently.

“How could I have been so blind?” Gwen whispered.

“You’re not making any sense.” The man gripped her by the shoulders. “Please, tell me what has happened.”

Gwen looked him full in the eyes. He was shocked to see nothing but darkness in return.

“They will come here,” said Gwen her voice rising in fear. “They will break the link.”

“Gwen, please.”

She broke his hold on her arms and stepped away.

“Paul is not the chosen one.”

Her words cut across the air piercing his consciousness like a knife through flesh.

“That’s not possible,” he replied through clenched jaws.

“I have seen it, Falk. Paul has become the Rider. I found the Rider and trained him as one of us.” She looked at him, her eyes filled with remorse. “Now he will lead them here to destroy us.”

“This is not your doing,” he said.

“Yes it is, Falk,” she cried. “Myrkur blinded me. Somehow he made me believe.”

“Then we must deal with this,” he responded savagely. “If it is not Paul then who is the one? Can you sense them?”

Gwen closed her eyes.

“There is a girl.”

“Has the awakening begun?”

“Yes. She is near, but still in the world above.”

Gwen opened her eyes again, refocusing on him.

“They are already tracking her.”

“If I can bring her here you can complete the awakening. We still have a chance.”

As he spoke, a squadron of swifts screamed into the clearing, tearing through the air in a frenzy of calls. The man looked up as they swept past, wings paddling the sky, making two passes before rising as one and heading back the way they had come.

“There are a thousand Serenti penetrating the Eastern border,” he spoke grimly. “With perhaps two thousand more on the plains.”

Gwen’s head dropped for a moment.

“It is too late.”

“We can still fight,” he said, his face set with determination.

Gwen was silent for a moment and then raised her head, turning to where Alex still sat on the oak bench unable to look away from them, her eyes wide with disbelief. She met Alex’s gaze, her eyes searching deep within Alex’s soul.

“Not you, my brave Falk,” Gwen whispered.

He looked at her, confusion flitting across his face. She turned to him.

“I cannot go back now, but you can. I will face him here, to give you time.”

“Time for what?” he replied tensely.

“Save the girl from the Rider. Keep her in the world above. I will place the essence of the Warders within Alex’s mind. When you are ready bring them together. All they need to do is to touch. Then the knowledge will be transferred and the awakening completed.”

Seconds passed between them, but for both it felt an eternity. Eventually he spoke, his jaw straining against the words.

“You will sacrifice yourself?”

“It is the only way,” Gwen replied.

“Then I will go,” he said.

“I will send her back now,” said Gwen. Alex looked from one to the other, her mouth open to speak but nothing came out. Gwen looked at Falk with compassion in her eyes. “She is his sister.”

He met Alex’s gaze, his eyes cold and alien. She looked away in fear as Gwen turned and gripped her by the top of her arms.

“When you wake, wait for him.”

Gwen reached up to touch Alex’s forehead. Alex felt a sharp pain in her temples and then her mind began to shut down, her eyelids fluttering uncontrollably.

“I give you this, Alex, so that you can give it to her. The link must not be broken.”

Alex’s head throbbed with pain and she began to black out. The last thing she heard was Gwen’s voice.

“Forgive me.”