The Magic Lands (36 page)

Jack closed his eyes, trying to
shut out what he had seen, this gruesome spectacle coming so soon
after the badger's ferocious battle with the hound, that he felt
tainted by such savagery, those images of slaughter forever
imprinted on his mind. "No," he whispered, tears beginning to fill
his eyes and hearing footsteps approaching, he forced himself to
look at the figure that now stood before him.

The bloodstained face of the
badger regarded him in silence. But Jack could no longer see his
friend, only a barbaric stranger who changed his shape at will.

"Murderer," he said quietly,
tears touching his lips and as the word echoed in his mind, over
and over, the past returned to him out of the darkness. And he
remembered.

The White Wolf bellowed, an
inhuman, alien sound of wounded pride.

It had watched Jagaren
die, the bloody scene witnessed from the dead man's eyes and it had
seen that the half-one
was
callous indeed. He had shown neither mercy or pity, things
that humankind held in such high esteem. But then, as the Wolf
knew, the half-one was no more human than itself.

It laughed, dark mirth rising
from its perverted heart. In many ways it admired its adversary.
After all, they were of the same breed, or at least they had been,
once long ago. But time had taken its toll and there were some
things even the mighty could not alter.

The White Wolf let its mind
drift to other things, other places, its fury at the loss of its
servant melting away into insignificance, aware that it was time to
move on. There was much to be done, things to arrange, to
manipulate. Soon it would journey deep. Down deep into the
earth.

DREAM DEEP

"What's that noise?" Tom asked,
looking up toward the ceiling of the tunnel.

Elrin Jinn stood perfectly
still and also peered upward, concentrating on the ominous rumbling
that Tom was talking about.

"Worms," he said indifferently,
starting away once more, "but do not concern yourself. They rarely
venture this deep."

Tom stared at the man with
incredulity. "What kind of worm could make a sound like that?" Jinn
chuckled but said nothing. "Are there any other creatures we're
likely to run into?" Tom questioned, following a few yards behind
and hoping, even as he asked, that the answer would be no.

"You never can tell," Jinn
uttered, his voice floating back to Tom as he hurried on. "There
are always surprises in The Underland."

The twisting passageway
reminded Tom uncomfortably of the corridors in the great house and
in turn this focused his thoughts on his absent friends, last seen
in that evil domain. He had resolved to escape from this catacomb
lair and find both Jack and Mo, and whatever it took to achieve
this end he would seek them out. They were out there somewhere he
felt certain of that, maybe searching for him too.

"We can rest soon," Elrin Jinn
notified him, turning a corner, "there is a place where we will be
safe. For a time at least."

This was good news as far as
Tom was concerned. His legs were heavy and his throat painfully dry
and there was nothing he wanted more in that moment than to just
sit down and have something to drink. "I don't suppose there will
be any water there?" he ventured hopefully.

Jinn smiled down at him and Tom
almost believed he was being genuinely friendly. "I too would be
pleased to quench my thirst," he admitted, "but there is hope ahead
if not behind, that is, if the spring has not dried up."

Encouraged by this, Tom managed
to walk a little faster, now forcing his companion to keep pace
with him and soon after, they came upon a large aperture in the
wall and following the man inside, Tom saw that they were now in a
fair-sized chamber cut from grey rock.

"And there is your drink,
master," announced Elrin Jinn with a hint of triumph in his voice,
pointing over at a trickle of clear water that flowed steadily from
the wall in the far corner of the chamber. The modest pool it
formed there was enough to satisfy even Tom's thirst. "Where does
it come from?" he asked between gulps, taking as much of the
precious liquid as he could.

"From above," Jinn told him,
indicating the ceiling, "The Overworld."

"Underland, Overworld," Tom
muttered, wiping his mouth and chin on his sleeve. He turned and
eyed the man with a challenging gaze. "I've been meaning to ask
you. How do you know Mo anyway?"

"Your...badger friend,"
hesitated Elrin Jinn. He had stood in the entrance way while Tom
drank, but now he came to join him, sitting down beside the pool,
his long legs crossed and cupping his hands, he scooped up some
water. "We have been comrades for a very long time. He has taught
me many things." He paused and took another mouthful before
continuing. "When I was very young, not much older than you are
now, I saw something that changed my life. Even now, after an
existence in which I have encountered things beyond all
imagination, the memory of it still fills me with awe."

Tom looked up at the man and
saw such an expression of love and wonder on his face, that every
doubt he had about his strange companion vanished, as if washed
away by a cleansing rain. "What did you see?" he urged softly.

Elrin Jinn stared at the water,
ripples of reflected light upon his face. "I saw something that was
dead live again. And since that moment I have followed the one who
made it so."

Tom gazed at Jinn and knew whom
he spoke of without having to be told. " Mo," he said quietly. The
boy paused, a mental picture of the old badger forming in his mind.
"Tell me the story."

The man nodded and reached down
and ran a hand gently across the surface of the water, as if he
could see past events in the clear depths of the pool. "There was a
black tree," he began.

Jack remembered it all.

He saw again, the death by his
hand of the hideous creature in the room where the generator had
throbbed like a massive steel heart. He recalled the madness that
had overtaken him, commanding his mind, inciting him to do terrible
things. And it haunted him now like some clinging, malevolent
phantom.

He had destroyed the house and
everyone within it. He was the real murderer.

How could I have done such a
thing? All of those people. Dead now because of me.

He looked down at the ancient
features of the badger, tasting his own tears. "I am the murderer.
Me. It was me all along." Oh how he wished that he could exorcise
the guilt that now dwelt within his soul, but he knew his own
crimes better than anyone else could ever know them and however
much he might wish it, tears of self-pity would not wash away those
vile deeds. "Why must we kill?" he pleaded finally not expecting
any answer, only crying out to the unknown for some form of
understanding, desperately needing to find something he could hold
onto.

"I understand how you feel,
Jack," Mo said softly coming closer, his large eyes full of
compassion, but Jack was already withdrawing into a remote world of
contrition and shame. "You must look for the whole of the truth,
not just fragments," the badger persisted, "you see only what you
know and you do not yet know all there is to be discovered. Listen
well, Jack. You think you are no better than the Beast because you
have killed, but that is not so. You think me alike the Wolf and
yes, there is truth in that, there are things that link us. But do
not mistake two paths that might lead you home as the same, for
each may take an infinite amount of twists and turns before they
finally meet at the end of their journey. I have been and always
shall be, the enemy of the Beast. You and I are among those who
have been chosen to do battle, until one side or the other is
overcome, and though you believe I have acted as the Wolf might
act, there are fundamental differences between us that cannot be
ignored. Where the Beast draws strength and joy from the pain and
suffering it inflicts, I and those like me, are depleted, our
hearts pierced by the arrows of violence shot by our own bloody
hands. Look at me now and what do you see?"

Jack did look, and he saw the
truth of the badger's words. It was as if years had descended upon
him in just a moment, his haggard features weary, a burden of
sorrow mirrored in the animals eyes.

"For yourself," Mo said with
warmth, though his dark gaze was stern, "only you can know in your
heart if you are one with the Wolf. But I can tell you this. When I
look into your eyes, I do not see a beast staring back at me. I see
only you."

Wiping away tears with his
hand, Jack faced his friend. "It's hard," he said, as much to
himself as to the badger.

"I know," answered Mo.
"The road
is
cruel and dark,
my friend."

"And you followed him?" Tom
asked, fascinated by the story. He found it incredible, but never
for one moment did he doubt the truth of it.

"I followed him," nodded Elrin
Jinn, "and he took me under his wing, showed me things that until
then I had not believed could exist. Our mutual friend has led me
on a very long journey, Tom, but now we near its end."

"Do you really believe that?"
Tom wanted to know, sensing that once their travelling was over,
everything would change forever, though for good or ill he did not
know.

"Everything I have seen,
everything I have learnt convinces me that we are soon to take the
final step," Jinn answered, "when we shall either reach the summit
of our dreams, or stumble and fall into the arms of the waiting
darkness. And once there, in that place you would name Hell, we
shall never dream again." Tom felt the ominous words resound in his
mind, knowing that things were in the balance and that somehow, he
had become an integral part of something vast and momentous. "But I
think that now is not the best time to ponder such things," Elrin
Jinn finished, rummaging inside his tunic as if looking for
something. Tom watched with interest, wondering what surprise the
man might have in store for him now, and with a flourish Jinn
produced a small fiddle, closely followed by a battered looking
bow. Tom smiled with enthusiasm and wonder. "Let us rest now,"
Elrin Jinn suggested, taking up the instrument. "I will play for
you. And then, if you can, I would advise you to get some sleep,
for you will need all of your strength if you are to succeed in
your undertaking."

Tom glanced across at the man,
leaning back against the hard wall of the chamber, resting his head
upon the cool stone. "Do you know why I’m here then?" he queried
timidly and saw the flicker of a smile upon Jinn's face.

"In part, but not all," his new
friend told him bluntly, "yet I know enough to tell you that you
must tread carefully from now on, even more so than before. The
further you travel, the more treacherous your journey will become.
Things are never what they seem, master. Trust no-one. It is
lamentable that I must give you advise that may cause you to
mistrust even me, but that is as it must be.” Taking the fiddle
carefully up under his chin, Elrin Jinn began to move his bow
elegantly over the strings and then, as if magically, lilting notes
filled the chamber becoming a sweet melody of hope.

Closing his eyes Tom felt
himself getting drowsy, but he did not resist it, instead welcoming
the relaxing waves of tranquillity that the music induced. And
then, he was dreaming.

He still walked through the
underground passageway, passing many chests in their alcoves,
handles glinting in an eerie light.

I think I'll get something for
Jack.

Tom halted briefly to
gaze about him, the idea striking him as very good indeed and he
quickly approached the nearest casket, reaching for the golden
handle. As he did so, a small voice whispered in his mind that this
was a foolish thing to do, that the chest could be trapped as Elrin
Jinn had said, but Tom was unconcerned.
I
feel lucky!
A broad smile lit up his face and pulling
the lid upward he peered inside. At first glance it appeared empty
and he felt a pang of disappointment, but shadows concealed the
corners at the very bottom and Tom leaned closer, sure that there
must be some treasure hidden there. Taking his weight upon the rim,
he pushed his head further inside blinking against the darkness as
he blocked out what light there was.

Abruptly, without any conscious
perception of how it had happened, Tom began to fall and all around
him points of light glittered like a million stars. As he hurtled
past he reached out, attempting to touch the shining configuration
but found that they dissolved like powder between his fingers when
he snatched at them. Then, as swiftly as it had begun, the
sensation of falling ceased.

Now he was in a dark
place, although a faint light shone upon him like the first rays of
dawn.
I've fallen into the chest
was all he could surmise, hardly able to believe it, but as
his eyes became accustomed to the poor light, he realised with
astonishment that he was in some kind of tremendous cave, the rocky
floor covered with tall stalagmites. Looking up he saw their
counterparts, stalactites hanging from the roof, while over to his
left, although quite some distance from him, he saw the source of
the dim light that struggled to illuminate the huge cavern. There
seemed to be some kind of entrance there and the idea of being able
to see daylight once more encouraged him to hastily make his way
toward it, stumbling over the awkward terrain. As he came to the
slender opening through which the light filtered, Tom felt a cool
breeze brush his face and a familiar smell came to him, reminding
him of a holiday he had spent in a small coastal village only a few
years before. There was no doubt about it, he was close to the
sea.