TWENTY-SIX THE EVERLASTING
TWENTY-SIX
THE EVERLASTING
W hile Tariq explains our situation to Heather, I assist her in moving her furniture around to create some space, or as Heather put it, ‘breathing room’ for her abilities.
I position her coffee table by the window – something I would never have been able to lift by myself a couple of weeks ago, but my powers seem to be coming to me more naturally now.
I help Heather shift one of her armchairs to the end of the room. ‘That’s why we’re hoping to contact Katie,’ I say, finishing Tariq’s explanation. ‘She might know something.’
Heather settles onto the floor, crossing her legs. ‘There’s no certainty we’ll reach Katie.’
My heart sinks slightly. ‘But you said you’d help us?’
‘I will try – think of me as your paranormal phone operator. But, Liam, reaching out to the spirit world is like trying to make a call in the middle of nowhere – lots of static, plenty of missed connections, and good luck getting a clear signal!’
‘Oh,’ I say.
‘Having something of Katie’s could aid us, but I’m guessing you lack such a thing?’
I shake my head.
‘Yes we do… it’s Liam,’ Tariq says, quickly.
‘What do you mean?’ I ask.
‘You’re Katie’s successor,’ he continues. ‘You’re part of the same Keeper lineage. There’s a connection between you.’
‘Impressive,’ Heather says, before turning her attention to me. ‘Where did you find him?’ She winks.
I grin at Tariq who rolls his eyes in what looks like an attempt to hide his amusement.
‘So.’ Heather claps her hands together. ‘You are, in essence, the phone mast that can forge the connection and help bring Katie to you.’
‘To me?’ I say.
‘Yes,’ Heather confirms. ‘I’ll be the conduit. But the communication with Katie will rest on your shoulders. Now, take a seat in front of me and extend your hands.’
I do as she says, holding my side as I cross my legs.
‘Everything alright down there?’ Heather says.
‘Liam?’ says Tariq.
‘I’m fine,’ I say. Though there’s a dull ache around my stitches.
Heather fidgets and takes my hands in hers. Her fingers are cold.
‘This may take a minute. It’s been a while since I’ve sent anyone into the Everlasting.’
‘The where?’ I say.
Tariq paces toward us. ‘No. No way.’
He tries to pull me to my feet but I shrug him off. ‘What’s the big deal?’
‘Liam, the Everlasting is a spirit realm, a place that interconnects worlds. It’s not somewhere you venture unless…’
‘You’re dead?’ Heather says.
I’m suddenly nauseous and lightheaded – the same way I felt the first time I was getting on a plane with Mum.
‘You’re not going, Liam,’ says Tariq.
‘We don’t have a choice,’ I say. ‘Katie is the only lead we have in finding out what the Dark Friars are summoning.’
‘Then I’ll go,’ Tariq says, turning to Heather. ‘Send me to the Everlasting instead.’
‘It has to be me. I’m the mast… thing, remember?’
‘Don’t worry,’ Heather says. ‘You’re not dying today. I promise I will get him there and back safely.’
Tariq nods, then takes a seat on the nearby sofa. ‘I’m right here.’
‘I know,’ I say, then smile.
Heather’s fingers intertwine with mine. ‘Now, I’m not sure how long this connection will hold. My skills are a tad rusty. Just stay attuned to my voice.’
I nod, casting a final glance at Tariq. He is partially lit by the mid-afternoon sun just reaching the tops of Heather’s windows.
‘Focus on Katie. Envision her in your thoughts. Find a place that resonates with both of you. A space of shared meaning,’ says Heather. ‘Now, close your eyes.’
I take a breath and do as instructed.
A distant hum emerges, like a muted vacuum. The scent of Heather’s room fades. The hum swells. The darkness beneath my lids transforms into a blinding brightness.
‘How do I know if it’s worked?’ I say, my words swallowed by an echoing abyss. The hum climaxes, spiralling into a symphony that threatens to overwhelm me.
I clutch my head in an attempt to muffle the piercing noise.
‘Stop!’ I shout.
Then silence.
There’s a comforting warmth, and a light that seems to flicker beyond my eyelids.
‘Did it work?’
I open my eyes.
There’s a fire – flames dancing atop a stack of logs. Its glow reveals the ground in the darkness, a carpet of fallen leaves.
My legs wobble. I’m standing. I steady myself and take a look around the ring of trees. It’s weird. I’m outside, but there’s no breeze or freshness to the air.
I know this place. Smokers’ Clearing.
Reaching out to the fire, I can’t feel any warmth from it.
I let my hand pass over a flame, but feel nothing. I’m here, but my body is not. I guess this is the Everlasting.
‘I know you.’ A voice echoes from the other side of the flames.
I squint through the fire.
Dark hair cascades around a pale face. It’s her. My predecessor.
‘Katie. Katie Ford?’
‘Yes.’ Her voice is soft and gentle.
‘Do you know who I am?’
She nods, and I step around the fire so I’m face to face with her. She’s wearing the clothes I saw her wearing in my dream.
‘Your face was the last thing I saw before… well, before this,’ she says, gesturing to the clearing.
‘So, you know what happened to you?’
‘I know many things. The Keepers of the Crossing. The Dark Friars. That my burden has fallen to you, Liam O’Connor.’
‘Who told you?’
‘It’s hard to explain,’ she says. ‘Passing into the Everlasting gives you an awareness. Nothing thorough, but fragments that provide peace.’
I’ve got a million questions, but right now, there is only one I need to ask before our connection breaks.
‘The day you disappeared. Do you recall what happened?’
‘I left Mr Hurley’s film studies class early. I couldn’t bear it any longer…’ Katie hesitates, then resumes. ‘I was tired. I’d been haunted by nightmares for weeks. A church. Engulfed in flames.’
‘You were dreaming about a boy… Thomas. Your predecessor. He was killed in a burning church. I had nightmares too, except they featured you. You were here, in Smokers’ Clearing, when the Dark Friars ambushed you.’
‘The hooded men.’
‘Did you visit the church that day after your class?’
Katie nods. ‘I couldn’t shake the place from my mind. So, I went. What I didn’t realise was that they were there too. The Dark Friars. They found me.’
‘What happened?’
‘They held me captive there for a while. Locked me in a room beneath the church. I was their prisoner. They said they needed to determine my identity. I insisted I was nobody, just a student, but they didn’t listen.
They left me alone for a while, and somehow, I managed to break free from my chains.
I had no idea then of how I did it. Odd things had been happening to me in the days leading to my death.
I kept breaking things. Like Mr Hurley’s door.
I began hearing and seeing things any normal person wouldn’t be able to. ’
Katie underwent a version of what I now face, but without the support of Tariq, or Nathaniel. She grappled with these nightmares and abilities alone.
‘Anyway.’ Katie’s voice draws me back. ‘I fled from the church, just ran. I remember stumbling and hitting my head on something sharp.’
You wouldn’t know now. Her skin is flawless, untouched. Is this how we appear after death? Does the afterlife polish us into an immaculate version of ourselves?
‘Then I ended up here, in this clearing. They caught up with me. I couldn’t understand how I escaped them so easily at the church. But now I understand: it was a test.’
A test. They had to confirm Katie’s Keeper status before ending her life. Releasing her and observing her speed and fight would have served as evidence of her powers.
‘He found me. The man with the hat.’
‘Draven,’ I say.
‘Draven, yes,’ Katie echoes. ‘That’s what she called him.’
‘She?’
‘The woman at the church. I never saw her, only heard her voice from behind a door.’
Miss Williams. Layla Blyth.
‘Katie, did you hear her, or Draven, talk about a summoning?’
Katie frowns, then shakes her head. ‘The woman mentioned preparations for something. A ritual was needed to be performed ahead of time. A sacrifice.’
Hurry, Liam. I can’t hold on much longer. A voice rings in my head. Heather?
‘The Night of Alastor,’ says Katie, quickly.
‘Alastor?’ I say.
‘That’s the phrase I heard the woman use.’
Liam, return to us.
‘You need to leave,’ Katie says, knowingly.
I hesitate. ‘There’s so much I want to say—’
‘It’s okay, Liam. I’m okay. I’m at peace.’
‘I’m sorry,’ I say. My eyes brim with tears. ‘I’m sorry this happened to you. You have to know – your parents, they will never stop looking for you. They love you.’
Katie smiles. ‘I know. One day they will find peace too, and they will know everyone they care about is okay.’
‘What happened to you wasn’t fair. I wish I could’ve changed things.’
‘But you are changing things. You’re helping the world. You’re a Keeper now, Liam,’ she says, still smiling. ‘Me, Thomas, all the Auctus Keepers before you, we’re a part of you. Remember that, always.’
She backs away into the tree line.
A solitary tear trails down my cheek.
Liam! Heather’s voice is like a siren.
Katie fades into the darkness.
Nearby, the fire rages, consuming the logs beneath it. I step backward. The crackling flames cast shadows around the clearing like spectres. In the heart of the inferno, something stirs.
A figure emerges, dark and menacing. Its form is grotesque: claw-like hands reaching out, yellow eyes glowing.
My heartbeat quickens.
Now, Liam , a voice calls out.
I’m trapped. My mind races. The figure rushes toward me, galloping on all fours. I shut my eyes. Dizziness envelops my mind, like I’m tumbling off a cliff. Plunging. The vacuum-like hum resurges, even more potent. My body trembles uncontrollably.
Bright hues flood my vision as I gasp for air.
‘Liam!’ Tariq’s voice slices through the haze. His face gradually comes into focus, at first a blur and then becoming clearer.
I’m lying on my back, the carpet of Heather’s room cushioning me.
‘Liam, you scared the shit out of me.’ Tariq pulls me into a seated position so abruptly that my wound twinges. The pain is fleeting, replaced by the warmth of Tariq’s tight hug. I never want it to end.
He finally releases me, and I sway. ‘I feel a bit…’
‘Wobbly?’ Heather says, nestled in her armchair.
She has a damp-looking cloth resting on her forehead. ‘You’re not alone.’
‘The journey can be quite intense apparently,’ Tariq says, handing me a glass of water.
‘Get what we needed?’ Tariq whispers.
I nod. I’m still reeling from whatever that thing was I saw in the Everlasting.
‘He’s been gnawing at his fingers for the past few hours,’ Heather says.
‘I hardly have any nails left,’ says Tariq, raising his hands.
‘Hours?’ The once bright sunlight has now been replaced by a floor lamp next to Heather’s chair. The curtains are drawn shut. A half-eaten cottage pie sits on a tray by Tariq’s side.
‘It’s nearly six,’ says Tariq.
I nearly choke on my water. ‘Six? But I was only gone for a few minutes.’
Tariq shakes his head.
‘Time operates differently in the Everlasting,’ Heather explains, her eyes closed as she massages her forehead.
‘Oh, now you tell me?’ I say. ‘You forgot to mention that the journey would be like hitching a ride on a tornado. Anything else I should know?’ I quip.
‘Nope, that’s about it,’ Heather says, tossing her cloth into a bowl beside her.
With Tariq’s help, I manage to get to my feet.
‘Oh, there is one more thing,’ Heather says.
Tariq and I turn our attention to her.
‘Don’t stand up too quickly,’ she says.
Before I can react, I lurch forward, throwing up over the neglected cottage pie. Tariq hastily steps away to avoid any splashback.
‘Exactly for that reason.’ Heather chuckles.