Chapter One — The Unfurling #4
“She has shown the reflection.”
“The resonance is there.”
“The dreamscape will come in time,” the woman replied.
“Yes.”
“Perhaps five years.”
“It will not entirely take her over.”
“Perhaps there will only be one Dreaming Vessel.”
“And she will have a life protected.”
Her grandfather looked down the line toward Claire’s mother.
“The High Priestess line remains intact,” he declared.
Claire’s pulse quickened.
“I don’t understand.”
“You are not meant to yet,” her grandfather said gently.
“A priestess knows things she should not know.”
“Precisely at the right time.”
“And in the right place.”
“You will come to understand the feeling of the right time and the right place.”
“And equally, the wrong person and the wrong place.”
He motioned for her to drink.
Claire hesitated only briefly before lifting the cup.
The liquid tasted impossibly cold.
Not bitter.
Not sweet.
Ancient.
The moment it touched her tongue, the world shifted.
The black pool before her became endless.
Moonlight stretched across an infinite crater lake.
Beneath the surface, colossal crystalline formations pulsed like stars trapped underwater.
And descending through them were figures.
Women dressed in robes from centuries past.
Each bearing the same crystal pendant around her throat.
Each turning toward Claire.
Waiting.
The final woman stepped closest.
Claire realised with sudden horror that it was herself.
Older.
Her eyes luminous silver beneath the black water.
And behind her, something vast moved through the darkness.
Watching.
Protecting.
Sleeping.
Claire gasped as the vision broke.
Louise caught her arm before she could stumble.
The elders remained silent.
Only her grandfather looked saddened, as though he had hoped this moment would come later.
“She has awakened,” one elder whispered.
“No,” her grandfather replied quietly. “She has remembered.”
Claire looked around unsteadily.
“Where’s Eli?”
A silence passed through the clearing.
Then her grandfather answered carefully.
“He leaves tomorrow.”
Her chest tightened.
“What?”
“He cannot remain here.”
“Why?”
This time Louise spoke.
“Because your brother’s connection is stronger than yours.”
Claire stared at her.
“That’s impossible.”
“No,” her grandfather said softly. “It’s dangerous.”
The old men turned toward the dark mountain beyond the trees.
“There are factions now watching the crater.”
“Governments.”
“Corporations.”
“Men who believe they can control what lies beneath it.”
“And Eli?”
“The crystals answer him naturally.”
Claire felt fear bloom beneath her ribs.
“What happens if they find out?”
“What of Eli?”
Her grandfather’s expression darkened.
“He could be used as a weapon.”
“They could turn him into a weapon.”
The mountain bells rang again.
Lower this time.
Like a warning.
Her grandfather reached into his robes and withdrew a small crystal pendant suspended on a black cord.
Unlike the fragments inside the cups, this crystal glowed softly from within.
Alive.
He placed it carefully into Claire’s hands.
“You will always wear this, or keep it close.”
The crystal felt warm immediately against her skin.
“It stabilises resonance,” he explained.
“It purifies memory.”
“It protects the mind from becoming lost in the dreams.”
Claire looked down at it.
“And Eli?”
“He will receive one when the time is right.”
“When will I see him again?”
No one answered immediately.
That silence frightened her more than anything else that night.
Finally, her grandfather spoke.
“When the world is a little safer.”
Claire lowered her gaze.
Somehow she already knew what he truly meant.
Years.
Perhaps longer.
The wind moved softly through the clearing.
Around them, the elders began extinguishing lanterns one by one.
The ceremony was ending.
But Claire understood now.
This was not a celebration.
It was preparation.
And somewhere beyond the mountains.
Beyond Korea.
Beyond the carefully controlled paths the families had built through companies, art circles, celebratory networks and political alliances.
Something ancient had begun stirring once again.
And the children had finally begun noticing it.
As her mother took her gently by the arm and led her back toward the house, back toward the warmth, away from the night air, toward her room and her own bed, Claire looked around for Eli.
Her mother spoke quietly.
“Eli will be fine.”
“Don’t fret.”
“He will be going to Australia.”
“To your father’s parents.”
“He will be well away from here.”
“He will be going to school there.”
“He’s on the spectrum, but there will be lots of sunlight.”
“Lots of places to go.”
“People to see.”
“And besides, you have a great deal of study ahead of you.”
“We will probably be going straight to the United States.”
“I don’t want to burden you with too much.”
“It’s a parent’s responsibility.”
“I know you hate being moved around.”
“But everything will be all right in the morning.”
“You’ll both get to say goodbye.”
“He won’t disappear in the night.”
“It’s not that bad.”
“I promise you’ll come to understand.”
“Your brother has special needs.”
“He is on the spectrum, you know.”
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