Chapter 20

The headlights flashed, the car made its beep beep noise and Gareth pointed. “Get in, Wren.”

“In? How? What is it?”

Gareth sighed and opened the driver side door. “Just get in the other side, sit down and close the door behind you. We’ve got to go.”

“Errr…”

“God, he really did take everything, didn’t he? I’m surprised you can even remember how to speak, let alone use that talent of yours. It’s a car. It’s how we travel long distances relatively quickly.”

Wren nodded and walked around to the other side. “How do I…”

“Just pull the metal handle.”

With Wren finally seated, Gareth nodded. “Now, reach for that black strap by your left shoulder, pull it down and clip the metal bit to the thing on your right by your seat. And before you ask, it’s for safety, it’s called a seatbelt.”

“These things are dangerous? I… Err… Can we walk?”

“We don’t have time to walk! It’ll take hours to get there and back on foot. It’ll only take fifteen minutes by car. Just follow my lead!” Gareth exaggerated his movements as he put his seatbelt on and muttered “finally” when Wren was secured.

“Where are we going?”

“Robin Hood’s Bay. It’s time my parents got a bit of a gobful from me, in person. And with you in tow, we can finally get them to stop bloody fretting.”

Olban chuckled. Good thought. They’ve been nothing but overprotective pamperers since you started talking.

“Yes, but only because I was talking to you. Well, now I’ve got proof that you’re real.”

Gareth pulled out and the moment they were on the main road, put his foot down. “Did he leave anything behind, Wren?”

“What? I said I can’t remember anything. I was telling the truth, you know. Even the reason for being there’s faded, now.”

“I want you to try something. Something so… so powerful that it not only controlled you, but created you in the first place… Well, I can’t imagine something like that not leaving some kind of impression.”

“But I said, I don’t”

“Wren, just humour me, OK? You might not even be conscious of it, but trust me. I’ve seen more psychiatrists and psychologists over the past twenty years than attend a bloody shrink convention. I know how it’s done.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Just close your eyes, relax, breathe deeply, for now. Just imagine there's an incredibly relaxing warmth in your toes and each time you breathe in, you draw that warmth further up your body. It’s the most relaxed feeling it’s possible to have and with your next breath, it’s up to your ankles, then your calves. Each breath, you feel more and more relaxed, more and more…”

You’re trying to hypnotise ’im?

“Yes, now, as you feel this warmth spreading up your body, every other sensation, every other concern or worry just melts away. The more relaxed you feel, the more you concentrate on my voice. My voice and that relaxing warmth are the only things that matter, the only things that exist as it spreads to your torso, and up, up to your arms, then down the arms until it reaches your fingertips. Your entire body’s more relaxed than it’s ever been before.”

Gareth glanced across at Wren as he left Whitby behind, entering the bleak North Yorkshire moors. Wren was definitely falling under the influence, Gareth could tell. The smile, the utter relaxation, he continued as he drove and he slowed down as he did so, careful to avoid any bumps in the road, anything that might jar Wren out of it.

Gareth continued with, what he’d learned from his own experiences, was called the induction, until he was sure Wren was down as deep as he could get him. Then he spotted a lay-by and pulled in, slowing to a gentle stop.

“How do you feel?”

“Wonderful! Thank you.”

“Do you want to feel this way again?”

“Oh, yes, please.”

“Good. It’ll be quicker to get to the state you’re in next time. I’ll give you a trigger phrase. When you hear that phrase, you’ll immediately seek out the most comfortable position you can find and when you have, you’ll sit or lie there, relax, and feel as you are now, instantly. When you hear me say “Dark lords suck”, that is exactly what will happen.”

“Thank you. I’ll like that.”

“Now, though, I want you to follow my instructions. I want you to imagine a large clock has appeared in front of you, the cl”

“What’s a clock?”

“Damn.” Gareth muttered under his breath. “Picture a large white circle in front of you, one with a straight black line extending from the centre. The line moves a small amount along with the thing making a tick, tick, tick noise as it moves. Those ticks are one every second. Just picture that line moving, tick, tick, tick, tick.”

“I can see it.”

“That arm’s movement and that ticking sound represent the passage of time, but as you watch, it begins to slow, and as it does, time slows down with it. Tick, tick… tick… … tick… … … And… The ticking stops… But it doesn’t stop for long, instead, the arm begins to move backwards, and as it does so, your time moves backwards with it. Tick. Each tick, a second of your time has gone back, back into your memories. Back further. Tick, tick, tick… You’ve just asked me how to get into the car… Tick, tick, tick, you’ve shown us where you hid Doctor Connors. Tick, tick, tick. You’re back in the doctor’s office, bound by the magic, just after your creator abandoned you. One more tick, and the clock stops again, and that tick takes you back to before we subdued you. To before the magic held you. Tick. Where are you, now?”

“Nowhere, there’s nothing. It’s just dark.”

I’m in the office, getting ready to spout that mumbo-jumbo at him.

Gareth sighed. “Olban, snap out of it!”

What? Where… Why have we stopped in the middle of… Olban sighed. It happened again, didn’t it?

Gareth chuckled. “When it comes to being hypnotised, you’re a natural. Me on the other hand…”

Always resisted it. No idea how. It’s just so… So restful. And Wren’s under, too? In the same place I was?

“Same time, no place. What did you mean, mumbo-jumbo? We wasted hours getting that crap in perfect sync.”

She doesn’t understand magic. All we needed to do was make sure we were all on the same page intention-wise, all concentrating on the same thing at exactly the same time. It was just for Eloise’s benefit, not ours. What did you mean, same time, no place?

“One tick back from his master abandoning him, just darkness. Nothing’s how he described it.”

Ahhh, shit. Well that was a waste of time, then, wasn’t it?

“Maybe, maybe not. Wren, I want you to examine the darkness. Examine the nothing, see if there is actually something to it. Some texture. Some lingering echo of an emotion or other impression. That darkness represents a hole in your memory, so, don’t just probe it, don’t just examine it, find the edges of that darkness. Find the shape of it. Try to detect any differences between the middle and the edge.”

It was a few minutes before Wren responded. “There is something, it gets stronger nearer the middle, but… I… It’s faint. Too faint to get a grip on.”

“In the state you’re in, Wren, I want you to understand that nothing can hurt you. It’s your mind and you have all the power in there. Do you understand.”

Wren’s smile widened. “Yes.”

“Good. Now, imagine my words are a rope, a tether, a link back to reality. I want you to tie these words around your ankle and dive into the darkness. Dive as deep as you can go into it, see if those things you feel get stronger, the deeper you go. I will be on hand to pull you out, but I want you to dive in and describe what you feel.”

“It is getting stronger it’s… Anger. No, worse than anger, stronger, pure unmitigated rage… No, wait, that’s gone now, I’m going deeper. There’s something else up ahead… Something… I… I don’t know the word for it…”

“Can you describe it?”

“His purpose hasn’t been fulfilled. Annoyed because every attempt to complete it failed? I…”

“Frustration?”

“Yes, that does seem to fit. Frustration, but that’s gone, too, now. The next one feels stronger. Ugh, I don’t like it down here. It’s too strong.”

“What’s too strong.”

“It’s making me feel sick. Repugnance? Revulsion? Disgust?”

“Disgust at what?”

“At the universe. At all the achievements of his brothers and sisters while he’s been locked away. The idea that the universe could’ve grown so much, developed to the point its at. He… He hates me. He loathes the idea that he has to sink to their level and create things like me to achieve his goals.”

“We knew he was an arsehole, Wren.”

“There’s something strong up ahead. I think it’s near the middle… It is the middle… Oh, God…”

“What is it?”

Tears began to stream down Wren’s cheeks. “It’s horrible. How could anyone endure it?”

“What? What is it?”

“Lonely… I’m so… He’s so alone! He’s always been alone. Everyone he knew, every single being was against him, even before they locked him away.”

“And you think he needs someone?”

“I don’t think he even understands the concept of companionship. He never experienced it, he probably doesn’t even understand the pain he’s in but it seems to be at the very core of his being.”

“I’m pulling you out of the darkness, Wren. I think we got everything we’re going to. You’re rising up. Up through the frustration, hatred, loathing and anger. I’m also pulling you through time, back to the here and now. Before you wake up, there’s one thing. The trigger I gave you will remain a part of you from now on, but you won’t remember it even exists.”

“Why?”

“It could be used against you, Wren. So, only we know what it is. Only my voice will activate that trigger, but if your old boss got wind of it with a mind probe like you tried to do to us, he could send another one of you disguised as me. So, my instruction is to forget you ever heard the phrase at the conscious level. It’ll always be there, waiting to be used, but you won’t know about it, as I said. I’m going to count down from five, and as I do so, that relaxation begins to drain away, the closer to one I get the more awake you become. When I reach one, you’ll be fully awake and refreshed and you’ll remember what you encountered in the darkness. 5… 4… 3… 2… 1.”

Wren’s eyes flickered open. He turned to Gareth with a gasp. “That was…”

“Weird?”

Wren shrugged, reaching for his face. “I don’t know what’s considered normal yet, sir.” When his finger stroked his cheek and it came away wet he stared at it in horror. “I… I leaked? You said no harm would come to me, sir!”

“Please, Wren. Don’t call me sir.”

“I don’t know where that came from. Maybe something came back from the black with me.”

“At least you didn’t call me master.” Gareth pointed at Wren’s finger. ”As for that, you cried.”

“I what?”

“When people are hurt, upset, sad, grief stricken, even angry, they cry, Wren. Tears stream down their face, they howl, they sob. It’s perfectly normal, not an injury. If anything, it helps people deal with strong emotions if they cry.”

He sniffled and nodded.

“The fact you did cry means you’re more human than monster, Wren. Be happy about that.”

“You’re not going to make me go there again, are you?”

“Into the darkness? No, Wren. I think we learned everything we’re going to. If you like, the next time you enter that state we can try filling it in with new memories. Wipe out the last remnants of your old master completely. Erase him from your mind. How does that sound?”

“Now I know how he felt about me, I know I picked the right side. Do it.”

“Let’s get to my parents. We need to talk to them.” Gareth started the engine and continued on his way.