Chapter 23

Sorry about the huge delay. Work and a lack of ooomph and when I hit a sweet spot where I felt like writing again, I ran into a roadblock as I re-read the previous part. Took a while to get a slight alteration in place for me to start again and then the time had passed. Can't believe it's nearly six months since the last part. Oh well, let's try to get things back on track.

Chapter 23

As they trudged up the hill, Gareth slowed his pace until he was walking level with Wren.

He lowered his voice to a mutter. “Can you tell?”

“Tell what?”

“Keep your voice down. Talk like I am. I don’t want him to hear.” Gareth pointed at his dad. “Can you tell if that’s my dad, or one of you pretending to be him?”

Wren sighed. “Sorry, He just looks… well… Um…”

“Human?”

“I’ve seen my reflection in that shiny thing on your car. I look human too, don’t I?”

“Right now, yes. I was hoping there might be some kind of tell.”

“If there is, I don’t remember what it is.”

“I… This might be unpleasant, Wren, but I want you to do something for me, now. He can’t read us, but he can read you.”

“Why couldn’t I read you?”

“Best to keep that a secret, because he can read you. I want you to bring up that feeling, the loneliness. The pain. Think about it and nothing else, for now. Just in case he tries.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Seems to me, from what you said when you were under the influence, that he’s buried those feelings so deeply, he might not even be aware of them. If you bring them to the front and he reads you, he’ll have to face those feelings head on. Possibly for the first time in his existence. It’ll hurt. Might even drive him away for a while. I bet he won’t understand what he’s feeling, but I know it won’t be pleasant.”

“In that case, I… Anything that hurts him, now I know what he feels about me.”

Gareth nodded. “Thanks.”

They continued following his father for another hour, out of the village, down the road, then out onto the moors.

Gareth sighed. “I think we’re far enough away from people, now, Dad.”

“But we’re not there, yet.” He looked around and scratched his head. “If only I could remember…”

“Remember where this supposed fishing spot it?”

“What do you mean, supposed? It”

“Dad, enough. There’s no such place! Not ’round here at any rate! We can talk here!”

“But I was sure…” His shoulders sagged and he turned. “Alright, so… What are your plans?”

“What about?”

“Your new… friend, for one? How can magic even exist? It’s just a stage trick!”

Eloise, I want you to do something for me, now. Seems you have an ability we lack, so we might as well put it to use.

Gareth could feel her shifting uncomfortably in his mind. What do you want me to do? What can I do, stuck in here?

You can hear me. I don’t need to speak out loud to you, Olban can’t, so, act as a relay. If I ask you to pass something on to him, do it. No need to pass it back, I can hear both of you.

Olban sounded confused. What’s that Eloise? What does who want you to do?

Gareth. I can hear his thoughts. Like he can hear both of us. He was just asking me to relay messages.

Gareth’s dad looked at him impatiently. “Well?”

Gareth sighed. Just ask Olban. What I can say that will totally throw him off the scent, something believable.

Eloise repeated the message.

If I had shoulders, or control, you’d be shrugging, right now.

Ask him… How about this… Olban’s created a means for me to access magic, here. It’s normally too weak in this world, while in Olban’s it’s a standard part of life. He created a channel, a way to direct some of that magic here for us to use. He taught me how to make the device that taps into it last week, to show you and Mum that he’s real and magic exists.

Another message passed, Olban considered for a moment and replied. Clever. You’d be nodding right now. Good one. And good thought with this relay, thing.

“Alright, Dad. Can’t hurt to tell you, but I can’t tell you too much. Olban created a sort of… channel… A way to direct some of the magic of his world to here, so I could use it to prove he existed. He directed me into building the receiver half of it last week.”

“Receiver? Of magic? Sounds complicated. Where is it? Can I see it?”

“No, Dad. It’s not accessible. We made it that way.”

“What do you mean, not accessible?”

“We hid it in a sea cave in the cliffs. Somewhere safe. Somewhere no-one could interfere with it. Mainly because it’s hidden, but mostly because it’ll spend over half its life underwater. It’s high tide. I can’t tell you any more. It might put you in danger.”

“Danger?” His dad’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of danger?”

“Taking on a passenger’s caused another problem. Seems we’re being targetted by an extremely powerful but utterly…” Sorry Eloise, but I’m saying this more to rile him up than you, “cretinous moron. He might be an idiot, but he is still dangerous. He wants to destroy the universe, Dad.”

“Destroy the universe!? How the hell can anyone destroy the universe?”

“I can’t say any more. We know. That’s all that matters. I’m protected, thanks to Olban. He can read minds, so I can’t tell you.”

It was a weird sensation. It almost felt like a feather had brushed the surface of his mind.

His dad’s eyes narrowed even more and beads of sweat appeared on his brow. The next time, it wasn’t nearly as gentle, almost like a bullet ricocheting off a brick wall.

Olban chuckled. Nice way to goad him, Gareth. He’s probably not even aware we can feel that. We wouldn’t be able to if the shield wasn’t in place.

“And you both know?” There was a strain in his dad’s voice as he said it.

Gareth nodded. “Protecting him’s next on the agenda. It takes time to get it right.”

Wren collapsed to his knees, but at the same time, the expression on his father’s face twisted into one of pure horror and grief. Tears began to stream down his face as he let out a howl. His body withered, dissolved, briefly revealing the horned, devilish true form of one of his minions before it collapsed into a pile of dust and blew off into the wind. The howl continued for another few seconds as it faded into the distance and was gone.

Wren stared at the spot Gareth’s father had stood a few seconds before, worry creasing his brow. “That… That could’ve happened to me? You don’t think it still could, do you?”

Gareth shrugged. “I think he’s still learning how to interact with the universe. The first time we dealt with one of his minions, it was utterly… stupid… some of the things it did. We managed to kill that one… Well, Olban did, we were in his world at the time. Second time we dealt with one, he just abandoned you, and you became a friend. I imagine he’s just made a small alteration to the design, so when he abandons them from now on, that’s what happens. Otherwise, we’d end up with an army of his own minions teamed up against him.”

Pure guesswork, Gareth, but I like your way of thinking. It does prove one thing, though. That wasn’t your dad.

Gareth sighed. “I suppose we’d better get back to their house. Maybe Mum can pull her head out of her arse long enough to tell us when he started acting differently. We need to find him. If he’s tied up, there’s no telling how long he’ll be stuck like that. Or how long he already has been.” He helped Wren back to his feet. “Are you OK?”

“That hurt. It felt like someone smashed me in the face with a… a… Well, a really hard heavy thing.”

“Try sledgehammer.”

* * *

Gareth knocked on the door and waited… And waited… He knocked again.

Is she in? Maybe she left? She wasn’t in a very… stable… state of mind the last time we saw her.

Gareth sighed. “Or, maybe she’s still out cold on the sofa. Do you think I’d have enough… ooomph to open the door?”

I told you what you’d likely be capable of. Anvil in my world, feather in yours. A pencil, possibly, and that’d be pushing it. Busting open a door? No way.

“But I don’t need to bust it open. I’ve been in and out of this place often enough to know how the latch works.”

Good point. I still think it may be too much for you, but it’s worth a try, I suppose.

“How do I…”

Just place your hand, the right one, obviously, over the lock and concentrate on the image of the latch on the other side. I suggest a hard press down, rather than a gradual one. It might take more energy, more force, but it will be a lot shorter and be enough to overcome the force of the spring in it. Just make sure you time it along side pushing the door correctly. Should do the trick.

“Right.” Gareth placed his hand and closed his eyes. Image of the latch, check… aaaand… He imagined something slapping the end of it, hard and at the same time, shoved the door, almost falling flat on his face as it swung open. “Bloody hell.” He said, scrambling back to his feet. “It worked.”

Take it slow, Gareth.

“What?”

You saw the state she was in. I’m just saying be on the alert. If you were convinced your son had turned into a monster and were terrified he might come back…

Gareth sighed. “Good point.” He opened the door to the lounge a crack and peeked in. Well, she wasn’t on the sofa. Then, an idea. He opened it wider and peeked through the crack between the door and the frame on the hinge side… “Ah.”

It was only a fine line he could see through, but she was there, hiding behind the door.

“Mum, I’m not going to come in with you there. I’m not a monster. Don’t even know where you got that loony idea. I’m unarmed. And I most certainly do not want to spend the next week in hospital recovering from a stab wound or concussion. What is it? Kitchen knife? Frying pan?”

“Get out of my house! You are a monster! My…” She started to weep. “You murdered him!”

What the hell did he say to her?

Eloise, relay time again. No idea, but it’s obvious he’s been busy.

“I’m still me, Mum. Ask me anything. Anything at all. Dad was the imposter, Mum, not me.”

“Brian told me! He told me he saw you, a demon! You murdered Gareth and”

“The man who left this house an hour ago was not your husband! Think, Mum. Please! I’ve met them before, these, what you called demons! They make mistakes! Obvious things! I don’t know why, but I think it’s because the thing controlling them doesn’t understand the world. It doesn’t understand us! If you’re not willing to talk to me, phone Doctor Connors! He knows everything, now. We’d only just saved him before we came here!”

“I’m not coming out from behind this door until you’re out of the house!”

“Fine! I’ll leave, but phone him! Dad’s missing! No idea where that thing stashed him, but one of them was impersonating Connors! We found him tied up in his broom cupboard! I think they need them alive for some reason. Maybe to pick their brains for the information they need for a convincing disguise, but, as I said, they make mistakes! Think back. When did Dad start on this me being a monster, bollocks? What other things did he say that sounded odd?!” Gareth walked back to the front door, opened it, stepped outside and before slamming it, called back one last time. “Phone Connors! Now!” *SLAM*

Eloise had never sounded so meek. I… I’m… I… don’t know what to say.

“It’s OK, Eloise. It’s not… well… directly your fault. This is new, admittedly, but Mum’s always been a pain in the arse. Trying to protect me. Trying to wrap me in cotton wool because of my,” he maid air quotes, “mental condition.”

Olban chuckled. If you think this reaction was bad, you should’ve seen her when he announced he’d joined the Whitby RNLI. That he’d already been out three times and saved six people from stormy seas.

“Thanks for reminding me.”

Ten minutes later, the front door opened a crack. “Gareth? Is it really you?”

“Of course it’s me! You really upset me when you started throwing that monster bollocks at me! You saw how much!”

“But Brian”

“I told you! That wasn’t Dad! What did he say to you? How could you even believe him?”

“I didn’t believe him! I thought he was off his rocker! Until…”

“Shit! I’m sorry, Mum! I finally had a way to prove to you everything I said about Olban was true! Olban’s been working on something back in his world for a while. A way for me to use magic in this one, I wanted to be dramatic! To get it through your thick skull that there’d never been anything wrong with me! Different, yes. I’ve even since been informed it’s very rare, but wrong, no.”

She flung open the door and pounced, gripping him in a tight hug. It wasn’t long before she was bawling her eyes out. “I… I… I thought… you… you were dead!”

Gareth gripped her, too, attempting to calm her by stroking her back. “It’s alright, Mum. It’s alright. Let’s get back inside, eh? Sit down, I’ll put the kettle on and tell you as much as I can over a cuppa? OK?”