Legends from the Warlock's Chair - Book Three - Helven

Chapter Fifteen - The Timeless Sea

DANIELLE LEAPT TO HER FEET screaming a curse at her brother. Her hair frizzed with static as the air around her crackled and spat with energy. She looked about trying to get some idea of what was happening. Several lamps fought a losing battle with the clouds of darkness closing around them and she found she was unable to make out much of anything.

Rough hands grabbed her and forced her back to the deck.

'Sit and stay still girl,' came a voice, soft but commanding, from behind her. 'It does not pay to wander the decks when we are passing through the Darkfold.'

'What is go...' she started to protest, but the speaker brushed passed her and was gone.

She felt fingers reach for her and grasped her arm. 'Leave it for a moment, sis,' Jessica whispered. 'At least we escaped from those creatures.'

'Yeah, but now we appear to be on that boat thing,' Danielle moaned. 'Heading to lord knows where.'

'You are safe for now,' Ceridwen explained from close by. 'Sit quietly and I will explain all when we have cleared the Darkfold.

Danielle decided to sit quietly while the ship sailed on through the mist chilled blackness. The constant fight against the magical influences she was sure the Elves were using to manipulate them, was wearing her down. She had thought she was well on her way to beating it. George had agreed to stop helping them and try to forget all about the past. She knew it would hit her brother hardest, but given time he would forget all about the Elves and get on with his life. According to Ceridwen, the less time you spent within the Faerie Realms, the more the memories faded. That was how it worked; wasn't it? Then this had happened. She should have known better of course; the Faerie Folk had a strange way of dragging you back into their clutches no matter how hard you tried to escape them.

This time she knew it was not all her brother's fault. Although it did not stop her being angry with him. He would constantly put himself in danger and she and Jessica would get forced into helping him get out of it.

Gradually she noted the air around them growing gradually lighter. The chill disappeared, replaced with a pleasant warmth. Above the darkness faded from black to grey then to a kaleidoscope of blues and purples. They twisted and writhed, forming rivers of cyan and lavender that flowed in a multitude of directions as far as the eye could see. Pinpoints of light flashed between billowing clouds of rippling energy that spread out across the deep-coloured panoramic canvas. From somewhere a gentle breeze sprang up, rippling the sail and rigging and beneath her she felt the deck roll and lurch.

'Are we at sea?' she questioned to Jessica, who still gripped her arm.

'I'm not sure,' her sister replied. 'It feels like it, but something's not right.'

'That's what I thought,' Danielle whispered climbing to her feet. She pulled Jessica up beside her.

Across the deck, she spied her brother stood with Malin and the other Elves. They appeared to be deep in conversation, with a great deal of pointing and gesturing going on. Looking around she spied other figures who she did not recognize. Loud shouts drew her attention to the decking above them. She glanced up and saw a large bull-like creature stood at the wheel, bellowing orders at those who scurried below. The crew—who appeared to be a mainly Elf, but also contained a couple of other creatures she did not recognise—raced about adjusting ropes and pulleys. The sail caught the breeze and the ship jerked forward. Danielle ignored it all for the moment, she was at the point where nothing surprised her anymore. She walked towards the nearest rail.

'Hold on tight dears,' Ceridwen warned, joining them at the rail. 'If you go overboard, there is a good chance you will be lost for all time.'

Danielle looked down expecting to see the ship cutting through the waters of some vast sea. Instead—just like above—the colourful backdrop continued to spread out in all directions. The ship sailed on, following one of the many rivers of colour that crisscrossed the endless expanse before them.