We joined Kat, Rey, and Arlo on the boat the next day.
It was a day for long discussions, all aimed at preparing me mentally and emotionally for my trip into the Void.
But we took our time – enjoyed the sailing – toured around a couple of the islands. There was only a light breeze but the boat cruised effortlessly wherever it was steered towards. Ember and I did some swimming – Kat and Rey stayed on board, saying they weren't too partial to getting their fur wet (what is it with cat-creatures?), but Arlo joined us, and boy could he swim... like a seal!
We listened to some of Kat and Rey's personal memories and stories of Sayan – it helped me to build a picture of her in my mind. Arlo was key to this – he channeled the most recent memories and transferred them to me – this way I got to feel that I knew her myself, remembered how she looked, how she talked, sensed her personality as best I could. It was better than any photo or video might have been.
Ember helped me to embed the frequencies of Kat and Rey and their family into my own 'aura', and I found myself tuning to the emotional spirit of the Feline race in a way I never could have imagined. I felt their ancient spirit and the love and compassion that defines them. With this, I was sure to be able to distinguish Sayan's frequency from every other.
We kept the conversation positive – no talk of all the dreadful things I might encounter in the domain of the Durge – there was no way to prepare for that more than I'd done already. Kat kept reminding me of the vision of the Pleiadian woman in my dream – 'friends in high places' – and told me I could trust that I was being protected in some way from higher up.
And I learned a song that was taught to all Felines from a young age – a melody that would be instantly recognizable to Sayan, and so help me in helping her to tune her psyche back to her origins, if she should be so deeply lost she'd forgotten herself. Rey sang the words but they were impossible for me to reproduce – I had to make do with just the melody. It was a strange tune, and quite difficult to learn, even for a musician like myself. The way it sounded, words and melody alike, was akin to a lilting song being played backward, without altering its recognizable structure or pleasantness. We sang it together over and over and over until it was firmly fixed in my mind.
The day drifted by as effortlessly as the boat sailed across the water. The sun eventually passed its apex in the sky and we headed back towards the mainland and moored for the evening in the bay.
We ate on deck, drank wine to more of Reys singing – he was enormously talented – and kept the mood mellow and light.
As the evening drew in and dusk settled, other people came to their boats, lighting up the decks with fairy-lights, lanterns and candles. The bay rang out with the sound of their laughter and music and chatter – it felt almost as if the whole town had come out to join us in the bay as way of a send-off for me.
I leaned over the railings and let my hand brush through the water, attracting a shoal of small fish that reacted to my frequency. Everything about this moment was perfect, and I could appreciate that, without forgetting that everything wasn't perfect back in my other life, and wouldn't be perfect tomorrow – but that was tomorrow. I could have dwelled on that, about what was to come, filled up my heart with concern about the unknown, broken the peace of the moment... but I refrained. This moment was meditation in purest form – awareness of the 'eternal here and now'.
Some people on a boat nearby started singing a soft, repeating air – a two-part melodic structure that asked a question then answered it. A second group on another boat picked it up and joined in... then another. Before long it seemed the entire bay was filled with that simple, gentle piece of music – rhythmically repeating like a chant, never rising to a crescendo, never breaking into a chorus, never disturbing the harmony of the evening mood. I heard Kat, Rey and Arlo join in too. Ember came over to me smiling and snuggled into my arms.
"It's so beautiful," I said.
"Yes, it is."
"You know, it almost feels like it's all for me."
"That's because it is for you"
"How come?"
"We live here in unconscious harmony, and life flows like a gentle stream. If something was to fall into the stream, it would create ripples, and the whole stream would react to it. You have fallen into our stream and created your ripples – everyone here experiences that change, and unconsciously they have been called out onto the water. They don't question that calling, that impulse, but they do respect it and answer it. The same impulse inspired the singing, and everyone answered that too. They don't know you, or why you're here, but in a way, you called them, and they answered. They are here for you, they are with you... as we are."
I was too moved to speak further. I laid back with Ember in my arms, and let the music, the wine, and the evening, 'lullaby' me into sleep.
-----
We spent the whole night on the boat. Breakfasted together. Today I'd go into the void.
The mood was too quiet, like no-one dared to talk about my leaving. I didn't want this – it gave me a sense of dread and I needed to feel some excitement, some positivity...
"So what are you all going to be doing while I'm gone?" I said to break up the silence. I put a light playful tone into my question and it worked.
"Well I'll be taking you to the Alcemidd," Kat said, "and after that I'll be waiting here, in meditation, expanding my consciousness across the astral ether to wait for a sign of your return."
"Not waiting by the Mirror?"
"No. The Mirror is a one-way portal – nothing that goes through it can return by the same route. The only way out, unless someone pulls you out, is by way of frequency-elevation and teleporting – a free mind is your exit-portal."
"Okay... Rey?"
"I'm going to help Arlo do some important research."
I looked at Arlo for clarification. "We decided it could be helpful to look into more 'universal' matters – see if we can find out how far the Governments and Militaries of your world are involved in relations with 'Intergalactic Councils' – how established they are with their 'Astral presence'. Maybe also find out whether other entities and groups have an interest in you... like the Watchers in your dream."
"Deep investigative journalism – I like it!"
"Ember?"
"I shall be standing on my balcony gazing forlornly out to sea, waiting for my sailor's return..."
"Sure you will."
"No. I feel a little guilty saying this, but I'm going to visit my family – all our talks have reminded me how much I miss them."
"Don't feel guilty, the last thing I want is you fretting over me. Go and be with them." I turned to Kat then, "So when do we go to the Alcemidd?".
"Whenever you feel ready."
"Well, I've got one more trip to the agency I'd like to make – see if they have some info on the other coma patients. I think I'll do that now and see you all back here shortly."
"We'll be waiting."
-----
I teleported off the boat and into the Agency lab. Only Paul and Susan were present.
"Sorrell isn't back yet," Paul said. "He's busy trying to get the info you wanted from the hospital. Might take a few days yet – it's complicated going behind Colbert's back."
"Don't worry, there'll be another time. Ask him to also look into my own case – see if the doctors are any closer to understanding why I'm in a coma. It'll be interesting to know what they come up with."
"Will do. So when are you actually planning to go into the void?"
"Today."
"Jesus! How do you feel about that?"
"I'm trying to give it all a positive spin, see it as an exciting adventure – a game even. I can't afford to get worried about it – I'll just be creating my own problems."
"Facing your fears!"
"No, actually. My saying was always: 'Free your fears!'"
"That's a good one – I'll keep it in mind."
"Okay – I gotta get back. Give my regards to Sorrell, and I'll see you next time."
"Wait – here try this first." He poured me a coffee to taste.
"It's better," I said, "but you really ought to taste what they've got on the fifth dimension."
"Maybe you could bring us some, next time."
"Yeah, I can do that. So... guess I'll see you guys later."
-----
I joined the others back on the boat – they were waiting with a gift for me. Ember handed me a small but broad leather band with ties on the ends, and embedded with four flat stones of differing colours.
"You wear it as a bracelet," Ember explained as she helped tie it around my wrist. "One stone each was manifested by us and therefore contains a trace of our personal frequencies."
"The biggest danger in the void is getting trapped there," Kat said. "Anything that can raise your frequency back to ours will help you escape... even mementos like these."
"The lilac stone is from me," Ember said, "the red is from Arlo, blue is Kat's, and green is Rey's. I have something else too..." and she tied a locket around my neck. "It contains a piece of my hair," she whispered as she leaned in close. "My way of being with you, and your way to come back to me."
"I've got you all with me," I said. "Thank you. I won't let you down. I'll return safely, and I'll have Sayan with me. I promise." I looked at Kat – "I think it's time to go."
I hugged Rey, even though he was still too tall for it not to feel awkward. I hugged Arlo and that was just as awkward but the other way around. And I hugged Ember, long and tight, took her face in my hands, looked deep into her misting eyes – "I'll be back," I said in my best Swarzenegger accent. The joke was lost on her, but the sentiment wasn't. She squeezed her lips onto mine in silence – no more words were necessary.
"Let's go, mentor," I said, joining Kat. He laid a hand on my shoulder and the world around us distorted and faded. Another manifested in its place – a row of familiar-looking houses lining a cobbled canal street. Amsterdam. But we'd seemingly gone back in time because there were no cars or even bikes to be seen – plenty of barges though, and carts and barrows, and people in pre-twentieth century clothing who were looking at us very strangely. Kat seemed as surprised as I was and quickly led me up to a house with a familiar metal door, pockmarked with dints from stones and clubs. We stood outside until we heard it click open, and entered the empty foyer with one cage-lift to the eighth floor.
Kat passed me a pair of sunglasses.
"Oh yeah," I said.
The Alcemidd's store was unchanged, and we found him again by his desk. This time he was waiting for us.
"At last, at last," he chirped, "everything is prepared. Come, come."
We followed him as he skipped into the back room. "I had to clean it up a little – it's been many years unused – collected dust. And I have, as you see, already started the Incantations." There was a large dusty book on a stand nearby. He skipped up onto the stool in front of it.
"Incantations?" I enquired.
"Oh yes – the Mirror could be very dangerous in the wrong hands – it is, after all, a portal to the darkest parts of the Universal Subconscious. Imagine if people were just thrown into it, to dispose of undesired parties perhaps... Incantations are the way to unlock the portal, and to close it again – without them, it is as useless as a black mirror that gives no reflection. And only the Guardian of the Mirror can decipher the correct incantations from the book. This way no-one is tempted to steal either."
"Kat told me it's only an entry portal – once you go through you can't come back the same way."
"Only partly true. It is, in fact, a two-way portal, but the incantations close it from return – otherwise, the creatures within the Void could escape through it into our dimensions – and we wouldn't want that would we? No, no! That is another reason why the incantations are important... should the wrong persons be inclined to want to unleash hell upon us."
I looked at Kat.
"I never knew that," he said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Of course you would not know that," the Alchemidd said, tapping a feathered finger on the side of his tiny, hooked nose, "its better if the full truth is not known to all."
"So what is the procedure now? Do I just walk through it?"
"I have one final incantation to fully open it, then yes, you just walk through. But are you truly prepared mentally for this journey – once you pass through you cannot change your mind."
"I'm as prepared as I can be for something I know nothing or very little about. I'm trying not to think too much about it."
"Yes, yes – best not to – lest you create the demons of your imagination – that is the correct attitude – along with trust – and that everything is 'mind' – and only 'strength of mind' will help you complete your quest successfully – help you deal with whatever you encounter – escape the dungeons of the Void... All mind... Always mind."
He closed his eyes and stretched out his hand towards me, as if trying to read me. "Yes," he said, "I think you are ready."
He turned to his book and muttered a few words. I turned to Kat – we gripped each other's hand firmly.
"Thank you for doing this," he said.
"No, thank you," I said. "If it wasn't for you I'd probably be there already anyway, as a prisoner of the Durge, and not know how to get back. Now at least I know what I'm going into."
We both turned then, feeling a deep coldness enter the room – the blackness of the Mirror was no longer a solid thing, but was now a fathomless abyss.
"It is open, it is ready," the Alcemidd announced. "You may pass into it."
I approached the edge of the blackness. There was a faint impression of ground and walls, as in a dark tunnel. This was comforting somewhat – at least I wasn't going to drop down into endless nothingness.
I turned to the Alcemidd – he was looking right past me with his crooked eyes, but I sensed he was actually looking straight at me. I took my sunglasses off – it suddenly seemed disrespectful to be wearing them. I handed them to him, "I won't need these I said," and looked straight back into those eyes long enough for him to understand I felt only respect for him. For an instant, his eyes seemed to focus normally and our gaze met. He smiled and nodded. I smiled back, then turned to enter the Mirror.
No-one said another word, and the room was silent behind me, the familiar silence of a quiet place, where there's still some sense of ambient sound – slight breathing, a heartbeat, a shoe scraping the floor, the friction of clothing moving over skin... When I stepped over the threshold, however, that silence took on another nature – the absolute silence of a vacuum, of a void. I couldn't even hear my own breath. And it was cold – the cold I remembered from my first vision of the Durge approaching in the desert all that time ago. I shivered, shook myself, raised my collar up and pulled my jacket closed and tight around me, but it didn't help – the cold was within me as much as it was outside.
Iturned once, touched my hand to my temple as a farewell salute to the watchingfigures of Kat and the Alcemidd, who suddenly looked like dream figures – hazy,hypnagogic images captured within the frame of the Mirror. Kat returned thegesture. I turned back towards the deep blackness of the tunnel and strode intoit. After a few steps, I turned once more and saw the figures were gone – theportal was closed. There was now just infinite void behind and ahead of me. Therewas now absolutely no going back.
Author note
Welcome to the VOID...