The Magical Real of Shadows Part 1 Chapter 13

The Rocks of Lost Souls

Lily had been wandering across a seemingly endless, featureless plain, with Jack perched on her shoulder giving directions. She was feeling hungry again but the chocolate biscuits were finished. Remembering Aunty’s odd gift, she pulled the goodness sweet from a pocket, unwrapped it and had a sniff. It smelt so sweet. Was she supposed to eat it or not? Aunty had said not to, but she’d also said not to go in the cave when she really wanted them to.

“Naughty, Lily,” was Jack’s opinion.

Wrapping up the sweet again, she put it back in the pocket.

She couldn’t stop her mind from wandering and thinking about Loki, but that only made her feel guilty about Brigit. Feeling the need to talk to someone, she turned to Jack.

“Oh, Jack, Aunty made Astyxia sound like such a wonderful place. So far it’s been more of a nightmare, most of the time. I do hope Diana and Billy didn’t follow us down that shaft in the cave.”

Jack gave her his full attention, his head rolling from one side to the other as she spoke.

“I thought the realm just a figment of Aunty’s imagination. I so much wanted it to be real, and thought that if I got here, I would know what to do, but look at me, lost and helpless.”

“Cheer up, Lily,” squawked Jack.

“But, Jack, Brigit! She’s dead, but it’s not even sunk in yet.”

“All’s well that ends well,” Jack returned, sounding remarkably like aunty.

The only thing to do was switch off and stop thinking about it. As she sat staring at nothing, and wondering if this journey would ever end, a movement in the near distance caught her attention. Travelling across the plain was a mixed herd of deer and wild ponies, led by a white stag. Stranger still was that most of the animals were carrying ghosts. She started waving her arms and calling out, but they either didn’t notice or just ignored her.

“Lost souls,” said Jack, which didn’t make any sense.

Lily moaned about how untrustworthy Loki was.

“He’s a pretty boy,” squawked Jack, making Lily blush a little.

They reached the crest of a slope and, at last, there was a break in the monotony of the landscape.

“Wow! Look at that, Jack, That looks just like Brimham Rocks.”

Before them stretched what looked like a Stone Age city made by giants.

It soon became obvious that the rock formations were natural. Huge, flat-topped rocks towered above them, arranged like a maze. Most of the flatter rock faces were covered in prehistoric art, mainly animals, but with some hand prints and symbols. Then Lily noticed some ghosts walking around as though they were lost.

“This way,” Jack urged her, flying on a little way before perching on a rock to wait.

“Lily!” she heard someone shout. The voice was accompanied by the barking of a dog.

“Brigit!” Lily turned, and then ran to meet and hug her sister, bursting into tears. “Oh, Brigit, I thought you were dead.”

“Where did you go? I can’t believe you left me,” Brigit sounded cross.

“It was that… Loki’s fault, he tricked me. I’m so sorry, Brigit, I’ll never leave you again, promise.”

Hand in hand, they followed Gerri and Jack through the labyrinth of stone, occasionally saying a cheery hello to a sad-looking ghost.

Before long, they had to pause and look at one of the paintings. It covered almost the whole face of an enormous rock; the image was that of a man, with deer antlers sprouting from his head.

Then Gerri started growling. They became aware of movement among the rocks. Hundreds of tiny creatures were peering at them but keeping their distance. They walked on, trying to look everywhere at once, as the creatures ventured closer and closer, until they could get a good look at them. Their basic shape was human-like, in a grotesque kind of way. About knee-high in height, they were a bluish-green in colour, hairless except for a crest running the length of their spines and covered in warts.

Brigit gasped, “Oh, Lily, they look awful. What do you think they want?”

Lily opened her mouth but couldn’t get the words out.

Some of the creatures were carrying baskets made from twisted bark. As they drew nearer, they could see that the baskets were full of strange fruit.

Gerri’s strutting and growling kept the creatures at bay, for a while, but eventually, one got close enough to offer Lily its basket. The purple berries looked delicious, making Lily’s lick her dry lips. The fruit merchants sensed her weakness and crowded in.

“Don’t eat it, Lily!” Brigit shouted.

Lily realized she had become separated from Brigit and Gerri. The hound snapped at the creatures on the edge of the crowd. As she bit them they vanished, but only to re-appear again an instant later. It seemed that Lily would be mobbed by them. The basket carriers started squabbling amongst themselves, desperate to be the one whose fruit she accepted.

Lily took one of the marble-sized berries and looked at it.

As Lily raised the berry towards her mouth, thunder rumbled in the heavens, seeming to shake the earth, and a bolt of lightning struck a nearby rock.

From a cloud of smoke, Loki appeared beside Lily. The creatures scrambled for the rocks and within seconds had all disappeared. Loki took the berry from Lily’s hand and popped it into his mouth, grinning.

“You… You…” Lily struggled to get it out.

“Sprite of mischief?” Loki offered.

“Scallywag! What’s going on? What were those – things?”

“Hobgoblin sprites, the physical form of corrupt souls – the shades of people who were refused entry into The Land of Happiness because of the way they treated other people while they were still alive.”

Brigit was appalled. “What, so they have to stay like that forever?”

“No, at least, not all of them. Many will redeem themselves after serving their penance. But those carrying baskets consider themselves beyond redemption, so their only hope is to get someone to eat their fruit and swap places with them. If you had eaten enough of their fruit you would be stuck here for all time.”

Lily shivered at the thought. Then she got angry again.

“That’s what you gave me at the elf village, isn’t it? Goblin fruit juice.”

“A little of it does no harm, Lily.”

She went to slap his face but her hand swiped through smoke.

“See you at Torba’al, Lily,” Loki’s voice echoed around the rocks.

“I hate him.” Lily stamped a foot.

“No you don’t,” Brigit said, grinning..

Gerri soon led them out of the rocks and into open woodlands. They talked about how nice it would be to have a bath in front of the fire at Aunty’s, followed by warm biscuits and cocoa.

Then they entered a clearing to find a fire with a large bird roasting on a spit.

“I think it’s for us,” said Lily.

“It’s him, isn’t it?” Brigit was grinning again. “Loki’s looking after us.”

Lily just sneered and pulled a leg off the bird. By the time they had reduced the offering to bones, with Gerri’s help, their fingers and tongues were burnt. Jack returned from a foray, carrying a sprig of berries. He offered them to Lily.

“Nuts,” said Jack.

“I think he wants us to pick him some nuts and crush them for him,” said Brigit.

“Might as well stock up.”

They split up, Lily gathering hazelnuts with Jack tagging along, Brigit collecting blackberries, followed by Gerri.

Lily had almost filled her pockets, when she noticed that Jack had become alarmed about something. With her head in contact with the earth, she was able to both hear and feel the vibrations of approaching hooves drumming on the ground. She hoped they were horses with someone riding them, but thought it better to hide first and see who it was. Looking around, she failed to see any sign of Brigit.

Lily jumped across the stream and hid behind one of the low-growing thorn bushes. Jack joined her, perching in a position where he could look out, body held low and neck craning.

A small herd of dappled-grey unicorns came charging by, looking as though something had spooked them.

A few minutes later, a group of eight knights appeared, both riders and mounts had eerily glowing red eyes and the horses breathed fire. Even stranger still were the small statured creatures that ran before them, occasionally sniffing the ground like blood hounds.

“Goblins bad,” Jack warned.

Luckily, the party passed by without seeming to be aware of her, and the hoof beats receded into the near distance. Lily breathed a sigh of relief and turned around. Three goblins were crouching low and staring at her, she gasped. Jack dived at one of them but was swiped by a backhand and fell to the ground.

The goblins let out a screech, like someone scratching nails down a blackboard. One of them leapt at her and she raised her arms to ward it off, yet right before her face, the goblin disintegrated in a cloud of ash. The other two ghouls backed off, seemingly terrified of her, then they both turned to dust as well. Lily was about to collect Jack, who seemed lifeless, when she heard the pounding of hooves once more. A knight came round a bush, fixing his burning eyes on her.

“Run, Lily!” she heard Loki’s voice shout.

She ran and jumped back across the stream, heading out into the open, not daring to look back but aware of the hoof beats drawing closer.
The knight was almost upon her, she could feel the flaming breath of his horse singeing the back of her hair. From the corner of her eye, Lily saw the horse trip, sending the rider flying over its head to crash into the ground, just behind Lily.

“Fly like the wind, Lily,” she heard the sprite’s voice again.

The rest of the horsemen, following at a short distance, spurred on their mounts to greater effort. Lily knew there was no escape, yet adrenalin and fear kept her fleeing.

A black horse appeared floating along beside her. Lily realized it had wings and was flying. A stern-faced woman was staring at her from the horses back. Lily heard the drumming of hooves as it landed, folded its wings and moved closer. She tried to veer off in another direction but was gripped by a strong hand and pulled onto the horse, behind the woman. The horse spread its wings once more and climbed into the air. Lily could feel the wind rushing past; she had no choice, but to hold onto the rider’s waist.