Alice.
“It has only ever been talked about as myth. There is a tale that tells of a Custodian and a lone Dryad who made the Trace, creating a small stone in the centre of the Fairy Reality to drive out a group of errant souls, but most believe that is a story only – like your human tales of King Midas turning things to gold. No Dryad truly believes it is possible.”
“Well Dierne obviously does.”
Dierne looked at Seb and nodded.
Alice continued quietly in Seb’s head, “Does he, or is he just so sad that he will try anything to preserve his twin?”
“Is that what it does, then – it preserves?” Seb spoke aloud.
“Seb, it is said that if the Custodian is able, they can fire the Dryad trail to solidify it into diamond. That is the Glacial Trace – the creation of a diamond in any shape designed by the lead Dryad.”
Seb realised now why the Dryads were so astounded; it did seem far-fetched. But then, with all the things he had seen recently, he was actually willing to believe anything was possible. His only concern was the Custodian’s bit.
“So where is that Dryad. Can’t Dierne get him to do it?”
“No one knows who that was, or which Custodian. Most Dryads doubt the story anyway, Seb.”
Dierne frowned at Alice but didn’t refute what he said. He stood waiting for the general response of the Dryads.
They were silent, humbled, Seb guessed, by Dierne’s words and the thought that, when he had needed them most, Mr Duir had chosen not to call for the Dryads out of a concern they would not be able to live with themselves if they battled Braddock.
Seb stood, waiting, and then when no decision seemed to be made he spoke. It was a struggle; he wasn’t used to public speaking and found his nerves getting the better of him. “May I say something?” his voice shook.
He felt thousands of eyes turn on him and, despite blushing, forced himself to continue.
“Someone I have learned to really trust and respect said to me that what you Dryad souls love is the belief that you will be reborn again and again as leaves on many different trees. I couldn’t see it at first, but the things I have seen in the last day have opened my eyes to how amazing that gift is. And it is a gift; the knowledge that you will get to come back and experience life so many times in so many different ways.” He glanced down at Mr Duir’s body. “Aelfric Duir won’t get that gift. He devoted his last – and for all we know, only – life to maintaining the balance of your reality, my reality and others I can’t even guess at. And in the end, he gave that life, and his soul, to ensure that balance was not destroyed. He won’t get to come back and live on a different tree. Thanks to me he is damned to an eternity of darkness and sadness with the two souls who detest him most – one Dryad and one human.
“So now you have a Dryad and a human saying that we want to make sure that Aelfric Duir is not forgotten and to do that we will preserve the one thing we have left of that soul – his body.
“Dierne has asked, and I am asking, for your help. You don’t have to believe what we are going to try is possible and, if I am honest, I doubt my own ability to do whatever it is I am supposed to do, but for him,” he pointed to Mr Duir, “I want to try.”
Dierne turned to Seb with a look of such gratitude and Seb felt Nat move over to him and slip her hand in his.
Mr West muttered, “Aelfric knew the boy.”
And now two Dryads leapt into the air, without saying a word, and began spinning a trail tinged with autumnal shades. Two more joined them, then three, then more and more simply leapt up to add their service. Before Seb’s eyes every Dryad in the cave dissolved into a whirl of greens, yellows, oranges and browns.
Alice was smiling proudly at Seb. “My turn,” he said and flitted upward.
And now Dierne placed a hand on Seb’s shoulder.
“You will do what is necessary. Aelfric believed in you – and so do I.”
With that he took off and suddenly the spinning, whirling mass of trails, which had formed a column reaching upward, distorted, leaning out to one side and curving over towards the lake.
Seb realised where Dierne was going. He turned to The Caretaker and Miss West. “Can you carry him onto the water?”
Miss West nodded. They lifted Mr Duir’s body and strode onto the lake surface. Halfway between the Elder Tree and the bank they stopped and placed him onto the water. The imps below supported him and The Caretaker knelt and placed Mr Duir’s hands across his chest. Stepping away, the two Guardians rejoined the watching group on the bank.
Now Dierne led the dense line of Dryad trails down. The line thinned and zipped under Mr Duir’s body, darting into the water and then re-emerging, circling round and round his body from his head to his feet until he disappeared from view, and all Seb could see was an autumn-tinged cylinder of green.
Zach clapped Seb on the back. “You’re on,” he announced.
Seb felt butterflies in the pit of his stomach. As usual, he had neither knowledge nor experience to help him and he didn’t have the first idea what he should do.
“Any suggestions?” he asked Mr West, who shook his head. Seb glanced at Mr White who spoke uncertainly.
“Words are powerful things …”
That’s it? Seb thought. Not much help. He knew the idea was to turn this trail into a diamond. He seemed to recall diamonds were just carbon which had been exposed to extreme pressure and heat.
He closed his eyes. Cue nuzzled in behind him. Seb smiled. Placing a hand on Cue’s forehead, he opened his eyes and in his head told Alice to get the Dryads to stand clear. Seb waited as the many Dryads returned to the lakeside. Seeing Dierne, the last to leave the trail, materialise above the dense mesh surrounding his twin, Seb raised his left hand. Words are powerful things, he thought and, feeling the strength coming from Cue, he focused it to add to his own and said quietly, “Look after him.”
There was a thunderous boom which sent a pulse of fast-moving air from Seb, across the lake. With it travelled a piercing beam of blue light. The light hit the cylinder of trails first and the whole thing ignited into a fierce fire which burned blue. As the pulse of air struck the fire it snuffed it out instantly.
The light had been so bright that Seb and everyone else present had instinctively shielded their eyes and now, as Seb removed his hand and blinked, his jaw dropped – there was nothing there! Where Mr Duir’s body, surrounded by the Dryad trails, had been, was now just empty air.
Sentinels
Seb was mortified. Not only had he failed to create the diamond crypt, he appeared to have obliterated Mr Duir’s body. He turned to Dierne, ready to say how sorry he was, but the Dryad was smiling – then laughing.
A gentle rustling began and then grew until the whole cave was filled with the chattering of the Dryads.
Seb heard Nat giggle beside him and Scarlet say: “OMG!”
None of them were looking at Seb; they were staring into the crowd of Dryads gathered round the lake and, as Seb followed their gaze, he realised the Dryads were parting, flitting left and right, clearing a path. From among them, walking away from the lake bank, strode Aelfric Duir.
He walked straight towards Seb, looking for all the world as though nothing had ever happened to him – other than the tattered, bloodied clothing he wore.
“Well what the hell happened there, then?” Zach added his noise to the chorus of leaf chatter, and Mr West looked utterly amazed.
Seb was dumbfounded. The teachers, his friends and Scarlet looked as stunned as he was.
Cue whimpered behind him and Seb realised he still had his hand on the beast’s forehead, drinking in the power from him.
“Sorry, Cue,” he said, dropping his arm and the wolf licked his cheek, then sat quietly beside him.
Mr Duir, reaching Seb, smiled down at him. There was a touch of humour in the way he looked at Seb, probably at the sight of his gaping mouth.
“Any other words, Seb,” he said.
“What?” Seb blinked, staring blankly at this walking miracle.
“Had you used any other words I would have been locked inside poor Cue for ever and, I dare say, my body sealed inside that diamond coffin.”
Now Seb spun around and stared at Cue who whined and licked his cheek again. Absently, Seb wiped the saliva from his face, trying to piece together what Mr Duir was telling him. He couldn’t, and The Head put a hand on his shoulder. Leaning forward he said, “I will explain later.”
For once Seb was pleased Mr Duir wasn’t one for words. He felt like his head was going to pop and, whilst he was desperate to know what had happened, he was also so overwhelmed at seeing this man breathing, walking, talking again he wasn’t ready for lengthy explanations. He stared dumbly up at those twinkling green eyes and then, unable to help himself, flung his arms around Mr Duir who, towering over him, stroked his head like an indulgent father.
“Steady on, Seb.” Zach laughed. Seb pulled away and grinned a stupid grin at his friend just as Miss West flung herself forward and hugged Mr Duir. Dierne whizzed over to him too and embraced him and then the other teachers joined them, until they were all locked in a group hug that looked very awkward and cluttered.
Seb stood with his friends, surrounded by Dryads, watching the happy reunion.
“Shame about the Glacial Trace and the diamond coffin, eh?” Zach said.
“This is better.” Nat smiled happily.
Alice placed a hand on Zach’s shoulder. “No shame in it at all, Zach. I am sure this will go down in