Trial by Ordeal

Chapter Seven

  Further into the Dark Domain

  Day 155 Helionia Calendar

  Marot Pallas looked deeply into Tryon`s eyes, to try to gauge the sort of man that his new friend was, and what he saw made him approach Tryon with a strange request, strange at least to Tyler anyway.

  “Tryon would you please consider conducting the ceremony that you spoke of on my wife, to see if she is indeed under the spell of the evil old crone Magi?”

  Tryon looked across at Tyler to see if he was happy for the ceremony to go ahead. “It is alright with me Tryon, if you think that you might be successful, but you will have to be quick for as soon as the portal is clear we are getting out of here.” Tyler said, he was so mystified by it all that he couldn`t object.

  “Patina would you mind coming here, I have something to tell you and also something to ask of you?” Marot said to his young wife.

  “Of course Marot, what do you want?” Patina replied curiously. Patina walked over to him, and looked from him to the others nervously.

  “First of all Patina, Tyler and Caroline have decided not to press charges against you for kidnapping Caroline and her children when we return to Helionia.” Marot Pallas informed his wife.

  “Thank you both, I now realise that it was terribly wrong of me to bring the children through into this awful place.” Patina said looking down at the ground rather than into the faces of those that she had wronged.

  “The other thing is this Patina, you know how I feel about Magi, and you know that I believe her to be an evil old crone who should have been locked up long ago. Well Tryon knows a little about the spirit world, and he thinks that she may be making you commit acts that you would never normally do, and she does it by controlling your mind.”

  “Controlling my mind, what acts are you speaking of Marot?” Patina angrily asked her husband.

  “Such as kidnapping this young family Patina; and then bringing the children into this dangerous place, and placing Tyler and his friends in such peril as well.” Marot said.

  “But I explained that Darling, it was because Magi…” Patina broke off here and broke down sobbing into her hands for some time before getting control of her emotions; it was easy to see that she was terribly confused.

  “I am sorry for crying, it is that I am so very confused about everything, what seemed to be ok before now seems so terribly bad. It will take a while for my mind to reorganise things correctly, so that I will no longer feel so like a stranger in my own mind.” Patina finally gasped out.

  Being so far away from the old crone had already partially broken the hold that Magi had on her, if only temporarily, and now Patina`s conscience had broken through into the shadow world that Magi had forced her to dwell within, and it made her face up to the evil of her deeds.

  “It is alright Patina, for Tryon may be able to ensure that Magi will never enter into your mind ever again, should you want him to try.” Marot Pallas said gently to his wife.

  “Please Marot; please ask him to, I beg of you to ask him.” Patina was now a very broken young woman who only now began to realise the reality behind the things she had done, and she desperately wanted to atone for her sins.

  “While we have been walking through these dark domains I have been quietly collecting the herbs that I would need, if we were to try this thing, and I now have everything I require. Patina and I should walk further into the portal for it is darker and quieter further inside.” Tryon said.

  He then picked up his backpack once more, he then stooped down to take some of the fuel that they had collected for later use on their fire, and took it along the dark tunnel until he decided that he was in a place where he would be able to conduct the ceremony. Tryon placed the fuel for his fire in the middle of the tunnel and dropped his backpack against the wall, he then walked back to the others and collected a burning twig to light his fire, and he then escorted Patina back with him to his chosen site.

  “Sit down Patina and we shall begin to drive Magi out of your mind, and then proceed to barricade your mind to stop her returning to it.”

  Tryon took out the various herbs, that he had collected, from his backpack and began to crush some of them, and then to put them in a metal can that he used when camping. To these herbs, he added water and hung the can from a metal stake so that the water slowly came to a boil. When Tryon was satisfied that the brew was sufficiently boiled, he poured it into two cups, and then he added a little cold water to the brew to cool it a little. He now handed one of the cups to Patina, who looked at it with distaste and began to cry. The remaining herbs that he had collected he put on the fire, and they immediately began to fill the tunnel with a sweet smelling smoke.

  “I know my concoction in the cup looks foul, but you must drink it now Patina, together with the smoke filling the tunnel it will enable the two of us to become of one mind, and then I can begin the job that you desperately need of me.” Tryon said to Patina who was now sobbing quite loudly. Tryon picked up his cup and drunk the foul brew down in one go, the taste was if anything worse than the smell.

  “Quickly Patina drink it.” Tryon ordered the sobbing woman and taking hold of her wrist forced the cup to Patina`s mouth, and forced her to drink the brew until the cup was completely empty.

  As Tryon began to chant the words of the spirit world, he could feel his grandfather`s presence. As his voice became louder, he knew that the spirits of his people had journeyed far to assist him in this task. Slowly the combination of the smoke and the brew began to work, as his mind went deep into a drug-induced world, a world filled with people he had once known and called family. Then Patina was before him, she had now stopped crying and was smiling at him over the fire, which slowly faded away. The tunnel had disappeared now, Tryon found himself sitting within a garden with Patina, and they were alone. He knew that her mind had brought them to a spot where she felt both safe and happy in. Tryon sensed someone behind him and turned around to find the old crone approaching them carrying a wicked looking sacrificial knife, he was to be sacrificed so that Magi could retain her hold on the young woman. Tryon marvelled at the speed that Magi had become appraised about what was happening, and had appeared before them in their spirit world. Tryon jumped to his feet and pulled out his own knife, but it was not the knife of a warrior, it was the one he had buried with his grandfather fifteen years before, he had placed it on his grandfather`s body himself so that it could be used by him should he ever require it. His grandfather had now given it back to him to slay the witch in the spirit world, and destroy the hold she had on Patina.

  Magi rushed forward and swung her knife viciously at his stomach the knife slicing through the material of his shirt, it had only been his training as a warrior that had saved him as he leapt backwards, Tryon felt his blood oozing out of the shallow cut made by the sharp knife of Magi. Tryon smiled, she wouldn`t catch him again, he had seen an old crone, but here in the spirit world Magi was as agile as a young girl was. From behind him he heard Patina cry for help and cast a quick look behind him only to see two monsters from another dimension dragging the young woman away, she was screaming to him to help her, never before had Tryon seen so terrified an expression as the one on Patina`s face. He turned back to Magi, for he knew that he must first deal with her. The entire world around him turned to a barren wasteland with only the dead and burnt remains of its trees and shrubs to show him that it had once been the same beautiful garden of moments before. Tryon moved forward determined to put an end to the witch but found that his feet were held firmly in the grasp of the roots of one of the long dead trees. Magi walked behind him and prepared to kill the brave warrior of the red plains, he would be a fitting prelude to Tyler Burrows and the entire Pallas family, she thought. Tyron tried to move his feet, tried to turn around to offer some sort of defence, but he found himself unable to do even this simple thing. Patina was being dragged to the entrance into the underworld, if he did not act fast then their lives would both be lost to the evil of this world. Pati
na was screaming out his name in terror once more, but Tryon knew that his own death was only seconds away. He had feared this might be the result of his journey into the spirit world, but had not told the others in case they had prevented him from trying to help Patina, something that his grandfather had asked of him while he had slept while inside the first of the domains. From behind him, an angry voice boomed out.

  “Leave my grandson dark one, his time is not yet come to journey to the spirit world and meet up with his family, be gone oh odious hag, back to hell where you belong.”

  A tremendous crash of thunder almost deafened Tryon, and the blaze of lightening that filled the now darkened skies blinded him for a moment, but when he came to, he found himself lying on top of a naked Patina who lay upon a large woollen rug within her beautiful garden, her perfume and beauty intoxicating his senses. Tryon thought that they both must have returned to the last time in Patina`s life when she had been deliriously happy, the last time that she had been with Lieutenant Ajmer Vakas.

  Tryon was almost seduced by this beautiful young woman beneath him, the foul brew that he had drunk, and the intoxicating smoke from the burning herbs, made him forget for an instant what he and Patina were trying to accomplish. As he looked deeply into her eyes, as he was just about to kiss her red lips he saw the fear that sprang into her eyes, she was staring at something behind him. Tryon the warrior threw off the effects of the drugs instantly, for from the fear on Patina`s face he knew that a new evil was even now approaching him from behind. He once more felt the sacrificial knife within his hand and he spun around to see the old crone already bending over him, her knife already descending towards his own body. Tyron thrust upwards with his own knife to meet the heart of the descending old hag, he saw her eyes turn from evil laughter into a look of agony, and reaching forward he pushed the old crone`s body away to watch it fall upon the ground beside him. Tryon knew that his cup was nearby, for in reality they were still in the confines of the dark tunnel, and so he felt around beside him until he felt its hard metal surface, touching it brought it into the spirit world. Tryon then went across to the body of Magi and made himself fill the cup with her blood that was oozing out of her lifeless corpse. As he stood there looking at the corpse of the old crone it faded away, this Tryon knew, meant that their enemy still lived in the real world, but had been severely weakened. Returning to the naked body of Patina, Tryon had to use all his inner strength not to lay with her once again, but from out of nowhere, the image of his wife flooded into his mind and so gave him all the strength that he required. He sank down to the ground now both physically and mentally exhausted and handed the cup over to Patina.

  “You must drink this Patina, it will cure you of Magi`s spell and bring you back to Marot.”

  Patina was still so very drugged that she didn`t even realise what Tryon was asking her to do, it was simply hearing her husband`s name that made her obey him, Patina immediately drained the cup of every last drop of blood that it held, and then stared across at Tryon as if awaiting his next command.

  Tryon lay on the ground and looked at the young woman before him; he hoped that Hera would appreciate just how much self-control he had shown at this moment in time, which ended abruptly with the dark tunnel walls once more appearing around the two travellers of the spirit world. Patina slowly came too, she looked across at the warrior known to her as Tryon, and then she turned her eyes to the floor in front of her and blushed deeply, for she too had remembered all that had happened within the spirit world. Tryon picked up his backpack from against the tunnel wall and then turned to speak gently to Patina.

  “Patina what just happened, only happened because of the drug that we both drunk, and the smoke from the burning herbs that we both inhaled. They allowed us to enter into the spirit world together, nothing was real and your mind was never fully yours to control, it was as much a dream as the ones you have in your bed. Forget what happened as you would a dream, be happy now, for the evil one, with just a little more of my help, will never again enter your mind, unless of course you yourself invite her in.” Tryon smiled across at the beautiful young woman sitting opposite him and as Tryon got to his feet and looked down at Patina, he offered her his hand.

  “As I helped you regain control of your mind allow me to help you to regain your feet.” Tryon said kindly to the pretty girl at his feet.

  “Thank you kind sir, I am very grateful for your help, and I shall never forget you brave Tryon.” Patina said holding out her own hand and allowing the strong warrior to assist her to her feet and laughing with him as they exited the tunnel to re-join their family and friends.

  “Everything was successful Tryon, Patina?” Marot asked anxiously.

  “You had better ask my spirit guide.” Patina said laughing. “But yes I feel fine now, for the first time that I can remember I feel in control.” Patina certainly looked fine.

  “Patina should be safe from the evil old hag for now.” Tryon said as he put his backpack down against the portal`s wall and rummaging through it pulled out a circlet of flowers that he had gathered and made as they had journeyed through the domain.

  “But beware do not allow Patina to be alone with her ever again, not even for even a short length of time, for Magi is a very powerful witch, while I am but an amateur. Patina will be free of her control for ever, as long as you do as I say.” Tryon turned to Patina again.

  “Patina you must always wear these flowers around your head for as long as Magi lives, it will help prevent her from entering your mind. In your house you should have a sprig of these flowers at each doorway or window to stop her from entering the house and trying to gain control of you, should your protection fall from your head, such as when you are asleep or bathing?”

  “I will never allow Magi anywhere near our house ever again, and I will have an android act as her bodyguard at all times until this nightmare is finally settled. But are all these protections really necessary, now that Magi realises that we know of her mind control will she bother to attack us through Patina?” Marot Pallas asked.

  “While I fought with Magi in the spirit world, some of her thoughts escaped her mind, she has a fierce hatred for the Pallas family that is even greater than the one that she has for Tyler. It is all to do with the past, and she is eaten up by it, so yes all of the measures I have mentioned will be essential until she is dead Marot.” Tryon replied.

  As Tryon had guessed, his fight with the old crone had weakened her badly, and she now lay on her bed somewhere between life and death. She had been summoned to the spirit world to fight him, even though the physical distance between them was so immense, it was simply because of the power that she had over Patina. However, she had been badly beaten within the world of the spirits, and it would take her some time to recover from it back in the real world, if she was able to find the necessary strength to bring her body back from the brink of death.

  Tyler who was bemused by all of it suddenly noticed a stain on Tryon`s shirt. “What is that on your shirt Tryon?” Tyler asked of his friend. “It looks like blood?”

  Tryon looked down at his shirt and saw a bloody patch on it, he quickly pulled up his shirt and saw a red line running across the place where Magi`s knife had cut him.

  “The old crone caught me unawares my friend, I am too used to the easy life that you have brought to Orion. I will have to train again with the young warriors.” Tryon said ruefully.

  Tyler Burrows was not a firm believer in the spirit world, he believed in his wife, his children and his friends, that and an inner knowledge about right and wrong kept him on the right track. However, what he had just witnessed here within the dark domain, well it was certainly something to think over. As he had learnt back on the spiral arm of Perseus, it seemed that there was something else there, something that he just couldn`t see, something just out of his reach that was very mysterious, and of that he was sure.

  Marot turned to Tyler and Caroline, for he had some information that he thought might b
e useful to the Orionist leader.

  “Tyler I am sure that his planet is within the dark nebula, each time night has fallen the sky has been clear of stars, only the nearby planet is visible. Our religion tells us that it is forbidden to enter this zone, probably a race memory after the death of so many of our people, probably following the great plague that swept our planet followed then by an ice age. We have only just learned of these disasters through the plates found by Trajo Fortuna.”

  Caroline looked across at the thin line of blood on Tryon`s stomach which he began to clean with some antiseptic cream. She then looked at Patina and was a little confused by what she saw, the hardness in Patina`s eyes seemed to have gone from them, in its place Caroline saw a young girl, it was almost as if Tryon had baptised her within the spirit world. She would wait and see what there was to see, and then decide how to treat this young woman.

  **********

  The starship Dagger carrying an angry Ares Fortuna finally made contact with the squadron led by the space cruiser Dark Nebula, and changing ships set the three space cruisers on a course back to Galafrey, while the Dagger hurried off for much needed repairs, carrying with it a mortally wounded old crone.