Opal was tormented by an image of Adrien in agony and she thought she saw him dying, his chest a welter of blood, his eyes now closed to this world. Unable to intervene or speak to him, Opal was torn apart with rage and pain.
Jade was confronted with nothingness, with infinite eternity. She staggered, blinded by this dark and endless void. Then an image of her adoptive father — old, sick, lying on his deathbed — appeared to her and made her weep when she saw how thin and frail he was. The image swiftly transformed itself into the malevolent Council of Twelve, planning her death in detail and sending the Army of Darkness in pursuit of her. Jade let herself lose heart without a fight.
As for Amber, so many images and emotions assailed her that they were all a blur. She felt she had touched the very depths of horror.
Then, miraculously, she felt her fear melt away — and had the presence of mind to remember that before finishing off their prey, the birds first absorbed their victims’ terror.
“Opal,” she whispered hoarsely. “The potion!”
Startled by Amber’s voice, Opal got a grip on herself and rummaged desperately through her bag. She found the blue glass vial and tossed it to Amber, who caught it and, in a spasm of fright, pulled out the cork and drank a mouthful of the contents. Her hands trembled so violently that she dropped the vial, which fell and shattered into smithereens. The last mouthful was lost in the grass.
Opal shot a look of despair at Amber, who had just destroyed their only chance at survival.
The potion took effect instantly. The bloodthirsty birds felt their prey slipping away from them as all Amber’s emotions and sensations gradually vanished. She just stood there, expressionless, looking around her indifferently. She could see Jade and Opal’s agonised faces, but the idea of helping them simply didn’t occur to her. She never thought to run away, to hide somewhere, because she didn’t even realise the danger she was in.
“The Stones!” screamed Opal. “Get out your Stones!”
Jade obeyed automatically and Amber as well, by reflex, but nothing happened because Amber was no longer either really alive or human. Now that she had no feelings, she was no longer a real person.
But even lost in her torpor, Amber noticed an opening in the ground. Going over to it, she found a pathway leading into the bowels of the earth. As Opal watched, Amber disappeared into the underground passage, abandoning her two companions. Opal was almost hysterical by now and tried desperately to fight off the panic closing in on her.
She looked over at Jade and realised from the dazed smile on Jade’s face that her fear had been absorbed by the birds. One predator, which had remained above the others, now plunged towards Jade with stunning speed. Opal at once overcame her own fright, thinking only of her friend, and without a moment’s hesitation she ran to throw herself on Jade, knocking her to the ground and away from the swooping bird’s claws. Clambering to her feet, Opal ordered Jade to follow her but the poor girl couldn’t hear her or understand why they had to flee. Opal never knew how she managed to pick Jade up in her arms.
The predator had shot back up into the sky as if it found this scene amusing and wanted to enjoy the spectacle, but it certainly wasn’t going to allow its victim to get away. The other birds stayed where they were, for although they could terrify their victims and feed on that fear, only their leader had the right to seize the prey. Opal had hardly taken a few steps before she realised that the predator would dive again and that this time it would not miss.
She didn’t try to run, but as she stumbled along, she struggled to empty herself of everything. She did not reach for the warm comfort of her Stone. She counted only on herself, in a last desperate effort. Anyone else would have believed the bird would carry the girls off, that it was useless to fight on. But not Opal. She told herself not to give up, and focused on gathering her strength; with increasing confidence, she kept thinking that the birds could not beat her. The sweet warmth of an insane hope flooded through her and she felt as though she were in contact with her Stone. Cruel talons dug into her flesh, lifting her slowly into the air. Opal held firmly on to Jade and was not afraid. On the contrary, because she did not care, she smiled as her blonde curls tumbled in the wind, and blood spurted from the wounds in her pale skin where the bird’s claws clutched her painfully. She closed her eyes, eyes bluer than the sky, and did not give up.
Then the bird began to fly lower. Opal was still impassive and refused to rejoice, simply holding on to hope. When she opened her eyes the predator was hovering six feet above the ground and, little by little, reluctantly, it relaxed its grip on Opal. The two girls fell to earth.
In the sky the birds of prey gradually disappeared, clearly suffering from an agonising, invisible wound; they flew as if escaping from a terrible, powerful foe.
Jade, who had been indifferent to everything, now came to her senses. Opal showed her the opening through which Amber had escaped, and after Jade had vanished down the passage as well, Opal looked calmly up at the sky, once again innocent of all menace, and smiled.
Then she entered the underground passage as though nothing had happened.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
A Meeting with Oonagh
JADE AND OPAL had just begun feeling their way along the dim tunnel when they stumbled over a huddled form: it was Amber, sitting curled up in the darkness with her head in her hands. Startled, the weeping girl gave a cry that reverberated along the passage.
“Amber!” exclaimed Jade. “What’s the matter?”
Amber leapt to her feet.
“It’s you, you’re both alive!” she cried, wiping away her tears. “I abandoned you! And I thought you were dead!”
“Why didn’t you come and help us after the potion wore off?” asked Jade reproachfully.
“I just couldn’t,” sniffled Amber. “I only came round a few minutes ago, and I was sure it was already too late to save you. How did you get here?”
Jade told Amber what had happened right after she’d vanished into the tunnel, and Opal took over to describe how they had defeated the birds, although she didn’t fully understand it herself.
Then Jade thanked Opal warmly for saving her life, and Amber, who was still upset, hugged both girls in relief at finding them again.
“Where should we go now?” worried Jade. “If those birds come back…”
“Remember, they can’t attack us twice. But I think we can follow this underground path,” suggested Opal. “It must lead somewhere and I’m curious to find out where.”
After a short discussion they decided to keep going and so, still a bit shaken by what they had just been through, the three of them headed off along the path. Strangely enough, instead of getting darker the tunnel gradually grew lighter, until the girls could see their surroundings perfectly. This powerful supernatural light seemed to emanate from all around them, rather than from a little crack filtering in sunshine from outside.
After a long walk the girls stopped short in alarm: footsteps were echoing along the passageway — and growing louder. Their hearts racing, the girls were expecting to see a horrifying creature lunge at them… when a little girl appeared. She couldn’t have been more than five years old, and although she wasn’t human, she was still a sweet little thing and seemed honest and open. Her flared white dress left her slender arms and short legs bare, revealing skin of a very pale blue. Her face was solemn and innocent, with huge blue-violet eyes, and her blonde hair cascaded all the way down to her tiny bare feet.
“Hello!” she chirped in a crystalline voice.
The three girls smiled at her.
“What are you doing here?” asked Amber kindly. “Do you live here?”
The little girl simply laughed gaily, revealing sparkling white teeth.
“What’s your name?” inquired Amber in a soft voice.
But with a playful and mysterious expression, the child refused to speak.
“We’ve come here to see Oonagh,” said Jade. “Do you know if we still have
a long way to go?”
“Oonagh, Oonagh,” repeated the girl slyly. “I can help you.”
“Thank you,” replied Amber. “But how?”
“Come,” said the child. “I know Oonagh. Just follow me.”
With that, the strange creature went skipping away. Jade, Opal and Amber set off after her without hesitation. Their guide was merrily singing a song whose words were simply “Oonagh, Oonagh,” as though this were the nicest name in the world, and sometimes she looked back with amusement at the three big girls following curiously in her wake.
In several places the tunnel branched out, but each time the child chose her path with evident confidence and familiarity. At last, after an hour, they arrived at an extraordinary wall glowing with light. Dazzled, the girls heard the child’s clear voice ring out.
“Enter the light, it will not hurt you!”
And the three thought they saw her pass through the shining wall.
“What do we do now?” exclaimed Amber in dismay.
“I don’t think we have much choice,” observed Jade. “Either we go back the way we came, without our guide, and risk getting lost — or we try to cross this barrier.”
Amber had no time to protest before Jade stepped forwards and vanished into the light. Opal made as if to follow her, but Amber held her back.
“Who knows what’s behind this barrier? I really don’t think we should go through it.”
“We’re not going to abandon Jade,” insisted Opal. “If she’s in any danger, then obviously we should be with her.”
Resigned, Amber went forward and disappeared into the light with Opal.
They crossed the wall as though it weren’t solid, and were greeted by an incredible sight on the other side: a great chamber lit up by walls of brilliant crystals sparkling in every possible colour.
Opal and Amber saw Jade ahead of them, lost in the same admiration.
“This is where all the light in the tunnel conies from,” thought Amber.
Looking around for the child who had led them to this fairy-like place, the three girls saw her half hiding behind a tree.
“Oonagh, Oonagh,” she called laughingly. “This is where she lives.”
“Wonderful!” cried Jade excitedly. “And where is she?”
The little girl stepped towards them, suddenly serious.
“Right here,” she said simply.
She spoke so frankly and distinctly that it was impossible to doubt her words. Seeing her differently now, the three girls noticed the mature intelligence behind her childish smile, and when Jade looked into her gaze she knew at once that the creature was telling the truth. Reflected in those huge violet eyes was a wealth of years, thoughts, madness, wisdom, experience — of joy as well as sadness. Jade felt as though she might get lost in that gaze, it was so filled with life, and she understood that beneath her frail and youthful appearance, Oonagh had watched more time pass than Jade herself would ever see.
“It’s about time you arrived,” said the magic child. “I’ve been expecting you.”
The three girls were almost dizzy with anticipation.
“Who are our parents?” asked Jade abruptly. “Why were we driven from our homes? What danger is threatening us? Why is the Council of Twelve looking for us?
Flushed and breathless, she was going to continue when she saw the placid look in Oonagh’s eyes, and fell silent.
Then the child’s clear voice rose in song, filling the entire chamber.
“From the shadows will come the Chosen One
To unify the Realm
And lead it into the Light
As King who must not reign
Crowned in the name of the Gift.
Three Stones, three young girls.
One will discover the Gift.
One will recognise the King.
One will convince the two others to die.
Of three Stones only one fate will remain.
“People have been reciting this passage from The Prophecy for centuries,” added Oonagh. “They have been waiting patiently for you. Your destiny has been marked out. Only its outcome is uncertain.”
A shudder ran through the three girls.
“I don’t understand any of it,” sighed Amber.
“One will convince the two others to die,” gasped Jade. “What’s that supposed to mean? That one of us will make the others kill themselves?”
Frightened by her own words, Jade stopped speaking, and a heavy silence fell. So that was the reason why they were supposed to be enemies: one of them would betray the others and urge them to die.
“That’s awful!” burst out Jade. “It can’t be true!”
“None of us would do that,” insisted Amber.
Oonagh said nothing.
“Who is the Chosen One?” asked Opal, to distract them from this shocking revelation.
“Within two weeks, on the day of the summer solstice, a great battle will take place,” said Oonagh, evading the question. “Néophileus specified the date. Good and evil will clash on the plains of the Outside, in front of the magnetic field of Fairytale. On one side will be the Army of Darkness, with the Council of Twelve and the Knights of the Order; on the other, the Army of Light.”
“Who will be in the Army of Light?” asked Amber.
“All those who wish to fight for freedom: knights, men, creatures… The Army of Light is assembling even now. But it will never be able to fight if the Chosen One does not appear. It is for him to lead it to victory, to sacrifice his life in battle if he must. It is said in The Prophecy that one of you will recognise him. No one knows who he is; perhaps he himself does not know. People have always thought that he would have appeared long before now, and many people have made it their mission to find him. They believed your role was simply to confirm he was indeed the Chosen One. It is not so.
“You must go to the palace of Yrianz of Myrnehl. Part of the Army of Light is waiting there for the Chosen One. Perhaps he will be there. If not it is up to you to seek him out — you must find him!”
“And how do we get to this palace?” inquired Jade.
“Never fear. A man named Rokcdär will guide you there. He is one of Death’s councillors, and can be trusted.”
The three girls looked at one another in astonishment.
“On the way to the palace you must go and see Death,” exclaimed Oonagh earnestly. “She must give up her strike so that the battle may take place. You alone are capable of making that stubborn creature listen to reason.”
While Oonagh went to fetch an object in a far corner of the chamber, the bewildered girls grew more and more uneasy. Go and see Death? Argue with her? How could they manage that? Oonagh returned and gave them a map to help them find their way to the gloomy land of Death.
Jade spoke up suddenly in a strangely subdued voice. “That’s all very nice, this business of the Chosen One, the battle and all that, but what I want to know is, what do I have to do with it? I want to know who I am!”
“You are the three Stones of the Prophecy,” explained Oonagh. “You are the ones who will tip the world into good or evil. While the two armies clash, you will go to Thaar, the City of Origins, where you will fight the ultimate battle.”
“And that’s also where one of us will lead the others into death?” asked Jade sullenly. “I’ve had enough! Why should I go and see Death, and then look for this Chosen One? Why should I go to Thaar to fight the ‘ultimate battle’, which basically means, get myself killed? Why shouldn’t I just go on home? What’s forcing me to risk my life? I’m tired of being scared. I don’t want to keep asking myself questions without getting any answers!”
After catching her breath, she added more softly, “Just tell me what’s keeping me from going quietly back to my palace, seeing my father again, and finally living in peace.”
“Jade, the Army of Light needs all three of you to win its victory. If you don’t even fight, evil will carry the day.”
“So what! It has nothin
g to do with me!”
“You must go to Thaar,” continued Oonagh. “Because your parents sacrificed themselves for you. Because knowing that one day you would fight against the Darkness, they gave their lives to protect you. You have no right to betray them.”
“They’re dead?” cried Jade. “They’re dead!”
“They hid you safely before being killed by the Army of Darkness, or the Council of Twelve. By evil.”
“But who were they? What were their names?”
“What use would it be to know that? You mustn’t live in the past. Don’t weep over what cannot be helped. Devote your energies to what you can still change. You haven’t the right to give up the struggle.”
“And my parents?” asked Opal suddenly.
“I’m so sorry,” murmured Oonagh. “They were not spared. They were forced to flee, to hide you. The Army of Darkness and the Council were very powerful, and hunted them down. Your parents had guessed what fate lay in store for them, so they placed you in the hands of people whom they trusted absolutely.”
“You still haven’t answered my question,” interrupted Jade. “Who are we? Why do we have so many enemies?”
“The Chosen One and you three… are the sorcerers of Light,” said Oonagh gravely.
Her admission was met with profound silence.
“Ah!” said Jade finally. “And where does that get us?”
“Listen to me. When you were born, you were already clutching your Stones in your fists. These Stones grant you considerable power, but they belong only to you, they are part of you. Until your fourteenth birthdays your Gifts lay dormant in you. They were not yet ready to awaken. It was vital that you should not discover them too soon, and above all, that you should discover them together. Alone, you are vulnerable and your Gifts are useless to you.”
Opal coughed nervously. Although she knew she had found her Stone too early, she had never imagined that this might have dangerous consequences.
“Opal,” said Oonagh sternly, “your heart is telling me what you’re trying to conceal. And what it tells me is bad, very bad. If you discovered your Gift too soon, you must have attracted the attention of the Council of Twelve — which may well have had access to your mind through telepathy.” Oonagh sighed heavily. “No matter. What’s done is done! So, I was saying that ever since your fourteenth birthdays, your Gifts have been evolving. You had to undergo a good many trials to strengthen them, however, and reaching me was the last stage necessary for these Gifts to develop fully. And during these tests, if you had discovered your destinies before the allotted time, your powers would have ceased to grow.”