‘Breathe easy.’ Adreana smiled, finding his concerns and determination most appealing. ‘I shall not detain you much longer. You do possess great insight, and you express yourself beautifully. Now, if you would only use these skills for good and not to cause mischief in your life, all would be well.’
Kyle took a moment to digest her criticism, before vowing sincerely, ‘All will be well, I promise you.’
‘Then, I forgive you for the inconvenience and worry you have caused,’ she announced finally. ‘I believe you are still our best hope for the quest at hand, and thus I support your plea for life.’
‘That is a great relief. I thank you.’ Kyle gave a slight bow of gratitude. ‘Now about this “quest at hand” you mentioned … you all speak as if there is an event in my future that is a foregone conclusion?’ All the secrecy and innuendo was beginning to bug him.
‘Trust that you have everything you need to discover that answer yourself. Every decision you make will be the right decision; every path you take is the one that leads to your destiny. Your inner story is fast racing towards a climax, and beyond this place in your lower mental realm resides the formless worlds where the Great Spirits of this evolutionary chain reside. You need only the blessing of your fire aspect, and the rainbow serpent will fully arise in you. Once you are in direct contact with the architects of your creation there will never be a question you cannot obtain the answer to. All shall be clear.’ Adreana floated around behind Kyle, and placed one palm over Kyle’s throat centre and her other palm over his third eye. ‘I bestow on you the blessing of the Sylphs. May our virtues of intellect, speed, communication, detachment, adaptability, learning, travel and fast thought flow freely through your form to the aid of all there is.’
A great rush of awareness passed through Kyle’s being, and the vibrational frequency of his subtle form rose and changed in colour from ultra-blue to ultraviolet. ‘Whoa!’ he mumbled, feeling lighter and somehow freer than before.
‘I give you leave to move on to the next scene in your story,’ Adreana let Kyle go, ‘and I trust that Burn-a-debt will find you as full of promise as I do.’
‘Bernadette?’ Kyle opened his eyes, finding the name disconcerting. ‘My fire elemental?’
Adreana nodded. ‘During the trials and quest ahead, remember that Will creates intelligently, Desire, blindly and unconsciously. Desire is Will discrowned — the captive, the slave of matter.’
Kyle was surprised to understand her meaning. ‘I believe I now see the difference.’ He contemplated the advice long and hard. ‘I have been such an idiot,’ he concluded. ‘I have blamed everyone else for my misfortune, using my plight as an excuse to be a failure and good for nothing. I’ve even blamed my mother for dying on me, and even for giving birth to me in the first place, when she died to give me life … the life I am now fighting for.’ Kyle looked at Adreana, his eyes wide with revelation. ‘I brought about my own death,’ he stated surely. ‘I had such little regard for my life that I actually willed to take that bullet. Whereas Matt, with his great regard for life, probably wouldn’t have died even if he had been shot.’
Adreana nodded in agreement. ‘Matt has developed a very strong will. His subconscious instructions to the universe are very clear.’
‘That’s why he always gets what he wants,’ Kyle realised, and then raised a finger, having figured something else. ‘However, in regard to Zoe, my will to be with her must have been stronger than his?’ he supposed.
‘You are more deeply connected to Zoe than you can possibly realise at this stage of the story, but there are karmic factors at play as well as your personal will,’ Adreana told him.
Kyle noted that she had not really confirmed his theory, but then he was getting a little off the track. ‘So,’ he rubbed his hands together, to aid concentration, ‘the more I appreciate the life I was given, the better my chances are of keeping it.’
Adreana melted into a warm smile as she gave a slight nod. ‘And I have a little gift that is sure to help you with that.’
The beautiful Sylph blew Kyle a kiss, and as the gentle breeze of her breath made contact with his face, his eyes closed to fully appreciate the heavenly scent of spring in the wilderness.
In the wilderness was exactly where Kyle was when he opened his eyes. A beautiful waterfall cascaded down the mountain before him into a pool of sparkling spring water. I know this place. It was the land pictured on the wall of Nivok’s office.
‘Home.’ Kyron stood a short distance away, gazing up at the mountain with pride and awe.
‘This is where you live?’ Kyle was interested to learn as much. Perhaps this was why he thought he had recognised the mountain from the beginning; maybe he was picking up on his guide’s love of the place?
‘This mountain was named after me,’ the beast advised Kyle proudly, ‘or rather, my howl. The locals call it Turrammelin, which means “makes big noise”.’
‘As you do when provoked,’ Kyle concluded with good cheer. However, Kyron seemed concerned at Kyle’s words and merely nodded as he wandered towards the water.
Massive trees surrounded the large waterhole, all of which Kyron was attempting to hug in turn. ‘Friends,’ said the creature as he embraced the trunk of an old white gum, ‘it’s so good to see you after all this time.’
Huge ferns and native wildflowers were abundant around the water’s edge where the sunlight managed to penetrate the canopy.
The critters which had sent Kyle insane as a youth were everywhere: tending flora, enjoying the water, whistling through the trees and flying on the breeze.
Kyle had never even been camping, let alone in a rainforest, and that was probably a good thing. In the city, at least, Kyle only saw a critter every now and again. If he’d been raised in the bush, he would have gone completely nuts pretending not to see them; they were everywhere.
All life here was exchanging ultraviolet energy with Kyle’s being and with every other being, just as all-that-was on Blue’s beach had exchanged energies. Only this time Kyle wasn’t sucking the life force out of everything in his immediate area — he was clear, he was light.
His body was still possessed by a deep chill, however, and the warmth of the sun on his face was very welcome. The sun overhead was ultraviolet, as it had been when Kyle last saw it. This seemed to indicate that he was still in Adreana’s realm. It was also apparent that just as he had many different bodies on many different levels of awareness, so did the Earth, for this place was clearly the virgin version of the forest he’d seen pictured on Nivok’s wall. ‘Please don’t tell me Nivok is planning to destroy this place.’
‘I’m afraid the Nivoks destroyed much of this place a long time ago.’
Kyle turned quickly towards the female voice.
She was a young woman, with long dark hair and a coppery complexion. She was all suited up for trekking; a large backpack sat on her back with a net stuck though it.
Kyle’s eyes opened wide as he realised who this shapely, beautiful woman was. ‘You’re my m —’ Startled by the revelation, Kyle lost his footing on the rocks and came to land on his behind in the shallow water. ‘ — other!’
She nodded with a grin of amusement.
‘But you’re so …’ He implied ‘shapely’ with his hands. ‘ … young!’
She laughed, offering him a hand up. Kyle, still overwhelmed by this development, accepted her aid. ‘Well, I wasn’t that much older than you are now when I died —’ She shied away from finishing her sentence.
Kyle anticipated her words and felt a sudden twinge of guilt as he came to stand on his own two feet once again. ‘Giving birth to me.’ Alex gave an awkward nod and Kyle had to wonder if, in all those times he’d cursed her for giving him life, she’d heard him. ‘I know I must seem like an awful ingrate —’
‘No, you don’t,’ Alex insisted, discarding her backpack to hug Kyle, wanting to quell his anxiety. ‘My death wasn’t a possibility your father and I had considered, and you must believe
that we did have a much better life planned for you.’
Having never known a mother’s embrace, Kyle felt a deep security in her arms, and the foreign sensation of love without desire was all-consuming. ‘I do believe that now.’ Kyle was suddenly overcome by another realisation. ‘And if you are my mother, then Timothy Burke is my father.’ Kyle stepped away from the embrace, suddenly defensive. ‘He’s been in hiding all these years … why? Is there a reason why he never tried to find me?’
‘If he’d come out in the open to get you, he would have been killed, Kyle. And he feared placing you in danger. He had no choice but to stay away from you.’
‘But why is he in hiding? What did he do?’ Kyle wanted to know.
‘Your father’s only crime was in trying to save this place.’ Alex motioned to the paradise around them. ‘Those who want to develop it have been trying to frame Tim for the murder of the owner of the property since before my death.’
‘Nivok.’ Kyle’s eyes narrowed, remembering the magnate’s expression when he’d viewed the picture of Zoe’s parents in her apartment that fateful morning. ‘That was guilt I saw in his face.’
‘But you’ll have a hard time proving he was to blame,’ Alex advised him, ‘or at least Tim has had a fine time trying to clear himself of the charges.’
‘So Dad has had a few quests keeping him busy.’ Kyle finally had to concede that he’d been sorely mistaken about both his parents and he still didn’t know the half of it. ‘I understand Tim wanting to prove that Nivok is framing him, but what is his attachment to this place?’
‘You,’ Alex explained.
‘Me?’ Kyle’s frown begged for more information.
‘Shall we?’ Alex suggested they take a seat on the sun-speckled rocks by the water’s edge and, removing their shoes, they dangled their feet in the water. ‘My family believe that for a child to be born, a spirit must first enter the mother’s womb to give the child life. This spirit derives from a particular piece of land, depending upon the child’s ancestry. The place is the source of that person’s life force and he or she is inseparably connected with the piece of earth and bound to protect it.’
‘What happens if you don’t?’ Kyle queried, curious.
‘Well, when you die the spirit returns to the site from which it came. However, which level of the earth’s consciousness you shall occupy will depend on the effort you devoted to the earth in your lifetime. If you made this world a more beautiful place, with your respect and nourishment, then you will rejoice in paradise.’ Alex smiled, motioning to the forest surrounding them. ‘But if you neglect your duty to creation,’ her tone became more sombre, ‘you shall live out your days in the desolation created by your laziness and disregard.’
Kyle’s Near Death Experience had taught him enough about the hell in which his next otherworldly stay would be spent if he didn’t do something to mend his connection with creation soon. He also had the horrid realisation that that decrepit location in Density would be this beautiful place, should mankind be allowed to do its worst. Kyle also suspected that the reason he was the only person he’d seen during his stay in Density was that he was the main person who, by his idleness, could bring about the destruction of this paradise.
‘If you have striven to aid the Great Spirits of the land,’ Alex continued, ‘your afterlife will be spent in the peace and enlightenment of the planes that lie beyond the astral and mental realms.’
‘So why are you still here in the mental realm?’ Kyle glanced up at the sun overhead.
‘Because when I died, I, like the rest of my forefathers, could not rest in peace. The piece of land to which I am connected is still under threat, and we have chosen to frequent this realm in the hope of averting that threat.’
He nodded, accepting this. ‘And I connect Tim to this land how?’
‘Because you were conceived here.’ Alex’s statement so stunned Kyle, he grinned. ‘Your parents were engaged and married here, and the night I went into labour with you, I was attending a summoning ritual right here.’
Kyle’s jaw gaped open a moment, having seen this himself on one of his journeys with Book. ‘So, what do you think the chances are that my spirit might be derived from this piece of land,’ he joked, and Alex laughed. Then Kyle became serious once again. ‘Tim never came for me because he’s been fighting to save our eternal resting place.’
‘Coupled with the slight matter of a suspected murder charge.’ Alex shrugged.
Kyle couldn’t help but cringe as he thought about breaking the news to Zoe. Should he even suggest to her that her uncle was in some way responsible for the death of her parents? ‘What has Nivok got planned for this place?’
Kyle. Kyle. Kyle!
Kyle straightened up — he thought he heard Zoe calling him.
Kyron, who had finished hugging the trees and was now paddling happily at the water’s edge with Book under his arm, suddenly came racing towards Kyle, holding Book out in front of him. ‘No,’ he cried in warning, ‘you must stay. You’re not finished!’
I’m so sorry. Zoe sounded like she was crying. Please wake up. Please!
‘Oh, no.’ Kyle reached for his mother, who had already begun to fade into a bright light. ‘No!’
CHAPTER EIGHT
PLAYING WITH FIRE
‘I’m so sorry,’ Zoe repeated as she shook Kyle out of his deep trance. Lifting his eyelids she could only see the whites of his eyes. She knew he was way out of his body and that it was dangerous to drag him back to reality this abruptly, but what choice did she have? ‘Come on, Kyle.’ She rocked his whole upper body and the intense pain shocked him awake.
‘Ahhh!’ he roared, angered by the torture and at being forced to break his vow yet again. When he came to focus on Zoe, Kyle found an outlet for his anger. ‘You promised me!’
‘I’m so sorry.’ Zoe struggled to stop her tears as she cowered away from Kyle, startled by his fury.
‘It’s not her fault,’ Max said. ‘I told her to wake you. The police are on their way down the driveway. I don’t know why they’re here and the less I know the better.’
The news was a rude slap in the face for Kyle; he’d never solve this mystery from a jail cell. ‘My mistake.’ He apologised as he rolled out of bed, keeping his subsequent moaning to a whisper.
‘We’ve packed all your belongings in your bag, along with some extra bandages and painkillers,’ Max advised him. ‘You can get out the back. Zoe knows the way.’
‘Wait a minute.’ Kyle searched the covers on the bed for his book, and then, although causing himself pain, got down to look underneath the bed, but it was not there either.
‘Kyle, we have no time!’ Zoe insisted, frustrated by the delay. ‘The rest of your clothes are in the bag.’
The doorbell rang and startled them all.
‘I won’t be able to hold them long,’ the doctor advised.
‘Damn it.’ Kyle was forced to give up the hunt. Every decision you make will be the right decision; every path you take is the one that leads to your destiny. Adreana’s wisdom lessened his frustration.
‘Please, Kyle,’ Zoe begged, as she gently took hold of his arm. He allowed her to lead him away.
‘Good luck, kids.’ Max waved as they parted company in his hallway.
Through the back door, Kyle and Zoe stumbled down the path to the gate. When he grabbed the handle to open it, Kyle discovered that it was locked. ‘Christ!’
‘Yes, my child.’ Zoe reached into the ivy-covered wall and produced a key.
‘Good old Uncle Max.’ Kyle smiled as they passed through the gate and Zoe locked it behind them.
‘I’ll post him the key.’ She placed the key in her bag and headed off down the road with Kyle.
‘Stop! Police,’ yelled an officer from behind the gate.
Fortunately, the doctor’s walls were designed to keep people out and due to the long spikes along the top of the fence, the police officers would be forced to go around the block to get to t
hem. Nevertheless, Zoe and Kyle knew they only had a small window of opportunity to make good their escape.
‘We need a miracle.’ Zoe panicked; she’d never been in trouble with the law before.
‘No.’ Kyle calmly considered what might be of aid. ‘What we need is a cab.’ He looked up the street, hoping to will his solution into being.
When a ‘Vacant’ cab appeared at the crossroads and turned down the street towards them, Zoe squealed happily, tears of relief flooding her eyes as she hugged and kissed Kyle while waving down the cab.
Kyle could only laugh at the coincidence. Or had he willed it into being? It didn’t matter; all that mattered was that they were in luck. Still, speed, travel and communication were all gifts of the air. Maybe Adreana had had something to do with this happy twist of fate?
A couple of blocks away, they ceased peering over the back seat and relaxed.
‘So now what?’ Kyle pondered aloud.
‘Well, the first thing we need is a bank.’ Zoe exposed a secret compartment in the bottom of her handbag which revealed a keycard and a passport.
‘Your uncle has probably frozen all your accounts and he’ll trace us if you use that thing,’ Kyle warned.
‘Not this little treasure.’ Zoe smiled. ‘Money can buy anything, even a fake ID.’ She handed him the passport, showing a totally different name. ‘No one has total control of my life, not even a man as powerful as my uncle.’
‘You are a woman with unexpected foresight … Lisa Roberts.’ Kyle read the name on the ID and grinned at his love interest’s devious and clever thinking. ‘How much is in here?’