Chasm in the forest
*1* In the dark a pair of eyes glowed red like embers. An ominous laugh rang through the woods, and a flock of birds took flight from the treetops.
"I'm not finished with you yet, Derek Rayne. In fact, I've just begun."
*2*
Derek lay in the hospital bed, tired and relieved. The doctors said he was ok, other than a sprained left arm and a minor concussion, plus numerous cuts, bruises, and minor burns, but he ached all over, and Alex seemed to hover around him. She hadn't wanted to leave his side, even when he was wheeled into the ER. Nick had held her back, and as the doors had swung shut he saw her crying and looking like she would collapse.
He had waited patiently while the doctors examined him, and then Alex had come in, followed by detective Royce. He smiled at Alex and nodded to the detective.
"Derek, detective Royce needs to ask you a few questions. Do you feel up to it?" Alex had asked and her voice shaking with exhaustion.
"Yes, I think so." Derek said touching Alex's hand. {So sweet and protective. She'd make a great mother} he thought, and then turned his attention to Royce. "So, what did you need to ask me?"
"Well, to begin with, what the hell happened? We know that you blew up the house, but why? And then how did you get to that other house?"
Derek almost laughed at the form he had chosen. {Hell indeed… that's what happened.} "I'm not really sure how to explain. Are you aware of the kind of work we do?"
"You mean the 'less than normal' work? Sort of. But I know the basics."
"OK. The house sits atop a portal to hell, which was about to be breached. I blew up the house in order to keep the portal sealed and prevent the destruction of the entire world. As to how I got to that house, I don't know. I was in the catacombs and the explosives were about to blow, and then… nothing real until Rachel and Kat found me." Derek said all this calmly without a trace of a smile, and detective Royce just stared.
Several moments later he had regained his composure, and asked, "What do you mean 'nothing real'? All this seems pretty unreal to me."
"I found myself in some mists, and then Kat was there in the house. She told me she'd find where my body was, because she had figured out how to leave the mists. I'm not sure how she got there. You might ask her that. Anyway, then a little later, I heard Kat's voice, and I felt myself being pulled, then was lying on the ground, and you know the story from there." Derek looked over at the doctor, who was busying himself on the other side of the room and appeared not to be listening to them.
"So what will be the official story? I can't very well tell that to the chief. She'd lock us all up!" Royce said pulling out a small notepad.
"Well, the explanation for the police and media will be this: the explosion itself was a result of an accidental armament of the explosives by myself. I was trying to do some exploration of one of the caves , and had blasted a wall out. That unfortunately set off a chain reaction. I was partially protected from the blast and managed to escape the rubble, but was incoherent and fled. I took a private boat over to the mainland, and in my confusion, hid in the first place I found. Would that satisfy them?" Derek asked, and lay back on the bed, a satisfied smile on his face.
Royce thought for a moment and said, " I think so, Doctor Rayne. But if not, I'll tell you, ok?"
Derek nodded, and said, "Oh, and another thing, detective. Call me Derek."
"OK, and please call me David." Royce said, and felt as if he had passed some sort of test. The older man smiled and Royce went back to the waiting room.
He looked over at Kat, who was sitting in one of the chairs swinging her legs. Thinking about what Derek had told him, he went over to her and said, "Kat, can I talk to you for a second?"
She looked over at her mom, who nodded. They walked down the hall to an empty office.
"Kat, Derek told me you were in the mists with him." The young girl nodded, and he asked, "How did you get there?"
"Umm… I snuck out . I wanted to find Derek, and nobody was trying, so I did. I was out walking, and I got knocked out." Kat answered carefully, not wanting to say anything about the reality of what had occurred.
"Knocked out? By whom?" the detective asked, all too aware of the things people have done to young girls.
"I know what you're thinking and no. It's not like that. Anyway, that doesn't matter. What did you really want to ask?" she caught the look of surprise in his eyes, and a bit of astonishment.
"OK, Derek said that you called him back. Do you know what he meant by that?" David said, a bit suspicious.
"You have to swear you won't tell my mom or Alex. Swear?" Kat asked anxiously.
"Yes. I swear." he said, now more than a bit curious.
"Well, I used my magick. I thought about him the way he's always been, and then I started thinking about all the times he's risked his life to save me, even when I wasn't me. So I just did what I knew I could do." Kat looked at him nervously, almost expecting to be yelled at.
"That doesn't seem so bad. Why are you afraid to tell them?" Royce said, confused at her fear.
"Because. They don't understand. They think all magick is bad, but it's not. Just because there are some who use it for evil, they think that the magick itself is evil. I use it for good, but they don't understand the difference. Derek sorta does, but he's afraid of it, and of me too. He'll never admit it though. My mom still thinks of me as her little girl, and no matter what I do, she treats me like it. I've hurt all of them at some point with it, but I never meant to. Just please, don't, OK?" Kat said, and wiped a tear from the side of her face.
"OK." he handed her a tissue, and she wiped her face. "So are Alex, Nick, and Derek going to stay at your house until the house on Angel Island is rebuilt?" he asked, anxious to change the subject.
"I don't know. We have to go back to London for a while, after Derek's released. I overheard Nick arguing with Landover about it. They're going to conduct an inquiry. Apparently someone thinks that this was mishandled, and that Derek shouldn't have blown up the house. But I think most of it's just a formality." Kat said, having regained her composure. She looked over, distracted, and got a terrified look on her face. "Come on. Something's wrong!" she said, rushing from the room.
She ran to the waiting room, where Rachel looked up, confused. "What's wrong?" she exclaimed and followed her daughter into the room where Derek was.
He looked up, a wondering look on his face. "Derek!" Kat shouted, "Get down!" He rolled off the bed, as a bullet went whizzing by where his head had been moments before. A doctor came running in, as Detective Royce pulled his piece.
"Get out of here now!" he yelled, and ran to where the bullet had come from. He pushed open the fire door and ran down the stairs, but couldn't find anyone. He went back to the room, and called the station. Once he reported, he went out to the hallway where the group had stayed. "No sign of him, whoever it was. Kat, how did you know that was going to happen?"
Derek was leaning back in a chair, with Alex sitting next to him, who kept asking if he was ok. He just nodded, and Rachel said, "I'll tell you about it later. It's complicated."
He nodded, and surveyed the area. He saw Nick doing the same, and realized that the young man was just as concerned about the near shooting of Derek as he was. This put him slightly more at ease.
"Anything?" Nick asked Alex and Kat, who both shook their heads.
"It's ok now. I don't feel anything." Kat said, and he wondered how she could know that, but then realized that she knew it the same way she knew what would happen with Derek.
"I called into the station. I'm going to have a guard posted there around the clock. Only your group, me, and the head doctor on duty will be allowed in his room. Heck, I'm tempted to seal off half the floor, but something tells me that that wouldn't do much good." Royce sighed. {It's going to be a long night.}
"Derek, are you sure you're ok?" Nick asked, the concern for his friend showing in his voice.
"Yes, already! I'll be back to normal after a good night's sleep. There is nothing wrong with me right now that a bit of sleep won't fix." Derek said, and yawned.
Rachel thought that something seemed odd about Derek's behavior. {Maybe that concussion is more severe than we thought.} Rachel thought, and realized he had been through so much in the last several days that he was probably just exhausted, but made a mental note to talk with the doctor just in case. "Derek, come on. Let's go get you into bed."
He nodded and, leaning heavily on Nick, they went to a nearby room. After they had gotten Derek all settled in the bed, a pair of uniformed police officers came up. "We understand" the older one said, "That there was an attempt on Dr. Rayne's life here tonight. What exactly happened?"
The group went outside the room and turned down the lights as they went. Royce said, "An unknown suspect tried to shoot him when he was in the examining room. The bullet lodged in the western wall. I chased after the suspect, but whoever it was had disappeared. I want a guard posted here at all times, and only these people and the head doctor on duty are to be permitted to see him. No exceptions. Understand?" The cops nodded, slightly paler than before. "Rachel, Kat looks really tired. I'll drive you ladies home." Detective Royce
"I think one of us should stay here. Just in case." Alex said, and Nick nodded. "I'll stay here tonight. I managed to catch sleep already, and I can take care of any 'problems' that arise." Alex looked at him, surprised. She had brought up the idea so that she could stay with him. {I don't want to be separated from him again.} But she knew Rachel and Nick would never allow it, so she agreed and went with Rachel.
*3*
Despite the events of the day, the women all dropped off to sleep quickly. At the hospital, everything was quiet. In the woods outside the city, however, things were not so calm. A voice rang through the empty treetops. "That child thinks she can defeat me! We'll have to do something with her, now won't we?" she asked the small figure perched on her middle finger.
"Yes. I have the perfect plan. And she won't be able to figure it out this time." the small figure hopped down and scurried off towards the city.
"She'd better not. That abominable child could destroy us all." the voice thought aloud, and waited in the darkness.
*4*
The next day at the hospital…
Alex sat in the over-cushioned chair next to Derek. He kept drifting in and out of consciousness, and the doctors were concerned. They thought there might be some brain damage, and scheduled him for a CAT scan that afternoon. In the meantime, they had him hooked up on a bunch of machines, IVs, and monitors. The head doctor said there was probably no need to worry, but Alex saw the way he had looked at Derek's chart. She'd seen that look on doctors before, and knew that look meant that what they said wasn't the truth, but merely something to soothe the friends. "He'll be ok. He has to be, because I can't bear to think of the alternative."
Nick waited down the hall, and glanced into the room. Alex had a poignant expression, and Nick went in. "Hey Alex," he said, and she hurriedly wiped a tear from her cheek. "It's ok. You really love him don't you?" he asked gently.
She nodded, "When we were in the basement, looking for the Rosicrucian cross, we were talking, and we kissed. I didn't know what to think. And then when we thought he was dead… I realized that we spend so much of our lives just building walls between ourselves, and we never realize how important someone is to us until they aren't there."
Nick put his arm over her shoulders, and she leaned against him. "Sometimes, though, we get another chance. Don't worry. He'll be fine."
As he said this, Derek opened his eyes and tried to focus. "Hi, Alex, Nick." he said, his voice soft.
"Hey sleepyhead, bout time you woke back up." Nick said gently.
Derek looked at Alex, and, noticing the tearstains on her face, asked, "What's wrong?"
She wiped off her face with her sleeve cuff, and said, "Nothing. I'm just tired. How do you feel?"
"Sore and stiff, but other than that, fine." he answered, and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He went to stand, but quickly sat back down. He rubbed his forehead, and shook it slightly
"What's wrong?" Alex and Nick chorused, reaching over to him trying to steady him as he wavered on the edge of the bed.
"Nothing… I just got up too fast. A bit dizzy. It's nothing to worry about." he assured them, and then, steeling himself, stood up, more slowly. "If you'll excuse me, I need to use the little precepts room." he joked, and went off to the bathroom."
Alex laughed, halfway with relief. "Well, he can't be feeling too bad. His sense of humor is back to normal."
"Since when does Derek have a sense of humor to begin with?" Nick joked, and they both smiled.
Kat walked in just as Derek walked out of the attached bathroom. "Hello, Kat," Derek said and made a slight mock bow.
She laughed, and said, "Hi Derek. You're feeling much better."
"Yep." he turned to Alex and Nick. "Can I speak with Kat for a minute? Thanks." Derek waited until they had left, then said, "Kat, thank you again. How did you know?"
She smiled, "I was telling David about the mists, and I just felt that there was something wrong. Then when I ran in there, I saw the barrel of a gun pointing out from the door, and just reacted to warn you. It wasn't the sight like I usually get, it was more like a compulsion. I had to."
"Hmmm…" Derek mused, "So your gift is finding more ways to manifest; Interesting. But you know we have to tell your mom about your magick."
"Please no, Derek. She won't understand. She'll hate me!" Kat exclaimed, crying.
Derek put his arm around her. "She won't hate you. Awww… Kat, how could you ever think that? Your mother loves you more than anything in this world." he thought for a second, then said, "Tell you what. No magick until you talk to me about it, unless it's an emergency, OK? Because even though I know that you try to only use your powers for good, it can be such a temptation to do 'just one little spell' without thinking about what the consequences might be."
Kat nodded, and said, "So you won't tell my mom?"
"Nope. I promise." Derek said, and looked at the door. "Alex, you can come in now"
Alex opened the door and looked in sheepishly, like a little kid caught misbehaving.
"Hi Alex," Kat said, and smiled as she went out to the hallway.
"So, Kat's using magick again. Why aren't you chewing her out about it?" Alex asked, puzzled.
"That never stopped her before, why should it now? But if she has to examine her reasons for wanting to cast a spell, and talking to me about it, then she's less likely to accidentally harm anyone." Derek told her.
"I see. But you should still tell Rachel. She won't be very understanding about you giving Kat permission to do magick."
"But I'm not going to give her permission. I told her she can only use magick if it's an emergency. That way she won't be casting spells lightly." he yawned.
"OK, if you think that's the best idea… I better let you get some rest." Alex said, and departed.
He lay down on the bed, and fell asleep. A small shadowed man emerged from the front of his head, passing right through his skull. "He he he. She'll be very pleased with this!" he cackled, and skittered back towards the woods.
*5*
Still asleep, Derek was wheeled into the room with several large machines. They ran the X-ray machine over him, and hooked up several electrodes to his head. "Derek," Rachel said, gently shaking his shoulder. "OK, time to wake up." he didn't respond. She shook him slightly harder, then shrugged. "He's a deep sleeper." she told the technician who was standing there looking at her uncertainly.
"Uh, I think I better go ask my supervisor. She said that if anything odd happened to tell her immediately." The technician said, and left the room.
"Uh huh." Rachel answered distracted.
{{Other view}}
He stood apart, watching, as Rachel tried to wake him. "Rachel, I'm not in there." he told her, but she couldn't hear him. Derek didn't know how he had gotten separated from his body again, but he had been watching his actions. The other soul that went in and out. The dark one. Derek could only watch helplessly as he told Kat to use magick, and convinced Alex that he was right. He had screamed at her not to listen, but she couldn't hear. He didn't know how to get back to himself, but he felt that he had to get back soon. He thought back to the discussion he'd had with Kat in the mist house. She had told him that she could use her magick if she had a point to latch onto outside. So maybe he could do the same.
He closed his eyes and said, "Here I stand outside me,
But inside I want to be.
In the light the world does turn
To my self I now return"
{{Back out in the room}}
Rachel started as a dark shadowy figure rushed towards Derek. It went and dissolved through Derek's head. "What in the…" she marveled, but knew it couldn't be good. Derek winced and began to struggle.
*
{{Inside Derek's head}}
The shadow man appeared from nowhere, just as Derek found himself laying in his own body. He felt it grab him by the throat, trying to destroy him. "No!" Derek mentally screamed, and punched the figure. The shadow-man kept choking him, and Derek was reeling and dizzy.
{{In the room}}
The head doctor came running in, and saw red hand marks appear around Derek's throat. "What the heck is going on here?" he yelled, and ordered a nurse to get an oxygen mask. He strapped it over the struggling man's face, and almost got hit. "Hold him down, but be careful."
*6*
Kat sat out in the waiting room with Alex and Nick. She was trying to work on her makeup work for her math class, but she couldn't focus. "Alex, what room did my mom say the scanner room was?"
"Thirteen oh three I think. Why?" Alex asked.
"No real reason. I'm bored, and thought I'd go check to see how much longer it's going to take." Kat said, and Alex nodded. Kat walked down the corridor and heard yells coming from the room. She ran to the room and saw Derek struggling. She saw the shadow-man choking him, and ran over.
"Kat, get back." Rachel yelled, but Kat didn't pay attention.
She pulled on the shadow man, and it turned to her. {Stay out of my way child!} It boomed, and turned back to Derek. She looked at Derek, and thought, "This qualifies as an emergency in my book."
"Derek's strength is near an end,
But this I shall amend.
Shadow man from deep abyss,
I send you back with none to miss!" she said, and the man dissolved, shrieking.
Derek lay, gasping on the bed, and the doctor and guards stood, puzzled. Rachel ran over and hugged her daughter tightly to her chest.
"Mom!" Kat protested, but hugged back. "So you don't mind…"
Rachel shook her head, and said, "How could I? But we'll talk about it later."
*7*
- - A week later on Angel Island- -
Derek watched as a crane lifted a huge stone block up to the top of the north tower. He looked at Nick, who was ordering the construction crew around, then at Rachel and Alex, who were joking about the condition of the gardens. Kat stood a little ways off, looking off at the distant bay. Derek walked over to her.
She stood there for a moment, then said, musingly, "Derek, whoever sent the shadowy man is still out there, just waiting to strike you when you're weakest. She knows that she can't match you at full strength."
"She?" Derek questioned.
Kat nodded. "I caught a glimpse of her when I destroyed the shadowy man. She's the real enemy, the other things are just minions of hers. She scares me." Kat shivered, and Derek put his jacket around her shoulders.
"Don't worry. I won't let her hurt you, your mom, Nick, or Alex."
"I know. But that's not what I'm worried about. She could hurt you." Kat said sadly.
{Sweet little Kat; always caring about everyone else} he thought, but said, "Don't worry. I'm a big boy. Besides, I've got you to back me up."
The young girl beamed, and Derek said, "Oh, and I wanted to give you something. Come on." he said, and led her to the minivan. He pulled out a brown paper wrapped rectangular package. "Here."
Kat opened the package, and pulled out a brown leather book with golden hinges. She looked at it in wonderment. She opened up the cover, and saw a message inscribed inside. "Kat," it read, "you have such powerful gifts, but your greatest gift is your pure and kind heart. Listen to it, and you will always be ok."
"Thank you." Kat said, throwing her arms around Derek in a big hug. He groaned and she pulled back, realizing she had hit his arm. "I'm sorry. Are you…"
'I'm ok." he interrupted. "I'm glad you like it. You can record your thoughts in it. Anything you want to write in it. And look, on the side there's a lock." he pulled out a key hanging on a golden necklace. "The only key that will open it." He handed it to her.
"Thank you. I'm glad you trust me." Kat said admiringly.
"Of course I trust you. You've more than earned it. Just remember, anytime you need to talk to someone, I'm here," he said caringly.
She nodded and smiled. The pair walked back to where Alex and Rachel were watching the construction. Derek put his good arm around Alex's waist, and Rachel looked knowingly at them. She hugged Kat gently, and they stood watching as the sun began to set behind the unfinished outline of the castle.
*8*
"Well," the old woman said harshly, "There's more than one way to skin a Kat." she cackled, fingering a small golden locket. "I'll just have to get a little more… creative."