The Lord of Obsidian [Quest for Earthlight Trilogy Book 2] Read online

  Peter stopped suddenly. “It should be somewhere here. This is the only reedy stretch along this side. Oh look—there it is! It's easy to spot if you're looking for it, but a casual passer-by wouldn't see it."

  "Someone will have to wade in to reach it,” Jamie said with distaste. “And if we get wet again Susan will think we're nothing but a bunch of irresponsible nuisances."

  Peter bent down to take off his shoes and socks. “I'll get it."

  He rolled up the legs of his tracksuit trousers and waded in carefully, his toes involuntarily curling at the water's chill. Oh no! he thought as the water rose higher over his legs with every step, I do hope it's not deep enough to get my trousers wet. I don't want Susan to think I'm unruly and stupid. If I get wet twice in one morning she'll have good reason to think badly of me. He hitched the legs up as high as he could. However, the water was just below his knees by the time he reached the boat and pulled it from the reeds.

  Within minutes they were in the boat, with Peter rowing as though he had done it all his life. It brought back memories of the previous summer when he had rowed them across the pool in the grotto after Sujad had destroyed the magic that had dwelt there—the magic that had made the boat belonging to the grotto move without help across the cavern. A sudden thought struck chill into his heart. I do hope the Lords of Corruption—especially Sujad—can't see what we're doing, that they haven't put some sort of spell on the boat that will let them know we're using it.

  He glanced at the banks of the lake, particularly the one they had just left. But everything lay peaceful under the bright winter sunshine. The ducks on the lake ignored them and continued questing for food. Peter looked over his shoulder towards the center of the lake. And something reached out to him.

  It was Jamie who put his awareness into words. “There's something out there singing to us—like Mount Cook when we stood in that valley getting ready for walking to the City of the Reborn."

  Peter looked at the twins sharply. “You can hear it too, then? To me it feels a bit different from then. I can't work out whether it's good or evil. I seem to be getting a mixture of both. Sometimes it's evil and sometimes it's—it's like the Earthlight."

  "That's probably because the statue's down there as well as the monster,” said Jamie logically.

  "Why should they both send out the same type of message?” John said, squinting towards the center of the lake. “Why is the Earthlight—or whatever it is—calling to us while that—that thing is down there?"

  "The Earthlight never does anything without good reason. I'm going down there,” Peter said resolutely, pulling harder on the oars.

  "But the monster—?” John, always more timid than Jamie, was aghast.

  Peter glanced at the willow twig sticking out of his trouser pocket. “I've still got that. Although it's now leafless, somehow I believe it still retains its power.” He thrust the oars into Jamie's hands. “Here. Give me ten minutes. If I'm not back by then—or you haven't had a message from me—go and fetch Bart."

  "Shouldn't you have a rope tied around you or something?” Jamie said uneasily. “If you get into trouble we can pull you up."

  Peter shook his head. “I'll be all right.” He again took off his shoes and socks and heavy outer clothing and left them in John's care. As he plunged over the side, the twins watched with worried frowns and hearts full of misgiving.

  Once below the surface, Peter found the water neither warm nor cold. Quickly adjusting his breathing to take oxygen from the water, he dived. I hope I can get down there without the help of flippers. He saw the holed canoe almost instantly and made for it. The rocky outcrop loomed beside it. The hole at its center yawned like the open mouth of a hideous malformed monster. What am I doing down here without a light? Peter asked himself as he swam towards it, his heart pounding.

  He reached the opening and held onto the rocky sides, anxiously scanning the darkness below. He sent his mind reaching out to the monster, and received in return the full malevolence of the Evil One.

  "Come out!” Peter commanded.

  The monster resisted. Peter sensed it remembering the terror and pain of the willow leaves touching it. Oh, so it's afraid of me. Good. That's what I was hoping. He sent his command out again. “Come out. I won't hurt you so long as you do what I say."

  Peter received a wordless reply. The water beyond the hole in the rocks churned violently; great swirls of bubbles rushed out at him. And the creature let him know it was coming to kill him. He braced himself against the rock with his left hand and plunged his right into his pocket. His heartbeats pounded in his head like drums. The metallic taste of fear filled his mouth as he gripped the willow twig and held it in front of him.

  The monster of the lake charged from its dark den. Peter instantly lost his hold on the rocks. The force of the creature's exit blasted him backwards. But he still held the willow twig firmly before him. The monster stopped just outside its lair. In the light from above, Peter could now see its shape. It was a malformed and grossly outsized giant squid—or at least it looked like one. But it seemed to have more than a dozen tentacles. The tentacles waved wildly in the water as the creature took stock of Peter. Then Peter realised what the monster's deformity was.

  Siamese twins! And what on earth is a giant squid doing in a freshwater lake?

  Peter's mind reached out to that of the monster. The creature seemed to have two brains. I don't remember being aware of that before. One of the brute's minds was totally evil—wholly given up to the cause of Evil. Peter felt the second mind wavering. He moved towards the monster, holding out the twig.

  The creature only then became aware of the willow wand. The mind that was wholly evil screamed in terror and the tentacles controlled by it thrashed the water.

  Through the corner of his eye Peter saw something moving towards him. He glanced at it. To his surprise, it was a group of long, slender leaves, floating towards him. Then the creature seemed to become aware of them and shot back into its lair, screaming with terror. The leaves, however, went straight to the willow wand in Peter's hand. Within moments the piece of willow looked exactly as it had when Peter broke it off the tree.

  But it wasn't quite the same, for it gave off a faint glow. And beyond the cave something sang to Peter—calling him. It wasn't the monster. Peter could hear that quietly blubbering to itself. For the moment at least he was safe from its vicious tentacles. Confidently he plunged into the darkness of the creature's lair.

  Chapter 16

  Guardian of the Lake

  AS HE descended effortlessly into the inky depths Peter glanced back at the entrance. Light filtering from the surface filled the hole with a murky gray glow, showing rocky walls all around. He appeared to be entering a tunnel but was unable to see the end of it, even with the help of the willow light. Holding the wand before him, he kicked downwards. The walls gradually receded, making the tunnel wider and wider, until only black water surrounded him. He turned to glance back up the tunnel and saw only the faintest glimmer of light at the end. I'd hate to think what it would look like on an overcast day. I hope I'll be able to find it again.

  He turned back to the depths. On his left he heard the noises of the cowering monster. The knowledge that it seemed afraid of him did much to calm his thumping heart. He moved towards the sounds and held out the twig so he could gain some idea of where the creature lurked. It gave a strangled gasp that turned to gibbering cries as Peter continued holding out the wand while he tried to pierce the murk. He couldn't see where it was hiding, however, because it was well outside the circle of the willow twig's light. Maybe it was simply retreating as he advanced. Or—and his heart leapt painfully—it might be deliberately leading him into a trap.

  As he hesitated, wondering if he should continue moving towards the creature's noises, the strange singing came up at him. This was the first time he had heard it since entering the water and its magnetic pull was even stronger than it had been on the surface. Finding he had no more ho
pe of resisting its magnetism than of defying the force of gravity, he turned from the monster towards the high humming sound. He sent out a mind-probe, but came up against a gentle wall of resistance.

  I suppose that's because of the monster, he thought.

  "Yes,” a voice answered tonelessly into his mind, making him start.

  "Who are you?” Peter moved the willow twig to left and right, straining his eyes to see beyond its light. His heart renewed its thumping. If whatever is calling to me is evil, surely it wouldn't worry about the monster but would probably join forces with it—if both aren't already part of the Forces of Evil. If it's not evil, why won't it disclose its nature to me?

  "Are you of the Earthlight?” he asked boldly as the presence made no answer to his first question. He wondered—too late—if he shouldn't have mentioned the Earthlight. The unknown being could be a potential enemy of the Earthlight. Perhaps I should be more careful. The thought made his heart jerk before returning to its steady thumping.

  A peculiar fluttering sensation came at him from the depths. The mysterious entity that had spoken only one word to him so far seemed to be trying to communicate wordlessly with him. He could make nothing of the communication except that the sender of the message was agitated. “Are you afraid the monster will understand us?"

  "Yes.” The answer was terse and nervous. Was he just imagining it was reluctant as well?

  He had been moving all the time in the direction of the mysterious entity and now bent all his concentration upon the willow light to make it focus in one area, like a torch, but it obstinately refused to change from its unwavering circular glow.

  He carried on moving steadily downwards. The light continued to show nothing but water around him. When am I going to stop descending? At this rate I'll never find my way back. Panic started rising like a bubble inside him. His certainty that obeying the original summons was important to the cause of the Earthlight wavered.

  Then his steady movement through the water calmed the panic. The constant glow of the light from the willow twig seemed to hypnotize him and he let himself relax. His mind focused on the light, agreeing to accept whatever was required of him. Then he started feeling confused as it appeared that two different beings were asking entirely different things of him.

  He heard someone say slowly, “Sleeeep ... sleeeep ... sleeeep.” The voice was deep and hypnotic. It sounded like Merlin's. Or could it have been the Essence of Obsidian? All he knew was that the voice was not that of the entity gently drawing him downwards. His mind was too befuddled to work out the voice's direction—whether from ahead or behind. Is that all I have to do? he thought in bewilderment.

  Before he could question the purpose he would serve by going to sleep, his eyes grew heavy. The light ahead blurred. His hand released its hold on the willow wand. The light went out. The twig drifted into the darkness. He stopped his downward movement and began drifting upwards, moving like a discarded rag doll. The creator of the magnetic field suddenly found Peter's mind closed. It lost contact with him.

  Then a roar of triumphant rage filled the cavern. The water surged turbulently as the monster dived for Peter. It knew its victim no longer held the wand of power. And it knew that at this moment the wand was useless without a hand of power to wield it.

  Peter heard nothing—was totally unaware of the creature's nearness, of the hatred that lusted to wind tentacles around his neck. For it seemed to Peter that he floated on a beautiful pink-tinged cloud. The sky was clear and rosy with sunrise. A magnificent city spread itself in the valley below him, shining pearly white in the dawn glow. He strained forward to identify the city.

  How did I get here? Wasn't there something I had to do for the Earthlight—some danger I had to face? He scanned the land below from horizon to horizon. He saw forests, streams and rivers and flame-tinted, snow-capped mountains. He caught the distant glitter of the sea, its silvery-blue surface awash with the sky's rose and gold. The uneasiness inside him melted. It must be the City of Light! How can there be any danger in the City of Light? Joy flooded through him. Longing to see Giddeon and the people of the city filled his heart. But how do I get down there? He groped in his mind for the words of the spell to descend. But his brain seemed unable to work.

  "Wake up! Wake up!” The whispered shout rudely intruded on the peaceful scene. It jarred him to instant action. He spun round, and found himself in swirling black water. He could see nothing but knew instantly that the monster was nearly upon him.

  The twig! The twig! Where's the twig? his mind yelled as he realised his hand was empty.

  He heard something behind him—a sensation like the wind humming in telegraph wires. The sound had an agitated quality. But he had no time to investigate. The monster was upon him. Fear numbed his mind too much for his body to feel the creature's first touch, but he felt the full force his enemy's hatred. Its malevolence was as paralyzing as a sharp physical blow.

  Then the monster wrapped one of its tentacles around his neck. Others reached for his face. He felt the creature's foulness brush his cheek as it sought to block his nose and mouth. One of the searching tentacles found them. For the second time that morning, Peter knew the terror of being unable to breathe. Only this time it was worse. The creature was also blocking his windpipe.

  Instinctively he put his hands up to loosen the creature's hold. As he did so he felt something thrust against the palm of his right hand. His racing heart gave a lurch—whether of fear or hope he was too benumbed to know. Before he could pull his hand away, something forced his fingers to close, and he found himself clutching what felt like the willow twig. This time it was definitely hope that jerked at his heart.

  With all his strength he moved his hand in to strike the monster with the twig. The creature was wholly consumed by its hatred of the Earthlight's First Chosen. Its desire to destroy Peter now filled both of its distorted brains. It became aware of the presence of the dreaded sprig of willow only when the first leaf brushed one of its tentacles. Although it feared the power of the Earthlight at its height above everything else, nothing hurt its flesh like the touch of green leaves or wood from the willow—even the thin, soft tips.

  Its first contact earlier that morning had been with leaves. But they hadn't had the force of a hand behind them. This time both leaves and wood touched its body, with the impact of Peter's driving hand and arm behind them. The agony was unbearable. The rage and terror caused by the pain displaced its hatred of Peter. It instantly released him with a piercing, high scream. Its tentacles thrashed out as it tried to dislodge the twig where, despite its softness, it had pierced the flesh. Peter felt the twig being wrenched from his hand. At the same time the thrashing tentacles beat at him. Desperately he sought to evade their loathsome touch.

  Then, finally free of the willow twig, the creature sped upwards. It sought the tunnel to the lake above and disappeared along it. When it reached the rocky opening leading up to the lake bed, its quivering senses became aware of others of the Earthlight above. Then it saw the bottom of the boat where Jamie and John waited. It recognized the boat as belonging to its master, but the aura around the boat was that of the Earthlight. The aura reached out to the hole in the center of the lake, and the creature knew that this circle of protection was what had stopped its master from realizing what was happening below. With a small whimper of terror, the monster quietly moved along the bottom of the lake to the far end. There it nursed its wounds in solitude.

  Down in the cavern Peter drifted aimlessly in the black water, totally disoriented.

  "It's gone,” he called out in mind-speech. “Where are you? I've lost the willow twig and I can't see a thing."

  "Hold on. I'm getting it back for you,” the presence below replied. Peter turned in the direction of the voice. Within a matter of seconds he felt something touch the palm of his hand.

  "Oh, so it was you who saved me from the monster by finding the twig for me,” he cried with a mixture of pleasure and relief as his fing
ers closed over the precious wand and the circle of light returned.

  "It was the least I could do."

  As the presence below spoke, Peter felt its magnetic pull again, and heard briefly the singing sound like the wind in telegraph wires. Slowly he began descending.

  Suddenly something grayish showed up at the edge of the circle of light. Peter's heart gave an uncomfortable jerk.

  "It's all right,” the entity's voice assured him, as though the mysterious being had heard the thudding in his chest. “Here—take my hand."

  A hand stretched out to him, a strangely small and slender hand. The sight of it made his heart thump again. But as his own hand touched it, disappointment swept through him.

  "I'm sorry I'm not who you hoped to see,” the entity said as it drew Peter down so that he stood in the water on the cavern's rocky floor. Peter thought he could hear a smile in the voice.

  He held out the willow twig towards the speaker's face. No—it wasn't the Lady who stood smiling at him, her long dark hair floating away from her face. The woman was clad in a simple white robe like those of the Reborn.

  "I know you!” Peter cried joyfully. “You're Giddeon's daughter Judita!” He pronounced it Yudeeta.

  Her smile widened. “Yes."

  "You and your father would have been Sujad's descendants if he hadn't joined the Evil One and made himself Lord of Obsidian.” Peter's voice was full of wonder.

  "Yes.” She chuckled. “It's a sobering thought—to think one only just escaped having Sujad the Great as an ancestor.” She paused and glanced upwards, suddenly seeming nervous. “Where's the monster?"

  Peter's thoughts jerked back to his reason for being in the depths of the lake. He sent his mind probing upwards. It took him some time to find the creature. It was so wrapped in its injuries it was totally unaware of Peter's questing mind. “It's at the far end of the lake, skulking on the bottom. I don't think it sensed me."

  "Good. Then I think we can talk in safety. I've had my work cut out down here simply avoiding that thing."