The Seventh Seal (The Chronicles of Daniel Stone Book 1) Read online

  The more he relaxed the quicker the moves came; he felt like a puppet, mindless and animated by an external force. Within moments the battle was over and he collapsed on the floor in exhaustion. In front of him were four dead bodies and he was shocked at what he had done. Jade pulled him back as we took up our defensive line.

  ‘What… on… Earth… was… that?’ Daniel gasped.

  ‘I can’t keep that up. I’m exhausted,’ he cried.

  ‘Calm down, Daniel,’ said the Professor and reached in his bag for a bottle.

  ‘Drink this; it will help you recover.’

  ‘What is it?’ said Daniel.

  ‘Never mind what it is, drink it, boy, you need to fight again shortly,’ he said impatiently.

  We fought, attack after attack. Each time we were weakened, we couldn’t go on much longer and our foe, like vultures circling over their dying prey, could sense our weakening resolve. They knew it was only a matter of time…

  *

  Smee was still unable to move but inside he was aware of all that was happening, looking upwards at the tunnel now formed between Earth, Arthe and Thera. With each passing moment he could see the hole widening. The sides of the tunnel reminded him of his childhood when his father had showed him the regulus at Tolemak for the first time and for the briefest of moments he felt some warmth from memories. Events, however, would not allow him to dwell on these thoughts…

  His situation was changing; ahead of him he could now see, at the mouth of the widened hole, dark shadows moving rapidly. Soon the bright light he had been looking at turned black as the shadows filled and loomed ominously down upon him. Deep rumblings, like thunder, accompanied the shadow and though this looked like a terrible storm, he knew this made little sense.

  *

  The battle continued.

  ‘Paris, look out,’ screamed Lucius.

  Paris parried but could not deflect the blade scything down upon her and it dug deep into her shoulder. She collapsed, screaming in agony on the floor and we knew we were done for.

  Alexander threw snap jack and smoke leaf bombs, creating temporary confusion, but we were now so weak, we had nothing more to give to this fight.

  ‘We surrender. We surrender. No more fighting,’ shouted Albertus.

  ‘You are not dealing with Smee now, old man. We came for blood and that’s what we are going to have,’ said Simean, laughing.

  It was now all in at the fight on Bartholomew Lane with our surrender rejected by Simean. Paris was being tended to by the Professor, but the six of us remaining charged into the enemy with abandon.

  Daniel, now fearless and impetuous with youth, led. It was mayhem! He jumped onto a group of dustbins to get some height advantage and plunged down into a group of six of Simean’s men. His drows moved so quickly that I almost felt sorry for those men; they did not stand a chance. Our fortunes remained on a knife edge, but the fact we were still alive kept hope’s flame burning and we ignored the future, dealing only with the now.

  When the bright light came, it filled the street, like a million candles burning all at once. The fighting stopped immediately as Simean’s force all instinctively looked around and back onto Threadneedle Street. The rumble that soon followed was familiar to me, but in those circumstances I could not place it.

  *

  Smee was staring into the thunderous shadows that were heading toward him and he felt, even in his paralysed state, that he was flinching. The first of the horses came into view seconds before it bowled him over, knocking the Arcanum out of his hands and releasing him. The Arcanum flew onto Threadneedle Street and the seals instantly vanished. Thirty-five more horses and men followed before the hole in the sky and the tunnel disappeared. The leader of the group riding at a gallop slid off the side of the horse, hanging on by the saddle, and scooped up the Arcanum, placing it into his pocket before returning in one smooth move back to his normal riding position.

  Smee was left languishing on the street at the sight before him, trying to get to grips with what was going on, but quickly bolted upright and followed the horsemen stopping short of entering the battle himself.

  As soon as they turned into Bartholomew Lane, I rubbed my eyes in confusion as my mind tried to process the images and make sense of what I was seeing. As my brain churned the information, it slotted in the misplaced sound of moments earlier; the sound of horses and my confusion was replaced quickly by an alternating state of fear and hope. Were these riders more of Simean’s men or was it help for us?

  Their intentions were soon made clear, however, as they rode straight into Simean’s remaining men with gusto; clearly experienced on horseback and with sword, they made quick work of his men and we all collapsed onto our knees with relief.

  I can’t remember how long it took, but one moment we were fighting and the next they were all dead and the horsemen were dismounting. I smiled once again knowing now who our saviours were; it was the unmistakable outline of Everett.

  ‘Everett, thank Thera you arrived,’ said a relieved Albertus.

  Everett nodded, his face as always obscured by his cloak. ‘Is everyone okay?’ he asked calmly.

  Albertus looked around, checking, stopping at the Professor. The Professor nodded. ‘Paris will be okay.’

  ‘It would seem so, a miracle given our predicament,’ said Albertus.

  Daniel looked on inquisitively. ‘You’re the one who saved me in the desert.’

  Everett bowed his head. ‘Indeed. You fought bravely, Master Stone, your father would have been proud of you.’

  ‘Who are you? Why don’t you show your face?’ said Daniel with confidence, but little tact.

  ‘I am Everett and I choose not to,’ he said brusquely, suppressing his indignation at Daniel’s remarks.

  Daniel was grateful but thought him rude, but he was too tired to push any more.

  Everett turned to Albertus. ‘I suggest you take better care of this in future, Albertus,’ and tossed him the Arcanum.

  Albertus, embarrassed, placed it quickly in his cloak.

  ‘Before you do that we do need to get back to Thera, can you open the portal once more?’ said Everett.

  ‘Portal? You said the Arcanum would rip the worlds apart,’ retorted Daniel, looking for answers from Albertus.

  ‘Yes, well, I’ll explain all that later, my boy.’

  *

  The battle of Bartholomew Lane had given Smee, Elizabeth and Calum time to hide and we had foolishly overlooked them as they watched events unfold from their own separate vantage points with impunity. Smee saw his plans crumble around him and cried. He surprised himself with this rare expression of emotion, but he was desolate. All he had worked, killed, threatened, stolen and connived for was gone. He was also frightened. For the first time in this long escapade the balance of power had shifted and he was on his own.

  ‘Those cursed Keepers,’ he said with venom dripping from every word.

  Elizabeth Shurman and Calum had remained with the group, well out of the way of the fighting, but she could feel her dreams of Calum walking again slip away. Hiding within a doorway ahead of Smee, who was on the corner of Threadneedle Street, Calum looked at her with desperation.

  ‘What do we do, Mum?’

  ‘We wait, darling, Smee will have a plan, I’m sure,’ she said unconvincingly.

  Calum looked at her with concern but said no more as they both watched the fight and their side crumble.

  Calum could see the desperation in her face rising like water in a storm; there was no way to prevent the flood.

  Calum tried to reach out. ‘Mum… Mum… it will be okay…’ he said quietly.

  She turned to him with tears filling her eyes. ‘It won’t, my love, but they will help you, take care of you…’

  Before he could ask what she meant, she ran.

  *

  Daniel was still catching his breath and reflecting on the battle, standing by the conclave of Albertus, the Professor and Everett. He didn’t see Elizabet
h, nor did anyone else; they were all facing the conclave. She ran like the wind, invisible and whisper quiet.

  The first noise we heard was the tell-tale metallic sound of a sword scraping on a hard surface. Daniel was the first to react and span around to see Elizabeth running directly at him, having in one expertly crafted movement bent down and scooped up a sword from one of Simean’s dead men.

  Daniel looked at her, frozen for a moment, absorbing the wild, lost look on her face. He instinctively wielded his drows and she lifted the sword high above her head in readiness to bring it down on him. She was running with too much momentum now for anyone to intervene and Daniel braced himself and held out his drows in a defensive stance.

  Elizabeth Shurman ran onto his drows, with no ill intent to him or anyone else. She sacrificed herself for her son in one of the most misguided acts of human love I had ever seen.

  From beyond the mass of Simean’s dead men there was a cry.

  ‘No! What have you done?’

  Daniel, in shock, dropped the drows; immediately the blade withdrew as it fell to the floor. Calum wheeled himself over to where his mother lay slain and cried, muttering, ‘Why, why, why?’

  Jade slowly walked over to him and placed her hands on his shoulders.

  ‘Calum, I’m so sorry for—’ She couldn’t finish her sentence.

  ‘You killed her,’ he screamed at Daniel, pointing his finger directly at him, like he was pointing a gun.

  ‘I… I… she ran straight at me with a sword.’

  ‘She was not going to hurt you, you idiot,’ he replied with bitterness, as the shock of the loss quickly converted his emotions into anger; someone was to blame and Daniel was it.

  Albertus stepped between Daniel and Calum. ‘My boy, your mother killed herself for reasons we do not know; it was not Daniel’s fault. Let us help you.’

  Calum heard the last words of his mother resonate through him. ‘They will help you…’

  He sniffled and looked unnaturally calm and detached. He had just lost his mother and something had now broken inside his mind. Albertus looked at Jade and Paris.

  ‘Take him to Tolemak.’

  Both women nodded and just as they pushed Calum away he turned to look at Daniel with black eyes and coldness. Daniel shivered under his stare and knew that Calum Shurman was not done with him yet.

  From the corner of Threadneedle Street, Odling Smee smiled at the spectacle in front of him. He had lost this battle, but the balance had now dealt a new hand for him to play.

  *

  Our return to Tolemak was with a sense of relief, as in all things to do with the balance there were no winners or losers; it’s always the same, just the daily steps forward into a future unknown.

  Daniel remained in Thera for some time. He had been thrust into his role as a poker is thrust into a fire and it was only after it was all over that he had the time to reflect, to become accustomed to his future as the Keeper of the Seventh Seal of Thera.

  The events on Bartholomew Lane had left deep scars and his relationship with Calum was not capable of working. Daniel was also angry that Smee had escaped and revenge was very much at the forefront of his thoughts and emotions; that was a difficult time for all of us.

  Calum Shurman was understandably a very confused and upset young man and eventually we had no choice but to let him return to Earth to try to find some peace with life; we had done all we could. He was in a very dark place and from our experience with Smee, we knew where that path could take him. From his point of view he blamed us and particularly Daniel for his mother’s death and we understood that; some pain and anger will not just go away when every day you are surrounded by those you hold to account. There was a future path for young Calum and as with all of us it is paved with uncertainty, so we intended to keep a close eye on him.

  The Stone family on Arthe were saved and their captors dispatched by the drows of Lucius, Thomas and Jade. There was a great deal of covering up to do by the Keepers to ensure the Stone family remained ignorant of the wider reality and once again the Trees proved instrumental in our subterfuge.

  As for Smee, his whereabouts were unknown; all we could do was wait for his next move. This left me with one final task to complete, to close out this chapter in our history. It required me to return to Earth with Daniel.

  6th November 2012, Earth

  I knocked on the door of Cranford’s office with excited apprehension. It had been so long since I had had a feeling of safety on my trips to Earth, but I was also aware that our reception may not be that warm. Daniel looked at me with a nervous smile, unsure of what to expect and what was expected of him. He was the Keeper of the Seventh Seal, but he was also a teenage boy and the weight of responsibility that we had placed upon him was juxtaposed with the freedom that he should expect from this period in his life. His recent experiences were still like nightmares and I had been tasked with keeping him close to me; we did not want to make the same mistakes that we had made with Odling.

  A muffled ‘come in’ authorised our entry.

  ‘Ahh, Elias and I suspect you must be Daniel,’ said Cranford ebulliently, focusing on Daniel with mischief in his eyes.

  ‘Yes,’ said Daniel uncomfortably, softly and barely audible before clearing his throat and repeating the affirmation more clearly. ‘Yes, I am.’

  ‘Well it’s nice to meet you, young man and nice to see you again, Elias, how are you?’ Cranford was up to something and so I braced myself for a difficult discussion.

  ‘I’ve been expecting you,’ he added, pointing back to the paper in front of him.

  Cranford knocked me out of my balance for a moment; I knew what he was reading.

  Daniel, new to such adult antics, watched on a little more comfortably as the attention was not focused on him.

  ‘Yes, I’m sorry we couldn’t stay and explain; we didn’t see you on Bartholomew Lane after the battle and we had some big issues of our own to deal with: we had to return to Thera immediately,’ I said in a conciliatory tone, trying to soften the palpable tension in the air.

  I let the words settle gently like dust before quickly adding, ‘Where were you anyway?’ Giving him my own “in our hour of need” look; I wanted to get the upper hand.

  Cranford shuffled in his chair a little, clearly uncomfortable with my words.

  ‘Well, after Constable Jenkins disrupted the confrontation you were about to have with Smee on Threadneedle Street, we took the decision to get him away from there straightaway. We headed back to the barriers to ensure that no one else was getting inquisitive. You must understand, Elias, we serve and protect the people here on Earth; your fight is your own.’

  I could see Cranford battling with his own explanation. It wasn’t easy for a man who had dedicated his life to protecting others to walk away; Cranford knew more about the balance than he realised.

  I smiled. We each had our touché moment.

  ‘You did the right thing, Tom. We have to keep balance. I’m just glad you are alright.’

  Cranford zoomed in on my words, with the precision of an eagle eyeing up its prey. ‘We have to keep balance?’ he repeated back, now emphasising the ‘we’ as a question.

  I forced a smile without knowing, trying to prevent the renewed tension in his words gaining momentum, and Daniel gratefully remained the silent watcher.

  ‘That’s partly why we are here,’ I said cautiously, looking at Daniel as I spoke. Daniel looked at me now with daggers; his role as spectator had now turned back into active participant. Cranford forced a smile.

  ‘Elias, Daniel, I have been a police officer for more years than I’d like to remember and in that time I’ve got quite good at reading people, taking the facts at hand to establish the truth. You and your Keeper friends turned all that truth upside down; now I don’t know what’s real.’ His voice now controlled and assertive, he sat forward in his chair commanding his space.

  ‘So, why don’t I tell you why you’re here?’ now formally bringing D
aniel into our battle of words.

  I could now see how Cranford had risen to the position he had; he was fast, astute and pulled no punches.

  He cleared his throat and quite theatrically held the newspaper out in front of him, giving it a shake, just as you’d shake a bed sheet, to straighten the pages.

  ‘The headline reads “New Hollywood Blockbuster Thrills Movie Fans”. Oh this is good, Elias,’ he said sarcastically.

  I looked a little embarrassed. ‘Go on.’

  ‘A section of London’s streets were recently given over to a movie crew from Hollywood as they filmed key sections of a new mythical adventure called The Seventh Seal. First-time director Willow Treescothic said, “It’s so exciting to be filming on the famous streets of London using brand new special effects techniques that will transform the movie goer’s real life experience.” Do you want me to read on?’

  ‘No…’ I paused. ‘So will you help us?’

  ‘You want me to take over and run the Earth Protectors don’t you?’ I could feel the contempt billowing off the end of every word and I knew that my next move would be critical.

  ‘We are humble people, Tom, we know when we need help and are not afraid to ask for it.’ I hoped our cat and mouse game was nearly over.

  Cranford looked pensive. ‘The problem, Elias, is that you want me to lie. A policeman to lie.’ He pondered in silence so I picked up the conversation.

  ‘Tom, our role is to guide the infinite number of options that life can throw at us; you must remember every possible life outcome could happen. We don’t lie or perpetuate falsehood we guide the truth.’ I was emphatic and quite smug with my own off-the-cuff logic and realising Cranford was still labouring under the weight of my words I continued.

  ‘What happened on Threadneedle Street was rare, Tom, a collision of worlds. There was no advantage to life on Earth, Arthe or Thera to expose what we do, so we guided that truth and its myriad of real outcomes. You do this all the time as a policeman; your armies do it, your journalists do it. If there is no advantage for the people to know, you protect them.’