hospitals, and their laboratories…'
For a moment there was an expression on Eve's face that frightened Alex, but then her face softened.
'…and when we turned to our brethren, our true heritage of magic and power, they turned their backs. They sent their assassins, their killers, they held the knife to our throat.'
She smiled, looking at Sparky, then at Chipper, then at Alex.
'But we are better than them. They are old and weak, and we are young and strong. They were arrogant and complacent, and we were ready for them. Weighed down by concepts as irrelevant as honour and duty, by corrupt deals done in dark corners, they have shown themselves to be unfit to carry us into the future.'
She held up the orb. 'We are the torch bearers; it is up to us to show them the way.'
'What do we need to do?' asked Sparky.
'Gather the items together. Alex, take the rod and the key and stand there.'
She pointed to a spot in the grass. Sparky dipped into the bag and handed her the items. 'It'll be OK,' he said quietly. 'You'll see.'
'Chipper,' said Eve, 'take the scourge and the feather and stand there.'
Chipper moved to collect the items and stood in his appointed place. Alex watched him, thinking that for once he was here in the real world with them, and not some virtual reality. For once he looked focussed and attentive.
'Sparky, bring the arrow and the cross and stand there.' Eve pointed to a spot that would mean they formed a large triangle around her.
He moved across, winking at Alex as he passed. When he was in his place, Eve turned slowly, checking each was in position.
'Now,' she said. 'Now we will change everything. Hold out your arms to each other.'
They did as she said, and as they did, each felt a connection being formed.
'It's working,' said Sparky. 'I can feel it.'
'The circle is complete,' said Eve. 'Four elements for the four corners of the universe: earth, air, fire and water.'
Alex could feel the power vibrating in the air. She grinned nervously at Sparky. On the other side of her, Chipper's eyes were wide open as he lifted his face to the sky above. She looked up and saw that the clouds were changing. The cloudscape twisted around them, pulled inwards. A giant spiral formed in the air above the Tor, dipping down over the spot where they stood. For a moment Alex was afraid it would form some sort of tornado, but it stabilised above them twisting tattered streams of cloud, tighter and tighter.
Eve lifted the orb in her hand and held it high in the centre of the triangle. Above her the clouds dilated, opening gradually into a circular aperture.
Alex stared upwards, fascinated by the sight that greeted her. Above the clouds it should have been the last vestiges of the autumn sunset, but what appeared was far from that. She was looking into the heart of the universe, she was sure. The spirals she saw mirroring the way the clouds turned around them must be galaxies, and the dust that formed them must be stars.
'It's beautiful,' she said quietly.
'Everything that ever was, and will be,' said Eve. 'The universe in our hands, to remake as we will.'
• • • •
The Ways carried me towards Glastonbury, but as we approached something changed. Usually the Ways resonated to the sound of echoes of lost voices, and I was used to that, but now those voices built to a screeching wail across the dark, and the fabric of the Ways shivered as if with heat haze. When we reached Glastonbury there was a moment where I wondered whether I would be able to exit. It clung to me with threads of violet fox-fire before reluctantly releasing me.
I staggered forward, looking back in an unconscious gesture to see if I had dragged the threads back into the world, but there was nothing to see.
'You felt it too?' said Blackbird.
'What's wrong with it?' I asked her, looking around at the smooth lawns, mounds of stone protruding where the ancient abbey once stood. It was getting late in the afternoon and though the grey overcast sky threw no shadows across the grass, I could tell the sun was sinking.
'There should be a Way-Node here to take us to the Tor. It was once a meeting place where humanity would come bearing gifts to petition the Feyre for favour. The soil is rich in iron, which offers some protection for the unwary, and it is one of the oldest places of true power. The Way-node should take us there, but it isn't here.'
'What do you mean it isn't here?'
'It was here, and now it's not. It must be the orb. It's doing something to the Ways. We should hurry.'
She headed briskly for the exit from the Abbey Gardens. I felt her glamour intensify, hiding her from unwelcome eyes. I followed her lead, turning away curious glances. At the entrance the staff were packing away, closing up the shop and putting away signs advertising ice creams and discount membership. We walked between them, but they neither turned nor made any remark as we left. We let the concealment fall away as we merged with the people on the street outside.
'We don't have time to walk,' she tutted at the empty taxi rank opposite. 'Wait here.'
She went back to the shop, leaving me to view Glastonbury. It gave the impression of a sleepy little place of old stone houses and historic buildings which had been contaminated by new-age tourism. The magic shops nestled by the tea rooms, and signs in windows offered crystal healing alongside bikes for sale. It left me wondering whether there was another Glastonbury underneath the tourist glitz, and whether the people around me were as innocent as they appeared. I found myself jumping at the approach of passers-by, even though they showed no interest in me.
Blackbird appeared again at my side. 'They've called us a minicab. It shouldn't be more than a few moments.'
'Good,' I told her. 'This is not somewhere I'd want to stay for any length of time.'
Blackbird placed her hand on my arm. 'I feel it too. This is one of the old places. It should be a sanctuary, a place where you can rest. For the Feyre, this is neutral ground; no one claims dominion here.' She wrapped her arms around her body. 'I feel like I'm being watched. As if at any moment something will leap out at me. It shouldn't feel like this. Something is deeply wrong, Niall.'
I put my arm around her shoulder and drew her to me. 'It'll be OK,' I said, but the lie was apparent to both of us.
As I held her, I glanced up at the sky. The clouds had formed into a layer across the sky, like an featureless upside-down landscape with valleys and hills, reflecting the landscape below in grey monotones. The air felt heavy, dampening sounds. People around us carried on regardless, seemingly unaware of the change in atmosphere.
The minicab drew into the entrance to the car-park, ignoring the car indicating right in the middle of the road, trying to turn in. The cab was a seven seater people-carrier, and it stopped in the middle of the car-park entrance, so that the car waiting to turn into the car-park from the other direction blared its horn. I pulled the sliding door open and we got quickly into the cab, not wanting to hold things up more than necessary.
'And the same to you!' shouted the driver from the open window. He pulled back into the traffic, nearly colliding with another car that was driving past.
I glanced at Blackbird, wondering whether a minicab had been the right thing to do. Even London cabbies weren't usually this aggressive.
'Even they feel it,' she said. 'It's nothing they could put a name to, but everyone's on edge.'
'Sorry about that,' said the driver, unaware that we could both hear the lack of sincerity in the apology. 'Where to, Matey?'
'We'd like to go Glastonbury Tor,' I told him.
'Load of old cobblers, that is,' he said. 'Nothing to see but a stupid old hill.'
'Nevertheless,' I asked him. 'That's where we'd like to go.'
'Please yourself,' he said. He accelerated up the road, ignoring the speed limit. I reached over and buckled myself into the seat belt, indicating that Blackbird should do the same. It would be a shame to be killed in a car crash on the way to save civilisation.
'Will Gregor follow us?' I asked.
'Most likely,' she confirmed, 'but whether he'll be in time — who knows?'
