“Stop!” Jamie shouted, pulling on his brother’s arm. “What are you doing? You can’t move her from the Gate, she’ll never find her way back!”
Rob paused briefly, repositioning Allyra gently in his arms. “The Cleaners are coming aren’t they? To investigate the Gate opening? Opening a Gate is against the Charter. You know as well as I do that they’re not going to look too kindly on anyone crossing the Veil into the Between. So what will they do to her? We need to get her out of here before they arrive. I know people who can help her – Gifted who can help. Now come on!”
It was almost too much. He had a million questions.
Gifted people who could help?
Who?
How did Rob know them?
Did they possess the knowledge to open a Gate into the Between?
If so, were they willing to break the Gifted Charter?
Despite the questions flooding his mind, the truth of Rob’s words slowly seeped into his consciousness. They had to get Allyra out before the Cleaners arrived.
The Cleaners were enforcers of the Gifted Charter. They weren’t known for subtlety and definitely wouldn’t look too kindly upon the illegal opening of a Gate.
Jamie extracted a flashlight from his backpack – front pocket, packed for easy access. Its beam of light sliced through the darkness, lighting the path back down to the car. Turning to Rob, he nodded shortly. “Ok, follow me.”
They rushed towards the edge of the outcrop, guided by the narrow, bouncing beam of light. Putting every ounce of concentration on the path ahead, he almost missed the dark shapes materializing out of the ebony night.
He stopped in his tracks and felt Rob stumble into the back of him, cursing his lack of warning.
The Cleaners were emerging from the darkness. Wearing black cloaks with deep hoods, they seemed to be cut out of the very fabric of night. Silent and fluid, their movements deliberate and unhurried, they formed a circle around Rob and Jamie.
There was no way out – a Cleaner loomed in every direction. Under the black hoods, they wore plain silver masks, obscuring the top half of their faces, leaving no identifying features.
That was the point, the Cleaners were anonymous – your neighbor, your brother, your best friend or even your mother. Anyone might be a Cleaner, watching your every move, waiting for even the slightest violation of the Gifted Charter. The Cleaners weren’t the most talented of the Gifted, or even the most powerful, but their reputation had been built over millennia and through fear they ensured absolute adherence to the Gifted Charter.
“Where were you planning on taking her?”
The voice cut through the darkness, smooth and dangerous. Not one of the Cleaners, it came from beyond their circle. Jamie turned wildly, searching for the source of the voice, vaguely aware that he was doing an excellent impression of a headless chicken.
Two Cleaners snapped aside with military precision and made way for the source of the voice. The man was tall and slim, bordering on thin. Dark hair dusted with grey at the temples placed him in his early forties. He wore a stern expression and an elegantly cut black suit, looking somehow, both completely out of place and utterly comfortable on the African veldt. He met Jamie’s eyes and raised his eyebrows slightly. “Well?”
Jamie froze. He possessed zero talent for lying. It was yet another characteristic he didn’t share with his twin. Emma could tell the most improbable lies with wide-eyed innocence, generally managing to get away with it – the blond hair and baby blue eyes probably had something to do with it. But he didn’t share her ability – guilt was always as clear on his face as if the word had been carved into his forehead. His mind presented a perfect blank. Even the ability to simply form words seemed to have escaped him.
Rob jumped to his aid. “The hospital. We’re trying to take her to the hospital.” He said smoothly, his voice containing just the right amount of urgency and concern to sound believable. “Can’t you see she needs help?”
The man in the suit smiled, dangerous and predatory. “Well, that’s what we’re here for. Don’t worry – we will make sure she gets all the help she needs. We can get this all sorted out at the College.”
The man nodded sharply to the Cleaners, giving some pre-agreed upon order.
The Cleaners sprang into action, moving with unusual speed. Jamie didn’t even have time to summon the idea of resisting before heavy iron cuffs were wound onto his wrists.
Like a curtain dropping, his world instantly became dimmer and his limbs heavier, energy drained from his body. He was faintly aware of Rob putting up a better fight next to him before he felt a sharp crack on the back of his head and the world faded to black…
Chapter 3 – Allyra
Allyra wanted nothing more than to go home. She wanted to go back to a reality where inky doorways to otherworldly places didn’t exist. Her fingers desperately searched the Baobab tree, exploring every groove and imperfection. But the bark was rough and unbearably solid – there was so sign of the fluid ebony doorway. Her breath hitched in her throat as she sank slowly down onto the sandy ground.
“We need to go.”
She flinched at his voice. In her anxious and despairing search she’d almost forgotten her attacker, the cause of her present dilemma. His voice was low and smooth, and – in her opinion – completely and inappropriately calm. She whipped around to face him, torn between anger and fear.
She landed on fury.
“Bring it back.” She said, surprised by the even calmness of her own voice.
He stared at her coolly, his expression inscrutable. “I can’t,” he replied shortly.
Perhaps it was some mixture of impatience and pity – not that it really mattered to her. She didn’t want or need his pity, just his prompt compliance with her request.
“We need to go.” He
