Dwellers of the New World Chapter Fifteen ( Pt 4 ) The Return

The Citrine birds continued to wing their way across the sky outside the beam of light, their magical dust scattering upon the rays, as Liora maintained her singing and the shaft of light becoming stronger.

Addie marvelled at the crystals on the walls as they entered the passageway, his eyes dilating with wonder, he was tempted to reach through and touch them, but remembering the woman's words, he refrained from doing so. Addie couldn't believe the colours that glittered, it reminded him of Obsidian.

It wasn't long before they were leaving the passageway behind and entering daylight again, the children were no longer frightened and began to chorus along with the woman, much more confident of their situation. Continuing along the path, Liora lost sight of the two birds as the air became cooler and then colder still. She pulled her wrap further in around her shoulders shivering.

Addie wondered about Obsidian and how his wife and son were getting on. He thought about the last film he'd seen at their virtual reality cinema, remembering it was about a family of cave dwellers who lived in the great forest further north, and their efforts to take down a great grizzly that was attacking people. A thought then went through his mind! 'maybe they were being watched right now, his people could have seen the whole event that had taken place in the chamber up on the ridge.'

Each person was lost in their own personal thoughts, as they moved slowly and carefully down the snow capped mountains. The path went from stony, to a thin layer of sleet that in places became icy and slippery, they had to tread cautiously, which meant taking longer to reach the bottom.

Liora held back not wishing to rush anyone, her song reaching a high pitch as they moved closer to their destination. She could now start to see the firm ground below as they cornered the next bend, it was a welcoming relief, her courage was returning and she felt more in charge.

Turning and smiling at Jay, she took his hand and squeezed it tight, still singing, she sang her words to him. “I nominate you to be my man, to help me make decisions, I'm grateful for your presence, value your company. Please say you'll stay and we'll be as one.”

Jay smiled and whispered as Liora continued her melody; “I will stay with you, be supportive of all you do, when those around apprehend, I'll defend you to the end.”

Liora couldn't believe how happy this made her feel, especially after the way she'd spoken to him earlier. She stopped in her tracks and kissed him on the cheek, before suddenly realising the light was starting to fade, she quickly began singing her tune once more and the beam got stronger.

Even Addie felt euphoric looking out over the landscape. He could not recall seeing such a beautiful view of miles of glistening, untouched snow that sparkled in the sunlight. On Obsidian, they tended to keep a watchful eye on the mainland and places where humans inhabited, but he knew that once back on his home planet, he would turn his attentions to this land, not only for its beauty, but also for the magical beam of light.

Liora continued, little realising what was going on in Addie's mind. Her attention was drawn to the end of the beam. She stopped in her tracks, lifting her arm high and halted the others. Taking the feather from her pouch once more, she explained in a tuneful voice. “I'm going to step from the beam, please follow slowly one by one, till you're all free of the light.”

The others nodded that they understood. First Jay, then the children each stepped out followed by Addie and his men, then Liora's men. Meanwhile Liora continued to stroke the beam with the feather, while singing her tune.

The sky above was a light blue, the reflection of the snow gave the whole landscape a pristine appearance. Addie felt small in the vastness of this wilderness, with the great mountains behind them. Feelings of emotion washed over the children, each one thinking they'd never be the same again, knowing they'd been to a place that nobody else had ventured, even if they told people they'd probably never believe them anyway.

Once they were all out, Liora thanked the beam in a gentle tone, then held her feather in the air. “I thank the Citrine birds for their wealth of knowledge and call upon the spirits of the wild, winged creatures to accept this feather as a token of my thanks.” She placed the feather within the beam, then as quickly as it came the light disappeared.

The others stood around mesmerized by what they were seeing. Liora turned to her men with a determined expression. “Can you produce the stones from your pouches please.” She held out her hand ready to receive the smooth pebbles.

Her men removed the stones and tipped them into her palms.

“You see these stones?” She said, taking one and holding it in the air. “Well they are memory stones.” Liora grasped one tight in her hand. “I need each one of you to place a stone on your forehead and close your eyes, you mustn't open them till I say, do you understand?”

The children thought they were going to remember the place they'd visited, little knowing it would take away their memory.

Liora gave one each to Addie and his men, who thought the same as the children.

She was just about to tell them to now place the stones on their forehead, when Addie said, “what about Jay and your own men?”

Liora just smiled. “It's not necessary. Now please just do as I say, remember your promise to do as I ask.”

Addie shrugged and placed the stone upon his forehead, a tingle could be felt, it was like a prickly sensation as he closed his eyes. Suddenly without warning, he couldn't think, no thoughts would materialize, just a blankness. The harder he tried to reflect, it was as if a curtain consumed every hidden secret and veiled the powers of recollection.

“Okay...you may open you eyes now,” voiced the woman, deciding they'd gone on long enough, she didn't of course want to erase every memory. “Please give the stones back to my men.”

They all removed the stones as they tried to recall the reason they were there, but in those fleeting moments they became mystified.

“What's the last thing you remember?” She questioned Addie.

He thought about it and remembered his ship landing on a planet and how they had decided to explore the tunnels of caves they'd discovered on their satellite tracking system. The strange part of his memory was, that he remembered Liora, but not how he came to meet her, or Jay and the children, it was all too bizarre for him to process.

Even the children could only remember being at home with their families and playing, wondering how they came to be with these adults that were curiously familiar, but in strange surroundings.

The woman was pleased the stones had done their job, given the short amount of time they'd kept them on their foreheads. Liora's men took the stones and placed them back in their pouches, though Addie was reluctant to part with his. “What is this stone?” He asked the woman.

“They are just healing stones I keep back at my camp, which is where we're going now.” She wouldn't tell them any more. “Come! We have a day's journey back.”

“But why are we here?” Queried Addie, looking around at the snow laden waste land. His men were very confused and scratched their heads trying to work out what was going on.

Liora knew she would have to lie, so began her story. “You wanted to go exploring and so I led you all out here. It's a place none of you have ever been before, the mountains are so beautiful at this time of year.”

Addie agreed he'd never seen a more majestic sight, especially with the crisp, white snow that lay all around them. All this time Jay was amused at their loss of memory, but never said a word until now, he was just happy to be this woman. Finally he spoke, “I think we should all get back to camp, we've a lot to do and a long way to go. Liora's desperate to return.” So not lingering a moment longer, they began the long trek back to the camp.

Dwellers of the New World Chapter Fifteen ( Pt 5 ) Camp of Suspicion | ABCtales