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Quest of Despair
Chapter 55: Hellbound

Chapter 55: Hellbound

Machia Veil Timeline

Loch Lorian frontline

Nate’s eyes darted in all directions. There had to be a way out.

“Ethriel!” he shouted at the top of his voice. Too many Archs surrounded him!

Ellis twisted into another Aurial code when Ethriel swooped in and carried Nate into the air. Up and up, they went, away from the thunderclaps and chaos of the Loch Lorian.

“Phew! I thought you’d never come!” said Nate, observing Ellis and the Archs following their flight with their jaws hanging open.

“We must reach your mother. We will cross through a wormhole,” said Ethriel. Once landed, Ethriel focused on the surrounding information, but his chest became concave, as though he lost his ability to breathe.

“Ethriel?” asked Nate, alarmed.

“It’s Machia Veil,” he said.

It was the lower vibrations of Machia that hit them. Once recovered, Ethriel’s moves transformed into a growing presence and power over the surrounding nature. Ethriel’s long black hair swirled in the air as he turned, mesmerising Nate with his graceful Aurial flow.

They reached a wide field. The grass was smooth, like a golf course. New RayCrests landed and created a spectacle of bright orange coding. They twirled and weaved lines in the air. Their eyes were soft, and they took off into balls of light that dissipated above them. Nate marched towards the orange lines. They were magnetic. He touched them, only to be greeted with a sharp stinging sensation.

He doubled over in pain. “Aaargh! Make it go away! Please help me!”

Ethriel approached him and as he did, the orange lines dissipated. At least around Ethriel’s aura.

“What? How did you do that?”

“Most Machians can’t see these lines. They run into them, causing them great pain and suffering. The RayCrests helped us by lighting them up. We call these the Pinner Lines. You must learn to navigate them here in Machia. Otherwise, your vibrations will lower, and you won’t be able to activate the Aurial codes.”

Nate stared ahead with half-closed eyes.

Now this!

“Do what I did. Let’s walk over there. Except you go alone.”

“Evilness impersonated.” he paused. “Pinner Lines, huh? Sounds like penalised. Why do they hurt so much?”

“In a way, they penalise,” said Ethriel.

“How so?”

“They are self-created by humans and the pain is all in your mind. They don’t exist. Just like I came closer, they dissipated. You can do the same.”

“Yes, but you’re a RayCrest. I am a mere human.”

“You’re more than that. Try.”

“Try. Okay.” Nate said with slumped shoulders. He got closer to other orange lines, and he focused on believing they were false. Then, he stopped and placed his hands on his waist. “Machia Veil is rife with Pinners?” he asked.

“Learn to navigate them. Maintain your strength to reach Bellatorn,” said Ethriel.

“I am not going back to Bellatorn! I can’t! Clarice, I mean, Sophie said-”

“Sophie said what she understood then. Everything has changed now. Your mission is to return to Machia. Help your mother through the maze of Pinners and return through a new portal we have created in Bellatorn.”

“Where in Bellatorn?” asked Nate.

“East wing attic.”

“Woah! Right above Alekee!”

“The one we can trust to guard it.”

Nate pondered on this. Then faced the Pinners.

“Okay, okay, you don’t exist. It’s all in my mind.” Nate kept repeating.

But they were there, orange lines criss-crossing each other. He failed to move.

“Try.” Ethriel insisted. His powerful voice encouraged Nate to move. But upon touching another line, he doubled over in agony.

Ethriel cast a long shadow over him. “What’s causing the pain?”

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“I wish I knew!”

“Try.”

Nate sharpened his attention. This is like the silent fields. He concentrated on his body. Is there fear? Yes! In my chest.

You’re worthless.

It was his harshest critic.

You don’t deserve love.

It continued.

You’re a coward!

Nate winced, his eyes meeting Ethriel’s.

“My mind is saying,” he whispered in shame. “My mind is saying that I am a coward.” His voice trailed off.

“Is it true?” asked Ethriel.

Nate contemplated. “I am.”

“How?”

“I ran away from Kenya.”

“Does that make you a coward?”

“Yes, yes, it does.”

“Always?”

“No, not always!” A wave of relief washed over him. “Only when I move into fear.”

“And so,” said Ethriel. “Are you a coward?”

“No, of course not,” said Nate. “Humans are not perfect, as we saw in the field of regrets.”

“Well, then.”

“I was - I was believing a lie.”

“Now, look.”

The Pinner Lines receded! He strolled further, and they kept receding!

“Ha!” said Nate.

His fear lifted.

“What is stronger than fear?” asked Ethriel.

Nate gazed at his mentor with renewed respect. “Skilled navigation of the mind?”

“This needs to be practiced. Machia Veil requires excellent navigating.”

For the rest of the day, Nate honed his ability to manoeuvre his thoughts and feelings through the Pinner Lines.

His mind got the best of him, as usual. He fancied himself a samurai breaking the code of the underworld. He walked to the middle of the field and moved among the Pinner lines like a superhero, this time imagining himself a lone ranger.

***

A mist enveloped Nate, and they took flight over the scenic vistas of Scottishland and on to Engloom. Nate’s arms spread wide, slicing through the mist. As the fog dispersed, he appreciated the vibrant views of Londoom during their descent. Club 7 was nearby, and it sent shivers down his spine.

“Wait. What?” said Nate, glaring at Ethriel. “We’re going to crash!”

Instead, they glided through the Club 7 roof. Landing in a vault Nate didn’t recognise.

Archaemenes surrounded them wide eyed.

“Use your codes to walk out free,” said Ethriel.

“Why here?”

One of them approached Nate. Nate clasped his hands and shifted twice, closing his eyes, and managing a Gantemer that made them turn away from him. This gave him time to do a freeze code.

“I will hold the time freeze. You go, run!” said Ethriel.

“But I can’t! Not without you!”

“Whether you go or stay, they will separate us, and they will capture me too.”

“I can’t go to Bellatorn without you!”

“You must! I will meet you there.”

Nate walked backwards, never taking his eyes off his mentor. Ethriel began a resplendent dance combining new Aurial coding he didn’t recognise.

“Run!” said Ethriel.

Nate focused on melting the dreaded Pinner lines. He moved through as fast as he could until he reached the front door. The members were a familiar sight. This time, frozen in their grand regalia. There were the greeting hosts, the street, the cars, all suspended in time. There was an eery silence. A haunting that made Nate shiver. Nate adopted what he learnt from the RayCrest frontline and gave himself to the moment. He hesitated in the middle of Triumphal Square. Avoiding the Pinner lines was exhausting.

He made it to Chaos Cross station. Time moved forward again. The time freeze stopped, which meant the Archs would be after him. He made a run to the tube. He had no choice but to freeze code his entrance since he didn’t have a ticket. Nate jumped on the district line. The train was red, purple, and warped. He searched for any sign of an Arch.

He reached Victoria station, and an announcement made Nate jump out of his skin. “Train on platform 12, Southwestern to Catswick is departing,” came out of the old intercom.

Why did he leave me alone?

He sat down on the train to Surridge, breathing a sigh of relief when a powerful stench of Cuban cigar struck Nate. He winced.

“I get jumpy too,” said the owner of the Cuban cigar.

Nate stared at the woman sitting next to him across the walkway.

She’s so old! Like eighties? She wore three red roses at the top of her head over messy, wispy white hair. The Cuban cigar was far too big for her waif-like figure. She had long fingers and chipped purple nails. She wore red earmuffs, which seemed odd at that time of the year. Also, dark rimmed round glasses and bright red lipstick. A chainmail silver necklace over her red t-shirt with a blue spiral, trousers, and purple sneakers.

“Where are you off to?” she said, puffing at that awful cigar.

He was cautious. “South,” he said, looking out the window.

“Just south!” she said, cracking with laughter.

“Home,” said Nate.

“Yeah, I’m going home too.”

Nate breathed a sigh of relief. She let him off the hook.

“You visiting?” she said, twirling towards him, though her eyes delayed.

Over her silver necklace, she had aquamarine stones.

The train doors slid to a close. The train began with a slow lurch, in fits and starts until it picked up speed.

A father passed them, hitting a boy on the head. The child was crying. To Nate’s horror, more Pinner lines manifested.

“This place!” she said, puffing on her cigar. “Always so crass, extreme, and hopeless,” she came to sit right next to Nate and he tensed.

“Hmm, why are your clothes so different?”

“My clothes!” he said. “They are, they are-” he failed to think straight.

“They are different,” she finished his sentence. “Hmm,” she averted his gaze and released another powerful stench of cigar.

Nate held his breath. When will this trip be over?

They arrived at Clapham Junction. The train brakes squeaked as the train slowed down. The old lady got up to exit. She was tiny!

He made his pleasant goodbyes, even though she joined him on the same platform. He gazed ahead for the train that would, at last, take him home.

The station was busy with commuters, a couple taking a cold drink from a vending machine. Others, like him, waiting for the next train to arrive. There were maintenance staff and train station employees.

A man on the platform stood past the red line as an oncoming train approached.

“No!” said Nate, wanting to help him when youth disregarding the safety signs rode a skateboard and forced him to jump to safety. A stationmaster blew the whistle. The approaching train stopped, and Nate’s eyes grew wide.

The old woman transformed into a red angel!

A RayCrest!

She winked at him. Never judge a book by its cover. She sent through telepathy as she coded the man into safety.

Nate breathed a sigh of relief.

Never judge a book by its cover. Wow!

His train arrived. He parted ways with the RayCrest, who was now walking next to the man.

He stepped onto the second train that would finally take him to Bellatorn. A RayCrest! He repeated to himself.

Then, gazing in the distance, his home came to mind. How he missed his family. Going to Bellatorn was going to be jarring.