The Promise (The Seekers Book 1) Page 4

  Quark bustled over and as he picked up the golden bowl, he bowed to Michael. The Prince raised his hand in blessing, “And so it begins. The Seeker has the Pathway – all you have to do is follow with a pure heart and all will be revealed as each step leads to the next. Do not fear Millie, for you will never be alone at any time. Do you believe this?”

  Millie managed a gulp and a quick nod of the head. She had been feeling quite relaxed here, but suddenly realised she was being dismissed. “Will we see you again?”

  Michael was serene, “All things are possible Millie, but some things are not ours to choose. Before you go, however, I have something to give you.” He made his way to the armoury that had entranced Oliver and selected something from a high shelf. It was a petite golden crown, very finely made with a delicate filigree pattern. Millie searched his face for reassurance while he placed it delicately on her head. It fitted perfectly and, to her surprise, weighed nothing at all.

  “In the world of men Millie only those with eyes to see will know you have this. You cannot remove it, and in time, you will become aware of its many powers. You can never exhaust its supply and because you already possess the inheritance of the Kingdom, this crown will protect your mind and guide you in the Way.”

  He reached up again and beckoned Oliver to his side. He had chosen a piece of body armour that reminded Oliver of a Roman breastplate. It shone brilliantly and the polished silvery metal bore the same star as the one on the floor. It too was inscribed. Michael opened the breastplate and fastened it over Oliver.

  “To protect the heart, Oliver. Guard it well for it is the wellspring of life. Again, others cannot see it and it will never fail you. You have courage and strength. Watch over Millie, for she will need your resolve in the days ahead.”

  Finally Michael embraced Quark, the huge Prince practically kneeling to enfold him. He stood up and laid his strong hand on Quark’s tiny shoulder, “Farewell for now old friend.”

  Even Quark seemed lost for words. He held the golden bowl close to his chest and then did one of his disappearing acts with it. There was a tremendous flash of light and the sound of their mum calling. “Come on you two. Tea is on the table.” They were home.

  11

  Wednesday afternoon and double science ... yuck! Millie couldn’t believe it. Yesterday she had been in another dimension and now Mr. Jones was lecturing her on the wonders of the Periodic Table. Not. She glanced over at Becky’s pristine notes in her perfect handwriting and for the hundredth time hoped the teacher would not pick on her for his end of lesson assessment.

  Saved by the bell! Becky, as usual, began filing everything neatly away in her bag. “So, are we on then?”

  Millie’s vacant expression reflected the emptiness in her brain. Becky laughed, “The netball silly. It is tomorrow, right? You were going to ask about spare seats on the bus?”

  Millie hit herself on the forehead, “I haven’t even got the permission slip for myself. Miss Raven will kill me! Sorry Becky I completely forgot. Leave it with me and I will text you.” She stuffed her science books haphazardly in her bag and charged towards the staff room. As she hurtled along the corridor she rounded a corner and crashed straight into Miss Elliot, knocking all her papers to the floor. “Ooh, sorry Miss. Now I know why I’m not supposed to run in school.”

  A couple of sixth formers kindly chased the paper trail but several sheets were already crumpled under some very heavy footwear. Miss Elliot rearranged the pile, “Yes, well I’m glad I bumped into you.” She smiled at her own little joke. “I have been thinking about that crystal of yours.”

  Millie gathered the last few sheets and tried to smooth them out, “Here you go Miss.”

  “No harm done, they are only old records for filing. Now, as I was saying, my friend informs me that you are probably the proud owner of a very rare mineral. Such examples are usually forced up from near the earth’s core quite dramatically and appear on high mountain ranges. Places like the Lake District and Scottish Highlands.”

  “Cool.”

  “Actually no – they are usually accompanied by great heat and volcanic activity.” Another little joke. She balanced all her files in the cradle of her left arm and stole a quick look at her watch. “I have a staff meeting now Millie, but if you like I can post it to my friend in Oxford and he can analyse it for you.”

  Millie spotted Miss Raven struggling with another large bag of balls, rugby ones this time, and saw her opportunity to escape. “That’s o.k. Miss, I don’t need to know the name of it now, and it’s ... er special to me as it is, but thanks for trying. I have to get a slip from Miss Raven. Bye.” Millie rushed after the P.E. teacher. Miss Elliot shouted after her, “Well, if you need any more help, just let me know. And please walk around school!”

  Millie slowed to a quick walk, grabbing Miss Raven before she could disappear into the forbidden sanctuary of the staff room. Luckily she was in a good mood and Millie promised to remember the magic white slip in the morning. Millie wondered what the teachers did with all these things. You couldn’t do anything now unless you had a signed piece of paper. Her thoughts turned to Quark. She was impatient to begin, but still felt confused. Michael had said to follow the pathway, but she had no idea where to start. Well tonight she would find out how much Quark really knew, surely he had to be of some help?

  12

  Millie made it home just in time as torrential rain hammered against the door when she closed it. Winston came to greet her then pressed his nose against the window and watched as neighbours scurried past, umbrellas turning into satellite dishes in the strong winds. It looked more like December out there. Oliver was flicking through channels with the remote control. She tapped him as she went past, “You ready then?”

  Oliver knew what she meant, “There’s no rush. Let’s get tea and you know who’s ... w. a. l .k. out of the way first.” Winston spun around but as they both ignored him, he went back to the window.

  Millie grabbed a Kit-Kat from the tray, “Look, the sooner we get started the better. You know what Quark said about it being important.”

  “...And you know what Michael said about time and the universes, it’s all different ...in there.”

  Oliver settled for the Discovery Channel and a Snickers.

  Millie was unimpressed, “How can you watch that when we have a job to do?”

  Oliver was already engrossed, “We have all the time we need sis.”

  Millie stomped off, “Fine. I’m going anyway.”

  She took the stairs two at a time and Winston followed. Thinking it was some new kind of game he picked his dog lead up from the hall and carried it onto Millie’s bed. She ruffled the top of his head. “Well at least someone around here has some enthusiasm.”

  Winston observed with interest as Millie retrieved the crystal from her pocket and placed it on the bed between them. He sniffed at it and then looked at her expectantly, his little furry head on one side and his button eyes shining. For once Millie did not need cajoling. “Right,” she said, “why not?”

  As they arrived in the Portal she put Winston on the floor and checked to see if he was alright. Do dogs get dizzy? She guessed Oliver would be angry with her, but she didn’t want to be on her own in here.

  Right on cue Quark began to materialise in mid air. He bowed towards her as usual then hovered over to Winston.

  “Yeah, sorry. Hope you don’t mind dogs. He is house trained.” Millie blurted out her mum’s usual expression for when they dropped in on people unexpectedly.

  Quark landed next to Winston. “Hello there, guess no walk for you tonight then?”

  “No, but the rain is expected to clear from the West later.”

  Quark nodded, “Indeed.”

  Millie could almost feel her chin hit the floor, “Did he just ... talk ... in here?”

  “It would be more polite to speak to him.” Quark pointed out gently as he sat cross-legged on the floor.

  Suddenly Millie could see a similarity in som
e of their features. Not an exact likeness by any means, just subtle nuances. Quark grinned at her recognition. “Yes, I can take any form I choose. I decided to incorporate some of Winston when we first met as I thought it would be familiar to you.”

  He sounded pleased with himself. “I do not need a nose or ears, as such, because I do not need to rely on senses like you do, but I thought eyes and a mouth would be nice.”

  Winston nodded. Winston nodded!

  Millie shook her head and addressed Winston directly, “Er ...do you understand everything I say to you, back in there?” She pointed to where her room was the last time she was here.

  Winston nodded again. “Oh yes.”

  “Then why do you run off sometimes?” Millie had always been irritated by this rebellious piece of behaviour.

  “Oh I understand.” he replied haughtily, “But is it always right to obey?” Winston lay down next to Quark, stretched out his front paws and crossed them.

  Millie glared at them both, “Great. Just what I need, a disobedient philosopher and a guide who doesn’t know where we are going!”

  Quark was offended and gave a little huff. He indicated that Millie should also sit down. “Shall we proceed?”

  He placed the golden bowl on the floor. How does he do that? Slowly he took out six small glass bottles, each one the same glorious colour as the throne from which it had come. He lined them all up and then paused.

  “When I open the phials Your Highness each Domain will have supplied the Essence of Truth from their histories. Only in unison with all the others can it give us the starting point we seek. This is a sacred trust. Many have fought hard to keep The Truth alive.”

  Each small bottle had a large golden stopper of a different geometric design and Millie recognised more of the strange writing on them. Quark took the nearest bottle, a red one, and poured its crimson liquid into the bowl. He did the same with all the others and Millie watched fascinated as the colours swirled themselves around the bowl! Eventually a mist formed and shapes appeared on the inside of the bowl. These formed into large capital letters and one word was clearly visible. AVALON. It was there for maybe ten seconds and then the whole thing disappeared, bowl and all.

  “Why did you do that?” Millie snapped, “I wanted to write it down.”

  Quark stood, “It was nothing to do with me your Highness. The Mysteries have to be protected you know.”

  Winston yawned, “Anybody can remember Avalon,” he proclaimed as he wandered over to inspect the nonexistent corners.

  “Yes, well, I am the Seeker and I like to get things clear. Avalon, of course, er ... what is that again?” she bluffed.

  “Not what,” explained Quark, “but where! It will be a place Your Highness, the starting point for your quest and the pathway to the Cornerstone. Do you know where it is on your planet?”

  “No.” Millie grinned, now more confident, “But I know someone who does!”

  13

  Millie studied the results for Avalon on Google – only 44 million and then some! She typed in “Avalon the place” and narrowed it down to 12 million – great!

  Oliver knocked on her door, so she called him in; he brought her a mug of tea and peered over her shoulder, “What are you looking for?”

  “Well, this is ridiculous. Winston said it would be easy to remember, but how do I make sense of all this?” Millie stopped clicking and took a big slurp of her tea.

  Oliver took his eyes off the screen and ran his right hand through his spiky hair, “What do you mean, Winston ...said?”

  Millie tried her best to look innocent, but knew she couldn’t get away with it, “Ah yes, well, I was going to tell you about that. Turns out he is even more intelligent than dad thought!”

  Oliver waited.

  “He actually spoke to me ... in the Portal. Quite opinionated he is too!”

  Oliver flopped onto her bed, “I can’t believe you went without me.”

  “Did you hear what I said? Winston can actually talk!”

  Oliver thumped the pillows and laid back, his expression severe.

  Millie now felt a teeny bit guilty, “Look it was only one word okay? Quark did his thing with the bowl and that’s all we got. Avalon. I thought it would save some time.”

  Oliver shook his head, “You shouldn’t have taken Winston.”

  “You have to be joking! He and Quark are like old mates. Look, you are better at this than me, come and make sense of this search.”

  They swopped places and Millie could sense him getting less tense as he clicked around the sites on offer. “Here you go – Avalon, or the Isle of Apples, associated with modern day Glastonbury, a mystical place of pilgrimage for thousands of years.”

  Millie interrupted his flow, “What, you mean Glastonbury as in the Glastonbury Festival?”

  Oliver read on, “Tradition links it with King Arthur. Wow – even Jesus is supposed to have visited there with his uncle.”

  “You’re kidding!” Millie squeezed him over to get a better look.

  “Yeah but you can’t believe everything you read on the internet, remember all those lessons we had about checking sources and things.” Oliver stretched his arms, yawned and continued to read, “Apparently people come here from all over the world, and it’s supposed to have magical properties, everything from New Age Festivals to Fairies, even U.F.O. 's have been seen on Glastonbury Tor.”

  “Wicked!” But Millie could see Oliver was sceptical, “What’s a Tor anyway?”

  Oliver did some more clicking, “There’s a picture, see? It looks like quite a large hill with a pathway that goes round and round to the top.”

  Millie zoomed in, “Mm ...do you think the Cornerstone could be there?”

  “Well, you did say Miss Elliot reckoned your crystal came from a high place so maybe there is a link there somewhere, but all we have so far is the name Avalon and that relates to Glastonbury for sure.”

  Oliver was always so logical. “Well how many high places can there be in Glastonbury?” She hit the printer key and folded the paper, putting it in her jeans pocket.

  “I don’t think the high place is the problem, we don’t even know what it looks like. Do you have any idea how many rocks and things there could be on that Tor, even if it is the right place?”

  “Well perhaps Quark can help us with that.” Millie logged off and headed for her wardrobe, rummaging at the bottom she began throwing out pairs of shoes.

  Oliver was bemused, “What are you doing now?”

  Millie held them high, “Wellies! Everyone wears wellies at Glastonbury!”

  14

  The rain stopped pelting it down just in time to walk Winston before supper. Millie felt weird fastening the dog lead to his collar, but he looked just the same as usual. She scribbled a quick note for their mum and grabbed her coat.

  “Remind me again why I’m doing this?” Oliver groaned as he put up his hood and splashed through a puddle. All around them people were happily scurrying indoors.

  “You know why – so we can both go to see Quark. If they think he has had a really good walk they won’t ask you again later.”

  “S’pose, but we’re just doing a little one right?”

  As they turned the corner the smell from the small bakery made Oliver’s stomach rumble. He was always hungry. Winston led the way; he could practically walk himself anyway as they tended to follow the same routes. As they were together they could leave the main road and head for the Back Lane. Millie detached the lead as they approached the track but immediately realised it was a big mistake. “Oh no – it’s like a mud bath!”

  Winston would get covered in the stuff and then she would have to clean him. Oliver stopped walking and looked down at his trainers. “Perhaps this is a clue that we are on the right track with Glastonbury!”

  Millie ignored his sarcasm and made a grab for Winston who clearly had other ideas as he scampered through her legs and shot into the nearest garden. Millie huffed, “This is not the time
for hide and seek Winston, come back.”

  The small, now off-white body continued to gather speed. Millie put her hands on her hips and shouted, “Winston, I know you understand me. Come here NOW!”

  A passing cyclist laughed at her. Great, another total humiliation...

  “I’ll go.” Oliver offered, “Even though you have the wellies.”

  Millie followed, “We’ll both go. This is personal.”

  Luckily the house was deserted. It was an old tumbled down place, covered in ivy. Hidden behind a tall hedge it looked rather lonely and forlorn, all the windows were boarded up and the garden was badly neglected. An old “For Sale” sign had fallen over. Oliver gave it the once over, it was three stories high with a flat roof and had about fifteen windows just at the front. “Wow... is this Georgian or something?”