DEEP IN THE VALLEY

CHAPTER EIGHT

THE MOUNTAINS

A cold wind breezes against my cheeks and I look around in complete confusion.

I am sitting on a bench in a small formal garden that looks over a large valley. I am high in some mountains, the air is crisp and the lights of a village far below me waft through scurrying clouds.

"Hello Alex" says a female voice from behind me. I quickly stand up and turn around to see an old woman with long grey curly hair walking towards me. Beside her is a small boy, about the same age as Winter and behind them is a large wooden Alpine hotel that stands lit yellow bright against the blue night sky that is filled with stars.

"Where am I? Who are you?" I grab a thick branch from the ground and wave it in front of me.

"I know this must seem very strange to you but try to relax. My name is Diana, this is Michi and we mean you no harm. Take deep breaths, one after another, deep breaths". She starts breathing deeply and steadily and because I am completely freaked out I copy her.

"That's it" she says and as she sits down the little boy hops onto her lap.

"You are in a village called Hallstatt, in Austria"

"How?" I say still yielding my branch "I was in Penrith, where is David? I was at Winsto..".

"Yes, we would usually never put anyone through such an extreme induction but these are unusual times and we had to get you to safety as soon as we realised what was going on" she says as she arranges the little boy's hair behind his ear.

I look at her good clothes, her motherly smile, the little boy who reminds me of Winter and I don't trust a word she says. She smiles at me with a knowing glint in her eye.

"You are thinking that this little boy is to appeal to you, to remind you of your brother Winter, that you don't trust me, that I look too kind to trust, no?"

"How did you know that?" I ask as I back away from her.

"I know many things and perhaps you are correct? Perhaps I did bring Michi out here to help make our meeting easier, for your sake. I know this must be very confusing for you" she kisses the little boy and lowers him onto the ground. "Run along to momma now Michi" he runs back towards the hotel and the old woman looks at me.

"He's my nephew, it's his father's birthday and we are having a small family celebration". I look back at the hotel and see a party on the balcony where a small cluster of people have gathered.

'We estimate that they managed to conceal that mine from us for over two hundred years, perhaps more?" she indicates to the vacant space beside her on the bench. "Do sit, please?".

"No thanks" I say.

"Very well, but I need to ask you something very important?"

"What?" I say, looking around for a route to escape. 

"Do you know what you are?"

"What?" I say and look at her. 

She smiles warmly at me and says, "Truth be told we don't know what you are, and were rather hoping that you might be able to shed some light on the matter?".

"What do you mean, 'what I am?"

She looks straight at me, as if trying to read my soul. "Oh, you really don't know. That makes things a little more difficult."

She stands up and walks towards the edge. "To conceal a mine that size from us is quite an impressive feat. How they quite managed to do it, we don't yet know?" she turns and smiles at me. "But we do know that you found it. We surmised that something big was happening because the most powerful members of the council converged on a strange house in Wales half an hour before you walked up it's drive and were greeted by Zarhius. It's lucky for you that we keep a close eye on the elders and were able to intervene before they succumbed you".

None of this makes any sense.

"Succumbed? What's that? And I was greeted by David" I say, pacing around trying to make sense of this whole situation. She turns to face me.

"Ah, David, of course. What does David look like?" she asks as she sits back down on the bench.

"Why?" I ask. "Indulge me", she says with the wave of her hand.

"He's a little older than me I would guess, has dark hair and green eyes". She smiles. "Would you say he's 'handsome', this David? " she asks.

"Well he's better looking than any of the boys in my class" I say feeling uncomfortable talking about him behind his back. I want to go but I don't know in which direction to walk in, I'm in a strange country talking to an even stranger old lady and I am feeling sick, my stomach is doing cartwheels. 

I bend over and hold onto my knees, taking deep breaths again. "What is all this about? And who the hell are you?" I ask her doing my best to keep it together.

"My sincere apologies. I understand that this must be difficult for you but you need to know that there is more to your David than meets the eye. For the order to risk such a large gathering of elders in one place can only mean one thing; that they needed to summon all of their power for some deed. A deed that must involve you somehow?".

'Me?' I say and the tree next to me explodes into flames.

"Impossible" the old lady shouts and raises her hands creating a forcefield of blue light around us. I look around and see that shadowy figures have now surrounded the hotel. The guests who were moments ago enjoying themselves on the patio seem to disappear into thin air and suddenly the shadowy figures are walking towards us hurling fire, but I don't see any weapons.

"Take her to safety" the old woman says and a large man in a suit appears beside me "I'll hold them back and shield your way". 

I try to run but the man grabs me around the waist and as a large fireball is heading towards me I fall onto snow.