Hour Of Darkness
Chapter Two, Across the Universe
John landed hard on his bum, cursing words I don't dare write.
George was sitting on Paul, who just as displeased as anyone could
imagine; Ringo lay facedown some feet away, groaning. They picked
themselves up and dusted off, Paul once again reminding them of his
clean suit. John looked around, trying to get his bearings, then gasped.
"You!" The old man nodded.
"I knew you would come." The four entered his abode, George and Ringo wrinkling their noses at the grime that covered everything.
"Alright, pops. What do we do?" Ringo asked, inspecting the table and
the relic above. He ran his fingers over the four insects incased in
amber, absently noticing a slight tingling in his fingertips.
"Each of you has one wish with which to improve your mind or your
body before I transport you to Valeth." John opened his mouth to
speak, but was silenced by a wave of the old man's hand. "Once you
are there, find the Raenth. When you wish to return home, each of you
must place your hand on the relic. Then you will return to me." The
boys nodded.
He turned first to George. "What is your wish?"
"Anything?" He aksed incredulously.
"Anything."
He looked completely overwhelmed. After all, what would you
do, given the choice?
He rubbed his chin, then suddenly, it came to him.
"Wings." The man nodded.
"Any preference as to shape?"
"Oh, any kind will do." The man nodded again, then motioned to the
table. "Place your palm on a globule of amber. But!" George stopped
short. "Choose well. There is a reason."
George hesitated, examining each insect imbedded in the table, his hand
coming to rest on a wolf spider. His hand began glowing, and George
froze, his eyes glazing over. The old man turned to Ringo. "You, young
Richard?" The old man used his birth name.
Ringo answered instantly, but not without thought. "Magery." The man
smiled, then gestured to the table. Ringo selected a tiny moth and promptly
froze in the same fashion as George.
"James?" Again, the old man used Paul's birth name. Paul furrowed his
brow.
"Anything?" Paul wasn't yet sure, even though the question had been asked
so many times already. Still, the man remained patient.
"Yes, James. Anything."
Paul thought for what seemed like an eternity to John. Finally, he
spoke.
"Uhm...I guess...a wolf? Can you do that?" The man nodded. John waited
for his head to fall off from the neck strain from nodding so much. Paul
took his place at the table across from George, selecting a ladybug from
the two remaining insects, leaving John no choice for where his hand
would eventually rest. The old man turned to the last remining Beatle.
John thought terribly hard. "Me mates got good ones..."
"Yes, but yours is truly unique." John looked up, astonished.
"You know?"
"I have the same ablity myself."
John smiled, somehow feeling attached to this man. He voiced his wish,
which didn't really need to be said: "Mind powers."
He reached for the last peice of shining amber, gazing at the scarab,
both of them seeming to be frozen in time. He slowly placed his left hand
over the amber, taking the precaution of using the hand with which he
didn't write; he wasn't sure what was going to happen, so he didn't want
to hurt his hand. Unfortunately, it seemed taht none of the others had
thought of this, though. Paul had his left hand extended, Ringo and George
their right. Suddenly, John's fingertips began to tingle, getting warmer
and warmer with each second that passed. It glowed red hot, then white
fire consumed him, yet he couldn't pull away, couldn't retreat.
Everything around him was white; purifying, cleansing white. Hand reached
for him, pulling him towards the source of the light. John relaxed,
allowing the hands to pull him to safety...
****
The Fab Four appeared in a field, long grass swishing against their trousers
in the light breeze. The sun shone brightly, and the scene was one of
untouched peacefulness and serenity. Then a flash of light graced a small
corner of the field, near a forest, and the four boys appeared, still
standing in a square, their hands extended inward.
They awoke slowly, eyes opening to the new sight that greeted them. They all
staggered slightly, but only John fully lost his balance; he fell into the
grass, wincing as he landed on his burned hand. He held it to his chest, then
opened his palm to inspect the wound. Instead of a massive, blotchy burn, he
found a burn in the shape of a stylized scarab, marked in dark lines in his
skin. He soon forgot the pain as he got up to show his friends the
picture.
"'Ey lads! Lookit this!" he showed everyone his palm; likewise, the three
other band members checked their hands, each holding up a picture fo their
respective insect. When looking at these got old, realization dawned on the
four.
"I'm still human!" Paul pouted, turning his hands over; no sign of fur or
claws was evident.
George craned his neck over his shoulder, twisting his arms to touch his
shoulder blades. "No wings!" he cried, clearly disappointed. John couldn't
read their thoughts, either. However, Ringo produced a small book from his
pocket which he hadn't had before. The cover was a deep midnight blue,
covered in silver stars and curlicues. The name "Mage Starkey" was embossed
in silver calligraphy. He opened the book slowly, the pages yellow and
brittle under his careful fingertips. He smiled, his eyes skimming the aged
pages which were not brittle, surprisingly enough. The book contained pages
and pages of spells, conjurings, and summons. Ringo opened to the page that
held the small ribbon bookmark, carefully reading the writing which was in
the same calligraphy style as his name on the cover. The page read:
Scrying Spell
~Use body of water for best results. A patch of bare ground will do, in a
pinch~
Wave hands in a circular motion over the scrying area, repeating the name of
the person or object you desire to see. After repeating several times, drop a
small, smooth pebble into the scrying area. The aforementioned person or
object should appear after a moment of rippling.
Ringo put the book aside, clearing away a few clumps of grass to create a bare
patch of ground in front of him. Kneeling, he began to wave his hands over
the circle of earth, closing his eyes and whispering "Raenth...Raenth..." He
heard his mates snickering quietly behind him; Ringo decided he probably did
look slightly silly. After a minute or two, he opened his eyes slowly,
scanning the grass around him for a smooth pebble. He came upon one a few
feet away, his fingers exploring the smooth, unblemished surface of the small
stone. He knelt again by the area, then carefully dropped the pebble into the
spell area...
...and it hit with a dull thump, nothing appearing but a small cloud of dust
where the stone hit the bare earth. Ringo furrowed his brow, confused.
John threw his hands in the air. "I knew it! We've been tricked! He probably
bashed us all over the head and dumped us out 'ere! I bet we haven't even left
Liverpool..."
Ringo was on all fours, closely inspecting the ground in front of him. As he sat
forward, however, a necklace he didn't know he had swung into his field of
vision. He grabbed the pendant, bringing it to his face to inspect it closely. It
was the amber, hanging on a long golden chain, the moth still trapped inside.
Upon closer inspection, Ringo realized that the moth was moving, the wings
fluttering steadily with his breath. As he inhaled and exhaled, the wings beat
steadily. Ringo held his breath, and the wings slowed, then stopped completely.
"Uh...lads?"
"Not now, Ring. We're trying to figure out where we are..."
The other three started wandering off, hands held to their brows searching the
horizon. Ringo paged furiously through his little book, eventually finding a page
marked Talisman Transformations. He read as quickly as his blue eyes could
go, yet making sure he absorbed every iota of information. He placed the book on
the ground, taking up his pendant. He placed it in his right palm, making sure
that the picture and the moth lined up exactly. He closed his eyes and uttered
the magic words.
"Jai guru deva om." Ringo smiled as he recognized the words from one of
John's lyrical creations. The smile faded abruptly as an intense queasyness
overcame him, his knees buckling. He held his stomach and vomited into the grass
beside him. When he had finished, he crawled weakly to where he had left the
spellbook. He read the small print which he had neglected before:
If this spell is executed properly, an uncomfortable but slight side effect
should occur. Ringo figured he had done it right; throwing up was rather
uncomfortable.
Strength returning, he stumbled to his feet. He quickly glanced at the others,
who were still wandering off, now about a hundred feet off. Once again, Ringo
thumbed furiously through his spellbook, finally finding the spell he sought. Ringo
smiled brightly as blue sparkles alighted on his outstreatched fingers. It was
working! His smile grew wider and wider as he conjured. He wove the spell very
carefully to avoid unpleasent side effects, then launched the blue sparkling ball
with unerring aim at the turned back of one of his retreating band mates.
"George!" he heard John scream.
George was frozen in place, hand still held to his forehead; he was encased in a
blue crystal-like form. John and Paul stared in disbelief, running to aid their
stony faced friend. John tapped at the shimmering barrier, the stone not giving
in the slightest. John turned to Paul.
"Macca? I don't think we're in Kansas anymore..."
Ringo came walking up behind them, smiling smugly, spellbook in hand. But that's not
what the other two were staring at.
They stared at the green ball of mist suspended above his other hand.
"Ringo, luv! You've figured it out!" Paul cried ecstatically. Ringo sprinkled the green mist
over George's still form and the youngest Beatle awoke with a start.
"Bloody 'ell!" He gave Ringo a big hug, realizing what had happened. "You figured it
out!"
The three crowded around Ringo now, all talking at once.
"How'd you do it?"
"Will it work for all of us?"
"Show me how, show me how!"
"Wait! Wait!!" He put his hands up, blue sparkles flashing almost instantly, as
if by instinct. The others took one big step back, not wanting to end up like George had
a few moments previous. Ringo sighed.
"All right, lads. Let's draw lots to see who goes first." He pulled three straws of
grass from the field, trimming them to different lengths. He held them out, motioning
for Paul, George, and John to each take one. Paul pulled out the first straw, holding it
up for all to see. "Is this the long one?!? Is it?!?"
"Relax, Paul. We shall see."
George shrugged and pulled out the next, visibly shorter than Paul's. George looked
crestfallen as Paul did a little dance. John stepped forward, making a mental note not
to be last so often. He grabbed the end of the straw, held his breath, and pulled.
The straw was about two feet in length, obviously longer than the other two's, but it
didn't stop there. George, Ringo, and Paul laughed as John pulled foot after foot of straw
from Ringo's hand, beaming.
"Alright, lad, that's enough." John stepped over next to Ringo, looking over his shoulder
as the shorter Beatle looked for the proper spell. Ringo was sure to point out the fine
print; John grimaced slightly, but drew his pendant from his shirt, holding it up to
the sun. He examined the little beetle, its legs working as he inhaled and exhaled. Like
Ringo, he held his breath and the beetle stopped moving. He giggled childishly, then looked
serious as he got back to the matter at hand. He placed the amber into his hand, lining
up the outline with the fluttering insect. He closed his palm tight, closed his eyes,
and whispered, "Jai guru deva om."
Instantly he grew queasy, quickly turning away from the others to throw up into the
grass behind him.
What's wrong with him? George asked.
"Nothing, I'm fine." George looked astonished, and John realized that he hadn't spoken.
John had read his mind!
"Paul, my lad! Think of something! Anything!" He grabbed Paul by the shoulders, shaking
him excitedly.
"Woah! Ok, ok!" Paul furrowed his brow, thinking of the first thing that came to
mind.
John delved in, searching for Paul's thought. It was a little tough; Paul was trying to
hide his thought from John on purpose, seeing just how well the singer could read minds. Suddenly, it popped into John's head.
Jane.
John smiled triumphantly. "Typical. You miss Jane."
Paul's mouth hung agape, and John knew he was right. The other two clapped, obviously
impressed. "Wait...supposedly I can alter thoughts, too..."
He looked at George hard, catching the younger Beatle slightly off guard, staring into his deep brown eyes, putting all his effort into
penetrating his thoughts. George resisted with all his power. Sweat beads formed on
John's forehead; Paul and Ringo looked on nervously.
After a minute of intense staring, George's barrier collapsed, and his eyes glazed over,
a blank look replacing the previous concentration. John smiled, relaxing and wiping the
sweat from his brow. "Alright, George! Walk ten paces." George obeyed, not protesting in
the slightest.
"Hop on one foot." George hopped.
"Spin until you fall over." George twirled around and around, collapsing into the grass,
gasping. John smiled, then snapped his fingers. The shine returned to George's eyes and
he stood up, looking rather displeased. "That wasn't nice." Then he smiled. "But rather
impressive, regardless." John smiled.
Paul was jumping up and down impatiently. Ringo smiled. "Alright, Paul, alright. Your
turn."
Paul stood behind Ringo as John had, reading carefully the fine print. He, too grimaced, but
pulled his ladybug pendant out from under his shirt. It buzzed reassuringly as he placed it
in his palm, then he chanted the secret words.
"Jai guru deva om."
Paul whipped around, doubling over and vomiting into the bush behind him. He never fully
straightened up.
Long fur started growing all over his body. His teeth grew long, as did his nose, forming a
wolf's muzzle. He got down on all fours, transforming fully into a large, imposing wolf.
Paul's black lips curled back, and he snarled at the group of three. They looked at each
other nervously, backing up slightly.
"Uhm...Paul?" This was greeted by a vicious snarl. "Or not..."
"Could the transformation have made him more vicious? Animal instincts, y'know?" George said
with a shaky voice.
"This is bad. Very bad."
The wolf's tail started to wag. John laughed nervously. "Nice doggie...nice doggie..."
It's all right, lads. Just playing. John laughed, but the other two just stared at
him strangely.
"He says it's alright, boys. He's only playing." Ringo and George looked incredibly relieved,
smiles returning to their faces. John furrowed his brow.
"Looks like I'll be translating for the mutt."
Oh, you're a scream. Paul pinned his ears back slightly.
"You're next, George." George assumed the stance behind Ringo, skimming the words eagerly, not
seeming to care about the evident side effects. He pulled out his own amber pendant,
inspecting the spider that seemed to walk in place inside the shimmering sphere. He folded
it into his beautiful hand, whispering the mystic words and hoping for the very best.
"Jai guru deva om."
George's stomach cramped terribly, sending him to his knees in pain. He vomited terribly,
much more than the other three. Eventually he could only retch, moaning. His moan turned
into a scream, louder and louder as a sharp pain penetrated his shoulder blades. His three
friends backed off quickly, not sure what was happpening. Paul held his tail between his
legs, whimpering quietly. George screamed louder and louder, the pain unbearable. Lumps
appeared on his back, growing larger and larger until it seemed his t-shirt would burst
under the strain.
Suddenly, huge wings sprung from his back as he let out one last earth-shattering scream.
His t-shirt was in shreads. In all, his wings were about twenty feet from tip to tip, brown and
leathery like bat's wings. Tears streamed down George's cheeks as he gasped for breath, but
he smiled nonetheless. He stood up, testing his new muscles; they were slightly sore, but
his wings beat slowly, fanning the air. He laughed, beating his wings harder until a
whirlwind ensued. His three friends laughed with him, filling the shimmering field with
laughter. They had not been forgotten.
On to Chapter Three!
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