squeal, closer. My hair stood up on my
arms.
“Close your other eyes,” Kalle said. “You must be blind to
enter the stream. I never understood what they meant, before, but now it makes
sense. See only with your inner, third eye.”
The squeals were right behind us.
I didn’t want to close my eyes. But what could I do besides
trust Kalle?
So I closed them, looking only through the third.
I could see the platform, a stream of energy. But I also
sensed just behind us, red patches of dark magical energy, the eyes of the
keiler.
I hurried onto the platform.
The green outline of my foot met the platform and it held.
With my third eye, I watched the greenish blue energy that was Kara step onto
the platform as well. Then Kalle, his life energy a reddish orange, stepped on.
Their energy was comforting. But I couldn’t ignore the
nearness of the keiler. Their squeals resonated in my spine, on my skin. My
hair stuck up on my arms and neck.
Kalle’s life force pulsed with his thoughts. There’s no
more time. Enter the stream .
He was right, of course.
I took a deep breath, and stepped into the energy.
It felt like when it had snowed, once, three winters ago,
and the roads had become icy.
Like stepping onto a slippery section of the road, and
starting to slip downhill.
I moved faster and faster, my whole body vibrating as I
accelerated, and then I was flying. Through my third eye I watched the outline
of the greenery rush past.
I looked back and saw Kalle and Kara off behind me in the
distance. Well, I couldn’t really see them, but I could sense their
energy, their life force. I felt light as a feather, and full of energy.
I could no longer hear or feel the presence of the keiler.
This energy we were using would reject them. I was sure, somehow. No keiler
would ever be able to ride this.
I felt a great sense of harmony, at ease suddenly with
myself and my surroundings. I could barely even remember that I had a physical
body, that I had ever felt out of breath or had my face ache from acne. I was
pure energy. No physical weakness, no aches and pains of the flesh.
My soul sang with the stream. I could feel the souls of
Kalle and Kara too, and puzzled at their nature. I felt good and whole.
I reached back behind me and my arm stretched out along the
stream to Kalle, then to Kara. They felt like a buzzing tickle, like a good
scratch on itchy skin.
Kalle chuckled, but Kara put me in my place.
Anders, control yourself. Bring your essence together.
You feel strong now, on this strange energy beam that we ride, but soon we’ll
be there. We travel at great speed. If you’re stretched too thin you risk
dissipation, or at the very least exhaustion. We’ll need all our strength when
we arrive, to find safe haven, and then get out of the Black Forest.
She had no idea what I felt. Exhaustion? Dissipation?
I had never felt so strong, so at ease, free for once from the limits of my
body.
I stretched out a little more.
A shock ran through my system.
Kalle had pushed me back.
We’ll return to our physical bodies any moment, Anders,
and to their limitations. Listen to Kara, and pull yourself together. Look
ahead, we are reaching our destination, if this great glow is any indication.
I looked.
The beam of energy was taking us onwards towards a great circle
of colors — red at the very center, surrounded by green, blue, orange, purple,
white, yellow... Beams of power radiated in all directions, making a kind of
huge luminous dome that surrounded whatever we were approaching.
Was this some form of protection? I had no idea, but I was
going to find out. We were probably still pretty far off, but rapidly
approaching.
Now, Anders, or you risk dissipation!
I guess I really didn’t want to find out what dissipation meant. I pulled myself together.
We were slowing down. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the
ride ended.
We hung there, hanging in the air in front of a second gate.
That’s what I saw, anyhow, with my
arms.
“Close your other eyes,” Kalle said. “You must be blind to
enter the stream. I never understood what they meant, before, but now it makes
sense. See only with your inner, third eye.”
The squeals were right behind us.
I didn’t want to close my eyes. But what could I do besides
trust Kalle?
So I closed them, looking only through the third.
I could see the platform, a stream of energy. But I also
sensed just behind us, red patches of dark magical energy, the eyes of the
keiler.
I hurried onto the platform.
The green outline of my foot met the platform and it held.
With my third eye, I watched the greenish blue energy that was Kara step onto
the platform as well. Then Kalle, his life energy a reddish orange, stepped on.
Their energy was comforting. But I couldn’t ignore the
nearness of the keiler. Their squeals resonated in my spine, on my skin. My
hair stuck up on my arms and neck.
Kalle’s life force pulsed with his thoughts. There’s no
more time. Enter the stream .
He was right, of course.
I took a deep breath, and stepped into the energy.
It felt like when it had snowed, once, three winters ago,
and the roads had become icy.
Like stepping onto a slippery section of the road, and
starting to slip downhill.
I moved faster and faster, my whole body vibrating as I
accelerated, and then I was flying. Through my third eye I watched the outline
of the greenery rush past.
I looked back and saw Kalle and Kara off behind me in the
distance. Well, I couldn’t really see them, but I could sense their
energy, their life force. I felt light as a feather, and full of energy.
I could no longer hear or feel the presence of the keiler.
This energy we were using would reject them. I was sure, somehow. No keiler
would ever be able to ride this.
I felt a great sense of harmony, at ease suddenly with
myself and my surroundings. I could barely even remember that I had a physical
body, that I had ever felt out of breath or had my face ache from acne. I was
pure energy. No physical weakness, no aches and pains of the flesh.
My soul sang with the stream. I could feel the souls of
Kalle and Kara too, and puzzled at their nature. I felt good and whole.
I reached back behind me and my arm stretched out along the
stream to Kalle, then to Kara. They felt like a buzzing tickle, like a good
scratch on itchy skin.
Kalle chuckled, but Kara put me in my place.
Anders, control yourself. Bring your essence together.
You feel strong now, on this strange energy beam that we ride, but soon we’ll
be there. We travel at great speed. If you’re stretched too thin you risk
dissipation, or at the very least exhaustion. We’ll need all our strength when
we arrive, to find safe haven, and then get out of the Black Forest.
She had no idea what I felt. Exhaustion? Dissipation?
I had never felt so strong, so at ease, free for once from the limits of my
body.
I stretched out a little more.
A shock ran through my system.
Kalle had pushed me back.
We’ll return to our physical bodies any moment, Anders,
and to their limitations. Listen to Kara, and pull yourself together. Look
ahead, we are reaching our destination, if this great glow is any indication.
I looked.
The beam of energy was taking us onwards towards a great circle
of colors — red at the very center, surrounded by green, blue, orange, purple,
white, yellow... Beams of power radiated in all directions, making a kind of
huge luminous dome that surrounded whatever we were approaching.
Was this some form of protection? I had no idea, but I was
going to find out. We were probably still pretty far off, but rapidly
approaching.
Now, Anders, or you risk dissipation!
I guess I really didn’t want to find out what dissipation meant. I pulled myself together.
We were slowing down. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the
ride ended.
We hung there, hanging in the air in front of a second gate.
That’s what I saw, anyhow, with my
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