The Guardian's Protector: The Chamber of Souls (9 page)

‘Who have we here?’ she asked, her eyes wide with interest as she peered over Tom’s pram.

‘This is Tom. My name’s Amy. I’ve just come to have a look around.’

‘Tom,’ she said, staring into his wide eyes, ‘and Amy,’ she added, peering back at Amy with a disbelieving smile.

‘Yes,’ Amy said, bewildered. The woman stared for a moment like she’d been placed on pause. Her strange attire and behaviour, her odd mannerisms and ageless yet serious face made her as mysterious as the shop.

‘He’s impressive,’ she said, gazing intently at Tom. ‘And gifted!’ she added, turning to Amy, her eyes wide and intense.

‘Are you psychic?’ Amy asked.

‘Something like that.’ The woman smiled. A flicker of hunger shone in her eyes as she turned her attention back to Tom. ‘But he…is a
very
special boy!’ Her eyes were fixed on his. Just as Amy began to feel uncomfortable, the woman prised her eyes from Tom and turned to Amy. ‘My name is Rose. What is it you desire?’ she said in a tone that told Amy she shouldn’t bother trying to lie to her.

Amy stood, looking vacant. She didn’t have a clue where to start. She looked up at the shelves in search of an answer but was lost for words.

‘You can trust me,’ Rose whispered suspiciously.

Amy gathered she had nothing to lose. ‘What do you know about evil souls?’ Amy tried not to look as strange as she thought she must have sounded.

Rose raised her eyebrows. ‘What do
you
know?’

‘I know of evil souls called…’ Amy paused, wondering if, because of the rules, she was about to cause some kind of trouble for Rose, and, as if it would make a difference, whispered, ‘Dogods.’

Rose looked at the ceiling as if someone was watching, then whispered, ‘Where did you pick up such a word? You curious wasp. Are you a member of the Order?’ Her expression was a mixture of desperation, intrigue and awe.

Amy was stunned. She clearly held a world of information. Amy stepped closer to Rose and looked into her eyes, searching for any hint of a sparkle. ‘I’m the…’ Amy gulped. ‘…Protector.’

‘Flegh!’ Rose squeaked. ‘I’ve already been told off this week.’

‘What do you mean?’ Amy asked.

Rose hopped from foot to foot, flapping her arms with restraint. ‘No. Can’t tell you things.’

Amy studied the woman. ‘How do I stop a Dogod?’

‘You must invoke the light.’ Rose clutched her mouth.

‘I don’t want
any
involvement with Guardians. You must have something in here about how to get rid of Dogods!’

Rose stopped jumping and looked at Amy like she’d lost her mind. ‘One doesn’t simply get
rid
of a Dogod. He will come for you and when he does, you best be ready!’

‘There must be another way,’ Amy said, her eyes darting around the room.

Rose turned abruptly, taking a startled look at Tom and then back to Amy. ‘This is…
him
…isn’t it?’ Her eyes glazed with intrigue. ‘You’re Amy Croft, aren’t you?’ Rose asked like Amy was famous. ‘I didn’t think I’d be meeting you for another seven years.’

Amy felt the room close in on her. ‘Oh?’

‘You agreed to be his mother,’ Rose said. ‘I can see it now,’ she said, grabbing Amy’s shoulders and peering into her eyes. ‘Your underlying power. You need to speak to Adaizi!’ She turned and began to walk away but then, as if she couldn’t help herself, turned back. ‘It’s interesting that you came to
this
shop, though.’

‘I can’t speak to Adaizi because I want a way out!’ Amy’s eyes filled with tears. ‘I just want him to be safe!’

Rose’s expression changed to one of pity. ‘The only way you can be sure of that is to prepare
yourself
and
him
for the mission.’

‘I won’t prepare
him
for anything!’

‘If Tom is to have
any
chance, you must accept the way it has to be. The Dogod knows his mission from the moment he jumps into an embryo. He knows exactly what he is capable of and, while he wallows in frustration, waiting to unleash his full hatred, he can use powers even before he turns seven, unlike Tom.’

‘Tom
has
used powers already,’ Amy said before thinking.

‘Not possible! Tom won’t gain his own until he’s seven. Tom’s only using what he’s gained from you. Whatever Tom can do at this moment, you can be sure you’re ten times as powerful.’

‘I haven’t got any power!’

‘Wow,’ Rose said, looking at Amy as though she was insane, ‘you really do need to speak to Adaizi!’

Amy’s eyes widened as she grew impatient. ‘I’m not doing that!’

Rose grimaced in frustration and then, looking from left to right, stepped closer to Amy. ‘If you’re not going to embrace your own, or
invoke
the Guardians’ light, then you’ll need to make yourself a talisman.’

‘First of all, the way you say
invoke
makes it sound painful. It’s not happening! And
what
?’

‘Shush!’ Rose peered at the ceiling. ‘Firstly it’s not painful, it’s actually a great honour and can feel wonderful if you just allow…’

‘Please spare me,’ Amy interrupted. ‘The talisman?’

Rose let out a disgruntled huff. ‘It is said that gifted souls such as yourself can make talismans. You know, an amulet to protect you and help you fight with the power of light. You just need to
believe
in your own power to create one.’

‘I can’t believe in something I haven’t got!’

‘Dear, oh dear,’ Rose said. ‘There is
much
power inside you. You are stronger than any Guardian on Earth. Granted, your powers are a mystery so far, but I’ve never seen anything so vibrant inside a gifted soul before. Nor this
extraordinary
.’ Rose’s eyes narrowed as she scrutinised every inch of Amy. ‘Your power looks…violet.’

‘Violet?’

‘Yes.’ Rose grabbed Amy’s hand and rubbed her palm in contemplation. ‘That’s the only way I can describe it. There’s something inside you that’s apart from your Protective Power, which is unique to you, just like the other eleven gifted souls have a unique power to them. Something else entirely. Violet normally indicates a powerful love. Maybe when you love enough, it could ignite another special power inside your soul. Yes, that’s it! When you love, it will make you strong.’

At that point the wind chimes jingled and they both turned to see an old lady entering the shop.

‘Morning,’ Rose said, leaving Amy by the counter as she glided to greet her. As Rose struck up a conversation with the with the old lady, smiling politely as she asked what she was looking for, Amy felt like throwing the woman out of the door, or telling her to at least hurry up.

To find the item the old lady was looking for and for her to be served took all of three minutes, but it felt like a lifetime. Before Rose closed the door, she replaced the ‘Back Soon’ sign on the outside then locked it.

‘Tom is a gifted soul. I’ve seen
his
power! Maybe he could make me a talisman,’ Amy suggested, bursting inside.

Rose nodded her head. ‘Yes,’ Rose said, staring at Tom wondrously. ‘He most certainly is a gifted soul, one of a kind, and hopefully the answer to our prayers. But he’s not one of the
original
twelve pearl white gifted souls who were born already Awake, like you.’

‘Awake?’ Amy asked.

‘You were born knowledgeable without experience. You already had a full understanding of the meaning of life. Basically you are a wise, fully rounded soul without having to be tested and therefore may use the powers of Omnipion to your best capabilities immediately.’

‘So Tom’s not Awake then? He needs to be tested?’

‘Well, no, not exactly. He did come from the core Awake in the sense that he doesn’t need to be tested, but he was
golden
. You normally have to pass the Test in under fifty lives to achieve the Guardians’ colour. Being Awake like you meant he didn’t have to take the Test—and that has never happened since you very first twelve—but he’s not pearl white. He’s still just a Guardian, which means he can’t use the powers immediately, he can only make the Talisman when he’s seven. That’s when Guardians get their powers. Even then, it will only protect you from evil if he was around to actually force his love into it. Unless you believed in your
own
power, of course.’

‘I don’t,’ Amy said, also watching Tom, who was staring at Rose intently as if trying to figure her out. Amy could see his mind working. She didn’t know
what
he was thinking, but he was definitely thinking something. ‘What’s the
Test?’

‘The Test,’ Rose said, rolling her heavy eyes, ‘is what every single soul ever created normally has to take in order to gain a permanent place in the beautiful, inner fields of Omnipion. When new souls are born, it’s explained to them that they must live out many different lives in order to awaken their true selves, then they enter a pod inside an enclosed structure called the Chamber on the outer crust of Omnipion and watch a part of their soul live out those lives, hoping with each one that they gain the points they need to become Awake and ascend.’

‘What do you mean points?’

‘To simplify, if you’re good you gain points and move up a level, and if you’re bad you lose points and move down. You will inflate or deflate as you watch yourself and your actions. The aim is to reach level one, the exit, and ascend fully Awake. Every soul starts in the middle and can either make their way up or down, depending on their actions.’

‘So my actions are being scored now?’ Amy said, looking confused.

‘No. You’re not having the Test. You’ve entered the Chamber of your own choice to help with the mission. You’ve never had to be tested!’

‘Why not?’

‘Because, like I’ve said, your soul was born fully Awake, learned, and powerful, and full of love, just like the other eleven. You all had the powers and capability to put many laws into action. It has always been understood that there needed to be twelve gifted souls: one for each inner field of Omnipion. Twelve special souls who needed to put the complexities of its many aspects in running order. You’ve been there since the beginning of time until now, and the reason you’re here now is because you are so powerful. All you need to do is open your mind. Believe. Know you have power and it will come!’

‘But I’m trapped inside this Chamber thing?’ Amy asked, as if she hadn’t got Rose’s main point.

‘Not trapped, but yes.’ Rose smiled dreamily. ‘You’ve been placed in at the top where souls who’ve passed normally come out, on level one, like all the Guardians and other souls who come back for specific jobs.’

‘Why would anyone go back inside The Chamber when the purpose was to get back to the inner fields?’

‘When souls pass, they can either enter the Gateway of Dreams, an illusory core that produces any great afterlife you could imagine, or work on one of the fields of Omnipion. Depending what colour they ascend shows which field they’d be most suited to but some, especially if golden, feel the need to come back and help people having their Tests.’

‘But Tom hasn’t come
back
, he was born Awake like me. This is his first time here too?’

‘Yes. And he’s brighter than any other Guardian ever thought possible. Obvious to all why he came out of the core.’

‘To counterbalance evil? I won’t allow it!’

‘That’s the only reason he’s here. He didn’t have to leave Omnipion. He’s Awake.’

Amy shook her head. ‘I don’t get why ordinary souls have to leave the inner fields if they were there in the first place?’

Rose rubbed Amy’s arm in comfort. ‘The purpose of life is to experience. A new soul could live in Omnipion, but Omnipion runs on pure thoughts and love and some of the new souls, if left to grow and learn in the regimented environment of Omnipion, wouldn’t discover if they naturally possess this manner. They must live in all different situations until they’ve experienced all that life could throw at them. We hope they will all pass, but some of them fail.’

‘Fail?’

‘Yes. Once you hit the bottom, level twelve, your soul drops into the Under-Dome and is burnt in the black fire. It is the only way to weed out the bad.’

‘That’s barbaric!’

‘It is a fair game. Everyone on Earth is on different levels inside the Chamber. Once you invoke the light, you can see what level people are on by what shade they are. Evil is the darkest shade.’

‘Can Tom see these shades?’

‘Yes. Tom will cry if he sees a dark shade, especially anyone on level twelve of the Chamber.’

Amy knew without a doubt why Tom cried in front of Ethan and, even though she didn’t know why she still needed validation of Luke’s dark influence at this point, she sighed with a strange feeling of relief at the final confirmation. ‘Like life really
is
a test
.
Like we’re playing in some computerised pod? The game of life?’ Amy almost laughed.