The Enchantments: Book 4 - The Key of Mulastef

Chapter 3: Darkness Swarming

The Now and Then

The fog started to lift ever so slightly in the distance Shawn had noticed. The pain he had been feeling had suddenly left, and all was peaceful. But where was he? He had the feeling he'd be scared of where he was, but there was something about the area that gave him a sense of peace. He realized he could stay here forever.

The air, even though foggy smelt fresh and clean, he took in a huge breath and let it out ever so slowly. He had never felt this alive and yet he knew that was far from the truth.

Small eddies in the fog brought his attention back from the wanderings of his mind, and the smile on his face slowly disappeared. Someone or something was walking towards him through the dim. A feeling washed over him that filled him with both excitement and dread at the same time.

"Who's there?" He yelled out, surprised at the sound of his voice sounding calmer than he felt.

There was no response.

"Please, I won't harm you!" He said.

"That would be highly unlikely," a commanding voice from inside the fog said.

Shawn felt the pit of his stomach move to his throat.

"W...w...who are you?" He stammered.

"I am the past, present, and future." The voice said seeming to resonate everywhere around him.

Shawn braced himself for the inevitable and hoped that his feeling of peacefulness would not change.

As if by magic the figure stepped out of the fog and Shawn was hit with the brightest light he had ever seen.

"Are you... god?" He asked nervously.

"I am never that powerful or remembered. I am who I am." The figure said.

Shawn tried desperately to see through the blinding light but either the figure didn't want him to see, or he didn't want want to see for himself.

"What are you doing here?" Shawn asked.

"The question is what you are doing here." The figure said harshly. "You are not set to arrive here for another four years."

"I beg your pardon... four years, where is here?"

"You are in the realm of here and then."

"The what," Shawn asked nervously.

"A buffer zone appears between the heavens and the earth; this is one of those zones that we alone are in charge of."

"We...?" Shawn sounded confused.

"We are a term that you would not understand. And I have not the time or the inclination to tell you the secrets of the universe to you."

"Who are you?" Shawn asked again.

"I am the past, present, and future. I balance good and evil in the universe and bring events together that keep it that way.

"I don't understand..."

"... You do not need to understand until the time comes when you will play a part in the outcome. Until then you will be sent back to your normal life."

"...But."

"GO NOW!!!" The voice shouted.

Shawn felt the mind-numbing feeling of pain start to fill his body again. A deep penetrating pain spread across his chest and he felt like he was going to die all over again. Then as suddenly as it appeared the pain was gone and filled him with the warmth and vitality of life. During the whole ordeal he had his eyes closed, but as he felt the rain on his face, he opened them.