Beneath the Elder Tree Read Online Free PDF Page B

Emily. ‘Everything seems different all of a sudden.’
       ‘No, the sun hasn’t gone down yet. We’re still in mirror world, but it’s fading which is lifting the curse of the sun from us. Think of it like being shackled in a prison cell. The shackles have just been removed but you haven’t left the cell yet. Night world is when you step outside the cell into a much broader and more vibrant environment.’
       ‘I fail to see how night could be more vibrant than day. Are we like vampires or something?’
       ‘Let’s not talk about vampires.’
       ‘What? Are you telling me they actually exist.’
       ‘There are a lot strange beings in the various worlds. You’ll learn all about them in time - when you’re experienced enough to understand why they exist.’
       ‘More secrets.’
       ‘I don’t want to talk about the evils of the world right now.’
       ‘Suit yourself.’
       I knew the abattoir very well. It’d been closed for over a decade and was a pretty grim place at the best of times. The residents of Hampton had been petitioning the local authorities for years to have it dismantled. I couldn’t understand why Emily thought it would be beautiful at night. It was dismal enough in daylight and nobody went there after dark, except for secretive lovers or the occasional troublemakers from the city. The iron structure came into full view as we passed the last of the houses. It loomed over its overgrown grounds like a rusted metal monster waiting for unsuspecting victims to cross its path.
       ‘I’m still not seeing the beauty,’ I said with a snort. ‘It’s as ugly as ever.’
       Emily ignored me and continued on across the road and onto the wasteland surrounding the building. As we entered the stretch of patchy grassland I froze up and stared at the ground at my feet.
       The world was indeed changing. As the sunlight faded, the world became bright and full of life. A faint luminous mist began to rise from the grass, the flowers and the trees that surrounded us. The insects that buzzed past us sparked brightly and little lights fluttered in their wake. Pulses of light rippled out from the birds in the trees. The nocturnal creatures that scurried in the undergrowth were radiating brightness, like dancing flames in black grass. It didn’t make any sense. The world was brighter now than it had been during daylight.
       ‘What the hell is going on?’
       ‘It’s the aura,’ Emily said calmly, as if this was ordinary to her. ‘Every living creature has an aura. In night world you get to see that aura in every colour imaginable. This is merely the beginning, Lucy. The sun is about to disappear, and when it does night world will take over.’ She hurried on towards the building. ‘Follow me. I want you to see the bigger picture.’
       Emily was quicker and more agile now than she’d been earlier that day. She leaped off the ground and landed on the metal wall of the factory and stood horizontally before pacing up the wall towards the roof. Everything about this level of existence was strange and unexpected. Every second there was something new to experience.
       ‘Come on,’ she shouted from above. ‘Try it for yourself.’
       Passing through doors had been a little odd. This, on the other hand, was completely surreal. Still, I wanted to be able to do the things she did. I wanted to master this strange new world. I darted forward and I jumped at the corrugated wall. To my dismay, I bounced right off it and landed in the grass.
       ‘Why did you fall?’ Emily shouted from the roof.
       ‘Because I’m trying to walk up a wall!’ I screamed back. ‘I’ve never done this before.’
       ‘What dragged you back to earth?’
       ‘Gravity.’
       ‘Do you think gravity can affect a spirit?’
       ‘It shouldn’t.’
       ‘It doesn’t. Just walk up the wall. It’s the same as walking on a pavement.’
       It was a mental barrier,