The Vortex is the third and final book of the fantasy series called The Alban Saga. Beatrice was Book I and Black Grotto, Book II. I just finished Chapter 23 titled "The Mole."
The Vortex is going to be about 31 chapters long, with the final chapter being the "Epilogue." I'm hoping to complete and publish it sometime during the fall of 2024. Maybe sooner if everything goes well!
Una had just finished another meeting with her inner circle, laying out in even more detail the plans for her ascension. Zephyr and Abbey had just left, and Obsidian was about to leave as well when Una waved her over and asked, “Do ye think ye could stay a bit longer. I need t’ talk about something that’s been disturbing me.”
Obsidian laid her bag on the floor, sat down opposite Una, and said, “Go ahead, Una.”
“With the coming of my ascension as the Hermaphrodite, all the work I’m doing to prepare, and because I’m connecting with the Heartwood almost every day now, it hasn’t been unusual for me to dream almost every night. But there was one dream in particular that I had about a month ago that I can’t get out of my head. It was unbelievably real, almost a vision of sorts.”
“What was it about?”
“It happened on the kind of night I normally enjoy. A night when earth’s darkest secrets call to me - when I always light a peat fire, and the flames speak to me of the deepest and most ancient Druid enchantments and lore. On this particular night, though, something felt strange and different to me.
“As on most stormy nights, I was sitting by the fire with a dram of my favorite whisky. The wind was fierce and the rain pounding down on the roof over my head. However, on this wild night, the flames of the fire did not comfort me, nor did the whisky help soothe my nerves. I felt anxious, and when I went to bed I tossed and turned. It took me several hours to get to sleep. When I finally did, it must have been during a particularly deep part of that sleep when I had the dream.”
At that point Una took a sip of tea, collected her thoughts, and then continued. “In the dream, I could sense that someone had entered my cottage. I didn’t know who. I just knew they were there. I could sense their movements outside my bedroom, but for some reason, it didn’t actually wake me up. It wasn’t long, though, before I knew they were inside my bedroom.
“Next to my bed, I always kept the Heartwood in a cloth bag. I like to have it nearby in case I need to use it to answer a question or look into something during the night. The person in my dream seemed to be moving towards me. When they were right next to me, the sounds they made indicated that they had picked up the bag with the Heartwood inside. My pulse quickened, and I began to panic. The Heartwood has always been such an important part of me, and I’ve had it for so long... I didn’t know what to do. I tried to wake up…and felt a great need to protect the Heartwood, but then I stopped as I heard the person whisper something. I listened carefully but couldn’t understand what they were saying. Then, at that very same moment, the dream abruptly disappeared from my mind, and I fell back into a deep and peaceful slumber.
“I must have stayed that way for some time, but gradually my concern and worry about the dream resurfaced, and this time, I actually woke up, rolled over, and reached for the bag… I felt immense relief! The bag lay where it always had, and the Heartwood was still inside.
Then the sound of the raging storm outside, still pounding against my bedroom window, caught my attention. I sat up and tried to look through the glass, but in truth, I could hardly see beyond my outstretched hand – my bedroom almost completely devoid of light. It was then that the memory of the dream resurfaced. It had seemed so real to me. I tried to use my senses, despite the storm and the inky blackness, to make sure that no one was actually in my home. As I did, I heard a brushing sound, and out of the corner of one of my eyes, I couldn’t help thinking that I saw the shadow of someone stepping out of my bedroom and vanishing. I knew it was probably just my imagination, but I had to know one way or the other. I quickly lit a candle on my bedside table, got out of bed, and checked everywhere in the cottage. I heard no other noises and saw no other shadows. Everything seemed exactly as I’d left it before going to bed.
“My heart was pounding. Part of me thought that it had all been real, but another part knew it was simply a dream. Then my mind returned to the Heartwood, and I walked back into my bedroom. I took it out of the bag, and engaged with it. If there had been someone in my cottage, and they had touched it or tried to use it, I would have known. But, just as my cottage did not show any evidence of the shadow I’d seen, the Heartwood did the same. No one had touched it or tried to join with it.
“Gradually…I slept a bit more, but only in fits and starts. And as I mentioned before, the dream was so real and unusual that it has bothered me every day since. What d’ye think, Obsidian? Could it have been real? D’ye think someone was here?”
Obsidian could easily see that Una had been profoundly affected by the dream she’d had. She didn’t want to give Una an answer without thinking carefully about it. It took her a few moments, but then she finally said, “Una, I know how important the Heartwood is to you, and I know you’re constantly thinking about your upcoming ascension. Deep inside, within your subconscious mind, I’m sure you have a great many worries and concerns about someone stopping you from becoming the Hermaphrodite. Anyone in your situation, with all that pressure and with so many people counting on you, would be. But to me…it doesn’t sound as if anyone was really here. Your dream, most likely, came from an extremely deep and heavy sleep where all of your worries coalesced into that terrible nightmare. It has to be that! Don’t you think?”
Una nodded and agreed. “Aye…you’re probably right, but just to be safe, especially with my ascension so close, I’m going to place a protection spell around my cottage every night. It will wake me if anyone tries to enter. I’ll sleep better that way…”
Then Obsidian noticed a red blaze in the pupils of Una’s eyes and a flash of anger in her voice as she said, “And…if anyone does try to make their way inside, they won’t live to talk about it. That I’ll guarantee…!”
