The Cornerstone by Nick Spalding Page B

‘Borne? Give me The Cornerstone!’
    ‘Merelie, that’s not wise,’ the Arma replied. ‘We should wait for the custodian.’
    ‘Give it to me Borne… now!’
    Merelie may not have technically been a princess, but she could sure sound like one when she wanted to.
    Borne heaved a sigh, fished the book out from one of his large trouser pockets and handed it over. ‘I don’t know what you expect it to do, Merelie. It probably needs charging.’
     ‘Not for what I’m going to do. The door I’ll be opening isn’t to another world,’ she said, flipping The Cornerstone open.
    Despite himself, Max leaned over to see what was going on.
    Merelie stared at the blank pages of the book, whispering under her breath.
    Words began to appear on the paper at great speed, the page flipping over once it was full. Max couldn’t make out what was being written, but whatever it was, it filled the whole Cornerstone from cover to cover.
    The book was glowing in Merelie’s hands as she continued to speak under her breath, eyes closed in concentration.
    When the last page was reached, she gasped and slammed the book shut.
    ‘Merelie! What have you done?’ Borne demanded, trying to take The Cornerstone back.
    ‘No! He needs to see!’ she cried, opening the book again and thrusting it at Max. ‘Read!’ she commanded.
    Max made a face, but then looked down, doing as he was told:

    The first time I had the dream I was six and could barely understand what I’d seen.

    This was different. It wasn’t describing what had just happened.

    In the years that have passed however, I’ve become more and more aware I was seeing the end of everything, and I knew I had to do something to stop it.

    This was Merelie speaking.
    Good grief, am I about to see her dreams?
    Sure enough, silver light enveloped Max and he entered Merelie’s subconscious.

- 7 -

    Max materialised out of the light into the girl’s chambers, which now looked quite different from the rooms he’d visited earlier.
    Stuffed animals gave him glassy looks from every available flat surface and a huge doll’s house sat in the centre of the room. It was actually more of a tower, reaching a good six feet from the bedroom floor. Max wondered if this was a representation of the Carvallen Chapter House. If it was, the real building must dominate the skyline. It looked imposing, even in miniature form.
    The rest of the floor was covered in brightly coloured cushions and a variety of dolls, discarded as their owner got bored with them.
    This was the domain of a child, and Max wasn’t surprised to find that when he tip-toed over to the bed, he could see a little blonde girl of about six sleeping peacefully, her arms wrapped around a stuffed horse.
    The mini version of Merelie started to twitch, entering what appeared to be a vivid dream.
    It evidently wasn’t a good one.
    She started to whimper, her eyes trembling back and forth beneath the lids. Max lent forward and shook her shoulder, trying to bring her out of the nightmare.
    Her eyes snapped open and she screamed at the top of her lungs.
    The bedroom dissolved, like smoke blown away in a gust of strong wind, leaving only Max, Merelie and the large bed she lay in.
    What replaced the room was very strange indeed.
    Max stood on a soft white surface of woven material. It looked like wood, but felt quite springy underfoot.
    The sky above was the same writhing purple mass as the void The Cornerstone had sent him through the first time he’d used it. Flecks of bright silver rolled and spun in the dark mass, creating a night sky alive with light, under which rested this odd, silent landscape.
    It was all very eerie.
    ‘Hello Max,’ said a tiny, piping voice from behind him.
    He looked at the bed where the mini version of Merelie was now awake.
    ‘Merelie?’ he asked.
    ‘Yes, it’s me. This is how I looked when the nightmares first started.’
    ‘But… you’re talking to me as you are now and not as you were then, even though