PART NINE

Close your eyes, can you see?

It's the land of Secret Dreams Take my hands.

Follow me where Time escapes from Reality

Can you feel the loneliness burning in my heart?

I would need an Angel to teach me again to fly

Fly to me and save me

Heal my broken wings

Close your eyes and kiss me

'cause tonight

It's The night of Dreams

and your crystal - eyes could drive me to the light

*

The night of dreams – Labyrinth

In orbit around Narnia

*

“How are things going, Hori?”

“I made contact, Mal. Spring thaw's in full flood – figuratively and literally. They're all feverishly planting crops down there, refilling the underground reservoirs and enjoying the sunshine. We've got permission and indeed an invite to come and join in their 'new year' festival; the beach at Paravel is huge, very wide and long. They say Serenity will be perfectly safe near the dunes.”

“And the tower?”

“Pretended we'd spotted it from orbit, eh. They're saying the headland it's on is separate from the mainland now, has been for about ten years. No-one goes to the tower; no reason for it and it's considered structurally dangerous.”

“Ten years – again. I'm thinking that's highly significant. Any talk of a maze or labyrinth?”

Hori nodded, “Used to be an underground maze as part of the tower complex, built long ago, much older than the rest. It was one of several attractions, now all fallen into disuse and abandoned.”

“And I'll bet the maze connections to the tower have gone.”

“Maybe not all, eh. They said that some of the maze passages *supposedly went under the sea.”

“Best way to approach the top of that tower is from outside, in any case.”

Hori considered, “Get a closer look first, eh.”

“Indeed; very carefully. We are after all, invited guests. Don't want to offend our hosts.”

*

Vera had put in three waves whilst they flew to Narnia. The first was to Bryan Williams asking him to act as a kind of post restante for any official correspondence and to keep half an eye on the house. He'd promised to do his best. The s