by Karen Binnie
Chapter 5
Cooper raised the staff high above her head and began her daily ritual, each morning she would practise the ancient art of Kalchai, a form of fighting with sticks, except you only used the one stick made of genus wood, this would be taller than its user, each end pointed ready for the kill in an attack.
Of course their people had always been friendly, there were never wars between them and one wondered where the ancient art of Kalchai had originated. Cooper remembered the wise man who had told her the ancient art must be mastered in case of attack, at that time back on their homeland this had seemed incomprehensible but maybe this was the attack the wise man had foreseen. It was always good to prepare, the trouble was there were only two such staffs of this kind left, genus wood no-longer existed and the reluctant Eldeen was far too old and fragile for Cooper to spar with now.
She had put on a more fitting garment for battle, a tight yet thick brown leather bodice with a flared attached skirt allowing for more movement than the toga garments her people were more accustomed to, the only warmth from her heavy cloak on this very cold morning.
She did not practice beside the river as usual, the controlled movements with grace, but stabbed at the air with great force upon the rock of the clearing, if Al’ice brought trouble then she would be ready, Jol had to be protected at any cost.
The early morning air was very still as if devoid of oxygen, the faint sweet smell of the incense pored upon the funeral pyre gently wafted into the clearing. Eldeen’s oldest friend Fyest had given up the fight as predicted and as such had been cremated, he did not have the dignity of passing between the two moons as were customary in their homeland, no he was to part this world in an incongruous manner. She had not the time to pay her respects this morning but her grandfather would understand the task at hand was far more important to the future of her people.
The first rays of sunlight broke the surface on the horizon at the same time a great crack of thunder reverberated across the clearing, the rays were subdued as the skies began to darken.
Cooper crouched, ready in attack position, staring out to the clearing in front of her, the ground shook tiny vibrations enough to unsettle any ones nerves, but she stood steadfast, waiting. Before her the air wobbled as if something had broken through the surface of water and with the next thunderous shudder three bodies stumbled through the hole in time.
Placing her staff to her side, Cooper stood and studied the dishevelled mess before her, it was clear these figures were the only ones to arrive, the wobble in time had corrected itself, the dawn resumed its awakening.
In the growing sunlight she could clearly see Al’ice supporting Jol on one shoulder whilst another man gripped her waist supporting her on the opposite side as if she were too heavy for either of them to carry.
She stepped from the rock towards them, concerned for Jol, glancing quickly from the stranger to Al’ice she asked “what is wrong, is she hurt?”
Al’ice shook his head as she stepped forward to take the weight, “I believe she has just fainted with exhaustion” he replied.
Cooper looked at Al’ice’s broken and bloodied nose then at the strangers black eye, “I’ll take her from here” she nodded to the stranger who was reluctant to release his grip.
“Is this the complication Al’ice to which you referred?”
Jez held his arm tight around the girl’s waist, wincing with the pain in his chest.
“Yes and no, there was another” replied Al’ice.
“Friend or foe?” Cooper directed at Jez.
He glared at them both still holding on tightly to the girl’s waist, “I could ask you the same question” he managed in reply, his lip had begun to bleed, his jaw tight.
Cooper stood now directly in front of him centimetres from his face, studying his one good eye, looking down at the awkward way he was holding Jol she replied, “friends then, for now. It is clear we all have Jol’s best interests at heart but let me carry her, you have broken a rib if I am not mistaken.”
Jez glowered at Al’ice who despite his broken face managed to smirk in one-up-man ship. She was right of course, he had broken a rib before, falling from his bike on the old dirt track back on the farm, the pain was identical and he wondered how she could tell. Jez stared right back into her inviting eyes looking for any hint of deception, he had always prided himself on being a good judge of character, she seemed genuine enough but he didn’t trust the other one, the source of his pain.
“We can fix the rib back at the village, we should take Jol there, this is no place for her to be hanging around in her condition, she should be laid down, more comfortable don’t you think?”
“Cousin just take her to Eldeen, whilst I finish him off!”
Jez tensed at the words, not releasing his grip, Al’ice was already recovered, bouncing on the balls of his feet, ready for the fight.
Cooper raised her hand in command, “you will do no such thing, Eldeen will want to meet our new friend?”
Reluctantly Jez relinquished his hold on the girl to the woman who stood before him like an amazonian warrior, he had never met such a woman before, she scooped the girl up into her arms with little effort.
Ignoring the pain in his chest, Jez swung towards Al’ice, his fists raised poised for the fight, “come on then you girl” he taunted.
Cooper stepped between them “Enough!” she bellowed at them both, “you can perhaps finish this silly feud only once you have spoken with Eldeen!”
Stanton paced up and down in front of the fireplace as he retold the evenings events to Kate, he stopped when she re-acted to the words ‘Alice and Jol’ from the séance.
Kate explained how Julianne let only her closest friends call her Jol, it was a pet name her grandmother had called her but that she hadn’t seen her grandmother since before the accident that had claimed her mum and brothers life and that her father had brought her to live here on the Kapiti Coast where her mum was originally from, he thought it would help, a new start and all that.
“Then who is Alice?” asked Stanton.
“Well this is going to sound really weird…”
“Anymore weird than what’s already occurred here this evening?” he replied.
“True, well Alice is her cat.”
“What?”
“Told you it was weird! Come to think of it he went missing earlier and she was really worried about him, he never goes missing, you sure it was A.L.I.C.E?”
“That’s what was spelled out.”
“Far out, but you haven‘t told me why you did the séance in the first place, was it just for a bit of fun?”
Stanton sat back down beside her, taking her hand in his “you’ve got to believe me Kate I didn’t want this to happen.”
Kate rubbed his hand in consolation, “it’s ok, and it’s not your fault.”
“Oh but it is, I knew something would happen, I wanted something to happen, stupid, stupid fool that I am….”
Kate stood abruptly and backed away from him, “What are you talking about? You’re beginning to frighten me again…”
“No Kate I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that, please, please let me explain.”
Kate sat on the sofa facing him, her knees together, with her hands gripping them, her knuckles white, she glared at him in disbelief as he began his story, for that’s what it was a story, how could any of it be true?
“I should begin at University, I was sent there at an early age, far more advanced than others my age, but I found University difficult, at sixteen I was a lot younger than my peers who resented me, treated me different. Excluded from their social activities but that was OK, I love to read books and immersed myself in the power of learning, a double edged sword if you like, it only helped to accelerate my grades which alienated me even further. Then I put in for a foreign exchange, came to Wellington last year, you’re so laid back in this country. My learning took a back seat for a while whilst I settled into a new life here
, but I began to read about the occult and demons. The subject fascinated me especially when cross referenced with the internet I fell upon something yet to be studied, to be investigated, going back through time there are stories, tales, legends even, of people vanishing during séance’s. Not just any séance’s either, these are special, rarely conducted as not many know of the correct way to conduct the Ouija board. Many kids have a go at it, but that’s all it is a half hearted attempt at something they do not understand. I studied the phenomenon and discovered that a demonic soul was behind these disappearances, I believed I had located the correct demon and after further investigation, I believed I had found a way to stop it.”
Kate shook her head, it was numbingly hard to understand, “This all sounds very Buffy, even Charmed, bloody hell Stanton, you’re nuts!”
“But Kate am I? think about what’s happened tonight, the purplish mist, all of the party now asleep, the music stopped and what about the strange voices at the back of the house, did you not wonder what the hell was happening?”
“Yeah ok, I did, I do! but what strange voices at the back of the house, I didn’t hear anything but your breathing when you were in that trance of yours.”
“Ah! the kiss, I haven’t thanked you for that, for bringing me back to normality.”
Kate blushed at the memory, she had felt bold earlier, now she was just confused, “Ok, so if you’re not nuts, why did it go wrong? why didn’t you stop this demon thing or whatever it is, eh?”
“Elements, too many elements all coming together at once, it seems your friend Jol had been selected as the target, I had placed patchouli oil under the table and all the chairs earlier today, this was supposed to have suppressed the demon, I have a containment vessel in which to catch it but I never had the chance. Someone leapt into the room and stole her away, obviously not the demon I expected, as the oil had no effect.”
“So who was it?” Kate was starting to get interested again at this bit, maybe now she would get some answers.
“I have no idea…………..I believe though, he was someone trying to protect her, to save her from the demon.”
“Like a knight in shining armour?”
Stanton frowned at her, “you watch too much television!”
“You’re the one watching too much TV, containment vessel eh? that’s Ghostbusters, I reckon you’re confused and how do you know I don’t read books?” she replied indignantly.
“An educated guess.”
“So you think I’m uneducated is that it, just because I’m Maori?”
“Are you?” he replied, “I hadn’t noticed, sorry if my comments upset you, I didn’t mean to offend.”
He walked over to her sofa and sat beside her again, “you ok?”
Kate rested her head against his shoulder “I’m sorry too, this is so intense, I just get tetchy when something’s hard to understand and I feel so’oo tired.”
Kate’s eyelids were heavy, she closed them, ‘just for a moment’ she thought.
Kate woke up with a start, she had fallen asleep, weary from the alcohol, and hiding from demons, she sat upright at that thought, her neck sore from the way she had been laying awkwardly on the sofa. Stanton sat down beside her and offered her a mug, “here drink this.”
“What is it?” she replied.
“Coffee, you did ask for it!”
“I did? where did you get it?”
“From the kitchen, where else!”
“What about the dem……..”
“I was careful.”
“Is everyone still sleeping?”
“Yep, like babies.”
Kate brought the mug to her lips, “Is there...?”
“Yep 2 sugars, I know.”
How did he know? bloody smart arse, as if reading her thoughts he added, “I asked you when you were sleeping, you talk in your sleep you know!”
She let the coffee slowly awaken her senses, it did taste good, she wondered what she had said in her sleep, hoping it was nothing about Gregor and what had happened earlier that evening, before she had met Stanton. Kate shuddered at that thought, then remembered about time.
“Stanton, what time is it?” she asked him frantically.
He looked at his wrist “11. 59”
“What am I going to tell Jol’s dad, he’ll be here any minute, not unless he’s out there already, he’ll wonder why the music’s stopped, oh crap!”
She put the coffee mug down on the table and rose to her feet.
“Where are you going?”
“To see if he’s there already.”
Stanton grabbed her wrist, “I don’t want you going into the rest of the house, it’s not safe.”
Kate looked at the coffee mugs, “well you did!”
“I told you I was careful, I’m not letting anything happen to you as well, don’t you think it’s just more than a co-incidence you didn’t get caught out by the sleeping sickness when all the others seemed to, your Jol’s friend, there’s got to be something in that.”
“I’m just lucky, what about you eh!”
“Yeah I reckon!” he replied, the two of them had both been lucky but then he thought he knew what he was doing.
Kate thought about what he said and put her hand in her pocket, yes the stone was still there, yes lucky she wondered.
“Look you know what car he drives right? see the high window above the bookcases, you look like an athlete, perhaps you could climb up and have a look, we might just be even more lucky and find him asleep at the wheel like the rest of the house, we’re quite safe here in the library.”
“Are you mad?” she replied “don’t demons read books? Is that why we’re safe?”
Stanton began to laugh, Kate was amazed that he could, he seemed so normal and quite good looking when he laughed, it was nice, “What you laughing at?”
“Kate honey, I climb up there with my weight I’ll probably break the shelves or something, just trust me, I’ll stay at the bottom to catch you if you fall if you like? Go up now and put your mind at rest, whilst I think what we’re going to say to this father of hers, I’ll explain about the non reading demons later.”
“Don’t they have some kind of ladder to reach the high shelves?” Kate asked looking around the room.
“You would think so, but oddly there does not appear to be one, here help me drag the table over to give you a head start.”
Cooper gently laid Jol onto a bed in the back room of Eldeen’s cottage and pulled the rug of fur up to her shoulders, both Jez and Al’ice were watching from the doorway, the closest they had stood together with no malice since their arrival, Al’ice a few good inches taller than Jez, both stood, concern etched on their faces.
“She’s alright boys, I think she will sleep for a while longer yet, she’ll be fine.” Cooper nodded in their direction, Al’ice slowly turned into the other room and could be heard talking to the old man, Eldeen.
The room was dark with no windows, the only light source a thick candle recessed into the wall opposite the bed, the thick stone walls keeping the cold air at bay.
Jez wondered where they were, the area was surrounded with mountains, brown and ominous, looking down onto a valley where a handful of stone dwellings could be seen dotted along the riverbank. He had been wary of his new surroundings, taking everything in so that he easily could find the path back to the clearing and their escape, he would stay for now and learn what they wanted with the girl, when the chance arose, they would make their escape and he would make sure she got home safely. Why he felt so compelled to look after the girl, he did not know. Pain dug at his chest again and he tried to not show it, they both would have to be fit if they were to make their escape and the return journey. He was unsure of how they had even got there in the midst of his fight with Al’ice but he would find out the secret.
Cooper stood before him, “Are you going to let her rest in peace or stand there like an over protective father all day!”
Jez looked up
at her with his one good eye, there was something curious about this woman with the deep brown eyes, fear abandoned his body as she studied his face, her own features strikingly tall and beautiful, he trusted her and this unnerved him because that was something else he couldn’t explain.
“Come into the other room and meet my grandfather, he is keen to know all about you, here let me wipe the blood from your wounds.”
Jez snatched the cloth from her hand almost afraid of her touch, “I can do it” he snarled.
The next room was the only other in the cottage which had one window on the left with wooden shutters opening to the outside, the door also had been left open to allow the cold morning air to greet the warmth of a fire sending smoke through the stone chimney on the outside wall beside the door. On the far side a curtain pulled to the side revealed another bed. The room was edged with what looked like wooden boxes topped with sacking stuffed with straw which served as low stools. There was no table but a cupboard to the other side of the fire with a jug and crude carved vessels of various sizes, the fire held a large cooking pot suspended above the flame.
Jez opted to sit nearest to the girl’s open door.
Jez had woken from his slumber, but of course could not open his eyes. There was that voice again, that had been calling to him in his dreams, 'Jerimiah, Jerimiah' and the sound of the waves crashing upon the rocks had woken him. Disturbed by the sound, Jez could not understand what was happening to him, he had concluded yesterday that he must be in some kind of hospital but now he wasn't so sure.
As his mind wandered in and out of consciousness, he remembered being about 5 years old and standing by the rocky shore, tears streaming down his face, the knot in his heart tightening, what was wrong? ‘Jerimiah, come now’ came the gruff man’s voice ‘it’s over, we have work to do on the farm.’ The harsh voice stabbed at his heart like a knife.
Jez had never known who his father was and mum had said very little about him, now she was gone. The man beside him forced the lid back onto the clay pot and grabbed Jez's arm fiercely, so real was this memory he could feel the pain as if it had just happened.
Jez looked back toward the sea as he was dragged away, imagining his mother swimming with the dolphins which she had loved, her own fins growing where her legs had once been. He remembered the man, his old git of a grandfather, was all he had left now. He hated him, ‘that bastard she left me with’ was how he referred to Jez.