by Karen Binnie
Chapter 16
Cooper had convinced Jez to change temporarily into the toga style garment he had been forced into the night before, it had taken much persuading.
“You cannot fish in those heavy jeans and that jacket Jez, unless you wish the current to drown you.”
She laughed when he emerged from the cottage, standing there in the dress like garment, he had kept his t-shirt on underneath and of course his jockeys but he stood there awkwardly still wearing his boots and socks,
“Well what you laughing at, I put it on didn’t I!”
He approached the edge of the river and eyed Cooper suspiciously, “so you expect me to stand in the fast flowing and freezing river after almost dying last night?”
“Oh don’t be so dramatic” she replied, “the water is quite warm and refreshing, watch.”
He stood and watched as she looked upstream then followed the flow as if something had caught her eye, allowing her hands to drop below the water. She was incredible, her face radiant from the suns glare on the water’s surface, he could not see through the current what she was following but as soon as it was level with her body, the movement was so fast he could hardly believe what he was seeing. Coopers hands rose from the water, both clamped tightly around the trout which she flung in his direction, the fish landing at his feet. He looked at it as it thrashed from side to side its mouth gaping open and shut, he picked up a stone and thumped in on the head putting it out of its misery, before he could look back at what she was doing another two landed with a slop sending a spray of water across his legs.
“What the, give me a minute will you” he moaned as another landed plop right next to him as he was still despatching the previous fish.
She stood tall in the water, the cool strong current did not seem to bother her in her stance.
“Well are you coming in or what?" she called.
He looked at her standing with her hands on hips invitingly, he knelt and felt the water, “its bloody cold” he replied.
He didn’t want to make a fool of himself knowing all too well that he would never be able to catch a fish by hand, “I’ll stay here and finish em.”
“Pity and you got all dressed up for nothing,” she replied as she began the raucous laughter once more.
Jez let her laugh, it was good to see, there was usually an unnerving vibe around here and the laughter broke the intensity. Then almost as if in answer to his thoughts, he felt the hairs prickle on the back of his neck again, he looked around him, this time the sinister sensation had returned.
“Jez what it is?” asked Cooper sensing his anxiety.
He didn’t answer at first but rubbed at his neck, at the irritation, in these strange surroundings he was unable to locate the direction of the source.
A deep roar echoed across the valley partnered with a flash of light, Cooper had stepped onto the grassy bank beside him, water dripping from her body and looked in the direction of the sound, her eyes fixed.
“Thunder and lightning?” he asked hopefully, although he sensed this to be untrue.
“No, it is not!” she had her serious face back, the light mood now passed.
Eldeen emerged in the doorway a grave look upon his face, “you must investigate” he commanded, “we cannot have distractions now.”
Jez wondered what that meant, Cooper was already grabbing hold of her wooden staff from the side of the cottage.
“Is it the demon?” he asked.
“We cannot be sure, no demon has ever crossed our lands before, it may only be a break in the timeline.”
“I’m coming with you, wait I will change” he raced inside the cottage.
By the time he returned she had already left, he looked in the direction of the east trying to remember the route of his arrival when Eldeen gripped his arm. For someone so frail at times his grip was like that of a young man, Jez looked at his face questionably.
“You are not ready for such confrontations, first you must find your hidden soul and channel your aggression.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“Jez, please, I wish you to stay here, we have these fish to prepare for supper do we not?”
That vibe was back, the intensity hung like a thick fog as Jez accepted his fate as babysitter to the old man, his uncle, ha! They sat on rocks facing each other beside the river, Jez careful to select a position for detecting Coopers return as they cut the innards from the scaly fish.
“Have you tried brown trout before?” asked Eldeen as he watched his companion’s edgy demeanour.
“Uh, No.”
“Well you will like it, not as good as the rainbow mind, but tasty all the same.”
Ten fish now lay on the grass, their guts returned to the water, the flesh now ready for cooking, Eldeen picked one up and showed Jez how to wrap the body inside one of the huge leaves growing amongst the reeds. Jez copied his actions, still looking towards the mountains in the east.
“I know that Jol’s father is dead,” he looked at the old man for a response and received none, “I hope Al’ice has broken the news gently, she has been through quite a lot.”
Eldeen nodded his head as Jez spoke, “so have you Jerimiah but you are right, Al’ice is not the parasite you think, she is not alone.”
Jez looked down at his boots unwilling to betray his thoughts.
“Perhaps you would care to fetch some of that chopped wood of yours, we shall cook the fish here beside the river, the smell will be unbearable in the cottage don’t you think?”
Jez agreed, in such a small room the smell would linger for days. He made light work of collecting the wood and piled it around the smaller twigs used for lighting.
“Now for, as you might say, a parlour trick, watch!” Eldeen lifted his finger and a torch of fire expelled from the tip catching the twigs at once, Jez was pretty amazed, “thought you would like that, it is always impressive the first time, a necessity after that.”
“Hhmmmm, what’s cooking?” Cooper asked, as if she didn’t know.
Jez looked up stunned by her sudden appearance, where had she come from so fast? he had only just checked up ahead.
“Well?” he asked anxiously waiting for any kind of secret glance between her and Eldeen.
“If anything entered through the timeline then I could not detect it, no tracks, no scent, but we should keep alert just in case.”
“A demon would not leave any scent or tracks?” questioned Jez.
“Perhaps, but then evil leaves a distasteful stench in the air.”
“How do you know?”
Eldeen interrupted,“let us worry about that later, I am extremely hungry for once.”
“Would Jol eat fish?” asked Jez, “we should leave her some.”
“She will not be dining tonight, Al’ice has everything in hand.”
I bet he has thought Jez as he helped them inside with the cooked fish, he looked up at the ridgeline Al’ice had taken her to earlier, I bet he has.
The fish tasted really good, Cooper shook her head as she contemplated the man before her, his eye had already started to turn yellow, he was a quick healer.
“You are very bold, you should bear the mark of a fighter.”
“How do you mean?”
Cooper pointed to the mark surrounding her arm, “very similar to this, I only have this mark because of my ancestry, traditionally the strongest of men bear the mark of the fighter, those selected to hunt and protect the village.”
Eldeen interrupted, “as you know, our people are not like the Celts that populate this land, this valley was chosen for its harsh weather and remoteness, we do not wish to anger the Celts. They appear to have separate communities which attack each other and fight for supremacy over the land. That is not our way, the Celts are unaware of our existence, until such a time we can integrate peacefully we are trapped, here in this valley.”
Jez listened as he admired the intricate pattern surrounding what looked like a shark, on
Coopers arm.
“What my grandfather is trying to explain, we cannot allow anyone to detect us, we already live by our own means which will not impeach on the natives of this land, we have no wish to fight due to the disease that plagues us. Our whole lives could be destroyed, we have no escape until the plague is eradicated.”
“Jol is the key, once she is of age we will know if the healing gene has been released, we have waited a long time for this, unfortunately her mother did not carry this gene” added Eldeen, “but we digress from the issue, you should bear the mark, your ancestry commands it.”
“Well what will it look like, I don’t want some lame moko design and where are the tools, this is going to hurt isn’t it?”
Eldeen raised the sleeve of his garment and revealed an intricate design of interlacing patterns of reds and green, geometric lines of knot work and spirals incorporating what appeared like the image of a bird, and not just any bird, a great bird of prey with enormous wings.
Jez was spellbound by the image, “will mine be identical?” he asked.
“No” replied Eldeen “you must allow me to look into your soul, this will reveal the image and only this image can be traced onto your arm. The pain you will feel will be unlike any other pain you have endured.”
Jez looked at Cooper for answers.
“I cannot explain what you will feel, for some it is an enjoyable experience, others do not speak of it, only you can control the pain Jez, control shapes it from your own knowledge, into a unique effect.”
Jez removed his leather jacket and took off his t-shirt exposing his muscular arms, “come on then, let’s do it before I change my mind.”
“Cooper fetch my staff” commanded Eldeen, “now Jez, we shall go out to the river where you must stand before me.”
She handed the old man a long stick made from a strange coloured wood, polished so that the knots stood out along the shaft. He raised it level with Jez’s face and began to mumble, this reminded Jez of the incoherent song of the Red Indian from films he had seen. The glass like globule at the head of the shaft began to emit an amber glow as Eldeen continued his ramblings. Jez’s eyelids began to droop as he lost his mind into a swell of black, like fish darting back and forth blocking his way. Jez felt angry, then sad as a solitary tear rolled from his eye, a familiar voice told him everything would be alright as a delicate finger brushed his cheek taking the tear and the hurt from him. His heart glowed with love as the fish parted to reveal a woman in the distance, his mothers cornflower blue dress gently blowing against the wind lifting the dress slightly to reveal the top of her leather biker boots, his mind moved closer to her as she beckoned, her black hair whipping around in the breeze concealing her face. As he got closer, she smiled and then jumped from the rock into the sea, a large fin breaking the surface.
Jez had leaned so far forward Cooper only just managed to catch him before he fell, lost to his unconsciousness, she splashed his face from the river to waken him. As the fin cracked through the surface of the sea, Jez felt the cold spray on his face, opening his eyes he found himself laid back on the grass, Cooper’s incredible deep brown eyes bore into him as she scooped more water from the river over his face.
“Hey, stop that” he shouted.
Then it came, the incredible itch all around his arm, he reached across to scratch the irritation, when Eldeen brought the staff down hard across his hand.
“OW!” Jez looked at the amber head of the staff and remembered what had happened.
Eldeen was glaring at him, “you must not touch the mark, no matter the pain you feel.”
Jez pulled himself up to a sitting position and surveyed the damage. The whole of his left bicep was encased in blood, an oozing sticky mess that itched like crazy,
“I can’t see it.”
“You will” nodded Cooper, “just give it a day then the image will reveal itself. Time for some Kalchai training that will take your mind off the itch and I promise not to whack you on the arm.”
Pete landed unceremoniously amongst the trees that surrounded the clearing, his body slack from the landing, his nostrils twitched as they caught the scent of the aromatic heather, again. He opened his eyes, the image blurred, blinking several times he did not feel right, he glanced about him wary of being detected and realised he had transformed into his snake like body. His clothes were no-where to be seen, had Clarintor done this to him? Or just the surprise of her forcefulness when she had sent him across the timeline? He wrinkled his nose to prevent the sneeze that threatened him, he hated these damn flowers. He peered out across the empty clearing knowing too well that his appearance would not go un-noticed, the last time he had travelled there had been a great flash.
His mistress had ordered him to watch and wait, it was too cold up here on the edge of the mountain, he descended slowly into the valley taking care to avoid the heather spread amongst the rocks. The remnants of snow clumped sporadically hindered his approach and chilled his body, the smell of fish re-awakening a desire for food which soon faded.
As he weaved down the mountain he wondered if Clarintor had done this to him, if she had, then his secret was out and she had read his mind but he had perfected the blocking technique Kroil had taught him and was sure she would have killed him if she had known. If he had transformed himself then his clothes could be back at the lake as before and he had no idea of how long he could sustain this form, he would need to locate clothes from the village below, being found naked was not on the agenda.
He paused beside a rock as the woman he had witnessed earlier sped past him on the way to the clearing, she must have detected his arrival, but she would not be looking for a snake. Once she had passed he continued on towards the smell of fish, where there was food there were people and clothes and he could watch and wait, hidden in the shadows until his mistress came for him.
In a clearing between the cottage and the river, Jez had been sparring with Cooper for several hours, the itch on his arm waning. Kalchai seemed to be very similar to a form of martial arts by his reckoning and he had been given Eldeen’s Kalchai staff known as the Kalchi to borrow, an honour only before bestowed upon Al’ice.
Jez was astounded by Cooper’s strength and agility, the aim to catch the other off guard and sweep them from their feet before stabbing them through the heart. Of course this was just practice and they avoided the stabbing part but she was good and had outsmarted him more than once. His shins, knees and arse were sore, not as painful as his damaged pride as he picked himself up from the ground once more. He was growing tired but would never admit defeat, strike after strike reverberating along the weapons shaft into his muscles and sending twinges of pain across his bloodied arm. Thrusting quickly he had at last caught her off guard and cracked her shoulder so fiercely she stumbled to the ground. Jez extended his hand to help Cooper to her feet, she whipped up the Kalchi behind him and cracked across his back.
“Never drop your guard!” she demanded, already on her feet for the next fight.
He glared at her in anger, their eyes met and he was transfixed by her vigour and beauty.
Concerned by his gaze Cooper suddenly turned her back on him and leapt into the river, Jez shook his head, he would never understand women. As he moved closer to the water’s edge he realised that she had not come up for air, where was she? Without a moment’s thought he dived in after her, the panic rising as he could not see anything but the weeds before him. He forced his head above the watery jungle for air, spluttering as he blinked the murky water from his eyes to find Cooper sat on the river bank watching in amusement. Something moved on her neck, he rubbed his eyes and looked again but there was nothing there.
“I'm flattered you came in after me,” she shouted, his foolish pride hurt as his face flushed, she had been mocking him for sure!
“Best get yourself dry, you really shouldn’t get that arm wet, let the air dry your arm, if you rub it now it will become infected.”
Lift
ing himself from the water he looked at his arm again, the sparring had taken his mind off the itch, the blood now glistened from the moisture of the river and seemed to bubble. It was like a dense matted paint job, the red mass encasing his bicep and he wondered if he had done the right thing agreeing to it, as it was, the blood was so thick he could not imagine what lay beneath.
The clouds above had closed in, darkening the sky, another night trapped in the confines of the cottage awaited, wrapped in a blanket again! Now he knew of the connection between them, he was keen to learn more about his father and where he was from, an evening with the others did not seem so bad after all.
As they returned to the cottage Cooper stopped him at the door, he looked over her shoulder to see Eldeen stood in the middle of the room, he gripped his staff, his knuckles white with the tension, Jez was alarmed to only see the whites of his eyes.
“Progress has been swifter than first imagined, return at first light for the test.”
Eldeen swaggered then slumped onto the stool behind him as Cooper rushed to his aid, something was going on and Jez didn’t like secrets.
“Why did you stop me at the door?” he demanded.
Cooper glared at him, annoyed at his interruption as she threw a blanket in his direction, “you can use Jol’s room to get out of those wet clothes, ” she helped Eldeen to his bed behind the curtain.
Jez returned to the main room, the blanket wrapped tightly around his body and placed his wet clothes near the fire to dry. He had considered the toga like garment for just a second favouring the large blanket instead. He took out his frustrations on the fire, poking at the embers before throwing another log on.
When she finally emerged, her finger to her lips, she whispered “please, no shouting, Grandfather is most fragile.”
“What was he doing?” he asked trying to keep himself calm.
“Talking to Al’ice” she replied, “it is a form of telekinesis.”
Jez thought about the strange exchanges in his head between him and Jol, perhaps it had not been a dream after all, “can I do that?” he asked.
“It is possible, we have much to learn of your abilities, I am curious though, you have explained how you can sense danger, if that were so I think you would be more skilled in Kalchai, you allow your emotions to cloud your judgement, you must stop thinking and let your instincts take over.”
“My instincts tell me you are hiding something, you do not trust me even though I am supposed to be family and what’s with Al’ice, what is wrong, is Jol ok?”
Cooper nodded as if in agreement and placed her hand on his shoulder, “all is well, you are very concerned for Jol I notice, she has a great gift bringing us all together.”
“You speak in riddles, if Eldeen is that fragile but all is well, then why did he risk talking to Al’ice, something must be wrong.”
“Al’ice contacted him.”
“Well yeah that sounds about right, only thinking of himself, does he not realise how old his uncle is?”
Cooper was good at hiding her thoughts and emotions, how did she keep so calm he wondered.
“You do not like Al’ice do you?” she asked.
Here we go avoiding the questions again, “I don’t know him!” replied Jez raising his voice.
“Sssshhh! Grandfather needs to rest.”
Jez sat on the stool beside the fire, the heat was slowly cooking his arm, the blood now like a layer of thick wax set around the muscle, he wondered if he could start to pick it off.
“Please do not pick your arm, it must be left alone, I promise you all will be revealed by lunchtime tomorrow.”
“Sweet, are we talking about my arm or all the other secrets you have?” he replied.
“I cannot tell you everything Jez, it is not my place, Eldeen has requested Al’ice fill in many of the gaps, you are brothers, it is only right.”
“Well that’s something to look forward to!” he replied sarcastically, “when‘s he supposed to do that, I mean how long does it take to tell someone their dad is dead? My parents are gone, I could have done that, I know what it feels like!”
“Al’ice has experienced loss and pain such as you.”
“Yeah right!”
“I will tell you what has happened and why Al’ice contacted Eldeen if it will calm your anger, perhaps the more direct approach is needed and Kailch?”
Jez willingly took the Kailch she offered, drinking from the cattle horn which offered much more than the other mugs they had used. As the warmth washed over him, he did feel calmer and more relaxed as Cooper explained about Kamerrean.
The illusion of their homeland created by magic by the great Eldeen, from here they would hunt without taking from the Celts, their only nourishment from the deer and the calarni fish as these were the only true creatures they could eat from within the illusion. The trout from the river would not be missed by the Celts as they passed down the river, due to the sheer numbers. When death comes to the people they return to the land as the creatures of their inner soul, Kamerrean is full of the souls of their ancestors, transcended to eternal harmony. The deer feed deep in the forests, an elusive breed it can take many days to hunt them, for the first time they emerged at the river where Al’ice had taken Jol to ease her pain.
“As their natural predators, we take just enough at each hunt to sustain our people, the deer have never approached us, until now. Jol’s presence has crossed the divide, it was clear to Al’ice they had come to witness, we do not understand, it is not written, this coming together of beasts.”
“We ate the fish from this river, who are these Celts anyway, do they not mind?”
For once Jez was getting answers, answers he did not comprehend.
“Did you not study history Jez?”
“I didn’t like College” he replied.
“The Celts are the ancient Gaelic speakers of this land, they dwell in clans, groups of peoples akin with each other, they fight for the right to hunt on each other’s lands, they have alliances which are then broken, they can be quite savage, perhaps not unlike the Maori of your homeland although their beliefs are quite different. They are unaware of our presence here, high in the uninhabitable mountains, fish are a plenty and we leave enough to send further on downstream to sustain them. The deer are different, to hunt them we would have to descend and face the possibility of detection, in our current state we would make an easy target for them, just another clan to defeat. If Jol has the ability to cure us then, we will be strong enough to stand our ground and survive.”
Jez listened to the story, he may not have liked College much but it had been a release from working on the farm, he knew what the Celts were, so they were in Scotland, he never thought he would get the opportunity to travel so soon.
“I thought my father was a Maori because of the colour of my skin, I thought that was why my grandfather hated me.”
“Emotions Jez, you must learn to control them, instinct is survival, remember? I must sleep now, tomorrow will be a long day I fear, I shall use Jol’s bed tonight, in case Eldeen needs me, goodnight Jez.”
Jez nodded in acknowledgement and sat watching the flames dance around the log of the fire. He surprised himself talking about his grandfather, he had always been good at hiding his feelings or so he thought. Ever since that fateful party everything was now up in the air, what he thought he was, who he thought he was, sometimes knowledge made things worse, was it better to stick with what you know or think you know? He lay down on his lumpy mattress and let Coopers words mingle inside his head. Telepathy, hhmmm, he wondered if it were possible and let his thoughts reach out to Jol, waiting for an answer as his lids grew heavy.
Jez thought he could smell fish, were his senses playing tricks on him?
His memories drifted into a sea of a black swirling mist full of fishes all swimming towards him. Too many fish invading his space where was the way out? They darted this way and that, above him, below him, either side as he tried to p
ush his way free. Like a predator had appeared the fish dispersed in seconds and the swirling black engulfed his arm, caught in the vortex his arm began to itch as a mark appeared before his eyes, he watched as the lines intertwined and the itch on his arm flowed with the pattern.
He reached out to rub the pain away but only reached out with his mind as he could still not move his body. A cool cloth was placed against the pain but there was no-one, just a voice. A familiar voice growing louder as the words came; “what a beautiful pattern, I've seen something like that before, in one of dads old books, is that a Celtic knot?”
The moment broken as he saw something slick and fast pass across the threshold of a door and he knew he was not alone, someone or something was watching and waiting, but for what? then came the laughter, a loud and hearty laugh, laughing at him.