by Joe Ducie
‘Cool sword,’ Tristan said. ‘What’s it for?’
Noemi’s eyes flicked from Tristan to Irene, as if she were seeing them for the first time. She settled on Drake again. ‘You are hunted. I can offer you means to escape the Alliance.’
‘Where did you come from?’ Drake asked. ‘And how the hell did you find us all the way out here in the middle of snowy nowhere?’
‘I followed the trail of destruction.’ She grinned and shook her head, brushing a loose strand of dark hair back behind her ear. ‘To those who know how to look, William, you blaze like a bonfire from half a world away. We could be separated by vast oceans and tall mountains, thousands of miles, and I’d still be able to point straight to you.’
With his back against the tree, Drake folded his arms and said nothing.
‘Shall we sit?’ Noemi asked. ‘We have much to discuss, and the Alliance will burn this forest to less than ash come morning to flush you out.’
Irene felt wary of the newcomer and gave Drake a look that said as much. He nodded slightly, not about to lower his guard, and gestured to one of the spheres suspended in the air, radiating warmth. ‘Stay on that side of the fire and we’ll chat.’
Noemi nodded. She stepped across to the fire, her footfalls so light she barely left a mark in the snow, and entered the ring of light from the orb. Irene again thought she was about to disappear.
With movements like a cat’s, lithe and certain, Noemi folded her legs and sat, her back straight and her head inclined at a graceful angle. Her sword she placed carefully in her lap, to avoid digging a furrow in the snow.
‘It is an honour to meet you, William,’ she said. ‘A great many people have been waiting a long time for someone like you.’
Drake raised an eyebrow and shifted his hat on his head. ‘Yeah?’
‘Yes,’ Noemi said, and she rocked with excitement. ‘By destroying the Rig, you hurt the Alliance – bloodied the giant. You struck a fierce blow in the Shadow War.’
‘The what war?’ Tristan asked. ‘Whose war?’
Noemi looked irritated at his interruption. ‘The war against the Alliance. And the things controlling the Alliance.’
Things? Irene’s gut squirmed as she thought of Skeleton Man.
‘What war?’ Drake echoed Tristan. ‘There’s no war – the Alliance controls the world, Miss Noemi.’
Noemi held his gaze for a moment, giving him a look that Irene thought might have been a touch pitying. ‘As of a few hours ago,’ she said, ‘your friends here have also made the news.’
Tristan frowned. ‘Yeah? What are they calling us?’
‘Followers of the terrorist William Drake.’
Tristan scoffed and glared at Drake. ‘Followers? So we’re, like, your minions or something now,’ he said, a touch bitterly. ‘Followers of the Dark Lord Drake!’
Drake laughed. ‘You’re a minion. Irene is more … did you ever watch Doctor Who? Irene is my loyal human companion.’
‘You’re not the Doctor,’ Irene said patiently and patted his shoulder.
Drake glanced down at his hands and shrugged. ‘If they were right about the crystal, then there’s a little bit of alien in me.’
Irene squeezed his shoulder, worried, and asked Noemi, ‘So what do you want? For us to come with you, I take it.’
‘No, not you. Just him.’ She pointed at Drake. ‘We have a … training facility,’ she said. ‘Of a kind. In English, you would call it Haven. A place the Alliance cannot go, where they dare not go. William Drake, you can be free there, away from the Alliance, and learn how to harness your gift. In Haven, you would never have to look over your shoulder, fearing soldiers or isolated prisons.’
A knot of fear tightened in Irene’s gut at the brief flash of longing on Drake’s face. For him, freedom is all he wants. So he can help his mum. He gave a dismissive snort, and she relaxed a little.
‘I’ve no reason to trust that. For all I know, you’re an Alliance spy. You’re young like us, I suppose, but they were using kids on the Rig for worse. So go on then, tell me, where is Haven?’
Noemi hesitated. ‘Japan.’
Drake nodded, as if he’d expected her to say the moon. ‘Right. Well, I’m sure I’ll fit right in.’ He cleared his throat and played with the tassels on his hat. ‘Two things. First and foremost, you don’t get me without Irene and Tristan. We run together. And second, how are we supposed to believe anything you say?’
Noemi smiled. ‘A fair point.’ She sighed and removed her hands from within the folds of her silvery cloak. On her left hand, she wore a black silk glove, which she removed slowly, watching Drake’s eyes. ‘Does this suffice for belief?’ Noemi asked, holding up her hand for them to see.
Irene gasped.
The thumb and index finger on her left hand were pure crystal.
Chapter Seven
The Path of Yūgen
Drake stared at Noemi’s fingers and felt a wild thrill rush through him. I’m not the only one! Whether her hand was a glimpse of salvation or he and the Japanese girl were merely drowning together remained to be seen. Sparks of blue light danced within her crystal fingers, disappearing into the actual blood and bone of her hand.
He glanced at Irene, whose face was unreadable, and Tristan – Tristan looked as if he might be sick.
‘You were never on the Rig, were you?’ Drake asked.
Noemi smiled. ‘Haven, hidden away in Japan, has its own source of Yūgen.’
‘Of what?’ Tristan frowned and tasted the word. ‘Yoogahn?’
‘Close. Yūgen,’ Noemi corrected softly. ‘I believe the Alliance call it Crystal-X, and they have no idea just what it is they found under that despicable oil rig.’
‘Bugger,’ Drake said. ‘You mean there’s more of it? Other sources out there in the world? On the Rig, if the crystal was exposed to the air, it exploded – quite spectacularly. I mean, I sank a cargo ship with it, and I’m pretty sure it’s still burning on the ocean floor now. If there’s more of it out there, then you’re sitting on a time bomb.’
Noemi shook her head. ‘No, the Yūgen we receive from the Silver Tree does not erupt.’
‘From a tree?’ Irene asked.
‘Oh yes. A grand tree, as bright as polished silver, its branches bursting with clear leaves as sharp as twice-cut glass. Once every generation, the tree bears fruit, and spheres of pure Yūgen fall like cherry blossom petals to the bottom of a vast pool surrounding the tree. The spheres, each about the size of a marble, are offered to a handful of chosen children from families all over the world. Secret families that hold true to the Path eat the fruit of the tree. We must dive deep for the gift.’ She grinned. ‘The Silver Tree is due to blossom again soon.’
‘I take it you were one of the children?’ Drake asked, nodding at her fingers. ‘And then they teach you how to … how to use the Crystal-X? The Yūgen?’ The Alliance had been doing the same thing on the Rig, kind of, with mixed but cruel results. They hadn’t been teaching so much as poking the inmates with sticks and seeing what happened.
‘Those who follow the Path of Yūgen can learn to control their gift, William,’ Noemi said, and pinpricks of neon blue excitement danced in the calm of her pupils. ‘I’m sure you’ve seen the power manifest itself in the eyes. Without the Path, without control, even a small drop can overwhelm the mind and –’
‘Drive a person insane?’ Drake offered. ‘Oh, trust me, we’ve seen our share of that.’ He tried not to think about his own eyes and the worry that felt like the weight of the world shackled around his neck.
‘Yes, the gift can wound.’ Noemi shivered, and Drake guessed she was remembering something unpleasant. ‘But Haven can offer a light through the dark.’
‘You sound far too good to be true,’ Drake said. ‘And as I said, you don’t get me without Irene and Tristan.’ He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. ‘But if I were to agree – and I’m not saying I do – but if I wanted to come with you, how the hell would we get to Japan?’
Noemi nodded. ‘My partner, Takeo, is parked nearby in a car, about half a mile down the road. We thought it best to approach you carefully, given your current circumstances. And not far by the road, on the coast of Argentia, there is a private jet at Bristol Field Airport waiting to take us back to Haven.’
‘A private jet?’ Tristan whistled low under his breath. ‘Bloody hell.’
‘My family,’ Noemi said, with a note of deep pride in her voice as she maintained her perfect posture, ‘is one of the oldest and richest in the world. We care for the Silver Tree and command enough wealth and resources to make even the mighty Alliance blink.’
Drake chuckled softly to himself. ‘All this for me, huh?’
Noemi stared at him. ‘Understand, William Drake.’ She raised her crystal fingers. ‘The mark of a Yūgen user, you see. One flower per child, and the Yūgen affects them all differently.’ She hesitated. ‘Two of my fingers bear the mark, and I am considered one of the strongest among Haven’s students. Some who absorb the flowers do not even develop a mark or talent. But if I could sense your strength from Japan …’ Noemi shook her head, and the mask of calm composure she wore so well cracked just a little. Underneath that mask she was terrified. ‘I have no idea what you may be capable of achieving, should you decide to follow the Path. I only know that it will be beyond what has been possible before.’
Drake didn’t know what to make of that, but before they went any further, the gloves were going to have to come off, so to speak.
‘I’ve shown you mine,’ Noemi said, and Drake almost jumped. Is she reading my mind? ‘Perhaps you should show me yours.’
He nodded, steeled himself, and cast an apologetic glance at Irene. ‘Sorry,’ he said, ‘but I’ve been keeping a secret.’
Drake stood and pulled his glove from his left hand, shrugging out of the leather and rolling his shoulders. Before any of them could get a good look at his hands, he slipped them into the sleeves of his jumper and pulled on the woollen fabric. Hesitating a moment, he lifted his jumper and shirt over his head and exposed his bare chest to the cold Canadian air.
Irene gasped.
Tristan made a strangled noise, as if an invisible boot had been pressed down on his throat.
A tear cut down Noemi’s face, and she clasped her hands together.
Drake’s entire left arm was made of dark crystal.
In the flickering light from the fiery orb, Drake’s crystal arm looked almost obsidian, dangerous – like the spider creature that had emerged from the portal back at the train. Dozens of sparks of blue light spiralled along its length, from the tips of his fingers and up into his shoulder.
Irene’s mind raced through the implications. Oh, God, what is it doing to him?
The pure crystal ended at his shoulder, blurring into the flesh of his neck, but thin veins ran down from his shoulder and over his chest towards his heart. A dozen crooked, gaunt fingers clawing across his skin. The occasional blue spark shot through the veins. Irene thought it looked like an infection.
‘Holy shit,’ Tristan said, summing up Irene’s thoughts nicely.
‘It started after we escaped,’ Drake said. ‘During the days we spent in the forest, it got worse. That first night I was worried it wouldn’t stop, but after today … it was only my fingers this morning. Using the power has made it this much worse.’ He faced Noemi. ‘What’s happening to me?’
Noemi stood and stepped around the fire, a hand to the hilt of her sword. She approached Drake slowly, as if he were snarling at the bit instead of standing in the half-light, shoulders slumped and tired. She touched his chest with her crystal fingers, and the sparks flowing along his arm became hundreds, thousands. A clear chime, like two Baoding balls swirled in the palm of the hand, sang just on the edge of hearing. The sound made Irene think of wide open plains and forests of trees disappearing over the horizon. Distance, she thought. Or size … something deep and old.
Drake shivered at Noemi’s touch, and Irene struggled to keep an icy glare from her face.
‘You still have full function in the arm?’ Noemi asked.
Drake raised his crystal arm above his head and wiggled his fingers. He clenched his fist and gave Noemi a thumbs-up. ‘Have you seen this before? At your … what, is it, like, a school?’
‘Haven is …’ Noemi stared at his arm. ‘Haven is a school, yes, an academy – and the only safe port in the storm to come.’
‘Storm to come?’ Irene asked.
‘Against the Alliance and the creature beneath the sea.’
Drake stepped away from Noemi and slipped back into his shirt and jumper, readjusting the tassels on his hat so they hung over the back of his shoulders. ‘The creature beneath the sea?’
Noemi stared at him solemnly and clasped her hands over her heart. ‘You’ve already met it, William Drake, after a fashion. To gain the power you have, you bathed in its blood.’
Chapter Eight
Lift-Off
Drake asked Noemi to wait on her boulder by the river while he spoke to Tristan and Irene, huddled together around one of the dwindling spheres of pale blue flame for warmth.
‘What do you think?’ he asked, once the girl had gone to wait.
‘I think she’s, like, a witch-ninja or something,’ Tristan said, shaking his head. ‘Seriously, secret schools for magic in some old world location? I’ve read this book before, Will. Next stop is the hidden market to pick up your owl and spell books. It’s too good to be true. We can’t trust her.’
‘I’m wondering if she can hear us …’ Irene said. ‘She’s absorbed the Crystal-X. Who knows what her tricks are? Invisibility, for one. That scares me more than …’ She bit her lip.
Drake grinned. ‘More than I do?’
‘Well, yes, but I didn’t mean –’
Drake waved her words away. ‘It’s OK. I’m pretty scared of me, too, and that was before I “bathed in the blood” of some alien sea creature.’
Tristan pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. ‘That was pretty dramatic. Question is, do we trust her?’
‘What’s our other option?’ Drake asked. ‘No, seriously, what other options do we have? The Alliance won’t be far away, and when they come again, they’ll come with more than just two helicopters. Our immediate future looks like another bloody night spent huddling for warmth around these fireballs. And I’m not entirely sure they won’t explode.’
Tristan took a step back from the orb. ‘What? Really?’
Drake shrugged and offered him a smirk. ‘There’s no manual for this, mate. I’m just thankful it doesn’t burn my eyebrows off whenever I use it.’
‘Singed the cuffs of your jumper, though,’ Irene remarked and pulled at the frayed and burnt thread around his wrist. He had put his glove back on over his crystal left hand. She grasped his right and squeezed his fingers with all the reassurance she could muster.
‘Here’s what I think,’ Drake said. ‘I think Noemi is telling the truth. Or at least a truthful version of some bigger truth, if that makes sense. Letting us glimpse, like, a bit of the bigger picture.’
‘She’s not Alliance,’ Tristan said.
‘Yeah, I don’t think she is.’
‘And she’s got a car,’ Irene said. ‘Supposedly.’
‘Private jet to Tokyo?’ Drake asked his friends and couldn’t help but laugh. ‘Who saw that coming?’
‘So we’re going along with it?’ Irene let go of Drake’s hand and looked over her shoulder.
Drake followed Irene’s gaze. Noemi stood serenely by the river, her eyes cast towards the sky. She looked like a statue, carved from pale marble, untouched by the snow. She’s quiet and unassuming, he thought, but I reckon she knows how to use that sword.
‘I guess it comes down to ninja-witch tonight or Skeleton Man tomorrow,’ Drake said. ‘And so far, she hasn’t thrown a train at us, so I say we take our chances with Noemi. Agreed?’
Irene and Tristan looked at each other and then nodded.
It was a walk of five minutes back up on the road, and Noemi led the way, hugging the edge of the treeline in case of any unexpected traffic. Drake and his friends followed closely, but not too closely. After all that had happened, and given the global reach of the Alliance, trust didn’t come easily. Especially for girls who appeared out of thin air toting a katana of folded Japanese steel.
‘So this person you’re travelling with,’ Drake said. ‘He got any special talents?’
‘Takeo follows the Path of the Warrior. An apt path for him, I think. You will see what I mean when you meet –’
The familiar hum of an Alliance search drone echoed along the empty road.
Noemi crouched, her hand flying to the hilt of her katana, and spun on her heels. The blade was halfway out of the sheath in less time than it took Drake to blink.
‘Wait!’ Tristan said. ‘It’s not Alliance – it’s mine.’
Hovering two metres above the road was Tristan’s rewired drone, having finally caught up after the debacle on the train. He whipped out his phone and drew the drone in close. An image of the four of them appeared, lit up by the eerie green glow of night vision, as he showed Noemi the screen.
‘I reprogrammed it,’ he said quickly. ‘Please don’t stab it. The Alliance can’t track us using it.’
Noemi regarded him for a long moment and then let her katana fall back into her sheath. ‘You are certain?’
‘No ninja swords! I ripped the locator beacons out of it back on the train, after Drake shot it down with a bolt of lightning.’ Tristan blinked, perhaps wondering when in his life he’d have to say something like that again. ‘Right, guys?’
Drake shrugged. ‘Tristan’s a whiz with computers. Back on the Rig, he got these bloody tracker things off our wrists with fridge magnets.’
‘Well, not quite …’ Tristan muttered, but he looked pleased.
Noemi relaxed, glanced at the drone, and then looked back at Drake. ‘Very well. Hurry along now. Takeo is just around the bend in the road ahead.’