by Melissa Gunn
“So, stay where you are. Next thing. I’ll be making a song-web. Don’t say anything, or make a sound. Not this time. Hit the wrong note at the wrong time and my song-web won’t work, so sit still and listen.”
Freya nodded once more, afraid to say anything that might make whatever this was go wrong.
“OK, Freya. Last thing, if anything does go wrong, there’s a packet of salt here.” Tammy pulled a paper sachet of salt from her pocket and deposited it in Freya’s hand. “If it looks like something is going to eat either of us, throw the salt on it - without letting yourself out of the circle. I’ll go out, but don’t you. I have experience. You don’t. I’ve waited till I could bring you for this summoning, and I’m not sure exactly what we’ll get. But salt should sort it out if it’s not as fun as I think it will be.”
Freya obediently clutched the small paper packet of salt. Her sweaty hands dampened the packet. She hoped that wouldn’t affect any anti-eating properties it might have. Wasn’t salt usually used as a seasoning for food? Maybe whatever Tammy was going to call was like leeches, which curled up and dropped off when sprinkled with salt.
“All set. Let’s do this!” said Tammy enthusiastically.
Tammy turned away from Freya to face the stream. Her eyes were alight, her whole body seeming to vibrate with suppressed excitement. Freya wondered what could possibly be so exciting - and so potentially dangerous. She almost missed Tammy’s first notes, as she started to sing. Tammy was quite quiet about it, despite her evident excitement. Tammy held her phone near her mouth, recording herself sing. Freya saw her stop the recording after a few low notes. Then she switched to playback mode, and as the recorded notes played, she sang in counterpoint. She repeated this a few times, till the recording was almost a chorus. Glancing at Freya, she put a finger to her lips, and sang one more time along with the recorded song. At first Freya was too busy watching her sister with envy to notice anything else. Her sister’s voice was rich and full, especially in chorus with herself, much more resonant than Freya’s own.
How did she learn to sing like that? I’ve never heard her singing at home.
However, after a few minutes of listening to what she assumed was what Tammy meant when she said a song-web, Freya realised that something was happening in the stream. Immediately above the weir, a sort of whirlpool formed in the muddy brown stream. It deepened improbably given the size of the stream itself, then inverted into a watery tower, so abruptly that Freya gasped.
Tammy glanced at Freya again, irritably. She gestured for Freya to cover her mouth with her hands. The watery tower moved out over the bank in front of them, forming itself into a humanoid shape as it did so. A large humanoid shape, with a horse's head and chains around its arms and legs, all outlined in brown water. Little wavelets muddied the bare areas of the bank and swirled the low vegetation in circles. The edges of the water-being lapped around their drawn circle. The being looked at them with an expression that forcibly reminded Freya of her father in a bad mood, despite being made of muddy water.
“Why have you disturbed me, young ones? Is your mother near? You are clearly not of an age to be useful to me.” Its voice was full of rushing sounds like the stream was making, which made it hard to understand.
Tammy looked profoundly irritated. Freya tried not to giggle.
“I am so old enough. I’m practically seventeen,” said Tammy.
The being, who must surely be a river god, shook his head.
“No. You are too young to master the power you have summoned. Release me.”
“Why should I?” Tammy said rudely.
“Because if you do not, we will be here for a good few years until you are old enough that you can deal with the likes of me. I can wait. Can you?”
Tammy did not look happy. This experience was clearly not going as she had anticipated.
“Don’t you want to be released from your chains?”
“Yes, but by one who can survive the consequences of releasing me. You, girl, are not that person.” The being rippled. Freya looked away for a moment, feeling dizzy.
“What consequences?” asked Tammy.
“If you were old enough and trained enough, you would know. Release me.”
“I don’t see why I should.” Tammy looked mutinous.
“Maybe one day you will return without your sister and I will take you. Maybe another will do so. But now, alas, I must wait. Release me. Find another of your own age. I am not for you.”
What does that thing mean, take Tammy? Freya wondered. She didn’t dare ask, though. She didn’t want the grumpy water being paying her any attention.
“Not likely. And what’s my sister got to do with it? How do you even know she’s my sister?”
“Without her power, I would not have come today. Except perhaps to take you and your power for myself.”
Well, that answers that question. But what power is he talking about? I didn’t even sing.
The river god didn’t answer Tammy’s other questions. Instead, it drew more and more water into itself, losing much of its shape in the process. It now towered over them, surrounding their circle on all sides. There was a tiny hole in the water where Freya could see the sky, with its head in the centre. It no longer looked remotely humanoid. It looked as though they were about to drown on dry land.
“Freya, the salt. Now!” Tammy commanded her. Freya wasn’t sure that throwing salt was going to help at this point, given how grumpy the being was already. But she also didn’t want to deal with an irate Tammy, so she tore open the salt packet and threw it. As the salt crystals hit the watery being, the whole thing abruptly washed back into the stream, drenching them as it fell out of shape, back into regular water. The drawn circle was washed away, leaving them alone on a muddy bank, gasping with the shock of cold water. Tammy looked at Freya, then away.
“Just don’t say anything, OK?” she said bitterly.
On the way home, chilly and wet, Freya asked
“Why did you think it would be fun?”
Tammy looked at her, then away.
“Last time, with a different stream, the river god was younger. And... fun. You know.”
Freya didn’t know, but she thought she might have an idea of what Tammy meant, given Tammy’s interests.
“So, the last one didn’t cover you with water and ask for Mum?”
Tammy laughed aloud.
“Well, I did get covered with water. Thank goodness that doesn’t hurt anymore. But no, the last one certainly didn’t ask for Mum. Definitely not.” She smiled to herself.
“And last time it really was fun. Next time, we won’t go after a big rainstorm. I’ve never seen a water deity get so huge. And I probably shouldn’t have chosen a section by a weir, either. Being chained up like that is bound to be irritating to a kelpie or naiad. It was good you threw the salt, too. He was too distracted by arguing with me to notice you. I’ll take you next time too, just in case.”
Tammy was obviously regaining her cheer. Freya wasn’t sure that she was regaining any cheer, and was even less sure that she should be going, next time, but she didn’t want Tammy to get drowned by an irritable river god either. Tammy didn’t seem to have paid attention to the river god’s threats to take Tammy and her power if Freya wasn’t there. How many risks had she run already? Freya sighed to herself, and didn’t tell Mum why their clothes were still damp when Mum returned from work that day.
Tammy dragged Freya along next time they had a day off together, and the next as well, later in the spring.
“We get more things happening when you come along,” said Tammy. “The deities are more talkative. And it usually only works once for every two or three streams or pools I try, but with you there, it’s first time, every time. You have to come.”
Freya went, but more to protect her sister if need be. However, Freya saw that Tammy did, indeed have fun when the river deity was younger (at least in appearance - who knew how old any of these river deities actually were?) and less
irritable. Freya thought that she was probably too young for that sort of ‘fun’.
“Tammy, I know we’re descended from a fertility goddess, but are you sure you should be doing that? With them? And with me right here?” Tammy looked up from her position half in, half out of the stream. The latest river deity was giving Tammy a back massage. Tammy had removed her clothing to avoid the bother of having to dry it later. Freya sat out of reach of the water, half-turned away so she didn’t have to watch, but ready to throw salt if things went awry.
“There’s no harm in it. And like you say, we’re descended from fertility deities. Dionysus was a bit of a fertility god too, and he was big on rituals as well, you know. So, we’re practically born to do things ‘like that’. And a good deal more than what I’m doing right now.” She addressed the watery deity. “Keep going, don’t stop yet.”
“It doesn’t look - I don’t know, dignified?” Freya was unconvinced. But she went along with her sister when Tammy asked her the next weekend.
“So, when do I get to learn how to summon things? I want to ask my own questions. It’s not fair that you always get them to do what you want. I want to know what they think!” said Freya after a long, boring-for-Freya session with the latest naiad. This one was a female, and not nearly as grumpy as the chained kelpie had been.
“What they think isn’t important. And you can learn when you’re older.”
“That’s not fair. It sounds like you learnt when you were my age!”
“I was older than you are.”
“But you said yourself that you get better results with me around. Can’t you teach me?”
“Oh, I suppose so. Stop nagging, and bring my bag over here. These clothes have got all wet. I’ll teach you next time.”
As the spring wore into summer, Tammy and Freya went out most weekends. Their Mum’s few extra hours had turned into a regular thing, which was good in terms of having enough food to eat, for themselves and for Mr Fluffbum, and less good because Freya had no-one but Tammy and her cat to spend time with. Freya grew bored being a bystander on their outings. She and Tammy had discovered that the river nymphs in the area seemed to have strong emotions. Tammy enjoyed herself. Freya was not so happy with the situation, but she didn’t want Tammy going out without her. What if Tammy encountered a deity that was too strong for her? Freya felt curiously protective of her big sister. Sometimes, Tammy simply asked the water deities they summoned about local happenings. That was interesting, although often what the deities said reminded Freya of the one time she’d decided to try a cryptic crossword. Nothing made any sense, even though the words were all English. Most times, they both ended up soaking wet.
Every time, Freya asked to be taught more.
“Come on, Tammy, you promised. And you said it’s our heritage.”
“I suppose it could be useful. Maybe. But...”
“You just want me there to rescue you if you need it.” Freya was bored of being dragged along to throw salt if something didn’t go the way her sister wanted.
“Partly.” Her sister grinned. “It is helpful not having to worry about seasonings. But this my thing. I don’t want you taking over. I just want a helper.”
“Please, Tammy. It’s like you said, Mum never teaches practical things like this.”
“I’ll think about it.”
At long last, at the side of a small river, Tammy made a start on teaching Freya.
“It’s more about layering in your will with your voice,” she said. “That’s why I use the phone to make a song-web. That way, I get several layers of voice and will, which makes it stronger.”
“So can I use your phone?” ask Freya.
“No. If you really have more power than me, you’d better start with just your voice and command.”
Freya frowned. That didn’t seem fair. But she opened her mouth to sing anyway, wishing she could sound half as good as Tammy did.
The water dimpled almost immediately, forming itself into a proto-deity.
“Yes!” Freya exclaimed in excitement – only to slump with disappointment as the incipient deity disappeared with a splash.
Tammy looked at her with something like resentment on her face.
“What?”
“I just can’t believe you got something with a single note. Next time don’t interrupt yourself, the deities want surety.” Tammy turned away from Freya, tension informing the lines of her neck and shoulders.
Freya hardly noticed, eager to try summoning again. She experimented with humming, singing notes aloud, and with songs. Everything seemed to work, making the river swish one way then another. She settled on a sequence of notes that felt right, and called up the river deity to its full height. This time, she was able to ask all the questions she wanted.
“It’s not fair,” complained Tammy on the way home. “I’m the one who showed you how to do this. So how come you can do it easier than I can?”
Tammy might not be happy about it, but Freya was thrilled. At last, there was something she could do well. Tammy was so often better than her - able to grow things, better at identifying edible plants, better at attracting friends. This time, she was better. It was a heady feeling. Freya had never felt so powerful. She had always wanted to be able to do something better than Tammy - if she discounted Tammy’s ability to attract boyfriends. Freya didn’t want that ability. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
After that, the Freya asked Tammy to go out walking with her most weekends, and sometimes after school, too. Danae didn’t seem to notice - on weekdays they were home before she was, anyway. And if they brought foraged foods to help feed everyone, then she was pleased with their thoughtfulness - so long as they didn’t bring back anything poisonous.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
AUTUMN
Summer passed in a blur of summoning and occasional sun. Tammy began to get irritable towards autumn, when the water spirits they summoned started talking to Freya before they talked to her.
“You’re taking over my deities,” she said after the latest water spirit had proved more interested in discussing current events than in a more personal interaction with Tammy. “Stop it, or I won’t let you come with me next time.” She took off a shoe and poured water out of it. The water spirit in question had gotten excited by Freya’s passing on reports of storms in the north causing flooding, with the result that both Freya and Tammy were decidedly damp.
“They’re not your deities, Tammy. They’re their own. And I can’t help it if they talk to me.” Freya wished she’d brought a change of clothes. She hadn’t meant to get the water spirit so excited, but they’d heard a news bulletin about the floods last night, and she’d thought it was the sort of thing that a water deity might be interested in. Unfortunately, she’d been correct. She tipped water out of her own shoes, wondering if it was possible to squeeze the water out of them, and how many blisters she’d have when she got home. She’d discovered that wet shoes did that.
“You don’t have to get them so worked up that they throw themselves all over us in some sort of flood re-enactment. I think I’ll go back to giving them what they really want. But I don’t want you around for that.” Tammy put her shoe back on, and removed the second shoe. Her mouth was a flat line.
Why is she so annoyed at me? I can’t help it if the water spirits prefer me.
“Don’t go by yourself, Tammy. You might come across another kelpie who wants to eat you.”
“If so, I’ll deal with it. I can throw salt as well as you can.” Tammy shoved her foot back into her second shoe with some force, but it got stuck halfway on. Tammy hadn’t untied the laces. She stamped around a bit until it went all the way on.
“But you said I was better at it,” Freya wailed, on the verge of tears.
“Sure, I did. I was trying to encourage you. I didn’t realise that you didn’t need encouragement. Now let’s go home, I’m soaked. And without even a massage to show for it.” Tammy turned her back on Freya and started walking away.
After that, Tammy stopped taking Freya out. Freya was torn. With the onset of autumn, it was chilly walking in the afternoon, and it began to get dark too early for comfortable or safe walking. But she longed to try out her power again – and she worried for Tammy whenever Tammy was late returning from school. What would Tammy do if she came across another grumpy old kelpie, and she didn’t have Freya there to throw salt?
When in due course they moved again, the rental period on their cottage expired, it was to another rundown cottage in a seaside town with few streams, and less access to the hills. Freya had no desire to call any seaside deities, even if she was able to. It seemed her brief access to her demigoddess powers was at an end.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
THREE YEARS LATER: SUMMER
“Why do we always have to stay on the coast, Mum? It’s a terrible place to grow up. There’s nothing to do. Couldn’t we just move inland? It was great that summer we had in the hills.”
“The hills where you and Tammy disappeared all the time? No thank you. That was a nerve-wracking time for me,” Danae said.
Freya looked at her mother in surprise. She’d never realised that Danae had noticed all the times she and Tammy had disappeared to summon the deities of small streams and ponds. That had stopped when they moved back to the coast. The only accessible streams tended to be heavily polluted – and therefore at high risk of containing angry deities – or too close to human habitation for safe summoning. Worse, as far as Freya was concerned, anyway, Tammy had long since stopped taking Freya with her when she went out. That had been the beginning of the end of their closeness. Or maybe just the end. Freya remembered her surprise when Tammy had wanted to show her anything. She sighed.
“Are you sure we can’t move inland like other people do?”
The family was packing yet again. Danae’s current short-term job had finished, and she’d successfully applied for another, further north, though still on the coast. This was the third move in as many years. Freya heartily wished that her mother would get a permanent job so that they could stop moving, even if it was on the coast. She still remembered their cottage on the clifftops wistfully, because they’d had two whole years there before its demise forced their move.