by Melissa Gunn
Once inside, Freya tried turning on the lights with the switch by the door.
“Damn, we’ve had a power cut again.” She picked up the solar lantern they’d been keeping by the door and pressed its ‘on’ button. A dim light illuminated the hall. It looked like the lantern hadn’t been charged enough lately. However, it gave them enough light to see the stairs leading up to the bedrooms, and the short passage that led to the kitchen and lounge.
“Mum! I’m home, are you here?” When no-one answered Freya continued. “I guess she’s still working. I’ll just put this food in the kitchen, then. Aisha, Karim, do you want a cup of hot chocolate or something before heading out? I’m freezing after being out in that rain.”
“Are you kidding? I want to go see what those lights are!” Aisha was waiting near the door, clearly itching for something exciting to do.
“Oh, well. I guess we can always have a hot chocolate when we get back. It’ll be easier if the power’s back on, anyway.”
“Yeah, let’s do that. Come on, let’s get going now. Karim, I’m sure you want to investigate.”
To Freya’s surprise, Karim pondered for a moment.
“I’m not sure it’s a good idea in the dark, and with Freya injured. And I promised Mum I’d see you home, Aisha. I’d rather head up tomorrow morning. Do you have school?”
“It’s a Saturday tomorrow, Karim, of course we don’t have school. But what if whatever it is, isn’t there tomorrow?”
Karim looked briefly confused as he worked through this muddled statement. He opened his mouth as though he was about to argue in favour of a delay when there was a penetrating scream from outside.
“What was that?” they asked each other in unison.
“It came from the north,” said Karim.
“That’s up by the cliff! We have to go investigate now!” cried Aisha.
Freya shivered.
“I hope that wasn’t weres. I wish Mum was home safe. When I hear sounds like that, I wonder what’s going on.”
“Come with us, then. At least we’ll be together,” Aisha suggested.
Freya looked around the kitchen, which had lost its cosy feel. The dark night seemed to press in through the windows. The scream repeated. Was it further away?
No, she didn’t want to stay here alone. Freya made her decision.
“Alright, let’s go. Someone might be in trouble.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
CLIFFTOP MYSTERY
Freya hurriedly stuffed a few flapjack bars and some small apples into her pockets. Karim looked at her curiously.
“Feeling peckish?” he asked.
Freya blushed, but continued her preparations.
“I like to have supplies. Just in case,” she said. Karim shrugged.
“Go ahead,” he said. “I brought something to snack on myself.”
Well, that’s unusual. I’m usually the only one taking snacks.
Prepared for weather and unforeseen emergencies, Freya decided she was as ready as she would get that night.
“OK, let’s go.”
The three of them shuffled out the front door into the rain once more. Freya’s house was just about the last before the countryside began, so there were few streetlights under ordinary circumstances. Tonight, with the power off, the area was pitch black. There were a few lights in the town behind them, other people with solar power, torches or candlelight. Freya had a sudden image of how villages must have seemed at night before gas and electricity were widespread - so dim, huddled together against the terrors of the night, a few flickering lights together in a sea of darkness. She shivered. What terrors were out in this night? Probably were-foxes, if nothing else. And the night-loving descendants of hundreds of gods and minor deities. Sometimes she wished she didn’t know as much as she did about the seen and unseen possibilities. She turned her attention outward once more as they left the comforting familiarity of the town.
“Do either of you have a torch?” Freya asked, as the night grew blacker. “Mine broke just after we moved here, and I haven’t got a new one yet. Wish I’d brought that lantern.”
“My phone went flat while I was still on the boat. Too many rainy days for my solar panels. I left it charging at home,” said Karim.
“I don’t know about a torch, but my phone has a flashlight,” Aisha volunteered.
“That’ll do fine.”
The three shared the phone’s light as they followed the cliff-path up the hill. The path had been moved again recently, to avoid the site of a landslide - the cliff in one long stretch having fallen prey to the sea. That meant that although there were markers from time to time, the track was not well-worn, and they kept having to stop and swing the torch wide to figure out the direction it took. Up here, it wasn’t wise to stray from the path. There were sudden drops and steep gullies in most directions. Occasional muttering sounds, squeals and grunts came from the direction of the cliffs.
“That’s just the last few gannets that haven’t left for winter,” Freya commented.
“Yeah, I do know that much, nature-girl. I have lived in this area all my life,” said Aisha. An odd squawk sounded off to their left.
“You’re welcome to reassure me on that one then,” said Freya.
Karim chuckled, the warm sound dispelling Freya’s worry.
“That’s just a little owl,” he said. “Not a native, but they live pretty much everywhere, these days.”
The sound of waves crashing at the foot of the cliffs overlaid everything, and ensured that they did not stray close to the cliff-edge - something Freya had worried about when she thought of venturing onto the cliffs at night.
So far, they had seen and heard nothing out of the ordinary. The rain had not relented, so it was a cold and weary trudge along the cliff-path.
“I don’t think we’re going to find anything tonight,” Karim said in a tired-sounding voice. Freya was reminded that he had just arrived from a wearisome sea journey involving pirates and seasickness that afternoon. “How about we turn back? I don’t think we’ll be able to find anyone in the dark.”
Freya was about to eagerly second this plan when another scream rent the air. It was not far from their location, but inland. They swivelled to face the sound, which continued for a second or two before dying away.
“That does not sound good,” said Freya.
“It sounds like someone in pain. We’d better find them,” exclaimed Aisha, always a people-person.
“Yes, I guess we’d better look,” agreed Karim.
Leaving the path, they headed in the direction they thought the scream had come from. Before they found anything, a large hairy four-legged body came crashing towards them through the low shrubs. Aisha swung towards the sound, and they all caught glimpses of the approaching beast as it leapt over patches of brambles and pushed through stands of willowherb and hemlock grown tall and rank. Reddish fur gleamed on its shoulders, and eyes reflected the light in an eerie glow as it looked their way.
“Backing up now,” said Karim.
“No!” said Freya urgently. “Stick together!”
Aisha gripped Freya’s arm tightly with the hand that wasn’t holding the phone, but she kept the light pointed towards the were - no easy task as it kept moving.
“I think it’s a fox. Do you think I should point the phone away?” she asked in concern. “Might it go away then?”
Freya shuddered at the idea of an unseen were-fox attacking them.
“Please, I’d rather see an enemy than not. Keep doing what you’re doing. Karim, do you happen to have any knowledge about how to deal with were-foxes, having lived in this area all your life, as Aisha says? I’m pretty sure regular foxes don’t act like that unless they have rabies. And that one is rather large.”
Karim laughed, a despairing sound rather than an amused one.
“I guess I should have told you before,” he said. “Another reason I’m going away to study and work is because the were-foxes hate me. I have literally
no idea why, or how to stop them. I spent my entire school career here being either bullied by them or avoiding them.”
Friends are great and all, thought Freya, but couldn’t I have made some friends who were more effective against were-foxes?
The beast was closing in on them fast. Larger than a fox by an order of magnitude, Freya could see its long sharp teeth now.
Why can’t they be the size of regular foxes? Surely conservation of mass shouldn’t be superseded by magical ability... This is why I don’t like physics. It never holds true when you need it to.
Freya, Aisha and Karim clutched at each other and backed up as fast as the rain, the dark and the uneven footing would allow. The sound of gannets was drowned out by the growling of the were-fox as it bounded closer to them, then paused.
It eyeballed Karim and let out a series of yipping barks, which, terrifyingly, were answered from their left with another, deeper yip.
“Quick, back towards the town, there’s more than one!” cried Freya. She didn’t want to risk those canines again. Although, she wasn’t sure if these were the same were-foxes that had attacked her before the storm. Did it matter? Probably not, if they were out for blood.
“But what about that person who screamed?” Aisha protested. “They might die of exposure if they’re out in this rain all night.”
Unfortunately, Freya knew she was correct.
“OK, emergency plan. Has anyone got a weapon? Karim, any potions or leftover rotten fish? Anything?” Freya asked desperately.
Karim shook his head.
“Nothing I can think of.” He put his hand in his pockets to check. “Nothing but an extra falafel from dinner.” He pulled it out. Freya was disappointed. She’d somehow thought that a person who survived the wilds of Egyptian archaeology digs in the desert would pull out a bullwhip or saber - something like Indiana Jones. Also, Karim had clearly not seen the same ancient movies as she had.
“Put it back in your pocket, Karim, did you never see that old movie?” hissed Freya.
Karim looked confused, but replaced the offending falafel.
“Frigg. And there aren’t any water courses up here, so there’s nothing I can use,” said Freya. She turned to Aisha.
“Can you do anything with those locusts of yours?”
Aisha made a face.
“They’re vegetarians. And they don’t like the rain,” she said. “Also, I only do locusts and fleas, before you ask for hordes of were-eating mosquitoes.” She tried to smile, but it didn’t quite come off.
The glimmerings of a plan came to Freya. Not a great plan, but at this point anything seemed worth a try.
“That falafel will do fine, Karim,” she said. “Get it out again. And when I tell you to, can you throw that falafel at the were-fox, as close as you can manage. Then Aisha, can you send your locust swarm after the falafel, even for a few seconds? And then summon fleas to the other one?”
But Aisha was shaking her head.
“I can only manage one summoning per day,” she explained. “I was showing off, when I got your tree dealt with. It’s not often a locust summoning is so useful. I can manage either fleas or locusts now, but not both.”
Freya made a small sound of irritation, though she was not truly surprised. All demis had limited powers, and many had far less than Aisha had displayed.
“That’ll have to do, then,” she said. “Get the locust swarm to consume the falafel when it gets really close to the were-fox. They should come for a few seconds, shouldn’t they?”
“Well yes,” agreed Aisha, “but I have no idea why you’d want them to eat a falafel. I thought we were trying to fend off a were-fox. Wouldn’t fleas be better for that?”
“Just give it a go - and we’ll see if it works. I’m betting that foxes are pretty used to fleas - I mean, wild ones almost all have fleas, and it doesn’t kill them,” said Freya. She didn’t know what to do about the second were, but at least they could try to scare off the first.
The were-fox was now stalking a handful of metres away, eyes fixed on them. It was clearly not worried about them escaping. They could all hear the thunder of the sea, disturbingly close behind them. There was nowhere to run in that direction.
“OK, Karim. Give it your best shot - as close to the were as you can, maybe a bit over its head. I hope you have good aim.”
“Now that, I do have, luckily,” said Karim.
“Aisha, are you ready?” said Freya.
Aisha, with her hands raised, phone still in one of them, nodded.
“Now!” said Freya.
Karim threw the falafel. Aisha called out her summoning phrase.
“Bastet, take this sacrifice.”
Karim’s aim was true, the falafel catching the light just above the were-fox’s head. Dog-like, the were-fox leaped high after the morsel, its back curved, legs tensed. Almost at the same moment, a swarm of locusts flashed into being around the falafel. A heartbeat after that, the were-fox snapped the falafel out of the air like a dog catching a ball, still surrounded by locusts. There was a crunching sound. The were-fox opened its mouth again with a yelp of distress. Small, glowing grasshopper-like locusts poured out of it, more than could possibly have fitted into its mouth - and certainly more than had initially appeared. The were-fox whimpered again, scratched ineffectively at its nose with its paws, then turned and ran away from the small group on the cliff.
“Wow,” said Aisha, admiringly, “Bastet’s offerings shouldn’t be crunched, that’s clear.”
“That has got to be the best falafel effect, ever. A bit like bonfire night in miniature,” said Karim.
“Well done, you guys. But come on, quickly now! We shouldn’t just stand around admiring our work. We need to find that injured person and get out of here before the other weres arrive, and that one recovers!” Freya dragged Karim and Aisha by the elbows in the direction of the groan they had heard a few terror-filled minutes earlier.
Snapping out of their astonishment, they followed her, Aisha providing phone-light, all of them staggering through the long grass. The threat of the unknown weres kept them going despite the uneven ground and the rain now lashing their backs, blown in from the sea.
“But how did you know that trick with the falafel would work?” panted Karim as they ran.
“I didn’t,” answered Freya shortly. She didn’t have much breath for talking as well as running. “But I thought that having something thrown at it might distract it - after all, foxes are in the dog family - and then maybe the locusts would be more of a distraction.” She grinned. “But it worked out even better than I imagined. Great teamwork, guys!”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
SKY RIVER
In the midst of their self-congratulation, Aisha was snagged by a straggling bramble, and fell heavily. The phone flew out of her grasp to lie face-down on the wet grass.
“Oof. Did I mention I’m not keen on running? Especially not through dark wet bramble patches?” she panted.
Freya puffed out a laugh.
“Funnily enough, that didn’t come up in any of our previous conversations.”
Aisha pulled herself to her feet, picking up her phone in the process. However, the damage was done. The phone, their source of light, no longer worked.
“What now?” groaned Karim, who had also paused when Aisha fell. It was hard to run without seeing where to go.
Freya was momentarily stumped. When had she become the leader of this expedition?
That’s where sharing your bright ideas get you, unwanted leadership.
“Umm. Er. Call out? Maybe the person out there has a light?”
No-one seemed to have any better ideas, so Freya called.
“Hello? Who’s out there? Are you hurt? Where are you?”
To her astonishment, a familiar voice replied from quite close by.
“Freya! What are you doing out here?”
“Mum? I could ask the same of you! But where are you? It’s as black as pitch up here.”
<
br /> A tiny flicker, no more than a spark, lit up a patch of shrubs a short way away.
That must be what the flames were, thought Freya. She has her flint with her.
A few years ago, her mother had invested in a prepper-style flint and steel, attached by a short rope. It was ridiculously hard to get a fire going with it, but it had seemed like a good idea at the time, as they’d had a series of power cuts in winter, and kept running out of matches for the wood-fires they’d used to keep warm. Her Mum had taken to keeping the flint in her pocket then, and evidently hadn’t lost the habit.
“Again, Mum!” Freya called. “We don’t have a light.”
There was a pause, where nothing seemed to happen, and Freya imagined her mother trying to strike the steel and flint at just the right angle. Finally, there was another flash of light. Freya caught the barest glimpse of her mother’s form, huddled by a patch of longish grass. Taking hold of Aisha and Karim’s arms, she advanced cautiously in that direction. It was even harder going in the dark, and she stumbled more than once. However, after what seemed like an eternity, with rain dripping down under the hood of her anorak and pelting cold against her back, Freya’s feet hit something more solid than tangled vegetation.
“Ow!”
“Sorry, Mum, I didn’t see you there. Are you OK?” She let go of her friends and reached down, feeling for her mother in the dark. Her mother reached up and grasped her hand.
“Freya, thank Gaia. We’ve got to get off this headland. It’s were territory through and through. But my leg’s hurt. Who is it you’ve got with you?”
“It’s me, Aisha. Freya’s friend. And my brother Karim’s here too. I’m sure we can help you. We’re pretty keen to avoid any more weres, too. Besides, you don’t have any more falafel, do you, Karim?”
“If only! I just managed to pocket one before mum spotted me. Such a waste, though it was effective.” He sighed. “Er... Mrs? Freya’s mum? There’s more falafel at your place, from my Mum.”