by Amy Cross
“They looked friendly enough,” I point out, glancing back and seeing that we're already well ahead of the family. “It would've been nice to get a ride, at least for a little while.”
“I don't care what's nice,” Duncan says. “I care about getting you home, and then I'm going to go home myself. As for that soul auction... I'd be happy if it falls into a pit of lava and takes all the attendants with it. Soul auctions are a dark stain on this world and the sooner they end, the better.”
“Oh.”
Not really knowing what to say, I simply focus on keeping up with him. After all, he's walking very fast now. Ahead, the sky is really darkening now and the setting sun is casting shades of red across low clouds.
Chapter Eleven
“There's nothing wrong with this meat,” Duncan says as he holds up one of the worms that he's been cooking over a small fire. “It's nutritious.”
“I know,” I reply, wincing at the sight of the worm still wriggling even though it's charred, “but -”
“It also tastes wonderful,” he adds, before biting the top of the worm clean away and then chewing for a moment. A moment later, some kind of clear liquid starts dribbling from the severed worm, although the tail section continues to wriggle and squirm on the skewer. “What's wrong?” Duncan adds. “Are you too good for this kind of food?”
“No,” I say, looking at the other worms on the other skewers, “it's just... Don't they ever stop moving?”
“Why would they?”
“Well, when they die.”
“They never die. They're a highly adaptable life-form.”
“But -”
“And they never die,” he adds with a faint smile. “Two days from now, this worm and I will part company and we'll each go off on our merry way.”
“How can that happen if you eat it?” I ask. “It'll be inside you and -”
Stopping suddenly, I realize what he means.
“Oh,” I continue, “but... I...”
He starts laughing, before taking the rest of the worm from the skewer and dropping it into his mouth. As he chews, I hear a slurping sound that makes my skin shudder.
“Help yourself,” he says, and I turn to see all the other worms still wriggling in the fire. “Don't worry, they don't tickle. They just sort of... Well, you can feel them making their way through you, but it's not an unpleasant sensation. Not once you get used to it, anyway. The whole relationship is symbiotic.”
“I'm not really hungry,” I whisper, even though my stomach is rumbling. “I think I'll just... wait for breakfast.”
“You won't be disappointed,” he replies, still chewing with his mouth open. “They're even better for breakfast. I actually like them better when they're cold.”
***
Staring up at the starry night sky, with Duncan's coat wrapped around me so that I stay warm, I wait for another shooting star. I saw one earlier, just after Duncan fell asleep and started snoring, and now I'm wondering whether they're more common in this world or whether I just got lucky.
There certainly seem to be more stars.
The sky here isn't very much like the sky at home.
“When you're older, maybe you can get a telescope,” I remember Mummy telling me once. “Then you can see the stars much more clearly.”
“Girls don't need telescopes,” Johnny said. “Anyway, telescopes are stupid.”
I hated Johnny that day, for saying something so stupid, but now I miss him. I'm sure he's really worried about me, and Mummy must be frantic. I bet they've got the police out looking for me, and they're going to be so surprised when I finally get home and tell them where I've been. I mean, they might not even believe me, at least not at first, and they might even think I've lost my mind. I wish I could find something to take back with me from this place, something that'll prove to them that it's all true.
“Hey!” a voice whispers suddenly from the darkness. “You!”
Startled, I sit up and look over my shoulder, and I'm shocked to see a boy staring at me from a few meters away. He's on his hands and knees, as if he crawled over here, but I immediately recognize him. He was staring out of the caravan earlier as Duncan and I passed.
I look over at Duncan, but he's still snoring.
I look back at the boy.
“I saw you earlier,” he says. “You and your friend passed us on the trench road.”
“He's not my -”
I catch myself just in time.
I look at Duncan again, but he's still snoring. Louder than ever. He's also sleeping in a curled-up position, like a dog.
I turn back to the boy.
“I smell Duce worms,” he says, sniffing the air. “Was that your dinner?”
“I wasn't hungry,” I reply, although at that moment my stomach rumbles again. “I mean, I'm okay. I can wait.”
“My parents sent me to offer you two some food,” he continues. “We've got more than enough for ourselves and, well, Father says it's good to share with those who are in need. And frankly, if you've had to find Duce worms in the mud, you seem to be in need. Why don't you come and eat with us?”
“It's getting late,” I point out.
“It's not that late. And we have proper cow meat.”
“Cow meat?” I pause for a moment. “You have cows in this world?”
He laughs. “Why wouldn't we?”
“Like normal cows?” I continue. “There's nothing... weird about them?”
“You're not from around here, are you?”
“I'm from quite a long way away.”
“I'm not forcing you to come,” he says. “Father specifically told me to offer and to accept it if you two don't want to come and join us. But we're about five minutes away, down the ridge, and we've got a much bigger campfire than you guys have managed. Not that I'm saying your fire isn't good, it's just... Ours is bigger.”
I open my mouth to tell him that I'm fine, but my stomach immediately rumbles again.
“Well, I made the offer,” the boy continues, getting to his feet. “My name's Van and, well, we should be up for at least another couple of hours. If you change your mind, come down and sit with us. I promise, we're all really friendly.”
He hesitates for a moment, as if he's expecting me to say something, and then he turns and walks away. I almost call after him, but I know I shouldn't so instead I sit in silence and listen until the sound of his trampling footsteps has faded far into the distance. Now the only sound is the slow spitting of our dying campfire, accompanied every few seconds by another of Duncan's loud snores.
“I'm really hungry,” I say out loud, just as my stomach growls. “I'm so hungry, I could eat a...”
A steak.
A juicy steak.
“Can we go?” I ask, turning to Duncan but seeing only the back of his head as he continues to sleep. “Duncan? Can we? I know you didn't like those people, but they seem really friendly and they're offering us food. They wouldn't do that if they were mean, would they?”
I wait, but he simply continues to snore.
“And it's almost rude to not go to them,” I continue. “That Van boy came all the way here to offer us their hospitality, and you didn't even wake up. I know I'm not an expert or anything, but I really think it'd be okay to just go over and spend some time with them.”
My stomach rumbles again.
“Don't you think?” I add.
I wait, and this time Duncan mumbles something.
“What was that?” I ask, scrambling to my feet and heading over to him. “What did you say?”
“Whatever you want,” he murmurs, although I can't really tell whether or not he's properly awake. “Just let me... sleep and...”
I wait, and a moment later he lets out another, even louder snore.
“So you think it's okay for me to go and get some food from them?” I ask.
He mumbles something unintelligible.
“I think I'm going to take that as a yes,” I say, as my stomach rumbles
again. “Do you want to come?”
“I want to sleep,” he groans. “I'm asleep.”
“So I'll be right back,” I tell him. “I won't stay with them for long, I promise.”
I turn and start walking toward the ridge, although as I get away from the fire's meager heat I start to have second thoughts. Reaching down, I pick up Duncan's coat, and then I carefully put it around my shoulders. Still, I'm having second thoughts, and deep down I'm worried that Van's invitation was just a trap and I'll be really stupid if I let myself fall for whatever he's planning.
“Are you sure it's safe for me to go and see them?” I ask, watching the back of Duncan's head. “Are you, Duncan?”
“Whatever,” he mumbles. “Go.”
“Okay,” I say with a smile, “that's all I need to know. Thanks. I'll be back before you're even awake!”
With that, I turn and start making my way to the edge of the ridge. As I begin to climb down, I can already see the caravan parked not too far away. They've got a roaring fire going, and a moment later I realize I can smell meat cooking. Proper meat, not worms. The kind of food I miss so much from home. In fact, as I scramble down the incline, I'm already starting to feel more hungry than ever before in my entire life. If these people hadn't come along and offered us some food, I think I might even have starved to death during the night!
***
“Well, I don't know anything about traveling between worlds,” Martin – Van's father – says as he puts some more wood on the fire, “but it sounds to me like you're in safe hands. This Duncan fellow might be abrupt, but at least he seems to know what he's doing.”
“I think he does,” I reply, still chewing on a piece of steak. “I'd trust him with my life.”
“Sounds like you are trusting him with your life.”
“I suppose so,” I mutter, although the idea sends a shiver through my shoulders. “I hadn't really thought about it like that before.”
For a moment I feel a little odd, although I quickly snap out of that when I hear a rustling sound nearby. Turning, I see that the family's horse is chewing on grass at the edge of the clearing.
“It's odd to meet someone who's not going to the soul auction,” Martin's wife Jessica says. “Pretty much all you find on the roads these days is people headed that way.”
“Duncan doesn't like soul auctions,” I tell her.
“He doesn't?” She smiles. “What's not to like about them? Oh, Milly, they're the most wonderful things in all the seven worlds. I mean, I've never been to one myself, because they're not very common and they tend to be in all sorts of different places. But when we heard this one was happening close to where we live, we realized it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Everyone's going to be there!”
“Not me,” I point out. “Not Duncan.”
“Are you sure you can't persuade him to take you on a little detour?” she asks. “You'll probably never get another chance.”
“I don't know,” I reply. “He's really against it.”
“Maybe he's never been to one either,” she continues, and it's clear that she's really keen for us to join them. “He shouldn't knock it, just because he's heard bad things.”
“I think he has been to one,” I tell her. “A long time ago.”
She laughs. “I'm not sure that's possible, not unless he's very, very old.”
“I don't know how old he is.” I pause for a moment. “All I know is that he's very against soul auctions, and he's taking me home instead.”
“But maybe -”
“Leave the girl be,” Martin says, patting his wife's leg. “Not everyone wants to do the same thing. If Milly misses out on seeing a soul auction, well, it's sad but it's not the end of the world.” He smiles at me. “It sounds like the most important thing right now is for you to get home. You said you have a mother and a brother waiting for you. I'm sure they're worried about you.”
“They must be.”
“We'd be horrified if our Van went missing for even five minutes,” Jessica says earnestly, before reaching over to her son and giving him a big hug that he doesn't quite return. In fact, he looks uncomfortable as she holds him tight. “We live in a remote region about five days' travel from here and, well, we don't see strangers very often. We keep ourselves to ourselves, which is one of the reasons why this whole trip is so exciting. It might be the only time in our lives that we ever leave our home region.”
“But it's worth it,” Martin adds, “because seeing a soul auction is just...”
He pauses, as if he can't quite find the right words.
“Life-changing,” he continues finally. “Inspirational.”
I look at Van, and somehow he seems far less enthusiastic. In fact, as his parents continue to gush about how lucky they are to be attending a soul auction, Van stares at me with a hint of darkness in his eyes. It's almost as if he hates everything his parents are saying, although I'm certain that can't be true. His mother still has an arm around him, and I'm sure he'd pull away if he didn't like that. He's still staring at me, however, and am I'm starting to wish that he'd stop.
Suddenly hearing footsteps nearby, I turn and look past the campfire.
For a moment I don't see anyone, but then a familiar shape looms out of the darkness and Duncan stops at the edge of the clearing.
“Welcome, friend,” Martin says, getting to his feet and holding a hand out toward him. “We have plenty of food here, if you're hungry.”
Duncan doesn't reply. Instead, he merely stares at the man's hand for a moment before slowly turning to me. Light from the flickering campfire catches the side of his face, and for a few seconds he looks really scary.
“Milly,” he says finally, his voice deep and angry. “Are you insane? What are you doing with these monsters?”
Chapter Twelve
“And I don't want her anywhere near you!” Duncan snarls as he steps closer to Martin. “She's a child! You should have sent her straight back to me!”
“We didn't mean any harm, friend,” Martin replies, holding his hands up as if in surrender. “We only meant to give the girl a meal. Her belly was rumbling.”
Duncan snaps back at him that he should keep out of our business, and then he starts going on about the fact that the roads leading to the soul auction are full of bandits and thieves. I knew that Duncan didn't like anything to do with the soul auction, of course, but I never quite expected him to get this angry. In fact, Martin and Jessica both look a little scared of him as he continues to yell at them.
Hearing a whistling sound, I turn and look over my shoulder.
Van is about fifty feet away, waving at me from the darkness beyond the edge of the clearing.
I hesitate, not wanting to make Duncan any more angry, but then I turn and see that he's still berating Martin and Jessica. He didn't tell me not to talk to Van, and besides I doubt he'll even notice. Plus, he's already angry so it's not like he can get more angry.
Turning, I make my way out from the clearing and through the long grass until I reach Van, who by now is sitting cross-legged as he examines some small dark rocks in the palm of his hand.
“What have you got there?” I ask.
“Huh?” He looks up at me. “Oh, these? They're nothing.” He glances toward the campfire, where Duncan is still telling the others off. “Your friend's got a bit of an attitude, hasn't he? He thinks he's the boss of everything.”
“He doesn't like soul auctions,” I explain. “He thinks they're bad.”
“He should try living where we live,” Van replies, turning to look up at me. “I'm eleven. Nothing exciting has ever happened in my life, and nothing exciting is ever going to happen again. Until this week, the most fun I ever had was watching dragons fly miles and miles above our farm. They never land near where we live, though.” He pauses for a moment, and in the low light he looks really sad. “This trip to the soul auction,” he adds finally, “is probably going to be my only chance to have fun. Ever.”
�
�I'm sure it won't,” I tell him.
He mumbles something under his breath, but I don't hear the words as he looks down at the rocks in his hand.
“What are they?” I ask again.
“I got them from someone.”
“From your parents?”
“From someone who stopped at the camp a few nights ago.” He picks up one of the rocks and examines it more closely. “When my parents weren't looking, he gave me these and told me to be careful with them. He told me how to find him when we get to the shanty town at the edge of the soul auction. He said he can get me more of these, if I like them.”
“They're just rocks,” I point out. “They're -”
Before I can finish, one of the rocks starts glowing slightly.
“What is that?” I ask, taking a step closer.
“I don't know what it's called,” he replies, his voice filled with a sense of wonder, “but when you really pay attention to them, sometimes they do this. And then once they're really bright, you can do this...”
We both watch the rock for a few seconds as it glows brighter and brighter. And then, suddenly, Van uses his thumb and forefinger to crush that particular rock into a kind of glowing powder.
“What is it?” I ask, dropping to my knees so I can get a closer look.
I glance back toward the campfire, but Duncan's still far too busy yelling at Martin and Jessica.
Turning back to look at the powder, I see that Van is holding some up to his face so he can take a sniff.
“What is it?” I ask yet again, and I'm starting to feel frustrated by the fact that he still hasn't told me.
“Apparently people at the soul auction use it all the time,” he explains finally. “It's completely harmless, it just makes things feel a little more... fun, I suppose. It's for people who live out in the middle of nowhere. You take some of this powder, and it feels like you're living in the most important place in all the seven worlds.”
“That sounds stupid,” I point out.
“You would say that,” he replies, still sniffing the powder. “You don't need it.”