Back to the Vara

by John Kerry

  Sammy hung over the balcony railing, letting the clean mist that blew up the side of the mountain wet her face. That moment cemented Sammy’s resolve to stay in Perseopia. The Fungi Forest, Archipelago City, these were the places she belonged. Not in the grey reality of the Mother World where there were no opportunities. Her mum had Jerry now, and there was no place for her in their lives. Sammy hardened. Maybe her mother would believe her if she were here to see this sight. Sammy closed her eyes and relaxed. She wouldn’t let that old argument rile her up again. She wasn’t a child. She could be grown up about this and be happy for her mother. Jerry was a total dork, but he was kind and gentle. Her mum deserved to be treated well after being beaten around by her pathetic father, and Jerry treated her like a goddess. He respected her and they would take care of each other. Sammy would miss her mum, but she wasn’t going home. It was the natural order of things. You grew up, moved out, moved on. She wiped an errant tear that had traced a line down her cheek and into her mouth.

  When they got to the portal in the mountains, she’d destroy it. Perseopia was her home now. And she wasn’t going back.

  Hami pointed to the largest island, where the lights shone brightest. “That’s the heart of the city,” he said. “And that smaller island to the north is the Duke’s palace. See how the main bridge that links the city district to the mainland passes close to the palace? That’s so the Duke is always aware of who’s entering his city. And those towers along the bridge? Along with the heavily fortified gatehouse in the middle? One of the Archipelago’s first Dukes, Marvo Priess, had it built in the centre of the bridge so that enemies would have to funnel onto the bridge before arriving at the gate, putting them at a disadvantage and reducing the number of men that could attack the city at once.”

  “Where does the magus live?” Leiss asked.

  “Ex-magus,” Hami said. “I’m not sure. Hopefully a long way from where we are now.”

  “Are we off the archipelago?” Sammy asked.

  “We’re still on one of the islands. But we’re past security. There are three routes onto the Archipelago Islands from the mainland and three bridges with gatehouses that restrict those routes. The one running past the Duke’s palace is the original. Marvo’s bridge. It’s still the main route. There’s another, over to the West, way past it. And then there’s the one we crossed. A minor service entrance that links Fisherman’s Wharf at the base of this mountain to the archipelago proper.”

  “Aren’t the two smaller bridges security risks?” Eva asked. “The one we passed through wasn’t exactly heavily manned.”

  “That’s true, but we came at it from behind. The guards aren’t there to stop people leaving. The two smaller bridges are narrow enough that you’d struggle to get an army across and you can lock the portcullis down like you can on Marvo’s bridge. The eastern bridge, the one we came across, was built for fisher folk to get their catch off their boats and onto the mainland conveniently. It was built after the Association Battles, during a time of relative peace and before Ramaask created his crabmen. The same goes for the western gate. There’s been talk of dismantling them because of the security risk they pose, but the crabmen never come here and both entrances have decent sized gatehouses if they did.”

  They descended the mountain into the mushrooms that grew on the north-eastern slopes. At the bottom, they emerged from the vegetation into a crescent bay surrounded by shear rock faces encircling five ramshackle stone houses and an impressive network of mushroom-board jetties. Boats were moored alongside the jetties and lights were on in a couple of the houses, but there was no one around outside, and no movement in the buildings.

  Hami instructed Louis to take a route round the outside of the settlement along the northern edge of the bay. At the far end, a narrow path led around the corner of the black cliff face.

  On the other side was a lone jetty. It was constructed from mushroom boards like those in the bay, but there were no boats moored alongside and it led straight out into the darkness.

  “Fisherman’s Bridge,” Hami said. “It will lead us all the way to the mainland.” He breathed out and gave a relaxed half chuckle. “We actually made it.”

  The boards creaked as Louis and Indomit eased themselves onto the bridge. Mehrak re-hung the lanterns from the balcony railing, partially shuttering them so they didn’t draw too much attention.

  Louis slowed up. He signed a message.

  “There’s a man ahead,” Mehrak said, turning to Hami.

  “Alone?”

  Louis responded with a yes.

  “It’s him.”

  “Who? The magus?” Mehrak asked. “It might not be.”

  “A guard or lookout would be two or more,” Hami said. “Proceed with caution.”

  “Should I keep out of sight?” Sammy asked.

  Hami shook his head. “You can’t hide from Master Virgil.”

  Louis took his time crossing the creaking bridge, and it was many long minutes before they reached the lone hooded figure that stood in their way.

  The person was hunched over, seemingly frail and small at Louis’s feet.

  A gnarled pair of hands slid from the opening of the cloak and lifted back the hood revealing a bald crown surrounded by a wreath of wispy white hair.

  The old man was aged beyond anyone Sammy had seen before. His face was scored with deep wrinkles and a patchy beard sprouted from the sagging wattle of skin beneath his neck, yet there was strength behind the pale grey eyes that took in Louis and the caravan. The man straightened his back and set his jaw as he fixed his gaze on the crew members high up on the balcony.

  “Master Virgil,” Hami said. He gulped and Sammy caught the tremble of uncertainty in his voice.

  “You no longer need to address me as Master, Principal Hootan,” the old man replied. “I gave up that title when I left the brotherhood. That was a long time ago now. Sagus will do fine.”

  Hami said nothing.

  “You didn’t wish to sample the Duke’s hospitalities?”

  Hami shifted restlessly on the balcony. “How did …?”

  “I may be retired, but I remain on the network and have regular contact with Master Aegis. He told me you’d be travelling by here in a gastrosaur caravan. Who else would be foolhardy enough to brave crossing the Kuchak Sea?”

  Hami remained quiet.

  “That the girl?” Sagus asked. He looked her in the eye, dipped his head, but continued to speak to Hami. “You should talk with Aegis before you take her to the mountains.”

  “He knows then?”

  “He’s not a fool.” Sagus paused. “Do you have a reason for taking her to the portal? Have you learned something that you should be sharing with the rest of the brotherhood?”

  Hami stared down at the old man wide-eyed, but kept his mouth tight.

  The silence drew out until it became uncomfortable.

  Eventually Sagus spoke. “I no longer possess the strength to stand in your way, Principal Hootan. And I don’t work for the magi. But you are still a magus and you swore an oath to the brotherhood. Zubin Aegis is a wise man, you should hear what he has to say.” He stepped aside, and held out his arm to usher them past. “Don’t make the same mistake Master Bruche did.”

  Hami broke eye contact as Louis carried them past Sagus and away from the archipelago. Sammy stopped him as he tried to leave the balcony.

  “Who was Master Bruche?” she asked.

  Hami paused but didn’t look at her. “He was one of the greatest magi that ever lived,” he said. “But he left the network to help a young woman … and lost his life for it.”

  –FORTY-TWO–

  A GIRL IN HIGH DEMAND

  For the first time since Sammy had arrived in Perseopia, it rained. It beat down on Eggie like ball bearings on a tin roof and didn’t let up all day. Louis struggled on until well into the evening, carrying them through the dirt turned mud, across undulating and slippery terrain. The cottage je
rked as Louis lost traction climbing the rises, and wobbled as he slid into the trenches. It was slow going and, in the end, the final straw that broke the gastrosaur’s back. Louis collapsed to the ground.

  Hami protested that they weren’t far enough from Archipelago City to be safe, but Louis was done in. Mehrak was able to coax him a short way further, to a valley deep enough to conceal them from a distance, but even that was a struggle and Louis slumped back down to the ground.

  Narok and Calven came in out of the rain and joined everyone else in Golden Egg Cottage. They hung their cloaks and clothes over the stove and stood close to the fire, shivering in their undergarments.

  Hami covered the porthole with tea towels while Mehrak prepared an unspecified casserole of animal parts and plant stuffs.

  Sammy took a place at the kitchen table and waited to be fed. Despite surviving the lake crossing and escaping the Duke, the atmosphere inside Eggie was as dreary as the weather outside. Hami moved sullenly about the kitchen extinguishing lamps, leaving one for Mehrak to prepare food by, and a second on the table for everyone else. He had nothing to say to anyone and Sammy could only guess at what he was brooding over. She liked to imagine it was remorse for fatally wounding Eva’s karkadann, Bludget, or maybe risking all their lives by crossing the lake. But more than likely he was worried about getting tracked down by the magi or the Archipelago City watch. And then there was what Sagus had said to him. That would be a large part of what was playing on his mind. But in all honesty, Sammy had no idea what went through the guy’s head. Half the time she couldn’t decide if he was deranged. There was an alarming trend of living in mortal danger whenever you spent time with him. If she had any kind of self-preservation, she should be trying to convince Mehrak to break off the search for his wife. They should try to escape Hami and go on an adventure in search of the magical book he was so interested in. It was unfair on Mehrak’s wife, perhaps. Certainly very selfish on Sammy’s part. But they weren’t going to find her now. She’d been gone too long. Mehrak wouldn’t appreciate being told that, but it was time he faced up to that reality. Sammy wasn’t so unfeeling as to drop that knowledge on him, but keeping up the pretence of optimism was a waste of time.

  Hami wouldn’t let them escape anyway. She recalled what had happened last time they’d tried to sneak away, on her first visit to Perseopia. Not only had he predicted they’d make a run for it, but he’d practically orchestrated it.

  No. She wasn’t going to attempt an escape. She’d indulge Mehrak’s fantasy of finding his wife and then Hami’s fantasy of her willingly stepping into the portal. They would all travel to the mountains together so that Mehrak could discover his wife wasn’t there and then she’d destroy the portal before she was forced into it. A lightning staff blast would surely do the trick. There may be more to it than that, but she’d work out the finer details when they got closer.

  It was midmorning the next day before Louis was capable of carrying them onward towards the mountains. The rain had lightened up, but the ground was still sodden and the going was slow.

  Hami remained tense throughout the day as they made their way north, but the more distance they put between themselves and the archipelago, the more he seemed to relax, and that night, as the terrain became rocky, Hami actually looked at ease.

  “Look at this place,” Leiss called from the front balcony.

  Sammy threw on one of Gisouie’s waxed animal-skin coats and went outside to join him and Mehrak at the railing. Eggie’s headlight lanterns had been partially shuttered so she lit her staff and directed the beam ahead.

  The ground was covered in black, glass-like rocks. They jutted up from the ground, angular with flat facets like large crystals. Many were covered in wet lichen or moss and the atmosphere was cold and damp. A thin mist hung in the air cooling the skin and soaking Sammy’s hair.

  Louis slowed further from his already laboured walking to cross the slippery terrain with care.

  “It’s a lot damper here than in the Fungi Forest,” Sammy said.

  “What is this place?” Leiss asked.

  “The outcrops, I think,” Mehrak said. “I believe my grandfather came here once.”

  “No one purposely comes to the outcrops,” Hami said as he joined them on the balcony. “It’s treacherous, and time consuming to traverse. There’s nothing worth coming here for, but it should keep pursuers off our backs.”

  “My grandfather told me Achaemen Mantis had a secret base out here. Or there was a hidden underground temple … or something.”

  “Utter rubbish,” Hami said, and went back inside.

  Mehrak ignored him. “And there are giant frogs. They live in these rock pools and eat creatures that pass by.”

  “Seriously?” Sammy asked. “Just when I thought we were over the worst of what Perseopia had to offer. Is there anything here that doesn’t try to kill you?”

  “Relax. The frogs are only the size of small dogs and they’re harmless to humans.”

  “In that case, I want to see one.”

  Sammy didn’t see any. Typical. The only creatures in Perseopia unlikely to kill you and there weren’t any to be found.

  As Louis moved through the outcrops, it became wetter still and he found himself wading through pools of water and weeds. A splash in the dark had Sammy wheeling around to shine her staff light across a large pool. There was nothing to see, only the ripples of something – probably small-dog-sized – disappearing underwater.

  The rain let up as they reached higher terrain. It remained wet underfoot, but Louis found it easier going and was able to pick up the pace.

  When they stopped to make camp, Mehrak caught up with Sammy who was trying to enjoy some solitude away from everyone else.

  “Why do you think Hami’s taking you to the portal?” he asked as he walked over to the flat black stone she was sat on.

  She looked pointedly at him.

  “I mean, why is he really taking you to the portal?” he continued. “The magi know about it and they don’t want you to go. Sagus said so.”

  Sammy wanted to say something to defend Hami, but she couldn’t think of anything. He’d endangered her life multiple times. And he’d been wrong to do so on at least one of them. He was probably wrong to take her to the portal, too. Mehrak, on the other hand, was on Team Sammy, thus validating her choice of remaining in Perseopia and proving beyond reasonable doubt that it was the right decision.

  “I know you like Hami,” Mehrak said, shuffling uncomfortably, “but I care about you and want what’s best for you.”

  “I care about you too.” The words slipped out unconsciously. She hadn’t realised she’d said anything at first, but when Mehrak perked up she carried on unprompted. “I don’t want to leave you again. I want to stay in Eggie.”

  Mehrak smiled. “I think we should talk to Hami then.”

  They found him on the back balcony staring out into the void.

  Mehrak cleared his throat. “We have something to say.”

  Hami didn’t turn around. “I had a feeling you might.”

  “The magi know about the portal.”

  “And?”

  “Have you spoken to them yet?”

  “No.”

  “Sagus seemed to think you should.”

  “I know what they’ll say. They don’t want to lose Sammy.” He sighed. “The Grand Master is of the opinion that she should stay and fight our war against the darkness. To fight this demon.”

  “And you don’t?”

  “I promised I’d get her home,” Hami said simply.

  “But what will that achieve? Sammy will be gone. The demon will still be here, and you’ll get punished. You’ll lose everything.”

  “I’ve already lost everything. At least Sammy and the outer Mother World will be spared.”

  “But I don’t want to go home,” Sammy said.

  “I made a promise.”

  “A promise that literally no on
e wants you to keep.” Sammy paused. “I’m contacting the Grand Master.”

  “No!” Hami and Mehrak chimed in together.

  Mehrak’s eyes were wide. “Just because you want to stay in Perseopia doesn’t mean you should give yourself up. Let’s figure out a plan first. We still need to destroy the portal whether you go through it or not.”

  Hami turned to Sammy, but couldn’t bring himself to make eye contact. “I promised I’d get you home, but that isn’t the only reason I want you gone.” He took a deep breath. “None of the other magi have spent time in your presence. They don’t know you, what you’re capable of. You’re fragile, you can be childish, and I’ve seen you act out of anger and pettiness.”

  All the words that Sammy wanted to projectile vomit at him coalesced into a blockage that she was unable to dislodge from her throat.

  “The thought of you remaining in Perseopia scares me,” Hami went on. “You possess too much power. After you left Perseopia the first time, you unleashed this black plague on us.”

  “You said that wasn’t my fault!” was all Sammy could get out.

  “I’m not saying it to make you feel bad. I know it wasn’t intentional. You possess more power than you know, but you’re young and corruptible. In the wrong hands you’d –”

  “I’d what?” Sammy managed at last. “I’m not stupid. I won’t just turn to the dark side.”

  Hami looked her dead in the eyes. “What if you’re tortured? What if your friends and family are threatened? What would you do then?”

  Sammy stared back. He was trying to manipulate her again. But it wasn’t working. She wouldn’t turn bad. That sort of thing didn’t happen in real life.

  “The demon is heading to the portal in the mountains,” Hami said. “To escape to the Mother World where it will accumulate more bodies and more power. The disease has already spread here. We can’t allow it into the Mother World too. The magi know this and they’ve sent some of my brothers to close the portal.”

  “Let them close it,” Mehrak said. “They’re better equipped to fight the Order than we are. Sammy doesn’t want to leave. She isn’t a liability and you’ve risked our lives enough already. Leave the job to the professionals.”