“Trix is fairly well-known,” she told me. “She’s almost the settlement’s mascot. The guard assured me of her identity, although he did say that she appeared to be almost sleepwalking.”
“Why would she just wander off?” I wondered, tapping my finger on a nearby table. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Maybe she misses the wilderness,” Thorn suggested. “The bustle of the settlement can be pretty frightening for someone who spent practically their whole life alone.”
“But she seemed so happy with you and Tracey,” I argued. “Did she talk about anything bothering her over the last week or so?”
“No, not really,” Thorn confided.
“Nothing at all?”
“Well, there was this one thing,” Thorn mused. “She told us about a recurring dream she was having. Something about a cave calling to her. She seemed upset about it.”
“A cave? Calling to her?” I repeated, incredulously. “Are you positive that's what she said?”
“Very,” Thorn told me. “I was astonished as you were, and questioned her about it. She confessed she didn't understand it, and that she thought it was a bit mystical.”
“Mystical?”
“That's what she said,” Thorn assured me.
“Very strange,” I said. “But dreams often have hidden meanings. Maybe she went searching for this mystical cave of hers.”
“Maybe,” Thorn agreed. “But why didn’t she tell us?”
“That's another mystery. Let's go find Nix,” I suggested, “and see if he can track her.”
“Good idea.”
Chapter 16
Thorn and I flew to where Nix lived and quickly outlined what had happened. He agreed to accompany us and we took up Trix’s trail from where the guard had seen her last. Nix scurried around, peering at the ground, in an attempt to determine a direction.
“Of course you realise,” he told us, “that what you're asking is virtually impossible. This is a main thoroughfare and trying to sort out her tracks amongst all the others is nonsensical.”
“Then what do we do?” Thorn demanded, hands on hip.
“Well, if she is chasing her dream,” I said, thoughtfully, “then we need to look for a cave somewhere. Thorn, you've travelled a lot in this area. Where do you think the most likely location of a cave would be?”
Thorn squinted and looked around the distant scenery. “There's a couple of places,” she said slowly. “I'd say there, there and there,” she declared, pointing in three different directions.
“That gives us a starting point,” I stated with satisfaction. “Let's take them one at a time. They're all off the beaten track, so if Trix went that way, Nix should be able to find a trail. Yeehaa, wagons roll!” Thorn and Nix looked at me as if I’d gone mad.
“What do you mean?” Thorn asked, confused. “Wagons roll? What's a wagon?”
Nix waved a dismissive hand. “Don't listen to him,” he commanded. “It's just another weird human saying. I'm surprised that you’re interested in the meaning of obscure babblings, Arugohumna. Oh yes, I forgot. Your interest lies in who’s doing the babbling, isn't it?”
“Nix, don't go there,” Thorn warned.
“Too late,” he gleefully announced. “Thorn and Stephen sitting in a tree ……. You know the rest I'm sure, especially the part about the marriage and the baby carriage.”
“Stop that!” Thorn demanded, clenching her fists. “I won't tell you again!”
“Huh!” he snorted. “As if I’d listen to the likes of you. You don't even have the courage to ask Stephen to warm your bed at night.”
“Nix!” Thorn gasped, turning beetroot red. “How dare you say something like that! If you weren't a friend I'd slap you silly!”
“As if!” Nix retaliated. “Stop boasting about something you could never achieve, my dear. Anyway, I’m just speaking what's in your mind. Deny it if you can!” Thorn spluttered and stammered with fury, but I noticed she didn't rebuff Nix’s statement.
“Playtime is over, children,” I announced, stepping between them. “In case you didn't notice, we have a job to do. Stop fooling around and get to work.”
Nix grinned unrepentantly and trotted off in the direction of the first probable cave. Thorn glared daggers at his back, but followed after him. I sighed. Those two! What was I going to do with them? Nix was forever pushing the boundaries of friendship to see how far they’d stretch, and Thorn let him do it. Eventually, anyway. She’d huff and puff initially, but she always relented in the end. What a pair! They must be best friends, I reflected, because the way Nix teased Thorn would have resulted in a duel with anyone else.
After about ten minutes, Nix called a halt and announced that he couldn't find a single trace of Trix.
“Let's try the next route,” I suggested, “and hope we have better luck there.” Nix agreed, and we set off in the direction of Thorn's second cave, but once again, there was nothing to be found.
“Third time lucky,” I flippantly remarked, and we once more changed direction. After an anxious fifteen minutes or so, Nix exclaimed, “Ah ha! Someone has been here recently.”
“Was it Trix?” Thorn asked, fretfully.
“I have no idea,” Nix stated. “It could have been anyone. I'm not psychic, you know. But the tracks show a very small footprint, so the chances of it being Trix are improving. We'll just have to follow and see.” With Nix’s keen eyes scouring the landscape, we tracked our possible fugitive until we observed the entrance to a cave.
“Well done, you two!” I praised. “A marvellous piece of deductive reasoning. Let's just hope that Trix is inside.”
We tentatively entered the cave, not quite sure of what to expect. Oddly, the further in we went, the brighter it became. Some mysterious light source illuminated the passageway. Curiouser and curiouser, I muttered to myself. We glanced at each other and slowed down our progress even more, becoming a tad more careful. Thorn gripped her sword and Nix's hand went to his dagger. We rounded a sharp rocky corner and beheld the source of the light. It was a fluorescent column, glimmering and iridescent and, slumped at its base, lay a recumbent Trix.
Thorn started forward, but I held a restraining arm against her chest. “Don't do anything hasty!” I whispered, guardedly. “We don't know what's going on as yet.”
“Well, someone has to go and rescue her,” Thorn whispered back. “We can't just leave her there.”
“I'll go,” Nix volunteered. “I'm the strongest. I'll pull her back by the feet. I'll keep as far away from the light as possible, just in case. You two stay here and give me a hand if I get into trouble, okay?”
“Sounds feasible,” I agreed. “But take it nice and slow. If you feel the slightest bit weird, come straight back.”
“Will do,” Nix conceded.
Thorn and I watched Nix take one slow deliberate step after another. When he came to within an arm’s length of Trix, he turned around to us and gave a thumbs up. Then he carefully bent down, grasped our no-longer-missing companion by the ankles and unhurriedly pulled her backwards to where we were waiting. When he reached us, he scooped Trix into his arms and made for the cave entrance, with Thorn and I following. Once outside, Nix gently laid his burden on the ground where I quickly examined her for injuries. I couldn't find any. Well, anything obvious anyway, and I sat back on my heels, wondering what to do next. Trix appeared to be asleep, or in some sort of a trance. On a hunch, I opened my water bottle and splashed some water on her face. She wrinkled her nose, coughed and then opened her eyes.
“What's going on?” she croaked. “Where am I?” She agitatedly looked around. “What are you doing here?”
I took one of her hands, endeavoring to calm her. “Those are the sorts of questions we’d like to ask you, honey,” I murmured. “You found you in the cave. With the light. It was like a tube of sparkling crystals. Do you remember any of that?”
“I'm not sure,” she said, dazedly, struggling to sit up. “I remember going into a cave. Some
one was telling me I had to.”
“Who's this ‘someone’ you’re talking about?” Thorn wanted to know.
“I'm not sure,” Trix replied, shaking her head in confusion. “It was this voice. The voice in the light. It told me that I had to go on a quest.”
“Quest?” Nix asked. “What quest?”
“It starting to come back,” Trix said, slowly. “Something about the fate of my people, the cogdommina. It was all about our origins and how I had to find the hidden histories.”
“Hidden histories, eh?” Nix declared, smiling ironically. “And mysterious voices talking in your head?” He pulled on an earlobe. “No offence, Trix, my darling, but there might be some people who would question your sanity.”
“Then how do you explain the mysterious light in the cave?” Thorn challenged. “What's your answer to that, Mister Smarty?”
“There's probably a perfectly rational explanation for that,” Nix stiffly said, “but it just so happens I can't think of it right now.”
“Huh!” Thorn sniffed, disdainfully. “So you don't know all the answers, then? That must be a massive shock to your notion of pompous superiority.”
Chapter 17
“Let's try and get some perspective on this,” I decided, looking at Trix. “Go back in your mind, sweetie, and tell us the last rational thing you can remember when you were back at the settlement.”
“Can I have some water first, please?” she asked. “For some reason I'm awfully thirsty. And hungry, too,” she added, wistfully.
“You've been missing for over two days,” I told her, “so it’s no real surprise.”
“Two days!” Trix exclaimed, astonished. “Are you sure?”
“Very sure,” Thorn assured her. “Traculimna’s been beside herself. She could probably tell you to the exact second how long you've been missing.”
“It didn't seem anything like that,” Trix told us. “In fact, I must have lost track of time altogether.”
Nix and Thorn undid their packs and offered Trix food and drink. Actually, we all took the opportunity to have a meal, allowing explanations to wait. When everyone felt satisfied, we sat down to listen to what had happened.
“This is going to sound a little strange,” Trix began, self-consciously. “I'm having trouble believing it myself.”
“Start at the very beginning, honey,” I urged.
Trix cleared her throat. “If you insist,” she agreed. “Some believe that the gods were involved, forming the universe from dust particles and creating the worlds …….”
“That's too much of a beginning, you silly monkey,” I interrupted, amused. “I see this little adventure hasn't improved your sense of humor to any great degree.”
“Just an attempt to lighten the mood,” Trix grinned. “You all look so solemn.”
“We were worried about you,” Thorn told her.
“But I'm fine now,” she argued, “so you can stop worrying, huh?” She settled herself a little more comfortably and continued. “The first strange thing to happen would have to be the dreams. They kept repeating themselves, night after night, and they were always the same. I'd be walking through the wilderness with this voice pulling me towards a cave. It was so seductive and I was powerless against it. I’d go into the cave with this light, exactly how you described it. And then the dream would end, but it came back every single night.”
“And what happened after that?” Nix asked.
Trix scratched her head, perplexed. “That's the bit I don't understand,” she admitted. “The next thing I remember was after you dragged me outside. I have no idea how I found the cave or how I even ended up in there.”
“But you were talking about some sort of a quest before,” I reminded her. “What's all that about?”
“Well, that's the one thing I do remember,” she said with conviction. “I have to go to a specific spot not far from here and from there I’ll be told what to do.”
“If you don't mind my saying so, Trix, my dear,” Nix commented, dubiously, “all of this sounds more than a little odd. Are you sure you haven't simply been dreaming everything?”
“I know it sounds fantastic,” Trix exclaimed, throwing up her hands, “but the voice, and where to go, are all so clear in my mind. If it's a dream, then it’s an exceptionally vivid one. Anyway, I'm going, and that's final. I have to find out whether it's true or not. The voice promised me the hidden histories of my people. How could I not follow that?” She glanced defiantly around at us. “I'd love for you all to come with me, but that's your decision. I don’t want to force anybody to do anything they don't want to do.”
Nix and Thorn looked in my direction, obviously leaving the choice up to me. I peered at Trix, judging her sincerity, but all I discovered was poise and self-assurance. She seemed determined to go on this quest, whether anybody accompanied her or not, and I knew that Tracey would spend the whole of next month yelling at us if we let her go alone.
“Well, I, for one, would like to see how this ends up,” I informed her.
“In that case,” Thorn contributed, “I'm coming, too.”
“You're all mad,” Nix chipped in, “but I have a fondness for insanity. After all, I'm friends with Thorn, here, so I guess that means I'll be coming along as well.” Thorn punched him on the arm as a result, and Nix grinned.
“Thank you,” Trix whispered. “Thank you all. I don't know what's going to happen but I couldn't be happier that we'll be finding out together.”
Chapter 18
We made our way back to the settlement, informed Tracey of what had happened; overcame her strident objections to our expedition; equipped ourselves with the camping necessities and set out, with Trix leading the way. We soon travelled into areas that none of us had ever seen before.
“Wow!” Thorn exclaimed, looking around at the scenery. “This sure is wilderness. I've never been this far out from the settlement before.”
“I haven't either,” Trix informed us. “I wonder what we’re going to find?”
“Are you positive we’re on the right track?” Nix enquired.
“This is the way,” Trix guaranteed. She tapped her head. “It's all up there, as clear as light. This is where we’re supposed to go.”
“Somehow, that isn't a hundred percent reassuring,” Nix grumbled. “I hope you don’t mind me saying that when people point to their head and say that it's all in there, I start to worry.”
“Don't be such a wombat,” Thorn told him. “Trix knows what she's doing.”
“You don't even know what a wombat is,” Nix retaliated. “Anyway, that's Stephen’s saying, not yours.”
“I can borrow Stephen’s sayings if I want to,” Thorn announced, huffily. “Anyway I do know what a wombat is. I'm looking at one right now.”
“Oh, you're so funny, Arugohumna,” Nix replied. “And, to complete the picture, you look funny as well.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, it is so.”
“Well, I guess it takes one to know one.”
“What the devil does that mean?”
“I haven't the faintest idea. I heard Stephen say it once.”
“You know, it occurs to me that we’re taking too much notice of what he says.”
“You're right. His language is corrupting us.”
“We should do something about it.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“I hoped that you could suggest something.”
“Maybe Trix could come up with a plan.”
“Perhaps. She’s a clever little thing.”
“No, I've changed my mind. I think she actually likes Stephen.”
“What a weirdo!”
“There! You did it again!”
“What did I do again?”
“Used a Stephen word. You said ‘weirdo’. That's one of his.”
“Yeah, so it is. Sorry. But it can still be applied quite validly to Trix.”
“For sure. That goes without saying.”
This scintillating repartee could have gone on for ages if I’d let it. Trix, however, was practically rolling on the ground with mirth, which didn't say much for her sense of humor. I sighed wearily. I was surrounded by lunatics, but at least it helped pass the time.
We journeyed onwards until we came to a most remarkable sight. Trix, who was in front, suddenly stopped and gasped in amazement. We’d just rounded a large stony outcrop and came face to face with, if you can believe it, a lake. How it had been formed was beyond me, although I suspected that water must have slowly dripped down from fissures in the overhead rock surface.
“What's that?” Trix exclaimed, astonished, pointing at the watery mass in front of her.
“It's a lake,” I informed her. “Haven't you ever seen one before?”
Trix shook her head, dumbly. “There's so much water!” she whispered in an awed voice. “It's incredible! I didn't imagine that so much water even existed!”
I was taken aback by Trix’s statements. It wasn’t even a big lake. But then it occurred to me that she probably hadn't seen such a large gathering of water before. You don't get much in the way of oceans underground.
“How are we going to get around this?” Nix observed, shading his eyes peering out across the surface water. “It's covering the entire path.” He turned to Trix and asked, “Do we have to go this way?”
Trix nodded. “It's the only way,” she stated.
“That's all very well,” Nix said, “but how do we get across?”
“A good question,” Trix proclaimed. “Stephen?”
“In the absence of trees to make a raft,” I supplied, “I propose that we swim.”
“Swim?” Trix announced, horrified. “I can't swim! I don't know how! I've never swum in my life! Who would think I'd ever need to?”
“Okay, a show of hands,” I suggested. “Hands up anyone who can swim.”
Nix’s hand went halfway up. “I could probably make it across,” he declared. “I'm not very good, but I doubt if I’d drown.”
Trix (3) (The Underground Kingdom) Page 7