The Kingdom of Tamarack (Book One in The Tamarack Series)

by Ross Turner

  “Have the demons come this far yet?” Her words were a little slow and her vision unlevelled.

  “Not that I have seen Isabella. But then they are almost invisible at night, and just as quick.”

  “Is this building secure?”

  “You will be safe here my dear.” He said with a comforting smile and Isabel heaved a small sigh of relief. “I pray for your safety for the rest of your journey. Sleep well.”

  “So do I.” She replied quietly, sadly knowing that it would make little difference. She glanced over to where Ben and Zhack lay, already asleep, and then to where Ayva sat testing the movement at her shoulder. Finally she looked to Zanriath who rested his head on one hand with his eyes out of focus. She wondered exactly what he was thinking for a moment before turning back to Pike at her side. “So do I.” She repeated.

  29

  For the short remainder of the night thumping raindrops pounded Isabel’s sanctuary. Her bouts of sleep were infrequent and disturbed. Briefly did she fall into slumber and each time she did she found herself haunted by the plague of demons taunting her thoughts. They didn’t sleep. They only wanted to find her, to stop her, to kill her. The boy was searching for her again. She could feel him scanning this new island. At first she managed to evade his wandering mind as she had done in Hinaktor, but the concentration kept her awake and she was already exhausted. As she fell further into fatigue her focus began to slip. She periodically jerked awake and each time he tried a little harder. She couldn’t let him find them, but as she continued to slip, her defences wavered. He felt stronger than he had done before, and she was suddenly afraid.

  Before long, Isabel’s defences fell as she gave in to her weariness. After only a matter of moments, her nightmares began.

  She wandered alone through the darkness. It was cold and raining, thundering now. She was reminded of her loneliness and fear back in the Great Forest in Land, except here it was much colder, and there was no voice in her thoughts to comfort her. She screamed. But there was no one there to hear her cries. She wasn’t even sure if her scream had made any noise.

  Where was she? Where was Zanriath? Weeping openly she stumbled forward, devastated at how quickly her hopelessness had set in. Suddenly she fell, tumbling down an embankment that she hadn’t seen in the dark, and crashed into the freezing water below.

  The icy river hit her like a hurricane, the cold knocking the breath from her lungs and the speed of the water sending her tumbling. She was weak. She couldn’t breathe, swallowing water, choking and spluttering every time she tried to draw breath. She forced herself to her knees and raised her head from her icy grave. Catching a desperate breath above the flowing water she vomited and choked again. Her heart was racing and her breaths were short and shallow, each one taking her closer to hypothermia and exhaustion.

  Her hands wrapped around the smooth pebbles on the riverbed and her fingers quickly lost all feeling. They became empty shells groping the bank, finding only slippery mud and loose rocks; she forced herself to her feet, managing it on her second attempt, falling at first with an exasperated grunt.

  Looking around she saw nothing but blackness. Her eyes were bleary with water and cold and the rain still fell heavily, pounding relentlessly against her papery skin.

  Something caught her eye in the night and she squinted to see more clearly.

  An orange spot grew in the blackness, getting closer and closer. After a few minutes she could see more clearly and the spot began to move, soon the movement became a flicker, and the flicker became flames. Fire.

  “FIRE!” She screamed into the night, her voice falling to nothing once more.

  She could see clearly now - it was a village, ablaze. People were running and screaming. Every building was alight and demons darted between the flames, killing everyone. The villagers stood no chance, one by one falling victim to their attackers. A young girl ran from a burning building, her body alight with scalding flames. She fell to the floor heavily and her outstretched hand reached for Isabel as her skin melted and she died horrifically.

  “Stop!” Isabel croaked, retching, tears streaming down her cheeks. Then, amidst the flames, between two houses that had been reduced to rubble, stood the boy, his gaze cast down at Isabel. He walked slowly towards her with deadly intent. His over-confident grin was obvious and oozed mockery.

  “I see you Isabella.” He was still far from her but his voice rang clear as day in Isabel’s mind. She brought her hands up to her ears and doubled over into the icy water.

  “No! No! NO!!” She screamed and spluttered as the freezing water washed over her face once more, filling her lungs with icy needles.

  “You’re mine.”

  Isabel screamed again, thrashing and writhing as she felt strong hands on her arms.

  “Get off me! You’re killing them!”

  “Isabel! Isabel!” Zanriath’s voice penetrated her panic and she ceased her struggles, slowing her breathing and taking big gulps of air, wondering what had happened to the river.

  As her eyes opened she squinted and freed her arm from being held to wipe the sleep away from their corners.

  She looked up and saw Zanriath knelt over her, concern evident in his eyes. The others stood at the side of her bed with paralleled worry. Daylight streamed in through the high, square windows and it was clear that she had slept well into the following day. Free specs of dust floated freely across those streams of welcoming light and mesmerised Isabel for a few moments before the reality of what had just happened dawned on her.

  “He knows where we are. He’s burning a village, across the river.”

  “Kalaris!” Pike gasped running to the door.

  “Wait! Pike! No!” Isabel cried after him. Ben and Zhack darted after the old man, reaching him just as he opened the door. He was met face to face by a towering demon. Roaring with frustration it knocked him backwards and bellowed at Isabel. Raising itself up on its hind legs the monster stood frozen in the doorway, teeth bared and saliva drooling freely. Its massive legs and arms flexed and rippled with every movement, wanting to get hold of Isabel.

  “Gah!” Pike blurted, sprawling to the floor. Ben and Zhack managed to break his fall and simultaneously launched a blade each at the beast. It took a step back and howled. Its green eyes creased with the sharp pain at its chest as blood dripped down its torso.

  Ayva grabbed her bow and let fly three arrows in one smooth movement, her wounds healed miraculously and ready for revenge. Her arrows hit true, one in the leg, one in the gut and one in the neck. Howling and spluttering now the demon gouged at the blades and arrows with its massive claws, removing them along with large chunks of its own flesh. It retreated into the rain, hidden by the tremendous downpour.

  Looking past where it had stood they could see, even through the sheet of falling water, the fires blazing off to the west. A lump rose in Pike’s throat and he mumbled something Isabel could not make out.

  “They can’t enter here. The sanctuary is a temporary haven for us.” Zanriath explained to them all as they sat round in a circle of benches. Ben and Zhack had retrieved their blades and Ayva’s arrows and sat silently cleaning them of blood. They doubted that any of them would get any more sleep and it was well past noon already. They were attempting to formulate a plan of action. Regrettably, they could no longer settle for run and hide.

  Isabel sat quietly, ashamed that she had given away their location. Zanriath sat with his arm around her, knowing full well how she felt, but also realising she would be inconsolable for the time being. He too was worried for Ben and Zhack. They had clearly let something consume their thoughts for the past few days, and though their burdens were great, they all needed to be thinking clearly.

  “What are we going to do?” Ayva asked Zanriath, mirroring Isabel’s thoughts.

  “I’m thinking.” He replied meekly. “I’m struggling though. We may just have to go for speed and fight if we have to.”

  “But there are going to be too many Zan.
You remember what the High Priest said.” Ayva countered. “Not that I’m not more than willing to give every single one of them a taste of my arrows…”

  “Isabel?” Zanriath said quietly. “What happened?” She sighed deeply and closed her eyes for a moment before speaking, remembering her dream.

  “He’s stronger now. He came while I was asleep. Depozi helped him.” Her voice was quiet and shaky.

  They sat quietly for a moment considering their options. They were surrounded, outnumbered, and still had far to go. The High Priest had told them that Ormath was waiting for them, and Zanriath knew better than anyone that He couldn’t leave Dragon’s Peak. At least not physically without reason and he knew better than anyone Ormath wouldn’t be permitted to help them much more than He already had.

  “Isabel.” It was Ben who spoke now. He and Zhack had a new light in their eyes, imploring their friends to listen. They succeeded. Isabel’s worry for them brought her back from her distraught self-pity and focused her attention. Whether that was the reason for their silence in the first place, she would never know. Zanriath and Ayva too knew something was different. Zhack continued for his twin.

  “This was supposed to happen. You were meant to tell him where we are.”

  “His demons are all here now.”

  “He’s organising them into another army. It will be the biggest one yet.”

  “He’s controlling them, telling them what to do.”

  “He’s threatening them. Just like you said.”

  “It wouldn’t matter if the boy hadn’t found you; they would have found us tonight anyway.”

  “There was no way for us to get past this point without them catching us.”

  “That’s why we were forced to push so hard for Still Waters.” The truth in the boys’ words struck heavily with Isabel and the knot that had taken up residence in her stomach budged slightly. The boys continued.

  “Soon it will be dark again. Tonight we need to sneak out and wait until morning.”

  “What? Where are you going?” Isabel asked, a little shocked by their proposal. They couldn’t be leaving.

  “We’re not going anywhere. We’re going to hide. It’s what we do best.”

  “Then when dawn comes and you need to leave for Dragon’s Peak, the boy is going to be waiting for you. He’s already waiting for you.” She swallowed hard as she listened to them bouncing their so sure truths off each other.

  “You are going to go out there and you are going to fight him.” She opened her mouth to object but the seriousness of their tone and their expressions silenced her qualms.

  “This has to happen. It is our task.”

  “Are you sure this is what you have to do?” Zanriath asked, his tone levelled to match theirs.

  “Yes.” Their answer was simple and honest.

  Now Isabel partly realised why they’d been so quiet and so lost for the past two days. She didn’t fully understand their task, but she didn’t need to, they clearly already did. It was settled. No more words were spoken. Isabel, Ayva and Zanriath embraced both Ben and Zhack in turn and wished them luck.

  The wind and rain still howled outside, attacking Isabel’s haven with all their might. She gathered her will and her courage and prepared herself for first light. It would be a torturous wait and the sky was only just beginning to darken.

  The same image of the sun rolling casually and willingly across the sky dawned in her thoughts. She couldn’t let her friends down.

  She hoped Ben and Zhack knew what they were doing. They were so young, and yet so focused on the perils that lay just ahead of them. She drew her courage from their strength and, strangely enough, hope began to seep through her like a powerful antidote. She pushed her nightmare from the forefront of her thoughts and settled down to wait.

  Pike led Ben and Zhack to a small door at the back of the sanctuary. They slipped out into the cold and faced the brutal storm, vanishing into the darkening evening to hide amidst the twilight, and to wait for sunrise.

  30

  Drumming her fingers softly on the stone floor Isabel sat against the south wall of the Still Waters sanctuary looking up to her right at the statue of the dragon. Taking deep, steady breaths she held her nerve. Examining the statue she wondered where Ben and Zhack were lying in wait. Would their plan work? She had a horrible suspicion that the boys had kept the entirety of their task hidden from her purposefully.

  The statue looked calmly ahead, perched on its back legs with its front limbs tucked up and its wings outstretched. It didn’t look monstrous as she’d always imagined dragons to look. Oddly enough, it looked more like a mentor, wise rather than brutish, elegant and thoughtful over savage without intelligence. She wondered how closely the representation matched Ormath himself.

  Sunlight slowly ebbed its way over the horizon and the first rays of morning pierced the clear sky and flooded through the sanctuary’s high windows, illuminating Isabel’s thoughts and strangely calming and focusing her. She had barely slept at all - dragged into sleep for a few uneasy hours by fatigue alone.

  The time was nigh and she knew it. Zanriath and Ayva looked over to her from the bench where they sat attempting to eat breakfast, though failing miserably, too consumed with concern. Isabel hadn’t even tried. She didn’t want food. She didn’t need food. She needed to focus.

  ‘It’s time.’ The voice sounded comfortingly in Isabel’s thoughts, but she was standing and moving before it had even echoed through her mind. This time it was definitely Ormath. She had felt His presence strongly with her that morning. She didn’t know whether it was just her mind playing tricks on her, or whether it was because they were in the sanctuary, or even if it was something else. She didn’t care.

  Ayva and Zanriath rose also and walked over to her. She looked over her shoulder at the statue, seeming to gaze directly at her now. She smiled, at least a little comforted.

  “Let’s go.” Even as she spoke she moved towards the door on light feet. Pike bade them a pale farewell and wished her his best. She only nodded and smiled again before slowly yanking the iron handle and pulling the heavy door open, immediately bathed in glorious rays of yellow morning sunlight.

  She stepped out boldly. Zanriath followed her with his wits about him and Ayva with her bow in hand, already half-drawn.

  Isabel walked directly from the door and turned left, moving calmly down to the water’s edge. There were no demons in sight. That made Zanriath and Ayva even more nervous. Isabel was beginning to gain an understanding of the situation as the familiar feeling began to take over. The only thing she didn’t understand was why she could only feel him. Where were the rest? He wouldn’t have come all this way to confront her alone and she knew it.

  “There.” Ayva hissed to Zanriath, aiming her bow across the perfect water.

  “I see.” He replied just as quietly. They focused on the small figure across the lake from Isabel. They could only see his faint outline all the way across on the opposite shore, but it was him all right.

  “This is it.” Ayva said quietly again, her voice resounding and level. She swallowed hard and lowered her bow, knowing it would be too far for her shot to carry. “What do we do?”

  “Honestly? I don’t know. I presume nothing. This isn’t our fight.” Zanriath replied. Isabel still stood at the water’s edge, eyes intense and staring out across at her enemy.

  “We can’t just sit here and do nothing.” Ayva hissed back. But as she spoke Isabel slowly placed her foot forward and stepped out on to the lake. Her confidence soared with every step. She walked steadily out across the glistening water and her striking figure was illuminated in the magnificent sunrise streaking across the perfect mirror of the lake. Ayva swallowed even harder.

  “I don’t think we could help, even if we wanted to.” Zanriath said, watching in awe as his Isabel approached the demon that had haunted her very dreams. He too was crossing the lake to meet her.

  Ayva’s mouth hung open and her eyes were wide. She
had always been so confident, even cocky at times, but now next to Isabel she was out of her element. She’d had no choice but to stand by helplessly as her overconfident-self that Isabel had first met, transformed from a lone ranger, to an ally, to a companion, and now, to a respectful and loving friend. But even as her friend walked calmly across the water to face the demon leading an army against them, her own task was still lying in wait, and it terrified her - ‘for your task shall be the most difficult, and the most painful…’ She couldn’t even begin to imagine. But, at least to some extent, she did understand.

  There he was, so close now. His expression was as Isabel remembered it from Aproklis as she had cowered over the body of her father. She channelled her rage. She could feel him. He had changed since Hinaktor. Something was different. He was stronger, but so was she.

  They began slowly at first, standing motionless on the water smooth like glass. Isabel looked down for the briefest moment, glimpsing her reflection staring back at her. She was still just Isabel. What chance could she possibly stand? Doubt began to creep in and cloud her mind. The boy smiled his wicked grin.

  He was first to strike. His initial move was more of a test and his will thudded against the barrier of Isabel’s mind. She strained against him as he concentrated with more and more force, hammering his will down upon her. But she resisted, and with a quick burst she knocked his focus and retaliated with her own attack, giving everything she could muster. Her will cascaded along the water’s surface, sending with it the tiniest of ripples, barely even visible.

  Isabel followed it in slow motion, watching with trepidation as the boy failed to brace himself in time. Her will surged into him and knocked him back a step, he seemed struck for a moment, but shrugged her attack off with little effort. Her incantations were feeble.