by Drew Wagar
The images stopped abruptly. Kiri could sense Zoella at the other end of the link, but neither could react to anything for long moments, too shocked to frame a single thought.
There were no lies, no deceptions. Such a thing was not possible over the nexion, the strange mental link that connected the gifted. Kiri knew she had seen the truth, as did Zoella.
Kiri heard Zoella’s thoughts, soft and placatory.
I do not wish for the hatred to continue between us. We have both lost so much, let us not lose any more.
Kiri could sense the sincerity behind Zoella’s words. Her own thoughts were equally honest.
After everything that’s happened? How can there be trust? We have wronged each other … time and again, it’s best to stay apart …
Guerrun worked so hard to save us … I do not believe Myana would want us to be estranged. We are the last of the Tiamoi family, princesses of Scallia, sisters …
Feelings swirled once again, washing over them. Words weren’t sufficient, but were all they had.
Kiri spoke.
You’ll be here soon.
Yes, if all goes well …
We should not meet, it’s not safe.
We must!
I don’t want to see you, or talk to you! Just … stay away from me.
Kiri, please …
No … don’t ask me that. Leave me alone!
The link broke. Kiri gasped as her surroundings came back into view. She blinked, seeing Meru holding her by the shoulders, looking at her with concern etched on his features.
‘Kiri, what happened?’
Haltingly, her face tear-streaked and her voice shaking, Kiri told him.
* * *
Nerina received Rihanna’s communication and breathed a sigh of satisfaction.
The ship is quick indeed. To have reached the storm already having set out from Amar just a few stretches ago. Almost as fast as a dach can fly. We must take that ship as well as the maid. Bring these exiles to heel.
‘News?’ Merrin asked.
‘Rihanna reports the ship has been spotted,’ Nerina replied. ‘It goes where we imagined it would, towards the Obelisk. They will pass into the storm before long.’
‘And Rihanna will ambush them upon their return,’ Merrin asked.
‘She will be prepared,’ Nerina said. ‘Do not worry. Rihanna has seen the vessel in action before and knows well what it can do. She will take it, and all aboard will be at our mercy.’
‘Including the maid.’
Nerina nodded.
‘What news of the unrest?’ she said, changing the subject.
‘It remains,’ Merrin said. ‘Many have been arrested as you directed, but the commoners are not cowed. They protest at the edge of the piazza …’
Nerina’s face turned to a scowl.
‘Then they will learn a harsh lesson,’ she said, striding out of the meeting hall.
* * *
Zoella gasped, her own surroundings jolting into clarity around her. For a moment she stared, trying to get her bearings. She felt a hand on her forehead and sensed Ira’s calming presence about her.
‘Zoella?’
It was Mel’s voice.
Zoella looked around, still catching her breath. She was shaking with the effort of concentration.
‘They’re alive,’ she said. ‘They’re alright.’
‘Meru?’ Mel asked, crouching down next to her. Ira sat down on the other side, holding her hands.
‘Yes,’ Zoella said. She swallowed. ‘The flying machine crashed in the vortex, but they got out. They’re heading to the Obelisk on foot.’
‘Thank Lacaille for that,’ Mel said, getting to her feet. ‘I’ll go tell …’
‘Wait,’ Zoella said. ‘I spoke to her … to Kiri …’
‘What did she say?’ Mel asked, softly, looking at the expression on Zoella’ face.
‘She … we … both of us,’ Zoella winced, trying to put her experience into words. ‘I offered to make a truce. I was wrong about her, she has suffered too … more than I knew! There was so much I didn’t know … so much I assumed, so much neither of us knew about each other.’
‘What did she say?’ Mel asked, sitting down.
‘She won’t talk with me, she says she just wants to be left alone.’
Mel sighed. ‘I don’t think she’s going to have that choice. Anyway … Meru’s alive! Coran will want to know. Come on, let’s tell him!’
Zoella found herself pulled up, out of the room and along the corridor behind Mel. Mel jumped on to the ladder that led to the deck and disappeared upwards.
‘Coran!’ she was yelling. ‘Coran! Meru’s alive!’
By the time Zoella and Ira had clambered up through the hatchway on to the deck, Mel had already reached the bridge. Zoella heard Coran’s cry of exultation.
‘Yes! Knew he’d be alright! Take more than a storm to knock that boy down.’
Zoella and Ira joined Coran, Fitch and Mel in the cramped area atop the ship.
‘You got hold of Kiri then?’ Coran demanded.
Zoella nodded.
‘She tried to bury the hatchet too,’ Mel said, giving Zoella a hug.
‘Really?’ Coran asked.
‘She wouldn’t talk to me though,’ Zoella said. ‘She doesn’t trust me.’
‘Feeling is mutual,’ Coran said.
‘But she wasn’t as angry as before, we shared … I understand her better now,’ Zoella said. ‘I didn’t realise how much she’d been through and she knows more about what happened to me too. Maybe, we might be able to find a way forward … I don’t know.’
Coran nodded enthusiastically. ‘I’ll be scorched. Maybe there’s hope for all of us then. Great work, Zoella.’
To her surprise he pulled her into a close hug alongside Mel and Ira. Only Fitch stayed out of range, watching them all with a disdainful expression.
‘Proud of you all,’ Coran said. ‘You’ve done good.’
‘Hate to break up the celebrations,’ Fitch said, from the side of the bridge. ‘But might I bring your attention to our next little challenge?’
‘What are you wittering on about, Fitch?’ Coran demanded.
Fitch jerked a thump out of the forward windows. The crew turned to look.
Along the sunward horizon a thick band of cloud could be seen, rising higher and higher in a curving arc. Even from here they could see it was huge, casting a noticeable shadow on the ocean below.
‘The vortex,’ Mel whispered.
‘Only the biggest storm in the whole snuttin’ world,’ Fitch muttered.
Coran was all business-like again.
‘Run the length of the ship,’ he said. ‘All hatches to be battened down and locked, portholes and water tight doors closed. The mesh sails need to be dropped and stowed, we’ll run on the batteries as we planned. Everything that can be secured and locked away, secure it and lock it away! I want everyone below decks save Mel and I before the stretch is out. Clear?’
‘Aye, Captain!’ everyone chorused in unison.
Coran smiled. ‘Well … that’s good then. Jump to it!’
The crew went about their tasks, leaving Mel alone with Coran.
‘You think we can make it through?’ Mel asked. ‘This vortex wrecked Meru’s flying machine after all …’
Mel could see how tightly the captain was gripping the wheel of the Mobilis.
‘We’ll make it,’ Coran said. ‘We have to. One thing at a time, eh?’
CHAPTER TEN
Nadir, Coordinates Zero, Zero
Round 2307, Eighth pass
‘I still can’t really believe you two are sisters,’ Meru said.
‘Daughters of a Scallian queen called Myana,’ Kiri replied, pawing at the mud-stained torn garments she was wearing. ‘Though I don’t feel much like a princess.’
They were traipsing through the undergrowth, still heading towards the Obelisk. For now it was hidden by the foliage around them, a mixture of tall grasses and
ferns twice as tall as they were. The ground was rising, forcing them to scramble upwards. They had to take frequent rests in the heat, the sweat pouring off them.
‘And this Guerrun tried to hide you both away from the priestesses, thinking to bring you back to Scallia when you were old enough?’
Kiri nodded, holding out a hand and pulling Meru up an incline.
‘Seem so,’ Kiri said. ‘But the plan went wrong when he got caught and exiled. My adopted parents died in a plague and I was carted off to Drayden. Zoella was left as an orphan in a hall in Scallia.’
‘So you should have been in the palace at Viresia,’ Meru said, remembering the grandeur of the city before the war. King Ioric was your uncle … so I wonder who your father was?’
Kiri shrugged. ‘He’s probably dead too.’
‘Don’t you want to know?’ Meru asked, catching the tone in her voice.
‘No, not really,’ Kiri said. ‘Whoever he is I never knew him, nor my mother.’
‘What about Scallia?’
‘What about it?’
‘Don’t you want to go back there?’ Meru said, a puzzled frown on his face. ‘Now you know?’
‘I’ve been there already,’ Kiri said. ‘You were there, remember? It’s no more of a home to me than anywhere else.’
‘But …’
She turned to him, her expression annoyed. ‘You grew up on Amar, your parents are from there, you had your childhood there, yes?’
Meru nodded, warily.
‘I had none of that. Ever since I can remember I’ve been fighting to stay alive, fighting to find enough food, hoping I wouldn’t get caught and killed by guards or soldiers. I didn’t have a childhood. I don’t have a home. I don’t care about Scallia, or my parents, or Guerrun and his stupid plan. It didn’t work, did it?’
Meru shrugged. ‘I guess not.’
‘Maybe things would have been better if Zoella and I had been left in Viresia when we were children,’ Kiri continued.
‘You’d have been taken by the priestesses …’ Meru said. ‘Both of you …’
‘I was taken anyway,’ Kiri replied. ‘What’s the difference?’
‘You might have just had your powers taken,’ Meru said. ‘Or you’d have grown up as warriors, trained from birth. When the priestesses found out about my people you would have almost certainly killed us all and the truth of all this would have died with us.’
‘Guerrun didn’t know about the Obelisk, he was only trying to save Scallia,’ Kiri countered.
‘He knew the priestesses were wrong.’
She yanked on his arm to pull him up further. The jolt was harder than it needed to be.
‘The priestesses saved my life,’ Kiri said, looking at him with a fierce glare. ‘Healed me, fed me, taught me. That’s more than anyone else did. I thank them for that. My parents, Viresia, Guerrun and the others? I don’t owe them anything.’
‘And what about Zoella?’ Meru asked.
Kiri stopped. Then she turned and fixed him with a fierce expression. Meru could see she was trembling.
‘What she did was inexcusable,’ Meru said softly. ‘But I knew her before that. She was kind and gentle. She saved me when we were trekking through the Icy Wastes near Drem …’
‘I don’t know!’ Kiri shouted. ‘Part of me just wants to kill her! She hurt me …’
‘She’s your sister.’
‘So?’ Kiri answered back. ‘Why does that change anything?’
Meru shook his head. ‘It doesn’t. But she is all that’s left of your family, the very last one. You said she wants to talk, will you talk to her?’
‘Why should I?’ Kiri glared at him.
‘Because you told me that the hate and rage in you wasn’t yours,’ Meru said, looking at her. ‘I don’t think it was hers either.’
Kiri sagged and sat down on the hillside. Meru sat down next to her and took her hand.
‘I love you,’ he said. ‘But Zoella was my friend. I lied to her, let her down, but she still cared for me. I know she’s not cruel by nature, and I know the same is true of you. Events have forced you two apart, misunderstandings, unhappy twists of fate. I don’t think you should be enemies, hating each other.’
Kiri didn’t respond for a long moment. Then she sighed.
‘It’s so easy to hate,’ she said. ‘You just react. Don’t need to think, just get people out of your way. Push them aside. It becomes a habit. The gift … this power … it sort of … sings inside you. Like a buzzing, burning hot metal feeling. It makes you so sure you’re doing the right thing.’
‘Unstoppable,’ Meru said.
Kiri nodded.
‘It takes over. I’ve done terrible things … murdered, killed, mutilated, stolen other women’s power. I was so convinced what I was doing was good and proper. Totally … utterly convinced.’
‘Maybe this gift has a mind of its own,’ Meru said. ‘Maybe it uses those of you who have it.’
Kiri looked at him. ‘To do what?’
Meru shrugged. ‘Not sure, but if you look back on how it’s been used … all the history … it’s always fighting, wars, conflict as far back as anyone can remember.’
‘Charis always said not to resort to violence,’ Kiri said. ‘Maybe there was more to that than just good advice.’
‘So … will you speak to Zoella when she gets here?’
Kiri looked away into the distance, she took a deep breath.
‘I don’t want to,’ Kiri said. ‘She or I … either one of us might lose control. We might not be able to stop ourselves fighting. Maybe it’s better that we don’t ever meet again. It’s too dangerous. What if one of us hurts you or your friends?’
‘Kiri,’ Meru said, his voice soft. ‘The priestesses will try again with Amar. You know they will. They don’t understand the real truth about our planet. I know your childhood was horrible, unfair, cruel … everything that happened … but it saved you from their indoctrination. Zoella had a horrible time too, but she escaped them as well. You … you and Zoella … we need you. Esurio needs you, both of you. You’re the only ones who can stop them.’
‘But …’
‘Last time we were lucky … the flare saved us,’ Meru continued. ‘But they’ll be back. You know what they’ll do, they won’t stop until Amar is defeated. You know this, you were part of it. We have to stop them and it’s going to take both of you to do that.’
Kiri looked down and breathed in and out.
‘I can’t promise it will work,’ she said. ‘Same as before.’
‘I’ll be with you,’ Meru said. ‘Will you talk to her?’
Kiri nodded. ‘I’ll try.’
* * *
Waves crashed across the bow of the Mobilis. Water surged up the decks almost as far as the bridge, threatening to submerge the ship entirely. The ship plunged downwards, spray lashing the windows, the wind howling outside. The sky was thick and heavy with deep grey clouds, the sea a churning tempest of rolling waves flecking with white streamers of water ripped from the surface by the raging wind.
Coran and Mel were on the bridge, working together to keep the ship on course. The rest of the crew were below decks, trying to survive the ordeal as best they could. None of them had ever tried to sail through a storm of this strength and no lesser ship than the Mobilis would have had a chance at making the crossing.
The ship was struggling, but Coran felt its power pulsing, driving them onwards. Then he sensed the engines spin up with a surge of speed, and knew an extreme angle had tilted the propellers out of the water.
Mel grabbed the throttles and yanked them back to bring the vessel under control.
Coran wrestled with the helm as the ship was buffeted by the gale. He fought to keep it turned into the wind and the waves, knowing that once they were struck broadside on, capsize was inevitable.
The ship flexed and creaked with each wave it crested, groaning as it slammed into the deep troughs. Coran could see the ship visibly twisting with the stress
. He braced himself as another wave reared before him, causing the Mobilis to rear up.
‘Hold on!’ he yelled. Mel was next to him ready to pull the throttles back as the ship tipped over the edge once more.
The Mobilis crested the wave and there was a weightless motion in their stomachs as it hung there for a moment before careening down the other side. Mel caught the throttles and yanked them back, looking behind her to see when the stern dug into the water. As it did so she pushed the throttles up. Coran yanked the helm around to aim the ship across the wave.
The bow ploughed into the water again and they stared in horrified fascination as the water surged up the decks once more.
‘Come on,’ Coran yelled.
With a heaving groan the Mobilis pulled itself clear of the wave, the bow rose, water cascading off the decks and into the sea.
‘Not sure how much more of this she can take,’ Mel said as the torrent subsided. Both of them were drenched from head to foot.
‘Only way out is through,’ Coran said, grimly.
Below decks things weren’t any happier.
Ira was sea-sick and vomiting, with Zoella trying her best to comfort her as the ship pitched and rolled about them. Both were trying to stay wedged in the corner of the cabin. Fitch was staggering about in the corridor just beyond, cursing as he banged his head on the pipe work that ran along the ceilings.
‘This was a very bad idea.’
Zoella looked up, her face white with fear. The ship groaned and rattled about them in an alarming way. She could hear, see and feel the hull twisting about her as the ship fought the fury of the storm. The lights flickered as the ’tricity to the engines was increased and decreased.
The small portholes showed terrifying frothing one moment, blackness the next. Every time the ship tilted forward, Zoella expected expected it to continue plunging on down, bracing herself for a sudden rush of water and a swift unpleasant end in the darkness of the deep.
Water was sloshing down the corridors, first one way and then back again. Fitch backed out of the way as Daf and Creg staggered past, hauling themselves along using grab handles, bags of tools slung around their shoulders, splashing through the sodden gangways.