by Lorna Reid
‘Why?’ Danny breathed, trying to control his voice. ‘What does “sealed” mean? Can’t you unseal them with magic?’
‘No. No one person could ever do that. We can’t physically get into most of those places,’ said Jen.
‘When a Land is sealed, it’s cut off from all the others,’ Thom explained. ‘No portals. No way in or out. Ianua was sealed at the end of the Crowmount battle – the portals were destroyed, trapping the Darklanders there. The Darklands themselves were then scoured and sealed off; it’s a crime to even try to get in.’
Shivers ran up Danny’s arms as Thom continued.
‘Bicornis … well, it’s a fucking wasteland, devastated during the Great War and the Mage Wars, with only one way in and no known way out – it’s used as a place of exile for mages by its bigoted sisterland, Bellatra. The Fringe Lands are unstable shards of the Old World, pieces with fluctuating barriers. No sane person, aside from scavengers, risks their life there.’
Thom shook his head and ventured a look at his friend.
‘Pete?’
Danny watched his father clasping the back of his neck, eyes boring into the ceiling, his shoulders rising and falling with audible short breaths. And then he suddenly turned. A dart of hope leapt through Danny.
‘Is there anything else about that beacon, Jo? It was strong enough to get a signal to the watchtower, somehow. Can it be reverse engineered?’ he asked.
Everyone stared at Josie, the tension eating through Danny’s insides. Say yes, he screamed in his head.
‘It was weak, they said. And fluctuating, for some reason.’
‘Fluctuating?’ Jen frowned.
‘Yes. Distance or magical barriers, they thought. Something was weakening it, anyway. It was just faint intermittent pulses.’
‘Maybe it’s damaged, that’s why it’s taken so long for whoever has it to actually use it,’ Jen said. Her breath caught. ‘Wait, can we use the signal to send something back to the beacon?’
That got everyone’s attention, and his dad’s eyes swivelled to Thom. Poppy shot Danny a hopeful look.
‘I … maybe. But if the signal is already weak, then maybe doing that will break it, wipe it out for good,’ said Thom.
‘Or maybe someone already tinkered and that’s why the signal is weak in the first place,’ said Jen, suddenly smiling. ‘You think Blake or Niri wouldn’t suspect that we wouldn’t be able to locate them?’ She turned to Josie. ‘Jo, that signal … How intermittent are the pulses? Is there a pattern – a code or message?’
‘Tried that, no. No code or pattern. But using it to carry a message …’
‘Can that be done?’ wondered Russell.
The room hung on a knife edge; Danny kept forgetting to breathe.
‘The beacon was created to send a pure signal to the Great Watchtower. Someone could alter it,’ Thom said. ‘They’d risk destroying it or damaging it.’
‘Which they may have done,’ said Jen.
‘So why haven’t the watchers got any messages?’ said Poppy.
‘Maybe because they’ve been watching and not listening,’ said Josie, a note of hope raising her voice. ‘I’ll be right back.’ She vanished from sight.
Danny’s dad paced a tight circle, waiting. Jen sat with Katrina, tapping her scary black boots on the floor, while Thom flopped into a chair and played with his mirror-disc, turning it over endlessly in his fingers. Danny stared at the mirror above the mantle, willing it to flare back to life, for good news to be waiting.
He caught Russell and the others watching him. It seemed to be a blend of pity, anxiety, and tension and, for a moment, he was touched that they seemed to care. Probably just glad it isn’t their mother, he told himself.
*
Poppy watched Danny’s eyes swing from the mirror to Thom’s disc to his father, and then back to the mirror again – a fraught game of pinball. His boots dragged and scuffed as he fidgeted on the edge of the sofa and she wished there was something she could say or do. The clock on the mantelpiece seemed to grow louder in the hush, each tick thunking in the battered wooden housing, the obnoxious seconds announcing themselves, drawing crude attention to the silence.
Light flared in Thom’s hand and he leapt up, startling Russell and Jen, and nearly crashed into Pete to get to the mirror. Her mother’s face swirled into view and Poppy devoured her expression, adept at reading her. There was excitement, but frustration. Shit, she thought. Danny was also on his feet, pushing between his father and Thom to stare up into the mirror.
‘Jo?’ Pete’s voice was balanced on the thin line between hope and despair.
‘Pete, she’s alive.’ Josie burst, tears sliding down her face. She swatted them away and half laughed. ‘I just heard her voice. I heard her! I fucking heard her.’
The room erupted. Pete gasped and sobbed; Thom and Jen grabbed him, while Danny clung to him like a drunk koala. Katrina squeaked and covered her mouth, and Russell hissed in shock and turned teary eyes to her. Poppy’s own were fast blurring; she hadn’t realised how tense she had been until her body melted and she slumped back into her seat.
‘Fuck. Fuck. What? When? What?’ Pete could barely speak.
‘It was faint. There was a message carried on the beacon’s signal. But we still don’t know where she is.’
‘She didn’t say?’
‘It was only a few words.’ Josie wiped away tears and struggled to maintain the composure in her voice.
‘And Blake?’ Thom said, his voice hopeful. Josie shook her head and Poppy watched them all deflate a little.
‘Just Niri, and she didn’t mention him. I think there wasn’t enough strength, so there was only a short message recorded to repeat with the beacon. It was a warning,’ Josie continued.
‘A what?’ Pete said.
‘The Darklanders are moving. Harvesting fragments. A Reaper will be summoned.’
Thom and Pete froze and, for a moment, a terrified look passed between them. Thom’s hand fluttered to his shoulder and then dropped. He shook his head.
‘That can’t be right. The Reapers’ Land, Neath, is like our world – separate. There are no working archways left anymore with which to access it.’
‘That’s what the message said,’ replied Josie, dabbing away stray eyeliner that had smudged beneath her eyes.
‘Would that mean that this Neath also qualifies as a sealed-off Land?’ Russell’s words dropped into the void and echoed in the fear-laden silence.
‘Yes. But there is no way in,’ whispered Thom. ‘The archways that still exist are sealed with more power than an army could muster. How could she be there, and how could the Darklanders even summon a Reaper?’ He shook his head.
‘Those things are nasty, sentient creatures – they aren’t fucking sheep. And what would they do with it anyway?’ said Thom. ‘Most of the Darklander forces are trapped in Ianua, and since we shattered Ianua’s Soul Core crystal and took most of the fragments, they should be well contained.’
‘So we thought, until fragments of the Soul Core started going missing from their “supposedly secret” locations,’ said Josie.
Thom shook his head as he seemed to race through the possibilities. Danny hung on his words, looking upset, frustrated, and angry.
‘She can’t be there. But then where is she and how did she come by this information? And is it true?’ Thom said.
‘I don’t care,’ snapped Danny. ‘I just want to know where she is.’ Peter, who had been silent up until now, reached out and pulled Danny to him, calming him down.
‘She gave up the chance to tell us where she was to get that information to us,’ whispered Jen. ‘It must be true. And important.’
‘Logically, unless she came by this information somewhere else, which is doubtful, it makes sense that she is either in Neath or the Darklands,’ Thom said, and frowned. Pete nodded, having come to the same conclusion. ‘Nowhere else fits.’ Thom made a mirthless stab at an amused expression.
‘So now what
?’ Jen muttered, frowning in a way that reminded Poppy of Katrina.
‘If she got a signal out, can’t you get one back? Reverse the …’ Russell floundered for an appropriate word. ‘Charge? Polarity? Magic, whatever?’
‘That way, she’ll know you got the warning, and in the next message she can tell you where she is, maybe,’ Poppy added.
Everyone was staring at Russell and Poppy, and she shifted in her seat. Did I just say something utterly stupid? she wondered, feeling herself blush.
Thom broke into a grin and shot them a wink before spinning back to face Josie. Poppy shared a grin with Russell, who was also blushing.
‘It should be possible,’ Thom began, but Pete cut him off.
‘I’m coming to Dreyling Tor, Jo. Tonight. I want to be there. I want …’ He drew a breath and let a gasped half-laugh out. ‘I want to hear her voice.’ His own broke.
‘I can’t go with you,’ Thom said. ‘I’m fucking drained. I’m stuck here for a few days, at least.’
‘I can, though,’ said Jen, earning a grin from Peter, who phased between hysterical joy, fear, and determination.
‘I’m going,’ announced Danny, staring at his father and folding his arms.
Peter snorted.
‘Yeah, right. The hell you are. You’re not setting foot in the Lands until we’ve had a proper talk about it all. You’re staying with Thom.’
‘So are you,’ Jen said, and kissed Katrina’s head. ‘We’ll bring everything you need to the Gateway.’
‘Wait, why do they get to stay here, in some magical place?’ Poppy protested. ‘If they’re staying, I’m staying.’ She ignored Russell rolling his eyes and marched over to the mirror.
‘You’re still staying with Russell and Jack and your sister,’ said her mother.
Poppy scowled.
‘I don’t mind, Jo. It’s okay. I know Jack’s got a lot on, too.’
‘I have. This I didn’t need or expect.’
Poppy jumped and turned to see Jack standing in the doorway. He was annoyingly quiet. ‘But, there’s no going back now,’ he sighed.
‘Dad!’ Russell plunged across the room and into Jack’s arms, drawing a smile from his father before he joined the group in front of the mirror.
Josie repeated the message that had been received and Jack broke into a huge grin and embraced Pete. To Poppy’s surprise, she saw tears in his eyes. She hadn’t realised that he and Niri had been so close. After some whirlwind chatter, he cleared his throat and composed himself.
‘The warning. There are some people who need to be told. I’ll need to leave right away and …’
‘You’re leaving already?’ Russell protested.
‘Russell, this is crucial information.’
‘But, you just got here, we just found out about all this Land stuff, and you’re not even staying to talk to me!’
Poppy shared a look with Katrina and they both sat down on the sofa, preparing for the inevitable. Russell was quiet, mild-mannered, and timid, but when he was wound up it was best to be somewhere else. He had already popped once today, so his cap was still loose.
‘There will be a time to discuss all of this, but now isn’t it. I have no idea what you may already have been told.’ He shot a look at Thom, who glared back. ‘But …’
‘No!’ Russell exclaimed. ‘No … I’m sorry, no.’ He shook his head and scratched a hand through his hair. ‘Today has been … just, no! I’ve been yelled at, nearly given an asthma attack, I’ve fallen out of a classroom window into a rose bush.’ He paused to glower at Katrina, whose poorly concealed snort of laughter almost set Poppy off. ‘I’ve been forced to get filthy climbing walls. I’ve found myself in some weird hub land, where magic is a thing, apparently, and you’re part of an army who nearly gets killed by other armies, magic, swords, cataclysms. I’ve had enough.’
Russell shook away his father’s attempts to calm him. ‘I’ve fallen in rivers, seen giant stone dicks—’ Poppy and Katrina burst into laughter. ‘I’m supposed to now believe in magic and everything else, and now you’re buggering off to do stuff while I’m stuck at home in my “flatline” world, knowing nothing and wondering everything. It isn’t fair and it isn’t right.’
Russell ground to a halt, with a look flashing in his eyes that Poppy knew all too well herself – the one that screamed ‘Did I just go too far?’ Jack looked taken aback and then drew a breath, removing his black cloak and draping it on a nearby chair. Poppy couldn’t help but stare. Jack was tall, with a sturdy frame, but the clothes she was used to seeing him in were nothing like these.
Tall black boots with buckles marching down the outside lapped the laced-up bottoms of close-fitting black breeches. A white shirt with a raised collar – not unlike a priest’s shirt – bore a column of crossties, rather than buttons, beneath a dark blue jacket with unusual symbols embroidered on the breast. The bright row of gold stars on its stiff, raised collar completed the unfamiliar, yet oddly pristine, military look. Poppy decided she liked it.
Russell’s eyes were nearly falling out of his head. Poppy wondered if they should reboot him, as his capacity to take anything else in was clearly hitting critical.
‘I know this isn’t easy.’ Jack took his son’s shoulders and ignored his snort. ‘But there isn’t time to make it easier. I need to leave – there isn’t any option. I’m sorry. I’m sorry you weren’t told sooner – it was for your own protection, as much as ours.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘Just … our enemies would also be a danger to you,’ he replied. ‘We will talk further, but for now I’ll make arrangements for Kayla to stay with my brother’s family. You can stay here with Poppy and the others if Thom doesn’t mind.’
‘I don’t. If we run out of rooms, I can always create more,’ Thom joked.
Poppy shared a quizzical look with Katrina. Surely he was joking.
‘Yes, I’m sure you can’t wait to start showing off.’
‘Piss off, Jack,’ Thom snapped.
The men glared at one another and Jack turned back to his son.
‘I’ll answer what I can before I leave and we’ll talk when I return.’ Jack squeezed Russell’s shoulders. ‘I swear to you.’ Russell glowered up into his father’s bright green eyes and shrugged. Poppy knew it wasn’t okay, and she felt the same. Why couldn’t they have found the stupid portal a week previously, before all the distraction? Still, now her mother was finished at the tower, she expected to be able to find out as much as she could.
‘Thom, I’ll need a word about Russell, then I’ll be heading for the portal to Brysk.’ Thom nodded. ‘And I’ll have my daughter with me, so don’t consider one of your childish booby traps or portals to the middle of the Enduin Mudsprings.’ He and Thom locked glares. They were roughly equal in height and build. No matter how imposing Jack looked in his uniform, Poppy thought that Thom would easily be a match for him.
Despite his mischievous, jokey exterior, Thom was quick, intelligent, and thoroughly unintimidated by Jack; he radiated a casual defiance – something she admired. Watching them face off, Thom gave the impression of carefully checked power – not something she’d seen often – lending him a cocky confidence that Poppy adored.
‘No matter what else you may think of me, I’d hardly fucking endanger a young child,’ Thom bit back, a twist of contempt in his tone. He left the room, hands in pockets, and Jack followed. Poppy was half tempted to go and earwig at the door, but decided against it.
‘Looks like we get to hang out with Thom and find out more,’ Katrina whispered to her. ‘I’d rather go and explore, but this is the next best thing.’
‘Hope I can get Mum to talk,’ Poppy said, watching Jen chat with Josie and Pete. ‘All this stuff, this magic, and it couldn’t bring him back. I want to know why. I want to know everything.’ Katrina nodded, probably not knowing what to say, and Poppy waited, biding her time.
Jack and Thom were gone for some time, with raised voices filte
ring through from the corridor several times before they returned. Thom pulled a face at Pete, who sighed and then nudged Danny.
‘I need to go and grab some things, then I’ll be off. Thom’s feeding you – fuck help you. I’ll stop in to say goodbye.’
‘Take me with you?’ Danny’s grey eyes bored into his father’s and, for a moment, Poppy thought that it was like Pete was mirrored exactly in his son. ‘Please? I want to hear her voice again. I want to hear her,’ Danny whispered.
Pete’s eyes began to swim and his voice became hoarse as he fought to control it.
‘I know, Danny. You will. I’ll find her. I don’t care what anyone says, what the Oracle says.’ He kissed Danny’s head and shoved him back onto the sofa, making him squeak. He dumped an armful of cushions over him before darting out, smacking Jen on the back as he did. She chased after him and his distant yelp suggested that he hadn’t run fast enough.
*
Poppy leaned out over the parapet, narrowing her eyes in the twilight, waiting for Peter and Jen to appear. The breeze stirred her hair and sent a chill prickling over her skin, despite her jacket. As soon as Jen and Pete had said their goodbyes that evening, Thom had led them through the Gatehouse and up to the roof to see them leave and to get a good look at the Gateway.
The building was labyrinthine, full of passageways and doors, mirrors and archways. Many stairwells and doorways were hidden, which fascinated and delighted Katrina in particular, and it seemed far bigger on the inside than it did on the outside, something that Russell had quizzed Thom about.
Poppy’s first experience of walking through a full-length mirror to a secret staircase had been exciting, but not as much as the thrill slowly settling over her that this was real. She was on the edge of something, and while the past waited in the wings, ready to be brought into the light, being on the precipice of change was almost heady. She smiled to herself and caught Katrina’s attention.
‘You okay?’ she asked. Poppy nodded. Katrina was wearing her old black coat, the ripped arm still patched up with tape where she had caught it while scrabbling over Danny’s back gate the previous month. Her eyeliner was starting to smudge, but her eyes shone as she fidgeted and shuffled.