by Lorna Reid
‘Fine, me.’ Danny glanced at him.
‘You mean, how do you disobey orders and sneak out of here to find your way to Arvalton?’ Airrell raised his head. ‘You talk to an expert.’ He grinned, nibbling at a fruit pastry.
‘We can’t go anywhere. Besides, they wanted to take a statement from Katrina later,’ pursued Russell. Danny looked at Katrina, whose face had tensed. She glanced at the door, then down at her hands, looking miserable.
‘I’ll come,’ she said.
Russell spluttered. ‘What do you mean? You can’t, they said.’
‘I don’t care. I’m not part of their army. I don’t even belong here. I don’t want to stay and have someone make me go over all that stuff; it was bad enough the first time.’
She stood up and Danny scrambled to join her. Air’s grin widened and he returned to his paper, becoming swiftly absorbed.
‘Can’t you talk sense into her?’ Russell hissed at Poppy. Before she could open her mouth, Katrina erupted.
‘I don’t need sense talked into me. I’m not a child.’
‘It’s how the pair of you are acting,’ retorted Russell.
‘Piss off. I’m childish because I’m doing something you don’t approve of? Talk about arrogant. No one is making you go. Your choice is your own, just as mine is. And I choose not to be in this place anymore. And if I were Danny, I wouldn’t want my mum stuck here another second.’
Katrina barged past Russell, who cast a nervous look at Air (still absorbed in his paper and chuckling to himself about something he was reading), and stormed out of the room, leaving silence in her wake. Eyes moved to him, and Danny weathered Russell’s accusing glare for a few moments while hiding his pleasure, and then, grudgingly, moved to help with the last miniscule shards of the cup.
Danny fished a small piece of the cup from the pile of a rug and flicked it into the bin. As he did so, his fingers brushed Russell’s. A stinging snap hit his hand and, for a split second, he thought that Russell had jabbed him with a shard. Descending blackness washed the notion away and a scream that wasn’t his own reverberated through his bones.
An unfamiliar room flickered into Danny’s head with devastated, smashed furniture littering a floor that bore signs of scorching. And the scream. Wet, glistening black scales filled his head until it pounded. Danny scrabbled inside his mind to escape the sounds and the cloying smell of damp earth and the fear that boiled through every nerve and muscle.
The scene flickered, fading and spinning as it skittered out of reach, and then, beyond the scales, he saw her. His mother was fighting a cloaked man, her silver-blonde hair lashing as she spun and slashed with her blade.
*
Russell felt a snap as Danny touched him, and his body jerked, stealing his breath. A scream like nothing he had ever heard seared through him, terrifying him to his core. Orange eyes swam in front of him, and the glistening body of a terrible creature towered over him. The scene hazed in and out, pulsing with his heartbeat, presenting jumbled pieces.
Around him, wherever he was, blades clashed and magic arced and ripped. Isa was among a throng of soldiers fighting near some sort of pedestal. Her braids lashed and whipped as she spun in a riot of steel, cutting down assailants with ease, and then the scene blurred and pulsed. The black creature lunged and she was flying through the air, smashing against the wall and collapsing into a crumpled heap. He heard himself scream and saw the blood.
Russell’s own body started to give way and hands helped him. Voices rose and fell, and Poppy’s face swam above him through the tears. ‘What happened? Did Danny zap you?’ Russell’s mind waded through a sludge of confusion, which must have shown on his face.
‘He got knocked back and started twitching and writhing,’ Poppy said. She helped Russell to a chair and he saw that Airrell had returned and was giving Danny a glass of water. Danny’s hands were shaking as much as Russell’s own.
‘What happened?’ Katrina’s voice filtered into his fizzing brain. She must have heard the commotion and come through from the bedroom.
‘They just touched hands and then something happened. It was like when you touched that mirror,’ Poppy said. Katrina’s face fell and she crouched next to them, looking between them as though unsure who to turn to first.
‘I …’ Russell struggled to process what he had seen. All he could think about was Isa’s body, unmoving on the ground. He turned to Air. ‘Isa. You need to warn her.’
‘About what?’ he said, his face turning serious for the first time Russell had seen.
‘I don’t know what I saw, but … there was a battle. And a creature. Something black with orange eyes – evil. I think … I saw her die.’ He rubbed his head, which was still pounding.
‘What do you mean “die”?’ Air was in his face, the glass abandoned on the floor, its contents seeping into the rug.
‘The creature I saw, whatever it was, kills her. Or hurts her badly.’
‘What creature?’ demanded Air, grabbing Russell’s shirt.
‘Was it black? Like wet black …? Like those black widows and scorpions in those scary nature films?’ Danny whispered, eyes staring into Russell’s, flicking from pupil to pupil, waiting to snatch the first sign of a response.
‘You saw it, too?’ he breathed.
‘Wait, you both saw it?’ said Poppy.
‘Saw what? What was it?’ Air demanded.
‘The most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen in my life,’ said Russell.
‘What happened to my sister? When? Where was this?’
‘I don’t know … It … There was a battle. There was smashed furniture … and books, I think.’
‘That narrows it down,’ snapped Air.
‘Hey, he’s trying his best,’ snapped back Poppy. But Airrell was unrattled. Russell had to pluck every piece he could from what he had seen.
‘Was this the past? Has this happened? Was she hurt in a battle?’ said Poppy, hopefully.
‘No,’ Air said.
‘Then it’s yet to happen,’ she said.
‘You saw this, too?’ Air rounded on Danny.
‘I saw the thing. I didn’t see Isa. I saw my mother.’ He felt attention shift to him. ‘She was in some haze, beyond the thing, fighting someone.’
For a few moments, no one appeared to know what to say. Air’s fists bunched and unbunched. He startled everyone when he sprang up and ran from the room, leaving them fidgeting and speculating.
Russell’s head slowly cleared and Danny was mostly lost in thought, but he also seemed recovered. In spite of the fragmented conversation, Russell knew that, like him, Danny’s mind would still be combing over everything he had seen.
It was almost an hour before Air came back, escorted by a guard who slammed the door behind the boy. Conversation died and Russell tensed.
Air kicked the door and stormed over to their group. ‘They didn’t believe me. Father wouldn’t believe me,’ Air raged, planting his fists on the windowsill and staring out.
‘Where’s Isa?’ said Poppy.
‘She’s shipping out with her company to one of the fragment locations as extra protection in light of the recent thefts.’ Air sounded disgusted and his voice was hoarse. Russell got the impression that it had been a passionate argument.
‘No one took it seriously?’ he said, incredulous.
‘Father said it was another one of my pranks.’ Bitterness laced his voice. ‘I need to speak to Isa. Maybe she’ll be on the bolt train and can talk now.’ He moved to the mirror on the wall and jammed in his mirror-disc.
‘Isa.’ The mirror flared and Isa’s face appeared.
‘What? Look, I’m sorry I couldn’t stop earlier. I know you said it was urgent.’
‘You need to come back,’
‘I can’t, you bead, I’ve been deployed with the company.’
‘I know, but I don’t care, Isa, this is serious.’ She looked sceptical. ‘You need to come back,’ Air begged. ‘You can’t go wherever you’re goi
ng.’
‘Darrant Ridge, in Varron,’ she said. ‘Why?’
‘You’ll get hurt. Russell had one of those Oracle frazzle-outs. He saw some creature in the middle of a battle. He saw you get hit. Maybe saw you die.’ She absorbed his words and her initial look of worry slowly melted away as she mulled over what he had said.
‘Maybe?’
That wasn’t good, Russell thought, fighting the butterflies in his stomach. Isa arched an eyebrow. ‘You think I’m going to die? You know how often I do this stuff. It’s a routine deployment, albeit a sudden one; one of the small, least likely targets for whoever’s behind these attacks.’
‘Look, I know, but—’
‘I understand how serious this could be, especially with what has just happened, and this is worrying, yes, but what you’ve said sounds pretty vague.’ She frowned. ‘I can’t return on that basis. And I know what you’re like. How do I know this is for real?’
‘Isa, he saw it. Russell saw it. Tell her.’ Air spun round, looking desperate.
‘Look, don’t drag him into some plot to mess about with me. Like that time you said Dad fell down the latrine and got stuck. Or the time that you claimed to have trapped a baby dragon in The Hall of the Ancients. Or the time you said you saw an army of River Wraiths in the flooded tunnels beneath the Aquattrox stadium and panicked half the city. Or—’
‘Look, I know all that, and I’m sorry. Except the latrine thing.’
‘And if it is a joke, your timing is utterly insensitive, Air, given the Oracle’s death.’
‘You have to believe me.’ He sounded desperate, and Isa’s face started to lose the stern, frustrated look.
‘You said you weren’t sure.’
‘Well, I—’
‘This is what I do, brother. I protect. I serve the Lands. I’m an officer and I can’t shy away from my duty because I might get hurt.’ Another flash of concern passed over her face, but she shook it off.
‘You do get hurt. Maybe killed. Unless you have faced some big black creature with curling horns and orange eyes before?’ said Russell, gathering his courage and joining Air.
‘Yes, listen to him, if you won’t listen to me.’
‘I can’t do this right now.’ Isa waved her hands and closed her eyes. ‘I’ve a long journey ahead of me and we’re liaising with a few other companies, including Russell’s father’s,’ Isa said, glancing behind her at something.
‘Look, I love you, you bead. Just don’t piss Father off while I’m gone. I’m fine. I’ll see you soon, and stay out of my room.’ She smiled and was gone.
‘Damn it, Isa.’ Air’s fist smacked against the glass, leaving a hairline crack. ‘Fuck. Fuck,’ he raged, kicking over a chair and storming to the window.
‘Now what?’ said Poppy.
‘Can you go after her, or convince someone else? Can I speak to my dad?’ said Russell, feeling useless. He was out of his world and out of his depth and had no real idea what to suggest. He just knew from the churning in his stomach that there was more to it.
‘Darrant Ridge … Darrant Ridge in Varron. I need to figure out how to get there. If she won’t come back, then I’ll go to her. Then she’ll have to listen,’ Air mumbled, pacing in front of the window. I can get the bolt train to Port George … maybe a ship from there. Or maybe the bolt to Nineton and then to Varron.’
‘I’m coming with you,’ said Danny. ‘I don’t need to go to Arvalton to see Edred. My mother’s where this thing is, and if it’s going to be at Darrant Ridge, then that’s where I’m going.’
Air gave him a quick hug, drawing strength from him, and returned to pacing. ‘Okay. We need to move fast, then. I’ve got some contacts I need to speak to first. I’ll be back.’ He hurried from the room.
‘I’m going to find her,’ breathed Danny. He closed his eyes a moment. ‘I’m going to find her.’
‘Danny, what you saw … if it’s what Russell saw, then it sounds lethal,’ said Poppy.
‘That’s right, and I won’t let her get hurt. By that thing or by whoever she was fighting,’ Danny argued.
‘Why run off with Air? Why not just contact your dad or speak to Thom?’ asked Russell, frowning.
‘Because there’s no time. And if they didn’t believe him, why would they believe me? We’ll just be expected to stay here and keep quiet while they go off and maybe save her. They might be too late.’
‘That’s not fair,’ said Poppy. ‘You know Thom would never doubt you about something like this.’ But Danny was beyond reach, his eyes fixed on some point in the distance and glazed in fantasy.
*
‘Are you going?’ Russell asked Poppy. She tapped the toes of her trainers on the flagstones of the small courtyard they had retired to after Air had left, and shifted on the stone bench. Katrina was inside somewhere, gathering her things. The day had slipped away, and the late afternoon sun was crawling over the stone, casting long shadows. ‘You know they’re going any minute now,’ Russell said. Poppy could sense the reproachment.
‘You really don’t think they should?’ she asked, catching a small pebble with her foot and scratching it over the stone.
‘No, I don’t.’
‘Not even part of you?’ Poppy quizzed. Russell paused for far longer this time.
‘No.’
She looked at him and he sighed. He looked out across the courtyard to the fountain bubbling in the centre.
‘Alright, fine, yes,’ he said, caving under her intense blue gaze.
She smiled. I knew it, she thought.
‘Yes. If it was Dad, I’d do everything I could, too. But we were told to stay. I see why they want to go, for both Isa and Niri, but still.’
‘I overheard Air saying that it wasn’t far, not really,’ Poppy said, playing with her charm bracelet.
‘Yeah, if you get the bolt train, whatever that is,’ Russell said. ‘And that’s just it. We know next to nothing about these Lands. We’re running to catch up and have a million questions.’
‘Sometimes you just have to go with your gut.’ Poppy flicked a tiny key dangling from her bracelet and watched it catch the sunlight that filtered through the sighing willow tree behind them.
The pictures of her father from the album Thom had given her scrolled past in her head, endlessly. From everything she had learned of him over the last few days, Poppy knew where he would be if he were in her shoes. And it wasn’t sitting on a bench. She pushed her nerves down and nodded to herself.
‘I’m going with them.’ Poppy stood up, absorbing his look of surprise. ‘And I think you should, too. You have to take a chance on things sometimes. Call it your last hurrah. If you’re going to be grounded anyway, it may as well be for something worthwhile.’ She noted the flicker in his eyes.
‘If what you and Danny saw is true,’ she continued, ‘then Isa is going to get hurt. She may die. We could stop that happening. We have to try. If we can find Danny’s mum, then we can help her, too. It has to be worth that?’
Russell’s green eyes flicked away and over the fountain as his mind became ensnared in whatever was bubbling inside his head.
Chapter 14
◊
‘TYPICAL, WHERE ARE THEY?’ Poppy glanced up at the clock above the doors of the living area which led out to the courtyard. Russell was fidgeting and fiddling with his bag strap, looking as though, any minute, he was going to give up on the whole idea. Thankfully, Katrina and Danny arrived, fastening their bags.
‘What are you doing?’ Danny said, eyeing their bags and cloaks.
‘What does it look like?’ Poppy said. ‘And you’re late. As usual.’
‘So now you’re involved, we’re being ultra-organised?’ said Danny, slipping into a grin, despite trying to maintain an indifferent facade.
‘Now what?’ she asked Air, who’d been fidgeting near the doors.
‘Now we get out of here as quickly and quietly as possible. Early evening crowds will make life easier.’
They followe
d Air outside and across the courtyard into the family’s quarters. The hallways were cool, and the pale blue stone that was a feature of much of the city made up the walls and floors, which were smothered in luxuriant rugs and vast paintings of landscapes and cities. Magical lanterns danced at intervals along the walls, making Poppy nervous. Light didn’t seem right, somehow, when they were doing something illicit.
‘In here. We can get out across the roof,’ said Air, pushing open a door and ushering them inside.
‘Erm, the roof?’ Russell ventured. Air ignored him and trotted across the room to the windows, whose curtains were stirring in a swelling breeze. The floor was a mess of clothes, discarded plates, nude art books, and Aquattrox magazines, and both Katrina and Russell managed to slip over before they clambered out onto the rooftop below the window.
Below them was a sharp drop to the stable yard, while the roof stretched on ahead, skirting the upper buildings. They followed closely behind Air, with Russell grumbling and muttering to himself while Poppy danced impatiently on her toes behind him, wishing he would move faster.
‘Right, see down there?’ Air nodded over the abutting outer wall into the narrow road below. ‘Bags of rubbish, ready for the late collection. Drop down.’ Russell’s face practically melted in horror, while Katrina tried not to snort at Poppy’s wrinkled-nose look.
‘I’ll go last. You need to hurry because the guards patrol here regularly.’ Danny didn’t need any prompting and hopped over, dropping neatly into the bags below and rolling off onto the road. Katrina was next, joining Danny in staring impatiently up at them.
‘Are the bags sealed?’ Russell whispered down.
‘Fuck sake. No, they’re full of dog shit. Will you come on?’ Katrina hissed back, glancing up and down the road. Poppy steeled herself and then dropped down, hoping the squishiness in the bags was nothing repulsive, and scrambled off.
The sound of approaching voices came on the breeze and Air looked panicked. ‘Hey! You up there.’ Air gave Russell a shove, sending him plummeting down, and leapt after him, landing with practised ease and hauling Russell out of the sack pile as he went.