He jumped back with a yell and glared at the bush, cursing.
“Magnus, you great fool,” said Freya unsympathetically.
“It’s torn my jacket,” Magnus said in pained amazement.
“Well, it’s a wolf. It could do worse than that,” said Jess. “Let’s see your arm.”
Magnus took off his jacket and examined his bloody arm. The gouges in his flesh did look more like claw marks than thorn scrapes.
“You should wash it,” said Jess, ever practical.
“Not here,” said Magnus, pulling his jacket back on. “Why would I trust the water if the roses can do that?”
Jess looked back to where she had last seen Finn. For a moment she couldn’t spot him, then she realised he was standing in the fork of a tree. There was something in his hands, but she couldn’t make out what it was.
Leaving Magnus and Freya bickering, Jess made her way to the foot of Finn’s tree, being careful to give the briars a wide berth.
She leaned against the trunk and peered up at him.
“What are you doing?”
“Mending the barrier.”
She couldn’t see any barrier.
“What do you mean?”
“Just a minute. I”ll show you when I come down.” As he spoke he was edging out along a limb.
As Jess waited, she concentrated on the feel of the tree bark under her fingers, rippled like wet sand, warm with slow life. She watched Finn reach up to tie whatever he was carrying to the branch above, then swing himself down to drop neatly at her feet.
“Here.” He held something out to her.
It was a little garland, less than a hand span wide, woven of what looked like hair, with faded rose petals worked into it. Jess looked at Finn, waiting for an explanation.
“This is the enchantment,” he said, obviously expecting her to have understood already. “Wolf and rose, twined together.” When she still looked blank, he went on. “Wolf hair and rose petals worked together with my mother’s power. This is what blocks the door to your world against the black wolves. I can mend these, but only my mother can make them. It was my job to look after the barrier when I… before. It seems no one else has thought to do it.” He was trying to keep his voice light, but he couldn’t disguise the worry in it. “I don’t think any of it’s been checked since I left. I suppose my mother was too busy looking after Rowan.”
“Can I help?”
“You don’t have the skill – but thank you.” He scanned the trees in front of him for the next garland and, now that she knew what to look for, Jess saw it too.
“Are the others all right?” Finn asked.
“Yes. Magnus ignored your warning and got clawed though.”
Finn couldn’t suppress a smile. “I thought he would.”
“I think they’re coming.” Jess saw that Freya and Magnus had started walking towards them.
Finn turned her to him with a hand on her arm.
“Listen,” he said urgently. “I don’t want them here for any longer than necessary. I know you’ll have to go with them, but if I can make my peace with my family, maybe you could come back. I’d never make you stay, but…” He fell silent as the others came within earshot.
Jess was glad she didn’t have to answer. She was already confused enough. Finn and his world shouldn’t mean anything to her, but…
Finn worked his way round the remaining garlands, retying and repairing while the others watched.
He jumped down from the last tree.
“It’s done. The barrier will work now. The wolves can’t get through to your world any more.”
“That’s really all it takes?” Magnus queried, incredulous.
“Yes. No. It’s not the wolf hair and the rose petals that are important – even you could weave those. It’s the power that goes into the weaving that tricks the wolves into accepting the illusion. That, you cannot do, and nor can I.”
Finn’s reply silenced Magnus. He turned to Freya.
“Do you still need to go further?”
Freya nodded. “I want to see the house. Then I’ll go, I promise. We all will.”
Finn sighed. “All right.”
As they set off among the great trees of the Nykur world, Magnus took in his surroundings warily.
“I don’t hear any birds.”
“There are no birds.” Finn shot Jess a complicit smile. “No birds, and no moon.”
“No moon? Surely that”s impossible?”
“Impossible in your world. Normal in this one.”
“But where has the moon gone?” Magnus asked, fascinated in spite of himself.
“It hasn’t gone anywhere. It just doesn’t exist here. That’s another reason the wolves try to get to your world: the moon draws them. The wolves strayed here from your world long ago, following Nykur through one of the doorways. They hid away in the forests at first, the few that had lost their way. Some of the power of this world seeped into them: they grew bigger and stronger, and much more ferocious. They were afraid of the Nykur, but not of anything else, and they hunted between the worlds, killing for pleasure. We kept them at bay in the forests here, so they hunted more and more in the Upper World, leading packs of your wolves.” Finn paused.
“Eventually, we made the agreement and penned them here, though the moon and their kin still draw them back to their old home. Now, as we diminish, they grow stronger. They don’t fear us any more. They hunt us, they kill our children too. As you in the Upper World hunt down your own wolves more and more, these ones feel it. They feel the fear and pain as those wolves die. The black wolves are going to your world for vengeance.”
They followed Finn between the wavering trees for almost an hour before they left the wood and stepped into the meadow at the foot of the crags.
Jess noticed that the yellow flowers were still in bloom and breathed in their honeyed scent again. Was that because time passed differently here, or did they simply flower for a long time?
Freya stopped and pointed.
“That’s your house,” she said excitedly. “I can see it in my mind: all the rooms, and Rowan, and your parents.”
“Yes,” said Finn absently. Jess noticed that he looked pale. He turned to the others.
“Please, wait here. I’ll come back for you – just me – but I need to do this alone.”
He didn’t wait for an answer, but turned and walked away through the tall grass and the yellow flowers.
Jess saw Magnus looking at things from the corner of his eye, checking that nothing else had something unexpected hidden in its shape. The wind ruffled the dry grass, moving it in endless waves across the blue-green plain; otherwise there was no sound but the fall of water.
Finn reached the house, paused for a second, then disappeared inside.
They watched the house quiver like a mirage above the water, searching for any sign of movement at the windows, any sound; but there was nothing.
Magnus reached out for Jess’s hand.
“Wolves that are roses… no moon… This is no place for us. Surely you’ve seen enough now, Freya?” He glanced at his cousin, who was staring at Finn’s home, waiting to see who would emerge. “Why do they have houses anyway, if they’re horses here?”
“Don’t be an idiot, Magnus,” snapped Freya. “They only use the house when they’re being human. Remember, Finn’s father’s human, so they spend a lot of time as humans.”
Five minutes passed, then Finn appeared from the nearest door, alone. He didn’t even look towards the others as he sat down heavily on the top step outside the door.
“Something’s wrong,” Jess said and pulling away from Magnus, began to run.
“What is it?” she said urgently as she approached Finn, the others close behind.
“They’re gone,” he said simply. “Gone.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“They’ve gone,” Finn said again. “I don’t know where they are.” His face was as bleak as Jess had ever seen it.
&nbs
p; “Maybe they’re just… out. Gone for a walk, gone to visit someone.”
He shook his head. “No. I mean packed up and gone. The place is deserted. I don’t know how long it is since they left, or where they’ve gone, or why.”
“Can we go inside?” asked Freya. “Maybe there’s some sort of clue that you haven’t noticed.”
Finn waved them in. Freya went at once, pulling Magnus with her, but Jess paused.
“Are you coming in?” she said to Finn.
“In a minute.”
She went in without him, stepping over the threshold with some foreboding.
Immediately Jess was in a circular room and surrounded by wood, gleaming golden, polished by the smoothing of hands over many years. She looked out of a window over falling water. It made the house feel as if it were pulling upwards, away from the river, towards the sky.
Chairs and tables and chests stood here and there. The lid of one small chest was still open, but all it held now was the scent of lavender.
Jess wandered from room to room, never quite catching up with Freya and Magnus. Some rooms were quite bare, others looked much like the familiar ones at Westgarth: bedrooms, sitting room, kitchen.
She opened cupboards in the kitchen, looking for any clues to how long the house had been empty, but even here there was nothing that helped. There were jars of meal and flour, but no fresh food left to rot.
Freya and Magnus came back past her, Freya lost in her restored memories. Magnus looked at Jess and shrugged as he went past, staying close to his cousin.
Jess moved on to another room: a narrow bed with a dark blue woven cover, a chest under the window. This window faced up-river and beyond it falling water formed an iridescent curtain. A shelf on one wall held carvings of birds and animals.
“This is my room,” said Finn behind her, making her jump.
“Where’s everything else?”
“There is nothing else. This is all I need,” he said, going to look out of the window.
“All I needed,” he corrected himself. “This was my room.”
“No one’s moved your things out,” said Jess gently. “Surely they would have if they really didn’t want to see you again?”
He shrugged.
“I don’t know,” he said, sitting down on the bed. There was the sound of paper rustling as he did so. Looking puzzled, he rose again and turned back the cover.
There was a single sheet of paper covered in writing in a firm, round hand. Finn stared at it.
“That’s Rowan’s writing.”
He picked it up and sat down again. Jess resisted the temptation to try and glimpse it over his shoulder. Finn was silent, reading and re-reading Rowan’s letter. She couldn’t tell from his face whether it was good news or bad. Finally, he handed the paper to her.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
He nodded, so she started to read.
Dear, dear Finn,
Please come back and read this. I’ve watched for you every day. I tried to go back through the door to look for you up there, but Mother and Father wouldn’t let me, even though they want you back as much as I do. They don’t say so, but I know they do.
We’ve gone to the ruined gateway at Dundee. There are dozens of wolves massing there to attack the town. We have all gone to try to lure them back through to our world so we can destroy them. This is our best chance to save ourselves and the town.
I wish you were here. I’m afraid that even all of us together may not be enough to do this.
Please come back. I want everything to be the way it was.
Rowan
“They want you back,” said Jess, forcing herself to ignore the information about the wolves for now. “Why aren’t you more happy about that?”
“Rowan could be wrong,” he said. “My mother isn’t a woman who usually changes her mind.”
“But she’s your mother. Surely that’s the point? She was angry, but now that you’ve been gone for – for however long it is here, she’s realised she was wrong to tell you to go.”
“Maybe.” Finn got up. “But whatever happens, I have to go after them to the gateway. If everyone has been called there to help they’ll need me too.”
“But you don’t know how long ago they went.”
“Yes, I do.” He sniffed the letter. “I can tell from the scent. It can’t be more than a couple of days old. I might be in time to help. Some of the other Nykur have to come from further away.”
He went towards the door, then turned to face her again.
“Jess, you all need to go now. I have to go to the Dundee gateway.”
“Dundee? Why would you go there?” Magnus stood in the doorway.
“Wolves,” said Finn shortly. “My sister left me a letter. That’s where my family are. They’re trying to stop the wolves attacking the town. All the Nykur in the area are heading there. It’s our chance to kill all the local wolves and save ourselves as well as you.”
Jess noticed before Finn how pale Magnus had gone.
“My parents are in Dundee. Are they in danger?”
“Not if we can seal the gateway.”
“And if you can’t?”
Finn hesitated. “I won’t lie to you. There are huge numbers of wolves gathering. You’ve seen what these wolves are like. If we can’t get them back through the gateway and seal it, everyone in Dundee is in grave danger.”
“I have to warn them,” Magnus said immediately. “How much time do I have to get there? I have to leave now. Can I go on my own or do you have to take me back through the pool?”
Jess turned from Magnus to Finn. She could see him struggling with himself about something. He looked at Magnus’s stricken face and reached a decision.
“I’ll take you,” he said. “You don’t need to go back through the Upper World: I can take you from here more quickly. After all, it’s where I’m going anyway.”
Relief flooded Magnus’s face.
“You would do that? Truly?”
Finn nodded.
“Thank you. Thank you. When can we go?”
“As soon as we get Jess and Freya away.”
Jess opened her mouth to protest but the boys were already out of the room, striding to the front of the house, Magnus calling Freya’s name.
They emerged into the shimmering air above the river. Freya was leaning out over the bridge rail dropping fallen leaves into the water. Fish shivered silver, chasing the leaves as they spun away on the current.
“What is it?” she said without looking up.
“You have to go back now,” Magnus said urgently.
She turned, smiling.
“I know. I wish we didn’t have to, it’s so beautiful here. I’d forgotten that. Please say we can come back again, Finn? Surely we can make our families understand now that we’ve got things sorted out?”
“Perhaps,” said Finn, not really listening. “But you and Jess have to go back right away. Come on.”
He reached for her hand, but Freya pulled it away, frowning.
“Me and Jess? What about Magnus?”
“I’m staying. There’s going to be a wolf attack on Dundee – a huge one. Finn’s taking me there through his world, so I can warn my parents and the rest of the town.”
Freya’s eyes were wide. “How do you know?”
“Rowan left me a letter,” said Finn. “Now come on, please.”
Freya glanced at Jess, who shook her head emphatically.
“You’re not sending us home,” said Freya. “We want to help.”
“If you want to help, then go,” said Magnus shortly.
“No,” said Freya, eyes blazing. “They’re my family too, remember? There’s nothing we can do in Westgarth or Kirriemuir, but there might be some way we can help here or in Dundee.”
“It’s too dangerous,” said Finn.
“It’s no more dangerous for us than it is for Magnus,” said Jess. “Taking us back will just waste more time.”
“Don’t be
stupid, Jess. I’ve killed some of these wolves, remember?” said Magnus.
She turned on him. “Do you remember? Freya and I were there. We saw what they can do. We helped kill them. We’re not going to be sent home. Now come on, this is just wasting time.”
Finn let a hissing breath out through his teeth.
“I can’t look after you all. Remember that,” he said.
“We don’t expect you to,” Jess retorted. “We’ll look after ourselves. Can we go now?”
Breathing hard, Jess pulled herself up the last few metres of rock and straightened slowly, wiping sweat from her forehead. Beside her Freya stood catching her breath too, looking back towards Finn’s house, now far below them in the valley. They’d been scrambling up a trail, which for the last hour had scarcely existed, hauling themselves up steep slopes, or scrabbling from ledge to ledge up crags and outcrops.
Finn had led the way, setting a ferocious pace at first, with which the others could barely keep up, but he had moderated it as his temper cooled. As it became more of a climb than a scramble, he slowed down further, so that they could see the route he took up the rock.
Magnus reached the top of the crag and pulled himself up to stand with the others.
“You may as well sit down,” said Finn. “We’ll have a break before we head into the forest.”
Jess looked round at the forest that waited for them. Again, she had the sense that everything was more alive than it was in her world. She was sure she could hear the trees creaking, although there was no wind. She could smell the forest too: a composty smell of rotting vegetation.
It was quite unlike the woodland they’d come through on their way from the pool to Finn’s home. These trees were much smaller, their trunks branching close to the ground and their scabbed greyish bark almost obscured by skeins of trailing grey-green lichen. Jess looked for any sign of wolf charms among the branches, but there were none that she could see.
Freya moved to the stream that plunged off the edge of the crag and crouched down to drink from her cupped hands, before wiping them across her sweaty brow.
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