“Eadgard, my dear, please, no more violence,” Kendra said and closed her hand over his clenched fingers. He stared at her as though from a far away place, then hung his head. She stroked his hair, and when he relaxed, Wirt let go.
Santy stood and went to Deogol. She did not hug him but offered her hand instead. He took it and gave it a mighty shake. “I do not fully understand why you chose to hurt your sister so. But, as I look into your eyes I see no malice or hate, and am even more perplexed.”
My bro let Santy’s hand go and stood tall. “In war what must be done must be done.” He lowered his gaze. “We fight with what we have. We fight to save.”
Santy looked to me and frowned. “My heart is rent to think that you and the other gifted ones cannot go home. Adara cannot speak, but I think if she could, she would say that she failed in her mission.”
Eh? Really? Nad.
Deogol pursed his lips and stared at her. “She did not fail. She sang and activated our dormant neurons. Once she did, we Meeks were able to be as one. A living, organic comp. This she did. Also, my sis found me. Had she not, then we would not be free.”
Wirt slapped his forehead and screwed up his eyes. He poked my bro in the shoulder as if to wake him from a slumber. “Free? How can ye say that? Ye are here forever.”
Deogol gently brushed my battered friend’s fingers away. “Perhaps we are. But what better place for us to be when things begin again.”
With a puffing out of his cheeks, Wirt rolled his eyes and said, “Ye talk big like yer sis.” Then he turned to me and gulped. With a look of such kindness spread across his features, my bestest pal that I thought was lost to me, gave a salute and bowed at my bedridden form. “Adara risked much in the saving of ye all. And though I were vexed wi her at times, I am certain of her worth and loyalty. She would have died to save ye that I do know.”
“I too, Wirt.”
“Then, why did ye take her voice?”
Deogol looked at me and I beckoned him over. He walked all slow-like and stood beside the bed. I stared into his wide-open eyes, and saw beyond his flushed cheeks and quivering mouth. I saw into him. I heard a noise inside my noggin. A high peeping sound, like that of a birdy in spring. Closing my eyes, I let the sound flutter and fly around my skull. Although I did not have Wirt’s talent for naming true, I knew the sweet melody was my bro-bro’s true name. ‘Druce’ the wise one.
Perhaps he could hear what I thought? I felt sure he could for on opening my eyes I saw him nod in recognition of my realising his real moniker. Then he blinked, and held out his slender mitt. “I stole her gift to set her free.”
Was he right? Was I free?
I took his outstretched fingers and pressed them to my lips.
“Wa now?”
Deogol let go my big paws, turned to Bestanden and said, “You must return home and let us try to make things better.”
Huffn’ hell and back bro, I wanted to shout, and then to ask, how do you think you can do that? What with you and them being of a younger than young age and all? An answer to my question came not from Deogol, or the Meeks, but from Hildegunnr. She strode towards my bro, took his hand and held it high into the air. The lights flickered, and I swear at that moment the world took a deeply breath.
I looked to the entrance and saw the rest of the Meeks. They walked into the room arm in arm and stood by my bro. They made a circle around Deogol, Esme, Elita, Cenwig and Hildegunnr, closed their eyes, bowed their heads and knelt upon the floor.
Hildegunnr remained standing. She let her finger become a dagger and pointed it at Hacket and Edwena. In a voice loud and clear, she spoke words that sent a wildfire through my chest.
“And the Meeks shall inherit the Earth.”
The End
Nicola McDonagh was born in Liverpool, the youngest of six children. She grew up amidst books, music and lots of animals. She originally trained as a photojournalist, but her love of the theatre and story telling, saw her gaining an Honours Degree in Drama and English Literature and a Diploma in Creative Writing from the UEA. She spent many years as an actor, scriptwriter and workshop leader, but gave it up to concentrate on her writing. She is a creative writing/photography tutor, and editor.
Nicola won the Suffolk Book League’s Short Story Competition, and was shortlisted for The Escalator Genre Fiction Competition. Her debut novel, Echoes from the Lost Ones, book 2 in the series, The Song of Forgetfulness, was published by Fable Press. The series has been re-vamped and Nicola self-published them in 2015.
Follow her on:
Facebook:www.facebook.com/thesongofforgetfulness?ref=h
Twitter:@McDonaghNikki
Blog page: www.nicolajmcdonagh.wordpress.com/
Website:www.thesongofforgetfulness.com/
What people are saying about
Whisper Gatherers, Echoes from the Lost Ones and A Silence Heard
Whisper Gatherers:
“If you like action, and science fiction then you’ll appreciate one of the first books EVER that gives you high powered adrenalin with chilling revelations of utter suspense ! This book is amazing to read and you will not want to put it down!”
“The author does a great job of drawing you in with her futuristic descriptions, at times it felt like I was watching a movie, that’s how enthralled I was with the book.”
“The central character has a convincing mixture of wilfulness and self-deprecation, and the imagined world is sufficiently complex to provoke thought and wonder. Nice to know that there are further episodes to pursue. A good read.”
“There's danger, humour, pathos, and lots of fast-paced action that makes this book a very exciting read.”
Echoes from the Lost Ones:
There is a lot going on in this book set in a dark dystopian future, but the characters are brilliant, real, and quirky, and keep everything moving along nicely. I loved the unique language, and both the style and the voice of the book reminded me of Patrick Ness' Walking Chaos Trilogy. I would definitely recommend it to people who enjoy his books! A brilliant and unique read for adults and young adults alike. Very impressed and will be reading the next instalment.”
“Addictive and engrossing-. It creates its own unique world where there's danger, and fear, and regret, but where there is a barrel load of humour, too…”
“A great story full of fun wordplay, great imagery, and an underlying commentary about the frailties of mankind.”
“A story of trust and faith "Echoes from the Lost Ones" is an adventure that takes you to a time and place like no other.”
“Post apocalyptic world where people worry about when they're next going to be able to go to the loo! Genius, why did no one write this before.”
A Silence Heard:
“A Silence Heard was action oriented and perilous! I was definitely on the edge of my seat as I read, waiting to find out what happened next!’
‘A world in which morals do not exist and yet somehow this little band manage to maintain a sense of compassion and humanity. It is a fight for survival against a cruel and destructive enemy who tries to obliterate any good left on the earth. Tremendous read for young adults who I'm sure will identify with the futuristic genre of the book.”
“I admire that the author had the courage to set the personal stakes for Adara very high in this volume. War is a messy business, and it comes at a horrific cost. That's a tough lesson and one that many authors gloss over for fear of alienating readers. Heroes have to win some and lose some, or the story becomes implausible and lacks tension. That's certainly not the case in A Silence Heard. I look forward to the next volume.”
-ms-filter: grayscale(100%); filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share
A Silence Heard Page 22