Calix shook his head. ‘I didn’t wake you. I mean, I couldn’t blow the flames out. I did try.’
‘If you didn’t wake me up,’ Kaelia began in confusion, ‘who did?’
‘Not who,’ Calix returned, ‘what.’
The heavy fall of the Vallesm’s paws drew Kaelia’s attention to it and she turned slowly. ‘You...it was you.’ She held out a hand.
The wolf’s huge head slipped underneath Kaelia’s hand, and it moaned softly, closing its eyes. Kaelia wrapped her arms around its strong neck and whispered in its ear. ‘Thank you for loving me that much.’
Tears, this time of happiness, fell from her and soaked into the Vallesm’s well-furred neck. The wolf grew just a fraction larger and its fur a little longer with the touch of Kaelia’s tears. Composing herself, she wiped her face and nodded at Calix.
‘Come on, let’s find that bloom,’ she said. ‘The clock’s ticking.’
‘You make it sound as if I was holding you up; you were the one slobbering over your wolf!’
Calix grabbed his bag up, neither he nor Kaelia noticed the old fashioned lighter slipped from it and fell onto the ground, landing open on a pile of leaves.
* * *
Meanwhile, at the end of the portrait corridor in Hel’s palace a tiny flame ignited into life. Bran, edging down the corridor to begin the journey back through the realm to the Gjallarbru bridge, caught the flicker from the corner of his eye. Behind him the flaming doorway back to Mortiswood flickered into life again. Before Hel had even noticed, Bran raced towards it.
‘I will return,’ he bellowed, ‘for Rosalie, and I will find my mother. Your power over her is lessening. I will find the place you banished her to and we will be a family, as we always should have been!’
Hel’s screeches carried after him as he tumbled through the flaming doorway and catapulted into the hollow within the trees of Mortiswood. Quick as a flash, he scooped his lighter up and snapped the lid closed, snuffing the magical flame and instantly resealing the doorway behind him.
Bran crouched down and picked up a handful of leaves, inhaling their scent. It was like sampling the bouquet of a wine, he could easily detect the scent of Kaelia, the Vallesm, and even Calix. ‘So, you are all here now.’
Lifting his head he sniffed the air, his senses having improved ten-fold since the run-in with Hel. Being in her realm had not only boosted his senses in the underworld but back in the human one as well.
‘I know you’re here, Draugr!’ Bran’s voice carried high above the trees. ‘I can smell your rotting carcass!’
In response, from over the other side of the woods, Thom stopped tapping the protective sphere encasing Jade and drew to his full, imposing height of over seven foot.
‘I hear you, Necromancer!’ His clipped voice carried sharply in response on the wind. ‘And I know your visit with Hel has strengthened you. I sense your energy in the air. Tell me, how is my old lover? As affectionate as usual, I imagine!’
His laughter cackled into the night sky, littering the ground with a foul Draugr rain. ‘You will join with me, Necromancer; it is in your blood!’
* * *
Chapter Four
Night dissolved as Kaelia, Calix, and the Vallesm ventured further into the belly of Mortiswood. Rays of early morning light danced between the trees, creating a dappled shade. The fusty, Draugr laden odour also rose with the darkness and was replaced with a crisp aroma of the bark of trees and pine needles, far more pleasing than the rotten taint. Instead of the dense gnarled trees they had been wending between were slimmer, softer trees with pale leaves, their slender branches swaying gently as the three passed around them. Bracken underfoot gave way to lush grass, apple green in colour despite growing in the semi-shade. Bluebells, Snowdrops, and Portanium flowers sprouted at the bases of a line of Lime trees, protected by the trees heart-shaped, broad leaves.
‘Can you hear that?’ Kaelia grabbed Calix’s elbow, stopping him in his tracks.
Calix frowned. ‘Hear what?’ His tanned face paled. ‘It’s not Thom is it?’
‘Stop panicking! No, it’s not the Draugr. I can hear someone singing.’
‘I can’t, all I hear is the Vallesm. Has it got a cold or something?’
The Vallesm closed its mouth, it had been panting.
Kaelia was certain she wasn’t imagining the light melody of song floating in the air. Shaking her head, she carried on walking before stopping again. ‘Someone is definitely singing.’
‘Do you have a cold? Once, I had a really bad cold and my ears became bunged up. It made everything sound strange.’
‘No-one has a cold and there’s nothing wrong with my ears!’
Calix pulled a face. ‘I don’t hear any singing. Are you sure it’s not a ringing in your ears?’
‘No!’ Kaelia poked Calix in the side. ‘Are you taking the piss?’
Calix grinned. ‘Look!’ he exclaimed. ‘It could be the castle we’re looking for.’
The trees lessened to reveal a majestic castle with pointed turrets and stained glass windows which glinted in the early sunshine. The castle settled atop a gently sloping, grassy hill strewn with bursts of rainbow coloured flowers. Surrounding the castle and its hill was a high wall, constructed from bricks sparkling as if they had been formed from the stars themselves. Double gates, wrapped with ivy sprouting unusual pink flowers, beckoned.
Kaelia reached the gates first and peered in awe through the bars. The sing-song of small birds flying and dipping to the flowers within the grounds was sweet and melodic. Wings far more delicate than those of the feathered creatures, fluttered around the birds as they moved between the flowers. Kaelia laughed delightedly, so many butterflies, each majestic and unique, floated in the air like falling leaves from trees caught by a playful summer breeze.
‘It’s beautiful.’ Tears glistened in the corners of her eyes. How wonderful it would have been to share this experience with her mother and Bay. ‘My mother loves butterflies.’
Grief tightened her chest, forcing a sob from her lips. In response, the Vallesm brushed against her, turning its amber gaze upwards. For a moment, Kaelia thought the creature looked sad, which was silly because wolves did not have human emotions.
‘Are the gates locked?’ Calix asked, joining Kaelia to peer through the bars.
‘I would guess so.’
Calix pushed the left-hand gate. Nothing. He tried pulling. Still nothing. Grabbing the gate with both hands he pulled and then pushed until he was red in the face. ‘Typical. I bet Bran-the-dick knows how to open them and just didn’t tell me to annoy me. I bet he’s pissing himself with laughter just thinking about me trying to open them and failing.’
Kaelia laughed.
‘Go on then, Miss Chosen One, you try and open the stupid things!’ Calix rubbed his hands together. ‘They won’t budge!’ He flexed his arms. ‘I need to get back to my weight lifting!’
‘You’re going to feel a right plank if I can open then, aren’t you? I don’t even have muscles.’
Calix stuck his tongue out. ‘Everyone has muscles; else you’d be all flibbly-flobbly and wibbly.’
Kaelia burst out laughing. ‘Flibbly-flobbly? What?’
‘You know what I mean!’
Curbing her laughter, Kaelia said, ‘Move out of the way and let me try opening the gates.’
‘No, it’ll just prove I’m still a weakling normy-norm!’
‘I never call you a weakling because I don’t think you are. Who carried me all the way back from the beach to my grandmother’s house that time on the Isle of Stone? You did!’
‘No, everyone else thinks I’m a weakling.’ Calix started ticking off the names on his fingers. ‘Jade, Bran, everyone at Mortiswood Academy, Cadence....’ He choked on her name and turned his head. ‘They all think I’m a loser.’
‘You’re not a loser, not even a tiny bit. You’re brilliant at what you do. Cadence knows that, she likes you. You know she does.’ Kaelia touched Calix’s arm. ‘
We’ll get the Rosealrium bloom and make sure Cadence doesn’t turn Draugr. I promise.’
Calix wiped his eyes on his jacket sleeve. ‘She won’t thank me for stopping her from becoming a Draugr.’
‘She will, eventually.’
‘Are we talking about the same woman here?’ Calix joked weakly.
Kaelia grinned. ‘Up herself, snooty, and a pain in the arse?’
‘I was thinking sexy, independent, and a pain in the arse but, yeah!’
Laughing, Kaelia reached for the gates. To her surprise they sprang open as soon as her fingertips grazed their bars. She looked at Calix and raised her eyebrows. ‘You really are a weakling normy-norm!’
‘Oh, ha ha, shut up!’ Calix pushed Kaelia in front of him. ‘You first, oh mighty Chosen One, you may need to protect me!’
Kaelia beckoned to the Vallesm, waiting for it to join her before making a move. The wolf wove between her and Calix. Once it was by her side, it looked across at her and blinked.
‘Ready?’ she asked softly.
In answer, the Vallesm tilted its head towards her before looking towards the open gates. The three of them stepped under the gates’ arch, Kaelia and the Vallesm side by side, Calix a step behind. Once they were all through, the gates closed silently. A grassed path meandered through neatly tended ornamental flower beds. Flowers of many colours, most of which Kaelia had never laid eyes on before, grew together, their combined scent producing a sweet yet heady perfume. Kaelia laughed delightedly as a kaleidoscope of butterflies fluttered around her, some landing feather light atop her hair.
Fruit bearing trees rose from the flowerbeds, their branches home to a mix of exotic birds not usually found in England. The brightly coloured birds emerged from the trees to join the other winged creatures as Kaelia and the others passed by, their vivid hued wings shining brightly. Winding steps were cut into the grassy hill the castle sat upon. There was not a handrail and each step was neatly carved from the land and covered with the same lush, apple green grass growing across all of the land within the castle’s boundaries.
‘Do you see any Rosealrium bushes?’ Kaelia asked Calix.
Calix shook his head. Shielding his eyes against the sun he peered up at the castle. ‘I think there are normal rose bushes growing up against the walls of the castle. I would guess a Rosealrium bush would grow there also.’
‘Onward and upward it is then.’ Kaelia set her foot upon the first step. Suddenly everything went blurry. The ground moved from underneath her feet, dizzying her. She felt herself being propelled along, caught by an unseen force.
Grabbing onto Calix for support as they stopped moving and were deposited on the ground, she asked, ‘What happened?’ She looked behind her in confusion. The first step was a long way off, far at the beginning of the sloping hill. ‘This is the top step! How did we get here so fast?’
Calix, looking decidedly green and still swaying, clutched Kaelia back until, together, they steadied themselves. Only the Vallesm was unfazed and eyed them silently.
‘Magic stairs!’ Calix gazed at them in amazement once he had recovered. ‘Imagine if all of the escalators in the shops were as fast!’
Kaelia rolled her eyes. ‘There’d be a lot of puking children—they’d want to ride it all day!’ The sound of singing reached her ears. ‘Can you hear someone singing?’
‘What is it with you and the singing?’ Calix laughed. ‘I don’t hear it...,’ his voice trailed off. ‘But do you smell that?’ He sniffed. ‘Hotdogs and onion.’ His stomach growled loudly.
‘I thought we were looking for a Rosealrium bloom?’
‘In a minute, I could do with something to eat. It won’t take a second to pick up a hotdog, I can take it with me. I’ll probably gobble it up before we’ve even found a Rosealrium bush!’
‘Wait!’ Kaelia grabbed Calix’s arm. ‘I don’t think it’s the kind of castle to have a restaurant or cafe in it, it’s not like it’s a visitor attraction.’
‘But I’m hungry!’
‘It could be a trick.’
‘It could be the best hotdog I’ll ever taste if the smell is anything to go by.’
The Vallesm brushed past Kaelia and sauntered through the open castle doors.
Kaelia grinned at Calix. ‘I guess that means you get to investigate!’
She followed Calix, who followed his nose into the castle. The doors led into a wide hall. The entire ceiling of the hall was glazed with stained glass, allowing daylight to stream through, the warm colours of the glass lending a cosy atmosphere to the immense area. A long, wooden table sprawled in the centre of the cream marble floor, and a veritable feast sat invitingly atop the table. Tall golden candelabras twisted elegantly from between the platters of food on the table top, their metal arms holding vanilla scented candles. The candles’ flames were strong and steady but the wax of the candles did not melt; the candles keeping their shape as perfectly as the day they had been formed.
‘Hello?’ Kaelia’s voice echoed in the grand hall. ‘Is there anyone here?’
Calix ventured to the table. ‘I don’t think there is.’ He licked his lips. ‘Do you think we can eat this?’
Kaelia shrugged. ‘I wouldn’t, it may be a trick. Who knows what kind of magic lives here? It could all be poisoned and one bite will send us to sleep permanently.’
Calix, reaching towards the nearest platter of food, snapped his hand back and folded his arms across his broad chest. ‘Bran said a beast lives here, but as Bran’s hardly the trustiest of people, it could be yet another of his lies.’
The Vallesm sauntered to the table, which came level with its chest, and slipped between two chairs. It picked up a roasted, whole chicken with its teeth, set it down upon an empty plate, and for such a large creature, delicately tore strips of meat off before swallowing them. Discarding the stripped carcass to one side, the wolf selected a leg of meat from another platter and set it on the plate it had been eating from. Casting its gaze to Calix and Kaelia the wolf sniffed the meat, looked back at it, and raised its eyes again, keeping its focus on Kaelia as it started to strip the cooked meat from the bone.
Calix eyed the wolf for a few moments before pulling out a chair and sitting down. ‘If the Vallesm’s eating it, it must be safe.’ He reached for a hotdog in a bun and spooned a generous serving of fried onion atop it before taking a large bite, juice running down his chin.
Kaelia hesitantly pulled out a chair and perched on the edge of it. The table was burdened with so much food it was difficult to take it all in at once. There were plates of sandwiches filled with cheese and salad, rows of rolls stuffed with ham, bowls of warm chunky chips, piles of all different fruit, platters of cooked meats, and even cream cakes.
Kaelia took a slice of pizza, salivating at the pepperoni tomato aroma. ‘Do I detect a shift in your attitude towards him?’ She nodded at the Vallesm, which was still delicately stripping the leg of roasted lamb. ‘He eats more politely than you do!’ She reached for a napkin from the pile near her and tossed one at Calix.
Calix wiped his chin and grinned. ‘I’m starving! The wolf’s probably had his fill of woodland rabbits for all we know.’
‘You didn’t call him it,’ Kaelia observed.
Calix glanced at the Vallesm. ‘The wolf was the one who broke the Sleeping Death spell.’ He looked at Kaelia. ‘If I had been alone, you may never have awoken.’
Kaelia reached across the table and squeezed Calix’s hand. ‘Thank you. You’re a really good friend.’ A wave of emotion warmed her cheeks. ‘I never thought I’d make such a good friend again.’ Thoughts of Bay threatened to turn her into a weeping mess. She pretended to wipe her face with a napkin until the hot flush of emotion left her cheeks, and then surreptitiously dried her eyes.
Calix flushed crimson, too, the colour bleeding into his pale hairline. ‘You’re a good friend. You’re here helping me even though you don’t like Cadence.’
‘You love her,’ Kaelia replied simply. ‘Or at least I think
you do.’
Calix shrugged. ‘I wouldn’t go as far as to say love. She can be a right pain in the arse most of the time but I can’t leave her to become a Draugr. I hope Jade is holding out and keeping Cadence’s spirit inside her. I know how argumentative Cadence can be when she’s not getting her own way. I don’t envy Jade having to go through what she is. Cadence will, hopefully, realise it’s all for the best once she’s back in her own body and the Drauguri Sea’s water is sucked out of her lungs, her spirit-lungs I mean.’
The Vallesm abandoned its food and laid its huge grey-white head on the table beside Kaelia’s elbow. Its amber eyes blinked luminously at her, trying to convey an unspoken message.
Kaelia stroked its head and laughed. ‘I remember when I was terrified of you!’ She leant over and kissed its furry forehead. ‘But now I can’t live without you. You are my super-Vallesm-hero, you woke me from the Sleeping Death spell and that means you love me. I’m so grateful for that, you mean loads to me, too. Do you understand?’ She looked back at Calix. ‘Do Vallesm understand our words?’
Calix nodded slowly. ‘Actually, I think I was wrong when I said they only understand as much as a domestic dog. I think Vallesm know what we’re saying even if they can’t answer with words of their own. I’m sure he knows how you feel, how much you adore him.’
‘Aww, he should.’ Kaelia rubbed one of the Vallesm’s well furred ears. ‘I love him to bits; I could never be without him now. Do you understand?’ she asked the wolf. ‘I love you.’
A mighty howl tore from the Vallesm and the creature turned, racing away down a corridor with a flick of its fluffy tail.
‘Where are you going?’ In haste Kaelia jumped up, knocking her chair over which clattered loudly on the marble floor. ‘Come back!’
Kaelia sped after the Vallesm, skidding to an abrupt halt as a wolf, which was most definitely not her Vallesm, slunk into view. Her feet slipped from underneath her and, unable to stop herself, she slid, on her side and feet first, along the marble floor towards the intruding Vallesm’s paws. Fear clutched tight fingers around her throat, making it difficult to breathe. Panic pulled her eyes up to the mighty beast. It was larger than her Vallesm, its fur a burnt amber and far shaggier in comparison to her wolf’s. Its amber flecked eyes were the only part of it resembling her Vallesm. The intruding Vallesm’s eyes narrowed frighteningly as the creature bared its teeth and snarled.
Mortiswood: Kaelia Falling (Mortiswood Tales Book 2) Page 4