Eleanor

by S. F. Burgess

  Eleanor watched numbly as the green beings silently checked their dead and wounded. They made no noise, but they were clearly communicating with each other and Will. Maybe they don’t like noise. Every so often one would approach Will, tilt its head to one side and they would stare at each other for a moment. Will would nod or shake his head. Why are they just talking to Will? Considering who they attacked, Eleanor decided the beings had got off lightly. Conlan had not been trying to kill them, or they would have suffered far heavier losses. As it was, they had three dead and Eleanor was doubtful the creature she had stabbed in the stomach would survive. She felt guilt wash over her whenever she looked at it lying on the ground and surrounded by its friends. Are they friends? Are they family? The dead creatures did not lose their green glow when they died, and Eleanor tried very hard not to look at their eerily glowing lifeless bodies as the others fussed around them. Bioluminescence caused by some enzyme in the skin? It was not something created by their energy, as Eleanor could feel that was gone. She remained where she was, as the others did, watching as the green beings flowed around them.

  Eventually Conlan’s curiosity got the better of him.

  “Will, what’s going on?”

  His voice was calm and soft, but the creatures froze, all eyes turned towards him, and Eleanor unconsciously tightened her grip on the spear she was still holding. Will looked at Conlan and shook his head slowly. Looking extremely irritated, Conlan nodded once and said nothing more. The green being that had been trembling against the cave wall was carefully and reverently helped to its feet. Something in the way the other creatures touched it made Eleanor think this was someone special, important almost. The being was smaller than the others and moved with more noticeable grace. Is this a female? It walked towards Will, stopping in front of him. They stared at each other for a long time. Eventually Will raised his head and looked at Conlan, his gaze intense.

  “Whatever happens next,” he whispered. “Don’t intervene.”

  Conlan nodded his agreement. Will returned his gaze to the being in front of him, and to Eleanor’s surprise dropped to his knees before it. Green hands were raised, webbed fingers spreading out like green baseball gloves, and Will’s head was gripped firmly between them. Almost immediately his face screwed up in pain – his eyes rolled and his hands grasped the being’s forearms as his body shook violently. Amelia sobbed involuntarily and made a move towards him. Freddie grabbed her arm, shaking his head. Their eyes glazed over as they argued. Whatever Freddie said, Amelia was finally convinced and slumped against him sobbing softly, unable to watch Will’s obvious agony. Head still trapped between the glowing green hands, Will’s jerks and twitches were becoming weaker. He whimpered as his arms fell to his sides, and Eleanor got the impression that he was only upright because he was being held there. His breath was coming out in short, strained pants, and blood ran from his nose and eyes. Terrified that they were going to kill him, Eleanor dropped her spear and ran forward. Conlan grabbed at her, pulling her off her feet and pinning her to him, his strong arms wrapped securely around her waist and chest. She squirmed in his grip, kicking and flailing with her arms and legs. She heard his grunts of pain as her heels and elbows struck him, but she could see Will dying in front of her – she had to help.

  “Let go of me,” she hissed.

  “Will asked us not to intervene. Trust him,” Conlan whispered harshly as he struggled to hold on to her.

  “But they’re hurting him,” Eleanor moaned softly, looking at Will – face pale, eyes closed. He no longer looked conscious.

  “And do you think you’re the only one finding that hard to take?” Conlan whispered in her ear. Eleanor froze at the pain in his words.

  When he felt certain she was not going to struggle any further, Conlan lowered her feet to the ground but kept a firm arm around her. Eleanor found it comforting. With no visible sense of ending, Will’s head was released from the being’s grip and he toppled to his side, lying still. Eleanor felt Conlan’s body tense. For several heartbeats nobody moved, and then Amelia tore herself from Freddie’s grip and ran to Will’s side, trembling fingers touching his face.

  “Is he OK?” Conlan whispered. Amelia turned a tear-stained face to his, her doubt and fear burning in her eyes, then turned back to Will, gently stroking his hair. The green beings began moving around them again as if nothing had happened. Will twitched and slowly opened his eyes, and with Amelia’s help he pulled himself up to sit upright. He looked awful. Even after he had wiped the blood from his face, he was pale and shaking, and he gazed at them from unfocused, bloodshot eyes. Eleanor felt a strong energy string brush against her and pulled it in, realising that Freddie, Amelia and Will had combined their energy strings so they could all talk together.

  OK, what’s going on?

  Not now, Eleanor, Will said, sounding remarkably like Conlan. We need to leave – as slowly and as silently as we can manage.

  A million questions and thoughts whirled round Eleanor’s head. Hurt by Will’s rebuke she would have kept quiet, but one persistent thought needed to be aired before they left.

  Will, I think we are meant to make these people our allies. I think that’s why the chalice was placed here.

  Making these people our allies is not an option right now. If we’re lucky we might get out of here alive, Will countered.

  We were doing a pretty good job of kicking their glowing green butts before you told us to stop, Freddie commented.

  Will glared at Freddie. This is the advanced party… any minute now hundreds of these green creatures are going to show up, and I do NOT want to be around for that. I made a deal – these guys will let us go, along with the chalice, although they are not happy about it and they’re not sure how the others will react when they arrive. We need to get away from the water so they don’t follow us.

  What deal? What did they do to you? Eleanor asked suspiciously.

  I won’t say it again, Eleanor, NOT now! Will snapped.

  His anger leaving her thoroughly dispirited, Eleanor nodded and headed with the others towards the cave’s exit, making sure to take silent, careful steps. Conlan retrieved his small knife, still coated in glowing green goo, and then had the presence of mind to pick up a torch. They crowded together to walk down the tunnel back towards the waterfall, the lack of light increasing Eleanor’s fear. Will moved the wall of water aside so they could get out. Amelia said nothing but left it to Freddie and Eleanor to lead him from the ledge and out of the way while he concentrated on keeping the water back. As Will let his hold on the water go, he staggered again, but Freddie was ready for it and supported him. It took him longer to recover this time, and Eleanor could see his exhaustion. Amelia saw it too, worry for him clear in her eyes. Maybe Will should be grateful someone cares so much about him.

  They stepped from the waterfall into a heavy rain storm, wind whipping up around them and ponderous dark-grey clouds casting a gloomy pall over the land. Will hustled them away from the waterfall and the river and they made their way back to the horses. Eleanor quietly greeted Horse as Conlan’s irritation and curiosity finally exploded.

  “What was that about?” he asked, looking at Will.

  “They are natives of Mydren; they evolved here, they didn’t come through the portal. They live out under the sea. They worship the dragon and we just violated their sacred space. Every year, hundreds of their people come here in groups on a pilgrimage up the river to the waterfall, to talk to the dragon. In return, he tells them the future,” Will said in a slow, tired voice.

  “Can’t be very good at it – he didn’t tell them we were coming!” Freddie commented.

  “Why did they only talk to you?” Eleanor asked, ignoring Freddie.

  “They said they tried, but you didn’t recognise their presence in your minds. I was the only one that did,” Will said.

  “So you can talk to fish,” Freddie said, a grin spreading across his face.

  Will gave him an irritated scowl. “They�
��re not fish, Freddie, they’re people and we killed them for no real reason.”

  “I think we were supposed to make allies of them,” Conlan said softly.

  Will raised an eyebrow at him in surprise. “So Eleanor said, but I don’t think that’s possible right now. Maybe in a few decades when they’ve calmed down.”

  “Maybe if they hadn’t attacked us, we wouldn’t have had to defend ourselves. Can’t we explain that?” Eleanor asked.

  “They interpreted you yelling as an act of aggression, Eleanor – they thought they were defending themselves,” Will said.

  “Oh.” Eleanor felt her guilt crash over her again. “I didn’t know.”

  “Maybe this will teach you to think before you open your mouth,” Will said, hard eyes and stern tone making Eleanor cringe. She dropped her head as the wind and rain plastered her hair across her face. She had lost Conlan potential allies because she was unable to keep her sarcastic comments to herself. Shame burnt through her.

  “So what was that ‘person’ doing to you?” Conlan asked.

  “Ransacking my head,” Will said, holding Conlan’s gaze, his expression saying several things that Eleanor did not understand.

  “Looked like it hurt,” Freddie said.

  Not taking his eyes off Conlan, Will nodded. “I don’t think our minds were entirely compatible; she certainly didn’t intend to hurt me.”

  “But you knew she was going to?” Amelia asked in a quiet emotionless voice.

  “Yes.”

  “Then why did you do it?” Amelia snapped. Will finally moved his gaze from Conlan to Amelia, his tired blue eyes holding hers.

  “They’re as curious about us as we are about them; she wanted to know about us. I offered her a deal – my memories for our lives and the chalice.”

  “She stripped you of your memories?” Freddie asked, horrified.

  Will shook his head. “No, she sort of copied them, like Earth did when she stormed through my head. To be honest, I have no idea how much she saw, which is a little worrying because I’m not exactly the best ambassador for Avatars, or human beings in general for that matter.”

  “What was her mind like?” Conlan asked.

  “Discussion for a little later, out of the rain perhaps, when I don’t have a headache that feels like it’s going to rip my skull in two,” Will said, looking pointedly at Conlan again.

  “OK, so where to next?” Freddie asked.

  “I don’t know,” Eleanor said in a small guilty voice. “I haven’t been able to work out the location of the sword.”

  “Then we should find somewhere we can rest for a while to give you some time to think,” Conlan said, his tone soft, reassuring and very welcome after Will’s rebuke. Eleanor smiled at him, and before she knew how it happened her world was turned upside down.

  Eleanor registered Conlan’s eyes widening in shock, registered the arrow that flew past her head close enough for her to feel the fletching brush her face. She registered Amelia shriek Conlan’s name, saw her move in front of him and watched in paralysed horror as the projectile thudded deep into her chest, pushing her back into Conlan with such force that she knocked them both off their feet. Still unable to move, Eleanor saw them land, the air ‘whoomphing’ out of Conlan’s lungs as Amelia landed on top of him. Freddie yelled Eleanor’s name and she turned in time to see the arrow that should have pierced her skull fall inert to the ground as it hit solid air in front of her. Amelia is shielding, she’s not dead. Eleanor turned back to her stricken friend. Conlan had sat her up, cradling her slumped body, a look of horror on his face. Amelia was pale. A thin line of blood dribbled from the corner of her mouth and her eyes burned with agony as she fought for consciousness. She pushed herself to keep shielding them, to keep protecting them. More arrows struck the shield. Overhead lightning flashed and the sky rumbled its sympathy for its wounded Avatar. Will stared; he made no move towards Amelia but dropped to his knees, wrapping his arms around himself, wretched devastation etched into his face.

  “Where are the arrows coming from?” Freddie asked, coming up to Eleanor’s side.

  “Amelia,” Eleanor moaned. It was currently as far as her thoughts went. Putting a hand on either side of her face, Freddie wrenched her eyes away from Amelia and forced her to look at him.

  “Eleanor, Amelia is not going to keep shielding us forever – we need to find out who’s trying to kill us before our protection fails,” Freddie said.

  “You mean before Amelia dies!” Eleanor snapped, pulling away from his hands.

  “Eleanor, please don’t make me do this by myself,” Freddie said, looking hurt.

  Eleanor felt her anger fade away, knowing that Freddie needed her. Moving to Horse, she pulled her sword from her blanket roll and strapped it to her waist, watching Freddie do the same. She glanced briefly at Amelia; Conlan was talking softly to her, comforting her, tenderly stroking her hair and bending his head over her to keep the rain from her face. Will was still knelt to the side, watching them. It was hard to tell in the rain, but Eleanor suspected he was crying. The arrows continued to crash against Amelia’s shield, and the frequency made Eleanor think they were dealing with more than one archer. Moving carefully they discovered that Amelia had only erected a shield in a horseshoe shape around them, so using the trees and shrubs for cover they moved towards the river, creeping silently downstream. Freddie reached for Eleanor’s hand, gripping it tightly. They had not travelled far before they heard voices. Nodding grimly, Freddie headed towards the sound, pulling Eleanor after him. Moving closer, Eleanor found she could hear what they were saying.

  “It is them, I am telling you; six summers of waiting and it is them. Cannot believe I got one… think we will get a bonus when we take their bodies back?” The voice sounded excited.

  “We were told not to kill the one with the scar down his face… that had better not be the one you hit,” another voice growled.

  “Will you two shut up and pay attention. Keep firing at that shield. When it fails you are going to have to make those arrows count. I do not want you to kill any of them yet, so just wound them,” a strong, commanding voice ordered.

  “I think I lost two of them, did you hit them?” the excited voice asked, uncertainty creeping into the tone.

  “No, you idiot, there is a shield up. Where did you lose them?” the growling voice demanded.

  Eleanor listened to the conversation in confusion. Why had they been waiting for them for six summers? How did they know who they were? How did they know where they were going to be? She pushed the questions to the back of her churning mind for later and tried to concentrate on what she was doing. Moving slowly, they emerged at the edge of a camp –quite a permanent camp by the looks of it. They had built sturdy shelters, and Eleanor could see bedrolls and personal effects within them. The fire had a permanent-looking metal grill secured over its embers, and Eleanor could see rustic handmade chairs placed in front of it. There was a lot of ‘stuff’; they had been here a long time, maybe the six summers they were talking about. She needed to talk to these men, to ask them who had sent them and what they were doing here. The three men stood with their backs to them. Two had bows raised and were taking it in turns to loose arrows out in the direction of where they had left the others. Eleanor was just about to tell Freddie they needed to talk to the men, when the fire started to jump and hiss, the embers bursting into roaring flame. In the split second she realised what Freddie was doing, it was too late. His eyes blazing, he released all his energy at the three men, watching dispassionately as they turned into jerking, screaming fireballs, the slightly sweet and sickly smell of burnt flesh filling the air. They stumbled, flailing around their camp in agony and setting fire to their shelters. Eleanor felt the extreme heat and raised an arm to protect her face, feeling the cut on her side scream in protest as she did so. The men dropped, their bodies continuing to burn. Feeling a little sick, Eleanor snatched her hand away from Freddie’s and walked around the blazing camp and bac
k towards where they had left the others. Freddie didn’t need me for that, why did I have to watch? She felt empty, emotionally blank. She knew she would be angry with Freddie later, but right now all she could see was Amelia’s pale face.

  Amelia was just as she had left her. Conlan tenderly held her and amazingly she was still conscious. Will was still knelt to the side, his face and eyes now blank. Amelia’s shield was gone, and Eleanor wondered distractedly how close they had cut it; maybe Freddie had done the right thing by burning their attackers on the spot. Conlan noticed her and raised his head, eyes filled with agony.

  “Eleanor, shake Will out of it – Amelia needs help.” Conlan’s voice was rough, hurt. Eleanor nodded, moved to Will and then dropped to the wet, muddy ground in front of him.

  “Will?”

  Blank eyes saw her, but they looked right through her. She slapped him hard, his head snapped to the side. Shuddering as if shaking himself awake, recognition coming back into his expression, he brought his gaze back to hers.

  “Will, Amelia needs medical help. You’re the only one who can give it, so help her!” Eleanor ordered in as hard a voice as she could manage. Nodding dumbly, he crawled the short distance to Amelia’s side. Solemn grey eyes watched him, glassy and pain-filled. Gently he inspected the arrow where it had entered her chest beneath the left shoulder.