Passages (Alternate Worlds Book 1)

by Taylor Leigh

  ‘Yes,’ Tollin said, interested. ‘Last time I was here you had bountiful food from the forest, now you’re talking like it’s some rare delicacy.’

  ‘Well, it is now,’ Molly said. ‘Ever since the treaty was broken.’

  Tollin perked up. ‘And what treaty would that be?’

  ‘With the Druids.’

  ‘The people out in the forest trying to kill you?’ Victoria asked. She was surprised in herself for letting her curiosity get the better of her.

  ‘Yes,’ Andrew said.

  Tollin looked slightly disturbed. ‘Wait a minute, last time I was here you were on good terms. Why were they trying to kill you?’

  ‘It’s been several years since you’ve been here, Traveller,’ Thedric said darkly. ‘Things have changed, people have died.’

  ‘The chief of the Druids died three years back,’ Andrew explained. ‘His son, Flynn, is rather inexperienced. Or at least he was when he was forced to take control. He didn’t share his father’s same views about keeping the peace, he didn’t trust us. He’s most likely caving under the pressure of other tribes.’

  ‘And why wouldn’t he trust you?’ Tollin asked, a hint of a growl now in his voice.

  ‘Because of this manor, because of us moving across the lake. Stretching our territory out.’

  ‘Right into their land,’ Molly sighed.

  ‘Anyway, there were a few tense meetings, then an unfortunate incident where one of our exploration parties accidentally got into a fight with one of their troops. People got killed, it was the final straw. Now Flynn’s broken the treaty and it’s hardly safe to walk out into the trees. Not to mention all trading has entirely stopped, thus no more food.’

  Tollin was angry now. ‘You mean to tell me you are at war with the Druids and haven’t tried to make peace? You two relied so much on each other last time I was here! The Druids even came to your festivals!’

  ‘They started it; it’s been going on for years. It’s nothing to get upset about!’ Thedric cried defensively.

  ‘Nothing to get upset about? Here I’ve been telling Victoria about what a good bunch of people you are, how you keep moving forward with a bright future and now I see you’re letting things get just as bad as her planet! It’s shameful!’

  ‘Calm down!’ Thedric snapped. ‘You don’t know what it’s been like. Women going out in the woods, not coming back! Children dying. It’s been the only natural thing to do; it’s what we’ve been doing for years. It’s not barbaric, it’s necessary! Only ones who can go out peacefully are Gatherers, like Molly, and even they are having a harder time.’

  Tollin’s dark eyes were almost glinting black with anger. ‘You could have worked this out, now you’re making enemies with the people you should be trying to work with. I can’t believe it! You people never cease to amaze me. You’re just as bad as Victoria’s world, and that’s a bloody mess!’

  Victoria could almost feel Tollin’s anger radiating from him. She shifted slightly in her seat, uncomfortable. ‘What does being a Gatherer mean? Why can Molly go into the forest?’

  Thedric let out a breath, obviously grateful she broke the tension. ‘Back before the chief died we had this exchange programme. We’d send people to live in their tribes and they’d send people to ours, to learn from each other.’

  ‘I’ve always been gifted with plants and healing, see,’ Molly said. ‘So I went to study from a medicine woman. She gave me these.’ Molly held up her arms. Her sleeves fell away and Victoria saw green leaf tattoos circling her arms. ‘They say that I’m a Healer and a Gatherer, so I’m allowed to go into the forest. The forest doesn’t turn against me, and the Druids don’t either. At least they haven’t yet. I can tell they’re getting bolder. They’ve shot warning shots at me recently. I can tell they want me gone.’

  ‘So it’s the magic of the tattoos that protects you, like a spell?’ Victoria asked.

  Molly opened her mouth to speak but Tollin beat her to it. By his tone Victoria could tell he was still in an extremely cross mood. ‘Oh, don’t be thick, Victoria. There are very few real spells in the world and least of all they’d be cast by humans. The tattoos have no more real power than your hair ribbon. It’s simply a symbol, like a carving. The sooner you all stop believing in magic the sooner you’ll be rid of your superstitions and fear and get some real accomplishments done!’

  Victoria felt her nostrils flare. She slumped back in her seat, arms crossed.

  Andrew coughed into his hand, though Victoria could have sworn it was a laugh.

  They sat in silence for a moment with their food finished in front of them. Staring contemplatively at anything but each other, unable to think of anything to say after Tollin’s outburst.

  Andrew drummed his fingers on the wooden table with a rapid, impatient beat. Thedric cast him an annoyed look.

  ‘It’s too bright in here,’ Andrew hissed after a moment.

  ‘Oh, knock it off!’ Thedric snapped.

  Victoria thought it rather dark herself.

  The candles flickered wildly in the breeze from the hall.

  Andrew shook his head, eyes narrowing, reminding Victoria of a shying horse. ‘Blow out those candles! Are you trying to blind me?’ he was almost shouting now.

  ‘Andrew,’ Molly said patiently. ‘You need to calm down.’

  Victoria cast Tollin a worried look. His lips were pulled into a flat, expressionless line.

  ‘Shut up, Molly. Don’t talk to me like a child.’ Andrew was squinting, avoiding looking at the candles on the table. ‘I’ll calm down once the candles are out. I can’t handle the light right now!’

  Molly held up her hands in defeat. ‘Okay, fine. Do what you have to.’

  Thedric started to say something but Andrew cut him off, lurching across the table to blow out the candles. He fell back in his seat with a mollified look. Smoke wafted into the air.

  ‘Well thank the stars we fixed that problem,’ Thedric grumbled.

  The room fell into another awkward silence, only disturbed by Andrew’s incessant finger drumming. His head slightly twitched; a tic he didn’t seem able to control. Victoria was taken aback by his behaviour and didn’t know what to make of it. She was tempted to ask if he was all right, but was too terrified of what his response might be.

  A long, musical, lonely sound warbled off from somewhere outside. The howling was so familiar to Victoria she felt her heart leap. Wolves! Something Scrabia had. She shut her eyes to enjoy the noise. It was slightly different from her world, yes, but it was still achingly familiar. Another howl, much closer and from what sounded like a much bigger pack took over. Their howl was different, stranger. The first group of wolves howling cried back to the second, but then petered out completely.

  Tollin raised his head slightly, mouth agape, listening. He glanced down at Molly. ‘Now, what is that?’

  Victoria stared at him. ‘Wolves, obviously.’

  ‘No, not that,’ Tollin waited for the howling again, ‘That.’ His eyes fell to the faces round him. Victoria glanced at Molly and Andrew. Molly looked uncomfortable. Andrew’s eyes were closed. She didn’t catch what Tollin was getting at. He continued. ‘Isn’t that interesting? Those aren’t wolves. It’s much too human for that.’

  Molly looked down at her hands folded in her lap. ‘Those are the Blaiden.’

  Tollin frowned. ‘Blaiden? Wolf Men?’ His brown eyes gleamed.

  Molly nodded slowly. ‘They’re men, giants from the southeast. They’ve slowly been advancing into the Druid’s territory. The Druids don’t seem to be keeping them out any more. The Blaiden are terribly cruel, wild men. From what I’ve heard they’re like beasts and they’re growing worse from what the forest has shown. Even the wolf packs are afraid of them; they are leaving this land to give the Blaiden more territory. It’s throwing everything off-kilter.’

  ‘Why are they moving north now?’ Tollin muttered, more to himself than the group.

  ‘Don’t know, don’t care!’ Thedric
growled. ‘They’re not our problem. They probably want the Druids land. They’ll wipe them out, take care of the problem for us and then we won’t have to worry about the Druids anymore.’

  Tollin stared at him. The howls had stopped and the quiet seemed almost too eerie now. ‘That seems like a very short-sighted thing to say.’

  ‘The Blaiden problem got worse when we started fighting with the Druids. The clan is realising that the Druids are weak now; they probably think it’s a good time to attack,’ Andrew said, breaking his silence, eyes still closed. ‘I have a feeling they’re behind most of the attacks against our people.’ His voice sounded tighter than normal.

  ‘And are they more ideal neighbours than the Druids?’ Tollin asked.

  ‘Hardly.’

  Thedric leant back. ‘I’d rather they both be gone, which is hopefully what will happen!’

  Tollin seemed troubled. Victoria studied him for a moment then glanced down at her empty bowl. There was too much to think about. Her head was spinning.

  ‘So, what are the plans for tomorrow?’ Tollin asked after a thoughtful pause, dark mood evaporated.

  ‘Tomorrow we’ll be riding for the Miol Mor, then we’ll actually have a proper bed. I’ll admit: I can’t stand staying out here in the forest. I need to be near the water!’ Thedric grumped.

  Victoria blinked, curious. ‘You mean this isn’t it? I thought this was your, er…castle.’

  Andrew smirked, blue eyes finally peeling open. ‘She thinks we’re a wild, untamed people, doesn’t she? No, this isn’t the village. It’s about two hours from here, at the edge of the lake.’

  ‘This place here is so old and rundown, sometimes I wish we’d never stumbled upon it,’ Thedric said.

  ‘You didn’t build it?’ Victoria stared at the huge stone walls.

  ‘No, just came across it on one of our conquests out here a while back. Mighty strange but no-one was here so we moved in. Spent a good deal of my childhood here. The Druids didn’t build it, not their style. I’m not sure who did. It’s just here.’ Andrew looked round contemplatively. ‘Makes for a good camp though, beats sleeping out in the rain.’

  ‘Plain spooky, that’s what it is. There’s something wrong about this place,’ Thedric grunted.

  ‘I dunno, I kind of like it,’ Molly said wistfully. ‘There’s lots of strange rooms full of moving machinery, and the star observatory! Why, you can see everything from up there. Especially when the sun goes down and the sky is filled with the white rivers.’

  Tollin frowned. ‘White rivers? I’m afraid that’s a new one for me.’

  ‘Oh, it’s just her lights up in the sky. She thinks they have some significance. She’s carried over all of those crazy Druid beliefs from her time with them,’ Thedric huffed.

  Tollin smiled. ‘Nothing wrong with that. A little culture never hurt anyone. What do the Druids say about them?’

  Molly turned a little uncomfortable under Tollin’s stare. ‘Well,’ she shifted in her seat, ‘they said that it was a veil…’

  Victoria gazed at Molly. ‘A veil to what?’

  ‘Another world…’ Tollin finished quietly.

  Thedric let out a bark of laughter. ‘Oh, come off it! There’s no such thing! You’re sounding just as bad as those savages.’

  Tollin’s dark eyes flicked over to Thedric. He raised his eyebrows. ‘Why is it so difficult to believe? If I said they were invisible charged particles of energy would that be any less preposterous?’

  Thedric let out a breath. ‘They’re only lights for stars’ sake! They’re not veils or particles... Just lights!’

  Molly shrugged. ‘It’s just what they say.’

  During the conversation, Victoria became aware of the fact that Andrew’s drumming on the table had stopped. She turned to look at the man sitting next to her and found him stone stiff, as if frozen in place. His eyes were locked on the wall across from him, rounded jaw clenched tightly. His hands, which were balled into fists and resting on the table, trembled wildly. Victoria heard him let out a constrained breath through his nose and felt alarm wash through her. Everyone else at the table didn’t seem to notice, they were still chatting away.

  ‘Andrew?’ She reached timidly for his arm. ‘Are you all right?’

  Molly suddenly became aware of him. ‘Andrew.’ She moved across the table quickly to him. ‘You’ve had a stressful day, I know you have, you just need to calm down.’ She cast a look round, looking more exasperated than concerned. ‘He’s had way too much excitement. I should have realised it earlier.’

  She put her hands on his shoulders and it was as if her touch had brought him back to life. Andrew jerked free from her grasp with a muffled gasp and stumbled away from the table, shaking so hard his body could barely stand upright. He regarded them all for a moment, eyes like ice, then turned stiffly on his heel and marched from the room.

  Victoria was speechless by what had just transpired. ‘Is he all right?’ she gasped.

  There was a slam of a door somewhere.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Molly sighed. She sat down heavily.

  Victoria gawked at the others, dumbfounded. ‘Well shouldn’t we go help him?’

  ‘No,’ Molly said. ‘He won’t let us. Don’t worry about him. He has these fits every once and a while, they’re becoming more frequent now, actually. I’d help him if I could but he won’t let me. And there’s not much I can do anyway, besides make him comfortable.’

  ‘Gets pretty violent, sometimes,’ Thedric muttered quietly. ‘Not that he’s a pleasant person to be round normally, but he’s even worse when he’s in one of his fits. Probably because he’s embarrassed, if he’s even thinking right, that is.’

  Victoria stared back down the hall where Andrew had retreated.

  Tollin must have caught the distressed look on Victoria’s face, for he jumped up from where he was sitting. ‘Well, it’s been a long day. We’re all knackered. Think it’s about time we had you off to bed, Victoria!’

  Victoria smiled weakly. ‘I don’t think I’ll argue with you.’

  Tollin turned to the others. ‘I’ll be back in a mo.’

  He held out his hand to Victoria, smiling his ridiculously large smile and she took it shyly. He gave it an encouraging squeeze.

  Victoria followed him out of the hall, her hand still clamped in his. When they’d left the dining room and were in the passage Victoria turned to him. ‘I’m sorry I was so cross with you earlier. I know you’re not responsible for me being trapped here.’

  Tollin smiled thinly. ‘Well, wouldn’t say I’m directly responsible…but, can’t say it wasn’t my intention either.’

  Victoria looked out through the tall dark windows. She could just begin to make out Molly’s lights in the sky, shining in front of Scrabia. ‘I don’t know if I’ll ever figure these people out, especially not Andrew. He frightens me.’

  Tollin chuckled and started walking towards the stairs, Victoria in tow. ‘Andrew is a challenge! Not the easiest of beings to get along with, but worth it in the end. I can tell; he’s taken an interest in you, Victoria. He may not show it, but it’s there.’

  ‘You seem to know them all pretty well. How many times have you been here?’

  ‘What? Oh, I’ve been coming to Scottorr for years. Knew Bard back when he was your age!’

  They mounted the dark stairs, candle light doing little to chase away the gloom. ‘You’ve been here for years? But you look so young!’ Victoria wondered.

  Tollin beamed. ‘Careful what you say about my age!’

  They reached the top of the stairs and Victoria glanced down the hall towards her room. She wondered if they were going to lock her in. ‘I’m not sure if I’ll ever figure you out either, Tollin.’

  ‘Ha!’ Tollin gazed down at her with kind brown eyes. Laughter from the table below floated up to them. ‘Well, there’s plenty of time to try for that. We’ve got a whole year here, so use it wisely! If you need anything Molly is right across from you and I’m two
doors down. Just don’t go to the end of the hall, that’s where Bard is and I doubt he’d want you bursting in on him.’ He stood there bobbing up and down for a moment.

  ‘Thanks,’ Victoria said, pointing herself in the direction of her room.

  ‘Right. Sleep well!’

  Victoria closed her door behind her and looked round. Nice, posh room, surprising since it was just an outpost. Red curtains and sheets on the bed. Bars on the windows. She sighed. No getting out that way. A long, unnatural howl warbled from somewhere in the forest beyond her window. Not that she wanted to get out.

  * * * * *

  The Blaiden flew through the forest with mocking howls as they answered the confused wolf pack. They burst through the trees, bare skin shining in the light of the red world above them. The animals looked up in fright. The alpha wolf raised his hackles but seemed to sense that defending their kill was not something worth dying over. With a whine they fled the men, terror spurring them on.

  The Blaiden whooped in morbid delight at the wolves’ retreat. Their yellow eyes glinted in the darkness, black lips pulling back over their sharpened teeth in glee over their find. They were human, men and women, giants, completely naked. Their skin was red and smooth, save for their raven black hair which was pulled tight on their heads.

  The leader, taller than the rest of the pack by far, kicked at the dead deer the wolves had abandoned with a clawed foot. His nostrils flared as he smelled the air. A slight chuckle worked its way through his black lips and he bent down to the deer. He picked it up as if it were nothing more than a rabbit. Digging his long nailed hands into the deer’s skin he jerked, revealing the bloody sternum of the animal. With a loud pop the sternum broke and the man reached his hand down into the hot cavity of the deer’s body. He pulled out the heart and sank his teeth into it like an apple. The rest of the clan looked on, watching him with large, wavering eyes. As his fangs buried themselves into the warm flesh, the group fell upon the deer, ripping and tearing at it as if it were a wrapped parcel.

  The leader tilted his head to one side, gazing on through the trees contemplatively as he listened to the sounds of his clan packing the fresh meat into their hungry mouths. His eyes settled on a light in the distance, the light of a torch. The outlines of windows and turrets were just barely visible through the dark forest. There were men here, tiny, fearful men just beginning their venture into the forest. A smile pulled at his blood stained lips. What these Loch Men did not know, of course, was just how ruthless the forest could be, and just how far some were willing to go when the hunger for war drives them.