The Jasper Forest

by Julia Gray

  'What's the matter? What's happened?'

  For answer Kerin held up his clenched fist.

  'If I hadn't seen it written down in his own hand, I'd never have believed it,' he said.

  Terrel saw that he was holding a crumpled scrap of the material used for making the family's prayer-flags.

  'That's all he left apart from this.' Kerin opened his other fist, and Terrel saw the fire-opal glittering on the palm of his hand.

  'Aylen?' he said stupidly.

  'He's gone to the mountain,' Kerin said. 'To take the king's wages.'

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Overnight, Kerin had become a wraith. Before Aylen's departure, there had been a spark of defiance in his misery, even in the midst of all his troubles, but now that had been snuffed out. The prospector was a silent figure, forlorn and without hope. He'd lost everything - his wife, his unborn daughter, both his sons - and nothing in his life held any meaning.

  Terrel watched him fading, knowing he could do nothing. Kerin refused to discuss his family, and simply ignored the boy's efforts to console him.

  Farazin was among several of the villagers who had tried to comfort him, but none of them met with any success either. The only person Kerin would talk to was Ysatel, and then only when he thought there was no chance of his being overheard. Terrel occasionally caught a few mumbled words when he returned to the hut, but he did his best not to eavesdrop, recognizing the private pain in Kerin's voice. The fact that he chose to talk only to someone who could not respond was in itself symptomatic of the tragedy that had befallen him.

  When he was able to tear himself away from his vigil at his wife's bedside, Kerin returned to his place in the river — he had to work, after all — but even a good find did not dent his gloom.

  Terrel also noted that he had made no attempt to sell the fire-opal. 'It's exactly what I needed,' Aylen had said. Terrel hadn't understood what he'd meant at the time, but it was clear enough now. Yet even though it was obvious that Aylen had meant the stone to provide his father with some much-needed income, Terrel understood why Kerin wanted to hold on to his last link with his son.

  'What do you expect me to do?' Olandis asked.

  'You could come home,' Terrel suggested.

  'This is his home now,' Elyce said, and took Olandis's hand.

  As always, Terrel felt inhibited by the girl's presence. She had a knack of always being there whenever he tried to talk to Olandis, and her possessiveness was demonstrated in her every word and action.

  'He's suffered enough,' Terrel insisted. 'And he needs you.'

  'Then why won't he say so himself?'

  'Pride, stubbornness ... who knows? Does that matter? He's still your father.'

  'You think I'm being cruel, don't you?'

  'Would talking to him be so difficult?' Terrel asked, avoiding a direct answer to the question.

  'He won't listen.'

  'He might now.'

  'Now that Aylen's gone, you mean?'

  'You're all he has left.'

  'I don't suppose he's even stopped to consider why Chute left.'

  'He won't discuss it with me,' Terrel replied, 'but I'd guess he's thought of little other than his family recently.'

  'He's driven us all away,' Olandis stated bluntly.

  'You can't mean that!'

  'Can't I?'

  Terrel had spent some time trying to fathom Aylen's motives for leaving. He had explained nothing in his farewell note, but no one believed that Chute had simply been tempted by the regular wages of a mine-worker. Most people thought that he'd gone to be the villagers' spy in the army camp, to warn them of more avalanches or of any other threats from the military. Others had even speculated that he might be planning to incite a revolt among the miners -

  something Olandis had discussed with Terrel during their fishing trip two months earlier. But no one had suggested that Aylen had simply wanted to escape from his family home — until now.

  'Kerin needs a reason to forgive himself,' Terrel said quietly, not knowing what else to say.

  'And you want me to give it to him?'

  'You're the only one left who can.'

  'And if what he's done is unforgivable?' Olandis asked, his dark eyes filled with painful memories. 'What then?'

  Terrel trudged up the path to the infirmary, wondering gloomily if it was his own baleful influence that caused families to tear themselves apart. He was so sunk in

  memories of Ferrand's farm that, when he was hailed, he did not know who had called out or where they were. Looking round, he noticed Cutter standing with a stranger, presumably another of the travelling merchants he dealt with.

  'Can you spare us a moment, Terrel?' Cutter called, beckoning him over.

  Terrel made his way across to them, more than a little surprised. Although he was on good terms with Mitus now, they rarely had much to say to one another.

  He had never set eyes on the other man before.

  'This is Masiuk Ilona.'

  Terrel and the merchant nodded in greeting, each weighing the other up.

  'Is it true Kerin has a fire-opal?' Cutter asked, revealing his reason for speaking to the boy.

  'Yes. Aylen found it before he left.'

  'Do you realize how valuable it might be?'

  'He won't part with it.'

  'Why not?' the merchant asked. 'I can guarantee him an excellent price.'

  'If it's a good stone,' Cutter added, 'it could make his life a lot easier. He could—'

  'He's not interested,' Terrel said.

  'You're sure?' Masiuk queried.

  'Talk to him yourself if you don't believe me.'

  'We've tried,' Cutter admitted, shrugging. 'He won't even show it to us.'

  'Then there's nothing I can do.'

  'We could make it worth your while,' the merchant suggested.

  'Leave him alone,' Terrel said, angry now. 'And leave me alone.' He was about to turn and walk away when the merchant spoke again.

  'You're from the Cursed Islands, aren't you?'

  'Yes.'

  'And you intend to return there?'

  'When I can,' Terrel replied. 'Why? Do you know any of the sea captains in Tanggula?'

  'Most of them.' It was not a boast, merely a statement of fact.

  'Masiuk knows everyone, everywhere,' Cutter remarked with a grin. 'And he's always first with all the gossip. He's just been telling me about some monster that the king's got locked up in Talazoria.'

  Terrel froze, all thoughts of ships fleeing from his mind.

  'A monster?' he asked shakily.

  'Some say it's a demon,' the merchant said with relish, 'a creature so vile no man can look on it for long without his blood boiling or turning to ice.'

  'What does it look like?'

  'I've not seen it myself, but I've heard they're calling it Anetek-Vori.' He explained that this meant 'the rock that walks' in the wanderers' tongue.

  'And you say it's locked up?'

  'Walled up, rather. Inside the old fortress. Apparently Ekuban's turned it into a new entertainment for his court.'

  'How?' Terrel asked, his sense of dread increasing.

  'He sends convicted criminals inside, and sees what happens,' Masiuk replied.

  'So far none of them have ever come out again.'

  'Eaten alive,' Cutter concluded. 'That sounds like the sort of entertainment Ekuban would enjoy.'

  'If the creature's that powerful, you wonder why it hasn't tried to escape,'

  the merchant added.

  'Is there a moat around the fortress?' Terrel asked. 'Yes. How did you know that?' 'Just a guess.'

  The more Terrel thought about the rumour, the more worried he became. It sounded so like the initial gossip that had surrounded the monster in the mines at Betancuria that he couldn't help thinking the creature at Ekuban's court must be an elemental. At first he wondered if the Ancient had somehow followed him, but rejected that idea. Given its fear of even relatively small amounts of wat
er, there was no way it could have crossed the ocean. The conclusion was therefore obvious. There was a second of its kind.

  And if that were true, a number of other things began to make much more sense.

  For a start, it meant that the sleepers here - including Ysatel - were linked to the elemental in Talazoria, and not to the one on Vadanis. So it was hardly surprising that his efforts to find a connection between Ysatel and Alyssa had been largely unsuccessful. On the other hand, if the second creature was afraid of water, it seemed likely that there would be some other similarities between the two. However, the one in Betancuria had looked nothing like a rock

  - walking or otherwise.

  Terrel shook his head as if to clear it. The world had been confusing enough before this!

  He'd walked away from the village, looking for somewhere to be alone with his thoughts, and his vantage point on a nearby hillside gave him a good view of the black

  mountain in all its bleak, imposing majesty. There had been times in his wilder flights of fancy when he'd wondered fleetingly if another elemental had had something to do with the emergence of the mountain, but he'd dismissed the idea - partly because it seemed absurd, and partly because the ghosts had been able to come to him. They had not been able to get within twenty miles of Betancuria, held back by a force that none of them could explain. But the theory didn't seem quite so ridiculous now. It was possible that the elemental had been there when the mountain grew - when the earlier sleepers had fallen into their comas - but that it had subsequently moved away.

  Terrel recalled a conversation about the water level in the area rising, and wondered whether this might have been what had driven the creature away.

  Although this made sense, he couldn't imagine how it had come to be captured in a distant city - if that was indeed the case. He knew, from hard-won experience, that not all rumours were true. However, they had to begin somewhere, and a horrible suspicion was growing in Terrel's mind. How long will it be, he wondered, before someone starts telling me that destiny's calling for me to go to Talazoria?

  The voice of the cloud was deep and sonorous, like the muted rumbling of thunder.

  'Omens.'

  'I'm sick of omens,' Terrel said.

  'Omens are important here.'

  'You mean dreams.'

  Terrel was flying again. He found nothing strange in the fact that he was talking to a cloud, but he wished it

  would release him from its clammy embrace so that he could see. He knew the land was below him somewhere, remembered from moonlit glimpses, but it was invisible now. And there was magic in the air.

  He couldn't control the weather. No one could.

  Cruel laughter made him doubt his own reasoning, as the veil of wind-blown mist parted. The soaring eagle's view of Macul made him momentarily dizzy, and he saw movement where there was none. The darkness below shivered.

  This is fun, isn't it! The enchanter's voice was gleeful. We make a good team, you and I.

  We 're not a team, Jax. We never will he.

  The enchanter hesitated, evidently caught off guard.

  So, you've realized at last, he commented eventually. It took you long enough.

  And we are a team, whether you like it or not. How else could I be here, unless you invited me? How else could all this have happened? Watch.

  As the remote presence withdrew, Terrel felt a mixture of relief and foreboding. The diseased land below him flickered dully, one jewel outshining all the rest. He flew on, drawing closer, sensing the fearful darkness at its heart.

  Talazoria rose like a beacon in the endless night, its facets capturing all the pale moon-rays and turning them into rainbow-coloured fountains of light.

  The city glittered and blinked like a million stars, too elaborate to be beautiful but awe-inspiring nonetheless. Terrel stared, torn between astonishment and guilt, as the internal trembling began.

  Even though he knew it was coming, the sudden wave of destruction still shocked him to the core. One moment

  the city was intact, the next it was being ripped apart by a convulsive, lurching series of violent tremors, each one more explosive than the last.

  Terrel would not have minded any form of justice, however brutal, that turned Talazoria into rubble, but he knew that this was not the end of the devastation. Like ripples spreading out from a pebble thrown into still water, the earthquake tore across the landscape, levelling mountains, uprooting forests, and flinging lakes and rivers into the sky.

  Was this happening? he wondered.

  Time doesn't mean much in the dream-world.

  Would it happen?

  And was there anything anyone could do to stop it?

  The rock and earth of Macul turned to liquid, flowing like dark water and crushing every living thing in its smothering embrace.

  Terrel awoke from the nightmare just as the black mountain had begun to disintegrate, burying Fenduca beneath its suddenly murderous bulk. All around was quiet and still, but the dread did not leave him - and something Alyssa had said a long time ago sounded in his head again as if she were there beside him.

  Dreams are sometimes meant to show us things.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Dreams are sometimes meant to show us things. Especially here.

  Terrel looked around, not sure whether he was remembering Alyssa's voice or whether she was actually there.

  I told you that ages ago.

  Alyssa? His hopes were rising, though he still couldn't see her.

  Who else are you expecting?

  Where are you?

  We need to talk, away from prying eyes.

  Terrel saw a flash of brilliant colour outside the hut, but it was moving too fast for him to see what it was. Although he didn't understand her comment about prying eyes, he was too pleased to even think of arguing with her.

  The old stones? he suggested.

  All right.

  I'll be there as soon as I can.

  *

  By the time Terrel reached the glade, Alyssa and the ghosts were already there, apparently deep in conversation. They were so intent on their silent discussion that they weren't aware of his approach until he was almost upon them, and he was able to catch a little of what they were saying.

  That would be an incredible coincidence, don't you think? Muzeni said.

  Too incredible, Shahan agreed.

  Then why did he see it? Alyssa asked.

  And even if it is connected, Elam added, what's he supposed to do about it?

  Terrel can only tell when earthquakes are coming. He can't prevent them.

  You 're absolutely sure it began in the city? Muzeni asked.

  Alyssa leant forward from her perch, her long bill stabbing towards the ghost in an unmistakable gesture of annoyance. The bird that housed her spirit was the most beautiful Terrel had ever seen, its plumage a mixture of bright blue, yellow and a deep rust red, with black stripes around her neck and across her eyes. He had no idea what it was.

  Of course— she began.

  It started in Talazoria, Terrel said.

  They all turned to look at him, the ghosts' expressions betraying some relief.

  What did you do, take the scenic route? Elam asked, grinning. Or did you stop for breakfast on the way?

  I got here as soon as I could, Terrel replied. The only thing I stopped to do was get dressed. He had also glanced in at Ysatel and the still-sleeping Kerin before he left, but he saw no need to mention that.

  Thank goodness, Elam commented. Even as a ghost I'm not sure I could stomach the sight of you naked this early in the morning.

  Alyssa 's been telling us about your dream, Shahan said, directing the conversation back to more serious matters. You say the city is called Talazoria?

  Yes. It's the capital of Macul. Unlike many of Terrel's dreams, the images had stayed clear in his head as the day began.

  We've been trying to work out if this is significant, Muzeni said. If it might be some sort of prophecy. />
  Or warning, Shahan added.

  Or if it means you ate too much cheese last night, Elam said.

  Can't you be serious, just for once? Alyssa chided.

  Elam bit back the flippant comment that had evidently sprung to mind, and shrugged instead.

  I'm simply trying to keep some sense of proportion, he explained. We're talking about a dream here. It doesn 't have to mean anything.

  I don't think I'm a prophet, Terrel said, settling himself on one of the ancient stones. But the Amber Moon was full last night, and all dreams seem to be important here.

  Do you have any idea what prompted this one? Shahan asked.

  The rumours, probably.

  What rumours?

  In the past it had always been the ghosts who passed information on to Terrel but now, for the first time, it was the other way around. As soon as he realized this, Terrel had the feeling that what he was about to tell them would probably affect their interpretation of his vision.

  It's being said that Macul's king has captured a monster, he began - and knew instantly that he had their undivided attention. He repeated everything Masiuk had told him, and added some of his own conclusions - all the time watching the calculation on the faces of the two seers.

  A second elemental, Shahan said quietly when Terrel had finished.

  That would explain a lot, Muzeni muttered.

  Do you still think the elemental is the Guardian? Terrel asked.

  It's a possibility we can't rule out, Shahan replied.

  But that means there's more than one of them too! Alyssa exclaimed.

  Did you lot get anything right when you translated the Code? Elam enquired.

  It would explain all the different landscapes that are mentioned, Shahan said, ignoring Elam's barbed comment.

  Do you know when the creature here became active? Muzeni asked. Could it have been at the last confluence, on the night you were born?

  I don't know, Terrel replied, thinking. If it was responsible for the black mountain, that might have been around then. But I don't think that would prove when it woke up. The Ancient was in the mines for a long time before anyone noticed it.