The Jasper Forest

by Julia Gray

  'Acquaintances of yours, we believe,' Ekuban remarked, with a malevolent smile. 'Do you think they'll last long? Put on a good show?'

  Aylen did not reply, but the muscles in his neck were knotted in tense fury.

  For a moment Terrel thought his friend was going to attack the king with his bare hands - and some of the guards obviously thought so too. They stepped forward quickly, but Ekuban seemed unconcerned.

  'Do you wish you were with them?' he needled.

  'I wish you were with them,' Aylen replied.

  'A traitor's response,' Ekuban said, laughing. He appeared to be enjoying himself immensely. 'But we are protected. Your turn to meet the demon will come soon enough. For now, be content to watch.'

  The grisly scene being played out inside the ruin came to a swift conclusion.

  All six men died within a few moments of each other, victims of unimaginably violent forces. Even as the cheering began to die away, another even larger group was forced into the moat and the cycle of horror continued, each increasingly spectacular death greeted with tumultuous applause.

  Terrel felt his internal shaking increase. It was making him tremble physically now. The earthquake was coming this time - and there was nothing he or the Collector or anyone else could do to stop it. The first faint tremor shook the stones beneath the boy's feet, but no one else seemed to notice, their attention still fully occupied by the slaughter below.

  A second, stronger tremor ran through the palace. This time no one could fail to notice it, and Ekuban glanced

  at Marika, uncertainty on his face for the first time. The sorceress looked perturbed.

  'Stop the killing!' Terrel exclaimed. 'This is your last chance.' It may already be too late, he thought, but he owed it to himself and everyone else to try one last time. 'I told you an earthquake was coming.'

  The king did not respond, but as cheers from the square indicated that more prisoners had been killed, a third tremor rocked the balcony.

  This is it, Terrel thought. The end of everything. His terror was mixed with an intense sadness. He looked at Aylen, wishing he'd been able to see his other friends before he died, and wondered miserably which - if any - of the people he loved were going to survive this catastrophe. His failure, the fact that he had let them down, made him want to weep.

  'What's going on?' Ekuban demanded.

  'I don't know,' Marika replied. 'Something's . . .'

  Terrel glanced at the Collector — and was amazed to see a small, secret smile on the sharakan's face.

  What is it? What's happening?

  It is certain, the Collector said, but Terrel had the feeling that he was talking to someone else.

  Another tremor shook the palace, and screams and cries of alarm mingled with the sound of falling masonry. The Collector stood up straight, calm amid the panic, and Terrel realized that the sharakan's distress had been an act. The expression on his face was one of triumphant satisfaction. Ignoring the boy, the Collector turned to face Marika, who was now obviously terrified.

  'Your talent is great, madam,' he told her, 'but you abused it. And you cannot stand against us.'

  'Stop him!' Ekuban screamed. 'We demand—'

  'Be quiet, you fool,' the sorceress ordered harshly. 'It's over.'

  'We don't need your cooperation,' the Collector said, still speaking to Marika, 'but it will make it easier for all concerned if you do not oppose us.'

  She nodded resignedly.

  'Do what you will.'

  'No! Traitor!' Ekuban launched himself at the woman, but he never reached her.

  Terrel could not be sure which of the magicians had thrown the king to the ground.

  'What's going on?' the boy asked. 'What are you doing?'

  The palace was shaking continuously now.

  'Time to start dream-trading in earnest,' the Collector muttered to himself.

  The sky turned green.

  Almost at once Terrel knew what had happened. The Collector was using the sharaken's collective power not to defeat Marika's sorcery but to reinforce it. The dome was glowing now, visible even to the naked eye, but it was no longer protecting the palace. Instead of keeping the earthquake outside the royal domain, it was confining it within the dome. That was why the Collector had been so adamant that the elemental must be told who was responsible for its torment. He had wanted the creature to direct its fury at the palace and nowhere else. And now he and his colleagues were using all their magic to stop the earthquake from spreading to the rest of the country.

  At the same time, Terrel noticed that a curious change was coming over all the people around him. The panic-stricken responses to the tremors had stopped, and most

  of the courtiers were slumping to the floor. Even Aylen had collapsed. If it had not been such a ludicrous idea, Terrel would have said they were falling asleep.

  You understand now? the Collector asked silently.

  I think so.

  We can be merciful. They will all die in their sleep.

  And the rest of Macul will survive.

  Yes.

  Why aren't I asleep?

  Because you have the handle.

  Let me wake Aylen.

  That would not be wise.

  But we have to try to save him, Terrel objected.

  The Collector did not reply - and finally the boy really did understand.

  Reader's sacrifice was necessary for us to comprehend what we faced, the sharakan explained. Yours is necessary to defeat it. You have only to release your grip on the staff to claim oblivion. The oracles will remember you, Terrel.

  Then the sharakan's image vanished, leaving Terrel alone as the palace began to tear itself apart. He stumbled and fell as another tremor hit, but he kept hold of the staff, and as he broke his fall it touched Aylen's prostrate body.

  He woke immediately and looked at Terrel, fear and confusion in his eyes.

  'What happened?'

  'Take hold of the staff or you'll fall asleep again,' the boy told him. 'The earthquake's destroying the palace, but only the palace.'

  'Then we'd better get out of here.'

  'We can't. The dome that surrounds us is impenetrable now. That's what's saving the rest of the country. The

  sharaken had to get the message-handle in here to make sure of that.'

  'And used you to do it?'

  'Yes.'

  'Then we're not dying in vain,' Aylen decided. 'At least Macul will survive, and Ekuban and all his cronies will be gone.'

  And so will we, Terrel thought dismally, his mind conjuring up a picture of Alyssa. He wondered where she was now, and hoped she was safe. Goodbye, my love, he said. Maybe we'll meet as ghosts.

  He did not expect an answer, and he received none. Terrel carefully took his hand away from the staff so that, at the last, he would not have to witness his own death.

  Chapter Fifty

  Terrel dreamt he was back in Fenduca. He heard voices screaming, warning him, but there was no escape. The mudslide was a huge black tide that engulfed him even as he struggled, filling his mouth and nose, choking him. He was blind, but still the promised oblivion did not come. He felt cheated.

  Terrel woke, still choking. The air was full of dust. A hand around his own was pressing his fingers against the contours of wood.

  'Wake up, Terrel. I don't want to die alone.'

  In the strange yellow light Aylen's face looked pallid, almost ghost-like.

  'I keep hearing voices.' Aylen was having to shout over the tumult of the earthquake, the crack and slither of crumbling stone and the rattle of falling debris. Although it was impossible to see much through all the dust, it was obvious that the palace was collapsing about them. Terrel tried to speak, wanting to ask Aylen why

  he wouldn't let him sleep, but he could only cough instead.

  'Voices,' Aylen repeated. 'In here.' He tapped the side of his head with his free hand.

  Terrel was hearing them too, but he could make no sense of the raucous, incoherent scream
ing.

  'Look!' Aylen cried, pointing northwards.

  Part of the wall at the edge of the balcony had already fallen, and in that direction, away from the bulk of the dying palace, it was possible to see through the storm to the glowing yellow dome that encased its doom. And there, on the other side of the barrier, was a bird. It was fluttering in panic, hurling itself against the magical shield in a demented, futile attempt to get inside.

  Alyssa?

  The magpie's whirling attack became a little less frenetic, and the screaming stopped.

  Terrel? Terrel! It can't end like this. It can't!

  We can't get out, and there's nowhere to hide, he told her, the wrenching sadness he felt softened a little by the unexpected opportunity to bid her farewell. Goodbye, Alyssa. I—

  No! she screamed. Don't say that! You—

  The sun went out, cutting off her protest.

  All three of them turned to look, but only Terrel knew what he was seeing. The second eclipse of the day was a scene straight out of Muzeni's poetic journal.

  The Dark Moon had returned, in the guise of a great bird of prey, the final, incontrovertible harbinger of death. Black wings blotted out the sun, and Terrel imagined the curved beak and the talons that he could not see, remembering more of Muzeni's words. When she strikes, her speed and savagery will be unmatched, unmatchable. He looked again for Alyssa, waiting for the end.

  The sun's light returned, muted by all the debris in the air, as the giant bird changed course. As it did so, Terrel's perspective altered and he gasped, struggling to focus as the ground beneath him trembled and bucked like a living thing. He knew now that the creature was no incarnation of the Dark Moon, but it was like no bird he had ever seen. It was truly gigantic, and its plumage was not black but a shimmering mixture of scarlet and bronze, while its talons and beak were a dull yellow. Now that it was closer he could see that the bird's eyes had the metallic sheen of polished steel.

  'What is that?' Aylen breathed.

  Terrel thought he knew, but it was such an unlikely idea that he hesitated before answering. The description he'd read had been in a book in the library at Havenmoon - but that particular volume had been devoted to myths and legends, to creatures of the imagination.

  'It's a caroc,' he replied eventually. 'It's supposed to be a mythical being.'

  'Looks real enough to me,' Aylen commented in awe. 'What's it doing here?'

  'I've no idea,' Terrel said, watching as the enormous bird wheeled about and began to fly directly towards them.

  It's your turn to believe in me.

  Although the voice that sounded in Terrel's head was not Alyssa's, it was still familiar. He was trying to place it when Aylen, his face a mask of astonishment, identified it for him.

  'Ysy?' he exclaimed, his confusion obvious. 'Where are vou?'

  Ysy? Is it really you? Terrel asked, staring at the caroc in amazement.

  I'm not the only sleeper, Alyssa told him, then turned to the newcomer. Can you help them?

  I can try.

  'What's going on?' Aylen cried. 'What are all these voices?'

  But Terrel had no chance to answer, because just at that moment a section of the balcony crumbled and fell, and he and Aylen were forced to scramble away to stop themselves from being swept over the edge. At the same time, the huge bird flew straight into the dome - and instead of being repulsed, she passed through in a shower of orange sparks and a loud tearing noise.

  From close to, her wings and body were so vast that they seemed to cover half the sky, but the bird's movements were controlled, almost delicate. In a single elegant manoeuvre she swept down to the ledge where Terrel and Aylen were clinging, and scooped one of them up in each monstrous set of talons.

  Terrel half expected to be crushed, but the grip of the giant claws was firm and oddly gentle. A moment later the rest of the balcony disintegrated.

  Become part of me, Ysatel told them. Part of the darkness.

  'What do you mean?' Aylen asked. 'What does she mean, Terrel?'

  'Faith!' Terrel replied, shouting over the rushing air as they flew. 'We're going to escape!'

  I'm not quite real here, Ysatel said. But I'm real enough. You must be the same, Chute.

  'How . . .'

  'We're going to escape!' Terrel yelled jubilantly. 'Just believe it!'

  They crashed through the yellow dome in a second blaze of orange. Terrel and Aylen both released their hold on the staff, and it dropped back into the destruction below. Aylen screamed, but Terrel laughed as fire pulsed through his body - and then they were outside, in the cool, clear air far above the city.

  Terrel? Aylen? Are you all right?

  Terrel glanced across at the limp figure of his friend.

  I'm fine, he replied. And so is Aylen. He's just fainted, that's all. He turned his head to see the magpie flying behind them, her wings beating furiously in the draught created by the caroc.

  I'm alive, he said, hardly believing it himself.

  I told you . . . Alyssa replied, but there was a catch in her voice, and neither of them was capable of saying anything more.

  The giant bird was still climbing, taking them up to a height that made Terrel feel dizzy. Looking down, he watched the turmoil inside the dome as one shockwave after another pulsed through what little remained of the palace with ever-increasing fury. It was as though the elemental was determined to reduce the entire structure to dust. Every stone, every tile, every piece of wood and metal had to be pulverized before the mayhem would end. No living creature could possibly survive such violence. Their rescuer had arrived just in time.

  How did you find us? Terrel asked.

  Alyssa told me what was happening, Ysatel replied, but it was Aylen who led me to you in the end. I knew his road was turning, and I couldn 't let it come to an end. Not like that.

  How did you find the caroc?

  There are worlds within worlds, Terrel. You must know that by now.

  And you were able to get through the shield because you 're not real in this world? he guessed.

  They allowed me to become so, she replied, to use one of the creatures of their realm.

  They?

  The spirits in the cloud valley. Esera called them the darkness.

  You met her? Terrel exclaimed in astonishment. How did you get into the valley with all that water around?

  I didn't, Ysatel said, but there is a link between us. It began because of you, your healing us when we were pregnant, but it was the night of dreams that made the real connection.

  At the full of the Amber Moon, a hundred days ago? he asked, recalling the sharaken's communal dreaming.

  That's right. All Macul was affected one way or another, and there were many links forged that night. When you're a sleeper, dreaming is just about all you can do, so I was part of it. And a good thing too, she concluded. Or I'd never have been able to come here.

  Thank you, Terrel murmured. The words seemed hopelessly inadequate, but he did not know what else to say.

  I may have to land soon, Ysatel informed him. Flying in my condition gets tiring after a while. Where shall I set you down?

  The caroc is pregnant too?

  My eggs are almost ready to be laid, she confirmed, but I'd better be back in my own world before that happens. I

  don't think your myths should become too real. Where do you want to go?

  Terrel looked down at the city, laid out before him like a map. People in the square were smaller than ants, most of them trying to get as far away as possible from the inexplicable events that had overtaken the palace. He could barely imagine the panic that must have gripped the citizens.

  Then his gaze was drawn back to the dome. At first he thought he was imagining it, but the longer he stared the more certain he became, and the jubilation he had felt at his deliverance turned to horror. There was an irregularity in the colouring of the dome, a brighter patch on one side, which must have been where the caroc had smashed through. As he watched, oran
ge cracks began to snake out from this weakened area, marking a fiery pattern over the surface of the shield. Inside it, the earthquake showed no sign of abating. If anything it was growing even more violent.

  It's not going to hold, Alyssa said, putting Terrel's fears into words.

  The Ancient's fury still raged. The palace was already devastated, but in human terms the elemental had no sense of scale. Like a man using a sledgehammer to crack a walnut, the end results were beyond control. The power it had unleashed was simply too great. Even the sharaken had underestimated what they were facing, and their efforts had been in vain. Now that their magic had been breached it was only a matter of time.

  The dome would collapse and the earthquake would spread, destroying first the city, then the rest of Macul and possibly even the Floating Islands as well.

  Terrel's

  nightmare was coming true before his eyes. He would even see everything from the air — just as he had in his prophetic dream.

  What's happening? Ysatel asked, anxious now.

  There's only one chance, Alyssa said.

  Terrel knew she was right.

  Take me to the elemental, he told Ysatel.

  Chapter Fifty-One

  As the caroc wheeled down in a steep, headlong spiral, Terrel thought that at least he would be dry when he approached the Ancient. The incongruous nature of the thought made him laugh out loud.

  Don't get hysterical, Alyssa warned. You're going to need to talk fast — and to do a better job of it than last time.

  They were directly above the ruined fort now, and Terrel could see a writhing vortex of unnatural shadows at its heart. The elemental's agitation was frightening to behold. Even if it tolerated his presence, getting the creature to listen to him was not going to be easy.

  I can't go any closer, Ysatel announced suddenly, pulling out of her dive so quickly that Terrel was almost crushed by the abrupt deceleration.

  What's the matter? he asked. Doesn't it recognize you? You're one of its sleepers—