The Cloven Land Trilogy

by Simon Kewin

  “Let's go that way,” she said, pointing to one of the paths. She had no reason to choose it over the others; it only mattered that they move.

  She headed forward. Ran, his body all wary tension, his sword still drawn, pushed ahead of her to the front. Seleena walked behind her and Johnny, pottering along, brought up the rear.

  They soon became lost. Leaving the clearing felt like diving into a shifting, green pool of shadows and half-glimpsed shapes. The paths wound around and around through the trees. Fer was sure they travelled in circles, although the scene changed constantly. Always they saw different gnarled tree trunks with different toadstool villages growing about their roots.

  Here and there, boulders the size of a house heaved from the ground. Some seemed to have trees growing out of them, their roots writhing across the surface of the rock in search of soil. Sometimes the path wound behind the boulders and sometimes it passed between two of them, trapping them briefly between high, stone walls.

  They hiked upward and downward and upward again, but found no sign of the blasted oak.

  Fer's mind wandered. Seleena walked ahead of her now. The ground was flat. The trees rose high here, their branches leaving great vaults of space on the ground. Beams of sunlight shone through the canopy, illuminating great swathes of bluebells, glowing like the sky at sunrise, their smell like butter. There were many stands of ferns too, their fronds unfurled like the keels and prows of boats.

  Had they been this way before? It was a meaningless question: in a Tanglewood, words like here and there meant little.

  A rook or a raven, pure black against the light through the leaves, watched them from a branch that crossed far above the path. As they passed underneath, it hopped around in a half-circle to watch them leave, head cocked on one side. Fer reached to it with her mind but felt nothing. The creature was as conjured as the rest of the place.

  Perhaps it was time to try and talk with the archaeon she carried with her. She was unsure how to go about it. She focused her thoughts on the old black book she carried in her backpack, trying to delve inside it.

  At first there was no hint of anything alive. But she persisted and caught a distant echo of the creature: breaths, slow and sonorous, like the wind between mountaintops.

  She pushed deeper, moving toward the sound. She lost it for a moment, then found it again. It was louder, nearer. She felt a sense, a scent perhaps, of great age. A rush of ideas and feelings swept over her, like standing in a roaring gale of half-heard words. She kept pushing, and had the sensation of tumbling down a long, cobweb-filled tunnel, deep into the ground, the stream of words and thoughts battering against her.

  She focused all her mind on the effort of working her way forward. She emerged, suddenly, into a great open space, still underground but brilliantly lit. Red fires glowed all around. Light sparkled from the walls. She caught glimpses of symbols reflected in them: runes that shifted and swirled as she tried to identify them. A bitter, sulphurous smell clogged the air.

  She still had her eyes open; the Tanglewood rose around her if she concentrated. But also, clear in her mind, she saw the archaeon. It filled most of the vast cavern, curled up like a cat, its eyes closed. This must be how it saw itself. It was as colourful as before, its body a patchwork of brilliant purples, vermilions and gold. But now she saw it clearly as a creature of flesh and blood, not line and ink. Its great sides heaved as it breathed. Its breath on her face was hot like the wind from the southern deserts.

  She wondered how to address it. The creature must be aware of her presence.

  “I am Fer,” she said.

  The great beast opened one of its eyes and regarded her, saying nothing for long moments.

  “And I am thinking,” it said at last, its voice a rumble. “What is it witch?” Its teeth were brilliant white, the longest as big as she was.

  “We must talk. There are things you should know.”

  “Is that so?” It seemed amused. It closed its eyes again. She thought it had gone back to sleep, but then it spoke.

  “In that case, let us talk. There are things you should know. Tell me first, are you related to Fer the witch of An? She that was called Fleetfoot?”

  “I … yes, she was my great, great grandmother. I was named after her. You knew her?”

  “Of her. There is much written in the journals. Interesting.” It lifted its head from the ground and turned to regard her. Its hot breath made her skin feel like old parchment stretched across her bones. “So, tell me where it is we are going, little witch.”

  “You are aware we're moving?”

  “Do you even know what book this is I am in?”

  “No. Some old book of her own, Hellen said. Nothing important.”

  “Ah, the wily old Hellen Meggenwar. Of course. Then let me tell you, little witch, this old book is probably the most important in the library of Islagray. After the Grimoire.”

  “Then what is it? Little archaeon.”

  “This old book that she happened to give you is a map of all the shadow paths connecting the worlds. I have never seen it before. Read about it of course. It isn't kept in the archive.”

  “Then … I suppose it's no coincidence she gave it to me.”

  “It has been passed from witch to mancer to witch for centuries and centuries. It has been fought over, killed for, stolen. It is unique, so far as we know, in all of An. The writing is in silver-rune: crafted, not mere ink. It is almost alive. The words shift depending on where you are. It cannot be copied. Coincidence? There are very few of them where she is concerned. The fact is we are travelling somewhere, to another world I would say, and Hellen Meggenwar wanted to be sure you could find your way home.”

  “We've just passed through the Islagray gateway,” said Fer. “We intend to return the same way. We won't need a map for that.”

  The archaeon looked amused again, a glint shining in its great eye. Fer's face reflected there, small and distant.

  “Little witch, I am sure you are right. She gave you this book, along with an ancient and wise archaeon to interpret it, just so you would not be bored on your short journey.”

  “You think she lied?”

  “What do you think?” The archaeon closed its eyes again, as if settling down to a pleasant sleep. “But at least you can console yourself with the fact that you knew you were coming.”

  “Yes. Hellen did say I might need to persuade you to help.”

  “And this is you being persuasive?”

  “No. This is me trying to be friendly. I asked for none of this myself. But, you might like to know, the place we travel to in the other world is also a library. I've been thinking about that. I wonder how many books there are you haven't even heard of?”

  The archaeon lay unmoving for several moments. “Interesting. The truth is I have been a long time at Islagray, little witch. Well, we shall see. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a book to read. We may soon need to know what it has to say.”

  “But …”

  “Good bye.”

  The image of the shining cavern faded in her mind. She had the sensation of being blown back up to ground-level. For a moment, she felt disorientated to find she was still walking through the cool air of the Tanglewood.

  She had obviously been moving slowly while she conversed with the archaeon. Johnny still ambled behind her, humming a tune to himself she didn't recognize. But Seleena and Ran walked some distance ahead.

  “Wait!” she shouted. She still felt so weak. She couldn't walk at Ran's pace all day. When she wasn't willing herself on she moved so slowly. And talking with the archaeon had drained her further. “We can't get separated! We might never find each other in here.”

  Seleena and Ran turned and waited for her and Johnny. They stood for a few minutes, sipping water from leather bottles.

  “No sign of the oak tree,” said Seleena.

  “Well,” said Fer, slightly out of breath, “we need to keep going. Sooner or later we'll find it. But stay close or
we'll be wandering down different paths. And remember, this is a Tanglewood. It barely matters how fast we walk.”

  Ran, looking at her for a moment, nodded. She felt like she'd given him an order. Just as Hellen had given them all orders not so long ago. She frowned at the thought.

  They marched on. The sun stayed high in the sky; clearly day did not progress here. It became impossible to judge the passage of time. It felt as though they had always been here. Fer's mind wandered again. Weariness weighed her down. Ran and Seleena would spot the tree; she didn't need to look for it, too.

  She thought about the archaeon. It appeared to be familiar with the Grimoire; perhaps it had occupied it at some point. Had it made any sense of what it found? It was dangerous to dabble in such things, of course, but perhaps the creature had unearthed some clue in the book about how she had defeated the winged undain.

  And what did the archaeon know about her great, great grandmother? And why, exactly, had it said Fer's identity was interesting? She had to converse with it again. This time she'd be more prepared, not so tongue-tied. She'd ask it all the questions crowding her mind. The creature was as bad as Hellen, the way it played games with her. She'd had enough of them.

  But, try as she might, she could not reach the cavern again. She sensed the creature, but couldn't find the cobwebbed tunnel to its lair. It appeared the archaeon did not wish to be interrupted. She tried and tried but it was no use. Her questions would have to wait.

  A scream rang through the quiet trees, jarring her from her thoughts. The raw, ragged sound was alarming after so long in the unnatural hush of the wood. As it died she heard the splash of something heavy falling into water.

  Her full attention snapped to the woods, her heart hammering. They'd become separated after all. Seleena and Ran had walked ahead of her and she'd been too lost in her thoughts to notice. The woods grew thick here: great bramble castles lined the path so it was impossible to see very far.

  She broke into a run, limping painfully, aware of Johnny coming up just behind her. What terrible scene would greet her? Hideous images filled her mind. The undain must still be here with them.

  Seleena came into view. She stood staring out over a small lake. At the same moment as Fer saw her, Ran appeared around another bend beyond Seleena. He held his sword forward, ready to fight.

  Seleena never tore her gaze from the lake, her body stone-still. Walking now, her heartbeat slowing, Fer approached. She glanced nervously at the lake.

  “It was there. I saw it,” said Seleena. She shook visibly.

  “What did you see?” asked Fer.

  “The undain. It was terrible. In the water. It came at me. I screamed and it disappeared.”

  “What did it look like?”

  “A monster. Huge. All teeth and dead eyes. Like something that chases you in a nightmare.” She sounded numbed, cold, shocked by what she had seen.

  “So it is trapped in the Tanglewood, too,” said Fer. “And it can change shape. It was small when it came to Islagray.” She turned to Ran and Johnny. “It will follow us, of course, and try to discover the doorway. It must know by now we're its only hope. It'll be desperate.”

  “Great,” said Johnny. “You know, I really am enjoying this more and more.”

  “We must move away from here,” continued Fer. “But we should camp soon. I can't walk much farther. One more hour. Perhaps we'll see the tree. If not, we'll try again tomorrow.”

  “If there is a tomorrow,” said Johnny. He smiled but the strain was clear on his face. Seleena took no notice; she watched the small lake, seemingly reliving what she had seen. Ran said nothing. He nodded, turned and set off.

  They sipped more water and ate bread and meat from their backpacks. Fer peered into the shadows between the trees as they went, expecting to see a glimpse of the undain. Exhaustion crept over her, spreading through her limbs like frost. Each footfall felt heavier and heavier. Judging by how much they'd eaten they'd been travelling for the most of the day. They really had to stop soon. But she had to keep going a little longer. In the magical wood it made no sense to attempt to get away from the lake where Seleena had seen the undain. But still, she wanted to try.

  “Hey, there's the tree,” said Johnny. “Weird eh? It must have appeared after we walked past.”

  He'd stopped and was looking behind them. A great oak stood a short way into the undergrowth, its huge trunk like a crooked little house, wide branches reaching into the woods. A pond lay to one side, the tree's lower beams hanging over it.

  “Keep your eyes on it,” said Fer. “We don't want to lose it.”

  “You think it might run off?” said Johnny.

  Ran took the lead again, striding toward the tree with his sword drawn, as if he intended to fight it. As they walked closer, Fer saw it had been struck by lightning. It was a familiar enough sight. At home they sometimes called the oak the lightning tree as it was always the first to be hit in a storm. This one had a great, blackened scar down its side as though it was burned inside. At its base stood an opening, large enough for them to pass through if they crouched.

  “I will go last,” said Ran, standing at the trunk as if guarding a royal palace.

  “Very well,” said Fer. “Let's go before the undain comes. Remember what Hellen said. The left branch. Jump off at the knot that resembles an owl.”

  Seleena crouched and wriggled into the opening. For a moment she was stuck, her hips too wide. As Fer watched, it seemed that Seleena's body became momentarily snake-like and slithered through the hole.

  Was she exhausted, imagining things? She reached with her mind to check that Seleena was well, the faintest inklings of dread creeping over her.

  The young witch wasn't there. There was no one there. Fer saw one of Seleena's feet, but sensed only emptiness where the witch's mind should be.

  “Ran!” she shouted, stepping back. “It's here! It's Seleena!”

  The dragonrider whirled and struck so rapidly his sword was a silver blur. He hacked at Seleena's foot within the tree.

  A howl boomed, muffled by the tree but clearly inhuman. Fire seared Fer's mind. Ran pulled back and struck again, but this time made no contact. The undain climbed, its foot disappearing from sight. It scuffled and scrabbled up the inside of the hollow tree.

  She'd reminded them how to find the doorway. In doing so, she had told the undain, too. The realisation hit her like a punch to the stomach. Then she thought of Seleena. The scream they'd heard, the splash of something heavy falling into the water.

  Behind her, Johnny panicked, shuffling forward and backward, unable to decide what to do. “This is not good! This is not good!”

  Ran, meanwhile, acted. He squeezed inside the oak tree, then hauled himself upward and out of view.

  Fer stepped aside. At the same moment, the undain appeared above her. Two great branches, wide enough to walk along, reached across the pond, just as Hellen had described. The creature took the left one. Already it changed. It still partly resembled Seleena, but it shrank, warped, became something altogether different. Its flesh was red now, raw as though flayed. For a moment, the creature balanced on the oak tree's great bough with Seleena's features half-visible on its face.

  Then Seleena disappeared altogether. The undain was no longer blood-red, but a sallow, sickly colour, like something made from tallow wax or old bones. Its shape writhed and warped. For a moment, Fer saw a great walking mass of maggots up there. It had two, tiny red circles for eyes, as though she glimpsed its raw, molten insides through them.

  It stopped and turned as Ran emerged onto the branch, his sword before him, already charging.

  She heard another howl from the creature, angrier sounding. She expected it to attack Ran, but instead it reached down and touched the wood of the tree at its feet. Magic surged from it: raw, ragged power with no attempt at harmony. Even as Ran surged toward the creature, rot bloomed in the wood where the undain stood. The branch turned grey and lifeless, the life sucked out of it.

/>   In a moment it could no longer support the undain's weight. The bough sagged and, in a great puff of sawdust, broke from the tree. The undain fell toward the pool and, when it was just above the water, vanished.

  Ran fell too, but he hit the water with a wet smack. Other splashes followed as more and more of the tree's limbs rotted and fell. Fer and Johnny had to run to stop themselves being buried under falling beams.

  She turned to watch the tree crumble to pieces. There was nothing she could do. Even if magic could help, she had no strength left to wield it. Soon, there was little left of the oak but a rotting stump, looking as if it had been dead for years and years.

  Fer buried her face in her hands as the truth of their situation struck her. Seleena was dead, the undain had escaped into the other world and she, Ran and Johnny were now trapped, forever, inside the Tanglewood.

  And all of it, all of it was her fault. She had failed them all.

  12. Broken

  The Witches' Isle, Andar

  Hellen watched Smoke on the Water bob in the distance on the shining Silverwater. Two swans flew in low, wide circles, never quite catching each other, their white so brilliant they glowed.

  She pulled her gaze away. She had work to do. She'd tried and failed for a day to see across the aether into the other world.

  She closed her eyes and reached out, once more, to seek Jaiin. Still Hellen found no sign of her. She ignored the obvious reason. It must be the troubled aether, that and the draining effect of the other world. For reasons they didn't understand, working magic there was hard, required more effort, brought with it more pain. Even talking between the worlds involved great effort on both sides. It felt always like a tarnished pane of glass lay between them, keeping them apart.

  She decided to try a different approach. If not Jaiin then perhaps Fer. The girl was inexperienced and weak, but no fool. She might be able to work the magic. Hellen quested for her, eyes open but no longer seeing the lake. She searched for long minutes, deeper and deeper into the grey, the tearing pain in her gut mounting with the effort of it.