The Cloven Land Trilogy

by Simon Kewin

  Cait caught Ran's glance as he strode up to them. Of course it had to be him. He was the only one the archway would open for. He would haul the cart through, light the fuse, then fling himself back before the detonation blew everyone and everything for five hundred yards to pieces.

  Ran nodded to her, saying he was ready. She wondered if he was afraid. He didn't look afraid. She wanted to tell him he didn't have to do this. But she couldn't because, the truth was, he did.

  Nox stood a few yards away, wary of coming too near. “We'll shelter behind those boulders over there. No point in us all being killed if that stuff goes off.”

  He was right, of course. He didn't have to sound so calm about it. Not replying, she turned and made her way to the outcrop of grey rocks.

  She and Nox watched as the members of the Smouldering Fire manoeuvred the creaking wooden cart from the shadows of the ruined building. It lurched as it moved, as if its sagging axles would collapse at any moment. How long had it been left there, rotting away? Phoenix directed from the front of the cart, waving his arms, calling out instructions. He and the rest of the Smouldering Fire could be blown to pieces at any moment. She tried not to think about it.

  The cart got stuck in a rut and refused to budge. They had to rock it backward and forward to move it on. She watched as Ran ran to the back of the cart to add his muscle to the effort. The cart nodded to and fro more and more violently.

  Cait found she was gritting her teeth tightly. “We should go and help.”

  “No, we should stay right where we are,” said Nox, beside her. “Think, Cait. How would it help if we got killed too?”

  “At least we'd feel we'd done something.”

  “We wouldn't feel anything. Because we'd be dead.”

  With a shout, they managed to get the cart moving again. The pile of rocks in the back slipped visibly, sending up a plume of dust. Cait closed her eyes, expecting the detonation. None came.

  When she looked again the cart was trundling unevenly toward the archway. Phoenix and Ran walked to the front, where ropes had been attached. Phoenix gave Ran some last instructions, pointing at the cart, and then he and the rest of the Smouldering Fire ran for the cover of the boulders.

  “He told us he could tow the whole thing the rest of the way,” said Phoenix as he arrived, breathing hard. “It's incredible.”

  When everyone was safe, Ran laid the ropes over his shoulders and, leaning forward, hauled on the cart. It moved an inch or two. The effort required was clearly enormous; she could almost feel his straining muscles. Once or twice he slipped to his knees, but each time he stood up, took a fresh grip on the ropes, and resumed the battle.

  Finally he reached the ground between the pillars of the arch. For a moment she thought the wyrm road wasn't going to open, that Charis had worked some magic to stop it from functioning. But then, as Ran heaved forward one more step, half of him disappeared from view. Then he was all gone, and the ropes from the cart dangled in mid-air. Step by step the whole of the cart edged through until, eventually, it vanished completely.

  In the silence that followed, Cait said, “How do we know if the wyrmfire has exploded?”

  “We don't,” said Phoenix. “It's too far away to hear. Only Ran can tell us.”

  “And if Ran leaps through as it's exploding, won't it hit us too?”

  “It might. This isn't something we've tried before.”

  “Great.”

  “We're going to launch barges laden with more wyrmfire from the northern bank of the Dragon's Tongue, too. They might think we're attacking on all fronts and, with a bit of luck, not know you've sneaked through here.”

  They waited in silence. A single black bird flapped through the sky, high overhead, although whether it was a chough heading for Caer D'nar, a crow in the service of Menhroth, or a normal bird, Cait couldn't tell.

  “Why hasn't he come back yet?” she asked. “It shouldn't be taking this long.”

  “Perhaps he's having trouble getting the fuse to light,” said Phoenix.

  “But the undain aren't just going to stand around waiting for him to blow them to pieces.”

  “No,” said Phoenix. “It's possible they've captured him. He knew that when he went.”

  “If that happens, they have the wyrmfire, too,” said Nox. “We've basically handed them a weapon.”

  “A weapon that's very dangerous to the wielder,” said Phoenix.

  Cait didn't take her eyes off the archway, willing Ran to return. Still nothing happened. It had been far too long since he'd gone through.

  “He's not coming back, is he?” said Cait. “Something's gone wrong.”

  “He may have been caught in the blast,” said Nox. “He may have succeeded.”

  “But without him to open the wyrm road we can't go and see,” she said. “It's too far by land. And the undain army is between us.”

  “Perhaps it was a mistake to let Lugg go north,” said Nox. “He might have attempted the crossing.”

  “I could hardly stop him going off into the mountains if he wanted to.”

  “Couldn't you?” said Nox.

  “What's that supposed to mean?”

  “Oh, come on, Cait. You must have seen how he looked at you. You're probably the first girl his age he's seen in years.”

  “If that was true he wouldn't have run off into the mountains.”

  “Really? You don't think he might have been trying to impress you?”

  She ignored him. She was in no mood for this conversation.

  “Phoenix?” said Cait. “Is there any other way to reach Fiveways? Any way at all?”

  Phoenix didn't reply. She turned round, wondering why he wasn't speaking. The old man lay on the ground, slumped in a heap. She was about to berate him when she saw his eyes were white, his pupils rolled back into his head, alarming to see.

  “Phoenix,” she called, kneeling. “Phoenix, what is it?”

  His eyes flickered and the muscles in his body trembled and shook. His feet shuffled as if, in his head, he was trying to flee some pursuer. She looked around to the others, not knowing what to do. “Phoenix!”

  Demara kneeled, putting her hands on Phoenix's shoulders. “A vision. It takes him like this sometimes. We can only make sure he doesn't harm himself.”

  Phoenix bucked and writhed as Demara held him. Others came to assist. Phoenix convulsed so strongly they couldn't hold him. His violent movements reached a crescendo – and then stopped. His body went limp as he sank back to the ground. For a moment Cait thought he was dead. But then his eyes flickered open. After licking his lips a few times he whispered something to her.

  She couldn't hear his words. She put her ear close to his mouth. His breath was warm on her neck.

  “A vision,” he said. “One came to me, too.”

  “What did you see?”

  “Across the aether. All the way to your world, Cait.”

  Dread like icy water dripped through her. There was something troubling in his voice, something he was struggling to say. She glanced at the archway. Still no sign of Ran. If he was gone they were trapped in the frozen north, far from the An. She had the clear sensation of events spinning out of control, slipping through her grasp. It was suddenly all going wrong. Lugg, Ran and now this. Perhaps it was another moment of insight.

  “What did you see?” she asked him again.

  “I'm sorry, Cait,” he whispered. “I saw her. I was with her. The undain all around on the green hillside and the grey walls fading. I was there in your world as she died. There was nothing at all I could do.”

  14. Mr. Shankly

  Mount Öræfajökull, Iceland

  Six days earlier

  “Cait!”

  Fer cried out as Cait, Ran, and the man from Genera fell into the lava-pit. The shock on Cait's face as she disappeared from view was terrible to see. For some reason she'd jumped – jumped or fallen – before Fiona, her mother, could take her hand.

  Fer, along with Johnny, Fiona and
Cait's grandmother, Catherine, scrambled to the edge of the pit. The heat coming off the lava was intense, prickling Fer's eyes. The red pool of molten rock looked alive, moving and breathing, little plumes of molten rock flicking off it. There was no sign of Cait or the others. They'd fallen: either into the lava or across the aether into Angere. Fer wasn't sure which was the worse fate.

  Catherine slipped her arm around Fiona, holding her grown-up daughter tight, as she must have done many times when Fiona was a girl. Still no one spoke. Everyone's face was stark with shock. Even the minstrel, Johnny, who normally grinned and laughed through everything, looked as if he had been struck.

  Without Fiona, what chance would Cait have in Angere? Fer could tell Fiona wanted to follow, jump after her daughter. But it was impossible. The bookwyrm had been clear. This portal would open only once in six months. Cait and the two men were alone in Angere.

  Fer touched Fiona on the shoulder. Hard as it was they had to keep moving. If the undain or Genera came, there would be nowhere to escape to. There would be time later to worry and lament. They had the book, so unexpectedly given to them by Nox. Somehow they had to keep that out of Genera's hands and take it to Andar, or many other daughters and sons would be lost as well. Perhaps it was futile now, but they had to try. They had to fight.

  Catherine nodded in understanding at Fer's touch. She spoke to Fiona while Johnny interpreted.

  “The bookwyrm said the lava-pit becomes a lesser portal once it's been used to get to Angere. It should take us elsewhere in this world.”

  “Do we know where?” asked Fer.

  “Not a clue. Fiona thinks somewhere in Manchester is likely because we're so close to the other shadow path, the one that brought us here. They'll be entwined. Does that make any sense?”

  She had no idea. Hopping between the worlds was not something she was used to. “Perhaps. But they'll be watching the shadow paths,” said Fer. “They'll be waiting for us.”

  Johnny shrugged. “You know, it doesn't seem like the undain have much clue about where these wormholes really lead, otherwise they'd have been here waiting for us. Maybe Nox really did keep them in the dark. Besides it's, like, use the portal or traipse across the frozen mountains of Iceland for a week.”

  He was right. Genera would stop at nothing to retrieve the book, just as they'd stop at nothing to retrieve their precious blood. They'd be scouring the world for her, Fiona and Catherine. And if Nox really had defected then perhaps Genera would be in confusion for a time. Perhaps if she and the others carried on running, Angere wouldn't notice Cait was gone for a few days. It was the only thing they could do.

  While the two older women conversed, Fer stepped outside the cave. She needed to breathe fresh air. She wanted to be sure their pursuers weren't coming after them.

  Outside an icy twilight awaited. The western sky glowed pink and orange, but overhead it was fully night. There was no sign of pursuit. Nothing moved. She looked up at the unfamiliar stars of this world, their odd arrangements and shapes. Did the people here give them names, too, see faces and creatures as they did in Andar? A pathway shone directly overhead, like a sparkling road. It was incredibly beautiful. They had nothing like that in the skies of Andar. She stood beneath different stars.

  Johnny walked up to stand beside her. He didn't speak as he admired the view.

  “This musical instrument of yours,” said Fer. “This guitar. Mr. Shankly. We have to find that first? In order to open the shadow path back to Andar?”

  “There's no other way,” said Johnny. “I don't really know how I worked the spookiness the first time, but if I can get my old guitar back maybe I'll be able to weave the spell again. Or whatever it was I did.”

  “And you're sure you can't use some other guitar?”

  He looked at her like she'd asked the stupidest question in the world. “It has to be Mr. Shankly. I mean, sure, I can get a tune on other instruments. I can play them. But I can only make music with Mr. Shankly. It's hard to explain.”

  “This guitar of yours is alive in some way? Like your boat?”

  “No, no. Nothing like that.” But then he paused and considered for a moment, running his hands through his straggly hair. “Except, maybe, yeah. Not actually alive. But that's kind of how it feels when I'm playing him. It's like we're talking or singing together or something. We're one. Strange, huh?”

  She liked Johnny. It was hard not to. His fear burned brightly within him, close to the surface, but he refused to let it control him. “Strange? That's one of the few things I've heard in this world that makes sense. But how can we be sure your guitar is still here? You've been away for a long time.”

  Johnny shrugged. He held the small black triangle that Danny had given him. The guitar pick. He twirled it through his fingers like someone fretting with worry-beads. “We can't be sure. But Cait said it had been auctioned off as part of some charity gig. Chances are whoever bought it would look after it, I guess.”

  “Then how do we find it?”

  “Get back to civilization and trawl the internet. See what we can find.”

  “Won't they see us doing that? Genera?”

  “Maybe. Just have to hope they don't put two and two together.”

  “The archaeon has taken up residence on this internet. Perhaps it can help us? Or hide what we're doing?”

  “Maybe. But first we need to find WiFi.”

  “Who is that?”

  “It's a thing, not a person,” said Johnny. “It's kinda like the aether, but with more pictures of cats.”

  She had no idea what he was talking about. But they weren't going to get far if she made him explain everything in this strange world.

  “Then we'd better go and find this mysterious WiFi,” she said.

  Back inside, the four of them stood around the lip of the lava-pit, staring at the seething pool of orange-red.

  Cait's grandmother spoke. Fer was already picking up a few words of the language, although Johnny had to translate a lot.

  “Are we absolutely sure about this?” said Catherine. “You're sure the little dragon said this would become a Lesser Portal once it had been used, and not, say, a pool of molten rock?”

  “That's what it said,” replied Fiona. “You were there, too. Let me go first. Hopefully you'll see me disappear before I hit the lava.”

  “Hopefully? Well that's encouraging,” said her mother.

  “What choice do we have? Follow me if it seems to work. Otherwise, you'll have to head for civilisation and hope Genera doesn't find you first.”

  “And why are you going to be the one to jump?” asked her mother.

  “Because, I don't want you to be the one if it is a lava-pit.”

  “Well,” said Catherine, “you'll have to get used to not getting your own way, won't you?” And before anyone could stop her she stepped off the edge and tipped forward into the chasm.

  “No!” shouted Fiona.

  Fer managed to grasp hold of her arm and stop her. They watched as Cait's gran plummeted toward the lava. At the last moment, as it seemed inevitable she would plunge into the burning rock, she winked out of existence.

  Fiona looked at Fer and Johnny, relief mixed with a questioning look on her face. Were they ready for this? Fer nodded, although she wasn't at all sure she was.

  Holding on to each other, the three of them fell into the searing flame.

  Fer expected to thump painfully into the ground, but she found herself standing upon a round, metal grid in a narrow alleyway between high stone walls. The others were there, too, gazes casting around as they tried to work out where they were. They certainly seemed to be back in the city, or a city at least. Cars roared past the mouth of the alleyway, punctuating the deep background note that hummed from the buildings. The sky glowed orange even though it appeared to be night. A light drizzle hung in the air, soaking her face. A little way above them, in one of the walls, was a single square window, dark and grimy. There didn't appear to be anyone looking through it.r />
  “One of the ginnels off Deansgate,” said Fiona, Johnny still translating. “We're back in Manchester. Follow me.”

  “Where are we going?” asked Fer. “And what's a ginnel?”

  “It's a sort of narrow passageway between two buildings that follows the route of an ancient pathway. Manchester's riddled with them, a bit like portals running between the big streets. And we're going somewhere they won't find us.”

  “Where? The grove on that roundabout Cait described?”

  “No, that's too far. Somewhere nearer. There's still safe ground to be found in the city centre if you know where to look.”

  Fer followed, trying not to resent Fiona's assumption she would simply do as she was told. Now wasn't the time.

  They emerged from the twisting, narrow passageway onto a busy, blaring street that blazed with flashing, zooming lights. Moving in a line, they weaved their way through the crowds, following Fiona. Once again, cars clogged the road, sometimes sitting with their engines rattling, sometimes roaring forward and then stopping suddenly as lights in front of them turned red. One or two people crossed the road between the lines of moving cars. She couldn't watch, still couldn't see how it was they didn't get killed.

  “Does anyone have any cash?” asked Johnny as they hurried past a row of brightly-lit shops that were selling a dazzling array of items, most of which Fer couldn't begin to guess the function of.

  “What are you buying?” she asked. “We need to get off the streets.”

  All the undain that had surrounded them on their way through to Iceland had to be somewhere near. And it wasn't just the people. She was beginning to understand that there were machines watching, too. Storing the pictures they saw and even, so Johnny had explained, identifying individuals from their faces. Tracking them. How did the people here put up with it?

  “We need a new SIM in case there's no WiFi. So we can surf the interweb without being traced, yeah?” said Johnny.

  “Of course,” said Fer.

  He took some of the paper they used as money from Fiona and disappeared inside the shop. Fer, Fiona and Catherine pretended to study the contents of the window so their faces couldn't be seen from the road. Fer studied her own pale reflection overlaid on the dazzling array of things for sale. She expected attack at any moment. Glancing over her shoulder, she watched as a long white car drifted by, windows blackened so those inside couldn't be seen. Undain? Perhaps. She was still learning how to see the creatures. See the absence where their glow should be. Something Cait seemed to be able to do instinctively.