by Dale Furse
Cay-Meka nodded to Nell.
‘Okay,’ Nell said. ‘Sit down.’
She did and Nell sat cross-legged in front of her. She took the girl’s hands, closed her eyes and searched her mind for the truth. Cay-Meka’s sorrow over the loss of her father loomed everywhere and Nell was aware of the emptiness in her cousin’s heart. Looking only for the answers she needed, she ignored everything else.
When Nell opened her eyes, Sam was lying on his back with his arms under his head, gazing at the streaky blush-pink sky.
‘Well?’ Cay-Meka asked, holding her head as if in pain.
Sam sat up. ‘You finished?’
‘Yes, but … she might have only shown me what she wanted me to see.’
Cay-Meka pouted. ‘You might be able to do that, but we cannot. Blocking is our only defence.’
Nell shrugged and faced Sam. ‘I'll believe her for now, although she really does believe I'm cursed.’ She glanced sideways at Cay-Meka, expecting to hear a whine, but none came.
‘So, cursed one, how come you're so brave all of a sudden?’ Sam asked.
‘I don't know about brave. I guess I just thought we didn't have much of a choice back there. Those Wintars were really mean. Anyway, I'm not so scared about the changes in me anymore. Actually, to be honest, I'm a little excited about Tuesday.’
‘Ah, yes the twelfth of January. Your birthday. We’d better check with someone about that. Did you notice how short the night was?’
‘Yeah. Are the days short too?’ she asked Cay-Meka.
‘Yes. I think Earth rotations are twenty-four hours but Corl is twenty.’
‘Not such a big difference,’ Nell said. ‘My birthday will still be Tuesday to me.’
‘So what do you think your changes will be?’ Sam said. ‘Will you look different?’
Nell moved out of Cay-Meka's hearing and kept her voice low. ‘I'm not going to change in looks, silly, except, I think I'll get wings.’
Taking her lead, Sam spoke in a whisper. ‘Wings huh? So you'll be a Wintar?’
‘Not just Wintar, I am Phib as well.’ She watched closely for his reaction. ‘I just hope it ends there.’ As soon as she said the words, the nagging voice told her it wouldn’t.
‘What do you mean?’
She screwed up her face. How could she explain to Sam when she didn't even know? The only thing she did know was puberty wasn't finished with her yet.
‘Don't worry about it. Nothing could surprise me anymore.’ Sam spoke in an offhand tone.
Nell thought about the crocodile’s warning and clasped Sam's forearm. ‘Remember, don't say anything to anybody.’
‘No worries. Ha, I wouldn't miss your birthday for anything.’
‘I feel Mother,’ Cay-Meka said happily, brushing the leaves off her dress as if there had been no argument.
Nell ignored her and pointed towards the city. ‘We came from that way.’
The forest was similar to Mount Grief’s rainforest, except its flora was much sparser at ground level. It had many tall, single-trunked trees and some shrubs dotted about. Some of the plants had large fruit drooping from them.
On the way back to Cay-Meka, Nell stopped at a small shrub with several single spikes erupting from the middle. The middle spike held one large purple flower. She moved closer and the scent of apples made her mouth water. Sudden hunger made her stomach rumble as she pulled the spike towards her and looked into the flower. A white fruit clung to its stamen. ‘Is it edible?’ she asked Cay-Meka.
‘Yes, all the fruit here is.’ Cay-Meka frowned. ‘Nell. I said I feel Mother’s presence.’
Nell picked the fruit and raised it to her nose. ‘Hmm, it smells like a Granny Smith apple.’ She bit into it. It tasted just like a Granny Smith, slightly tart and sweet all at the same time.
‘Listen to me,’ Cay-Meka said. ‘I think Mother is close by.’
‘What's it called?’ She pretended not to see Sam's annoyed expression and took another bite.
‘So, Cay-Meka,’ Sam said, as if he could take no more. ‘Can you see where they have Dar-Seldra?’
Cay-Meka's eyes closed and a look of deep concentration fell on her face. ‘No, I don't know where she is exactly, but she is close and safe.’ She eyed Nell hopefully. ‘Can you feel more?’
Sighing, Nell closed her eyes and immediately saw Dar-Seldra in her mind. She was in a low metal cage. It looked to be in a clearing on a hill. She was close.
A picture of her father filled Nell’s mind. He will find Dar-Seldra. If she didn't find that book and prove Wintars and Phibs were truly one race, her own father would lock her up forever. Her aunt would side with him for sure.
She knew she wasn’t going mad, all Phibs and Wintars were once Wexkians. A deep sense of pride filled her. Awakening inside her were both Phib and Wintar abilities. And more, said another small voice. Two lots of abilities were enough to handle, thanks very much, she told the voice. She would go after the book while Sam and Cay-Meka helped her father and the authorities find Dar-Seldra.
Nell opened her eyes and looked at Sam and Cay-Meka. If they knew she was hearing voices, they’d lock her away themselves. She smiled to herself but Sam mistook the gesture for confirmation about Dar-Seldra.
‘You know where she is?’ Sam asked.
Her cousin clapped her hands in excitement and smiled broadly. ‘Do you?’
Nell sighed. She didn’t want to lie but she had no choice. Sam was a hot-head and would insist they find Dar-Seldra. He wouldn’t want to risk the time lost to inform the authorities. ‘No, I'm sorry, but she is safe and well.’ She would be fine until someone finds her. She was sure of it.
Cay-Meka's face turned glum.
‘Don't worry,’ Nell said, ‘Like you said, if we can feel her, Dad would too. I’m certain he’ll find her.’
The girl peered at her. ‘How do you know?’
She lied without thinking. ‘I saw it. I saw Dad coming out of the city in a vision. He already knows where she is.’
‘What do you mean, “vision”?’ Cay-Meka asked. ‘Neither Phibs nor Wintars have visions, so you cannot either.’
Uh-oh. She had to be more careful. People couldn’t even handle the fact that she was both Phib and Wintar. They couldn’t possibly handle the thought she could be more than that. ‘It was more like a feeling, a sort of premonition.’ She hoped Cay-Meka would believe her.
She sensed, more than saw, Sam's accusing look, so didn't meet his eyes.
He broke the silence. ‘You saw all that, did you?’
‘Yes.’ Nell refused to look at her friend. Instead, she eyed her cousin. ‘I want to search the house of that grey Corl, Nadar.’
‘What? You can't break into houses. Anyway it will be locked,’ she said.
‘I want to try. I need to get that book.’
‘And what about Mother? Why don't you feel the need to get her?’
Sam pulled Nell away, and hissed at her, ‘You do know or can find Dar-Seldra.’ He set his jaw. ‘I know you and I know when you're lying. Tell me.’
Nell stared at her shoes.
Sam placed his fingers under her chin and forced her face up.
Immediately their eyes met, she knew he saw the truth.
‘You've got to go back to the councils and show the authorities where she is.’
She thought he’d want to find Dar-Seldra himself not force her to go back to the councils and certain imprisonment. ‘I can't go back there. They'll put me away if I don't find the book.’
‘How could you be so selfish?’ Sam shouted. ‘You know her exact location. Cay-Meka can only get a feeling of her whereabouts. You're willing to place that book over your own aunt's life? You're right.’ He moved back a step. ‘You are changing.’
Nell's heart shrank at the look he gave her.
‘And I don't like what you're changing into.’
Cay-Meka quickly moved alongside Sam. Her expression was more hurt than angry.
‘You know where Mother is?
You lied?’
‘Okay, okay.’ Nell’s heart hardened at their onslaught. ‘I do. That is, I think I could find her but you said yourself, Cay-Meka, that you felt she was safe.’ She poked a finger in her chest. ‘Well, I'm not safe. They want to lock me away. Even Dad wants to take me to that restoration place. They think I'm crazy, and they'll keep on thinking it until I can prove them wrong, and the only way for me to do that is to find the book.’
‘Well, Nell,’ Sam shook his head slowly. ‘The way you're acting, I'm beginning to think they might be right.’
Of all the things she expected him to say, that wasn’t it. She burst into tears and turned away. After a few moments, the initial hurt faded a little and she wondered if what Sam said was true. The thought weakened her legs so she kept her back to the other two and leaned against a smooth-barked tree.
‘Come on, Cay-Meka,’ Sam said. ‘We'll go back to the city and let the cops, or whatever they have here, know your mother is around this area somewhere. At least they'll have an idea of where to look.’
Until that moment, Nell was certain she wasn't going insane but she had to admit it could be a possibility. She searched within herself but could find no real evidence. She rubbed the tears from her face. It didn’t matter; she still had to find the book, even if it was only to prove she wasn't lying to the councils. That grey Corl was the one who lied.
‘You coming?’ Sam asked loudly.
Nell figured he was talking to her. She nodded. It would be safer to go to the city together. Wiping her face, she took another moment to steel her nerves before she faced them. Sam and Cay-Meka exchanged whispers behind her. Two more enemies to add to the list.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
NELL TURNED ROUND TO FACE SAM AND CAY-Meka. They both smiled and relief flooded through her.
‘We understand, Nell,’ Cay-Meka said.
‘Yeah,’ Sam said. ‘You wanted to go back to the city anyway, didn't you? How far do you think it is, Cay-Meka?’
‘I don’t know but it will be a long, long way.’
Sam gave Nell a shrug of his shoulder. ‘We don’t have much of a choice. Once we get there, we can split up. Cay-Meka can find Dar-tern and I’ll go with you to find the book.’
With a nervous nod of her head, Nell moved forward. She wondered just what they had whispered about and thought they would probably try to change her mind on the way.
They had only gone a small distance before Sam stopped. ‘Did you get a whiff of the Wintar that had me?’ he asked.
Nell assumed he was making small talk. ‘No, not really.’
‘He must have been wearing perfume or something 'cause he stank like musky vanilla, and that same stench is here.’ Sam bent down and scooping up some leaves, he pushed them under her nose.
She pushed his hand away. ‘Yuk, that’s awful.’
‘Yeah, it was pretty putrid up there.’ He glanced around. ‘I think he's here somewhere.’ Speaking to both of the girls, he said, ‘Stay close to the bushes and keep your eyes peeled.’
The thought of the powerful Wintar close by turned Nell's stomach.
Their feet crushing dead leaves broke the quiet as they pushed on towards the city.
Periodically they stopped to listen to the piping call of some bird. A small dinosaur-like animal, with its red wattle swaying to and fro at its neck, tottered across their path. It was a bit like a cassowary or emu-type bird, except it had ridiculously short legs and waddled like a duck. With its short orange and green feathers, it looked like something a child would draw.
Watching the flightless bird, Sam whispered, ‘So much for evolution, eh?’
The bird stopped and looked directly at Sam. He froze.
Nell went towards it and gently patted its neck. ‘It's okay,’ she said quietly. ‘He didn't mean that as an insult. We think you're beautiful.’ She chuckled as the bird went on its way.
‘What are you cackling about?’ Sam whispered.
‘I got the idea he thought we were monsters.’ She couldn't contain herself and laughed. ‘Especially the males.’
Cay-Meka smiled.
‘Ha, ha! You can tell it, it's the weirdest bird I've ever seen.’ Sam stilled. ‘Shh,’ he urged, staring into the thickening brush ahead of them. He pulled the girls down behind a spiky-leafed fern. Its base was thick enough to conceal all three. Nell hoped there was nothing to hide from.
Muffled voices sounded a small distance ahead of them. Nell let Sam take charge. He knew more about forests than she did. He also knew more about hiding. They'd stopped playing hide and seek years ago because she could never find him, and he always found her within minutes. He also spent days at a time on the mountains, with others from his father's Aboriginal community, learning to live off the land, although he whinged for weeks afterwards. A sense of longing swept through her for the beach and the Nell Grant she used to be.
‘We'll circle around,’ Sam whispered. ‘And get a better look.’
Cay-Meka looked terrified.
Nell smiled at her. ‘It’s okay. He knows what he's doing.’ She hoped she was right.
Not looking at all convinced, Cay-Meka nodded and followed them. Staying low, they backed away and circled around to the left. As the voices became clearer, they slowed and crept forward. Through a group of giant purple-leafed plants, Nell spied two Wintars. One was the scrawny one that had Nell, and the other, Cay-Meka's podgy captor. The mean, muscular one who had Sam was nowhere in sight.
‘Brarb said not to come back without them,’ the podgy one said.
The name sounded familiar. Nell’s muscles tensed. Brarb. He was the one who killed her mother. And he has Dar-Seldra. She tried to remember if the Wintars had said Sam’s captor’s name. No, but he must have been Brarb. Guilt filled her. Dar-Seldra wasn’t as safe as she had thought.
‘Brarb hasn't got a female to answer to. I'm telling you my wife is suspicious and I wouldn't put it past her to put a tracker on me. I have to get back home.’
‘You should learn to put her in her place. My wife knows better than to ask questions.’
A twig snapped under Nell's foot. The Wintars quieted and looked towards the pocket of thick foliage. She backed up until her back found the knobbly trunk of a tree. Something caught hold of her top. Vines with sharp thorns wrapped around her, piercing her skin. She clamped her mouth shut, afraid the scream in her throat would escape. The foliage-covered fingers started enclosing her like a cocoon.
Sam waved Cay-Meka down before he crept low and continued circling to the other side of the Wintars.
Nell hoped he had a plan if they found her. The vines tightened as if by their own accord. The spines hurt but they also bound and hid her behind their long fingers so much she could hardly see through the leaves.
The scrawny one took a few steps towards her. He stopped and tilted his head. After a moment, he shrugged. ‘It must have been an animal,’ he said, and pranced away.
The other Wintar looked hard in her direction for a few more moments before he shrugged as well and clomped after his comrade.
Nell didn't move until they were out of sight and she could no longer hear their chattering. She gave a relieved sigh intermingled with a groan as she tried to break free of the vine.
Sam appeared as if out of nowhere. ‘Stop moving.’ He inspected the plant. ‘It looks like a close cousin to the wait-a-while vine back home but the thorns are bigger. I'll have to unhook each one.’
‘Ouch,’ Nell cried, as he unhooked the first one.
‘Sorry, I'm trying to be careful.’
She tried to help.
‘Just keep still, will you,’ he growled.
Cay-Meka joined them. ‘Ooh, they look dangerous.’
‘That’s an understatement,’ Nell said.
After a full ten, torturous minutes, Nell was free to rub her arms and legs where the hooks had punctured her skin. Cay-Meka disappeared from view for a few moments and returned with handfuls of vegetation.
Sam took the
green clumps off Cay-Meka. ‘It looks like moss.’
‘It is a healing plant.’ She handed the rest of the grass to Nell. ‘Wipe it over your wounds.’
She did and smiled a thank you at Cay-Meka. The pain melted away from each bloody puncture as she dabbed it.
‘It's the least I could do. I would have been injured, if not killed, had you not caught me when I fell from that disgusting Wintar's claws.’
The appreciation in Cay-Meka’s voice embarrassed Nell. ‘Thanks,’ was all she could think to say.
Nell, Sam and Cay-Meka trudged through the undergrowth for many hours before they finally began mounting a ridge. Nell couldn’t remember ever feeling so exhausted. Every muscle ached and her heavy legs were steadily being magnetised to the ground. Each step was more of an effort than the last. From the apex, she could see the taller buildings of the city.
The ground fell away into a deep ravine.
‘Oh, no,’ she moaned. They were so close, it seemed cruel that a chasm lay between them and the outer walls of the city.
She looked at her fellow travellers. Their faces mirrored her thoughts. She leaned over and peered down and could see no way to traverse the void. Left and right, as far as she could see, was a steep wall of rock. Only a few small trees and shrubs hung precariously from the sides. Too few to even think of using them to climb down.
As she bent over the edge a little more, small pebbles moved in all directions under her feet. She tried to regain her balance but it was like standing on marbles.
‘Nell,’ Sam yelled. ‘Hang on to me.’
But Nell couldn’t see him. Her hands flew this way and that, seeking something to hang onto, a piece of shirt or skin. More stones flew out and down into the ravine. Her right foot twisted and a sharp pain tore through her ankle. Her legs shot out from beneath her. Her scream echoed through the air as she fell on her back, hands clawing the ground to stop her descent, but her feet and legs slipped over the edge. Using every bit of strength she had, she flipped onto her stomach and seized at anything that might delay her plunging into the abyss. With nothing to stop her, she slipped over completely. Her hands found a jagged rock just below the top.