by Dale Furse
***
Orenda, unsure of the exact location, also travelled to Cape Hollow in the skark.
The skark arrived in the mangroves at sunrise.
Alighting from the small spaceship, Nell inhaled deeply. She coughed. The air in the mangroves was thick with the stench of mud. She hurried out onto the beach. Her shallow breaths deepened taking in the sweet, clean oxygen. Corl’s air held no hint of the sea and she took a moment to enjoy the salty breeze. The sunrise filled the sky over the ocean, the most beautiful she had ever seen. Pinks and oranges charged the background while fluffy lilac clouds dusted the foreground. Even the water appeared silvery-mauve. Home. Cape Hollow would always be her true home.
‘It is lovely,’ Orenda said. ‘What’s that?’ She pointed to the ocean.
Nell peered at a black something bobbing up and down in the water as if trying to get their attention. ‘It’s a crocodile,’ she said, and ran down to the tide’s edge.
As soon as she stopped, the crocodile launched its body forward.
Nell jumped back. Not out of fear but instinct. However, the crocodile still managed to graze its snout against Nell’s lower leg.
A deep throaty bellow definitely more like a laugh than a wild animal’s call sounded in her mind. She laughed with him. It seemed like eons had passed since their first meeting. Long before she found her extended family.
‘Hello, you,’ she said aloud.
‘Welcome back, Nell,’ he said in her mind. ‘You have grown in your strengths. Congratulations on finding the Book of Wexkia.’
He swam away a little then smacked his head onto the water.
‘No,’ she shrieked. ‘Don’t go yet.’
He growled and hissed at the same time.
She wanted to ask him what he was, and she wanted to know if he was the kookaburra, she saw after meeting him for the first time and the bird and the snake on Corl.
A short growl.
Nell frowned. He was really going. ‘Please wait.’
He surged north towards the mouth of the Wujal Wujal River.
‘Goodbye,’ she whispered, watching him disappear under the water.
Sam interrupted her reverie. ‘Come with me to my place,’ he said. ‘I can't wait to tell Dad and Mum.’
She hesitated, unsure whether telling Carl and Annet was a good idea. She loved Sam's parents. What if they were afraid of her? She would miss Carl’s stories and couldn't think of life without them, and Annet was as much a mother to her as anyone could ever be.
She needed Annet to help her through the normal female changes she would endure in the coming years. With the emergence of her abilities, something else happened. She had long ago decided not to dwell on her unfinished puberty. While most of her had aged physically, one thing refused to happen. She used to worry that she would never have children but when she finally told Annet, she had explained that some girls were later than others to develop fully. Nell shook her head. Who knew what hormones were now racing through her body? To her, normal everyday changes were just as daunting as all the others she was undergoing.
‘Oh, come on,’ Sam urged.
Her father nodded once to let her know it was okay. ‘Tell Carl and Annet I will speak with them tomorrow.’
She sighed. Sam couldn't keep a secret from his family for long anyway.
She followed her friend through his back door. Carl sat at the kitchen table, waiting for Annet to serve breakfast.
She stopped stirring as soon as she saw her son and threw the wooden spoon in the pot. With her arms wide, she moved the three steps it took to get to him in a blink of an eye. Wrapping her arms around him, she squeezed so hard, Sam’s face turned into a purple plum.
‘Where have you been, young man? We were worried sick,’ she said, without letting him out of her grasp.
He grunted and twisted out of her hold.
‘Apologise to your mother,’ Carl said. His voice was cross, but relief filled his face.
‘Sorry, Mum, but you gotta know,’ Sam said, his eyes glittering with excitement. ‘Nell and her family. They're all aliens. The whole bunch of them.’
‘We know,’ Carl said, and smiled deliberately at Nell.
DEDICATION
FOR MY DARLING NAOMI.
THE STORY SO FAR ...
NELL’S LIFE CHANGED THE DAY SHE discovered she wasn’t the Australian teenager she had thought she was; she was an alien, not any old alien, but a feared throwback to a cruel and dangerous species.
Aliens kidnapped her aunt, Dar-Seldra, and Nell had to go with her cousin, Cay-Meka, to the planet, Corl, to find Nell’s father. Her Human friend, Sam, had insisted he go too.
In the eyes of the Three World Council (a United Nations of sorts for the inhabitants of the planets Corl, Gramlax and Linque) Nell posed a threat to their existence. Her emerging dual abilities and her extraordinary knowledge about a book from the planet, Wexkia, made her dangerous. Nadar, a Corl council member, demanded her confinement for the rest of her days.
Terrified, Nell ran with Cay-Meka and Sam right into a trap set by Nadar. Although they escaped, Nadar attempted to ensnare Nell time after time until—finally—he succeeded.
Alone and defeated in Nadar’s fortress, Nell gave in to the agonising transition to the species.
Fearing for her life, Nell summoned all her Wexkian ancestors’ strengths. She overpowered Nadar and wrestled the book out of his grasp. However, unable to control her developing mind powers, her victory was at a price. She had torn into Nadar’s mind with hers and his mind collapsed.
Although The Book of Wexkia vindicated Nell’s actions, many of the Phib and races refused to accept the book’s revelation that they were once one race – Wexkian.
CHAPTER ONE
‘GUESS WHAT?’ CAY-MEKA SAID FROM THE TABLE behind Nell. ‘I know where Shahs is.’
Nell waited. Only the sounds of the waves breaking on the beach and the odd birdcall broke the otherwise silence of Cape Hollow. She turned away from the sea and sat down. ‘Well, are you going to tell me?’
‘She’s in a closed restoration on Corl,’ she said, sitting back with a satisfied smile as if that was all she had to say.
Nell humphed silently. To her, closed restorations were more like prisons than hospitals. ‘Corl’s a big planet. Stop playing games and tell me where it is and who told you.’
‘Fine. My uncle, Cay-Reace, you’ve met him, he’s a physician.’ Nell nodded. ‘He told me, but he didn’t tell me the precise location. He also said that the reports he had read about Shahs state clearly that she is deranged and needs sedating to protect herself and everyone else who comes near her. You wouldn’t be able to talk to her. Even the Corl Elders keep a close watch on her.’
Nell sighed. Her father had forbidden her to see Shahs. He was afraid that she was afflicted with the same contagion that had annihilated the inhabitants of Wexkia. Even after procuring the Wexkian antidotes, only some of Nell’s ancestors survived. Those antidotes were unknown now; therefore, Nell was not to come into close contact with Shahs.
Nell gave a little shrug. Too bad. The Corls had no proof Shahs was Wexkian. All they had was their belief that all Wexkians were insane and Shahs was insane. Nell had to find out once and for all if Shahs was a Wexkian like her and if she was really as mad as everyone says. ‘Where does Cay-Reace work now?’
‘He is still a physician at the restoration in Kafir.’
He was nice to her when they first met and he was a good physician. But he was Cay-tatel’s brother and she had worked with Nadar against Nell. No matter what Mekie said, as far as Nell was concerned, the Phib woman enjoyed every moment of her job as Nadar’s second-in-command. Could Nell trust Cay-Reace? She didn’t know and she didn’t want to risk her life finding out. There was one more way. ‘Dar-Seldra’s a physician too. Wouldn’t she know where Shahs is?’
‘She might, but mother won’t help you. She wouldn’t want you to go near Shahs either.’
Nell couldn’t help
her nose wrinkling. ‘Cay-Reace can’t be the only one who would help us.’
‘Don’t worry,’ Mekie huffed. ‘He’s not in league with anyone like Nadar. I’ve told you a hundred times, Cay-tatel is sorry for her part. Had she known what that Corl was capable of, she would never have joined Nadar in his quest to incarcerate you.’ She threw her golden hair back and a touch of her old whine returned to her voice. ‘She was as manipulated as Orenda but no one listened to her. They didn’t let her go like they did the Grarl.’
‘Orenda thought she was helping me. Your aunty was trying to kill me.’
‘She told me she would never have harmed you and I believe her.’
‘She would say that, wouldn’t she?’ Nell narrowed her eyes at her cousin. ‘I bet she still doesn’t want you to have anything to do with me or any , and I bet your uncle doesn’t either.’
‘Nell.’ Her cousin’s bronze cheeks turned crimson. ‘You don’t understand. You weren’t part of the war. It’s better if s and Phibs don’t mingle.’ Her voice was becoming louder as she bent forward over the table. ‘At least that way they can’t find a ridiculous reason to have another war where more fathers are killed.’
Mekie plopped back onto her chair. ‘You’re right, cuz’,’ Nell continued. ‘I don’t understand how it was for you when you were younger, but there’s not going to be another war. You shouldn’t let your father’s family influence you so much.’
Mekie was pouting when Sam returned with three cans of lemonade. ‘What’s up?’ he asked, looking from her to Nell.
‘She doesn’t trust any of my family.’ Mekie thrust her chin at Nell and her chair scraped on the wooden deck as she stood up. ‘Perhaps then, Cousin Dar-Nellen, you don’t trust me.’
‘Oh, sit down,’ Nell said. So much for everyone growing up. ‘I didn’t say that and of course, I trust you. I just meant Orenda’s reasons for helping Nadar were a bit different from Cay-tatel’s causes. Orenda’s orders were from the king of Grarlon and he wanted to help me, not kill me.’
‘We on that again, are we?’ Sam said. He opened his can and took a slurp. ‘I thought you two were over it by now.’
Mekie’s face softened and she sat back down. ‘We were. I don’t want to fight with you, Nell, but you have to understand, I love my family and Cay-tatel is still my family.’
‘Okay, let’s just let it go.’ Nell pulled a red band off her wrist and tied back her unruly hair.
‘Why do you always tie your hair back?’ Mekie said. ‘I love you’re black curls.’
‘Because it flops over my face and annoys me. If I had manageable Phib hair like you, I wouldn’t need to.’
‘I still like it out and I know a lot of boys who would agree with me.’
‘Now you’re being silly.’
‘She’s right, Nell,’ Sam said. ‘You’ve changed.’ He grazed his eyes over her. ‘Hot.’
Heat rose in Nell’s cheeks. She couldn’t tell if he was playing with her. Mekie’s pout told Nell that she thought he had meant what he said.
They drank from their cans in silence. The note her father had left her came into Nell’s mind. ‘I have sent the skark back to Corl and will speak to you soon, darling daughter.’
‘Mekie?’ Nell was the first to speak. ‘Did Dad know you were coming here?’
‘Mother said I could. Uncle Dar-Tern’s skark was in Kafir so she assumed he left it for me when he went to Grarlon.’
Nell grinned. ‘Really?’
Eyeing Nell, Sam said, ‘What are you up to?’
‘Mekie thinks she can find out where Shahs is.’
‘Good for you, Mek.’ He slammed his can on the table and pushed his chair back.
Mekie smiled, and said. ‘Right now, I want to go swimming and I thought you would come with me.’
Sam looked at Nell.
‘No thanks. I’ve already had a swim today.’
Sam grinned. ‘I have too but that’s not gunna stop me.’ He grabbed Mekie’s hand and hurried her to the water.
Nell peered after them. Mekie might not have grown up emotionally but all three of them had matured physically. Mekie was stunning with her shoulder length hair trailing along behind her as she ran and Sam was the picture of a well-built male. He whipped Mekie around, clearly admiring her shape as her wind-blown dress wrapped around it. Nell’s chest tightened. She forced her eyes away from them, stood up and went inside.
As she crossed the living room, the ding, ding, ding of the front doorbell sounded. Thinking it was Sam’s parents, she opened the door with a wide smile. Her smile vanished. A blue Corl stood on the threshold. The faint mosaic lines over his pastel-blue skin were hardly noticeable and he had an air of confident authority about him.
He smiled, exposing a mouth full of small, pointed teeth. The smile didn’t reflect in his pale-blue eyes. ‘You are Dar-Nellen? Dar-Tern’s daughter?’
Nell nodded.
‘I am Varlor, leading Corl Elder,’ he said.
She raised her eyebrows slightly. Was the title supposed to impress her? She hoped he didn’t expect her to bow to him. Her eyes narrowed on the blue-skinned Corl. He stiffened under her gaze. Heh. He wasn’t that impressive. ‘Would you like to come in?’ she asked, pushing the door wide and stepping aside.
‘Thank you,’ he said as he swept past, his cloak billowing around him.
She led him into the library where he sat in the high-backed armchair that dominated the room.
‘Is your father here?’
‘No.’ She wondered why he wouldn’t know that if he truly was a Corl Elder. She expected Elders would keep up to date with Corl politics. ‘He went to Grarlon with Kandar.’
‘That is an honour.’
‘An honour?’
‘Yes. Your father must be a trusted member to be appointed a TWC Ambassador.’
‘Oh.’ It never dawned on her how important her father’s work was. Although she was wary that Varlor’s courteous manner was masking something, he didn’t want her to see, she thought that she could find out more about her father’s job. ‘Would you like something to drink?’
‘Thank you for asking however, no, I have more appointments this day.’
Nell sat on the sofa. ‘Can you tell me what an ambassador does?’
‘They talk a good deal, always doing their best to keep peace between species. I’m afraid we Elders don’t involve ourselves with everyday politics. The protection of our heritage and people are handed down to us from generation to generation. Unless they are threatened, we will not act.
As he said ‘unless they are threatened’, something tinged his eyes. Even the way he said it, sprouted alarm through Nell’s being. Her brief encounter with the crocodile when she was swimming earlier came to her mind. His warning growls blared in Nell’s head as Varlor’s previous mask re-appeared. Did the Corl feel threatened by something? Me?
Was that why the crocodile had finally allowed Nell to connect with him and why he had shown her pictures with his thoughts. Pictures of the beach, her house and the Frederick’s property swept through Nell’s mind. An image of a steel-blue Corl lurking close to her house appeared. He wore a long sky-blue cape and the fine mosaic lines all over his skin were finer than most Corls. Varlor. He didn’t look in the least like a reptilian descendant. The crocodile had shivered and growled his warning at those images.
Varlor’s voice intruded on her musings. ‘Are you unwell, Dar-Nellen?’
‘No, no. I’m sorry. Please go on.’
‘As I was saying, we prefer to study our chronicles,’ Varlor continued. ‘Knowledge is what we are born to attain.’ He stood up. ‘Thank you for your hospitality. Please tell Dar-Tern of my visit.’
Nell led him to the still open, front door. ‘Of course.’
He turned. ‘I hope you will visit Corl again soon.’
The sugariness of his tone gave Nell a chill. ‘Is there a special reason why I should?’
‘I have studied the Book of Wexkia and can’t help but wo
nder if there may be another book like it intact somewhere. I am as curious as you are to the contents of the book’s last pages.’
Nell’s eyes widened. She had presumed the book she found last January was the sole copy of the Book of Wexkia but Nadar had removed the last pages. Her body jingled with excitement. ‘Another book?’ she said.
‘Yes. Think about it, child, if the Wexkian species was separated into two, as the book states, is it not feasible that there were two books? One for each race?’
‘Yes, that would be feasible,’ Nell said slowly. ‘But where could it be?’
‘Do you know where Nadar found the book?’
‘No. I just figured he found it on Corl.’ While Nell thought about the possibility of another book and its whereabouts, Varlor watched her as if waiting for her to make some sort of connection. But what?
Flinging ideas around in her mind a thought occurred to her. ‘There would be no real reason for the book to be on Corl,’ she said more to herself than to Varlor. ‘So, if Nadar found it on Linque then another might be on Gramlax or vice versa. One for each race.’ She looked up at the blue Corl. ‘Of course. The Elders of Wexkia were the ones who sent the separated races to their planets. They would have also sent the books to tell them of their heritage. That means the book was never supposed to be a secret.’
‘Because of your ... ah ... connection with the book, if there is one, you might be more successful than others at finding it.’ He tilted his head a little to the side. ‘That is what I came to discuss with your father. I believe that if there is another book it should be intact.’ His eyes hardened. ‘The truth must be revealed.’
Nell flinched inwardly. What truth? She didn’t know why, but she didn’t think he meant the writings of Wexkia. What else could he have meant? She shook her head. It didn’t matter. If there was another book, she had to find it.
‘Will you let your father know?’
‘Of course,’ Nell said.
‘Another thing,’ he said. ‘Kandar is worried about you. He told me you wanted to see the one who killed his mother.’