The Heart of Oldra

by Georgina Makalani

  ‘It will allow you to see what I see, not show me what you see. I have seen all you have seen; it is only the past. The future will soon unfold for you.’

  ‘But will I see it before it does?’ she asked, taking the cup and gulping it down. She shivered as the bitter liquid travelled down into her stomach. And she pressed her lips closed to prevent it coming back up.

  She put the cup down and reluctantly put her hand in his outstretched one, which was strong and firm. She tried to maintain a sense of calm. He could show her anything, and she would have no idea whether she could trust what she saw.

  She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the man. He too had pale eyes, and her mind wandered back to Teven for a moment, but he squeezed her hand tightly and drew her back. Then she could see herself as a child, growing up and more recently, sitting sullen at the table as her mother smiled at her. It was as though he had watched her all this time, her whole life.

  She watched herself struggle to learn the healing, unable to see inside enough to do any good. Her mother never seemed as concerned as Cora had thought she should be about her not having the skill. When Arminel would try to speak, her mother would shake her head. Again, Cora wondered just what she knew. But this was the past. He wasn’t showing her anything she didn’t already know, other than that he had been watching.

  A range of images flashed through her mind then—her with dragons, large and bright but unfamiliar to her. Dragonlight lit the world, but she couldn’t see herself in that image. Her hands were covered in blood, trying to hold someone together, but other than the leather clothing she couldn’t see who it might be. Her hand on a chest, the mark of Oldra clearly beneath it. She wondered if her mind had slipped back to the past and it was her mother’s memory. But it was her hand, and she had no idea who had the mark.

  She opened her eyes and looked at the chief. ‘How can you be sure that is me? How can you be sure from any of those images that I can be anything other than what I already am?’

  ‘You will find another Oldra.’

  ‘As I have been destined to do. My father has told me my whole life that I will find one.’

  ‘When you do, everything will change.’

  ‘How that benefits you, I can’t understand. And of course my life will change. To find my mate will change everything.’

  ‘Who is the man you heal?’

  ‘I didn’t see healing,’ she murmured. ‘I saw desperation. I can’t even heal a few scratches.’

  ‘Finding him will help.’

  ‘You have not seen enough to convince me I will be anything other than what I already am,’ she said, climbing awkwardly to her feet. She swayed a little from the effects of whatever she had drunk, leaning into the stick. ‘There is no Oldra here,’ she said. ‘You don’t even have dragons. Why do you think bringing me here will help you?’

  ‘When you are what you need to be, I will take that power for myself.’

  Cora gulped down the bitter taste at the back of her throat. She didn’t want to ask how he might do such a thing, or why he would think she would come back to him. If his idea of the future was correct, there was an Oldra out there for her, and dragons she was yet to meet. The dark faces she had seen in her dream were not the large, glistening dragons of his vision. They were snow dragons. If any of what he had shown her was to take place, she needed to return to Essawood.

  ‘If you leave, I will find you. If you stay, the power will find you.’

  ‘You have not seen enough to be sure.’

  ‘But I am,’ he said, his grin unnerving in the firelight.

  She shook her head and made her way out of the cavern.

  ‘You will see,’ he called after her.

  She moved faster, trying with everything she had to move through the cavern and out into the light. She sucked in a deep breath and allowed the air to blow around her. Running a hand over her perfect braid, she winced at the pain in raising her arm.

  There was no sign of anyone around as she headed towards the trees, and the chief hadn’t followed her. If she could find a way to teach Teven how to transition, he might be able to help her return home. When she reached the trees, she took several steps below their branches and then turned back to the cavern. He’d only had glimpses of something that might have been her future. Her being here would change that. It wasn’t clear from what she saw that it meant what he thought it did.

  Perhaps she could see his past if she tried. If she could work out how it was done, she might be able to see who these people were.

  Cora stumbled through the trees, her leg aching. Although the stick was smoother than the one she had found herself, it was just too short, and it was getting more and more difficult to make her way through the trees as she became more tired and sore.

  She finally came to large tree and leaned into it, using it to sit down against it. Arminel would know what to do. Her mother would know what to do. As the image of her hand across a mark of Oldra returned, Cora knew that even her father would have a better idea of what was to come than she did.

  She would need to find a way to leave this place if she was to find the Oldra she had seen, and the dragons. The chief must understand that better than anyone, so she wondered why he insisted on keeping her here. She may be able to find a healer. She wasn’t sure what to make of the image of her bloody hands over a wound. Or to whom the wound might belong. Yet at the rate she was going, it could be another injury of her own.

  She ran her hand over her strapped leg, knowing where the gash was. Closing her eyes, she held her hand over the place. It was as it had been the day before. She could see the tear in the muscle, only it appeared to be better, and she wondered if she had managed to heal herself somewhat after all. She tried to look deeper, but she couldn’t see beyond the muscle.

  She would never be what her mother thought she would.

  She sighed, leaving her hand on her leg, and the bone came into sharp focus. She tried not to smile as she moved her hand across her leg. It was a jagged line across the bone, but keeping it aligned had helped. She focused on the bone, imagined the line becoming finer and finer until it was no longer there. Then she lifted her hand and shivered as the cold penetrated her body.

  She put her hand back and, with very little effort, she could see the world beneath her skin. It was healed. She almost pulled the bandages free, then decided it might be best to allow them to think she was still healing. She looked back at her hands and pressed one to her ribs, grimacing at the sharp pain. Then she studied the bruised muscles. There were no broken ribs at all, and she wondered if she had managed to heal those herself. Or had she been right about Teven being a healer?

  It didn’t take her very long to heal the muscles that connected her ribs. She looked over the scratches that still covered her arms, then looked around the trees. When she had first arrived, she had sensed dragons, only now there was no sign of them. Could it be that she’d been mistaken? Or that she’d only thought she could sense them?

  She closed her eyes and tried to visualise the one she had seen over Teven’s shoulder. There was something in these woods, and they might just be the way home. She stood, still awkward with her strapped leg, then transitioned and headed deeper into the trees.

  After what felt like half a day of walking, and with her stomach growling, Cora stopped. There was nothing at all living amongst the trees, or nothing she could find. With no sign of small animals either, she wondered what meat these people ate. If she had arrows and her bow, she might be able to help with that. Yet she couldn’t even see any tracks. It was as though nothing had ever lived here, or at least not in some time.

  She sat down against a rock. It was cool against her back and reminded her of the snow. Even transitioned, she could sense it as she leaned back and closed her eyes. How could the chief have seen so much of her life? Particularly when he saw so little of the future. Was he able to move through the shadows as others had before, or had he watched her through her dreams?

/>   In any dream she tried to remember, he was on the periphery of her vision. How had he become Chief?

  Suddenly she was standing in a broad cavern, the lights bright. A younger version of the man she knew stood facing someone else. A terrified, heavily pregnant young woman stood beside him. A group of people stood behind him, looking equally uncertain.

  ‘You would choose this?’ a deep, older voice asked.

  Cora turned to find a strong older man, his arms crossed over his chest. A woman of similar age was sitting at his feet, but she cried. Her tears continued to flow no matter how often she wiped at them.

  The young woman nodded, although Cora didn’t think she was very sure.

  ‘It is time,’ the young chief said beside her. ‘We will make a stronger people.’

  ‘You are not as strong as you think you are, Merik. And you will cause these people nothing but death.’

  The girl shivered.

  ‘I don’t need your approval,’ he spat at the older man. ‘I know what I am and what we will become.’

  The image faded, and Cora wondered what had happened to the woman. Was the child she carried the son he had referred to? What had he told those people to convince them that leaving with him was a good idea? She closed her eyes again and tried to return to the cavern, to see who else was there and if there were any dragons, but she couldn’t.

  She could only see shadows and darkness.

  Chapter 12

  Cora woke with a start to find it was dark, narrow beams of moonlight pushing through the canopy above her. Again, she wished she had her bow with her. Being amongst these people, she seemed to have forgotten so much. There was a time not so long ago when she would not have left the cavern without her bow. If she had thought about it, she might have collected some smaller sticks to make her own arrows. Even sharpening the points like training arrows would be better than nothing.

  She climbed to her feet and stretched her shoulders. Despite the sleep, she yawned and stepped forward. The dark shape before her moved back just a little, but the deep golden eyes remained fixed on her.

  ‘Hello,’ she whispered.

  The beast moved forward just enough to reach out its long, slender face towards her. She reached out her fingers and ran them over the smooth, leathery face of the dragon. It was smaller than those that lived with the Penna. She wondered if the lack of snow created a different type of dragon.

  ‘Do you know Dra?’ she asked.

  It pushed against her hand for a moment and then pulled away.

  ‘Could you take me home?’ she asked.

  The dragon remained silent.

  ‘Please,’ she whispered.

  It glanced around and then disappeared into the night. Cora wondered how it could disappear so completely when it was so large. She sighed as she searched the surrounding area. Maybe they weren’t dragons at all, but a figment of her imagination. Maybe her desperation had created the image in her mind. Although, with her hand against the animal’s face, it felt as real as any other dragon.

  Cora wasn’t certain of anything, and she started walking in what she guessed was the direction of the cavern. She had walked so far to get to where she was, it would take her half the night to return. And if she was headed in the wrong direction, she might walk in circles.

  She transitioned and stopped. She had the feeling something or someone was watching her, and although the dragons might not be real, the lack of animals was. Again, she wished she had collected her bow. She blew out a long breath as the world remained still around her.

  She looked through the trees, unsure of where she was and what she was looking for. She had managed, without trying, to finally find her healing skills. It seemed odd now that she hadn’t been able to master them before. Might it have been because of the fear that she couldn’t? Had she been trying too hard to see what was already there?

  She couldn’t wait to show Arminel what she had discovered. She staggered a little after snagging her foot on something in the dim light. She could do with more than moonlight, she thought as she squatted down and felt along the narrow branch she had tripped on. She couldn’t quite close her hand around the shaft of it. As she felt along it, she realised it was quite long and straight. It lifted easily when she pulled on it, although there was some weight to it.

  The Draga, when she was young, trained with long spears. They were always far too heavy for her to lift, and she would only laugh every time her father suggested her mother try. But they would swing them around despite the weight, high over their heads at times, and smash them against each other. Even Jeggie, whose spear appeared much heavier than those around him, had amazed Cora with his skill.

  She stood the branch upright and leaned into it. It was strong and just taller than Cora, with a slight twist at the very top. She sighed and looked around, then headed back the few steps she had come. When she found the rock, she leaned back against it, laying the large branch across her lap. If the chief really wanted her back, he could come and find her. Otherwise, she would wait for the sun and then decide what to do.

  Still transitioned, she closed her eyes. Flames danced over a cave wall—not a cave, an opening—and she huddled beside someone, feeling out of place as she gnawed on dried meat. It was chewy, but it tasted so good. The dragons sat across the opening, keeping them safe. Although she was in an unknown place and the man beside her had threatened her earlier, she knew she was safe.

  Cora sighed into the dark. Her mother’s memories again. She knew the place. She had stayed out herself as a young Draga. And despite her nervousness, knowing full well what would happen, her father had kept watch over her all night.

  Dra had chuckled that he had gone soft. But he had put her through her paces that day and told her he knew she would survive no matter what the world threw at her. She wiped away the tear. He wouldn’t want her crying about it. He had done all he could as her father, and her chief, to ensure she was the warrior she needed to be.

  Cora had only ever considered that she would never be her mother, that she would never be as strong as Gerry. But she had survived a fall from dragonback, had now managed to heal herself and she wasn’t dead yet. She allowed the transition to slip and tugged at the bandages, pulling them from her skin. The cool air wrapped around her leg, making the gooseflesh stand up. She tossed the material and the stake into a small pile away from her. If she had a dragon, she could start a fire. She cursed that she had never learnt the skill for herself. For the Penna, there was always a fire burning. If it ever went out, the dragons raised another.

  She lay down with her back towards the large rock and curled up into a ball. She transitioned again, but she knew it wouldn’t last. Her leg was stiff, but it was a relief to be able to bend it again.

  She hugged her new spear to her chest, resting her head on it, and tried to ignore the fact that she was far from home and all alone.

  Cora focused on the flames and the heat they radiated, but something was different. She sat up slowly. The flames weren’t reflecting on the back of a cave wall; they were lighting the trees around them. And the man sitting beside her wasn’t her father, but Teven.

  ‘You didn’t get far,’ he said softly.

  ‘I wasn’t sure I was trying to run away. I was just walking.’

  ‘For a walk, you made some distance.’

  ‘How did you find me?’

  ‘You leave an easy trail to follow.’

  ‘It’s the broken leg,’ she said, swinging her legs around. ‘It drags.’

  ‘Yes, I could see that,’ he said, looking at her naked leg pointedly.

  It was hard to tell in the firelight if there were any marks left from her fall, but either way she was thankful to be back to what she was.

  ‘You did that,’ he said, turning back to the flames.

  She nodded.

  ‘How?’ he asked, still looking at the fire rather than her.

  ‘I stopped trying,’ she said with a shrug.

  ‘Sorry?
’

  ‘I stopped trying to be my mother. I stopped trying so hard to be the healer they all said I would be, and it was like I could see.’

  ‘And the ribs?’

  ‘I didn’t heal those,’ she said. ‘I think you did.’

  ‘I am nothing.’

  ‘I don’t think that is true either.’ She moved closer to him and the flames. He moved across and away from her.

  ‘Tell me about your brother.’

  ‘I don’t have a brother.’

  ‘The boy who asked about the girl who died. He looks very much like you.’

  ‘I am no one,’ Teven said again.

  ‘I don’t believe you.’

  ‘How can you be so sure of something you know nothing about? You haven’t been here long, you haven’t met with the people, you haven’t talked with anyone.’

  ‘Because your chief has not allowed it. That doesn’t mean I can’t see for myself just what you do for the clan, or the respect they pay you.’

  ‘It isn’t respect.’

  ‘Maybe you need to take some time to look around, visit with your own people.’

  He shook his head.

  ‘When are you going to tell me about the dragons, then?’

  ‘There are no dragons,’ he said quickly.

  Cora sighed. She nodded once and moved back to her rock. She lay back down and pulled the spear close, her back to the fire.

  ‘You’ll get cold,’ he said.

  She transitioned. ‘I was fine before you got here,’ she mumbled. But she did feel better now that he was nearby. A fur was draped over her, and he sat down beside her as she pulled it closer.

  Cora sat up quickly, reaching for his chest, but he caught her arm before she could reach him.

  ‘Some things should not be healed,’ he said, his grip firm. It was only when she nodded that he released his hold on her.

  ‘Why won’t you tell me what happened?’

  ‘It was an accident. My mother burnt me.’

  ‘Your mother?’

  He turned his back on her, but he was sitting close enough that she could reach out and touch him. ‘It is all I have of her,’ he said, ‘and one of the reasons I no longer have her.’