by Cliff McNish
‘We’re not certain how Yemi brings them, or why,’ Larpskendya said. ‘Yet it seems no animal can resist him.’
Eric glanced at the prapsies, still inside his shirt. They stared back reassuringly.
Rachel rocked Yemi against her chest. While she did so a gibbon monkey jumped on her shoulder. It started preening her hair. She laughed at the tickling sensation and bent forward to kiss Yemi on the mouth.
He pulled back. He shouted at her. Shoving Rachel away, he flew to another part of the cave.
‘Sorry,’ said a voice from the shadows. ‘I should have warned you.’
Yemi’s sister, Fola, stepped forward. She was about Rachel’s age, but taller, with braided hair and full lips that smiled readily. After greeting Rachel and Eric she knelt down and ruffled Yemi’s hair. ‘He no go let anyone near his mouth. He never does, not for long time.’
Yemi tottered over to his big cats for comfort. The Siberian tigers sat either side of him, their heads platforms for his hands. When his little temper ended, Yemi returned to Rachel, clearly wanting her forgiveness. As she pulled him close, she said, ‘I think I know why he doesn’t accept kisses. It’s because of Heebra. She put her death spell into his mouth that way. He’s scared, that’s all.’
Yemi wriggled to be put down, then clapped loudly for everyone’s attention.
‘Flipping heck!’ Eric gasped.
The animals they had already seen were not the only ones in the cave. The rest now arrived from the leafy areas. Mice hopped alongside cats; a cobra clung to the neck of a swan; a hawk settled near a chick, with no thought to snap it up.
With a splash, another animal emerged from a small pool. It was only a baby. Fat with blubber, it hauled itself forward. On five-clawed foreflippers it made its way across to Eric and gazed up at him.
‘A Weddell seal,’ Larpskendya said. ‘From the Antarctic. The animals come from everywhere, drawn to Yemi wherever he goes.’ He picked up the seal cub. ‘This one was blue with cold when it arrived. It must have travelled over many nights across half an ocean just to be with Yemi. Can you imagine that?’
Eric stared in awe. ‘How many make it to him?’
‘Not many. Yemi is restless, always shifting off somewhere else. Only the most determined animals have a chance to catch him before he leaves.’
Eric bent down to one of the hawks. The prapsies took the opportunity to escape from his shirt. ‘Hey, come back!’ he yelled – but they were out, scrambling onto his shoulders.
Seeing them, Yemi jumped with excitement. He held out his arms. When the prapsies did not immediately fly across to him, Yemi was astonished. ‘Come, come,’ he said in a sing-song voice. ‘Want.’
‘I can see that,’ Eric said stonily.
‘Want.’
‘I don’t care what you want. You can’t have.’
‘Please.’ Yemi tried smiling.
Placing both prapsies on the floor, Eric said, ‘Free choice, boys. Go with Yemi if you like. I won’t stop you.’
The prapsies flew straight back to Eric’s shoulders.
‘We know where we want to be,’ one said.
Eric peered at Yemi. ‘I think the boys have made their choice, don’t you?’
Yemi had no idea how to react. This had never happened to him before. He tried everything to get the prapsies to change their minds. He frowned, stamped his feet, shook his fists. He implored them. When they continued to refuse, he finally burst into tears. One of his Siberian tigers came across, nuzzling him.
Larpskendya said, ‘Eric, I want you to tell me exactly how you did that. I’ve never seen Yemi refused by any creature.’
‘I didn’t do anything,’ Eric said. ‘Nothing at all.’
‘That’s not true. Yemi hasn’t been denied that way before, I’m certain.’
‘Well,’ Eric said coolly, ‘I’m not sure it’s right for little kids to get what they want all the time. It’s not good for them, is it?’
He stared at Yemi and Yemi stared back – a meeting of eyes. For a moment Rachel knew the two boys were measuring each other in ways she could not understand.
‘There, there,’ Fola said, hugging Yemi. ‘See, look at that! You cannot have everything!’
Yemi remained sorrowful until one of the Siberian tigers licked his face, making him laugh. His usual cheerfulness returned immediately. He jumped onto the tiger’s back, slapping its flanks for a ride.
‘Yemi’s not really an ordinary child any more, is he?’ Rachel said. ‘He’s more than that.’
‘He is many things,’ Larpskendya answered. ‘But most of the time he still behaves typically for a child his age. He enjoys sweets and toys, and the usual kinds of games, especially hide-and-seek.’
‘Oh yes!’ added Fola. ‘He no like if the animals hide for too long. But the animals must never find him when he hide, oh no! He’s just a baby still, a pikin. He like this –’ she took him from the tiger’s back and bumped him up and down on her knee, sending Yemi into fits of laughter – ‘and he has such moods, and must get his way! Crying for nothing!’
Rachel glanced across at the Siberian tigers. The behaviour of one of them had started to concern her. It was no common tiger, she was certain of that. Its movements were too precise, too calculated, almost too affectionate. Each time she studied it the tiger stopped what it was doing and gazed thoughtfully at her – an almost human gesture.
At one point Yemi spoke to the tiger. In response the tiger buried its wet nose in his ear and whispered something back. Rachel distinctly heard words.
‘That’s not an animal!’ she shouted.
6
Serpantha
Raising all her defensive spells, Rachel drew Eric behind her.
‘Do not be alarmed,’ said the tiger, transforming.
Rachel expected a Witch, but it was a Wizard who rose before her. Wearing a simple aquamarine robe, he was approximately seven feet high, equally tall as Larpskendya, with the same wild, unreadable eyes. Rachel found she could only look at him for a moment. She glanced at Eric and saw he felt the same way.
‘I am Serpantha,’ the Wizard said. His voice was rich and light and seemed to come from a noticeably younger age than that of Larpskendya. Was he younger? Not for the first time, Rachel wondered how old the wizards were. Bowing low to Rachel and Eric, Serpantha said, ‘It is an honour to meet you at last, though I feel I already know you well. Larpskendya is right. There is a strength in both of you that will not be easily challenged on this world, or beyond it.’
Yemi tugged at Serpantha’s sleeve, clearly wanting to play.
‘You and Larpskendya are brothers,’ Rachel said. ‘I’m right, aren’t I?’
Larpskendya said, ‘I told you she would know. It is difficult to keep any secrets from this one.’
‘But you are … older than Larpskendya,’ Eric said. ‘You sound younger, but you’re much older. I can sense it in your magic.’
Serpantha gave Eric a look that was almost fearful. ‘How can you tell? That should not be possible.’
‘Your spells are so tired, that’s how,’ Eric said. His eyes moistened as he felt Serpantha’s spells calling desperately out to him. ‘They’ve been fighting so long. It’s hard for them to continue. Oh, and they don’t want to, they don’t want to.’
Serpantha reached out. With trembling hands he held Eric. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘I have asked too much of them these last years – and then I have asked more, and more again. The war – there has been no rest for myself or Larpskendya.’ He lowered his gaze, then said, with a crooked smile, ‘Can you tell how much strength my spells have left, Eric? It is difficult for me to be certain. They lie to me, you know.’
‘They won’t fail you soon,’ Eric rasped.
‘That is good to hear,’ Serpantha said, his voice lightening again. He picked Yemi up, placing him on his broad shoulders. ‘I have been here for a while with this little one.’
‘Are you here to protect him from the Griddas?’ Rachel asked.
Rachel recalled the incident with the bears. On his second birthday Fola had given Yemi a brown bear cub. Yemi could not contain his joy at this surprise. He wanted each person to share it. The next morning everyone – every child and adult on Earth – woke to find a pretty cub cuddled up beside them.
‘The same problems,’ Serpantha said, ‘beset all gifted youngsters.’ He glanced knowingly at Larpskendya, who laughed. ‘But Yemi’s skills exceed anything I’ve seen before, even in a Wizard. I have been attempting to teach him the hardest thing of all – to realize that he cannot always have everything he wants. With great difficulty he’s beginning to accept such things. And he has a beautiful, resourceful sister to help him do so.’ Serpantha reached out and pulled Fola into his wide embrace. She smiled shyly, looking up at him. ‘Fola cannot be the ever-adapting play companion I have been,’ Serpantha said to Rachel, ‘but with your help I am sure I will not be missed. And it is just as well, for I must leave.’
‘Leave?’ Rachel wanted to weep, but she did not know why.
‘An opportunity has arisen,’ Serpantha said. ‘One we never expected. The High Witches have requested a meeting between us.’
‘I … I thought the Griddas had killed them all.’
‘No, some are imprisoned, and a few survive in the tunnels. One of these managed to escape from Ool and deliver a message, though she died afterwards of wounds even Larpskendya could not repair. The message was from Calen.’
‘Calen? That’s Heebra’s daughter!’ Rachel said. ‘Her mother died here. How can you trust Calen? She must hate us.’
‘Yes, she must,’ Serpantha said, ‘and normally I would not trust her at all. And who is to say I can now? I have spent many of your lifetimes distrusting the High Witches. It is difficult for me to change, too, though I must.’ He tickled Yemi, making him giggle, then stared solemnly at Rachel. ‘You have no idea what a pitiful state the High Witches are in. They are truly desperate, I’ve no doubt of that. I will meet with them.’
‘Alone?’ Rachel asked.
‘If it is a trap,’ Serpantha said, ‘ten Wizards will probably be no better than one. I –’
‘Don’t go,’ Eric said. ‘Please don’t.’
‘Why, Eric?’
‘I don’t know. Just don’t. I don’t want you to.’
There was silence in the cave.
‘I must go, Eric,’ Serpantha said. ‘Our war with the Witches has been an endless one. I would not wish the same on you. This may be the only opportunity to end it. The Griddas are a different species. I do not think their leader, Gultrathaca, will be so eager to negotiate. And there is something else you should know. The Griddas have nearly found Ithrea. We’ve tried to obscure it, but our concealments will not hold them off for long.’
Morpeth, Rachel thought, her heart leaping.
‘So you see,’ Serpantha said, ‘there is more than the welfare of your own world wrapped up in these matters. I know the risk I am taking, and though I’m cautioned against it, I will travel alone.’ He turned sadly to Larpskendya. ‘Well, brother, it is time for my leaving. Yemi is not happy, but he is being brave about it, as you must.’
Larpskendya said nothing. He could not meet his brother’s eyes as they held each other.
‘I wish I had the opportunity to spend more time with you,’ Serpantha said to Eric and Rachel. ‘However, I am confident this will not be the last time we meet.’ He took Yemi’s hand, leading the party in silence from the cave to the surface. The air was warm. The sun shone down on a field dappled with poppies and cornflowers. Rachel did not notice. She hardly saw the field at all. Something inside her wanted to keep Serpantha close.
‘You can’t leave,’ she said. ‘Who will protect Yemi if you go?’
‘Fola – and there is another I have been training,’ Serpantha said. ‘I believe you know her well.’
He motioned to the sky. A girl arrived from it. She had pure blond hair, and eyes so light blue that those first meeting her could notice nothing else.
‘Heiki!’ Rachel cried out.
Heiki alighted next to Rachel, and they kissed like the true friends they had become.
Serpantha watched them interact, saw how easy the girls were with each other. ‘Once, you two battled as if nothing else had any meaning except that battle,’ he reminded them. ‘But that has changed. We must all be prepared to change now.’
Heiki exchanged a few words with Eric and Rachel, then took her place beside Yemi. Already her eyes scanned the sky, alert for danger to him.
‘Brother, are you ready?’ Serpantha asked. ‘I need your strength now.’
The Wizards placed their heads together. Rachel sensed the beginnings of a shift so potent that she could not begin to comprehend it.
Yemi gazed adoringly at Serpantha. For once his animals had stayed behind, knowing he wanted to be on his own with Serpantha for as long as possible. Seeing that Serpantha was about to leave, he forgot his promise to be brave. He clasped Serpantha’s leg and hung determinedly on.
With infinite care Serpantha loosened Yemi’s fingers. He took a final look over the field and the undulating green hills beyond.
‘I love this world,’ he said to Eric and Rachel. ‘And I love your race; the most magical of you give so much. It is not always so.’ He embraced them – and they couldn’t stand it. It was as if they were losing something they had longed for their whole lives. Fola clumsily touched Serpantha’s face.
Eric stepped up. ‘I wish I knew you better,’ he blurted. ‘I wish I did.’
‘You will,’ Serpantha told him firmly.
And shifted.
7
Passion
Serpantha made his way cautiously along the tunnels.
For some time he had been travelling downwards, following the magical scent of High Witches. That scent was overwhelmingly strong now – the Witches so close he could hear their stifled whisperings. The tunnels of Ool were covered in tiny luminous life-forms that emitted a murky beige light. That meant Serpantha could see, but his nails were not designed to clutch rock. Unable to find any grip at all on the smooth walls, he flew where the tunnels were steepest. At last the tunnels flattened out to become the entrance to a large cave.
Serpantha stood upright and walked boldly inside.
The Witches were waiting. There were ten of them, ten mature High Witches. Seeing Serpantha, each responded differently. Most retreated in fear to the back of the cave, their soul-snakes hissing. A few Witches held their ground, clamping their jaws to prevent them lashing out.
Serpantha had expected these reactions. Not wishing to invite an attack, he deliberately kept a discreet distance – and waited.
At first the Witches dared not approach. Then, in a swift flurry, they jumped on Serpantha and dragged him out of the cave.
Serpantha was not surprised at the roughness of the treatment. He did nothing to retaliate, though the stone cut his skin. The Witches hauled him along several corridors before throwing their burden at the feet of another Witch. If this Witch dreaded the appearance of Serpantha as much as the others, she hid it well. Her yellow soul-snake examined him with frank curiosity.
‘Welcome, Serpantha,’ she said.
‘Welcome, Calen.’
For a considerable time Calen and Serpantha simply gazed at one another. This was the first occasion in more than two hundred thousand years that a High Witch and a Wizard had met outside of a battleground. Finally Serpantha bowed. In the nearly forgotten manner he held out his arms, offering to bond with Calen in the formal style.
Nylo, Calen’s soul
-snake, wanted no contact with the Wizard, but she made him fleetingly entwine with Serpantha’s wrists. Neither Serpantha nor Calen expected it, but the touch sent deep surges of loss through them. Feelings arose that they had difficulty speaking through, and for a moment the original purpose of their meeting was forgotten. Raising their eyes, they looked intently at one another, saying nothing, not knowing what to say.
For much of her life Calen had wondered what it might be like to match herself against the legendary Serpantha. Now that he stood before her, she knew how foolish that notion had been. A single glance at him showed the plenitude of his power. Even her mother, Heebra, had never possessed such ardent, lucid intelligence. His eyes held her: solemn, candid, beautiful. Beautiful? Calen caught herself. How could his eyes be beautiful? Nylo stared and stared at the Wizard, disregarding her silent command to stop. In embarrassment, Calen stepped away. She had never felt the way she felt now – unmade by the steady slow gaze of a Wizard.
Serpantha felt the same bewildering emotions. He tried to gather himself. Brushing cave dirt from his shoulder, he said bluntly, ‘I expected a warmer greeting than this.’
‘No doubt you did!’ Calen replied. ‘Check the rest of the tunnels,’ she snapped at her Witches. ‘Make sure there are no more Wizards.’
‘I came alone,’ Serpantha assured her.
‘Surely you don’t expect me to accept your word on that?’ Calen motioned for scouts to sniff up the connecting tunnels. While waiting, she attempted to contain her emotions. What was she feeling? This was ridiculous! She had prepared so long for this negotiation. The lives of all her Witches depended on its outcome! When her scouts returned Calen, composing herself, faced Serpantha again.
‘It gives me no pleasure to be here,’ she said. ‘Can you talk for all your kind?’
‘Each Wizard speaks for all others. Always.’
‘If this is some kind of Wizard trick …’