by Cliff McNish
The skies were empty.
Rachel and Eric scanned the rest of the world. Everywhere, the flocks of yellow Camberwell Beauties had vanished – and animals all over the world were beginning to pine for them.
‘At least,’ Eric said huskily, ‘Yemi has his sister. They took Fola, too. I wonder why they did that? She’s not got much magic.’
Rachel exchanged a glance with Heiki.
‘To help control him,’ Heiki said.
Rachel nodded. ‘Until the Griddas learn how to do it themselves.’
9
The Spectrums
News of Yemi’s abduction changed the world.
Virtually overnight the game-playing of older children came to a stop as Heiki, filled with an almost insane energy, turned all their talents to more serious ends. Thereafter, day and night across the Earth, children honed their defensive spells. They toiled until they were so tired they nearly dropped out of the skies.
Animals everywhere were devastated by Yemi’s loss. Many refused to accept the missing butterflies. They searched everywhere: on the land, in the deep seas. Birds of many species came together in swarms so dense that their bodies blackened the skies. Those animals who had been privileged enough to have had personal contact with Yemi lost all interest in the normal rhythms of life. They ignored their food and stopped caring for themselves.
But the most dramatic reaction came from the spectrums.
Shortly after Yemi was taken they travelled from all countries to the equator. Once there, they spread out at equal intervals, forming a line to encompass the world. The thrill-seekers came with them. No longer just transporters of the spectrums, the thrill-seekers started attending to all of their needs. They clothed and fed the spectrums. They bathed them. When their throats were dry, they quenched them.
The spectrums themselves offered no explanation for any of this. They merely watched, keeping up their precise geometrical sweep of the skies. Then, one evening, there was another development: all the spectrums began to radiate pulses of energy. Some pulses they sent out into space in measured intervals; others passed between them. They were talking – a din and cross-chatter of high-speed communication that disturbed the workings of almost every item of electromagnetic equipment on the globe.
Rachel and Eric followed all these developments, but they were more concerned about the wellbeing of Larpskendya and Serpantha. Weeks passed without any further news. Eric’s skill of pinpointing magic at long range outstripped that of anyone else, so every day, for hours at a stretch, Rachel carried him into the upper atmosphere, hopeful of finding the magical scent of Wizards.
Across the Earth, new defences were installed by Heiki. They were far tighter than any before; that, at least, was a lesson the Griddas had taught them all. Everyone waited. And then, one afternoon while Rachel sat at home talking quietly with Mum and Dad, Eric’s face sprang to life.
‘It’s Larpskendya!’ he cried. Then Rachel saw his face crumple.
‘What’s the matter, Eric?’
‘Something’s wrong with his flying.’
As soon as the Wizard came into range of Rachel’s own information spells, she knew. ‘He’s hurt.’
‘How badly?’ Dad asked.
‘Terribly.’
‘Larpskendya’s not even shifting,’ Eric said. ‘He can barely fly at all.’
All four of them stood up, rushing to the windows. Normally it was impossible to catch Larpskendya’s arrival, but on this occasion there was plenty of time to see him. He flew towards the house with such difficulty that Rachel, running into the garden, had to catch him as he landed. Larpskendya’s knees folded under him. He picked himself up, stumbled, tried to smile, to reassure them. Rachel placed her shoulder under the Wizard’s arm and, with Dad’s and Eric’s help, half-dragged his large frame through the door.
‘Don’t let go,’ Larpskendya told Rachel hoarsely.
‘I won’t.’
For a moment Larpskendya’s whole weight leaned against her. She held out her arm to steady him. As she did so, Rachel knew that Larpskendya needed it; in that instant only a single human arm held him upright. Sensing that, her world turned upside down. It took all her self-control not to scream and scream.
‘Shush, now,’ Larpskendya murmured. ‘There’s no need for that.’
‘But you’re frightening me.’
‘Don’t be frightened. Not you. I couldn’t bear that.’
Rachel’s information spells found injuries everywhere. No part of Larpskendya was undamaged. He should have been dead from Gridda attacks already; only the Wizard’s magic, his extraordinary spells, kept his body together.
Larpskendya tried to disentangle himself from Rachel’s embrace, but she would not let him. Together they dropped down on the floor. They lay there, saying nothing, while Larpskendya recovered. At last he told them all, ‘Yemi has been taken to Ool.’
Rachel’s chest tightened. ‘What … what will they do to him?’
Larpskendya shook his head. ‘He is probably safe for now. The Griddas went to great lengths to get him. I doubt they will harm Yemi, at least not immediately. I am more concerned for Serpantha.’
Eric hardly dared ask, ‘Is he alive?’
‘Yes, but if the Griddas have him, it would be better if that were not so.’ Larpskendya trembled, not from his wounds. ‘I should have gone myself to Ool,’ he said. ‘Serpantha would not allow it. He was always … protecting me … He –’ Suddenly Larpskendya’s entire body convulsed. ‘Oh my brother,’ he burst out. ‘What have they done to you? What are they doing now?’
Rachel reached out to touch him, and when she did Larpskendya wept.
He wept uncontrollably. Rachel and Eric were so affected that they burst out with tears of their own, without clearly understanding why. It was because Larpskendya wept, that was reason enough. They made a pile that held onto Larpskendya in the middle of the carpet. The prapsies joined them, nuzzling the Wizard’s face.
Larpskendya’s body was wracked by tears. Then he roused himself and stood up to his full height. ‘Well,’ he said solemnly, ‘now it has come to this, I think it is time to explain all. I have not lied, but I have not told you everything.’ He looked at Rachel.
‘Larpskendya, what is it?’ she asked, still holding his robe.
‘The creatures you know as High Witches,’ Larpskendya said, ‘are not as different from Wizards as you believe. In fact, there was once almost no difference between us at all.’
Rachel let go of his robe, confused. Then she fell back as she noticed his eyes. Larpskendya no longer camouflaged the truth: tattoos, the same tattoos that had stared so mercilessly from the sockets of Dragwena and Heebra and Calen, stared out of them. Seeing Rachel’s reaction, Larpskendya moved forward to console her. He stopped when she screamed.
‘I know,’ he said. ‘It is too much.’ He wanted to approach Rachel, but knew she could not accept it. ‘At one time we belonged to the same species,’ he explained. ‘The females you know as High Witches were like us, or as similar as your own men and women are to each other, or your children. I am sorry to have concealed this truth from you, of all people, Rachel. Try to forgive me. It was not what I wanted.’
Rachel felt too appalled to answer. She felt betrayed.
While she clutched Mum and retreated, Eric gathered up the frightened prapsies. He did not recoil from the Wizard as Rachel had done.
Larpskendya stared at him. ‘Did you know, Eric?’
‘Not really, but I sensed something. You’ve occasionally used similar-patterned spells to the Witches. I wondered why. I see now.’
‘Tell us the rest,’ Dad demanded.
‘Our species,’ Larpskendya said, ‘was possibly the first in which magic evolved. We discovered that we could fly, as you have done. We explored our world. We explored ourselves in ways you are only beginning to consider. And we ventured to other worlds. We travelled.’ Larpskendya paused. Again, he looked at Rachel, but she was not ready to meet his eyes
. ‘For many ages,’ Larpskendya continued, ‘Witches and Wizards worked together. But as our magic developed, disputes started to arise about how to use it. A sect of powerful females decided they no longer wanted to be restricted by the jurisdiction of our magical laws. They left, and for many generations nothing was heard from them. But finally they began to leave their mark on the civilizations of other worlds, and it was always destructive. They would not reconsider or stop. The endless war began at that time.’
Dad cleared his throat. ‘Why … why do the High Witches look so different from you now?’
‘Partly because they simply no longer wanted to look like us,’ Larpskendya answered. ‘And another reason: to suit their new aggressiveness.’
‘Were you there at the start?’ Eric asked. ‘When the war began?’
‘No. I am old, but I have only been alive for a fraction of the war. It is all I have known, Eric: war, or preparations for it, or fear of it; and fear for those drawn in, such as yourselves.’
Rachel spluttered, suddenly finding her voice, ‘Why didn’t … why didn’t you tell us, tell me, about this before? I could have accepted it! Why didn’t you trust me?’
‘I wanted to,’ Larpskendya said. ‘I wanted to so much. But the fate of many other worlds, perhaps all worlds, depended on this one. I was frightened, Rachel, of a second failure.’
‘A second?’
‘We – the Wizards – came to your Earth ages ago, but we made a mistake. The Witch Dragwena had dominated your world for a long time before we arrived. She implanted a fear of us deep within children. I didn’t dare stir up that ancient memory.’ He sighed. ‘Try to understand. I could not risk telling you the truth because I knew there would be times when I needed to have your absolute trust.’
‘You had it!’ Rachel said. ‘Of course you did!’
‘Did I?’ As he moved towards her, Rachel shrank back. ‘You can barely accept the truth now, Rachel, as well as you know me. If you had known the Wizards were so closely related to the Witches, would you have really believed in me that time at the North Pole? When I said Heebra could take your life and that of Eric, would you have continued to believe in me? When I needed you to look into my eyes then – these tattooed eyes – and completely trust me with all your heart, would you have done so?’
Rachel searched herself. ‘No, yes, I … I don’t know! I might not have done. But’ – her body shook with emotion – ‘it’s too much, too much. Truths and lies … how do I know you’re telling the truth now?’ She glared at him. ‘You sent Serpantha to Ool. Why? You sent a Wizard who knew all about Yemi and the defences about him. If you’ve been fighting a war for so long, how could you make such a stupid mistake?’
‘I cannot tell you that. I may never be able to do so.’
‘More secrets?’ Rachel blasted. ‘How many others are there?’
Larpskendya was silent. Eric could sense his immense weariness.
‘I could force you to believe anything I want,’ Larpskendya said at last. ‘I have a spell for that. I will not use it, but I am tempted to do so because more depends on me now than I can convey.’ He passed his fingers over his face and robe. ‘This is what I am like,’ he said. ‘I have come back to Earth, leaving those I care deeply about, to discuss what can be done to rescue Yemi. If –’
‘Wait,’ Eric said. ‘Something’s heading this way. Griddas.’
‘I’m aware of them,’ Larpskendya said calmly. ‘A few only, near your moon, probably the remnants of those who ambushed me on my way here.’
‘No, not those ones. There are several more packs, much further out – between Saturn and Jupiter.’
Larpskendya glanced up, startled. ‘Even my spells can’t detect that far. Are you sure, Eric?’
‘Yes. Absolutely.’
‘Then I must leave at once.’
Rachel half-lurched towards him. ‘Larpskendya, what are you saying? You can’t do that! I’ve measured your strength. You can still shift, but in your weakened state if you meet any Griddas …’
‘If I stay I will endanger you all,’ Larpskendya said. He touched her arm. ‘I won’t do that.’
Through his fingertips, Rachel felt something reaching out to her. It was Larpskendya’s spells, half-insane with weariness, trying to hold the Wizard together. They needed more rest; it was too soon; they had not recovered enough. As Rachel tried to comfort them, they begged her to stay with Larpskendya and help strengthen him.
Rachel forgot all her uncertainty and rushed the short space into Larpskendya’s arms. ‘You can’t leave,’ she said, trying to think. ‘You mustn’t leave. I’ll contact Heiki and the kids she’s training. We’ll protect you here. We’ll all protect you.’
‘No,’ he replied firmly. ‘You are not yet ready to confront the Griddas. If I die I may yet serve a purpose in giving you more time to prepare for them.’ Rachel pleaded for him to reconsider, but Larpskendya would not be moved. Then, as he was about to depart, a sound filtered through the windows.
It was a rising note, a sound of urgency and terror.
‘What – what’s happening?’ Mum put her hands over her ears.
Rachel’s information spells radiated out of the house. All around, she sensed children everywhere listening.
‘It’s the spectrums,’ Eric murmured. ‘They’re speaking.’
Across the world the spectrums had risen skyward. Carried by their thrill-seekers they scattered, taking up positions where every child would be able to hear their message. The message was not composed of syllables or words, but it was a message nevertheless – a clear and articulate call. The voices of the spectrums swelled, rising to an almost unbearable pitch. Each one sang until he or she had no breath left, but there was always one left to sustain the note, so at no point was there an end to it.
No child had ever heard such a message before – but their magic instantly understood. In the living room only Dad and Mum did not understand. They gazed helplessly at Eric.
‘Our world is in jeopardy,’ Eric told them. ‘It’s a warning, the first of the spectrums: There is danger. Stay alert and defend your homes. That’s all it says.’ He and Rachel listened as the note altered slightly.
Rachel looked wildly at Larpskendya. ‘It’s you,’ she said. ‘You are in danger!’
Larpskendya nodded. ‘Do you understand what the spectrums are now?’
Rachel had no doubt; nor, suddenly, with that first utterance, did any other child on Earth. ‘They’re protectors of some kind, aren’t they?’
‘A special type,’ replied Larpskendya. ‘I have seen their kind develop only once before. They are species protectors. With the emergence of magic in children, they’ve evolved to serve you all. You will find that their own safety or comfort are irrelevant to them. Their purpose is to listen, to warn, to raise a call to arms, to advise brilliantly, to fight if they must; to do anything in their power to safeguard the children of Earth.’ Larpskendya paused. ‘It seems the danger to me has brought them out. They believe your world will be in peril if I am killed. We shall see. Whatever happens, I am grateful to have witnessed the coming of age of the spectrums. That gives me more hope than I had for you. Well, there is no more time …’
Gathering himself, Larpskendya hurriedly said his goodbyes to them all.
Rachel could not bear it. Events were happening too fast.
Larpskendya held her hands.
‘Find Yemi,’ he told her. ‘Find him.’
‘How can I?’ Rachel asked. ‘Without you …’
‘Don’t you know how strong you are?’ Larpskendya almost shouted at her. ‘I have never seen a child face a Witch with more courage than you!’ He held her tightly and she shook in his embrace. ‘You must understand, I may not be able to return,’ he said. ‘I have cheated the Griddas on enough occasions, but this time … Listen: Yemi’s magic is beyond anything the Wizards have ever known. He’s so young … the Griddas might be able to influence him. You must get to Yemi somehow. Find a way.’ Releasi
ng Rachel, Larpskendya turned to Eric. ‘Eric, more may now depend on your decisions than in the past. Everything may do so. Everything. Trust your instinct. You have powers beyond comprehension within you.’
Kissing them all, fighting a vast weariness, Larpskendya took a last look round. The prapsies stared up at him. Rachel tried to find some words to express how she felt, but her mind was in pieces. Larpskendya smiled at her. ‘Who will comfort my spells now?’ he whispered.
Closing his eyes, the Wizard called on his exhausted magic for one last great effort – and shifted.
10
The Gratitude
of Spiders
Soon after Yemi’s arrival on Ool, Gultrathaca ordered Jarius to visit her.
Jarius did not want to go. She had already disgraced herself again by refusing to jump out of Heebra’s eye-window. Gultrathaca had been forced to push her. How humiliating! Even the fearful newborns had been amused by that!
This time Gultrathaca had invited her to an even worse location: the Assessment Chamber. It was an appalling place. The spell-quality of all Griddas was ruthlessly tested within the Chamber from time to time. Jarius had only just survived her last trial inside.
How could a human baby, she wondered, survive there?
As she travelled towards it, Jarius noticed an unusual number of tunnel creatures heading the same way. There were rodents, skittering insects, even shy burrowers normally far too timid to come near a Gridda tunnel. All the creatures seemed heedless of her – as if there was something below they could not bear to miss.
The traps caught them, of course. They snapped into life, passing the scampering creatures into the food processors. Little mouths waited for them: infants. Jarius heard a wail of anticipation through the walls of her tunnel.
Vast numbers of new Griddas were being raised now. If Jarius listened closely she could hear the distant sound of a newborn biting through her egg, followed by her first scream of hunger. Like all Griddas she arrived starving, desperate to inflate her muscles to a size that would impress her pack.