Without giving us a second to recover our strength, the half-dozen creatures knocked unconscious start coming round, including the stabbed ones! They must be invincible!
‘We have to turn this around, Isabel,’ Ethan calls. ‘We need to attack with fire.’
While Matt and Ethan watch my back for a few minutes, I work furiously at getting it started. After what feels like for ever, a flame ignites, and it’s not long before I hand Ethan and Matt two sticks each, burning at one end. And with two of my own, we scream and yell at the top of our voices, charging the flames right into the creatures’ faces. Beside me, their traitor makes his own weapons and joins us.
Just as Ethan suspects, the creatures turn and run off in different directions. Exhausted, we stand and watch for their return. But after a few minutes it’s clear they’re gone, leaving us in silence, except for the sound of our own breathing, and the crackling fire.
We set the torches up in a circle around us, collapsing on the sandy shore.
As we allow ourselves a moment to catch our breath, Ethan’s eyes drift to the traitor. ‘What do you think you’re doing here?’
The creature speaks, his words thick but perfectly understandable, ‘I believe I’m sitting by your fire.’
It’s a shock. Other than screaming, these are the first sounds we’ve heard these creatures make. And for those sounds to be proper words, stuns us to the point of losing our own ability to talk.
Ethan is first to recover. ‘Who are you?’
The creature stares into the fire, lifting his rounded shoulders, his wings flapping once. ‘Well, the truth is, I don’t know.’
‘You don’t know who you are?’ I ask, while working on healing the bite on Ethan’s leg. It’s deep, and takes a few minutes.
The creature smacks his forehead with an open palm. ‘My memory isn’t what it used to be.’
Ethan’s head does this roll, almost right around, like he can’t believe what’s happening, that we’re even having this conversation. ‘I saw you fighting your own kind and helping Isabel get the fire started. Why did you do those things? Why did you turn on your own kind like that?’
‘Because my kind are morons. They don’t know how to think for themselves.’
‘Uh-huh, and what, you do?’ The creature doesn’t reply and Ethan stares at it. ‘Why aren’t you afraid of fire like your friends?’
‘Fire is something none of us is afraid of. Now water, that’s a different matter.’
‘Then why did your kind turn tail and run when we charged at them?’
‘When you turned the fire into weapons, you surprised them. They may be morons, but they’re not entirely stupid. They know all about fire, especially the fact that it burns.’ He scrunches up his forehead, making deep creases in his brow, and sighs, a very human-like sound. It has me thinking, but no way, this creature can’t have evolved from human form. Surely.
‘Do you have a name?’ I ask.
His frown deepens and his red eyes seem to glow brighter. ‘I think it once was John.’
For some reason his telling us his name is ‘John’ shocks us all over again. It just sounds too … human.
‘Your name is John?’ Matt has to be sure he’s hearing right. ‘What are your people called?’
‘Ah, now that I do know, for the master calls us his wren.’
‘Wren?’ Ethan rolls the word on his tongue. ‘Hmm, so what are your plans now, John Wren? I don’t think your friends are going to want you back.’
He doesn’t hesitate. ‘To come with you.’
Silence is our reply to this. Just how much does he know about us? Ultimately Matt asks, ‘Where do you think we’re going?’
He shrugs. ‘Since you’re wearing travelling clothes, I assume you’re on a journey. And well, I know this place thoroughly. I can guide and protect you. With me in your party the wren will leave you alone. And there are many facets to these lands that you could not possibly understand.’
‘Like what?’
‘The challenges.’
Matt and Ethan make scoffing sounds of agreement, recalling the two ‘challenges’ we just passed. And suddenly I recall Lady Arabella using the same term earlier when giving us advice. ‘We have a mountain to cross yet.’
John Wren’s wings flap twice but he doesn’t move. Eventually he says, ‘What sort of mountain?’
‘A black one. Made entirely of ice.’
He snorts a real piggish sound. Spittle sprays over his bulky chest. ‘This is not good.’
‘Why?’ Ethan and I say simultaneously.
‘It’s the most difficult challenge of all the lands.’
‘How so?’ Matt asks. ‘What will we have to do?’
‘Face your inner demons.’
The wren is right when he says we’ve found ourselves in a strange land. And he seems to know a lot about it. He would probably make a useful guide. But why would this creature turn traitor to help three strangers? I just don’t get it. ‘So what’s in this for you?’
John Wren looks at each of us in turn, then stares off past the torches to the darkness beyond. ‘I haven’t always lived here. That much I can still remember. The three of you trigger a memory of something I can’t quite put a finger on. Perhaps the more I keep your company …’ He shrugs. ‘Who knows?’
‘Do you think you’ll get your memory back just by hanging around us?’ Matt asks.
He makes a shrugging motion with his wings. ‘Perhaps we can be of use to each other.’
‘Well,’ Ethan says. ‘I guess we could do with a guide. But it has to be all right with Isabel and Matt. And one foot out of line, and you’re gone.’
Ethan glances at Matt. ‘I don’t know. I guess it’s all right.’
‘Isabel?’
I can’t help but hesitate; trust doesn’t come as easily to me as Ethan. I’ve seen these wren before. They’re the ones who helped abduct Arkarian. I also saw them in the dream Marduke sent me. They were beating Arkarian in his cell. And didn’t I just heal Ethan from a deep wound caused by the teeth of one of them? ‘Your kind are dangerous. Why should I trust you?’
‘Begging your pardon, miss,’ John Wren says. ‘Trust has to start somewhere. And so far, I haven’t done anything to prove I’m unworthy of it. Have I?’
I don’t answer immediately and he goes on, ‘I do believe you’re judging me by the deeds of others.’ He continues to hold my gaze for a few moments. I pick up the sense that he’s telling the truth, and more importantly, that he has nothing to hide.
‘All right. But I want you in my sight at all times. And you’re never on guard duty by yourself.’
‘Well,’ Ethan says. ‘Since that’s settled, do you know anything about the island we’re headed for?’
At the mention of the word ‘island’, John Wren goes strangely still. ‘What island – specifically – do you mean?’
‘It’s surrounded by a lake,’ I tell him, a shiver running through me at his nervous attitude. ‘On the other side of the mountain.’
‘There are several islands in this place,’ he says, as if in denial. ‘And many more mountains.’
Matt looks up and says, ‘It’s the island with the temple.’
John Wren draws in a sharp breath. ‘I knew it! Are you crazy? You can’t go there you know.’
‘And why not?’ I snap at him, concern growing quickly to panic, because if anyone knows anything about the island that keeps Arkarian prisoner, it would be a creature who has lived here so long he has no memory of any other life.
He says, ‘It’s called Obsidian Island. You can’t go there because … Well, to put it bluntly, it’s haunted.’
Chapter Twenty-six
Isabel
It takes a couple of days to get to black-ice mountain, though it’s hard to tell without a sun or even a moon. And our watches don’t work here, nor our torches any more. The batteries, only lasting a few hours, ran out long ago. John, as we call him now, has shown us how to make long-lasting tor
ches by burning an element dug out of the ground. I try not to think what it’s made from. The foul smell is enough of a clue.
I’ve learned a lot about this place, thanks to John, who’s full of information, though he can’t remember how long he’s lived here, or where he lived before. As we pass through different landscapes, one thing that doesn’t change is the harsh weather. It makes me wonder if there are seasons here and maybe we were just unlucky enough to be making this journey in winter.
‘The cold is something I don’t feel and have no memory of,’ he explains. ‘But to answer your question, sometimes all but the most lush of valleys are covered in ice.’
The thought of lush valleys makes me wonder about the many different trees and grasses we see. ‘How do plants grow here without light or warmth?’
‘Where there is a will to survive, a need, a desire …’ he shrugs, and I recall the thousands of brilliantly coloured fireflies we saw soon after our arrival.
‘But there is a moon,’ he goes on to explain, surprising me. ‘Over there.’ He points into the distant sky ahead. ‘Once a month, for a matter of minutes, it rises high enough to bathe the land in a rich red glow, directly over the master’s garden.’
I glance in the direction he points, but the mountain is too high, and the darkness absolute, reminding me of our vulnerability.
‘Can you see it, Isabel?’ Ethan asks from beside me.
I shake my head. Weariness is starting to get to me. And the lack of food doesn’t help. We’re down to only a small ration of dried fruit now. ‘I can’t see over the mountain.’
‘What about you, John?’
‘My eyesight is very poor. Living here in the dark, what use is it?’
And yet it’s in this darkness we’ve seen so much, sights that I know will live with me for the rest of my life, some that will give me many sleepless nights. Like the hundreds of different types of creatures, those with human features such as eyes and hands, or whole bodies, though skeletal in appearance. Others with wings (that actually work) or tails or leathery skin. Attracted to our flaming torches, they come in droves to see who these strange travellers are. Some even follow us for a kilometre or two. Luckily, with John by our side, for the most part, they leave us unharmed. The one creature we haven’t spotted yet is the one making that mournful shrieking sound. John tells us it’s a bird, with long talons, beaks to match, and eyes like ours. I still shiver every time I hear it, and try hard not to visualise its eyes.
Hours later we finally stand before the mountain; and from this close the mere sight of it makes my chest tighten. It’s not as if I haven’t climbed a mountain before. But never in such consuming darkness, and never a mountain made completely of ice. Where on earth will we find footholds? This ice is too smooth, with incredible sheer drops. ‘Impossible,’ I whisper, feeling humble and small in the face of such power and force. ‘We can’t climb this.’
‘Well what do we do now?’ Matt asks.
No one appears to have any idea.
‘What about my sister?’ Ethan asks. ‘She helped us before.’
Right now Sera is our only hope, but so far she’s been the one to initiate contact, and I haven’t heard from her for some time now. This psychic skill is still new to me. I don’t know its potential. I hardly understand how it works. ‘I’ll try to make contact,’ I say tentatively, not promising anything that I’m not sure I can do.
Unwilling to venture far on my own, I take my torch and stay within visual distance of our makeshift camp. I sit cross-legged, wrapping Lady Arabella’s warm cloak around me like a blanket. The air here is vastly colder than anywhere we’ve travelled so far, the ground frozen beneath us.
Closing my eyes, I take several deep breaths, releasing as much tension as I can. Not really knowing what to do, I use instinct to guide me. I visualise the rest of our journey the way Sera first showed it to me, zooming past the mountain, crossing the lake, taking myself right up to the white pyramid-shaped temple as if standing at the front door. ‘Sera, can you hear me? It’s Isabel. I need your help. I need you to show me how to cross this mountain.’
Not really expecting my simple request to work, or to work so quickly, I’m way not prepared for her screaming reply. The vision she sends me thunders into my brain. When she’s done, I get up and stagger, unbalanced, for a few seconds.
Matt and Ethan run over. ‘Are you OK?’ Matt asks quickly.
‘Yeah, I’m fine.’ I look into his face, then Ethan’s. How do I tell them about this test, and what happens if we don’t pass it?
But Ethan reads my expression. ‘Just come out with it. We’ve come this far, we’re not going to turn tail and run now.’
I tell them about a secret path. ‘It cuts straight through the ice. Apparently all we have to do is walk along this path until we get to the other side.’
‘That’s too easy,’ Ethan says. ‘What’s the catch?’
‘Well, according to Sera, we’ll be confronted with our hidden truths. As long as we keep focused and don’t stray from the path, we’ll be OK.’
Ethan isn’t buying my watered-down version. ‘What happens if we don’t pass the test?’
‘Well … the mountain will make us permanent fixtures in its corridors of ice.’
‘Permanent?’ Matt asks, his voice strained. ‘As in …?’
‘Eternity.’ That said, I try to distract them. Dwelling on what’s ahead will only make us nervous and prone to error. ‘According to Sera we have to hurry.’
‘What did she say?’ Ethan asks.
‘She didn’t speak to me exactly. There was just this urgency in our connection. It was very strong.’
Ethan starts collecting our things, but Matt’s thoughts are still on the challenge ahead. ‘How do I stay focused? Do we know what form our “hidden truths” will take, or even what they are?’
Ethan hands Matt one of the backpacks. ‘Just try to keep your mind clear of all negative emotions.’
‘Oh yeah, that should be a piece of cake,’ he replies sarcastically.
Ethan thinks for a second. ‘What do you feel when you think of Rochelle?’
Matt gives him a sharp look, like he wants to thump him. I don’t think he’s going to reply, but then he mutters, ‘Anger, mostly.’
‘And when you think of being a Guard?’ My brother’s head shakes negatively. ‘I think the Tribunal made a mistake and that I’m not Named at all.’
He’s so full of doubt! How on earth will he get through this challenge? An idea hits me, as I recall his reaction to meeting someone at school recently. ‘What do you feel when you think of the girl Neriah?’
Ethan’s eyebrows lift at this suggestion, but he gives a little nod. He’s seen Matt look absolutely besotted by this girl too. A dreamlike expression makes his eyes look glazed. ‘Hold that thought,’ he tells Matt. ‘Forget your problems. Forget everything. Draw on the image of Neriah, and fill your head with only positive thoughts. OK?’
We take off in the direction Sera showed me, to a point that looks like one ice wall, that in fact is actually several walls slightly overlapping. Between these zigzag walls is a path.
Before we begin, Ethan pulls me to the side. ‘You should take the lead.’
My instinct is to argue. But he knows what I’m thinking. He knows I’ll be worried about Matt.
‘Let me look out for Matt. If I sense he’s getting into trouble, I’ll pull him back and stay with him on this side. You keep going with John and rescue Arkarian.’
It’s a selfless act. But it doesn’t surprise me. I give him a hug, and he holds me close. His reassurance makes me feel as if everything is going to be all right.
When we pull apart he says, ‘You’ll be fine. And so will Matt. He’s just so full of doubt right now, it’s stopping him from being his true self.’
Matt comes over, probably wondering what’s taking us so long. I force a smile to my face I don’t really feel. The last thing I want is to fill Matt’s head with more doubt.
The path is actually a tunnel, right through the ice! I’m not sure when it starts to change, or when I feel the pressure building. But soon the tunnel opens up and a valley spreads out before me. I’m not expecting to see anything quite so breathtaking; it takes me by surprise. But quickly the valley changes, and the path turns into a bridge over a trickling stream that leads into a lake. Along its borders sit barbecue tables and playground equipment. Where am I? I get a distinct feeling I’ve been here before. I try to place the memory.
But up ahead, someone is standing on the bridge, directly in my path. It’s a man, leaning on his elbows, overlooking the stream that flows briskly beneath him.
The impulse to turn and check on the others is strong. Especially as right now I’d like to see Matt’s reaction. I think this man is our father.
As I draw nearer, the man turns his head, and I see that it really is our father. My heart slows to a heavy beat. What is he doing here? And why does this bridge and everything around it seem so familiar? I’ve been here before; the feeling is strong.
Suddenly I’m overwhelmed by a compulsion to ask the question that’s been gnawing at my brain ever since that vision I recently had of him. But I don’t want to get distracted. The danger is too real. And I mustn’t stray from the path!
Despite all this, when I get close enough, I still can’t stop myself. ‘On the last day we were together you told me you were leaving because you were deceived. Who was it that deceived you?’
His head tilts to one side, while his mouth forms into a small smile of regret. I blink away a tear and try to keep focused. I have to remember not to pause too long. But my feet won’t budge until I have his answer.
The Dark Page 21