The Gathering

by Isobelle Carmody

  Nissa recoiled as if he had struck her again.

  Without warning, Danny leaned forward and spat full in the Kraken’s face.

  There was a hiatus – a complete, shocking absence of sound as if the whole world had disintegrated. A violent rage showed fleetingly in the Kraken’s eyes. For a second he looked as if he would kill Danny with his bare hands.

  Then he visibly controlled himself, taking a clean white handkerchief from his pocket and carefully wiping the dribble of saliva from his cheek.

  ‘I can punish him for that,’ Buddha offered eagerly, and a spike of hot anger pierced the numbness surrounding me like a mist.

  ‘Oh, he shall be punished. It will give me exquisite pleasure to see that he is sent to one of those places where his manners can be adjusted permanently.’

  ‘Seth, where did he catch you?’ Indian called.

  But Seth seemed not to hear. The Kraken signalled Seth’s father to bring him nearer.

  ‘These kids have to pay for leading my boy into trouble,’ the policeman said. There was a dull red rage in his eyes and he seemed oblivious to the fact that he was surrounded by a horde of teenagers about to go on a rampage of destruction.

  The Kraken grinned rapaciously. ‘Seth has been very confused but fortunately he came to his senses in time and like a good, obedient son, he confessed everything to his father.’

  ‘Seth, you weak bastard,’ Danny cried. ‘I knew we shouldn’t have let you in.’

  Seth’s head jerked up as if someone had pulled the strings of a puppet, his eyes dark holes burned into white chalk. ‘I’m sorry… I couldn’t be what you wanted. I tried, but I …’

  The Kraken patted Seth’s shoulder consolingly. ‘You did the right thing, the only thing you could have done under the circumstances.’

  But Seth had eyes only for Nissa.

  She was staring at him, her face like stone; as unforgiving and proud as a goddess. There was no sign of the hurt that had flamed in her eyes at his betrayal, no anger – only a dark, contemptuous courage without weakness, without compassion.

  A thread of fear ran through me, somehow linked to Nissa’s face; a premonition of disaster that overrode even the shock of remembering the truth about my father. Abruptly, I wondered what on earth I was doing letting myself worry about something that had happened so long ago. Hadn’t Lallie warned me to seek beyond the shadows of the past for the truth? I forced myself to concentrate and the feeling of danger increased.

  ‘Nissa …’ I began.

  Mr Karle whirled, his pale eyes narrowed to slits in the lantern flame. ‘Nathanial, I should mention that it was Seth who told me about your dog. Now what was his name? Oh yes. The Tod.’

  The hatred bubbled into my brain, but before I could react, I found myself wondering why the Kraken had chosen that moment to tell me that Seth had marked The Tod for death. And for the first time, I wondered why he had forced me to remember about my father.

  To anger me? Shock me? Frighten me? Or to distract me?

  I thought of Anna’s diary, and of her saying their Kraken had tried to distract them. To stop them seeing the true battle. He wanted me to think about the past, to stop me thinking about what was happening.

  Why?

  It had to have something to do with being in the Chain. With beating the Chain. Anna’s Chain had lost. So had we.

  Or had we?

  Most of the kids were crowded down one end of the abattoir facing us in a bizarre parody of a theatre audience. Mr Karle stood to one side like some hellish director. It occurred to me suddenly that Seth could not have arrived at exactly that moment, unless it had been organised in advance.

  But why would the Kraken have set up such an elaborate drama?

  He had caught us, and what he said about the authorities believing him was true. Especially with Seth’s father to back him up. He had won.

  So why was he wasting time gloating over his victory?

  Unless he hadn’t won yet.

  I looked again at the torch and was startled to see the flames climbing up the beam towards the roof. I could smell smoke now too, but no one else had noticed.

  Lallie’s words came into my mind: See the true battle, Nathanial.

  Mr Karle was staring at Nissa, his green eyes, deep stagnant pools; the kind little kids are drowned in.

  Danny was struggling in the grip of two older boys and raging at Seth. ‘You bastard. You shit! You’re just like your stinking pig of a father. Like father, like son.’

  I shivered, thinking of Mr Karle’s hints about my father.

  Seth’s father snarled and took a step towards Danny, but Mr Karle held them apart.

  Why?

  Seth had eyes for no one but Nissa. ‘Please …’ His lips shaped the word, but the wind shrieked blotting out the sound of it.

  And she; as cold and beautiful as a princess who discovered the prince who woke her was a leper. ‘I was wrong about you …’

  Mr Karle leaned forward, his eyes running hungrily from Nissa to Seth.

  ‘You’re a coward and a traitor.’

  Seth bowed his head like a prisoner preparing for the death sentence. His shoulders slumped and I shivered at a surge of déjà vu. Words and phrases flew in my thoughts as if driven by the screaming winds battering on the roof and walls outside, but instead of suppressing them, I concentrated, trying to follow my thoughts to their conclusion.

  ‘That is his power… the power of lies and illusion to distract us from seeing the true battle …’ Anna Galway had written of the Kraken. But Anna’s Chain had been beaten. Did that mean the illusions had won?

  And what was the true battle?

  Lallie had told me the sign of the circle meant I had to find the answers to the future, in the past. Beyond the past.

  ‘Yet may a greater Chain be forged between you… to bind the dark.’ Lallie’s words rang in my thoughts but I couldn’t think what they meant; how they could be applied. Lallie had warned us the dark would win if the Chain were broken. That meant the object was to keep the Chain safe and intact.

  Did it mean the symbols had to be kept safe or together?

  ‘You are the symbols… the symbols must be forged into a greater Chain to bind the dark… the Chain must not be broken.’

  I looked at Seth’s bowed shoulders and the sense of déjà vu, strengthened, solidified into a memory.

  Time froze as a memory exploded in my mind, of Zeb Sikorsky walking away with his shoulders bowed, isolated from the others, cut off, a link in the Chain broken.

  And that last Chain had lost.

  In a flashing realisation I saw.

  The Chain was about to be broken.

  ‘You’re not one of us,’ Nissa was saying to Seth. ‘You …’

  ‘No!’ I cried, but the wind howled, eating up the sound. Only the Kraken heard. He swung round his pale green eyes flaring.

  ‘Remember: the circle completes the Chain. It will suffer no obstacle to the linking…’ Lallie’s words. A warning. A promise.

  And then I understood what had to be done. A great surge of exhilaration pounded into my heart as I fished the circle on its thong from under my shirt.

  Nissa’s lips moved stiffly. ‘… no longer of the Cha …’

  ‘Don’t, Nissa. Don’t say it!’ I screamed.

  This time she heard. Her head snapped around and she stared at me in astonishment. The wind began to batter at the walls and doors, and the ground to vibrate under my feet, but I ignored it. The smoke was swirling and billowing around us, and at last, some of the kids began to cough and notice the flames.

  ‘Nissa, we’re the Chain,’ I bellowed, coughing because of the smoke. ‘The five of us make up the Chain and he’s trying to break Seth away from us!’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ snarled Danny. ‘He betrayed us.’

  I shook my head, struggling to escape the guy holding on to me. ‘We almost betrayed him!’

  Seth lifted his head slowly and I held out my spare hand t
owards him. ‘Seth, you’re one of us. You’re part of the Chain for ever, Lallie said. No matter what. Till death do us part …’ I laughed at the incongruous phrase, and the Kraken cringed!

  I laughed again and felt the power flow through me. ‘Seth!’

  He moved forward, but his father caught him by the arm. ‘Don’t worry son, soon we’ll be home and we can get you straightened out. You’re just like your mother. You need a firm hand.’

  Incredibly, I realised his father hadn’t heard what I was saying.

  ‘Seth! Listen to me – you are what you are,’ I yelled. ‘Lallie chose you because we need you. The Chain needs you. Not as perfect golden boy Seth who can do no wrong, but as Seth as he really is. As Seth who knows the dark. Who can fight it because he knows what it looks like! We need you to help us bind the dark.’

  But he just stood there in his father’s grip. Behind them more kids had noticed the fire and a hum of trepidation rose.

  Desperate now, I swung to face the others, coughing hard. ‘Tell him!’

  Danny nodded and elbowed his own captor in the stomach, wriggling free. ‘Seth, you silly bastard. What would we do without you?’

  ‘Come on, Seth,’ Indian rumbled.

  ‘Link hands,’ I shouted. I reached over and grabbed Nissa’s hand on one side and Indian’s on the other.

  ‘Seth, link with us!’ I cried.

  But he was staring at Nissa in disbelief.

  I looked at her too, and my mouth fell open. Tears were pouring down her cheeks. She made no move to hide them or wipe them away. And she was smiling as she held out her hand to Seth. He moved forward as if she were a magnet, his feelings for her shining in his eyes. I felt no jealousy or envy, only an incredulous gladness.

  The Kraken screamed at Seth’s father to hold him, but Seth pulled free of his father’s hands. At the same time the Kraken leapt forward to bar his way.

  ‘Get back!’ he snarled.

  Seth faltered.

  The smoke made it hard to see, and stung my eyes and throat. Dimly I was aware of running feet. Someone cried out in fright as a piece of timber fell in a shower of sparks.

  ‘Fire!’

  ‘Seth!’ I cried. ‘Hurry before it’s too late!’

  The Kraken howled like a wounded animal and swung round to smash his fist into my face. Pain exploded in my nose and the salty taste of blood filled my mouth. I could hardly see for blood and tears of pain, but I laughed because I had no other way to defend myself and laughter is one of the weapons against the darkness.

  He recoiled violently, his face a mask of fear and revulsion. Buddha and the other big boys who had been holding us, let go and grabbed hold of Seth, dragging him over to Mr Karle.

  Nissa reached for her sword but one of the kids running out the door kicked it and it spun off into the clouds of smoke.

  ‘Nathanial! Do something!’ she cried.

  ‘The circle will suffer no obstacle to the forging…’ Lallie said in my mind, her voice light with laughter and triumph.

  I looked at Indian, squinting and coughing. ‘Sometimes you have to fight.’

  He began to shake his head, then he stopped and a broad smile spread over his face as he turned to face Buddha and two other boys holding a struggling Seth.

  ‘Piss off, wimp,’ Buddha sneered.

  Without a word, Indian swatted him aside. He dropped like a stone and the other boys let go and backed away fearfully. Now we were all free and I yelled to them to hurry.

  There was a scream of terrible rage and pain, of fury and thwarted hatred, of evil vanquished, as Seth took Nissa’s hand.

  ‘Kill them! Kill them all!’ the Kraken shrieked, almost dancing in fury.

  The smoke was so bad now I felt dizzy and disorientated.

  For a fleeting second, I thought I saw a group of people huddled round a campfire. They all wore long white robes.

  Then I thought I was in the hillside wilderness, with the monster stalking me.

  ‘Children should be seen and not heard,’ it growled.

  ‘Nathanial!’ I reached for Nissa’s free hand and closed the circle and there was a flash of blinding, painful light as the Chain was forged anew, and Lallie’s voice rang out, strong and incredibly powerful: ‘May the Chain prevail long!’

  32

  By the time the fire brigade arrived, the flames were spreading rapidly, running through the long grass in a searing tide towards Cheshunt. Firemen and State Emergency Service volunteers, unravelling hoses and unloading equipment, shouted to make themselves heard over the howling winds as they fought to contain the blaze and prevent it from reaching the houses.

  Miraculously, none of us was hurt, though we had been last to leave the building as the roof collapsed. Indian had singed his pony tail, turning back to grab the bowl.

  ‘Look,’ Seth said suddenly.

  He was pointing to Mr Karle who stood on the footpath, gazing over the sea of flame to the burning abattoir. Great billowing clouds of smoke coiled above it into the dark sky, lit by showers of orange sparks. But his face registered neither fear nor anger. It was completely devoid of expression, his eyes empty but for twin reflections of flame.

  ‘We beat him,’ Nissa murmured.

  ‘Now why doesn’t it surprise me to find you here?’ said a familiar voice.

  I turned to see Mr Sharone from the Examiner.

  ‘I was listening to the police radio band for an update on the hurricane when I heard there was trouble over here,’ he said, looking across at the burning field.

  ‘Hurricane?’ I echoed. I looked up. In the last few minutes the wind had dropped but it was still dark, the clouds stirred into ragged spirals.

  ‘You’re telling me you didn’t know about it?’ Mr Sharone asked incredulously. ‘It was on the radio all morning and people were being asked to stay inside and batten down the hatches. For a while there it looked as if it would go right through Cheshunt, but about twenty minutes ago, it sheered off and went back out to sea.’

  We exchanged shocked looks.

  ‘So how come you’re not wearing warpaint? The police call said a group of kids dressed as red Indians had set the abattoir on fire,’ Mr Sharone probed.

  ‘We’re from a different tribe,’ Danny said with a quick grin. ‘How.’

  Mr Sharone smiled appreciatively. ‘That’s what I’d like to know. How the fire started?’

  Before we could think of what to say, a policeman came over.

  ‘We can’t make any sense of this. The kids in paint don’t deny they are members of the gang that has been causing trouble in Willington and Ercildoune, or that they were meeting in the abattoir, but they claim they didn’t light the fire.’

  ‘It was …’ Danny began.

  ‘It was a hurricane lamp. Someone knocked it over,’ Nissa said smoothly.

  The policeman frowned at his notes. ‘What part did you play in this affair, Miss?’

  ‘My friends and I came on the whole thing by accident. We took refuge from the storm in the abattoir and there was a meeting going on. They saw us and chased us. In the struggle a lantern was broken.’

  The rest of us were silent with astonishment.

  The policeman wrote for a bit in his notepad, then flipped back a couple of pages to read. He nodded. ‘There have been reports that adults were behind the gang, directing it, so to speak. We have been unable to get a name. None of the members seem able to tell us. Did you see anyone?’

  I held my breath unconsciously, waiting to see what Nissa would answer.

  ‘I didn’t see anyone. Did any of you?’ She looked around at us.

  In turn we shook our heads, obeying the message in Nissa’s eyes.

  ‘In the past, this gang has been involved in petty theft and minor violences on property and person, but they have not used weapons. Several illegal handguns were found tonight but, again, no one is prepared to say what they had been intended for.’

  ‘The storm was so loud and we were only there a second befor
e they spotted us,’ Nissa said apologetically.

  ‘Then you have no idea what was planned for tonight?’

  ‘Today Chestnut, tomorrow the world,’ Danny said.

  The policeman gave him a hard look, then he wrote down Indian’s address, which Nissa gave as her own, saying he might need to get a formal statement from her. He nodded to Mr Sharone then went awway.

  The journalist looked at Danny. ‘I’d watch my tongue, son. Police don’t have much of a sense of humour.’

  ‘That’s what’s wrong with them,’ Danny said. ‘People who take themselves too seriously get in the habit of thinking they know everything. That makes it easy for them to miss the truth.’

  Mr Sharone gave him a level look. Then he turned to me. ‘So, you’re making like the monkeys?’

  I stared at him blankly.

  ‘See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil,’ Danny explained.

  The journalist gave him a respectful look. ‘You’re a sharp kid. Ever think of journalism as a career?’

  ‘Look,’ Nissa murmured, and we turned to see the policemen that had questioned her approaching Mr Karle. The policeman took out his notebook and spoke. The Kraken stared past him, blank-faced as an empty page. Finally the policeman took him by the arm and began to lead him away.

  On the far side of the field, there was a yell and two policemen started to run. It was hard to tell because of the smoke, but I thought they were chasing Seth’s father, and was glad the policeman hadn’t taken Seth’s name and address. It would be too much of a coincidence for a son to stumble on his father involved in a criminal conspiracy.

  Seth hadn’t noticed, but Nissa had. She gave me a pointed look.

  ‘Let’s get out of here,’ I said.

  ‘Good idea,’ Nissa said ironically. ‘We don’t want to get mixed up in any of this legal stuff. Too much we can’t explain. We’ll meet back here tomorrow.’

  ‘You and Seth had better come to my place,’ Indian offered, but Nissa shook her head.

  ‘Not me. I’ve got my own place.’

  ‘I better go home too,’ Seth said. ‘I’ll be okay.’

  And so we parted.

  The Examiner the following morning reported the arrest of the gang members, the fire and the storm. It said a man believed to have worked with the gang had evaded police at the scene of the crime, and had not yet been located. It gave a description of Seth’s father, but did not mention that he was a policeman. It also said a teacher from Three North Cheshunt High School, believed to have been involved in the incident, had been transferred to an asylum having suffered catatonic retreat.