The circle collapsed.
His father and Martin dropped at once to the ground as though dead. Ash Kit and Au Set clutched each other, staggering, falling, their golden eyes dark with shock.
Only Ba Set remained standing, incandescent with fury, power pulsing still from every fibre and cell of her being. With one step she flew across the circle and hauled her son to his feet, shaking him, wordless with rage.
‘I saw, I saw,’ sobbed Tey, his teeth chattering.
Ba Set released her hand and the boy tumbled to the ground. He lay still, inert with misery.
A shrill of light. A shudder of movement. Out of the darkness a cascade of bright eyes and fury streamed into the clearing. It was a silvery whirlwind of massed faeries with hackles up and sharp teeth bared. The stream split in two - one to cover the cowering boy, while the other plunged through the night towards Ba Set.
She swotted them away.
‘Seen what?’ she demanded, full of rage. ‘You can’t have seen anything. You, a mere boy, have seen nothing.’
Tey began to sob, a great body wracking sound. His head was cast down, and his arms were wrapped tightly around his knees. Ba Set seethed, energy crackling around her. More faeries emerged from the deep forest, drawn by the young boy’s cry. Gimbal swooped down from the heights to stand protectively, as tall as he could, the fat faery’s bulbous eyes glaring up at Ba Set in defiance.
From behind the trees a shadow emerged, its great eyes blinking, joining other mighty spirits rising out of the rock and ground, streaming towards the stricken boy. Within a moment he was surrounded by a glow of beings, shielding him and lending him strength. Tey gulped a breath and gazed up into his mother’s fierce golden eyes.
‘I did See,’ he said, in a trembling voice. ‘And I still See. You have fire all around you.’
Ba Set took a step towards him. ‘How dare you,’ she began angrily. ‘You are of your father’s line. You cannot See.’
Wilting, Tey shrank away from his mother’s unyielding denial.
‘It’s impossible.’ She stated flatly.
A hand touched her lightly on her shoulder. ‘It is not impossible, sister,’ murmured Ash Kit, gazing at the massed wild folk, her eyes soft with wonder. ‘Look how the spirits come to his aid,’ she whispered. ‘It’s a mighty talent. I have never heard of such a thing.’
Ba Set brushed her sister aside. ‘They’re nothing, they’re mindless, senseless creatures,’ she snapped with a wince. Ba Set shook her head as if in pain.
‘Sister, place your hands on the ground. You crackle with unreleased energy, it can do you great harm if you do not let it go.’
Ignoring her, Ba Set reached to pull Tey to his feet, but as she did so, a tall angular spirit rose to shield the boy. Elegant and luminous, the figure gazed at Ba Set with such a serene, implacable energy that she faltered.
Another taller faery appeared - a transparent, liquid being, it rippled with light and its soft radiance covered the forlorn boy. Elsewhere, spilling from the trees, more wild spirits emerged from the heart of the forest, from the ancient groves, from the tumbling waterfalls, and from the hidden silence of the deep caves. They appeared until Tey lay surrounded by beings of untold beauty and strength.
‘No,’ declared Ba Set, as radiance danced over her face. She raised her hand, golden eyes flashing with pride. The beings waited, each one as cool and serene as a deep-water pool. A breeze danced, lifting her hair, releasing sparks of pent up energy into the night air. Abruptly Ba Set laughed, a high incredulous sound, and lowering her palms, she breathed out a long, loud sigh and the ground around her flashed as loops of pent up energy melted back into the soil.
Then in the hushed clearing, from the massed spirits of fire and water, earth and air, came a song, spun from the very fabric of the forest itself, a song that descended over the boy and his mother as gentle and as light as the wind.
Tey lay quiet, his earlier terror and confusion forgotten. He turned his mother, and her face was bathed in light.
‘My son,’ she reached for his hand. It felt cool and dry and surprisingly small. ‘I never…’
Tey bowed his head, too overcome to meet her eyes, his heart trembling, waiting.
But Ba Set never completed her sentence as a mighty shout ripped through the clearing and a horse, its huge chest lathered with exertion, charged into the circle, dashing sparks from the flint that lay embedded in the ground. A tiny faery with thistle-topped hair and delicate limbs flared in fright and vanished. Ba Set, swept aside by its bulk, stumbled to the ground.
On the beast’s back, his gold and red cloak billowing majestically, was a single knight. His fist was raised in the air, and his ice blue eyes were blazing with fanatical fire.
‘Rejoice! The Blessed Child is found. Rejoice!’
SEVENTEEN
Blue Mountains, Australia, present day
The streetlights blinked on as Ellie hurried up the driveway, her parents’ car was parked in its usual place by the back gate. From the house, seeping out through the living room curtains, a blue and white flicker cast a ghostly glow over the front step. The blue switched to a more soothing yellow as a shadow swept through the room. Her mother, Ellie guessed as she quietly turned her key in the lock, changing the channels. It was a Saturday night and it looked like the family were home.
Taking care not to creak the floorboards, Ellie slipped in as quietly as she could and crept down the hallway into her room. Dropping her bag on the floor, she sat in the dark, catching her reflection in the small oval mirror on the wall.
Did any of it really actually happen?
Her face stared back, serious, her green eyes wide. It looked the same, pale and freckled with wisps of untidy hair sneaking out beneath a wrap of brightly coloured cloth.
Soul Flyer … Ellie mouthed the words, tasting them on her tongue. They felt weird yet zinged and exploded through her senses like fragments of space rock or sweet, fizzy sherbet.
Pulling off her sandals, Ellie pushed them under her bed and then, on impulse, jumped to her feet. She lifted her arms and whirled around and around on the spot, her hands out wide and her hair flowing soft and loose.
‘Soul Flyer,’ she whispered, and her bed, bookcase, cupboard, and desk blurred as she spun faster and faster. My God. What could it all mean? Dizzy, Ellie sat down with a sudden lurch, the room wheeling and tilting around her.
And Ba Set… My God. Ellie shuddered as she remembered the disquieting vision of an endless stream of women, ancient and crowned in gold. Was that even real? Ellie sat for a long moment with her eyes closed, before taking a deep breath and tiptoeing down the hallway to the kitchen.
She checked her clothes were straight, with no twigs or leaves to give her away, and fixed a smile on her face as she opened the door to the brightly lit room. ‘Hi Mum,’ she called. ‘I’m back.’
Claire wiped her hands on her apron and turned around. ‘Ellie, how long have you been home? I didn't hear the front door.’
‘Oh, just now.’ Ellie shrugged. Opening the pantry she peered in, looking for some biscuits. She was starving. ‘Where are the twins?’ The house seemed unnaturally calm.
‘Ben has taken them out. Ellie,’ she paused, ‘did you find what you were looking for at the library?’
Something in her mother’s tone made Ellie look up. Claire was standing with her hand on the bench, watching her closely.
‘The library?’ Ellie flushed, thinking hard. She hadn’t gone to the library, or anywhere near it. Ellie had been so focused on confronting Ba Set, she hadn’t considered her parents would wonder where she’d been all day. ‘Yeah Mum, I ducked in and found a few books,’ Ellie replied, uneasily. ‘But then I didn’t stay,’ she added. ‘I just took them out and found a quiet little place to study-’
‘Where was that?’
‘Um, under a tree, in the shade, in the park.’
‘For the Lord’s sake, do you think we’re stupid?’ her mother cried out, slapping her hand down hard.
‘What? No!’
There was a crash of wood on the wall as the door to the kitchen burst open. Her father strode in, his tall frame filling the kitchen, and his anger even more frightening because it was contained and directed solely at her.
‘Where have you been?’
‘I-I-In the park, Dad.’ Ellie stammered, ‘I was just reading. You know I like to read outside.’ Ellie couldn’t think of anything else to say, but it wasn’t a complete lie; she did like to read outside...
He glared at her. ‘What book, from where?’
‘Just a textbook from the library, my God Dad, why are you both having a go at me? You know I have to study and its just too loud here with the twins always going mental!’ She was shouting now, anxious to deflect the conversation away from the dangerous subject of where she’d been.
Without a word, her father hauled Ellie by the hand and pulled her down the hall and into her room. Behind them, following closely, Claire was crying. ‘Ellie, why do you lie to us, why do you lie to us all the time? Where is God to you, what is God to you? Where is truth?’
Ellie shut out the anguished torrent, her heart was thudding, and she almost tripped as she stumbled into her room and fell onto her bed. Her father loomed over her, his anger as sharp as a slap.
‘You’re grounded. Now. Forever. You are not to go out. You are to go to school and come back within half an hour of the end of the school day. You are a liar, Ellie Malone. You habitually, and wilfully disobey us. And we are sick to death of it.’
‘What? That’s not fair!’
‘Don’t even bother, Ellie.’
The streetlight fell in stripes of orange as her mother silenced her with a look, and closed the door behind her, making a point of turning the handle so the catch locked it shut. Like bars, thought Ellie, standing alone in the centre of the room. Morosely, she gazed at the pattern of shadow and light on her bed.
I’m jailed. Forever.
Outside, the old red gum bumped against the wall of the house, wood on wood, its rhythmic thudding marking the first intervals of her sentence. The window was open, and as the curtains rose and fell, the dry warmth of the night, tinged with the dusty traces of the forest, swirled and eddied through the gap.
Numb with shock, Ellie pulled off her jeans and t-shirt and, opening her closet, searched until she found her oldest and most comforting nightdress. Made of soft cotton, and only slightly too small, Ellie slipped it over her head and climbed into bed, pulling the covers right up to her chin.
Cocooned the darkness, Ellie lay as still as she could, her arms folded across her belly, her eyes open, trained on the shadows cutting sharp across the ceiling.
What had just happened?
From the living room, laughter buzzed, followed by a burst of tinny music and a rapid-fire voice. Over the blare of the television came the clink and scrape of cutlery, her parents eating their evening meal in the kitchen. But they weren’t talking, Ellie realised, and for a long time she lay wondering, listening to the familiar sounds of the house. What was going on? Her parents never normally looked for her, and besides, how had they known she wasn’t in the library?
On the lower shelf of the desk lay Ellie’s cell phone, its face reflecting the soft green glow of her bedside clock. She hardly took it anywhere, it was way too expensive, and besides it was only ever used for emergencies.
Kicking off the covers, Ellie picked it up.
‘Oh what?’ she groaned.
Its normally blank screen held a list of calls missed from today, two from home, and a single one from Rose.
Ellie leant back against the wall. Of course, how could she have been so stupid? If her parents were looking for her, they would’ve called Rose first to ask where she was, and Rose would’ve said ‘the library’ out of habit.
But … Ellie winced. Oh God ... she was so busted. Saturday ... today was Saturday, and everyone knew the library was closed.
The clock clicked and Ellie had just rolled over, closing her eyes, when the floorboards creaked and her door swung open after a single knock.
Ellie’s mother entered, carrying a small tray covered with a cloth. ‘I’ve brought you some dinner.’ Her voice sounded tired.
The mattress dipped as Claire perched herself on the edge of the bed.
Ellie didn’t respond, her breathing was slow and steady as if she was already deeply asleep.
Placing the tray on the floor, her mother sat for a long moment in silence.
‘I wish I could understand you.’ She said at last. Her mother’s voice trembled, and the tone was soft, but the unmistakeable note of reproach settled over Ellie like a net. ‘Why do you disobey us? Why would you choose a life of sin over the love of your family? Why Ellie?’
Ellie didn’t move, but her heart began to beat louder, and she was sure her mother could hear its rising rhythm of alarm.
‘We don’t forbid you out of malice,’ her mother was still speaking. ‘We know you love the forest, you always have, but we have to protect you, and we will. Even if we have to chain you to the bed.’
What? Ellie couldn’t contain herself any longer and her eyes flew open. ‘You wouldn’t do that!’
Her mother sighed. ‘You are awake.’ She clasped her hands in prayer and looked down. Her eyes were red and painful looking, as though she had been crying for a long time. ‘Ellie, we would do whatever we needed to. You are our responsibility. How could we stand before God, and say we let our daughter go?’
‘But you haven’t let me go.’ Ellie’s heart thudded as the enormity of the thought filled the room. ‘You haven’t, I just ... I don't know...’
They stared at each other.
‘Where did we go wrong? Where?’ Her mother dropped her head.
‘Mum,’ Ellie whispered desperately. ‘Don’t. Please.’
‘It’s just so important, and you just ignore us.’
It was awful. Ellie felt helpless as her mother hid her face in her hands, her shoulder’s shaking, as though she couldn't bear anyone to see her tears.
‘Please don't, Mum.’ Ellie sat up and placed an arm awkwardly around her mother. ‘ Please don’t cry. I won’t go back, I promise, I really won’t. I’ll be good. Mum, I promise, please.’
And she meant it. Ellie really meant it.
The tears didn't stop immediately, but after a long moment Claire retrieved a tissue from her apron pocket and gently blew her nose.
‘That’s better,’ she murmured, scrunching the tissue in her hand. She patted Ellie’s leg. ‘Are you hungry? I’ve brought you some dinner.’
‘No…Thanks.’ Ellie shook her head, relieved the emotional storm was over. ‘I have a bit of a headache...’
‘It’s all that studying you do,’ said Claire, handing her a glass of water from the dinner tray.
Ellie drank the contents down.
‘Now let me hear your prayers.’
A burst of laughter caught in Ellie’s throat, but she coughed, forcing it back down. She’d promised to be good. Her mother waited, her hands folded.
‘Please God,’ Ellie began, ‘bless my Father, bless my Mother … bless Ben ... bless Tommy, bless Annie...’ On and on the list went, a prayer of blessings for her family, her friends, her town, her country, and it ended in a plea for forgiveness for all her sins.
Claire smiled. ‘I won’t let you forget your promise, Ellie. Especially in these End Times, we need to be together as a family. You need to put your doubts aside and trust us. We’re your parents and we know what’s best.’
Ellie could only nod, she felt exhausted. It had been a crazy, confusing day.
Her mother laid a hand on her shoulder before taking the dinner tray and closing the door tightly behind.
Now what? Ellie rolled towards the wall. She closed her eyes and settled into her bed, waiting for sleep to take her away.
But it was no use.
Ellie pushed the covers off and stared up at the ceiling. How could she keep that promise? And Soul Flyer .
.. was that sinful? Was it? Was Ba Set a devil? How does anyone know what’s true?
Ellie’s backpack lay in the centre of the room, abandoned where she’d dropped it. Its zip was open and from its depths, a hazy light seeped up into the darkness.
Ask the stone ... ask it anything at all.
‘Should I?’ Whispered Ellie, her heart was thudding, in fear or excitement she didn't quite know.
Lying back down on her bed, she placed the stone carefully onto the soft area of her belly. Despite the covering of her nightdress, Ellie’s stomach muscles recoiled as its smooth coolness seeped into the warmth of her skin. Shadows played, dancing on her walls, a dog barked outside, and the branches of the tree knocked gently against the side of the house.
If she did this, Ellie thought slowly; if she entered the strange world of magic by her own choice, she probably was sinning and she may well damn her very soul forever. Ellie’s heart jolted in fear.
Through the walls, Ellie could hear the final strains of a guitar and applause as the credits rolled. Her parents would soon turn the TV off, brush their teeth, and say their bedtime prayers, dedicating their sleep to the safety of the Lord.
‘But it feels right…’ Whispered Ellie, her hand hovering over the stone. ‘And I have to know, I just have to know.'
Ellie clasped the stone to her skin, and its cold moved from her belly down to her spine, spreading like a mist up into her chest, and out through her limbs.
‘Soul Flyer…’ The words hung soft and sibilant above her. ‘What is it, what is a Soul Flyer?’
Breathing softly, Ellie waited. She wasn’t sure what for. She shifted her position. Beside her in the darkness, the green numbers of her clock clicked over a single minute, then another, and another. The bathroom door, down the hallway, closed with a quiet snap of the lock.
Ellie wriggled her toes. How would she even know if something was happening? She clenched the hag stone firmer against her skin.
Just ask…
Had Ba Set suggested anything else?
Ellie tried to think, but it was hard, her thoughts felt weird and gooey, and thick, like her brain was stuck - stuck, stickity stuck, and old, like a jar full of melted sweets.
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