by F M Andrews
“Eggs again!” the clan leader exclaimed, looking past the girls at the ceiling. Then turning back towards the wall, she settled down once more quietly mumbling until her breathing became deeper and eventually the reassuring snoring began again. Both girls had forgotten to breath. “A sleep talker,” Ela sighed with relief. With slightly shaking hands they returned to the logbook and holding the page as if it were as delicate as eggshell they turned back one page. Immediately the alteration was glaringly obvious. It wasn’t the actual entry but the shimmering of magic that gave it away. Ela squinted at it. The whole thing was crudely done. No effort was made to hide it and there was no finesse involved. She supposed that in a world where talent was so limited there was no need to make anything too elaborate. No one would ever notice it.
Ema was also examining it carefully. “You know, I think it is so simple that if we pull this bit here the whole lot will unravel,” she thought quietly to Ela, who agreed. “It would only take a whisper of talent, no more than a clan member levitating a boat. Surely he wouldn’t notice that?” Holding hands, sharing their power silently, Ema tweaked the spell. It was a true joy to see the dark smudge of corruption evaporate off the page and the girls turned to each other, eyes sparkling, grinning like crazy.
One job done, one to go. Silently they closed the book again and crept out of the cabin, quietly shutting the door behind them. The hour was very late now, the corridors empty, and it only took the twins a short time to reach the store room in the hold. Mercifully, the action of opening the door activated the glow lamps within. Quietly shutting the door once more the twins stood and scanned the huge room. It was almost identical to their flagship. Boxes were stacked in neat lines with aisles between them for easy access. Everything looked as it should. There was no sign of branches or, indeed, anything out of the ordinary. Splitting up, they took an aisle each. Time passed, and still they hadn’t found what they were looking for. Maybe he hadn’t managed to bring the branches here yet? Doubt crept into the girls’ minds. Perhaps he was going to prepare the incriminating evidence tomorrow, at the last moment? They were just about to give up when Ema noticed some blankets tucked around something long and round.
Gingerly she moved closer and lifted a corner of the cloth. Sucking in a lungful of air, she sat back on her heels as a tingle shot through her hands and she could sense his stench. The branches were here but they were so much bigger than they had imagined. Getting rid of them was not going to be easy. Ela came and sat next to her, silently contemplating the problem.
A creak of a floor board sent a shock wave through them, but his voice turned them to ice.
“Ahhh … Set a trap and you never know what you might catch.” His voice was as vile as his thoughts. The twins froze, their hearts sinking, their stomachs clenching. Of course they would be able to understand him. He would have made sure of that.
“I knew that there was someone with more talent than usual on this backwater of a forsaken world, I just needed to entice them to come forward, but I never expected something so wonderful and as juicy as nubile twin girls. How delicious,” he gushed, stepping out of the darkness at the back of the hold into the dim light of the glow lamp. His eyes were devouring them, one side of his mouth turned up in a revolting sneer.
“Now, neither of you lovely young ladies look like a native to me. I wonder where you have come from.” He paused for effect. “And why you are here,” he drawled, placing a finger on one cheek and tilting his head towards it in a mock thoughtful pose. Both girls were mesmerized and could not take their eyes off him. They were watching their own death coming for them, and there was absolutely nothing they could do to prevent it.
“Not talking?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow. “Never mind. I just love delving into people's minds. It is always so interesting to see their dirty little secrets. It’s just a shame that it either leaves the person dead or insane. I prefer insane myself, so much more fun.” He laughed humourlessly, moving one step closer to the terrified girls. The only thought that managed to surface into Ela’s mind was surprise. This was definitely not the death she had pictured for herself.
“Come now, my pretties, no need to be bashful. I want to hear all about you. I am sure that what you have to say will be absolutely fascinating,” he drawled, reaching out a hand towards them, breaking Ema from her trance and spurring her into action. Grasping Ela’s hand, she shot across an idea, hoping that he would not be able to intercept their narrow twin communication and, as one, they imagined the cold and the dark of limbo and then imagined themselves floating within it, unsure if they would ever be able to escape it once they were there, not quite trusting their ability to bring themselves back to the real world. It was a plan borne of desperation.
Slowly they spun in the emptiness, each totally alone with their fears, hating the nothingness but dreading Zail more. The feeling of falling was the first indication that they had been released from limbo, next came the breath-taking shock as they plunged deep into icy, dark water. It was pitch black and there was no way to tell which way was up. Ema panicked and kicked out violently only to connect with her twin. Ela grabbed her wrist and screamed into her mind. They had to calm down. Panicking would only make their situation worse.
In the split moment they’d had to choose a destination, they had decided to transport themselves to the lake, hoping he would not be able to follow them through limbo. It was the only place they could think of where he would not think to look, but it was dark, cold and totally disorientating until, mercifully, the moon broke free from its obscuring clouds, illuminating the surface just long enough to give the girls their bearings. Their lungs were burning by the time they finally broke the surface to take in deep gulps of fresh, night air. Breathing had never felt so wonderful before. For a long moment they lay on their backs, recovering, staring up at the night sky, just breathing.
It appeared they had escaped, for now. There was no sign of Zail but both were under no illusion that he didn’t know who they were now, and they knew it was only a matter of time before he found them again. As soon as they got back to dry land they were going to have to do some serious thinking and planning. It was easy to spot the gathering, as even at this time of night the glow of the banked central fire peeped between the dark hulls. Slowly they began to swim in towards it. A few strokes on they banged into a floating branch and Ema squealed in delight.
“It worked! I can’t believe it! Ha. Take that, snothead!”
“What worked?” Ela asked, treading water, her brain working overtime. “Is this what I think it is?” she asked incredulously, clutching onto the branch to take a rest.
Ema grasped onto it also, a smug smile playing on her lips. “Well, I thought that if we were going to disappear, we might as well take the branches with us.”
Ela grinned. “Hope that puts a spoke in his wheels,” she said, imagining a frustrated Zail, stomping about furiously. After a small rest they left the branch once more and slowly made their way to shore.
#
‘Such a tasty titbit!’ Zail thought, licking his lips. He was going to enjoy this. He had struck gold. After all this time he had finally smelt a whiff of her and somehow, these two delightful mouthfuls were the key. His trap had caught a much larger fish than he had expected and he was not going to waste this unexpected bounty. He’d had only a brief glimpse within their minds before they had disappeared into limbo but it had been enough to reassure him that they knew of, and had met with, his nemesis. If his luck held, and he gave them enough space, they would lead him straight into her waiting arms. He chuckled with delight, anticipating the anguish this would cause them all. The dark-haired girls would not have gone far and he was certain that he would probably find them before the day was done. All he had to do was wait and see where they led. Tedious as this was, he was sure that there would be several delightful ways to entertain himself with these people while he waited. It was always so easy to create hatred and fear.
#
&n
bsp; Ema and Ela sat huddled under the tarpaulin of the shard guy’s yacht, waiting for dawn. They had chosen this boat because it was all on its own, far enough from the gathering’s circle that they would not be noticed. They were cold and shivering, but the enclosed space was slowly warming up with their body heat. It was time to make plans. Yesterday morning it seemed as if their life had direction, a clear path to follow, an easily imagined journey. Today everything was unknown and in turmoil. Gone was the prospect of stability, a new sensation they were just becoming to appreciate, and in its place they had been thrown into a world of unfathomable possibilities and terrors. They needed a map to guide them through all this.
Too afraid to talk out loud again, they were communicating through their own twin bond, the touch adding reassurance. I was the safest form of communication they knew.
“Somehow we have to get to the pickup point at the right time, with the shard and its obnoxious bearer,” Ela recapped. “And to do that we need to know exactly where we arrived, a boat to get us there, some way to navigate and, of course, coerce our pet idiot to come with us,” She listed, counting off each point with her fingers.
“And we have to do all this without Zail finding us again,” Ema amended. Said like that, it sounded hopeless and both girls sat and stared at the bottom of the boat for a long time, letting it all wash over them.
As the sun rose the chance of being discovered increased, which forced them to make some hard decisions.
“We are going to have to tell Ralta and Bhan, I think,” Ema opened. “They need to know and, besides, they might be able to help us. We need to contact them, somehow.”
Ela was thinking about how they could do this when a truly frightening thought occurred to her. “We can’t!” she cried “We can’t involve them. They will be the first place he will look.” Images of Zail rummaging through Ralta and Bhan’s minds was enough to make them both feel ill, but the realization that they would have been handing him vital information about Errin via these innocent people shook them to their bones. They would have served her and Feld up on a plate. Once again, they had been going to act before thinking, although fortunately, this time they stopped themselves just in time. Maybe they were learning some lessons after all.
“What are we going to do?” Ema moaned. “We need our backpacks and to know how to get to the pickup point,” she reasoned, then succumbing to the inevitable she added. “We are going to have to talk to Mr Dickwad, aren’t we?” She sighed. “Someone, somewhere, really hates us, don't they.”
“Ironic, really,” Ela chimed in. “The only person who can save us is the one person we would most like to avoid. He is selfish, arrogant and refuses to listen to others, [CL33]a real piece of work, and I have no idea how we are going to talk him into being a responsible human being,” she concluded, sounding exasperated.
“It is not looking good and it is a huge risk, but we have to try,” Ema cautioned. “Without him, the whole thing falls over.”
Hiding in his boat had been unplanned, a choice made of circumstance, but now it had turned out to be a very lucky choice, indeed. All they had to do was sit tight and let the shard bearer come to them. As the day progressed their shelter began to heat up. It became almost unbearably stifling under the cover, so much so that Ela risked discovery by loosening a strap to provide a vent. They were hot, thirsty and hungry but most of all they were bone weary tired and although they fought it valiantly, inevitably they fell victim to sleep’s siren call and, unable to resist any longer, curled up together in the bottom of the yacht sound asleep.
Voices woke them, startling them, jolting them into complete focus. Luckily the people talking kept walking right on by. The last thing the girls wanted was to be discovered by others. The fewer who knew about them the better. Daring to peek through the vent she had made, Ela scanned the area. Groups of people were making their way past their hiding place, carrying blankets and picnic baskets, laughing and joking; it must be almost race time, Ela concluded. It felt like another world. Another lifetime. There was still no sign of the yacht’s owner and with luck he would be a late riser.
Soon the crowds had passed and all was quiet once more. Ela and Ema allowed themselves a small moment of relief. One less problem to contend with, although they still had the small issue of how to convince the shard bearer to play nice. Their small reprieve was not to last long as Ela spied Pritt’s long legs striding purposefully in their direction. This was it! Make or break time! The one thing that they had decided on was that they needed to act fast. They did not want him to have a chance to call attention to them or to escape, so as soon as his hand came into contact with the tarpaulin Ela grasped him and sent a stunning mind bolt through their touch knowing that this would not be detectable by Zail. Fear had given her strength and he collapsed to the ground without a whimper.
Cautiously the girls opened the tarp along the side and leaned out and, with an enormous effort, dragged his inert body inside and re-tied the cover. Panting, they sat staring at their victim, amazed at how well the whole operation had gone. Asleep he looked quite different. Without the arrogant swagger and superior sneer he was actually quite good looking and surprisingly young. The twins could see now that he was probably not much older than they were.
There was no backing out now and to ensure that he did not make any noise Ema rigged a gag using a ripped off sleeve from her top[CL34]. Hesitantly, they took a hand each, shared a tentative, reassuring smile and brought their one and only hope back to the world. His first reaction was one of panic, ripping his hands away from them and trying to sit upright. Ema wagged a finger at him and shook her head before Ela zapped him once more. They repeated this exercise one more time until he finally got the message and sat still. The girls would never admit it but they quite enjoyed this part of the exercise.
He sat there looking sullen, unable to make a noise and plainly wary of the twins’ next move.
Ela reached out towards him again and, satisfyingly, he flinched away. “We will not hurt you as long as you sit still and listen to what we have to say,” she said through the tight communication of touch. He just stared blankly back at her. “I know you can hear me. Don’t play dumb,” she berated him.
He shifted uncomfortably before answering begrudgingly. “What do you want?”
“We only want you to listen,” Ema said. “Believe me, if there was any other way to do this we would have gladly taken it. You are the last person we want to have to deal with,” she admitted. He could feel her scorn and dislike through their connection and winced. This was not turning out to be a good day for him.
“What we are about to reveal to you will put all our lives in danger,” Ela continued. “We are trusting you with information that can save or doom whole worlds. This is important and as much as we don’t want to, we are forced to have to trust you with it.” She paused, staring intently into his eyes. “You understand?” His eyes darted from one twin’s face to the other in confusion.
“No! I certainly do not understand,” he exploded. “What in the vastness are you to playing at? Just leave me alone and GET OUT OF MY BLOODY BOAT!” he screamed into their minds. Again Ela zapped him and again he collapsed.
“Well, this is going well!” she thought sarcastically. “Next time we wake him we just blast him with our memories. He has had a chance to be treated with respect and he blew it. Time to get serious.” These words gave them courage, a sense of determination and permission to tackle him head on. Together they woke him, kidnapped his consciousness and forced him to travel through their memories. Fortunately he was unprepared and unable to fight back and so instead he surrendered. He saw their lives, experienced their adventures and received Errin’s message.
After initially balking, he gradually began to take charge of the direction his mind was taking and several times he would go back to replay an event or a conversation. He was particularly interested in horses and trees. He was surprised at their courage and marvelled in their adventures
but he was not at all interested in their plight. He brushed over Errin’s words and dismissed the threat of Zail. They meant nothing to him. It was someone else's fight, not his. The girls kept their last encounter with Zail from him as they did not want to incriminate the Soaringwing clan in any way and instead revealed how he was hunting them. This also made very little impact. Once again, it was not his problem.
Exhausted, they released him, uncertain if they had made any progress or not. He sat staring at them, eyes wide, for quite some time before touching Ela’s hand.
“I respect you guys now; you have had some seriously impressive experiences. I can help you find out the coordinates of your arrival, retrieve your back packs and maybe tell Ralta and Bhan that you are all right, but that is as far as I will go. This has nothing to do with me. Just because I inherited my brother's belt buckle, does not mean that I have to give up my life here for some far off cause. You can have the damned thing, if you want it. I don’t need it,” he finished, reaching for his buckle. The girls had been staring at him in disbelief. How could anyone be so callous, so selfish?
“Look,” he sighed. “I can hide you in our store room until you can work out a way to escape but that is the best I can do,” he concluded, shrugging his shoulders. They had tried, they had used every tool at their disposal and still they had failed. Disheartened, they had no choice but to take what he had offered and regroup. At least they were grateful the he was going to help rather than expose them. They could sense that he was honest enough and that he was not thinking of betrayal.
“Okay,” Ela agreed, defeated and as an afterthought she added. “Thank you.” No point in making things worse. “Just make sure you don't tell Ralta and Bhan anything other than that we are all right.”
In reply he just gave them a withering look before sitting up and gathering himself once more. “You stay here and I will get you some disguises so that I can sneak you on board,” he ordered. Ema untied his gag and watched numbly as he massaged his face. Unexpectedly, he then undid his belt buckle and handed it to Ela. “Here, I hope this helps,” he said and to their surprise they could tell that he actually meant it. Quietly he slipped out from under the cover and was gone. Ela stared down at the shard in her hands in disbelief. She knew in her heart of hearts that it would not be much use without its bearer but maybe, just maybe, it would be better than nothing.