In the Shadow of Mountains: The Lost Girls

by David George Richards

Chapter Fourteen

  The Dark Side

  Soo-Kai had decided to go with Kai-Tai to take a closer look at the castle. Rolf had to stay with the other Destroyers. He wanted to go with Soo-Kai, but Kai-Tai refused to allow it.

  “Our senses are greater than yours,” she said. “Where we stand, your eyes will not see what ours will see. Your nose will not smell what ours will smell. And you cannot run and move through the forest as we will move. No, you must stay here. You will be safe with my sisters. They will not kill you unless I order it, and I have ordered that you live.”

  Rolf was unconvinced, but then Soo-Kai kissed him and said, “Wait for me. You will be safe. Guard the horses.”

  Rolf held on to her. “Come back safely. I’ll miss you.”

  Soo-Kai moved away, her hand slipping from his. She watched him wave as she left with Kai-Tai. She would feel terribly anxious until she returned. She waved back.

  Kai-Tai grunted in annoyance and walked quickly away. Soo-Kai had to hurry to catch up with her.

  Soon they were lost among the trees, running at a trot. It wasn’t long before they reached the castle.

  The castle was in the shape of a pentagon, with a tower at four of its points. One of these towers was larger than the rest, and housed the living apartments, while another held the guards and servants quarters. At the fifth point of the pentagon was the large gatehouse, fortified on either side by two more towers.

  The walls of the castle were large and weathered, and there were many pock marks and scars from previous attempts to breech them. Every so often, there were sections where the stonework didn’t match, showing a history of constant damage and repair. The castle wasn’t big, but it was old and impressive.

  As they stood next to a tree, peering at the castle walls in the distance, Soo-Kai asked her mother a question that had nagged at her.

  “Why do you resent my bond,” she said. “You know you cannot interfere, and yet I sense the hatred you have for him. It is stronger than in the others. Why?”

  Kai-Tai didn’t take her eyes from the castle as she spoke. “Because you are my seed. Because he takes you from me and turns you from the Purpose. And because you hold him before my lips like a morsel to be consumed. Do not be surprised if I should decide to take your gift.”

  “If you threaten him, I will fight,” Soo-Kai replied sternly.

  Kai-Tai turned to face Soo-Kai. “You cannot defend him now.”

  Soo-Kai became alarmed. She looked back the way they had came. It would take too long to go back. “You said he would be safe among the others!” she exclaimed.

  “And so he will. Be calm, my daughter. None will kill him unless I act first. And I cannot act while your bond presents no threat. You are right, I cannot interfere, and this more than anything gives me the most irritation. Now, enough of your bond. Show me that you are still a clone of the Tun-Sho-Lok. Show me your sword and the dark side of your brain.”

  Soo-Kai relaxed, appeased by her mother’s assurances. She drew the sword from her back and knelt down on the grass next to the tree. She put the sword on the ground next to her, its hilt pointed at the castle. She knelt with her back very straight and her hands resting on her thighs. She closed her eyes.

  Kai-Tai sat by the tree and watched Soo-Kai’s sword. Slowly it began to change.

  The point of the sword grew longer and thinner, while two lumps appeared on either side of the blade about halfway along its length. Two more lumps appeared at the hilt. Between them, the blade grew fatter. The handle also grew fatter, but more rounded. The four lumps grew longer and became legs. They grew feet with long fingers and claws. The long point became a snake-like tail, while the middle section became a rounded body. The handle grew bigger and developed a long snout. Ears grew out of the top and eyes rotated into view. The snout split apart, revealing sharp silvery teeth. Slowly, it all turned metallic green, almost matching the colour of the grass.

  The transformation completed, the creature turned its head and stared at Kai-Tai. Kai-Tai spoke to it.

  “Go to the castle. Search for what we seek.”

  With a hiss, the reptile-like creature bounded forward, its body zig-zagging as it ran across the grass towards the castle.

  Kai-Tai watched and waited. Her eyes could pick out the tiny movement in the grass, even at this distance. When the creature reached the walls of the castle, it leapt up and ran up the wall, its body zig-zagging like before. In an instant it had reached the top and vanished from view.

  Kai-Tai turned and looked at Soo-Kai. She was breathing softly, evenly.

  “Where are you?” she asked her.

  “I am in the courtyard,” Soo-Kai replied. Her eyes were still closed, and she spoke calmly and un-emotionally.

  “What do you see?”

  “There are many horses and wagons. The wagons are mounted with wooden cages. Men walk among the horses. There are many men. They hold pikes and shields. Some of the horses bear the pennants of Knights. I can smell the scent of the aliens in the air.”

  “What of the Androktone?” Kai-Tai asked.

  There was a pause. “I sense nothing,” Soo-Kai answered.

  “Find the apartments. See who dwells inside.”

  “I go to the North Tower. I go round the walls. I pass the West Tower. Two guards stand at its door. The windows are shuttered. I run along the wall. I am under the steps to the North Tower. There is a window high up. I climb. I am at the window.”

  “What do you see?”

  “There are two men inside. They wear rich garments. They speak. I hear them. One calls the other Le-Roth. He speaks of his pet, saying that it will finish the artifact in a few days. Le-Roth wants the work to be done more quickly. He says that children are no replacement for weapons. He takes something from the other man and says that the trinkets they bring are worthless. He speaks of the other man’s pet, saying that she is untrustworthy. He says that she belongs in the pit, and that she grows fat on those that she eats. The other man is angered by his words. They argue. Le-Roth comes to the window. He opens it! I leave!”

  Soo-Kai took a sharp breath, her breathing slowly subsiding.

  Kai-Tai moved closer to her. “Where are you now?” she whispered.

  “I am on the ground by the wall on the far side of the North Tower. I stare at the trinket Le-Roth has thrown from the window. It is smashed. It was made from glass and metal. It has a leather strap. I have seen this thing before, on the wrist of the boy child that was killed in the forest.”

  “Leave the trinket and move on,” Kai-Tai told her. “Find the entrance to the underground quarters, search for the pit the men spoke of. Find the scent of the Androktone.”

  “I run along the wall towards the East Tower. I see the grating in the ground. I wait for men to pass. I run! I am inside. I descend the steps. The taste of the aliens is strong here. I am in the passageway. Wait!”

  Soo-Kai made a sudden snarl, baring her teeth.

  “What is it?” Kai-Tai asked.

  “I find a rat.”

  “Move on!” Kai-Tai urged her.

  “I move along the passageway. There are many doors that I pass. I sniff at them. Yes! There are aliens within.”

  “Forget the aliens!” Kai-Tai snapped at her. “Find the Destroyer! Find the Androktone! She is the one we must know!”

  “I move further down the passageway. It is very long. Wait! I smell her! She is here! Somewhere at the end of this passage! I move closer. I feel movement in the air. Something stirs. She has sensed my presence! She comes for me!”

  Soo-Kai began to breathe quicker. “I turn and run! I hear her follow! I feel the ground tremble under her weight! She runs! I run! I am at the steps! She chases me! I run up the steps! She is behind me! She is big! Too big! I run! I run! I am out of the grating! She stops! She bangs her head and snaps at me!”

  Soo-Kai stopped talking. She was panting madly, her eyes still closed tight.

  Kai-Tai g
rabbed her. “Are you safe? Soo-Kai! My seed! Answer me!”

  There was a low, pitiful moan. Kai-Tai heard it clearly. It came from the castle and caused birds to call and fly among the high branches of the forest trees. Kai-Tai turned and stared at the distant walls. Something appeared at the top of the wall. It didn’t wait to climb down; it just leapt from the top. It bounced when it landed in the grass. But when it hit the ground the second time, it came down running. Kai-Tai watched it scamper towards her.

  The reptile-like creature ran up to Soo-Kai and fell to the ground before her. Instantly, it began to change. Its green skin changed to silver, and its body flowed like liquid. Its head and body narrowed, and its feet retracted. In a few moments it was the sword once more.

  Soo-Kai quivered and opened her eyes. She snatched her breath and blurted out, “She is an Outsider!”

  Kai-Tai moved closer to Soo-Kai and rubbed her cheek against hers. “You are safe. I am pleased.”

  Soo-Kai put her arm around Kai-Tai’s waist and leaned against her. She was still panting, and the sweat had broken out on her skin.

  “Even though she is bonded, she is full of anger,” she gasped. “For the humans, the aliens, and for us. She is big, my mother! She was going to eat me!”

  Kai-Tai put her arm around Soo-Kai and helped her to stand.

  “Lean against the tree and calm yourself,” she said, picking up Soo-Kai’s sword and handing it to her. Soo-Kai replaced it in her back, leaning against the tree as Kai-Tai had said.

  Kai-Tai waited until the sword had disappeared before she spoke again.

  “Come, we must leave before she warns those in the North Tower of your presence. They may come to search for us. Are you ready?”

  Soo-Kai nodded. Her breathing had returned to normal and she had grown calm again.

  They ran through the forest together, soon leaving the castle far behind.

  You revel in her presence so close to you! These feelings threaten your integrity!

  She is my seed and we are together once more! This is how I remember her! This is how we fought against the Navak!

  Your attraction to your seed is not permitted by the Purpose!

  We follow the Purpose as we did before! The incorrect felt our wrath! They will do so again! There is no threat here!

  Your thoughts and feelings are incorrect!

  As are yours! The Androktone in the castle is far more of a threat than my seed! Concentrate on what is important, not my seed!

  There was no counter to her final argument.

  The Androktone in the castle is bonded. Either he must die, or she must die.

  You suggest that I break another’s bond?

  Her mind was drowned in the irony.

  She is an Outsider! Her bond is irrelevant! Do not twist the needs of the Purpose to your own!

  Then what must we do?

  We must have control of the Portal! We must take it from her! She is our enemy! She must die!

  Time is limited. We cannot search for her other self.

  Then you must strike at the drone!

  To kill the drone is not easy. We must rob her of the air that keeps her mind alive. She must be surrounded in fire, or water.

  Fire! Burn her! Burn her!

  Why are you scared?

  She is close to me.

  Her answer meant nothing.

  Why are you scared?

  I like her presence. I like doing this again, being close to her. She is my birth mother. I have always been close to her. We have run together for many, many years; nearly all my life. We lived the Purpose and fought hard and long. She is familiar, comfortable. I want her near.

  Then why have you avoided her for all this time?

  I was scared.

  Why are you scared?

  It was a persistent question that had to be answered. And her bond with Rolf allowed the chain of thought to continue.

  One of us is incorrect.

  Is it her?

  Maybe.

  Is it us?

  Maybe.

  You are her seed. Is it both of us?

  Maybe.

  Confront her! Reveal your thoughts! Test her integrity!

  This is why I avoided her.

  There was a pause for thought. And then the question was repeated.

  What is it you fear?

  We will kill one another.

  Soo-Kai and Kai-Tai were close to where Rolf and the other Destroyers waited for them before they began to slow their pace. They walked the rest of the way. Until then they had been silent, but now Soo-Kai turned to Kai-Tai and spoke.

  “What must we do, my mother?”

  “Kill her,” Kai-Tai replied simply. “But first we must spoil what plans she makes. This Le-Roth you saw. We must increase his distrust of her. This artifact they spoke of, possibly it is a weapon –humans always want weapons, weapons and gold. But it is also possible that it is a device that will open the Portal. The arrival of alien children would suggest this. If it is such a device, then what they intend to bring through the Portal must be important to them. When next it opens, we must steal what they bring. If they lose faith in her, then her position is weakened.”

  “But she is big!” Soo-Kai insisted. “If she grows any larger, the passages beneath the castle will not be able to contain her.”

  “She needs air like the rest of us. And if she works on the device that operates the Portal, there will be a time when her size will not help her.”

  “I nearly felt her wrath. She is no fool.”

  Kai-Tai looked across at Soo-Kai. “You did well today, my seed. Bonded or not, I am pleased with you, and glad that she did not eat you.”

  “I am glad also. And I bask in your approval. But it is strange, my mother. It is many years since I split my brain with my sword to scout, and I had forgotten that it left a taste of fur in my mouth.”