In the Shadow of Mountains: The Lost Girls

by David George Richards

Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Sleeping Arrangements

  The forest was dark and silent at last. For a while there had been noises. Not just the cries of night owls and other common creatures of the night, but unearthly sounds of screams and distant roaring. It scared the girls as they huddled closely around the cart, helping to push it forward. And even Rolf was unnerved.

  “Was that her? The Outsider you said was in the wagon that pursued you?” he asked Soo-Kai as he and Craig pulled the cart at the front.

  Soo-Kai nodded, but kept silent. She was wearing her blue waistcoat and skirt again. She had discarded the red and bloodstained outfit she had worn during the battles and washed hastily before they had left the cottage. As always she seemed more comfortable in her faded and favourite clothes.

  Craig said, “I still think I’m on the set of Jurassic Park.”

  Amy laughed, but it was without humour. “Don’t be daft!” she said as she hung on to the side of the cart, staring nervously at the shadows of the forest.

  Amy had changed out of her battered school uniform and was now wearing a blue waistcoat and skirt that was very similar to the one Soo-Kai wore. Apart from the blonde hair, she was almost a miniature version of Soo-Kai. Vanessa was also wearing almost the same outfit, but this time in grey. Both she and Amy also wore colourful silk blouses. They walked alongside the cart next to Craig. Bernice walked on the other side of the cart next to Soo-Kai and Rolf. She was dressed in black. Black leggings and a black tunic. But like Soo-Kai she had dispensed with a blouse.

  All the girls were now wearing garments that Rolf had made. At first, Rolf had wanted to keep his stock of garments and cloth intact at the house, but Soo-Kai’s insistence that they leave immediately and that they may never return put an end to his wishes.

  “They may burn the house,” she had told him.

  The girls had been marvellous. Instead of protesting and moaning at the further change in plans and location, they had helped him to pack food and provisions onto the cart until it was overflowing. Rolf had even brought the birds and the coop. What happened to the garments and cloth seemed unimportant after that. Rolf let the girls keep whatever they wanted, and he used the cloth to cover the cart. He brought most of it, telling Soo-Kai that it was cold in the forest at night. She knew how possessive he could be about his cloth, but he was giving up much, and so she relented.

  Rolf had always been able to make clothes for both sexes, but he had spent most of his time making clothes for the men of the Royal Court. Since he met and fell in love with Soo-Kai, he had begun making clothes for both sexes equally. In particular, he liked making clothes for her, and he liked seeing her wear them.

  He had made Soo-Kai’s favourite blue outfit for her some time ago, after the visit of Mai-Zen and Gustavo, and each time it was washed it had grown more faded. Rolf had made her others in different colours, but she always returned to her old and favourite blue one, like tonight. It was two of the replacements he had made for her that Vanessa and Amy now wore. At least they were being used in earnest at last.

  Rolf was surprised by the variation and style of dress the girls had chosen. And they didn’t limit themselves to the garments he made for women, either. They just grabbed anything they liked and mixed and matched them.

  Jane wore a yellow embroidered blouse and light tan breeches. Rowena and Becky also wore breeches. Becky’s was in blue, with a matching tunic, while Rowena’s was in brown, with a matching brown waistcoat. Both still wore their original school blouses underneath.

  Karen wore a white vest, with a green waistcoat and leggings. The vest was a little too short, and with her waistcoat open, it left her stomach on view. She seemed to like it that way.

  Sophia wore a tunic and leggings that were both in red. She also wore her original blouse underneath, mainly because she had been unable to find another that fit, rather than through choice. But she had found a pair of boots that fit. Rolf didn’t trade in footwear very often, but the thigh length riding boots seemed to please Sophia more than anything.

  Jemma wore a red blouse and grey skirt. She tied the blouse up at her waist. On top she wore a thick cotton shirt, a white one this time made for a man. It was much too big for her, but she wore it open as a jacket, and somehow, it looked sort of right.

  Rolf looked across the cart at Amy. “What is this park you speak of?” he asked her.

  “Oh, it’s not real, Mr L’Epine,” Amy replied. “It’s just a film, a story, that’s all. It’s about a place where they keep monsters in cages, but then they get out and eat everyone.”

  Soo-Kai then said, “Then this is that place.”

  Her words frightened them all. Only Bernice seemed unconcerned.

  “Kai-Tai wouldn’t be scared by any monster, why should we?” she said to Soo-Kai. “Anyway, it sounds too far away, so why worry?”

  Soo-Kai took another sniff at the night air. “You are young, but your words are true enough,” she replied. “The Outsider and those from the castle are now too far away to catch us tonight. And from the sounds we heard they were too busy elsewhere to think of us. As you surmise, it will be my mother and those with her that caused their distraction. And it is for my mother that I am concerned.”

  “Why?” Bernice asked quickly.

  “Because the Outsider cannot be killed except by fire or water. She is very big and her heart and soul dwells elsewhere. But these things will not deter my mother, so I fear the outcome.”

  Bernice became more than just a little emotional, and her voice rose as she spoke. “Kai-Tai will be alright! She’s strong and she’s clever! I know she is! I could see it in her eyes! She’ll kill them all!”

  Everyone stared at her, only Soo-Kai seemed not to have noticed the depth of feeling evident in Bernice’s words.

  “Your confidence in my mother pleases and comforts me. But the Outsider will not be killed easily. Now we have spoken enough of this tonight. We must find a place to stop for a few hours so you can rest and sleep.”

  Rolf cleared his throat and looked around at the trees. “This place will do as well as any other, we are off the trail, and the trees grow close together.”

  Soo-Kai nodded. “We will rest here.”

  They left the cart by one of the trees. Rolf and Karen gathered wood for a fire while the rest of the girls pulled the cloth from the cart.

  Bernice felt self-conscious after her outburst. She moved away from the others and sat by a tree on her own. She looked quite down. Vanessa quickly went to sit by her side and they spoke together in whispers, until finally, Vanessa persuaded Bernice to return with her to the others. After that it wasn’t long before they were all gathered around the fire, wrapped up in blankets and cloth.

  While Soo-Kai sat by the cart watching the trees and the shadows and occasionally snorting the cold night air, Rolf made coffee and handed round the cups and some fresh bread.

  Becky took one of the cups Rolf handed to her, but she kept her eyes on Soo-Kai, watching her carefully. “Are we safe here?” she asked her.

  Soo-Kai nodded. “Yes, for some time at least. But we will have to rise early and be moving with the coming of the dawn.”

  Craig almost choked on his coffee. “That’s the middle of the night!” he exclaimed. “I’m not getting up at that time!”

  Soo-Kai turned and gave him a stern look. “Then you may stay behind and wait for those who will follow.”

  Craig reacted almost instantly. “What have you got against me?” he demanded in rather too loud a voice. “We might not have hit it off very well when we first met, but you’ve had it in for me right from the start! Come on! Out with it! I want to know!”

  Soo-Kai’s reply was just as quick and just as intense. “You are an adult male. You are not bonded, and I smell your interest. I am bonded, and so there is no place for another male in my life. If Aim-E had not spoken for you, I would have killed you where I found you. Even now your proximity antagonises me. This is why
I do not like you.”

  Craig wasn’t intimidated. “Well, in that case, the feelings mutual! And for your information I don’t fancy red-heads, and in case you haven’t noticed, you aren’t the only member of the opposite sex in the forest tonight, so don’t think so highly of yourself!”

  Almost as soon as he had spoken, he wished he hadn’t. But it was too late.

  Jemma seized her chance and said, “Yeah, and I bet we know who you are interested in! Ow!” She rubbed her ear and looked round at Vanessa, who wagged a finger at her warningly.

  “Don’t you start!” she whispered.

  Jemma just grinned. But the damage was already done. Amy, who was sat next to Craig, found herself the centre of everyone’s attention, and she quickly blushed.

  Rolf looked sternly at Craig. “You may sleep close to the others, but if you misbehave, I will make you sleep on your own on the far side of the cart.”

  Amy blushed even more, but she summoned up the nerve to put her hand on Craig’s leg and say, “It’s alright, Mr L’Epine, he can sleep next to me.”

  All the girls stared at her. She was staking her claim, and they knew it. None of them said a word, and Amy drew strength from their silence.

  “I trust him,” she went on. “He won’t cause any trouble.” Amy then turned and looked at Craig, adding, “Will you?”

  Craig shook his head quickly, surprised as much at her defence of him as he was at her suggestion that they should sleep next to one another. It was the second time she had defended him like that, even after his heavy-handedness earlier. She must like him. He had to admit to himself that he didn’t deserve it, but he was glad. He liked Amy, and he liked her more and more as the time went on. Why did this feel different? Was it because of where they were? Or was it just that he hadn’t met Amy before?

  Rolf looked at Craig even more sternly, and wagged his finger at him. “No messing about, do you hear me? Amy is too young.”

  “I’ll be as good as gold, I promise,” Craig answered him.

  Rolf nodded. “Alright then.”

  There was a brief silence as the girls drank and ate the bread Rolf had given them. Then Jemma began to hum “Here comes the Bride” until Jane and Vanessa sat on her. That seemed to break the spell, and they finished their bread and coffee in a much lighter mood.

  When Rolf was collecting up the cups, Vanessa asked him, “Where are we going, Mr L’Epine?”

  Rolf saw all their eyes staring at him. He didn’t know what to say, because he suddenly realised that he didn’t know the answer. He looked at Soo-Kai for support.

  “I know where we go,” she replied. “It is far away, but you will be safe there. It is a place called Falonbeck, and to reach it we will have to go through a high pass in the mountains. Beyond there dwells another couple like Rolf and I. With them you will be safe. You will stay with them while we return.”

  Bernice looked upset. “But I don’t want to go there. I want to stay here!”

  Soo-Kai turned to her with the same stern look she usually reserved for Craig. “Why? Because you wish to fight at the side of my mother? Do you think you would survive long? Do you think she would care? To seek out my mother is to seek your own death! Put these childish thoughts from your mind.”

  Soo-Kai’s words were unexpectedly brutal, but she didn’t stop to wait for any reaction.

  “My mother cares nothing for you, as she cares nothing for me or the other Destroyers who run with her. She thinks only of the Purpose. For now, her mind is occupied with the coming of the ship and the Outsider. These things are more important to her than the lives of any of us. But once the ship has gone and the Outsider is dead, her mind will be free, and it will soon dwell on your existence once more. She will hunt you out and she will kill you.

  “If you are to be safe you must go where we tell you. My mother knows my scent, and when the ship has gone she will seek me out. She will know you are with us, and so for this reason alone you cannot stay with us. But you cannot stay here in the forest on your own, either. Those at the castle will still search for you. No, you must leave. But if you are to survive you must first learn to live on this world. You cannot do this alone, so someone must teach you.”

  Vanessa managed to get a word in at last. “But who will teach us? And what’s this ship you’re always talking about?”

  Then Rowena said, “Mai-Zen and Gustavo.”

  Everyone stared at her. Rowena rather sheepishly retrieved Soo- Kai’s journal from under the cloth she was using as a blanket. “I didn’t want to leave it behind, and I can’t help reading it. You don’t mind do you? I’ll give it back if you want.”

  Rolf smiled at her and spoke softly. “No, we don’t mind if you read it. You should all read it. My wife may have spoken harshly, but what she said was the truth and it was well meant. We only want you to be safe. Read the journal and you will understand. It contains many of the answers to the questions you will ask. Keep it for a while and read it, but look after it, and you must return it before we part.”

  Karen and Jane peered at the journal over Rowena’s shoulders, and Karen asked, “Who are Gustavo and Mai-Zen?”

  Soo-Kai answered her. “As I told you, they are like Rolf and I. Mai-Zen is an Outsider, but because she is bonded, she is good. She will look after you and teach you. And what she cannot teach you, Gust-Avo will teach you.”

  Vanessa nudged Rowena. “Does it say anything about the ship in there?”

  Rowena nodded her head, and Vanessa joined Karen and Jane in staring at the neatly hand-written pages.

  Becky asked, “Was it because of this ship that we came here?”

  All the girls stared at Soo-Kai expectantly; even Karen and Jane looked up from the journal.

  “Yes, this is what we believe,” Soo-Kai replied. “The ship comes here to speak with another ship that is broken and buried under the castle. It has a transportation system, a Portal that can be opened to other places. It is this Portal that brought you here, but why this happened we cannot tell. The ship will only speak with the broken ship beneath the castle. Until now no one has ever answered it. This year rains uncovered the remains of an assault ship–”

  Bernice immediately spoke up. “We found that!” she said eagerly. “It was wicked!”

  “Maybe the Outsider found it also,” Soo-Kai continued. “Maybe she has used some recovered technology to talk with the ship and cause the Portal to open. My mother believes this, and she will try to kill the Outsider and take this technology from her and escape from here.”

  Vanessa quickly asked, “Is that how we could get home? Back through this portal thing?”

  Rolf knew what she was thinking, and tried to put her off. “It’s too dangerous. You cannot go back to the castle, they’ll kill you.”

  “But we have to get home!” Vanessa insisted.

  Soo-Kai put an end to the argument. “While the Outsider lives, the Portal will be closed to you. Only if Kai-Tai is successful can your return ever be possible.”

  Talk of Kai-Tai caused Bernice to speak up. “She can do it!” she said eagerly.

  “Yes, she could,” Soo-Kai agreed. “But not without much killing. And she will have to do it tonight, because the ship will leave with the rising of the sun tomorrow.”

  That frightened Vanessa. “Will it come back?” she asked anxiously.

  “Yes, but until then you must remain with Gust-Avo and Mai-Zen. You must stay away from the castle, and those who may still seek you out. Whatever it is they do, they wish to hide. And they will kill you to keep it hidden.”

  Vanessa didn’t look pleased, but she didn’t argue.

  Rowena had looked worriedly at Vanessa and Soo-Kai while they talked about the ship, but she hadn’t said anything. Now she looked at Rolf and bit her lip. Rolf knew she must know how long the ship would be away, she must have read it in the journal, as all of them would read it soon. He had to speak.

  “The ship will be away from h
ere for a long time,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “But even if you could get into the castle, there is no guarantee that the portal will work and you could go home. Even Kai-Tai could be unsuccessful, and she knows more about the ship than anyone else. I know you want to go home, that all this is strange and frightening to you. And if it were possible, Soo-Kai and I would be the first to help you. But it is not, and you will have to accept your fate, and learn to live and survive here. It won’t be so bad, really it won’t.”

  His words had a profound effect. All the girls kept silent for some time, and there was the odd sniffle, but no one cried, and no one questioned him. Rolf and Soo-Kai sat and waited, watching as the girls hugged one another as they all tried to read the journal, while others just sat and stared at the fire.

  Jane was the first to speak. She moved away from the crush that had developed around Rowena and the journal she still held, and sat on her own in front of the fire. She looked up at Soo-Kai, thoughtful for a moment.

  “You said that Mai-Zen was an Outsider,” she asked Soo-Kai. “Is she like the one at the castle?”

  “Yes, but the mind of the Outsider at the castle is unclear, and although she is also bonded, her anger is great.”

  Craig added, “Yeah, and she was as big as a house and she had a gob full of teeth!”

  Amy nudged him, and Rolf glared at him. Craig shut up, but his description of the Outsider reawakened everyone’s curiosity.

  Becky said, “Amy and Craig described her as if she were some great big monster. And the sounds we heard weren’t natural, not on any world, I’ll bet. So why is she like that? Shouldn’t she be like you? And if all the Outsiders are like her, I don’t think we want to go and meet your friend.”

  Sophia agreed. “Not bloody likely!”

  And Jemma said, “Yeah! Me neither!”

  Soo-Kai looked perplexed, as if answering the question about the Outsider worried her in some way. Rolf saw her distress and patted her leg.

  “They should know everything, my wife. It is for the best. And I admit; I too am curious about the Outsider. Your answer will not upset me, you should know me well enough by now to realise this. So tell us, how did she become this great beast?”

  Soo-Kai instantly relaxed. “The Destroyer in the castle is the same as all of us; what she can do, we all can do.”

  Soo-Kai then told them about her sword, and how she could change it into a living creature as well as a weapon. She also told them how she had done just that to investigate the castle with Kai-Tai earlier that day.

  “It is the only other form the sword maybe changed into while it’s power is suppressed,” she went on. “It can either be the sword, or living tissue, nothing else.” She moved closer to Rolf and took his hand. Her next words were for him only.

  “I am sorry I did not tell you this earlier, my husband. It is not something I have done for many years, and even then, not often. I do not like doing it, it is not pleasant, and if prolonged it can be damaging to the mind.”

  Rolf squeezed her hand and reached out with his other hand to tug gently at her platted hair. “It doesn’t matter, you probably just wanted to spare me any worry. But tell me this, how could this other Destroyer have grown so large?”

  “Only by staying in that form long enough to consume much flesh. Anything she eats will be converted to her own genetic structure and added to her body weight. But to do this she risks much. The sword contains only a small part of our cerebral cortex. If it is detached from the rest of our minds for any great period, its personality and integrity can become deranged.”

  “And you think that might have happened to her?”

  “The power of her anger was great, and she was very large.”

  Rolf looked thoughtful, but it was Craig that asked the question they were all thinking.

  “So what’s she been eating, then?”

  Rolf looked at all their hurt and worried faces, and at that moment, he could have commanded Soo-Kai to murder Craig on the spot. But then he saw the look of realisation and remorse on Craig’s face, so instead he sighed and cleared his throat.

  “Enough talking for now,” he said. “It is late, and you must sleep. Tomorrow we will talk more about the realm of Falonbeck and the city that is its capital, Gullain. You have much to learn about this new world, and what I tell you, I will test you on later.”

  One or two of the girls moaned, and Jemma said, “And I thought school was out for good. Ow!”

  There was a lot of snuffling and shuffling that night. Rolf had never known the night to be so noisy. He wouldn’t have minded really, but it was the soft sounds of crying that troubled him. He left Soo-Kai and got up to investigate. Soo-Kai watched him; her eyes picking them all out even in the darkness. She had switched to infrared, and to her the forest was as bright as day.

  Rolf almost expected it to be Rowena. He held her in his arms while she sobbed, patting her back. But she wasn’t the only one that was crying. Rolf was surprised when he saw that it was Jane, and when she joined them, he found his arms suddenly full. Jemma was the next; she had been sleeping next to Jane. Sleeping next to her was Sophia. And when she joined them, just as tearful as the others, Rolf was effectively surrounded. Soon they were all awake and tearful.

  “It’ll be alright, I promise you,” he told them. “Things are just different, that’s all. You’ll get used to it.”

  “I want to go home,” Rowena sobbed, her head buried in Rolf’s chest.

  Sophia was equally upset. “I want my mum,” she wailed.

  Jane wiped the tears from her eyes. “I keep thinking about Miss Jenkins,” she said.

  Talk of their teacher made them all think about their absent school-mates.

  Rowena turned her head and looked up. “And Linda and Jo,” she said.

  “And Paula,” Jemma added.

  Karen sat up and hugged her legs. “Christine,” she said. Bernice and Vanessa also sat up. Bernice said, “Debbie had a broken arm.”

  And Vanessa added, “Sam broke her ankle.”

  Then Becky said, “They’re all dead, aren’t they?”

  All the girls stared at Rolf; he could almost hear them holding their breath. In the darkness, Soo-Kai spoke.

  “What takes place in the castle we cannot tell. But until you see them dead, keep them alive in your mind. This is all the comfort you can have.”

  The girls cried even louder. They just let go and got on with it. Rolf shook his head in despair.

  Amy cried along with the rest, but she had Craig. He kept his arms around her, holding her tight. He did his best to comfort her, but in the end, he had no more success than Rolf.