The Mortal Knife

by D. J. McCune

  They climbed for a long time. Adam could feel his calves starting to burn and he could hear Auntie Jo huffing for breath just ahead of him. The torches were dim and the constant spiral in the staircase began to make Adam’s head swim. At one point he tottered backwards and panic-stricken, realised he was about to fall – until he felt Nathanial’s strong hand grip his shoulder and gently right him.

  At last the stairs ended – but unfortunately so did the torchlight. Adam shuffled forward blindly, afraid of crashing into someone. He heard Nathanial emerge on the stairs behind him. It was hard to know why but Adam had the sense that they were in the centre of a cavernous space. The group was totally silent. The darkness was immense and somehow profound. For a long, ludicrous moment Adam felt like crying.

  ‘There is nothing to fear, Lumen,’ Morta said softly from the blackness. ‘I only wish to show you a wonder. Behold, the Tapestry of Light.’

  Chapter 6

  For a moment nothing happened. Then, just ahead of Adam the faintest glow appeared. He squinted, trying to see what would emerge. The glow intensified, before flaring suddenly into light all around them. A gasp and murmur rose from the crowd.

  All around them the walls were alive with the light of billions of fireflies. The room was circular. The staircase had emerged at the centre of a giant sphere, a kind of globe of the world. But this globe was unlike any map Adam had ever seen before.

  The lights wove a living dance, forming the outlines of countries and continents. Adam wasn’t sure how he knew this because the shape and size of the countries was completely different to anything he had ever learned in geography. This map hadn’t been drawn by political ambition or human pride. This was a map of human souls.

  China was easy to spot. It covered a vast area – a dense, pulsating mass of lights with uninhabited zones in the west. To the north lay Russia; to the east a glittering chain of islands that could only be Japan. And further east again, across the Pacific, lay the Americas, bold and bright in places, sparsely populated in others. Adam stared mesmerised from country to country – the teeming lights of the Indian and African Kingdoms; tiny jewel-like Mediterranean islands; the vast darkness of the Poles and oceans.

  Morta moved towards the lights. ‘Billions of souls,’ she said softly, running a caressing hand through the air in front of the wall. ‘Souls at every stage of mortal life; threads growing brighter – and threads dimming.’

  It was true. As Adam looked more closely he could see she was right. Some threads were writhing and burning with light while others wove through in the background, glowing softly. Some threads blazed red or gold while others were more muted shades of cool blue, soft green or lavender. And in every country on earth a handful of souls glowed with a steady white light.

  ‘Threads dancing towards me.’ Something glittered in her hand and Adam realised with a shudder that she was holding the Mortal Knife. This close he could see how long and fine the point was, a blade made for delicate, deadly accuracy. Morta moved the tip towards one of the white lights. ‘See how the Luman’s soul shines so very fiercely in the Tapestry. And yet one day even these threads will be cut.’

  She turned towards the group and her voice was sweet but poisonous. ‘All souls pass through my hands on their way to the Hinterland and their Light and … beyond. All souls have their time – but mine is the right to harvest some before their allotted time. My quota. Souls chosen by me, taken in their prime. You Mortsons of all Lumen understand this because you guide these very souls.’ She shook her head. ‘Their threads still burn so bright. Death must be so unexpected for them.’ She shook her head, feigning sympathy, and in one black second Adam realised that he hated her.

  ‘This is the law!’ Morta’s voice changed and now the cavern echoed with the sudden, harsh sound. ‘I may take the souls I please. It is for the Concilium to uphold the law in these matters.’ She looked around the silent men standing before her. ‘I trust you will all remember your duties, should anyone be so foolish as to cheat me of what is rightfully mine.’

  Heinrich bowed his head but there was an edge to his voice. ‘Of course, Lady Morta. Although I understand that it is within your power to limit the number of souls taken before their time. To ignore your quota and let some of these souls have their allotted time?’

  Morta appeared not to hear him. She pointed to a tiny, sparkling mass to the east of a vast ocean of blackness. ‘The Kingdom of Britain. Observe the white lights.’ She smiled at the group. ‘Those, dear Lumen, are your souls. Someday they too shall meet the Mortal Knife. Let us hope that is a distant day.’

  Adam stared at the lights mesmerised, wondering which one was his own. He understood Morta’s message only too well. She was sending a warning. She knew that someone was saving souls. If he kept doing it she would exact her revenge – and she would exact it on the Mortsons.

  It was a subdued group that trailed down the spiral staircase in Morta’s wake, back into her chamber. The ‘party’ dragged on, Morta chattering gaily as though nothing had happened, but there was a fresh tension in the air. Most of Adam’s family seemed confused. Nathanial put on a brave face but Adam knew he understood the message. Heinrich had warned him that there was a rogue in the Kingdom interfering with the Fates. What Nathanial didn’t realise was that the rogue was his own son.

  Adam sighed, wishing he was at home. A movement caught his eye. Clotho the thread-spinner was hovering on the edge of the crowd, silent and withdrawn. Her eyes roamed over the group, studying each face in turn. When she came to Adam their eyes locked. Adam stared and she stared back, curious and unabashed, the way little kids did. For just a second her eyes widened but a moment later she turned and disappeared into the tunnel behind.

  The minutes dragged by, until finally Morta seemed to have had enough of their company. She raised her hands in the air and the music stopped abruptly. The chatter of conversation died in an instant. ‘Such a pleasure. Alas, I can spare you no more time.’ She smiled. ‘There are threads which need to be cut. Hurry home, Lumen!’

  A chill ran down Adam’s spine. For the whole time they had been there not one person on earth had died. He had a feeling Morta would make up for lost time.

  She led the way to an alcove in the wall and pulled back a tapestry, revealing a door of ebony wood. Morta opened the door and smiled at them all. ‘Farewell, Lumen. Perhaps we shall meet again someday.’ She looked around the group, her eyes lingering on Luc. He tried to stare boldly back but Adam could see the uncharacteristic flush in his brother’s face. Morta shook hands with each of them in turn as they left. Auntie Jo could barely contain herself but managed to touch her palm to Morta’s without spitting in it first.

  Adam was the last in line, Nathanial keeping him close. ‘It’s much easier getting home Adam but stay close to me. Once we’re back in the Hinterland we can swoop as normal.’

  Adam nodded, dreading returning to the weird grey light beyond Morta’s realm. As he shuffled along behind the others his foot struck something and it rolled in front of him. He frowned and bent down to pick it up. It looked like a tiny black marble until he turned it over and saw the earring mount on the back. He grinned. At least Morta could lose things like anyone else. It reminded him that she was still human.

  He was going to give it back to her but Nathanial had noticed his hesitation and frowned, ushering him towards the door. Not wanting to draw attention to himself, Adam shoved the earring in his pocket and managed to shake Morta’s hand without making eye contact. Even the gloom of the Hinterland seemed more attractive if it meant escaping from her.

  Still, passing through the doorway was scary. Stepping from a marble floor into grey nothingness made Adam’s head spin. He closed his eyes, feeling sick and disorientated until he felt Nathanial’s firm grip on his arm. ‘It’s OK, Adam. Just wait a moment. I need to speak to Heinrich and then we’ll go home.’

  Adam nodded and managed to ease his eyes open without falling over. The door into the Realm of the Fates ha
d disappeared and he was back in the same dim light as before. The others had already swooped home. Nathanial and Heinrich stood a little distance away and Adam tried not to listen to their conversation, but in the deathly silence of the Hinterland it was hard not to hear even their lowered voices.

  Heinrich’s face was serious. ‘So, a message then. It appears that our Lady Fate is paying close attention.’

  Nathanial nodded, looking grim. ‘Message received. I’ll be watching.’

  Heinrich looked relieved. ‘Good. Let us think of happier matters. We have many things to celebrate.’

  There was a sound in the distance. Adam paused and looked up. It was a strange hissing, rattling noise. It wasn’t near but it was coming closer, the way a thunderstorm could move. He squinted into the gloom. Far off the light was changing. It looked darker.

  Heinrich and Nathanial had noticed it too. ‘The Fates are cautious today,’ Heinrich said wryly. He embraced Nathanial. ‘Best not to tarry.’ He beckoned to Adam and shook his hand. ‘Goodbye Adam. I look forward to seeing you all soon. My Light is your Light.’

  Adam and Nathanial repeated his words and watched him disappear. The hissing sound was growing louder. Adam peered around him. ‘What is that?’

  Nathanial took his arm. ‘Nothing to worry about. Come on. It’s time to go home.’ Adam clutched his keystone and a second later the Hinterland was gone.

  Minutes later, back in the confines of his bedroom, Adam gave a sigh of relief. He had survived the encounter unscathed. Morta hadn’t been joking when she said there were threads to cut – they had barely re-entered the physical world before Mortson death senses had flared and Nathanial had swooped away to guide an unsuspecting soul into the afterlife.

  Adam had lost all sense of time in the Realm of the Fates but he knew they’d been there for at least a few hours. Weirdly they returned home and found that only a few minutes had passed in the physical world. It was clear that time passed differently in the Realm of the Fates, which probably explained how the Fates lived longer than Lumen. He made a mental note to ask Auntie Jo about it – and this time he promised himself he would actually listen to what she told him.

  His relief was slightly overshadowed by the guilt of knowing Morta was watching the Mortsons. He had an awful feeling he was pushing his luck with the whole saving people thing, including the girl earlier that day. The trouble was, how could you just stop doing it when you knew the consequences were so huge? He had the chance to keep people on earth, alive and well. It had seemed worth the risk but now that he had seen the Mortal Knife he had a feeling he needed to lie low for a while.

  Adam sighed. It was time to switch his head from the life and death of people to the life and death of earthworms. Biology homework was always a riot.

  Chapter 7

  The following day Adam spent a nervous morning in school. Melissa had been absent at the start of registration, only to slip in towards the end. Adam’s heart did its usual flip-flop at the sight of her but once again she played it cool, giving him the merest hint of a smile. It seemed she didn’t want to make a big thing of meeting up with him later.

  The first two periods dragged by. When the breaktime bell rang Adam could have wept with relief. His concentration was shot to hell that morning. As he headed towards the library he ran into Dan, who was mooching along looking pensive. At the sight of Adam he jerked his head in greeting. ‘All right?’

  Adam nodded. ‘Yeah. You all right?’

  Dan shrugged. ‘Yeah.’ He hesitated and looked around to make sure no one was listening. ‘I had to go and see that counsellor last night.’

  ‘Oh right.’ Adam paused, not sure what to say. To his shame he really wanted to know what they had talked about. It wasn’t any of his business but he did have a vested interest in knowing what Dan had said.

  Luckily Dan was only too happy to tell him. ‘Yeah, it was all right. She was OK. There weren’t any dolls though.’

  Adam grinned. ‘Don’t tell Archie. He’ll be really disappointed.’

  Dan was looking thoughtful. ‘I didn’t tell her about the photo. Spike said not to tell anyone about it yet until he tries to clean it up and gets a look at the faces.’ He paused for a moment. ‘Do you think he got away? Not the bomber, the other guy?’

  Adam groaned inwardly. He picked his words with care. ‘Well, he must have done, if they didn’t find any bits of him.’

  Dan nodded. ‘I hope he did. Only – I just don’t see how he could have. He was really close.’

  Adam shrugged, trying to sound bored. ‘Maybe he ran past the bomber. And then when the bomb went off you couldn’t see him because he was behind it.’

  ‘Maybe.’ Dan didn’t sound convinced. ‘He must have been a really fast runner. The bomb went off about five seconds after I took that photo.’

  ‘Look, just forget about it, will you? Stop going on about it! It’s over and done with. It’s like Spike said – some nutter blew himself up. Just be happy you’re alive.’ Adam’s tone was sharper than he had intended.

  Dan looked wounded for a second. ‘I’m just saying.’

  Adam felt a pang of guilt. Just because he was used to death and dismemberment didn’t mean everyone else was. ‘Yeah, I know mate. Sorry. It’s pretty crap seeing that on your holiday.’

  Dan shrugged. ‘Yeah, it was.’ He paused. ‘Although it would be kind of cool if the other guy got away. Because he’d have to be a ninja then. Or have some kind of weird power. That would be amazing – if we found proof that ninjas existed.’

  ‘I guess.’

  ‘I like thinking about it. That there’s more to the world than what you can see here.’ Dan waved a hand around the bustling corridor. ‘If we found ninjas were real there could be loads of other stuff real as well. Vampires and werewolves and the Loch Ness Monster. At least it wouldn’t be boring.’

  ‘There’s nothing wrong with this world. Boring is good,’ Adam said quietly. Sometimes he envied Dan and his friends, living safely in the ‘real’ world. Not knowing that the Mortal Knife was hovering over their lives like an eagle over a mouse, way up high, out of sight.

  Dan didn’t seem convinced but he grinned suddenly. ‘So you’re seeing Melissa later?’

  ‘Yeah, probably.’ It was a relief to change the subject.

  Dan winked. ‘Don’t worry. We’ll help you come up with a plan.’

  Adam almost rolled his eyes but managed not to. ‘Great. Can’t wait.’

  They had reached the library. Dan sank into his usual seat. ‘Operation hook, line and sinker. That’s what we’ll call it.’

  ‘Call what?’ Archie mumbled from behind a graphic novel. There was no sign of Spike.

  Dan pulled out a packet of dry roasted peanuts and tipped them into a pile on the table. ‘Adam’s plan to catch the fish and keep her.’

  ‘Stop calling her a fish!’ Adam hissed. He had a sudden uncomfortable image of Melissa swimming round in a fishbowl, mermaid style. He was glad no one else could see inside his head.

  ‘Well, not throwing up on her would be a good start,’ Archie sniggered. ‘Sharing is caring and all that but I’m pretty sure that’s a step too far.’

  ‘What are you going to do at lunchtime?’ Dan asked, his face intent.

  Adam shrugged. ‘Dunno. Probably just walk about a bit.’ He stared at their riveted faces and scowled. ‘Stop going on about it, will you? We’re just going to hang out. It’s fine.’

  ‘I suppose,’ Dan said, looking doubtful. ‘Just try to play it cool.’

  ‘Not possible,’ Spike said from behind them. ‘Better to be cool than to play it cool. Cool like me, for example.’ He sat down, opened his laptop and turned it towards them. ‘Victory is mine!’

  Adam felt his jaw drop as he took in the image on the screen – followed by the bottom of his stomach. Spike hadn’t been exaggerating about what he could achieve with his modified software.

  They were looking at Dan’s photo of the bomber and the mystery figure with him
– only this time everything was magically clearer. Spike zoomed in on the figures. ‘Took a while to clean it up. Had to play about with the contrast and sharpen it a good bit but it was worth it.’

  Adam stared at the screen, speechless. It was like looking at a ghost – literally. He could see the bomber’s face, still a little blurred on screen but burned into Adam’s memory – the short brown hair and wispy goatee, thin frame and of course the huge rucksack like a turtle shell on his back. And far worse he could see himself. The one thing saving him from immediate discovery was his ‘disguise’, the baseball cap and sunglasses he had worn. His face was turned slightly away from the camera but the profile of his nose and chin was clear enough, at least to him. He instinctively put his hand up to his cheek, trying to hide anything recognisable.

  ‘There’s some sort of logo on the hat. There.’ Dan pointed at the screen. ‘Right there.’

  Spike zoomed in a little more and Adam almost choked. How the hell was he getting it so clear?! Dan had been miles away but whatever technical wizardry Spike had worked was bringing the picture way too close for comfort. ‘He’s probably just a tourist. It’ll be some kind of I love London hat.’

  Archie shook his head. ‘Move your finger Dan!’ He squinted at the screen. ‘I think I’ve seen that somewhere before.’ He frowned, trying to remember.

  Adam felt sick. He could tell them exactly what it was. It was a dolphin wearing sunglasses. Dan had brought them all the same hat back from a holiday in America, a souvenir from some kind of water park. Adam cursed his own stupidity. He’d worn the baseball cap because it was black, ignoring the cheesy little logo. After all, what were the odds that he would be snapped wearing it by one of the few people who might recognise it – and him?

  ‘Can you zoom in any more?’ His voice was scratchy with anxiety.

  Luckily Spike was too absorbed in his masterwork to notice. ‘Nah. Seriously, I did well getting that much. You can see a lot more of the bomber, but this guy’s facing the wrong way.’ Just as Adam might have started breathing more easily Spike traced his finger along the figure’s chin. ‘Still, you can see his nose and his jawline. I have a couple of ideas for what I can do with that.’