Lost Lands

by Shaun L Griffiths

  He knew Holly could feel him probing, looking for contact, trying to control her. She was aware of him looking around inside her mind.

  ‘This needs something more subtle,’ he told himself. ‘Something calming.’

  He looked back through the memories he’d dragged from her. Kerri, she was Holly’s best friend.

  He saw her walking in the morning sun, swinging her bag in her hand, talking to Kerri. They were walking together along the side of the river. He recreated the picture in his mind, the soft warmth of the morning, the birds singing nearby, the crickets scratching in the grass, everything was warm and peaceful. Carter was coming towards them, which made Holly excited. “Go on, Kerri, talk to him now,” she’d whispered from the corner of her mouth.

  Kerri had elbowed her with a “Shhh”.

  Carter was looking at the path, head down so as not to catch anyone’s eye.

  Holly elbowed Kerri in the ribs, nodding and pointing with her head at Carter. She sensed Kerri take a deep breath. “Morning, Carter,” Kerri had called.

  Holly broke into a grin, proud of her friend. She looked at Carter, who stood dumbstruck looking at Kerri. His mouth was opening like a goldfish, but no words were coming out. I was right, he likes Kerri, she thought, the grin spreading over her face even wider.

  She tried to save Carter’s embarrassment. “Have you been swimming, Carter?” she’d called.

  “Every day, want to come?” Holly and Kerri both laughed as they walked on.

  “See you at the races,” Kerri had called back. Holly had taken a sneak peek back and saw him still standing there watching them walk away. She smiled and gave him a secret wave.

  “Told you so,” she’d whispered to Kerri. She looked up and saw Kerri smiling to herself.

  The image formed in the liquid and he pictured them warm and happy walking along the river path. “Come on, I’ll race you,” she said. Kerri laughed. “You’ll never catch me,” Kerri had replied.

  *

  He had her. She stood in the early morning light. She was beside Carter, looking up to Kerri and Lulu. “I told you, you’ll never catch me.” Kerri was laughing with Carter. They were all four together and all so happy. He could see what she saw, he could hear what she heard, he could feel what she felt, and she felt scared! But why?

  Holly is afraid. She has a secret that’s causing a pain in her heart. What is it, my little bird? he thought. He watched silently, fascinated that Holly had managed to hide something from him. He watched the unfolding drama silently and secretively.

  She has no idea I’m in her mind. His smugness returned for the first time in days.

  *

  Salli also sat beside her bowl, watching it gently simmer over the heat. With the powders mixed, the spiralling liquid showed her daughter, laughing with the others. She covered the bowl for a moment and said to Sam, ‘They’ve done it, they’re safe!’ Sam sat beside her in their newly built meeting hall on the coastal plain. He was under orders not to speak. Sam watched, fascinated by the magic taking place.

  ‘I’m so happy you are back. I could scream for joy,’ Salli heard Lulu say.

  ‘You need a wash, Carter, or even better, a swim. I’ve got a secret surprise for you,’ Kerri was saying. ‘We’ve got a new beach,’ she laughed.

  Salli noticed immediately. Carter didn’t react, he seemed to be breathing shallow, like he was building up his courage. ‘Carter’s so nervous,’ she whispered to Sam.

  Lulu looked at Carter. ‘Did you hear, Carter? Kerri said we’ve got a new…’

  ‘Something’s wrong, Lu.’ Salli spoke to her daughter across the distance. She could see Holly was downcast.

  ‘Be careful what you say, Lu,’ Salli warned her.

  Lulu stopped talking. She could hear her mother’s warning. She could feel her mom’s protection around her.

  ‘I’ve got to tell you something, Lu. It’s really important,’ Carter was saying.

  ‘Take care, Lu,’ Salli told her daughter.

  Kerri was a little shocked. This was not the homecoming reunion they’d expected.

  ‘Can it wait, Carter?’ asked Lulu. ‘Maybe my mom should hear it?’

  ‘People have got to know and I don’t know what to do. You see, Naz and Vin don’t know yet.’

  Salli held her breath. She squeezed Sam’s hand for comfort. Salli could see Carter moving to stand very close to Holly, their bodies touching for support. Lulu noticed for the first time that Holly was having trouble lifting her head.

  ‘Don’t let him speak, Lu. Make sure he says nothing until he’s here and I can protect him.

  ‘It can’t be that bad,’ said Lulu. ‘I’m sure it can wait until we are off this mountain. Now come on, not another word.’ She smiled, but the concern in Lulu’s voice was plain to hear.

  Carter looked from Lulu to Kerri and back again.

  Salli now saw Holly’s body shaking with sobs. She stood sniffing loudly.

  ‘Bring them home, Lu, and quick,’ Salli whispered to Lulu.

  *

  In his temple, staring into his bowl, he saw Holly break into tears and made an audible gasp.

  *

  Salli jumped, she heard the gasp from a million leagues away and knew instantly. ‘He’s here, He’s back!’ she shouted. She couldn’t stop herself, but knew immediately it was wrong. She’d shown herself.

  *

  In his temple, he also heard her. Someone was in the same place, at the same time and just for an instant, her voice was stronger than thunder, overriding everything. It was a voice he would recognise anywhere. He could never forget it.

  ‘Sallinia!’ He couldn’t stop himself. His betrothed, that he’d believed for so long had drowned in the floods. Sallinia, that had stolen his book, The Book of Power. He staggered backwards in shock, his head spinning. She’s alive. The book is not lost!

  *

  Lulu also gasped. ‘Don’t say another word,’ she said urgently.

  ‘He’s listening to you, Holly. He’s inside your head and He can see what you see,’ said Lu.

  ‘No!’ A heartbreaking sob escaped Holly lips. She quickly took a deep breath. ‘The Crystal is mine… The Crystal is mine…,’ she started repeating over and over.

  ‘Holly, don’t think another thing. No matter what, you keep repeating that to yourself. We’ve got to get you to Mom, like now. She’ll protect you,’ said Lulu.

  ‘Lu, you’ve got to get Holly here immediately. Bring her straight down, don’t wait for anything.’

  ‘Kerri, go and find Casey. We need him to guide us down. We are leaving NOW!’

  ‘Dray!’ she called. She could see him standing on the front line, looking out on the pass littered with dead and dying apes. The carnage was horrifying to see, but without sense, the apes had just kept attacking, until there were no more standing.

  Casey came running over with Kerri, aware of the urgency in Lulu’s voice.

  He rushed to Carter and Holly, wrapping his big arms around them both.

  ‘It’s a miracle, it really is. You’ll never know what it means having you both back here. It’s like you’ve been raised from the dead,’ said Casey.

  ‘I couldn’t have done it without Naz and Vin,’ said Carter.

  He noticed Holly in tears, muttering to herself.

  ‘Casey…,’ Lulu interrupted him.

  ‘What is it, Lu?’

  ‘I need you to carry Holly down, now. It’s urgent we get her back to Mom. Don’t wait for anything. We’ll be right behind you.’

  He scooped Holly up in his arms and ran off through the pass without waiting for an explanation.

  ‘Dray, keep Vin and Naz here. Ask them for help in case another troop of apes decides to attack.’

  ‘Are you expecting more trouble? Something I should know about?’

  ‘You never know. If it’s quiet by midday, guide Naz and Vin down. We’ll take care of them properly at the town.’

  ‘What’s going on, Lu?’ asked Dray.
<
br />   ‘I can’t tell you. I dare not even think about it at the moment, but you’ll find out when you get back. Leave a permanent guard here at the pass until we know where we stand. I’ll arrange for more supplies to be sent up. Start making yourselves snow caves. This is the only route through to the coast. It has to be defended if we’re to survive.’

  ‘I got it, Lu. I’ll stay myself until things are better organised with lookouts and a camp set up. I think we’ll be okay until spring. There’s no way those apes will survive, let alone fight in these temperatures.’

  ‘We’re leaving now, it’s essential we get back to Mom.’

  ‘I’ll deal with it.’ He looked across the pass to where Naz and Vin lay exhausted in the snow. At least it’s stopped snowing, he thought.

  14

  Chapter Forteen

  Coming Home

  HOLLY CLOSED HERSELF down throughout the descent. Constantly muttering her mantra to keep Him out, and unable to raise her head from Casey’s shoulder to see her new world. Lulu walked to one side of her with Kerri on the other, constantly encouraging her.

  For the first time in days, Carter was without Naz and Vin by his side. He missed their company already. He looked up to take in the vista of the wide blue ocean, the turquoise waters on the inner side of the reef and the lush vibrant green of the coastal plain. It looked a paradise to him. By late afternoon, the fires of the fledgeling town became visible and they were walking on the soft verdant grassland of the lower hills. Now that they were safely down, Kerri dropped back to walk beside Carter.

  ‘Welcome to your new home,’ she said.

  He smiled at her. ‘I feel like I’ve been away for years,’ he said.

  ‘It seems like that to me as well. So much has changed since you’ve left. But don’t worry, I’ll help you settle in. I am really happy to see you back.’

  ‘Every day I was gone, I thought about you, Kerri, mostly of the time when it was just you and me, fighting to get home the first time.’

  ‘I know. I missed those times too. Not the danger, but the being together. I always had trust in you, even when I didn’t understand why you did the things you did.’

  He laughed. ‘We’ve some stories to tell now, Kerri.’

  ‘I’m sure you do,’ she smiled.

  She stopped to look him in the eye. ‘Carter, what you did, bringing Holly home, it was an amazing thing. You really will stand amongst our Clan’s heroes.’

  ‘Please don’t say that, Kerri. I just want a normal life and I want to share it with someone special.’

  ‘What, no more running around the world?’

  ‘I want to swim, roast some fish and spend time with my family and friends.’

  ‘Good plan,’ she said.

  ‘We need to hurry, you two,’ called Lulu.

  ‘That’s the Boss. Did I tell you she’s now Queen?’

  *

  Salli sat in the meeting hall, Holly and Carter to one side with Lulu on the other. She had read from The Book of Power, performed the ceremony as it was written, but even so, she was still a little nervous of its success.

  ‘I can only trust that He is not aware of these writings to counter them,’ Salli said. ‘You should try to relax now, Holly. This is your new home. Your Mom and Dad are waiting for you, but we need to talk first. Please tell me, what happened to the Crystal?’ Salli asked.

  Holly looked at each one sitting around the table. She took a deep breath, steadying herself.

  ‘It feels so good to be a little girl again, Salli. I’ve missed being myself. I don’t think I like being a hound. I don’t understand why I think the way I do when I’m changed. I much prefer being a little girl.’

  Salli could feel her heartstrings being tugged. She felt close to tears thinking about what Holly had endured. She tried to keep her composure and say nothing.

  ‘I’m just so happy to be back with the Clan, but you know I wouldn’t be here if Carter hadn’t saved me. He’s a hero, Salli, and he’ll always be my best friend.’

  They sat listening to her, trying to understand how a little girl could have survived such an ordeal.

  ‘And Naz, Vin, and Vin’s Mom, they are the best people in the world, and I’m so ashamed that I let them down and stole the Crystal from them. I just couldn’t help myself. And I never want to see snow again in my life and…’

  ‘Holly, where’s the Crystal?’ asked Salli.

  Holly looked at each of them again. ‘Am I ever going to be free of it, Salli? I wish I didn’t want it. Sometimes I hate it, but I just can’t stop thinking about it.’

  ‘Why don’t you try giving it to someone? Tell yourself that it is not good for you. You are the strongest girl I’ve ever met, to survive in the mountains, to survive under the snow, to survive against the apes. I’ve never met anyone so young and so strong. Why don’t you look inside yourself, find that strength now and tell yourself, I don’t want it anymore, it’s not good for me, and give it away?’

  ‘But you should see it, Salli. I wanted to bring it home to show my mom. It is so beautiful and warm and…’

  ‘Where did you leave it, Holly?’

  ‘It was far too dangerous to carry it all the time, and I was so afraid of leaving it, but I’m sure no one else will ever find it.’

  ‘Why don’t you tell me where it is, and then you won’t have to worry anymore about it? We’ll be responsible for it,’ said Salli gently.

  Holly sat lost in thought for some moments, staring off into a distant landscape only she could see. ‘I think you’re right, Salli. It will only destroy my life. I can see that now. And I feel so much at peace in our new town on the coast. I feel so much better here without it. Maybe I could give it to you, Carter, for saving my life?’

  ‘I wouldn’t know what to do with it, Holly,’ he said.

  ‘Hmm… I see your point. I don’t really know what to do with it either. Would you know what to do with it, Salli?’

  ‘I could try using it to stop these apes from coming into our new land and attacking us,’ Salli offered.

  ‘That would be great, but I’ll have to go get it first.’

  ‘What did you do with it, Holly?’

  ‘I hid it. First I thought Duma would take it from me if I carried it into the town. And then afterwards I was afraid that Naz would take it from me when he found me, and then I thought if I told them I’d hidden it, Carter would have gone back to get it and he’d be captured by the apes and tortured like they did to Duma, and I didn’t want that. And then I felt ashamed because Mrs Vin had been so nice to me and treated me like her own family, and I was upset I let her down, so I pretended I still had it.’

  ‘Where did you hide it, Holly?’ asked Salli.

  Holly looked at her a long time. She sat wringing her hands together, sitting nervously on the high chair, swinging her feet. The room fell silent, each waiting, hoping that Holly was strong enough to give it up.

  ‘I searched long and hard for a good place to put it. No one will ever find it. It is safe, so you don’t have to worry about it.’

  ‘I know you would have done a very good job of keeping it safe. Would you like to tell me where you put it, Holly?’

  ‘I would like to tell you, Salli, but you wouldn’t know the place anyway.’

  ‘Why not tell Carter where you hid it? Maybe he would know.’

  Holly started to inhale and exhale deeply, as if preparing herself to raise an enormous weight off her shoulders. Her legs were swinging furiously in nervousness. She stared at her hands, wringing and twisting them in her lap. With a great gasp, she said, ‘I buried it under some stones, at the bottom of a pool fed by a mountain stream on a ledge above Duma’s town.’

  She collapsed back in her seat, exhausted by the ordeal of finally freeing herself from the power of the Crystal.

  Salli looked to Carter. He nodded. ‘I know where it is, Salli. There’s a small pyramid of stones by the side of the pool to mark it.’

  Salli stepped over to hug
Holly. “You’re one of the strongest girls I’ve ever known. Welcome home, Holly.’

  *

  The loud knocking on the wooden frame, where the door would eventually hang, made everyone turn. The two strangers standing in the flickering lamplight made a sorry sight. Their long blond hair was dirty and unkempt. Their unshaven faces gave them a look of travellers who’d come far and seen much hardship. Lulu noticed they both carried large bruises across their arms, and one had deep scratches across his powerfully built chest. Even with the heavy woollen blankets covering their bulk, their size was still imposing and filled the empty door space, blocking out the night sky behind them.

  Though their faces and chests looked to be battered, their eyes still shone with youth and energy. The younger one had a playful grin on his face while he looked into the hall. Carter rose quickly, knocking over his stool in the rush to greet them. ‘Naz, Vin, you’re back!’ He walked quickly across the hall to embrace his friends.

  Salli and Lulu, with their jaws hanging, catching flies in wonder at finally seeing the Snow Bears in their real form. Salli was the first to reach out her hand in welcome. The smiles brought a new glow to the room.

  ‘So that’s what you really look like!’ said Lulu, grinning.

  Once everyone had shaken hands and embraced in welcome, Salli called them to sit and drink.

  “As long as it’s not Yellow Berry juice,’ said Naz.

  ‘Just tea this time, but I’m sure there will be a lot of celebrating later tonight, now that you’re all home safe,’ she said.

  Lulu turned serious for a moment. ‘On behalf of the Clan, I want to thank you both for bringing Holly and Carter home safely.’

  ‘Carter saved our skin on more than one occasion, so our thanks go to him too,’ said Naz, laughing at the memories.

  ‘But where’s Holly?’ asked Vin. ‘I really want to give her a hug and tell her I want to be her latest best friend!’

  Salli cleared her throat to speak, but Lulu stood to interrupt her. ‘Holly’s with her parents, Vin. I do believe she’ll sleep for a week. The doc has given her some moss tea. He thinks sleep will help overcome the trauma of what she’s been through.’