‘Bleaurrrr,’ I shrieked as the first one swept its trunk towards Brent. He chopped his sword down, severing the limb and the egibany sat down, as if realising for the first time that it was dying.
Samuel urged his horse even further to the left and we followed. The plain had changed around us and now we ran through a woodland area. The trees were far enough apart that we could keep our pace, but in the dim light we had to be careful. If we ran into one of them it would be the last thing we did.
‘Trees,’ Wilfred said. ‘Excellent. Maybe we can lose them.’
I doubted very much we were going to lose the yaffas no matter what we did, but the trees would certainly make it more difficult for the snugalofs to attack.
Something niggled at the back of my mind. Something about trees.
‘Almost there,’ Samuel called.
‘Almost where?’ Aethan yelled.
‘A safe place.’
A safe place? Here? I felt like I would never be safe again. Not while retchers and snugalofs and yaffas lived in this world. What would be next? The six-toed gurantha?
Suddenly, I knew what was bothering me.
‘Watch out for the trees,’ I shrieked. ‘The trees.’
I was too late.
The gurantha jumped onto Wilfred’s back. It pulled back its head and opened its mouth and I screamed as it bit into Wilfred’s neck. It tore at skin and flesh and spinal cord, and then it sprang back up into a tree.
Wilfred slumped forward over his mount’s neck. His arms hung limp by his side.
I screamed again and lightning shot from my hand, piercing the gurantha’s chest. But that wasn’t enough. I hurled bolt after bolt at the yaffas, the lightning slamming into the ground amongst them. Some died by direct hit, and others from the shockwaves, their bodies flinging into the air to land in a crumpled heap.
Isla screamed as well, firing arrow-after-arrow while tears streamed down her face.
‘Quickly.’ It was Samuel. ‘Just a few more metres.’
I let him lead Lily towards his safe place, knowing in my heart it was all too late.
Wilfred was gone.
Tears blurred my vision as I stumbled down from Lily. I placed Scruffy on the ground and crawled to where Wilfred lay.
‘Wolfgang,’ I shrieked. ‘We have to heal him.’
Isla was beside me, smoothing her fingers through Wilfred’s hair. Blood pooled beneath his neck.
‘Wolfgang. We have to hurry. Quick, before it’s too late.’
‘Child.’ Wolfgang’s cool fingers touched the side of my face. ‘It’s already too late.’
‘No,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘No, it can’t be. Not Wilfred. Not Wilfred.’
Isla pressed her face up against Wilfred’s and let out a howl of grief. Her arms wrapped around him, pulling him to her.
Not Wilfred. No, no, no, it couldn’t be.
I took his hand in mine and bent my head over it, sobs taking control of my body.
‘No,’ I cried. ‘Please, no.’
I refused to believe it, I refused to give in. Even though his skin was already cooling, even though no breath came from his body. I couldn’t give him up. Not my big brother.
Isla’s crying slowed and she lay down, resting her head on his chest and pulling his arm around her. I reached out and stroked the back of her head and she looked up at me through tear-swollen eyes.
‘I loved him,’ she whispered.
‘I know,’ I said.
‘We need to move him,’ Samuel said. ‘If you want to save him.’
Isla turned to him, rage distorting her features. ‘He’s dead,’ she shrieked. ‘Can’t you leave us alone to mourn?’
‘Please,’ he said, ‘you have to believe me.’
I looked past him and for the first time saw where we were. Buildings, ravaged by time, lay in tumbled ruins around us. A soft glow hummed from the stones.
‘Isla. Look.’ I pointed to a squat structure that glowed more brightly than the rest. Wide steps led up to a platform. In the middle of the platform a stone carving stood. It thrummed and throbbed with power.
‘Where are we?’ Isla’s voice was tinged with hope.
‘The Oracle of Ulandes. Bring him quickly or it will be too late.’
Samuel sprinted towards the platform and Brent and Aethan picked up Wilfred, struggling to carry the big man up the steps. I tried not to look at the blood pooling where he had lain. No-one could come back from that.
Samuel was on his knees in front of the carving, his arms pressed against the ground as he mumbled out a low prayer.
‘Lay him there.’ He looked up and pointed to the other side of the carving. ‘Where she can see him.’
He went back to his praying and I realised he wasn’t mumbling, he was speaking a different language.
Wolfgang helped Brent and Aethan manoeuvre Wilfred around the statue. They placed him gently on the ground. Aethan straightened Wilfred’s clothing and then bowed his head over him, tears falling onto Wilfred’s chest.
Wilfred had been Aethan’s lifelong friend. His best friend. He would be lost without him.
He ran back down the stairs, coming back with Wilfred’s sword which he placed carefully on Wilfred’s chest. Then he wrapped his friend’s hands on the pommel and stepped back to where I knelt with Scruffy by my side. He glanced down at me and then knelt beside me, taking my hand in his.
We knelt in a row. Isla, Wolfgang, Brent, Aethan and I, and we held hands and prayed for a miracle.
Samuel stopped praying and gasped, coming up from his knees to his feet in a single, smooth movement. The statue blazed brilliant white and then an ethereal figure stepped out of it.
‘Who comes?’ she said. ‘Who disturbs me after all this time?’
‘Mother, I do.’ Samuel bowed his head.
She sucked in a breath of air. ‘None have called me Mother for hundreds of years. All else called me Ulandes.’ She took a step closer to him and reached out a hand. She traced over the tattoos on his arms, a wondering look on her face. ‘You have returned,’ she sighed. ‘My people have returned.’
His face took on an apologetic look. ‘It is only I, mother. For now. The rest will follow when they can.’
‘I see.’ She turned her head towards us. ‘And who are these?’
‘My travelling companions. Good people all of them. They fight against the evil in the land.’
She floated towards us and stood looking down. I met her eyes and energy flowed out of her and into me.
‘And what about this one?’ She turned and knelt, placing a hand on Wilfred’s shoulder.
‘He was the best of men,’ Aethan said. ‘He was my brother.’
‘And mine,’ I said.
‘And mine,’ Brent echoed.
‘He was my lover,’ Isla said.
‘He was a warrior?’ Ulandes’ hand drifted over the sword.
‘We are all warriors mother,’ Samuel said.
She stood and faced us, her head cocked to the side as if she were listening to something else.
‘I have need of warriors,’ she finally said. ‘Did you bring him here for me?’
‘We brought him hoping you could bring him back to us.’ Isla bent her head and let out a sob.
Ulandes moved to Isla’s side, kneeling to lift Isla’s head with her hand. Isla let out a gasp and a shudder ran through her.
‘You have known pain. Great pain and treachery. And yet, your heart is still pure.’ She stared into Isla’s eyes for a few more moments and then moved to me and laid her palm on my cheek.
‘The world lies in wait of you. Your heart must be great if we are to survive, for if you break, the dark side triumphs.’
She looked into my eyes and her voice sounded inside my head. Never before have there been two. Only one can live, the other must die. In the end you must go alone into the dark and let love guide your hand. Only then will you triumph.
She moved to Aethan and took his hand. ‘Great hardship awa
its you. You must rediscover your love if you are to survive, for she will give you the strength you need.’ She held his gaze for a moment longer and moved on to Brent.
‘Young lion, your heart beats strong and true. Stay true to your cause and all will be well.’ His eyes met hers for a moment more and then she moved to Wolfgang.
‘Magic maker, we have great need of you. Do not let the dark swallow your broken heart. It will be made whole again.’ He blinked but did not look away from her.
Scruffy let out a little woof and she turned and floated back towards me. ‘I do apologise,’ she said, looking down at him.
He let out another woof and a little whine. She knelt and placed her hands on his fur. ‘I cannot read you familiar. You come from a different place.’
He whined and pawed at her.
‘Ahhh, I see,’ she said, glancing towards me. ‘You worry about her.’
He let out a little, growly bark and whined again.
‘Fear not,’ Ulandes said, ‘she will find the way.’
Scruffy licked her on the hand and she stood and moved to Samuel. He knelt in front of her and she rested her hand on his head. ‘Have you come to serve me?’
‘I come to serve you.’ His voice was made of joy.
‘I accept your servitude. You will be held above all others. For you were the first.’
‘Now wait a minute.’ I had all but forgotten about Ebony. ‘He can’t serve you. He’s my slave.’
I groaned and closed my eyes. Things had been going so well.
Ulandes turned towards Ebony with what looked like amusement on her face. ‘You seek to thwart me child?’ Yes, that was definitely a smile playing around the corners of her mouth.
‘He is my slave.’ Ebony stamped her foot and put her hands on her hips. ‘And you cannot have him. The slave bracelets control him and cannot be removed.’ She stopped short of saying, ‘So there,’ but every line of her body yelled the words.
‘These?’ Ulandes hands stroked over the bracelets and they opened and fell to the ground.
Ebony gasped as Samuel rubbed his hands over his wrists. ‘That is impossible.’ Her voice wasn’t quite as confident as before. ‘Those bracelets were spelled by our unified magic. They cannot fail while it survives.’
Apart from Samuel, only I knew that the bracelets had already failed. But I was betting that even if they hadn’t, they would have fallen off when Ulandes touched them.
‘The night faeries have held my people for too long. The Ubanty Tribespeople are mine, and I will have them back.’ Ulandes’ voice rose to a roar and Ebony scampered back down the stairs.
‘Now what of him.’ As if that conversation had never happened, Ulandes tapped a finger to her lips and looked at Wilfred.
‘Please,’ Isla said. ‘Please save him.’
Ulandes floated over to us and took Isla’s face in both her hands. ‘Dear heart. Would you give him up to get him back?’
‘Yes,’ Isla said. ‘Just to know he is alive is enough.’
‘So be it.’ Ulandes stood and moved to Wilfred’s side. She placed her hand on his head, then his heart, then on the back of his neck. Light streamed out of her into him. It flowed up and down his body faster and faster before flying up into the air in a swirl of sparks. It hovered a few metres above his body and then speared back towards him, a stream of power that lanced into his heart.
His back arched as he took one choking breath after another. Isla let out a cry of joy and raced towards him but Ulandes stood in her way. ‘You will give him up?’
‘I promise.’ Isla nodded her head. ‘Please let me be there when he awakens.’
Ulandes moved to the side and Isla knelt beside Wilfred, taking his hands off the sword and wrapping them in her own. He took another breath and then his eyelids fluttered and opened. He looked up at Isla and said, ‘Am I in heaven?’
‘No dear heart.’ She blinked and a tear trickled down her cheek.
‘Why do you cry?’ He reached up and wiped it away.
‘Because I love you.’ She let go of his hands and stood, turning to Ulandes. ‘Thank you,’ she whispered, bowing her head.
Wilfred looked up at the shining being that hovered above him. ‘Beautiful women, angels. Well, if this ain’t heaven I don’t know what is.’
Ulandes smiled and held out a hand. Wilfred reached up for it and as their fingers touched, tattoos wound around his wrists and up his arms. They were identical to the ones Samuel wore.
‘Cool,’ he said, looking at his arms. ‘I’ve been thinking of getting me some ink.’
He climbed to his feet and shook his head and then seemed, for the first time, to notice the rest of us kneeling there. He looked at our faces and then pivoted slowly, staring out across the ruins to the trees.
‘I died didn’t I.’ It wasn’t a question, more a meek acceptance of the fact.
‘Yes child.’
He nodded his head a few times and then turned to look at Ulandes. ‘Did they cry? Cause I’m going to be devastated if there wasn’t some weeping.’
I let out a choked laugh and clambered to my feet. ‘May I?’ I asked Ulandes, waiting for her smile before I approached him. He was hers now, and as much as I hated knowing he wouldn’t be in my life every day, Isla was right. After having lost him for good, knowing that somewhere Wilfred was cracking stupid jokes and generally being a goof head was enough.
‘I may have shed a tear or two,’ I said, wrapping my arms around him.
He lifted me up and shook me side-to-side as he hugged me. ‘Sorry to scare you.’
As soon as I was free Aethan grabbed him, clasping him hard. ‘Don’t do that again,’ he said hoarsely.
Wilfred pulled back and looked him in the face. ‘I don’t get to go with you, do I?’
Aethan shook his head and Wilfred turned to Ulandes. ‘Will I see them again?’
‘You will be there when they need you the most.’
Brent clasped his arm and then pulled him into a bear hug, clapping him on the back while saying, ‘Try to keep out of trouble.’
Wolfgang wished him good luck and goodbye and then there was just Isla.
Tears glistened in her eyes, but her smile made up for them. Beatific, she glowed as she gazed up at him. ‘I always knew you were destined for greater things.’
He reached out and gently stroked her face. ‘Can she…?’ He turned to look at Ulandes.
‘No child. She cannot come where we go. She has tasks she must complete elsewhere.’
He sighed and turned back to Isla. ‘You were the great love of my life.’
She balled her fist and punched him gently. ‘What’s with the were?’
He smiled and then pulled her to him, lowering his head to hers.
I turned away to give them some privacy and met Aethan’s eyes. He watched my face intently for a few seconds and then looked away and ran his hands through his hair. He was having a rough night. First losing his best friend and then finding out said best friend was in love with your sister and vice versa.
All too soon Ulandes said, ‘Child, we must go.’
Wilfred pulled away from Isla and went to stand with Samuel.
‘What about the monsters?’ Wolfgang asked.
‘I have sent them back,’ Ulandes said. ‘It will take great power to bring them over again.’
She turned and floated back to the statue, seeping into it as easily as she had come out.
Wilfred turned to look at Samuel. ‘After you,’ he said, holding his hand out.
‘Well,’ Samuel shot him a grin, ‘I am number one.’ He walked to the statue and stepped into it.
Wilfred followed him, stopping at the base of the statue to turn and look at us. He gave us a two-finger salute and, just before he stepped into the statue, said in his best Arnold Schwarzenegger accent, ‘I’ll be back.’ And just like that he was gone.
We stood for a while, none of us speaking, all of us staring at the statue. It’s not every day that you get to m
eet a deity, and it didn’t seem right to break that moment with words.
One-by-one we drifted back down towards the trees where Ebony waited with the horses.
‘Well,’ she said, ‘this is a fine mess. Who’s going to get my dinner now?’
I stared at her in disbelief. After everything that had just happened, that was her concern.
‘You’ll manage,’ Isla said, ‘or you’ll go hungry. Those are your only two options.’
We unsaddled the horses and rubbed them down, eating the travelling food as we worked. Then we pulled out our blankets and lay around a fire Wolfgang lit. For the first time in a long time we didn’t post a watch. Ulandes had said we would be safe here for the night and we believed her. The weight of her presence blanketed us softly, soothing our sorrows and our fear. One-by-one we fell asleep, none of us stirring again till the sun was high in the sky.
12
Home Sweet Home
‘You can’t come.’
‘Try to stop me.’
‘It’s not safe.’
‘All the more reason to come.’
Aethan and I were arguing about whether or not I would accompany him to Trillania that night. It had been going on for a while and we were getting to the petty end of the discussion.
He sighed and, as if to a very ‘special’ child, said, ‘It’s not safe for you.’
‘I can look after myself.’
He gave me a significant look that I assumed was meant to remind me of what had happened the last time we had gone. The time Santanas had known I was there.
‘I was startled.’ It was the only excuse I could think of for my reaction. The truth was that Santanas scared me stupid, but if I admitted that to Aethan I wasn’t ever going back.
I was enjoying our argument. It reminded me of the old days, before Galanta’s spell. It was also helping dull the ache in my chest. If I weren’t arguing with Aethan, I would be moping about Wilfred.
I looked back to check on Isla. She was chatting to Wolfgang and Brent, an animated look on her face. Knowing that Wilfred was alive had given her a reason to live. I was sure under all that chatter she was working on a way to reunite with him.
I shook my head and turned back to Aethan, but Ebony had ridden up beside him. Bugger. We’d have to finish the argument later. That thought put a smile on my face.
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