by Lorna Reid
‘Maybe we should come back,’ Russell suggested, earning a withering look from everyone. ‘Don’t bloody look at me like that. Who knows what she’ll say. What if the future is bad?’
‘Then I want to know, so I can change it,’ said Katrina.
‘Yeah, it will be that easy,’ Russell replied.
‘Sometimes, but not always.’
Poppy’s heart leapt, and they turned to see a slender woman emerge from what Poppy guessed was a bedroom. ‘Some things are unavoidable, some fates we create ourselves without knowing it, and some can be altered or utilised.’
She was pale and didn’t walk as much as glide, making no sound as she moved barefoot to greet them. Like the others, Poppy couldn’t take her eyes off her. She was wearing a similar dress to the women outside, but silver, complimenting her raven-dark hair and lilac eyes. Eyes that bored into Poppy, giving her the impression that she was looking into her, somehow.
‘My name is Concessa. Forgive my last-minute request.’ She smiled and motioned toward a semicircle of sofas. While they took their seats and watched her pour drinks, Poppy couldn’t help but stare at her friendly face. She tried to think of something to ask, but all thoughts seemed to escape her when the woman smiled. No wonder Thom was enamoured.
‘How is your father?’ The Oracle handed Danny a crystal tumbler full of a fizzing pale blue liquid. ‘I’ve not seen him in some time.’
‘Fine. Trying to find Mum.’ He sipped at the drink and looked surprised before taking some more. ‘Erm … he probably won’t be fine though, when he finds out about us running off and stuff.’ Poppy noticed that Danny’s usual blunt manner was somewhat subdued, and for once he wasn’t slouching.
She found herself surreptitiously combing her fingers through her hair and adjusting her bracelet, while Russell smoothed down his hair and straightened his collar. Katrina was trying to wipe a smudge off her boots on the back of her jean leg.
The Oracle smiled. ‘Well, remind Pete of his own youth, particularly the day he locked his grandmother in the pantry so that he could sneak out with Thomas to the Gateway.’
‘You know about it? We aren’t allowed to mention it,’ Russell blurted, his cheeks immediately turning scarlet.
‘I do. It’s fine. I’m good with secrets. Most of my life is one.’ She smiled, but like Thom at times, Poppy noticed, there was only sadness in her eyes.
She turned to Poppy, who was enjoying the sharp, sherbety drink, and smiled again – this time it lit her whole face.
‘You already have the key to who your father was. Cherish your first hello and your last goodbye – and take his words, they’re the only way to save him.’ Poppy felt everyone’s eyes on her and suddenly felt annoyed as much as upset. What had that meant? Her father was dead. How could she say hello or bloody save him? Was this a joke? Thankfully, Katrina cut in so that she could hide her confusion in her drink.
‘What’s it like being an Oracle?’ asked Katrina, guarding her unfinished drink from Danny, who had made a casual attempt on it.
‘Lonely,’ said Concessa. ‘But it is the direction I chose.’
‘So, you’re a kind of Time Mage?’ asked Russell.
‘In a way. I started out that way. This life, it has rewards, but also sacrifices. And the regret …’
The Oracle stood up and turned away for a moment, and Poppy wondered if she was trying not to cry. Everyone shuffled under an awkward mantle for a long moment. When the Oracle turned around, it was as if nothing was wrong – there was not even a smudged line of makeup on her face, Poppy noted, wondering if she had been wrong.
*
The Oracle looked at Danny, who tried to act nonchalant. ‘You’ve come a long way, Danny Stone.’ She sat beside him and took one of his hands. ‘What do you want?’ Danny could feel how cold and thin her hand felt and was reminded of his mother.
‘Mum,’ he said. ‘Where is she? Is she in one of those sealed-off Lands, like they think? Will they find her? When? How?’
It all poured out, the words tripping over one another in his haste while his heart pounded. This is it. This would be the answer. His father would hug him forever and tell him how smart he’d been, how proud he was. Thom would be proud, and when they found his mother, she would be proud, too. Then they could be a family again, just like he remembered. Just like the memories he cherished and replayed endlessly. His father wouldn’t be sad anymore. Danny wouldn’t listen to him crying at night sometimes, when he thought Danny was asleep.
The tension twisted and knotted his insides. The Oracle led him to the pedestal and basin and lowered her hand, brushing the surface of the liquid. She drew in a swift breath and squeezed Danny’s hand. Danny felt a coldness creep into him and wrap around his mind, slowly chilling his body. She’s going to crush my hand, he thought, but instead she let go and steadied herself on the edge of the basin.
Danny was surprised to see silvery tears creep from the corners of her eyes. ‘I was afraid of this. I experienced something similar with your father.’ She sat down, lifting her feet and resting them on the edge of the table.
‘What?’ demanded Danny. She couldn’t say what he thought she was going to say. She wouldn’t. Not after all this.
‘I am truly sorry. I couldn’t see much. I had hoped that after all this time, and in light of recent events, it would be different.’
‘Try again. Did you see anything good? Can I do anything to help? Maybe if I tell you everything I know?’ The Oracle opened her mouth to speak. ‘Please!’ Danny could see Russell frowning, probably thinking he was being rude, but he didn’t care. How could he just accept this?
‘Danny, I’ve tried several times to answer your question over the years. The magic preventing me from seeing what happened to both Blake and your mother is complex and distorted. Not only were the ruins at Torr Varr, where they vanished, magically unstable, but time magic was used around the time of their disappearance, almost like a blanket.’ She gestured in frustration.
‘The combination of those things has led to a massive distortion that has made it nearly impossible for me to see back, or for Knox to travel there or anywhere close in the timeline.’ She cleared her throat.
‘It has interfered with my ability to determine what happened and where they are now, just as it prevented Knox from going back and saving either of them. They could even have been shifted forward or back in time, but we think it’s unlikely.’
Danny shook his head. This wasn’t what he wanted to hear. ‘And now, I can’t find them at all. All I can see are leaked fragments: a confrontation, a pair of dark mirrors, a wooden box, and someone singing somewhere in the darkness. I don’t know what it means.’ The Oracle shook her head. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘What about the beacon? Can you, I don’t know … plug your magic into it and find her that way?’
‘It really doesn’t work like that.’ She tried to pacify him with her soft tone, her eyes swimming in sympathy – or pity – but his ears and cheeks were burning with frustration and rage.
‘Danny.’ Russell stood up, attempting to diffuse things. ‘Look, maybe we should take a break and go. This was a long shot.’
‘What else are we supposed to do?’ Danny snapped.
‘How about wait until we hear from your dad,’ said Poppy.
‘This was supposed to be insurance, in case they fail, like they bloody have for years!’ Danny shouted. He despised the words as soon as they flew out of his mouth, but they were almost beyond his control now.
‘That’s not fair, Danny,’ said Katrina, scowling at him.
‘I don’t care. And she was supposed to help.’
‘I’m afraid I can’t. I’m sorry,’ said the Oracle.
‘Can’t or won’t? You say that you can’t see anything, and yet there are all these little bits – they must come from somewhere.’ He knew it was wrong to get angry, but this was everything. His mother could be back with him, and it was all one fragmented vision away.
�
��Use more of this stuff.’ Danny put his hand on the edge of the basin and Russell shifted to the edge of his seat.
‘No.’ The Oracle’s voice was sharp and hard, and her soft face was suddenly a formidable mask. Russell hadn’t expected it and Danny hadn’t either, as his temper train momentarily derailed.
*
Russell was appalled, embarrassed to be in the same room as Danny, although he could see that he wasn’t quite done yet, his fists screwed into angry white balls.
‘I can’t be of any help to you,’ the Oracle said, a hard edge to her tone. ‘Any fragments I could show you, you wouldn’t understand. You are a stranger here; older, wiser, more skilled minds haven’t found her, and an angry, selfish young boy certainly won’t. Go home, Danny Stone. You won’t find her, and you’ll have other problems before long. The rest of your life begins at Darrant Ridge.’
Russell held his breath. He had never seen Danny look so angry or upset. His face was a blotchy scarlet and his eyes burned with an alarming rage. Without warning, he lunged forward and shoved the pedestal. It crashed to the ground and smashed, and silver liquid gushed out – so much more than it should ever have held. It reached their feet in seconds.
Chilled air rushed into Russell’s lungs, making him gasp, and silvery mist clouded his vision. Whispers and voices filled the air around him, as though he’d walked into a crowded room with a hundred conversations going on at once. Image after image forced itself through the mist, enveloping him before being overlapped by the next. Some were brief, indistinguishable fragments, others were crisp and real.
A bright light swelled and one of the pieces melted to life around him. There was a clash of swords as two women locked hilts among grand ruins of white stone and glowered hate into each other’s eyes.
One was his mother, still beautiful, but different, somehow, than he remembered her. Her hooded cloak lapped against her thin body, and a snarl played on her red lips as she stared into the eyes of the other woman, whose long blonde hair was tinged with blood.
‘You don’t scare me, Mana. I still remember who you were,’ the woman said. Russell realised with a shock that it was Danny’s mother, before the scene ripped from his grasp.
Whispers and images moved around him in a blur and then with a jolt he saw himself struggling with Katrina. They were older. His shirt was torn and a bloody gash showed through as he wrestled to hold onto her while she writhed and fought. In front of them was a black mirrored surface, a sucking void of malevolence in a tall silver frame. ‘Let me go!’ Katrina screamed. ‘Don’t make me hurt you. Let me go.’ She hit and elbowed him, but he hung on.
‘I won’t let you go. Don’t make me hurt you to stop you.’ Still struggling with all his might with the furious girl, he snatched a torch from its sconce and flung it at the mirror, shattering it. The magical howl echoed Katrina’s scream, and everything plunged into darkness.
When the light rose, he was standing in what looked like a bedchamber – cosy and filled with a warm glow from a fire snapping and popping in an ornate fireplace. His father was perched on the edge of a large four-poster bed, pulling off his boots, while his mother poured a drink at the sideboard nearby. He could only watch, horror-struck, as she emptied a tiny bottle of clear liquid into the drink and, with a smile, swirled it to invisibility before turning and gliding toward his father. Russell tried to shout a warning, but was too late.
Rain teamed down around him. Through the gloom, he could make out a forest clearing with rough, clumpy ground surrounded by twisted, warped trees. Something white caught his eye nearby and it took his brain a second to register what it was. He yelled in terror.
Half a skull grinned up at him from the earth, and he realised that the odd lumps and protuberances in the ground were more than just dirt and stone. They were bones. Yellowed, white, charred, broken, shattered, buried, jutting, laying forlorn. Everywhere he looked, something was breaking from the earth, and he wanted to vomit, to run.
Russell whirled around, frantic, looking for help. Two people stood close by; the farthest one, a woman, crouched by a pool of black water while the other, a boy, looked on. Russell moved toward them and whispers began to fill his head, teasing and harsh. He put his hands over his ears, but still they came, mirthful this time.
Unseen hands plucked and dragged at his body, the coldness chilling his skin and burning fear across his mind. He screamed. Then the boy screamed, and he heard his own voice, saw his own terrified face.
Mist wrapped around him and the scene faded, the voices dying away only to be replaced by others, different this time, all different, the overlapping cloud of words leaving him with a headful of fragments.
‘Leave this place or be sucked beneath our ground.’
‘I hate you so much. I can’t even stop you or I won’t exist.’
‘Your magic doesn’t define you, it serves you. It doesn’t corrupt you. You corrupt it.’
‘The only thing I have left to give you now is what you love most.’
Russell flung his hands over his ears, trying to shut the voices out, and the world went dark.
*
Katrina had had enough. This would get them all thrown out. ‘Shut up, Danny, you’ll ruin it for all of us!’ she shouted, furious. But it was too late. Danny shoved over the stone basin and the instant the liquid brushed her feet, the breath was knocked out of her by a sharp, bone-deep chill. A tangle of voices rose up to envelop her and she wasn’t in the chamber anymore.
She saw her father, threatening her mother with a dagger. His eyes were tinged with a sickly green. He’d always had gorgeous, soft brown eyes. These looked alien. Evil. This wasn’t the man she’d loved before he had changed, who had read to her, who had told her she could be anything, do anything.
Her mother shouted back at him, swiped blood from her nose, and lashed out. There was a blast of magic and he was thrown back through the patio door, glass cascading everywhere, before darkness swept Katrina away.
In dancing torchlight, she could just make out someone with their back to her leaning over a large, polished sarcophagus. The girl ran her hands over the symbols etched into the smooth black stone and seemed to hesitate. ‘Do you know what you’re doing?’ said someone from the penumbra.
‘No,’ said the girl, ‘but he’s our last hope. It’s all I can think to do now. I just hope it’s enough.’
‘And hope he doesn’t destroy us all.’
The girl hesitated again and ran her fingertips over a cluster of symbols. With a deep breath, she let her hands hover over the stone, and black, smoky magic teased out, devouring it.
With a jolt, the scene changed and she was standing in front of herself and Poppy. It was a shock seeing herself, but it was quickly overridden by the haze of crackling magic surrounding the two girls. She and Poppy were facing one another, holding hands, their arms loosely outstretched and bound by snaking magic in a riot of boiling colour.
Both girls’ eyes were squeezed shut and tears streamed down their faces. Poppy cringed at some unseen pain, and blood trickled from her mouth. Katrina could only watch, horror-struck. The magic seemed to move and flicker as the girls held on, their knuckles white with pressure as their arms tensed.
Katrina yelled as she watched blood stream from her own nose. Whatever she and Poppy were doing intensified and the magic swelled and writhed.
Beside them, beyond their joined hands, Katrina saw a huge crystal, a rough sphere gleaming atop a thick, velvet-topped pedestal, its odd facets snatching the magic and throwing the colours out over the chamber in a violent fury.
The light rose and consumed her. Coloured light flared again, but this time it was different. She was in a dank stone room that reeked of mould. Liquid trickled down decaying, slimy brick and into a pool of black water that consumed the entire far end of the room. It was a sickening, malevolent presence, soaking in the light that burst and flared around her, offering no reflection, just brooding inky darkness. Only then did the rest of the place
come into focus.
Magic erupted and sparked, half lighting the room against a backdrop of shouts and screams. A boy lay on the floor, moaning, and Katrina’s stomach heaved at the sight of a spear jutting from his body. Two girls stood back to back in the darkness, lashing out with magic, which momentarily lit their faces. Only then did Katrina see what she and Poppy were fighting: terrifying, lunging shadows with red eyes that pierced her to the core.
The world spun and came to a halt, and racing whispers overlapped and closed in on her … shouts, pleas, and words.
‘Don’t grieve for us; just look for us in the dawn.’
‘She’s the fastest ship in the Lands.’
‘Have you any idea what you just created?’
‘Please fight it, Danny, please. Don’t let it kill you. You can fight this. You never give up.’
Katrina squeezed her eyes shut and tried to block it all out. When she opened them, there was only darkness.
*
Poppy, like everyone else, was horrified at Danny’s attitude, more because it was likely to get them kicked out before she heard anything good. Before she could say anything or drag him back to his seat, he shoved the pedestal to the floor. She backed away from the liquid but wasn’t quick enough.
An underground cavern opened up before her and she stood on the edge of a small lake fed by tiny twin waterfalls tumbling over a jagged cliff face. Around her, chaos reigned as a pitched battle was fought amongst abandoned mine-carts and stacks of barrels and crates.
Swords clashed and magic cut the air, exploding into the rock around the cavern, tearing off chunks which crashed down into the water and onto the floor among the fighting troops, scattering them.
A girl ran past her and leapt into the water, wading as far as she could and then swimming to the foot of the cliff. Someone chased her to the water’s edge and screamed her name. With a jolt, Poppy realised that the girl was her, and that Russell was screaming at her to come back. It was too late, however, and she had reached the far side, pulling herself up between the two waterfalls and scaling the rock.
