Brightstorm

by Vashti Hardy

  CHAPTER 29

  GOODBYE DAD

  Under the shelter of the mountains, they waited until they were certain the Victorious was long gone back through the gap it had made in the mountainside. Then they all rested, every one of them physically and emotionally exhausted to the core.

  Arthur snuggled into Tuyok’s fur. “But we heard you get shot back near the lake on the Victorious – there was silence?”

  “I leapt from the ship and was still in snow for a long time. When I heard their thoughts and what they would do to you, I couldn’t let the dark take me yet. I made it to the forest and my pack found me and took the bullet from my flesh and healed my wound. Then Slartok returned with the others and we heard the death sky-ship destroying the mountain to make their path. The hawk Parthena led the way and we followed to find you.”

  “Thank you, Tuyok.”

  Exhausted, the four travellers lay in the warm fur of the thought-wolves. Parthena was beside Arthur. He stroked her head. “So, you flew to find the thought-wolves and lead them to us. You are a brilliant bird. Dad would be proud,” he whispered.

  Arthur looked over at Maudie and the others, their bodies soon rising and falling with every slow, sleeping breath. As he closed his eyes, Arthur tried to forget Eudora’s triumph earlier. We made it out alive, he reminded himself, and that was no doubt a greater victory.

  Later, Felicity made sweet tea, which was like nectar and revived them with every sip, washing the fatigue and awfulness little by little from their bodies and minds. Even the thought-wolves tried some and agreed there was an almost magical quality to this strange drink from afar.

  It felt good not to be racing any more. Although the stab of failure and losing the evidence was a feeling Arthur knew he would never lose, the truth was now inside him, and it went some way to filling the hole. He felt a great weight had lifted from his shoulders.

  When they felt ready to embark on the journey back, Arthur and Maudie visited the ice cave where their father lay. The tunnel had partially collapsed due to vibrations from the explosions, but they were as close as they could get.

  Harriet and Felicity left them there alone for a moment to say goodbye, while they readied themselves for the journey over the mountain.

  “Dad, we didn’t understand what you were trying to tell us by sending Parthena with the locket, but we know now,” said Arthur. “We came, for you, and we made it all the way to South Polaris.”

  “It wasn’t quite as we’d hoped it would be, I’m afraid,” Maudie said.

  “There won’t be any reward and we’ll have to find a way to make our own way in Lontown…”

  “But we know we can do it…”

  Arthur looked sideways at Maudie and smiled. “Because we did what we came to do – we found the truth.”

  “And we did lots of cool stuff on the way…”

  “We crossed the Second Continent and…”

  “We met kings, and we even crossed…”

  “The biggest ocean on the planet…”

  “Only to survive…”

  “Sabotage.”

  “We’ll let you guess who was behind that.”

  “And we crashed, over the Everlasting Forest…”

  “But every crew member lived.”

  “We met the thought-wolves…”

  “And found out how to be friends with them.”

  “They saved us!”

  “Parthena was amazing.”

  “And all the way, Harrie and Felicity…”

  They both fell silent for a moment.

  “They’ve been beside us every step,” Maudie began.

  “I mean they’ve really been there for us…”

  “Like … family.”

  The twins looked at each other and smiled.

  “We’re going to be fine, Dad,” said Maudie. “And we’re going to make you proud, even if we have no evidence left to prove what Eudora Vane did, we’re going to rebuild the Brightstorm name. Somehow.”

  They stood up to leave, but as they did, their torch-flame light caught a curious shape, too square to be a rock. Arthur went over to it. “Maud, it’s Dad’s camera!”

  “Hey, what if it’s still working? We could take another picture of the Violetta’s fuel stores and at least prove Dad didn’t steal from the Victorious!”

  “Come on, let’s tell Harrie.”

  They both paused.

  “I don’t want to leave him,” Maudie said.

  “Then let’s leave something here with him, so we’re always here,” Arthur said.

  Maudie took her ribbon from her hair. Then Arthur remembered the page from Volcanic Islands of the North. It had been in his arm all this time. He could get another copy back in Lontown.

  He unfolded the paper and read. “The Brightstorm moth, a new species discovered by Ernest Brightstorm in the Northern Isles, uses the light of the moon to ensure they travel in an absolutely straight line, allowing them to navigate successfully between two volcanic islands fifty miles apart, and never stray from their path.”

  Together they tied it around a rock using Maudie’s ribbon – their two hands working as one.

  *

  They found the thought-wolves with Harriet and Felicity on the mountainside ready to depart. The aurora rippled faintly across the great beautiful plain of South Polaris, dancing in its glorious colours.

  “There’s a sight I’ll never forget,” Felicity said with a sigh.

  “I could murder that woman for destroying my camera,” Harriet huffed.

  Arthur smiled and held out his father’s camera. “We found it in the tunnel close to him – is there a chance it’ll still work?”

  Harriet examined it. “There’s still film in there. It’s a bit battered, but it’s worth a try.”

  “Maudie and I thought we could retake the photographic evidence from the Violetta on the way back, to show the fuel supplies were empty.”

  “That’s a brilliant idea.” Harriet smiled. “But first I think we should capture this moment.” Then she carefully arranged the camera on a rock and Maudie helped her set an automatic timer. They posed for a picture with the thought-wolves, with the great plain and southern aurora behind.

  “Well, there’s a picture we may at least be able to make good money with in Lontown, and perhaps we can get a few more of the mountains on the way back, to sell to the Geographical Society,” said Harriet.

  “It’ll certainly be a memory picture, that’s for sure.” Felicity sat on a rock and looked around one last time. “I must say, this is the first time my feet have felt rested in over a moon-cycle.”

  They all laughed.

  “Ready?” Harriet said.

  They nodded and climbed on their thought-wolves. Arthur felt comforted; Tuyok’s fur was as soft and warm as Dad’s arms around him.

  *

  After two days travelling through the scarred mountainside, they carefully made the treacherous journey back over the frozen lake, then to the Violetta where they retook the pictures of the empty fuel stores, and finally back into the forest. In another two days, the small clearing where the Aurora had crashed came into view. But there was no sign of the crew, only a few odd scraps of the ship.

  “Where in all of the Wide have they vanished to?” Felicity said.

  “You don’t think…” Arthur’s heart sank in his chest as he had the awful thought that something terrible had happened to them at Eudora’s hands.

  Harriet looked across at him. “Welby will have put steps in place to protect everyone, I’m certain.”

  Tuyok sniffed the air. “To the west.”

  “He knows where they’ve gone!” Arthur said.

  The thought-wolves took them a little further west, following the scent trail. After a while the thought-wolves stopped in a small darkened clearing. There was a rustling of leaves, and figures cautiously emerged from behind the trees.

  “Welby, is that you?” Harriet called. “Don’t be afraid of the wolves. They’re very fr
iendly, and ever so remarkable!”

  With some trepidation, the crew came forward, but it wasn’t long before they embraced their friends warmly.

  The relief at seeing Harriet was clear on Welby’s usually unreadable face. “Your parents would not have forgiven me if you’d not come back,” he said to her seriously.

  Harriet gave him a firm pat on the arm. “It’ll take more than the Third Continent and that woman to stop us. A wise decision to move, Welby.”

  “Naturally we suspected she may return at some point, so we created a concealed camp. We heard her pass by not two days ago.”

  Queenie purred excitedly to see Harriet, and brushed happily around her legs, then went straight to Maudie and with a “Prwwwt mwwwt,” jumped into her arms.

  “She’s glad we’re all right,” Maudie said.

  The crew had made a great canopy above the clearing, disguising the rebuild of the sky-ship. It looked unrecognizable. The crew had worked diligently under Welby’s capable command and had made half of the Aurora into what looked like a workable ship.

  “We’ve bypassed the secondary hydra-pump and rewired the hydro-converter,” Welby declared.

  “That was a genius idea, Welby,” Maudie said, impressed.

  “I’m not your average butler,” he said with a wink. “She’s half a sky-ship but a fair good half, which should get us back to the Second Continent with a bit more work. I can’t quite find the best way to connect the two with a single valve. I’ve been waiting for you to help me, if you could lend me your expertise, Miss Brightstorm?”

  “I knew you needed us, Welby. We’re not just children, eh?” She smiled and got to work.

  The ship was almost ready. With a few tweaks, and by melting enough snow for the engine, they were ready to set sail the next day. It was time to say a sad farewell to the thought-wolves. Arthur squeezed his arm tightly around Tuyok’s neck and found he couldn’t speak, so he simply thought, “Friend.”

  “Friend,” said Tuyok.

  After a long time holding on, Arthur eventually said. “Maybe one day I’ll come back to visit, in my own sky-ship.”

  “You are welcome in our pack any time,” said Tuyok. The thought-wolves dipped their heads then turned and sped into the trees, disappearing into the gloom. As the half-ship Aurora took off, their farewell howls sounded across the forest.

  The weather was kind to the crew, and after half a moon-cycle they were back in the Second Continent Citadel. Batzorig and Temur patched up the Aurora, insisting they wouldn’t take a sovereign for supplies or labour and filling their ship with wonderful foods. After several more weeks they reached the Culldam Sea and were soon flying over the First Continent’s green fields.

  It was mid-morning break. Harriet steadied the wheel while everyone else lounged on deck eating spiced egg-free buns, which Felicity had named home buns to celebrate their return.

  Arthur leant over the side of the ship, viewing the farms below through the uniscope; farmers sowing seeds in the fields, cows lazing in the fields. “It’s funny – it’s as though nothing has changed down there, yet everything has changed up here.”

  “I know what you mean,” said Maudie.

  Although he wasn’t entirely sure she did. He could still see the Maudie-shaped hole there in Lontown waiting to be filled in the future at Lontown Universitas. But for him, it felt like the end, not the start.

  “Are you all right?” Maudie said.

  He nodded. “Never better.”

  Maudie put her arms around him and hugged him tight. He wrapped his arm as far around her as he could.

  “You have more hug in one arm than Eudora has in her little finger,” Maudie said.

  “But I still can’t believe we’re half Vane.” Arthur stuck out his tongue and pulled a face.

  “Yes, I vote we don’t mention it again. I don’t think Auntie Eudora has the best ring to it.”

  They laughed.

  Felicity came over, taking a couple of marsh cakes from her pocket and passed them one each.

  Harriet handed over the watch of the wheel to Welby and joined them. “So, you never did tell me how your need for a remarkable iron arm came about in the first place?”

  “The truth is, even though Maudie’s stories are far more exciting about how I lost my arm, I was just born like this.”

  Harriet smiled. “You know, you’ve got a real talent for problem solving and seeking out the truth, and they’re important skills for any explorer.”

  It felt good to hear her say that.

  “I thought we’d lost our future when we lost Dad. Because we were going to do these things together, the three of us, as a family.”

  “Control is an illusion. We never know what life will throw at us. You are the master of your destiny, Arthur, and you can still do those things – your father is still with you, inside.” Harriet smiled and lingered as though she was contemplating something. “I wanted to ask you both a question,” she said eventually.

  They looked at her curiously.

  “I know I failed us all by not winning the sovereigns, but I have some savings which will be paid to the crew and yourselves. It’s not a patch on what we could have had, but it will pay everyone fairly for what they have put in. And I wondered, that is, if you would like to, if you would come and live at Number Four Archangel Street when we get back? The house will only be half the size it used to be, at least for a while, mind you! But there will be no need for you to go back to that vile place in the Slumps, and if the Begginses have anything to say about it, I’ll soon set them right. Felicity has agreed to stay on as cook. Welby can be a bit grumpy, but he’s all right, really, and I can’t promise I’m the easiest to live with on account that I can’t sit still for more than a few minutes, but…”

  “Yes!” they both jumped in. “We’d like it more than anything.”

  CHAPTER 30

  VICTORIOUS

  The day they arrived back in Lontown and set down at Number Four Archangel Street, the crowds built quickly. The crew spent some time securing the Aurora in place, as many of the mechanisms that had transformed the Aurora had been destroyed in the crash, so she looked more like a ship nestled between houses than a house. Harriet explained to the questioning crowd that they were tired from their journey, and would make a statement about their expedition in the following days. The crew busied about manually adjusting great panels, cogs whirring and clunking until an almost house-like shape was restored. Then the twins said a sad goodbye to the rest of the crew, who returned to their families in Lontown, and Harriet closed the shutters to the people outside.

  Later, when Harriet, Felicity, Maudie and Arthur were in the galley having tea, Welby brought in some copies of the Lontown Chronicle that had been issued that morning. Eudora Vane – Victorious! the headline glowed. Her perfect smile beamed from the page.

  Arthur read on:

  Eudora Vane returned after successfully completing the challenge to be the first human to reach South Polaris. The rival explorers, led by young Harriet Culpepper, are believed to have perished as their ship crashed in the Third Continent. The Victorious saw the remains of a crash, and many paw prints, so it is assumed that the crew has sadly met the same fate as the Violetta’s. The winnings will be awarded at a special ceremony at the Geographical Society this evening at the chime of eight.

  He threw the paper down. “It makes me sick to think she’s got away with it.”

  “Well, they’ll soon have to retract the report on the fate of the Aurora, seeing as we’re back safely, not a crew-member lost,” said Maudie proudly. “Eudora must have heard about our return by now; I wonder what she’s thinking!”

  “Probably trying to come up with a way to discredit us,” said Harriet.

  “I still think we should tell the police – the Geographic Society – somebody!” Arthur cried, angrily kicking at a footstool.

  Harriet frowned and shook her head. “I know how you feel, Arthur, believe me, I do. But we need evidence in or
der to make accusations like that. Eudora is very powerful, so calling her a murderer without proof would only backfire. She’s dangerous – that much is abundantly clear. And I don’t think there’s any way to prevent her from claiming the prize. It’s far from ideal, but we may at least be able to sell the photographs we took with your father’s camera.”

  “And show the one of the Violetta fuel reserves to the Geographical Society and at least clear his name of breaking the code.” Arthur took the camera from his bag and passed it to Harriet.

  *

  Later that day, Arthur dozed in his bunk, listening to the noises of Lontown – chattering voices in the street, the distant rumble of sky-ships and the frequent chimes of the watchtowers. Part of him was pleased to be back, but part craved the absolute silence of the far south.

  Harriet and Maudie burst into the room. They both grinned widely.

  “What the clinking cogs has got into you two?” he said sitting up.

  Maudie pulled him out of bed. “You need to see this.”

  Photographs were spread on the galley table.

  “I developed the film. There were some that your Dad took. This was the last one.”

  There was Ernest Brightstorm – looking pale and thin, but holding up his way-finder and timepiece, the sun and moon behind him.

  “Does that say ninety degrees south?” Arthur said. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The picture in front of them was Ernest Brightstorm at South Polaris – just over a year ago.

  “When we found him, we assumed he’d died on his way, because his diary stopped when he’d run out of pencil – we didn’t even consider he could have been on his way back,” Maudie said.

  Arthur could barely breathe. “He made it – he was the first person ever to reach South Polaris!”

  The chimes of the Lontown Chronicle Tower began striking eight.

  He looked at Harriet with panic. “How far is the Geographical Society?”