A Body Displaced (Lansin Island 2)

by Andrew Butcher

  The witch sighed and put her head back again. ‘If those two hurry, then I won’t have to cancel on all my clients this afternoon.’ Her eyelids slid shut, and then her breathing became loud and slow.

  Afternoon? It had been midmorning when Nick arrived at Juliet’s house today. She took out her mobile and had to switch it on, having turned it off to ignore Tamara’s calls earlier. The witch hadn’t left any voicemail or texts, so there was no nuisance of deleting anything, but a new text did show up. From Kim.

  Juliet had completely forgotten her best friend flew back today. The message, sent two hours ago, informed her that Kim was about to board the plane and would call her later this evening when she was back home. The flight would take roughly four hours, and then she’d have to travel from the mainland across to Lansin Island. Late evening, figured Juliet.

  Her thoughts moved at a painful speed, sluggishly slithering across her headache. Releasing the spirits had left her as mentally drained as Tamara looked physically drained. She peered up from her mobile and found the witch fast asleep.

  I’ll rest my mind. She closed her eyes and reclined in the couch. Make him happy, won’t you? the spirit’s voice plodded through her head. What is it with spirits giving me advice on my love life? Rowena Howard had done the same, and Samantha Crystan had also told her not to be so hard on Nicolas … Nicolas … She imagined him fighting with Austin, pushing blades away from his face and throat. Her mind squirmed in discomfort …

  ‘Juliet,’ a voice stirred her, and a hand shook her. ‘You fell asleep,’ said Tamara. Behind her stood Nick and James. Nick appeared lightly amused, and rather calm for some reason. James looked like hell.

  ‘What’s happening?’ She pushed herself up quickly.

  ‘Austin’s been taken away for questioning,’ said Nick.

  ‘By the police?’ Her heart skipped.

  ‘No. James’s’—he turned to the half-elf, apparently unsure how to word it—‘friends took him away. Friends? Should I call them your friends?’ he asked James, who shrugged back.

  Juliet sighed, and a warm wave of relief washed over her. ‘We’re safe now, then?’

  ‘Yes,’ answered James. ‘You should be, at least. We know Austin wasn’t too bothered about killing you, so I assume the person he’s working for isn’t interested either. But for Nicolas to be safe, Austin must be questioned.’

  ‘Sure. And that’s what’s going to happen, right?’ She received a mopey nod from James. ‘So, what will we do now?’

  James took a few steps back to address Juliet and Nick together. ‘When I spoke with my kind, they gave me more clearance. They agreed that you two are in deep enough, that you should both be … I’m not sure how to put it … brought into the fold; that would be one way of putting it. You’ll both have responsibilities like Tamara and I do, the main one being to keep secret the existence of the Otherworld.’

  ‘Okay.’ That should be easy enough, as Juliet hadn’t planned on blabbing about elves and witches and other realms anyway. ‘You seem like you have more to say.’

  ‘I do. But I think it will be better if I show you both instead.’ He gave Tamara a conspiratorial look.

  The witch began to ask, ‘You’re going to show them—’

  ‘Yes. But you can stay behind, Tamara.’

  It surprised Juliet how authoritatively he sometimes spoke to Tamara, but then, she didn’t know the dynamics of their relationship. Was he actually her superior, like the witch had joked before?

  ‘Good,’ Tamara declared. ‘I’ve lost enough money this week thanks to you lot.’ She pulled a stern face at the two men, then gave a wink to Juliet. ‘Come on, be on your way.’

  You’ve got your energy back, thought Juliet, as Tamara got her up and then shoehorned all three of them into the cottage’s excuse for an entry hall.

  On the way out, James asked Nick if he’d drive them, and before long they were all in the black Vauxhall Corsa, Juliet in the back. She gazed up at the willow tree as they passed it and left the hamlet.

  ‘It’s not far at all,’ said James. ‘Just west of here. I’ll direct you.’

  They made their way. The day was windy now, so blustery it felt like the car was being pushed to the wrong side of the road. Juliet was not a fan of bad weather. Generally, she didn’t waste her energy complaining over such things, things that couldn’t be changed, but she knew if she owned the skies there would seldom be a cloud in daytime—and rain would come quiet and gentle at night, when no one had to suffer it.

  On the way to wherever they were headed, she listened to Nick asking James questions.

  ‘I just thought,’ he said, as if something blatant had jumped through the window and slapped him on the cheek, ‘you don’t sound Irish. I thought you said your dad lives in Ireland? Did you grow up there?’

  ‘Yes, I lived there ...’ said James, humdrum. ‘At least for most of growing up. And, erm, about the accent, do I sound Irish now?’ He said the last part in a strong Irish accent, though Juliet was unsure of the dialect. Listening to people do impressions made her cringe, even if they were good, and James’s was. She hadn’t noticed before, but the half-elf usually spoke like most of the islanders.

  Nick quickly turned to James, then back to the road. ‘Is that how you normally talk?’ His tone was softened by disbelief, raised in astonishment.

  ‘When I’m back home, yes. But elsewhere I adapt to the most common accent around me. You might even notice that when I speak to Juliet, I pronounce words more correctly than when talking to you … That’s because she speaks much posher than you do.’

  Do I? ‘Does she?’ Nick echoed her thought, then laughed. He didn’t seem offended. ‘Is the Otherworld not your home, James?’

  ‘Not quite,’ he said, deep and darkly.

  ‘Oh.’ Nick paused a while. ‘Do you know any other languages, or is it just accents you do?’ He slowed his driving, approaching a junction. Farmland and fields were in most directions.

  ‘This way.’ James pointed up a particular rural route. ‘Half-elves and full-blooded elves are all taught human languages, main ones, like the way you have business languages, but then also region-specific ones.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  James exaggerated a sigh—really exaggerated it. ‘I didn’t realise I’d be giving a class today,’ he complained. Once he’d had his whine, he answered, ‘Think of the Otherworld as a kind of parallel universe that lines up with this one. Only, our geography has formed differently from yours, so where there is ocean on your side there may be land in the Otherworld, and vice versa. But still, a fair amount of your countries line up with known land on the other side, with places inhabited by elves and our allies. So, for example, if an elf were to grow up in the part of the Otherworld that matches up with Germany on this side, then German would be a compulsory language.’

  Noisily, Nick threw out breath. ‘And do you actually remember all these languages?’

  James laughed. It sounded forced. Juliet didn’t know why, but she got a real party-pooper vibe from the half-elf. She heard him say, ‘When you hear our native language, you will understand why tongues are so easy for us.’

  A block was reached in Juliet’s mind. She knew the barrier was there; she’d put it up herself, especially for conversations like this. All this talk of the Otherworld and elves was too much. The idea that there was another world she wouldn’t know how to successfully function in nauseated her. And another race too; a race that sounded possibly more intelligent than humans. I don’t know of many people fluent in more than three or four languages.

  ‘You have only one native language?’ asked Nick. Juliet was unsure how he’d come to that conclusion.

  ‘Yes,’ said James. ‘Just one.’

  The drive took a few minutes and left them in a gritted parking lane near the cliff edge, provided as a stop for locals to appreciate the sea view. When they got out, Juliet regretted not bringing a coat. Her arms prickled into goose skin. The temperature h
ad been mild earlier, but this biting wind made all the difference.

  ‘It’s down this way.’ James led them along the edge, following a parapet. A minute or so later he stopped. He peered out across the Celtic Sea. Miles ahead would be the North Atlantic Ocean. The half-elf pointed. ‘Look out there. You see that.’

  Juliet spotted a dark shape jutting from the choppy water.

  ‘It’s called Kern Islet,’ James told them. ‘That’s where we’re going.’

  Confused, Juliet said, ‘It looks unoccupied to me.’

  ‘That’s how it’s supposed to look.’

  ‘An illusion?’ asked Nick, from behind Juliet’s shoulder.

  James didn’t answer, but instead he jumped the low barrier and took steps towards the drop. The sight of him approaching gave Juliet vertigo. ‘What are you doing?’

  ‘Showing you the way.’

  I’m not climbing down a cliff face, she thought, seeing no other path down. And then what? Does he want us to swim across? She watched the half-elf. He moved so close to the end that a misstep could have him fall. But he twisted and walked sideways, down and behind the cliff edge. Lower and lower. It was like watching someone go down a staircase, with a wall blocking part of the view. A secret pathway … When James’s head bobbed out of sight, Juliet squinted. From here there was only the straight verge, and a sheer drop.

  Nick hmmmed before enthusiastically vaulting the barrier. He slowed and took cautious steps to the edge. ‘Oh, wow,’ he said. ‘That’s so weird. It’s a really simple path down.’ He moved back, swayed his head and upper body side to side. ‘But you can’t see it from this angle.’

  ‘Is it another illusion?’ asked Juliet, frustrated by the thought.

  ‘I think so. But not magic. It’s just the rocks playing a trick on our eyes.’ He shrugged. ‘Come take a look.’

  Before doing so, she glanced back across fields and farmland and roads. No one in sight. She climbed over the parapet and approached the drop. When she was close enough, she saw what Nick meant. It was just a naturally well-hidden path.

  ‘Ready to go down the rabbit hole?’ Nick quipped, extending a hand to her—not to hold, but as a ‘ladies first’ gesture. He’s struggling now, she realised; his little joke hadn’t sounded that warm, but rather for the sake of it, a distraction to keep him going.

  Juliet made the descent. The cliff wasn’t so high, and the path not too treacherous. The wind frightened her once, grabbing and throwing her, but luckily she fell to the higher side of the gradient. Grit and pain met her palms. At the bottom, she found a pebbled cove with a wooden pier stretching some metres out into the waves. Docked and gently bobbing alongside it was a dayboat, with James already aboard.

  Juliet and Nick joined him. The boat was commodious enough, the front sheltered for the captain, and the back open with seating. ‘Are you okay to operate this?’ asked Juliet. From where she sat, she saw the back of James’s head and the side of his gaunt face.

  ‘I have some energy,’ he said without turning back. Soon there was a chuttering sound that smoothed into a steady hum. ‘I shut my eyes and rested in Nicolas’s car when he drove us back to Tamara’s.’

  Intermittently, the wind swooshed and threw back Juliet’s hair, like an attention-seeking child making her presence known. She wanted to go stand by the half-elf in the sheltered area, but felt uncomfortable at the idea of it.

  With the sploshes and splashes of the water, the churn of the boat engine, and the howling of air, it grew louder. Nick began asking James questions again, and they both had to shout to be heard. James’s deep voice lost clarity in the conditions.

  ‘Do full-blooded elves have long shiny hair and big pointy ears?’ Nick yelled. ‘Are they tall with flawless skin and glittery eyes?’

  James twisted back and glared at him, then set eyes ahead again. ‘No. Most keep their hair short. Long hair’s an inconvenience in our habitat.’

  Juliet laughed unexpectedly. ‘Habitat?’ she said loudly, though the surrounding noises made it distant, like a voice in a tin can. ‘That makes you sound like frogs. Do you mean environment? Terrain? Homeland? Something more along those lines?’ Her mind itched to block it all out.

  James practically ignored her, muttering what might have been, ‘You two are going to drive me insane,’ but it was too quiet to be clear. Then, shouting again, he continued to answer Nick’s questions. ‘Yes. Full-blooded elves do have pointed ears. You can see that mine are more pointed than a human’s.’

  I don’t think they’re as pointy as you believe they are. Juliet remembered the little episode at Tamara’s house.

  The half-elf yelled on. ‘And if you ever see a full-blooded elf, you will find that their eyes are magnificent in colour, like the orange in mine, which was passed down from my mother. I was lucky, some tell me.’ His tone showed his grievance with that theory; he huffed to amplify it. ‘Most half-elves have bland human eyes. But lucky me, the elf side in me is strong.’

  ‘Is that not a good thing?’ asked Nick.

  ‘What? To almost be something, but not quite?’ he said indignantly, letting a pause deliver impact. ‘It wouldn’t be so bad if I were more human looking, but like this I’m a pariah to my full-blooded kind, and then among humans I’m just odd-looking.’ There was a lot of bitterness in his words, and Juliet began to understand his glum attitude.

  ‘But … you said you can cast an illusion,’ said Nick. ‘You can phase out among humans so we can barely notice you.’

  Good one, Nicolas, offer avoidance as a solution to his problem …

  James was quiet for a time, and then as if he hadn’t listened at all, he said, ‘What? Oh … it doesn’t matter.’ He slammed shut the doors on that topic. ‘You asked more questions. Erm, yes … You may have noticed my height; I was apparently lucky there too, as most half-elves are not so tall. My full-blooded kind average a little taller than this.’ He pointed at the tip of his head, but didn’t look back.

  Nick’s face scrunched up sceptically. ‘They sound like giants.’

  ‘They are not giants,’ said the half-elf plainly. The boat moved faster. It must have hit a wave because there was a sploosh, instantly followed by a wet slap, and then water sprayed Juliet’s face. The saltiness somehow made its way into her mouth. She wiped a hand across her skin to dry it.

  The water hitting her face had the expected effects. She felt suddenly alert and lucid. And her clear and logical thoughts got to work doing their thing: questioning all this stuff about the Otherworld and other beings. Maybe it’s all a big prank. She considered that, for his own sad entertainment, sullen James might be seeing how long he could have them believe he was a half-elf. I wouldn’t put it past him.

  Soon, though, she realised: This is my denial at work. She couldn’t stay ignorant of it all forever, as much as she’d like to, but alongside that admission she knew gaining knowledge of these things wasn’t her priority. With Austin detained, she wished to turn her attention to her gran’s wellbeing, reconciling with her parents, and returning to a productive day-to-day routine.

  ‘So,’ Nick shouted, ‘if you don’t call yourselves elves, what do you call yourselves?’

  James huffed, seemed to deliberate answering, but then twisted around to them. He made a sound that was like nothing Juliet had ever heard before.

  Nick, picking up his jaw, said, ‘Sorry … Run that by me again, would you?’

  ‘No.’ James turned back to the wheel. ‘Just stop asking questions now. Each answer will birth more questions, and I don’t have the patience to listen to you and answer all day long. We’re almost here now anyway.’

  ‘Oh.’ Nick tilted his head forward and brought his hand up to cover his eyes, the thumb on one temple, and his fingers stretching across to the other.

  ‘Are you okay?’ called Juliet.

  He shook his head cautiously. ‘I’m getting a bit motion sick.’

  Juliet could sympathise there; it was a horrible ride. She looked in the directio
n they travelled, grabbing the cold railing and pushing herself up for a better view. The islet jutted higher out of sea than it looked to have from a distance. Still, the rock appeared uninhabited.

  Why is he taking us here? The dark, slick rock became larger until they were in its shadow. They approached a dock, and on the other side of it was another boat. A large tarp-covered dinghy. Juliet peered about. She spotted a stone stairway, meandering through the rock and up the islet.

  A man came down the steps. He was dressed for the weather and had a short beard, white skin, and a forgettable face. He gave no eye contact and said nothing. All he did was come down and help James dock the boat. ‘Thanks, Gerry,’ said James, his voice strong and deep. The bearded man completely ignored him and disappeared back up the stairway.

  When Juliet and Nick disembarked, James caught their attention and nodded towards the dinghy. ‘You’re both lucky we didn’t have to take that across.’

  Juliet imagined the three of them attempting to row it. She made no reply, but felt grateful the motorboat had been docked their side.

  ‘Follow me.’ The half-elf led the way, and Nick followed close behind.

  The steps were uneven and wet, but Juliet’s flat black pumps had good grip and got her up safely. Prudently, she’d selected the simple and reliable shoes this morning, in case she needed to escape danger. You won’t catch me running through woodland in wedge boots again.

  As she reached the top, she noticed a familiar sound … an emollient hum. They ended up at the highest point of the islet, a wide, flat area. Roughly twenty metres away was a shed, and two people stood out in front of it as if stationed there. Next to it was an ugly blue portaloo. Behind both was a metal rectangular container, which must have been a portable office.

  Juliet blinked hard, validating what she saw. When she’d looked from atop the cliff, there had been nothing on this islet. Even from a distance these structures would have stood out as silhouettes. But, knowing the answer she would get from James, she didn’t even ask how it was possible she hadn’t seen them.