The Sorrow of the Waters (Kalika Magic Book 3)

by Karen Hughes

  ‘I know. Indie told me. She’s searching for her father.’

  Kai couldn’t meet the man’s eyes. ‘Well, not exactly.’

  Fintan sat up. His eyes narrowed. ‘Indie wasn’t by herself on the Ceradwin,’ he said, slowly. ‘She’s not exactly looking for her father – he’s not even a sailor, right? And I’m guessing she never scrubbed floors for any nasty old lady.’

  Kai hung his head.

  ‘So, what did you do? Run away from home? You’re Kalika, by the look of you. A forest boy. No better than a gypsy. You know the soldiers will send you away to the islands if they catch you.’

  The woman moaned in her sleep. She reached out, searching for Fintan.

  ‘Shh,’ he said, holding her hand. The woman gave a sigh and settled back against the sheets.

  Fintan carefully laid her hand by her side. He waited a moment, listening to her breathing, then he tucked the knife into his pants and climbed to his feet. Motioning for Kai and Luce to follow, he crept down the stairs and out into the night.

  At the back of the inn, tucked among crates of empty bottles and barrels of ale, they talked until the early hours of the morning.

  ‘You wanted my advice,’ Fintan protested, when Luce argued that his ideas were too dangerous, that they would surely be caught. ‘If we pile up the straw, and we fill the wagon with dung – ’

  Kai sighed. Fintan was angry. He wasn’t going to help them. They would be better off finding their own way to Nagara.

  ‘What about a travelling circus?’ said Fintan. ‘You can dress as a jester.’

  ‘He’s too tall,’ said Luce, rolling her eyes.

  ‘What about a bear?’

  Kai stood up. ‘It’s impossible. We may as well forget all about it and go back to Ballyndor.’

  ‘You might have some trouble with that,’ said Fintan.

  They both stared at him.

  ‘No more ships,’ he said. ‘The emperor has cut all trade ties with Gort. I heard last night. No ships in or out.’

  Kai slumped back against the wall of the inn. ‘So we couldn’t get home, even if we wanted to.’

  ‘Well, you could go back over the Dasa Mountains,’ said Fintan. ‘But there are soldiers everywhere.’

  ‘We’re stuck in Moto then?’

  ‘Yes, you are.’

  When daylight came, Kai and Luce were safely back inside the caves, telling the others what had happened.

  ‘Fintan was no help at all,’ said Kai. ‘He said we should hide in a wagon of dung, or dress up as circus performers.’

  ‘He was obviously teasing,’ said Indie. ‘I told you I should have gone. He likes me.’

  ‘No, he doesn’t,’ said Luce. ‘Not any more. He said he hates it when people lie to him.’

  Indie frowned and turned to Kai. ‘I don’t know why you had to tell him I was lying.’

  ‘Well, I don’t know why you had to lie in the first place,’ said Kai. ‘You should have just told him the truth.’

  They sat in silence; chins in hands, faces glum. At last Brek spoke, ‘We’ll have to make our own way to Nagara, and hope we don’t get caught by the soldiers. There’s nothing else we can do.’

  During the conversation, Sami hadn’t said a word. Now, he jumped to his feet, disappeared down the closest tunnel, and emerged a short time later with another gypsy boy. They seemed to be having some kind of argument. The second boy threw up his hands and mooched off into a corner.

  Sami walked back to them. His face was flushed, his eyes twitchy. He fidgeted with his hands, and kept looking back over his shoulder.

  ‘There is another way,’ he said.

  ‘I thought there might have been,’ said Brek, studying Sami’s face. ‘I was wondering when you were going to tell us.’

  ‘I didn’t know you were trying to stop the soldiers.’

  Brek patted the boy’s shoulder. ‘I think it’s time we were all a bit more honest with each other,’ he said, looking pointedly at Indie.

  ‘That’s not fair,’ said Indie. ‘I’ve been just as honest as you have.’

  ‘Then it’s time we both stopped hiding,’ said Brek. He turned to Sami and Luce. ‘There’s a darkness in Gort,’ he said. ‘Some kind of power that threatens us all. I can feel it here in Moto, too. I don’t know if the soldiers and the island have anything to do with it – ’

  ‘I bet they do,’ said Sami. ‘Things are as bad as they’ve ever been. The emperor used to lock people in the dungeons, but now they just disappear.’

  Luce nodded. ‘I have a cousin, Tina, who works at the palace kitchen. She says a strange lady arrived this week, and she’s living in the palace with the emperor. Tina says that since she arrived the soldiers have been bringing in the children, but they don’t stay in the dungeons. They just disappear.’

  ‘A lady.’ Indie took a step backward, her face stricken. ‘What does she look like?’

  ‘Tina says that no one can understand why she’s there – she’s obviously Kalika. She’s quite pretty, but really thin … you know, sort of bony. She has long dark hair tied in a bun, and she wears black spectacles.’

  Kai’s face was pale. ‘Sisika told me she was back.’

  ‘But she’s dead,’ said Indie. ‘I saw it happen. I was there. Everything exploded …’

  She stopped. She had been there, that much was true, but had she really seen what happened to Sofia? She searched her memory and came up with a blank. All she could remember was waking up in the castle, wondering how she got there.

  ‘Even if she’s alive,’ she said, ‘why would she be in Moto?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Kai said. ‘But I do know that she uses people. Shaman Yanti, Mugadi, Tenzel. She manipulated them all to get what she wanted.’

  ‘And now she’s using the Emperor of Moto,’ said Indie softly.

  ‘Yes. Don’t you see? He’s the perfect choice. He’s weak, he hates us, and he wants revenge almost as much as she does.’

  Sami was staring at them. ‘Do you know this lady?’ he asked.

  Kai sighed. ‘She’s our aunt,’ he said. ‘She tried to kill us.’

  ‘I had a feeling it was her,’ said Brek. ‘The grey mist in the forest, the disappearing people, the island …’

  ‘You think Sofia is the reason people are disappearing?’ Indie stared at him. ‘But why would she do that? If she is here, why wouldn’t she just take the emperor’s army and invade Ballyndor?’

  ‘Maybe she needs a bigger army,’ said Luce. ‘Everyone knows the gypsies won’t fight for the emperor. Maybe she’s taking them away to make them fight.’

  ‘But you said the emperor had done this before. You said he has always hated the gypsies. It doesn’t mean she’s here.’

  ‘I know she is,’ said Kai.

  Indie frowned. ‘But what about the children? Why would she – ’

  ‘No one knows why!’ said Kai. ‘No one knows anything. We could talk about it all day, and we still wouldn’t know.’

  Indie closed her mouth. She folded her arms across her chest.

  Brek turned to Sami. ‘You have to tell us how to get to Nagara.’

  Sami looked around again. He leaned in close. ‘You can take the gypsy road,’ he whispered.

  ‘The gypsy road,’ echoed Luce, her eyes wide. ‘Is that real?’

  ‘Keep your voice down,’ hissed Sami. ‘Of course it’s real. How do you think the gypsies have survived all these years? Every time the emperor decides to imprison the gypsies or take away the children, we take the gypsy road.’

  ‘But it’s sacred to the gypsies,’ whispered Luce. ‘You’re not supposed to reveal the location to a living soul. Fintan reckons he knows, but I don't believe him. He said he wasn't supposed to know and if he ever told me how to find it the gypsies would kill us both.’

  ‘I’m willing to risk it,’ said Sami.

  Chapter 10

  The Gypsy Road

  All day they slept. When night came, they pulled on their packs and followed Sami
out to the cliffs. The air was damp and salty, and they could hear the thunder of the ocean, the wild cries of the seabirds. As the moon rose, they found themselves on a wide ledge, looking out at the sea.

  Sami led them around boulders and under low-hanging arches of rock, past pools filled with bright coral, and up a sandy path, which wound around the side of the cliff.

  On and on they climbed. The path grew steep and narrow. The cliff seemed to rise up into the clouds.

  At last Sami stopped. ‘We’re here,’ he said.

  ‘Where?’ asked Indie. ‘There’s nothing here.’

  Sami grinned. Then he clambered across a pile of massive grey rocks, and disappeared. The last thing they saw was his hand stretching up, waving at them.

  Brek shook his head.

  Indie laughed. ‘Try to keep up,’ she called.

  At the top, Indie found Sami sitting on the edge of a deep chasm, his legs dangling into space. He looked up at her, his face grim.

  ‘I’ve only ever been here with my mother,’ he said. ‘I forgot about the rope.’

  ‘The rope?’ She looked around.

  ‘To get down there.’ Sami pointed down at the black hole at his feet.

  Indie could hear the tumble of water below, the roar of an underground river.

  ‘You said “road”,’ she said slowly. ‘The gypsy road.’

  ‘That’s what we call it,’ said the boy. ‘But it’s not exactly a road.’

  Kai pulled himself up behind her. There was a shuffling on the path below, the clump of heavy boots, voices, and then the sound of someone scrambling up the rocks. Brek appeared first: his face flushed, his breathing fast. Behind him was a large man in ragged clothes.

  ‘Fintan!’ cried Kai. ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘I couldn’t let you go by yourselves, now could I?’ Fintan grinned and held up a coil of strong fisherman’s rope. ‘I thought you might need this.’

  ‘But how did you know we’d be here?’

  ‘The Veladin know everything,’ he said, in a mysterious voice.

  ‘Are you really Veladin?’ asked Indie, staring at him.

  Fintan shrugged. ‘Maybe.’

  Sami gave him a scathing look. ‘Luce told you, didn’t she.’

  Fintan looked at the gypsy boy. ‘Hello, young Sami,’ he said. ‘I imagine the gypsies will slit your throat for giving away their secrets. I wouldn’t like to be you.’

  He turned back to Indie. ‘Luce was worried about you. She told me you were taking the gypsy road. Don’t look so alarmed. It’s our secret.’

  He tied one end of the rope to a jagged outcrop on the rock, and threw the other over the edge of the chasm. ‘Who’s first?’ he said.

  Indie jumped up. ‘Me. I’ll go first.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ asked Fintan. ‘It’s a long way to fall.’

  Indie looked down the chasm. It was dark, but she wasn’t afraid. She had travelled to Undaba. She had flown with the wings of a golden eagle. And besides, she had a sword to claim.

  She grabbed the top of the rope. ‘I’ll be okay,’ she said.

  Sami was standing next to her. He reached over and took the rope from her hand.

  ‘No. Let me go,’ he said. ‘There’s a ledge at the bottom. You have to know how to find it. I’ll tie the rope to the rocks down there, and then you can follow.’

  They watched as he climbed down the rock face, lithe and fast, as if he had done it many times before.

  ‘What happens when we reach the ledge?’ asked Indie. ‘Do we have to swim?’

  ‘No,’ said Fintan. ‘The water is too fast. You’d drown. There’s a boat moored to the ledge.’

  ‘How does it get back there? After we take it?’ Indie’s eyes were wide. A boat. On an underground river. And it would take them all the way to Nagara.

  ‘There are many boats, moored all along the river,’ said Fintan. ‘The gypsies come and go all the time – they’ve been travelling this way for hundreds of years.'

  ‘Why doesn’t anyone else use it?’ asked Indie. ‘Other people must know about it.’

  Fintan looked serious. ‘This river is the only thing that has saved the gypsies,’ he said. ‘They protect it with their lives. If a gypsy sees you down there, he won’t let you leave.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Indie’s face was pale. ‘What will they do to us?’

  Fintan shrugged. ‘Kill you probably, or keep you at their camp as a prisoner for the rest of your days.’

  ‘You’re lying,’ said Kai.

  ‘Yeah. Now we’re even,’ Fintan said, grinning. ‘Don’t get so upset. I’m just teasing a little. Gypsies make a lot of threats. They look dirty and scary, but they don’t hurt children.’ His voice dropped and he looked around, as if afraid someone might hear. ‘But if you ever tell anyone about the gypsy road, if you breathe a word about it, it might be a different story.’

  He looked so fierce that Indie took a step back and stood beside Brek.

  ‘Don’t worry about him,’ said Brek. ‘He’s not even a gypsy. Sami trusts us. That’s why he brought us here.’

  The rope was slick with salt spray by the time Indie took it in her hands and prepared to scale the slippery rock. Fintan showed her how to wrap the ends under her armpits and around her body, crossing them over at the back to form a makeshift harness. She leaned back and eased herself down the wall, one hand holding the rope above her, the other hand wrapped tightly below.

  ‘Let it slide through your hands,’ Fintan said. ‘Slowly … slowly. And push off with your feet, bit by bit. That’s right. Steady now.’

  Her breathing was fast and shallow. She moved slowly, but the rope still rubbed against her skin, burning her back and wrist. Her boots slipped on the rock wall and she almost let go. Each time she would stop, take a deep breath, and keep going. She didn’t look down. There was no point. It was too high, and she couldn’t see the bottom.

  When she reached the ledge, she found Kai and Sami already seated in a small boat. The boat was covered in ornate carvings, and painted with faded gold. Sami was unhitching the knots that held it moored to the narrow ledge. Kai was holding two oars, ready to pull them through the water.

  ‘We need to wait for Brek,’ said Indie, but Sami had already untied the rope.

  ‘Jump,’ he cried, as the boat began to move.

  ‘But what about Brek?’

  ‘Trust me,’ said Sami, picking up his oars. ’You need to jump.’

  Indie jumped. She landed in the centre of the boat, between Sami and Kai. The boat rocked. With a great heave of his oars, Sami eased the boat out into the river. 'Help me!' he cried.

  Kai leaned back, grunting as he dragged the oars against the current.

  ‘I don’t understand,’ cried Indie. She had been thrown into the bottom of the boat, but she could see Fintan climbing down to the ledge, and then turning and waving his arms.

  ‘He would have handed you straight to the soldiers in Nagara,’ said Sami.

  ‘But he helped us,’ said Indie, raising her voice above the splash of the oars.

  ‘I told you, the only thing Fintan cares about is silver and gold,’ said the boy. ‘He claims to be one of the Veladin, but it’s all lies. You can’t trust him. He’s nothing but a money grabber.’

  ‘What about Brek? We can't leave him behind.’

  Sami looked serious. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I like Brek, but I’ll be in enough trouble for bringing you here. I couldn’t bring a grown-up.’

  ‘They’ll just wait for another boat, and then follow us,’ said Kai.

  ‘No, they won’t,’ said Sami. ‘The gypsy road is cursed. You have to go with a gypsy – you have to be invited – otherwise the boat flips and you drown. Fintan knows about the curse; that’s why he has never taken the road himself.’

  ‘Is that true?’ asked Indie.

  ‘It’s what Fintan believes,’ said Sami, with a grin.

  Indie looked back at the ledge. Both the men and the rope were g
one.

  They rowed on and on, away from the moonlit ledge and back into the darkness of the cliffs.

  ‘Funny, isn’t it,’ said the boy, in a quiet moment, when the current slowed and the rowing was easier, and they seemed to move through an endless night. ‘Above us the stars are shining, night-birds are flying in the sky, people are sleeping … and they don’t even know we’re here.’

  ‘There are many things people don’t know,’ said Kai. ‘About Undaba and Madaba. About the medicine wheel and the spirit animals.’ He said it quietly, almost to himself, but the boy heard.

  ‘I don’t know about that stuff, either,’ he said. ‘But I know other things. Gypsy secrets.’

  ‘Like this road that isn’t really a road,’ said Indie.

  ‘Oh, more than that,’ said Sami. ‘So much more. I'm taking you to Old Man Kita. He’ll show you things that’ll make your hair stand on end and your eyes roll back in your head.’

  Kai smiled a wry smile. He had been to the Disappearing Islands; he had seen the dark shadows that swallow men alive and turn their skin and bones black. There was not much, he thought, that could scare him now.

  The boat gave a lurch. Kai braced himself. He could feel the current moving faster, the water growing choppy and wild. He had to fight with the oars, feeling the strain in his arms and shoulders.

  ‘We're coming to a fork,’ Sami shouted over the roar of the water. 'Pull to the left! To the left!'

  Kai pulled as hard as he could. The boat swung to the left. The river branched into a tunnel so low that he had to duck his head to avoid scraping it against the rock.

  'Hold on!' yelled Sami.

  In that instant, the river dropped away and they were flying through the air. The nose of the boat tipped forward. Kai almost lost his balance. He yanked in the oars and gripped the sides of the boat with both hands as it plunged into the abyss.

  The end of the drop, when at last it came, caused the boat to land with a mighty splash. Kai was thrown back against Indie. He heard her curse loudly, using words she could only have learnt from Fintan.

  It was even darker than before. Kai strained his eyes, but he could see nothing. No shapes, no shadows. Only an inky black night that seemed to go on forever.