Mortiswood: Kaelia Falling (Mortiswood Tales Book 2)

by Gina Dickerson

  ‘Where did that come from?’ Thom thundered.

  Cadence’s eyes rapidly slid back to Draugr fire-red. ‘Where did what come from?’

  She cleared her thoughts, thinking of nothing but their surroundings. Her head twitched. A feeling fluttered inside, similar to a dropped heartbeat. Thom, she thought, he was trying to read her mind. She held her breath, there was no way she could let Thom know her Sifar powers were still alive.

  ‘What?’ She lifted a questioning eyebrow. ‘Why are you glaring at me? I haven’t done anything.’

  Thom staring over his shoulder at Cadence with his red eyes narrowing into slits, snarled, ‘Remember I can read your mind. I know everything you are thinking. There is not a secret you can keep from me.’

  Liar. Cadence bit her lip to stop the word from tumbling out. Had he heard her thoughts?

  Thom turned his attention away from her and they carried on swimming through the earth.

  He didn’t hear it, Cadence thought, he can’t read minds. Not here, not outside of his own realm. Would he be able to in The Salloki palace?

  Thom yanked on Cadence’s arm and, with a release they burst through into the fresh air. The instant they propelled into the air, Thom released Cadence’s hand and landed effortlessly on his feet but Cadence stumbled, earning herself a reproaching glare. The partially obscured moon was high in the dark clouded sky. The sand beneath Cadence’s feet was damp and stuck to her boots. Waves lapped against the shoreline, white chalk-cliffs rose from the sand up to unfenced edges where tufts of grass and scrub softened their line. Seaweed marked out where the sea had reached before the tide had turned; it carried a faint odour but its usual pungency was lessened by the chilly breeze. A faint barking of dogs could be heard, along with the occasional murmur of an engine as a vehicle passed along the roads nearby, and seagulls with crying young made noises on the cliff top as they settled in for the night. The sounds were welcomingly normal to Cadence, especially after the strange sensation of swimming through the earth.

  Cadence wrapped her arms around herself. ‘Can I conjure up anything I want?’

  Thom gestured with his long fingered hand. ‘Try it. You will still be acclimatising to the Draugr way; it may take some time before you grow to your full strength. Think of what you wish for and it should appear.’

  A coat, Cadence thought, lined with thick faux-fur and with a large hood. Even her bones were cold, if that were possible. She pouted. ‘Why isn’t it working?’

  Thom smiled slyly. ‘Oh dear, it would appear you have not yet developed that power. How frustrating for you. You will have to rely on me. Come, follow.’ He strode ahead.

  ‘But I’m cold!’ Cadence grumbled. ‘Can’t you magic me up a coat?’

  Thom span around, his face twisting. ‘Do not whine, Cadence. You are immortal; you cannot be affected by temperature any more. You are imagining you are cold, nothing else. It is something you will have to become accustomed to.’

  ‘Aren’t you cold? Is it because my body is new and stretched that I’m colder than usual? Will we always be travelling around at night? If we will then I’m definitely going to need some warmer clothes.’

  Thom grabbed a fistful of Cadence’s hair, his fingers tearing strands from her scalp, spittle sizzling on his lips. ‘If you think for one moment I am interested in your idle chatter then you are mistaken.’ He pinched Cadence’s lips together, drawing blood. ‘Keep it shut unless you have something to say worthy of my attention.’

  Cadence mutely nodded her understanding and blinked back tears. She waited until Thom was a few steps ahead before exhaling loudly, trembling from head to toe. With a shaky hand she wiped her lips and winced. Although the skies were now dark Cadence could see more clearly than she had ever been able to when she had been human. The sensation was a new, yet welcome one. She lifted her chin; this was what she had wanted—to become a Draugr. A tear slid down her cheek, it was blue when she wiped it away. She had yet to see her new reflection. Of course she could see her body, well most of it, when she looked down, but she wondered what her face looked like. She ran a hand through her hair; it was longer, thicker, and felt unkempt in comparison to the neat, chestnut bob she had favoured before.

  ‘Where are we?’ she asked, hurrying after Thom. The coastline was unfamiliar to her and she didn’t recognise the beach.

  Thom, not breaking his stride, answered, ‘We are in Kingsgate, almost at the gateway to The Salloki Palace.’ He leapt up a sheer cliff face in one bound. ‘Move faster, Cadence, do not dawdle. I do not have the patience. You should be one step behind me at all times,’ he shouted over the cliff edge.

  Cadence ran, kicking damp sand up behind her. The cliff face thwarted her for a moment. How on earth was she supposed to reach the top?

  Thom stared angrily down from his vantage point. ‘Jump, you pathetic weakling and put some effort into it. You are behaving worse than a frightened child.’

  Cadence bent at the knees and sprang upwards and, much to her surprise clipped the top of the cliff and landed flat out on the scrubland above. She squealed as Thom booted her in the ribs, his kick forcing the wind out of her and making her struggle to catch her breath. Inhaling, she sucked in earthy tasting dirt and spluttered grainy tracks of saliva over her chin.

  ‘Up.’ Thom delivered another hefty blow to Cadence’s ribs. ‘I am increasingly losing my patience with your stupidity. Do not make me regret having gifted you with immortality.’

  Cadence, clutching her side, sobbed. ‘Why are you being so mean? You weren’t before.’

  Thom’s jagged teeth glimmered in the moonlight. ‘Was I not, or was it simply you failed to see it because you were so blinded by the thirst for immortality? Get back on your feet and follow me immediately.’

  Cadence struggled to stand. Her side throbbed but she knew if she showed any more weakness, Thom would simply repeat his instructions. Had she really only seen Thom as she’d wanted to see him? She shook her head. No, he hadn’t been quite as evil. She gulped down a sob. There was no returning now, being a Draugr, being with Thom was her future. Forever. Hastily, she wiped her tears and stumbled onwards.

  The scrubland stretched to a circular flint ruin set amidst a crumbing wall. The roof of the ruin had caved long ago and the remaining walls were now mismatched in size. Windows that would have once been ornate were mouths gaped in screams. Flint pierced the carpet of overgrown grass, making the walk to the ruins uneven. Trees rose dark behind the circle of flint, their boughs stretched into the sky, casting moving shadows across the grass. In the near distance buildings huddled together, some had their windows lit up with warm, artificial light. A tang of salty seawater lingered in the air, swept up over the cliff by a persistent breeze. Cadence shuddered and stumbled again, a section of fallen wall hidden under the grass tripping her, earning her yet another reproachful glare from Thom.

  It was colder here than on the bay and Cadence was certain she wasn’t imagining the chill. The air still nipped her skin, even through the ridiculous cat-suit Thom had forced her to wear. She stopped, watching in disbelief as long shadow fingers of the fallen building stretched towards Thom. Wrapping around him they lifted him off his feet and sucked him through an archway leading into the centre of the ruin. Mentally shaking herself, Cadence increased her pace, fearing Thom’s wrath if she lagged behind. After all, she’d survived turning into a Draugr, swum through somewhere no-one was ever supposed to go, how much worse could this be? The same shadows of the fallen building crawled over the uneven ground and reached for her.

  Although she recoiled from the shadow fingers they wove around Cadence regardless, cold and damp as mist. Her skin prickled into goose-bumps and her eyes rapidly adjusted to the haze of the shadows. She could see they were not really fingers but claws sharpened into ghostly knife points. She screamed, points trailing across her skin. Anticipating pain and expecting slivers of her flesh to fall she was surprised the shadow claws did not cut. She struggled when they twisted around h
er ankles, instantly numbing them and dragging her to the ground.

  She writhed, kicking out again and again but the shadows refused to let go. Painfully, they yanked her over the bumps and she struggled to stop her head from whacking against any protruding stones. Soil yielded under her fingernails as she raked at it in panic. She was pulled underneath the arch and hoisted roughly to her feet, and then the shadow claws slithered back into the night.

  Certain she would be bruised not only from the lumpy ground but from where the shadows had touched her; Cadence blinked and held a hand at her brow line, shielding her eyes. A strange yet intense violet light radiated from a sky filled with swirling masses of sapphire clouds, illuminating a whole city before her. She span on her heel to look back in the direction she had come from. Where the ruins should have been a circular perimeter of tall stone pillars stood instead, protruding from the stony ground like broken, overlapping teeth. In the opposite direction, twisted turrets with tiles glittering Onyx pierced the skyline. Far within the centre of the city, and dwarfing all other buildings, stood the pointiest, darkest turret of all. Its very tip disappeared into the clouds, and its turret was tiled with the same tiles as the others but along the base sprouted gargoyles carved from crystal. Light refracted through the gargoyles’ cold faces, ever changing their appearance as the skies overhead trembled.

  Cadence dutifully followed Thom through a maze of buildings. Their blackened, closed windows unnerved her and she pressed closer to the Draugr. Their joint footsteps echoed in the eerie stillness, causing Cadence to glance nervously over her shoulder to check no-one was sneaking up on her.

  ‘Where is everyone?’ she asked.

  ‘Awaiting my return in The Salloki Palace.’

  ‘Where are all the people? The buildings look empty.’

  Thom’s laughter rumbled, dancing with the echoes of his and Cadence’s footsteps. ‘People? No people live here.’

  ‘Then who does?’ Cadence’s mouth was suddenly dry. She really hadn’t realised exactly what becoming a Draugr would entail. ‘Are there other Draugar?’

  Thom’s long, black ponytail writhed snakelike with a shake of his head. ‘We, Cadence, are the only Draugar here.’

  ‘Then who else lives here? Surely there must be many others to fill all of these houses.’

  Thom grabbed Cadence’s arm, his fingers pinching tight. ‘Be patient, my bride. You will soon see.’

  With Cadence’s screams reverberating, Thom flung her on his back. Surrounded in smoke he juddered into his decaying flayed horse form, and clattered through the desolate streets in the direction of the palace with Cadence secured to his back by his matted mane.

  * * *

  The first thing Cadence noticed inside of the palace was the noise. Chattering of voices floated from the belly of the building, going some way to allay her fears. Midnight-blue floor sparkled underneath her feet, illuminated into flickering life by balls of fire suspended above her head. She followed Thom, recognising the ground was made of polished rock taken from the shores of the Drauguri Sea. Cadence watched the balls of fire with curiosity. She stepped forward and the flaming ball above her head moved forward, too. She stepped backwards and the ball followed.

  ‘They float.’ Thom slowed for a moment. ‘Wherever you go, the balls of fire go. Meaning you cannot pass unnoticed within the palace walls. So, if you are thinking of trying to escape, you may as well give up that foolish notion.’

  Cadence hid a smirk, realising even here, in the palace where he was in charge, Thom still could not read her mind; he had merely interpreted her movements correctly. She watched him stride to the end of the corridor with several torches whooshing over his head to light the way.

  He stopped where the corridor turned and impatiently snapped his fingers. ‘Do not stand there like an imbecile. Follow me. In the palace you will always walk one step behind me, never next to me, or before me, as a symbol of your obedience. Do you understand?’

  ‘Yes, Thom.’

  ‘You will address me as Leader. You are not permitted to speak my name within these walls, unless you are in my bedchamber of course.’

  ‘Why not?’

  Thom’s hand furled around Cadence’s neck, making her eyes bulge. With force, he slammed her up against the wall and pushed his mouth to her right ear. The tip of his blue tongue touched her skin and his words pounded into her head. ‘You will never question me again, am I making myself understood? I am Leader here and you will treat me with the respect I deserve, meaning no questions. Remember, I made you and I can destroy you just as easily.’

  Cadence gasped for air when Thom finally released his hold. Gulping, she stroked her neck, it was tender and she smiled wryly, this collection of bruises was sure to be a fine one. Knowing she had to keep up with Thom, she hurried after him and followed him through twists and turns of corridors, always at one step behind. Thom’s pace was relentless, the corridors seemingly never-ending. Breathless, Cadence momentarily leant against a wall, the coolness of the smooth stone welcome against her pounding forehead. Her breaths were deep yet Cadence felt the wall move. She sprang backwards and stared at it. The wall was still. Cadence stretched out a long, thin, pale-blue skinned finger and prodded the wall. Nothing. Feeling stupid, she rested her palm against the smooth coolness.

  Cadence jumped back again. The wall had definitely moved beneath her palm, matching her breath. Experimentally, she removed her hand but could see nothing. The wall was merely a normal wall to look at, yet when she touched it, not with a quick poke but properly touched it, it moved. It did more than move, it breathed.

  Cadence yelped as her head was yanked backwards.

  ‘I said, stay one step behind me.’ Thom released her and motioned for her to follow. ‘Stop staring at blank walls, wasting my time!’

  ‘When I touched the wall, it moved.’ Cadence followed Thom. ‘Do the walls breathe?’

  Thom’s tone was scathing. ‘You are hallucinating. It is quite common for a newly fledged Draugr to experience such sensitivities.’

  ‘But I’m not imagining it!’

  Thom turned on her, his pinched face angry and Cadence suddenly became aware the incessant chatter which had been background noise since she had entered the palace, had now ceased. In two rows facing each other, ornate high-backed chairs constructed of an off-white, hard material lined the walls of a long room. Cadence peered closer. The chairs were made from bones which had been smoothed down so the colour was uniform.

  ‘The bones of those we have defeated,’ Thom said proudly. ‘And of those who have defied us. The Salloki Loyalists strip the flesh from the bones and then polish them until they shine.’

  A thin hand on the arm rest of the chair nearest to Cadence, moved. Fingernails so long they had curled many times over, clinked together. ‘Is this she, Leader?’

  Thom laughed. ‘You think this is The Chosen One?’

  Spindly, long legs unfolded beneath a layer of flimsy material and a figure swathed from head to toe in grey, draped clothing stepped down from the chair. The curled nails clinked again as the hands lifted and drew away the material covering the face. Once freed from their confines, ice-white curls tumbled to knee-length, cascading brilliantly against the drab coloured cloth. The woman’s slanted eyes, piercing blue from within a paper-pale face, studied Cadence. ‘Who are you?’

  Cadence ran her tongue around the inside of her mouth, it was suddenly dry. ‘Cadence.’ She wondered whether she should shake the other woman’s hand in greeting.

  ‘C-ay-denssse.’ The woman laboured the name, hissing the last part. Her feet made no noise against the polished floor as she approached Cadence.

  Cadence gulped; the woman was tall, even taller than Thom. Her face looked human but Cadence knew no human could ever be so tall. Although the skin covering the woman’s face was faintly wrinkled and she appeared not to have any eyebrows, Cadence thought she was beautiful.

  The woman’s eyes moved oddly, she did not blink normally. �
��My name is Aleinia.’

  Cadence realised Aleinia’s eyes were less human—more reptilian. Was she supposed to have recognised Aleinia’s name? The more she gazed at the other woman, the more Aleinia’s non-blinking eyes hypnotised her.

  ‘Aleinia is an old one,’ Thom informed Cadence importantly. ‘She served the great founder of The Salloki himself.’

  ‘What was he called?’ Seduced by Aleinia’s gaze, Cadence hadn’t been blinking and did so several times, her eyelids scratchy against her drying eyes.

  Thom glared, his own fiery eyes blazing disgust. ‘Salloki.’

  Aleinia made a strange noise as Thom strode down the walkway between the two rows of chairs. Cadence realised Aleinia was trying not to laugh. Hesitantly, she smiled up at Aleinia and moved to follow Thom.

  ‘Be careful.’ Aleinia’s long nails grazed Cadence’s hand and she lowered her head to whisper in Cadence’s ear. ‘Do not tell him.’

  ‘Tell him what?’

  ‘That you still feel and you still have Sifar magic.’ Aleinia straightened and returned to her chair.

  ‘How did you know?’

  Aleinia reached for the material to cover her face again. ‘Trust no-one,’ she said, allowing the grey cloth to fall back into place.

  Not knowing what Aleinia was implying, Cadence shivered anyway and hurried after Thom. Eyes followed her every move. She didn’t recognise any of the faces she passed. Thom was right—none of them were human. Among the crowd, of which Cadence calculated was thirty strong, was a bull with the body of a man; a small childlike figure with horns protruding from her cheekbones and along the ridges of her arms; a giant cat with fur resembling the pattern of a leopard’s but with a mane of a lion; and several figures wearing shrouds similar to Aleinia’s. In the bone chairs Cadence had first assumed were unoccupied, shadows blurred making her aware the shadows were something, although exactly what, she did not yet know.