Bay reached for Kaelia’s hand. Hurt swum in his eyes as she pulled away before his fingertips even grazed her skin. ‘I didn’t know it was you, Kaelia. I would never have fought you if I had known. You know how much I love you.’
Part of Kaelia did not even want to speak. Running away and curling up in the tightest ball possible was very enticing right now. She bit her lip to stop its wobble. Words tried to form in her head but even they were as shaken as she. The more time passed without her saying anything, the more she wondered whether she would want to ever speak again. It would be much easier without words, without having to deal with anything, particularly with what was happening to her.
‘Kaelia, say something!’ Bay pleaded. ‘You’re scaring me.’
‘Scaring you?’ Kaelia’s lips were stiff, making it hard to voice the words. ‘How do you think I feel? You tried to kill me!’
Bay ran a hand through his damp, chocolate-toffee hair. His answer came out strangulated. ‘I really didn’t know it was you. You didn’t even smell the same.’
‘You didn’t look into my eyes; you would’ve known it was me if you had.’
‘I thought you had been taken.’ Bay reached for Kaelia again and this time she allowed him to grasp her hand. ‘I never imagined you were the firebird!’
‘What’s happening to me? This is freaking me out!’
‘Shush.’ Bay stroked Kaelia’s hand. ‘It’s okay, I’m here.’
Kaelia sobbed. ‘One minute I was laying in front of the fire and drifting off to sleep...the next, I was really hot and there was so much pain. I was alight! I tried rolling over and over but the flames wouldn’t extinguish. I called out for you, Bay, but my voice wouldn’t work and then the next thing I knew, I was flying.
‘I heard the song and I followed it here.’ Kaelia looked to Vanadis; this was the first time she had encountered the goddess as a real blood and flesh person. ‘Your song brought me here, why?’
Vanadis took Kaelia’s hand from Bay. ‘The song’s purpose was to carry you to me.’
‘I don’t understand.’ Kaelia peered up at Vanadis’ hand and gave it an experimental squeeze. Yup, definitely real. Warm with smooth skin. ‘Why does it feel as if I should know the song? I don’t speak the old language and the song was of the old language, wasn’t it?’
‘You do know the old language,’ Vanadis replied. ‘It is part of you the same as I am.’
‘How come you are here?’ Kaelia asked. ‘Like really here so I can see you? Before, you were only a smoky apparition that came out of an old book.’
‘I’ve always been here.’ Vanadis pointed at Kaelia’s heart. ‘Do you not recognise me, Kaelia. Do you not know my voice? Do you not recognise the way I look at you?’
Confusion etched Kaelia’s face. ‘You’re Vanadis, a goddess.’
‘Look closer, Kaelia.’
Kaelia stared at the goddess. Everything shifted; she swayed slightly, as if she were standing on a steep incline of loose, slippery rocks not solid land. She slid her hand from Vanadis’ grasp. Her skin tingled. There was something about the goddess’ eyes. Something familiar in the way they softened. ‘Mum?’
‘Yes, Kaelia.’
Kaelia stared at Vanadis for a long while. ‘No, you’re not,’ she said finally. ‘You can’t be. I must be imagining you have the same eyes as her. My mother gave birth to me, she took me to school, we baked cakes together ...,’ her voice rose. ‘Until she was taken from her car and I’ve never been able to find her. I don’t know what game you’re playing but I don’t want any part of it. Is this a trick? Who are you really?’ She slapped herself on the forehead. ‘I’ve been so stupid, you’re not really a goddess are you? Did The Salloki send you or is this one of Bran’s tricks?’
Bay was beside Kaelia in a flash, scooping her hand into his. ‘Now hang on a minute, Kaelia. She is Vanadis. I trust her. If there’s something off with her I would sense it, smell it.’
With teary eyes, Kaelia turned to Bay. ‘Don’t you see?’ she cried. ‘Nothing is ever as it seems, you told me that, do you remember? Vanadis can’t be my mother!’
Bay gently shook his head. ‘All I know is that this is Vanadis and she is a goddess.’
Before them, shielded by a haze of rainbow hued smoke, Vanadis morphed into a human woman. Every part of her was instantly, achingly, familiar to Kaelia. From the tips of her bare sandaled toes, to the way her eyes softened with love, each tiny detail of her held a special place in Kaelia’s heart and memories.
Kaelia’s knees buckled, tears streamed down her cheeks, and her pulse raced. ‘Mum? I don’t believe it’s really you. This can’t be happening, it isn’t real!’ She clung onto Bay for support. ‘Am I dreaming?’
Bay, who had been as surprised as Kaelia, recovered quickly. ‘No, you’re not dreaming. It all makes sense now,’ he said to Vanadis, ‘why you wanted me to help Kaelia.’
Vanadis’ voice was gentle. ‘I’m me, Kaelia. I adopted this human form many years ago to meet your father.’
‘Did Dad know?’ Kaelia asked. ‘Did he know who you really are?’
Kaelia’s mother shook her head. ‘It would not have been safe for him to have known my true identity. It was not safe for anyone to know.’
Kaelia gulped. ‘Did you really love him, did you really love my dad even though he was human and you’re, well...you?’
Her mother’s eyes sparkled. ‘Of course, I loved your father very much. I still do.’ She looked up to the sky. ‘He is eager to see you, Daughter.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me the truth?’ Kaelia demanded. ‘You could’ve told me who I was and what my destiny was but you left me to deal with everything alone. I ventured into Hel’s realm to search for you and to free my grandmother’s spirit, and then when I returned I was cursed with the Sleeping Death. I thought The Salloki had taken you, or killed you. I felt so alone, you left me. Why didn’t you tell me before now? Why didn’t you say anything in the letter you and Dad left for me?’
‘I could not tell you,’ Vanadis replied. ‘It was part of your destiny to discover by yourself, to reach this point in time without anyone having to tell you. Destiny can be foretold but you must experience it for yourself. You needed to reach this stage in your growth before you could know who I really am. I already broke all of the rules by living with you in my human form. I should have given birth to you and then left you with your father and his mother—your grandmother—Cassie.’
‘Why didn’t you?’ Bay spoke up, watching on from behind Kaelia. ‘Kaelia’s right; you could’ve prevented all of this trouble. You could’ve stopped Bran from cursing me.’
Vanadis shook her head. ‘Remaining on earth so long weakened me; all I could do was to appear intermittently and try to guide Kaelia in the right direction. I did not have the strength to predict Bran’s curse, Bay, or I would have tried to stop it. Luckily, all the necromancer succeeded in doing was to speed up your transformation. You were always destined to help Kaelia. You are brave and loyal, Bay, and I am pleased my daughter has such a worthy companion.
‘I loved your father too much, Kaelia. Much more than any other lover I have ever had. Then, once you were born I looked into your eyes and loved you more than eternity itself.’
‘Let me figure this out. You, my mum, are really a goddess.’ Kaelia digested the information. ‘As for me, I’m a bird now? A great big fiery bird?’ She burst into laughter. ‘What’s next, a dragon?’
Vanadis laughed. ‘No, my darling. You are you still. The fire is part of you, part of your powers. You are still the young woman I raised, the girl I cherished and protected, the child I bore. You are just stronger.’
‘Will I erupt into flames again?’
Vanadis smiled. ‘That, my daughter, you will only discover with time. A firebird is a bird born from the ashes of a fire; you have simply unleashed more of your power. The transformation was merely a step in your growth.’
‘And now?’ Kaelia asked.
‘I take
you to my hall, Sessrumnir, and we begin to plan your defence against the rise of The Salloki. You have to destroy them all, including The Salloki souls being harvested within their palace walls.’ Kaelia’s mother shook her arms out, magically producing a raven-feathered cloak which, with a flourish, she wrapped around herself. She beckoned to Kaelia and Bay.
Kaelia sensed Bay’s trepidation and this time it was she who reached for his hand. ‘I’m not going anywhere without you, not again.’
Bay squeezed Kaelia’s fingers. ‘I was always with you, Kaelia, and I always will be. Hold on,’ he said, his lips forming a grim line, his nostrils twitching. ‘I smell Dybbuks!’
Kaelia flicked out her hands, calling on her power. Blue-white light swirled in balls around her splayed fingers, her hair flickered into flames at the tips, lifting from her shoulders and dancing with the surge of energy. ‘I see them!’
From the opposite end of the abbey ruins a young man with facial piercings raced into view. Bay shook into his Vallesm and drew up at Kaelia’s side.
‘Can you stop him quickly?’ Kaelia asked Vanadis.
Vanadis shook her feathered cloak and it disappeared. ‘I cannot, Daughter. I cannot fight in this world, I am not strong enough. I am not allowed to intervene here.’
Kaelia squared her shoulders. ‘Then you had best stay behind me while I knock this demon back to where it belongs and save the human.’
The Vallesm erupted into a torrent of howls as three other figures jumped through the crumbling arch of the ruins. Kaelia could clearly see the shimmering red souls of the real humans, locked in anguish.
‘Knock them down,’ Kaelia told the Vallesm. ‘Don’t kill them; I want to save the people.’
The Dybbuks formed a line. Their heads twitched and fingers scratched at the sides of their thighs. With a unified screech they charged. The Vallesm shot forward, instantly knocking the demon on the outer left to the ground. Kaelia fired out bolts of light at the woman with dirty blonde hair on the outer right, catching her below the knees and forcing her down. The still standing Dybbuk closest to the Vallesm, jumped over its fallen own and landed on the wolf’s back. The Vallesm howled, spinning around and around it tried to dislodge the grappling demon. The two fallen Dybbuks began to rise. The remaining uninjured demon jumped in the air, drawing its knees up and arms over its head it pounced at Kaelia. Kaelia caught it around the throat and tossed it back through the air, sending it flying into a ruined wall. It screamed as it hit the crumbling stones but jumped back up as soon as it hit the ground.
Kaelia glanced behind her. ‘Mum! Where are you?’
There was no answer. Turning her attention to the fight she counted two Dybbuks. The Vallesm had one pinned to the ground and was snarling every time the demon tried to move. The second lunged for Kaelia, clawing at her hair and catching a fistful of curls. Kaelia cried out as the demon pulled down on her hair. Reaching out, she blasted a stream of blue-white light.
Clawing at her still but releasing its hold on her hair, the Dybbuk sunk to its knees. Kaelia kept her stream of light steady. The demon writhed beneath the light, squirming and wailing. Bending backwards into a crab shape, it attempted to scuttle away.
‘No you don’t!’ Kaelia took a deep breath. Her power rose from inside of her, and she fired out a spiralled shot of intense power so bright it exploded like a firework.
A smoky figure tore from the human body, twisting up into the air. Kaelia aimed again and fired at the apparition, setting it alight at its shadowy feet. The demon squirmed upwards before being consumed in a flash of blinding light. Hurriedly, Kaelia dropped beside the battered human and splayed her hands over the chest of the woman, willing her restoring light to work. Orange-red light surged into the young woman and Kaelia kept up the intensity until the woman took a shuddering breath.
Leaving the woman, Kaelia rushed over to where the Vallesm had a Dybbuk pinned to the ground. Saliva drooled around the mouth of the human—the young man with facial piercings—and his eyes were glittering balls of flint. The instant the Vallesm jumped off the possessed human Kaelia caught it with a stream of blue-white light, forcing the demon from the human. As she had before, she set the demon alight and then pumped restoring light into the young man’s chest.
‘My mother,’ Kaelia said to the Vallesm as soon as the man took a breath. ‘We must find her.’
The Vallesm lowered its nose to the ground and took off in a run. Kaelia sped after the wolf, matching its pace as it leapt through a crumbling window arch and sped down the hill, past the graveyard, past the priest’s house and down towards the tiny village
* * *
The Vallesm paused at the edge of the quiet village. It was early and the residents had not yet risen. Seagulls squawked noisily but rapidly took flight when they sensed the presence of the wolf. Kaelia drew up beside the Vallesm and laid a hand on its withers. The village was just as she remembered from her time spent there with her grandmother. There was a mix of small, quaint buildings comprising of a school with a playground and swings, a post office which also served as a green grocer, a handful of homes, and a harbour to the bottom of the main street with several boats bobbing in the waters. Up the hill to the right of the village was a narrow track leading to what had been Kaelia’s grandmother’s cottage. Kaelia bit her bottom lip to stop it from trembling and wiped her eyes, clearing the sudden tears, on the back of her right hand. Pressing its cold, wet nose against her left hand, the Vallesm nuzzled her. Kaelia smiled and stroked the wolf’s head.
‘Come on,’ she said, ‘lead on.’
The Vallesm dipped its head and raced through the village with Kaelia beside it. They ran up the opposite hill to the church, over lumpy agricultural fields to the small forest on the extreme end of the island. Wending around trees they ventured into the dappled shade.
Kaelia gasped, spying Vanadis on the ground, her robes marred by a bloody streak across the front. Beside her, the Vallesm shook its fur, changing into human form.
Vanadis raised her head. ‘Do not panic, Daughter, I will be well once we return to my realm.’
Kaelia was by her mother’s side faster than she could speak. ‘I will heal you!’ She splayed her hands over her mother’s chest.
Bay hurried over and placed a shaky hand on Kaelia’s shoulder.
Vanadis gently covered Kaelia’s hands with her own. ‘You cannot heal me, I am not mortal. You must save the human.’ She pointed to where a woman laid legs and arms bent grotesquely. ‘I didn’t mean to harm her; I was protecting myself from the demon. I fear I underestimated my strength when I pushed her away.’
Kaelia held back tears. ‘I will save her if I can and I will be quick so we can return you to your realm.’
Bay sat beside Vanadis and slipped an arm around her waist. In turn, the wounded goddess leant her head on his shoulder. Kaelia glanced back and smiled her thanks at Bay as she knelt to tend to the wounded woman. Concentrating her healing orange-red light into the woman’s chest she watched the woman’s eyes, waiting for a response. Nothing. Willing her light stronger, Kaelia tried again. Still nothing.
‘She’s gone.’ Kaelia extinguished her light. ‘I can’t bring her back from the dead.’
Vanadis closed her eyes briefly and let out a shuddering sigh. Under her breath she uttered a sentence in the old tongue. ‘It is done.’ She opened her eyes. ‘I have sent her spirit to my hall, she awaits me there. It is the least I could do. Bay, help me to my feet if you please.’
Obligingly, Bay assisted Vanadis, who was still manageably human sized. ‘Where is the other Dybbuk?’
Vanadis sorrowfully shook her head. ‘The stupid thing did not see the edge of the cliff as it chased me around the forest, I am afraid it led the human body it was possessing to a watery grave.’
Kaelia sighed. ‘Two out of four, not a very good record for me.’ She spied a pair of feet protruding from underneath a cluster of ferns. ‘Another Dybbuk?’
Vanadis followed Kaelia’s line of sig
ht. ‘No, it is the island’s priest.’
‘Is he dead?’
Vanadis gave a wan smile. ‘He is not. The Dybbuk I destroyed was dragging him along by the arm, he had merely fainted from exhaustion.’
‘We can’t leave him here,’ Bay said.
Vanadis nodded. ‘He will survive. Kaelia you will have to move the woman’s body, you cannot leave it here to be found. It will terrify the locals. You must cast it into the sea.’
Kaelia plodded over to the battered body and reached for a broken arm. Suddenly, the eyes pinged open, exposing blackened irises and Kaelia screamed. Her hands sprung into white-blue light and she blasted the body, engulfing it in silent flames. A shadowy, faceless figure writhed from within the flames and broke free, shooting up through the tree tops. Kaelia fired at it but it was too late and the demon flew off with a deafening screech.
The smell of burning flesh polluted the air, the battered body now nothing but charred remains. Vanadis touched Kaelia on the arm, startling her.
‘You did all you could,’ she told her. ‘The priest will awake in a few moments, we must leave before he does; he cannot see me.’
Holding out her arms her feathered cloak appeared around her shoulders and she beckoned to Bay and Kaelia.
‘The fight is brewing,’ Vanadis said. ‘With the birth of another Draugr The Salloki are closer to raising their army of dead loyalists.’
‘I know,’ Kaelia replied, stepping under her mother’s cloak. ‘It’s my fault I wasn’t there to stop the transformation.’
‘Thom would have raised another if you had destroyed his new bride. If those souls are released from the Salloki walls, they will kill any human they encounter. The question is, will you and Bay be strong enough to face them?’ Vanadis asked, engulfing the three of them within the depths of her mystical cloak.
An amber ring glowed around Bay’s pupils as he looked at Kaelia. ‘We will be.’
Mortiswood: Kaelia Falling (Mortiswood Tales Book 2) Page 26
