Winter’s Light

by M. J. Hearle

  Elena had declined to walk with her back to the keep under the pretence of making a phone call. When Winter glanced back, she was still sitting where she’d left her on the stone bench, frowning thoughtfully into space.

  Winter wondered if it had anything to do with Blake and the story she’d told her. Elena hadn’t seemed moved. When Winter had finished, her voice cracking slightly as she’d recounted Blake’s final moments in Pilgrim’s Lament, Elena had suggested they continue with the lesson. She didn’t comment on Blake’s sacrifice or reveal anymore of her own secrets. The brief intimacy that had existed between them disappeared quickly – so quickly in fact that Winter suspected she might have imagined it.

  What she knew was that when she passed through the Black Mirror tonight, Elena would know the reason behind her decision. Winter didn’t know why this was so important to her but it was.

  She placed the notebook in her suitcase and picked up Blake’s journal. Opening the worn leather cover, she slowly turned the pages, smiling to herself sadly. Blake’s elegant flowing script was as indecipherable as ever, but thanks to Sam she knew the story told through these passages. It was a record of grief and horror. Of infinite sadness and regret. It was also a story of love. Of sacrifice. Not only between she and Blake, but between a brother and sister. Winter frowned – there was another entry. An extra entry Sam hadn’t transcribed.

  Reading the date – August twenty-seventh – Winter broke out in goosebumps. The twenty-seventh – the night Blake died. Her breath quickening, Winter’s eyes frantically traced the words on the page. There was only a single line – Ce que je fais ce soir, je fais pour elle.

  She turned the mysterious phrase over in her mind, pulling it apart, examining it. Despite having a feeble grasp of French she felt like she could almost understand the words. That some part of her brain knew what they meant – a secret part, all the way back in the recesses of her thoughts.

  Winter slammed the diary shut in frustration. This was maddening! Blake’s last entry and she couldn’t read it!

  If only Sam was around.

  Where was he anyhow? If he didn’t turn up at dinner, she would demand someone take her to him. Not only to ease her mind that he was okay but also to say goodbye. The idea of not seeing Sam before she left was troubling. Considering this, Winter realised there was someone else she needed to say goodbye to.

  Chapter 51

  Winter walked to the window, the phone pressed to her ear. This was her fifth attempt to get through and she was starting to worry it wasn’t going to happen. On arriving in Paris, she and Jasmine had switched on international roaming but the reception seemed sketchy at best. The internet function didn’t work either. She felt cut off from civilisation. Alone. The sky was darkening outside, the grey clouds deepening to charcoal as the sun disappeared behind the mountains. It was nearly five. Nearly time for the briefing. She glanced down into the courtyard and saw a flurry of activity as men and women moved between the keep and the great hall, wearing matching expressions of intense concentration. There was an electric sense of anticipation in the air, like thickening humidity before a storm.

  Her gaze drifted to the base of the wall where she noticed two familiar figures standing and talking together in the shadow of the southern tower. It was Yuri and Elena. Squinting at them, Winter realised they weren’t talking, they were fighting. Elena’s body language was coiled as if any moment she was about to spring at Yuri.

  As the fight escalated, Elena abruptly turned on her heel and began to walk away. Yuri grabbed her by the shoulder but she angrily shrugged him off and continued on. He made no move to follow and watched her go, his body language defeated. Intrigued by the lovers’ quarrel, Winter almost didn’t realise her phone call had been answered.

  ‘Hello?’

  The voice was distant, slightly distorted by a droning whine of interference, but it was unmistakably Lucy. Winter didn’t realise how much she’d been missing her sister until she heard her voice.

  ‘Luce – it’s Winter.’

  ‘Hey, Win, why does your voice sound funny?’

  Winter scrambled for a plausible excuse. ‘Um, I don’t know, this house has really bad reception.’

  ‘It sounds like you’re a million miles away.’

  I am. ‘So . . . how are you?’ She tried to phrase the question innocently, not wanting to give away that she knew anything about the break-up.

  ‘I’m okay. Tired. We did over three hundred scripts this morning. Everybody’s getting sick because of the change of seasons.’

  Scripts? Why was Lucy moaning about pharmacy work when her heart had just been broken?

  ‘Have you seen Yu – Dominic?’ Winter only just managed to catch her slip-up in time.

  ‘Nope. I haven’t heard from him. I’ve left a few messages but he hasn’t called back. I’m starting to think he might have ditched me.’ Lucy gave a nervous giggle, but Winter knew her well enough to know this was no joke.

  That rat! Yuri had lied to her face this morning. Apparently, he didn’t care enough about Lucy or Winter to fulfil his part of the bargain. The more she thought about this the angrier she became.

  ‘Win?’

  ‘I’m here.’ Winter did her best to swallow her anger. ‘I wouldn’t worry about him if I were you, Luce. He’s probably just sick or something. And even if he’s not . . . you can do a lot better. Trust me.’

  ‘He’s not that bad, Win.’

  He’s worse! ‘If you say so. I probably should get going.’ She remembered where she was supposed to be – the beach house. ‘The girls are about to go for a swim.’

  ‘Swim? A bit late isn’t it?’

  For a second, Winter didn’t understand what Lucy meant and then she realised the stupidity of her comment. The time difference! Of course Lucy thought it was strange going swimming now. It must be what, nearly nine pm in Hagan’s Bluff.

  ‘Not down at the beach,’ Winter quickly said, struggling to salvage her lie. ‘In the pool. There’s a pool party down the road.’

  ‘Oh.’ Lucy didn’t sound entirely happy with this excuse. ‘You’re not drinking are you?’

  A surprised laugh escaped Winter’s lips at Lucy’s question. The amount of alcohol Winter had drunk in her entire life probably wouldn’t add up to a six pack of light beer, yet her sister was convinced the moment she was away from her, Winter transformed into a raging alcoholic.

  ‘No. We thought we’d stick to cocaine tonight.’

  ‘That’s not funny, Win!’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, unable to keep from laughing harder. The laughter came easily. Was welcome. The coil of tension that had been steadily tightening loosened a fraction. Her sister’s over-protectiveness might have irritated her under normal circumstances, but right now Winter found it comforting. Everything else around her – the castle, the Bane, the Black Mirror – seemed so dizzyingly fantastic and impossible. Speaking to her sister felt like the only real thing she’d done in days.

  ‘Seriously, Win, if you do decide to drink I want you to make sure you always keep your drink covered. Always, Win! Predators slip drugs into unsuspecting girls’ drinks all the time. Promise me, okay?’ While Lucy took a breath, Winter was overcome with such love for her sister that she felt tears burning at the back of her eyes.

  Her voice broke a little when she answered, ‘Okay, Luce. I promise.’

  ‘Good.’

  There was a short pause while Lucy calmed herself. ‘So, when do you think you’ll be coming home? Not that you need to rush or anything.’

  Winter took a moment to answer, and when she did her voice sounded much sadder than she intended. ‘Soon. Very soon.’

  ‘Okay, well just call me when you’re on your way. Enjoy your holiday.’

  ‘I will. Luce?’

  ‘Yes?’

  A lump had formed in Winter’s throat making it difficult to swallow. ‘Goodbye.’

  ‘Bye. Call me whenever you want.’

  ‘Will do.’ Wint
er hung up before she started blubbering. Almost instantly, her phone started vibrating in her hand. Jasmine.

  ‘Hey, Jas.’

  ‘Yo, Win. What’s happening? You sound weird.’

  ‘Nothing,’ Winter sniffed, wiping her nose with her sleeve. ‘Where are you?’

  ‘I have no idea,’ Jasmine replied, though didn’t seem too concerned about her predicament. ‘I think I’m in the northern tower. I’ve been walking around for ages. This place is big. And boring. Lots of cobwebs.’

  ‘Are you coming back now?’

  ‘Yeah, I should be there in five or ten minutes if I am where I think I am. If not, send out a search party.’ Her voice suddenly dropped to a whisper. Winter heard footsteps in the background and guessed Bonnaires were filing past her.

  ‘Are you still sure you want to go through with this? Something is going on with these weirdos. They all look really intense and serious. I’ve got a bad feeling.’

  ‘I know what you mean.’ Winter had the same nameless dread churning in the pit of her stomach. ‘But it doesn’t change anything. Have you sorted out your flight back to the Bluff?’

  ‘Yeah, yeah. I bought the ticket. I bought two actually.’

  ‘Jas . . .’

  ‘I know. It’s just . . .’ She heard Jasmine sigh deeply on the other end. ‘I wish you’d change your mind. But I understand. See you soon.’

  ‘Okay.’

  Winter slipped the phone into her pocket and wandered over to the mirror at the dressing table. She hardly recognised the girl staring back at her in the reflection. The freckles across the bridge of her nose seemed to stand out even more than usual, her skin so pale it was almost shining in its whiteness. Her hair was too long and needed a cut.

  Grabbing Jasmine’s brush, Winter started running it through her hair, trying to get the unruly tangles straight. The more she brushed the messier her hair seemed to get. Her bottom lip quivered; whatever walls she’d erected to protect herself from the enormity of the task at hand were starting to crack.

  She could die tonight!

  That thought triggered the panic attack proper. The ground seemed to shudder beneath her feet, ready to open up and swallow her whole.

  ‘Get a hold of yourself, girl,’ she told her image, scrabbling for the lodestone around her neck. Holding it up to the fading light, Winter stared at its rough facets, counting backwards until her pulse slowed and the tide of despair receded. Feeling calmer, she tucked the stone away again. Everything was going to be fine. Just fine.

  No, it wasn’t.

  There were footfalls clattering down the hallway towards her bedroom. The door was thrown open and a red-faced Sam burst in, panting breathlessly.

  ‘We have to get out of here!’

  Chapter 52

  ‘What’s the matter?’ Winter asked, noting the fresh bruise below Sam’s left eye.

  Ignoring the question, he strode across the floor towards her bag and began to rummage through it. ‘Where’s your passport?’

  ‘Sam – slow down and tell me what’s going on! Who hit you?’

  ‘Yuri,’ he spat angrily. ‘Winter, where’s your passport? We need to get you out of here! They’re coming.’

  ‘Why on earth would Yuri hit you?’

  ‘Because I was coming to warn you. Where’s Jasmine?’

  ‘She’s in the northern tower. Warn me about what?’ Winter stood in the centre of the room and crossed her arms. ‘I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on. Just slow down and talk to me.’

  Sam exhaled in frustration. ‘It’s all a lie, Winter. My aunt isn’t going to help you find Blake.’

  Winter flinched, though the news wasn’t the body blow she’d expected.

  ‘They need me to open the doorway.’

  ‘They do – just not for the reasons you think.’

  ‘The team they were sending with me . . . ?’

  Sam was shaking his head. ‘Lies. All lies. You’re going through the doorway tonight, Winter, but you’re going alone.’

  Winter stared at him with incomprehension tinged with fear. It was his panicky expression more than his words that was frightening her.

  ‘Alone?’

  Sam crossed the room and took her by the shoulder with his uninjured arm. ‘Winter, my aunt’s going to give you to them – the Malfaerie. We need to go! Now!’

  Finding her passport, they rushed into the stone corridor, ducking into doorways whenever they heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Pulled along by Sam, Winter felt numb, detached from her thoughts. Trying to understand the motivations for Magdalene’s treachery.

  ‘Yuri told me about it last night,’ Sam panted, his gaze darting down the next corridor, checking to see if it was safe. ‘The Black Mirror isn’t only a doorway. It’s a communication device. Magdalene has been talking with the Malfaerie for decades.’ Satisfied the coast was clear, he guided her into the corridor, continuing his explanation in rushed, low tones. ‘They have their own portal. Only they have no way of opening it. No Key.’

  Winter’s legs were starting to burn from the sprint. Sam gestured to an opening in the wall which led to a corkscrew staircase. ‘The northern tower is this way,’ he said between breaths. ‘Hopefully we’ll find Jasmine soon. Then we can get the hell out of this place.’

  ‘But why do the Malfaerie want to come here when they have the Skivers?’

  ‘It’s complicated, Winter. Let’s just say the Malfaerie don’t want to rely on the Skivers anymore. They despise them almost as much as the Demori. At the moment there is something of a balance – the Skivers only take those marked with the red Occuluma. If the Malfaerie didn’t need the Skivers – if they could travel here by themselves – then they wouldn’t be bound by the same rules. They could take whoever they wanted. As many as they wanted. I’m talking genocide, Winter. These things are more powerful than the Demori and there’s more of them. Lots more.’

  They paused at the bottom of the staircase, both of them panting, trying to catch their breath. A long empty hallway stretched past the stairwell.

  ‘But why? Why is Magdalene doing this?’

  ‘To protect the castle,’ Sam replied. ‘She has some kind of device —’

  ‘The Fatelus.’

  He was surprised she knew this. ‘Yes. It runs on warding stones. The big secret is she’s running out of them. The Malfaerie have agreed to give her a steady supply in exchange for something . . . a Key.’ Seeing the look of horror in Winter’s eyes, Sam’s expression became conflicted. ‘She’s not evil, Winter. The Fatelus keeps out the Demori. Once it fails they’ll overrun the castle and kill us all. In her mind, Magdalene’s protecting the family.’

  Winter thought back on the red Occuluma she’d seen staining Magdalene’s eyes. Sam was wrong. It wasn’t the lives of all those in the castle the old woman wanted to protect, but her own. And she was willing to jeopardise countless others – countless souls! – in the process.

  There was the sound of raised voices. Men were approaching. Glancing quickly around, Sam spied a door across the hallway from where they were hidden in the stairwell. He pulled Winter towards the room, closing the door as quietly as possible. It was another bedroom, one that looked like it hadn’t been used for some time. A fine layer of dust coated the bed and dressing table.

  ‘Why did Yuri —?’ Winter began to whisper, but Sam held a finger up to his lips, silencing her. The voices in the hallway increased in volume as the men passed by. Once they receded, Winter asked her question again. ‘Why did Yuri wait until last night to tell you this?’

  ‘I think it was a test. He wanted to know if I was still on the right side,’ Sam said with a sneer. He opened the door and tentatively poked his head out, beckoning for Winter to follow him when he saw it was safe.

  ‘I guess he knew I’d betray him. Betray the cause.’ The last comment was laced with bitterness. ‘He sucker-punched me. Knocked me out. I woke up in a cell this morning.’

  ‘How did you e
scape?’

  ‘My father trained me well. I might only have one good arm at the moment, but it was enough for me to get past the guard Yuri posted. It won’t take them long to figure out I’ve escaped. We should move faster.’

  Winter stopped, realising that despite everything she couldn’t go. ‘I have to stay.’

  Sam’s eyes widened in disbelief. ‘Did you hear what I said?’

  ‘I heard you. But Blake still needs my help. If the Malfaerie have him then maybe I can help him escape.’

  ‘The vision you saw. It wasn’t —’ He caught himself, clearly not wishing to reveal something. However, Winter was too upset to register this hesitation. ‘Winter, this isn’t about you and Blake. It’s about everyone. The Malfaerie will use you to enter this world. Innocent people will die. Can’t you understand that?’

  Sam’s words cut through her panicked confusion. She realised there was no way she could selfishly put her own love above the lives of everyone else. Was she no better than Magdalene?

  Studying her conflicted expression, Sam’s voice softened. ‘There are other ways to Travel. Other doorways. I promise you I’ll help you find Blake.’ He lifted her chin so she could read the conviction in his eyes. ‘But not this way. Not tonight. Now we must go.’

  Reluctantly, Winter allowed herself to be herded by Sam through the castle. He was right of course, but that didn’t make leaving her one sure chance of getting to the Dead Lands and potentially rescuing Blake easy. Rounding a corner into another hallway, the two of them nearly ran straight into Elena.

  There was a moment of shocked silence as the three of them stood staring at each other. Winter felt Sam tense, readying himself to fight.

  Elena’s astonished gaze jumped from Winter to Sam and then back again to Winter. There was no doubt in her mind that Elena knew they were trying to escape. The question was, what was she going to do about it?

  The silence stretched on, the sound of Winter and Sam’s harried breathing filling the hallway. Then Elena did something unexpected. She lowered her eyes and stepped aside. Winter flicked a questioning glance at Sam and saw he was just as confused as she was.