Descent

by Charlotte McConaghy

  ‘I’m not sure I could do it again,’ she said uncertainly. ‘I mean, I don’t even know how it happened.’

  Fern nodded. ‘Okay. On your feet.’

  ‘Now?’

  ‘No time like the present.’

  Altor gave a hoot of excitement and settled himself into a comfortable position.

  ‘I’ll start with the basics again, because those sessions we did were a very long time ago. Everything has a weakness, you just have to pinpoint it and use it to your advantage. A truly great fighter is one who knows that everything is about circumstance: who can read a situation at a glance and adjust to it as necessary. The reason most people don’t have a clue how to fight the Valkyries is because they haven’t been taught about flexibility.’

  ‘Exactly!’ Altor cried, clapping his hands together, mocking his friend easily and making Jane smile. Fern winked at him and returned to his lesson.

  ‘Now, when you’re fighting something in the sky, it’s a very different sort of combat. That’s why I’ve been teaching my men to use long bows. When we get back to the palace, I’ll start teaching you too, Jane. But for now, I want you to learn how to defend yourself against an attack from above. What do we know about Valkyries?’

  Feeling as though she was being called upon for an answer in class when she hadn’t been listening, Jane stalled. ‘Valkyries ... right, um ... well...’

  Altor raised his hand and Fern grinned. ‘Yes, Altor?’

  ‘They’re bastards.’

  ‘Thank you Al, that’s helpful. Jane, I’m talking about physical things. Things like the fact that they only fly at night, so they blend into the darkness around them.’

  ‘Oh, right. What about the fact that they only have one set of talons, and they don’t carry any weapons.’

  ‘Yes, now you’re getting it. You have to look at things closely, bring things back to basics. I noticed when they attacked us that they were weakest at the neck, on their underside, and on their wings. Obviously, if you can wound their wings and get them out of the sky, it takes away their advantage.’

  Jane nodded. ‘Neck, belly, wings,’ she repeated.

  ‘Now, if I come at you from above like this,’ Fern said, using his height to throw a slow motion blow down on top of her, ‘how are you going to move?’

  Jane ducked and looked up questioningly.

  ‘No, if you move downwards, like your instincts say, you’ve got nowhere to go—they can follow you straight to the ground. Instead, go sideways and up, using the creature’s downward momentum to surprise it. Altor, come here and help me show her.’

  Altor jumped up and began stretching, making Jane giggle again. As the taller man made the same action, Altor sidestepped, slithering around behind Fern.

  ‘See how he moved into the attack?’ Fern asked and she nodded mutely, aware of the fact that she probably would never be able to do anything like that.

  ‘Do you want to try?’

  Jane went through the motions with Fern, trying to remember each one as he showed her more and more moves for both evading and attacking things coming out of the sky, Altor shouting pieces of advice designed to help no one at all.

  ‘Okay, okay,’ she sighed eventually. ‘It feels stupid when I can’t actually give it a real go.’

  ‘Let’s hope you never have to give it a real go,’ Fern muttered vehemently.

  ‘Yeah, but can we do some real practice?’ she asked.

  ‘What do you mean? We have been!’

  ‘No—I want to fight you.’

  Fern stared at her and Altor burst out laughing. ‘Just a play fight, like we used to,’ she said quickly.

  ‘I hardly think you’re going to have to fight humans any time soon,’ Fern argued.

  ‘You never know,’ she insisted. ‘What? Are you scared?’

  Fern smiled, slow and delicious, and Jane smiled back. She retrieved two of the fighting poles tied to the back of the boys’ horses and threw one to Fern.

  Altor grinned, moving to give them some space. ‘Watch out Fern—she looks like she’s going for the kill.’

  Jane knew it was ridiculous—her fighting abilities were at best poor, and Fern was ... well he was Fern. Yet there was something inside her, something that had been growing, and she felt, all of a sudden—powerful.

  He threw the first blow and she blocked it with her pole. It was so heavy that it threw her off balance and shook her to the bone. Grinning, Fern backed off. Jane could remember a time when his arrogance had infuriated her. It was nice to know some things never changed.

  Without warning, the coil of energy at the base of her leapt to life. It ran through her body, with seemingly a mind of its own. She tried to contain it—it felt too big, too consuming—but as she concentrated and opened her eyes again, Jane was standing in a completely different spot.

  ‘Woah!’ she gasped, nearly losing her balance. Jane was behind Fern. He whirled to look at her, his eyes wide.

  ‘What...? How did you...?’

  Altor was motionless, having glimpsed the occurrence better than either of the fighters.

  ‘How did you manage that, girl?’ Fern asked softly.

  ‘No idea,’ Jane replied breathlessly. Another pulse of power shot through her. She tried to take hold of it, but it felt slippery, like trying to hold onto water, it sent her body flying through space once more. When she opened her eyes she was sprawled on the ground, several metres away from the boys. And this time, the patch of grass where she had been standing was on fire. Jane watched the boys quickly douse the fire with their cloaks.

  They both turned to stare at her.

  ‘What in hell just happened?’ Altor asked softly.

  Jane opened her mouth but nothing came out. All she knew was that there was something inside her, something very large. It felt like a wild, untamed beast. But what was worse than the thought of the beast was the realisation that she’d liked the way it made her feel. She’d liked the thrill it sent into her body, the thrill of letting go of all control.

  ‘How did you do that?’ Altor pressed.

  ‘I don’t know,’ she murmured, forcing herself to calm down. ‘It feels a bit like when I mind-link with my friends. Or when I fought Leostrial. Like there’s some sort of energy inside me, and I just have to focus to be able to tap into it. But ... it sort of feels like it has a mind of its own. And I’m not sure how to wake it up again.’

  ‘Leostrial had power like it too,’ Altor said. ‘He said we all have a source of power inside us, but only some have the ability to awaken and control it.’

  Jane nodded, climbing to her feet and brushing herself off. ‘Yeah. It feels like it’s been there all my life, but maybe it only came alive when I was in the sky. I have absolutely no idea what it is or what its limits are.’

  ‘Maybe you don’t,’ Fern said, a slow smile playing on his lips. ‘But it’s certainly going to come in handy.’

  Instead of feeling relieved that they didn’t think her a freak, Jane felt nervous. The idea of using the power again both thrilled and repulsed her, but her curiosity won through. Closing her eyes she tried to feel for it once more. It was there, but now was completely unresponsive—she couldn’t get any kind of grip on it. She spent a few minutes concentrating as hard as she could, but only resulted in exhausting herself. After a while she stopped and sank to the ground.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Fern asked quickly.

  ‘Yes, fine. It just tires me out.’

  ‘That’s not good, Jane,’ Altor said suddenly, and Jane was surprised at the change in his tone. He frowned and stared off into the distance. ‘I don’t think you should use your power,’ he announced. ‘Nor do I think we should tell anyone about it.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Jane ... when Leostrial used my source of power he stole years from me. We have no way of knowing what this could be doing to you. It could potentially be very dangerous.’

  Jane frowned. It was a frightening thought, and once again she ached at the thou
ght of what Altor must be going through. A wave of dizziness overcame her and she pressed a hand to her head.

  ‘I know of something that might make you feel better,’ Fern suggested. ‘We’re only an hour’s ride away from a place I was planning to surprise you with.’

  ‘The Tears of Artemis are famous for their beauty,’ Fern told her as they dismounted their horses at the top of a ravine. ‘There are pools like them in each country—in Lapis Matyr there are some called the Tears of Isis. They are heated by the springs under the ground, and are said to have healing and revitalising properties.’

  Jane peered down into the ravine. Each pool bubbled and a tiny waterfall ran from the largest to the smallest. Thousands of tiny fireflies raced through the air above each pool, making the waters glow.

  ‘We’ll have to be careful not to stay out too long. The next town is half an hour’s ride away—it has protectors so we can stay safely at an inn there tonight.’

  It took them about twenty minutes of slow descent before they reached the pools. The crevice was dark except for the enchanting glow of the insects.

  ‘It’s so beautiful,’ Jane murmured in delight, gazing around her. There were several small caves in the sides of the wall. The waters radiated steam, and the boys were not long in stripping off their outer layers and diving into the largest pool. Jane laughed as they splashed in the darkness.

  ‘Are you coming in?’ Fern called and she shook her head.

  ‘No. I don’t have anything to swim in,’ she said.

  ‘We’re in our clothes!’

  ‘No way.’

  ‘Fine then,’ Altor said. ‘Just take them off.’

  Fern growled at him and he laughed.

  Jane ignored them. ‘I want to have a look around.’

  In truth she didn’t want to be in the pool at the same time as Fern, nor did she want to take a single layer of clothing off around him.

  Jane walked around the ledge. The wall travelled in a big circle and she followed it all the way back to where the boys were.

  She stopped at the smallest pool and was about to dip her hands in when Fern saw her and called out a desperate warning.

  ‘No, Jane! Don’t touch it!’ In a moment, both of them were out of the water and running along the ledge towards her, dripping wet and slipping on the smooth rock.

  ‘You can’t touch the water from the smallest pool!’ Altor said after they had pulled her away. ‘It’s poisonous!’

  ‘But it’s all the same water!’ she said faintly, shocked at the suddenness of their reaction.

  ‘Yes, but when it gets to the last pool, the lava from under the soil contaminates it. It’s much closer to the surface, and sometimes it can leak up through the ground, tainting the water. The other two pools are all right because they’re fresh and moving.’

  ‘All right, all right,’ she said.

  They made their way back up to the larger pool where they’d left their clothes and bags. Altor jumped back into the water, imploring them both to join him, but Fern didn’t listen this time.

  ‘What’s wrong—aren’t you going back in?’ Jane asked quickly.

  ‘If you don’t mind, I’ll just sit here and have a heart attack,’ he said, putting his hand over his chest.

  ‘Jeez, Fern. Get a grip! I didn’t die or anything!’

  ‘Ha,’ he said dryly and shoved her into the water. Jane screamed, spluttering to the surface to see Fern laughing at her.

  ‘These are my only clothes!’ she screeched. ‘You could have waited until I’d taken them off!’ He grinned and dove in after her.

  Laughing, she swam to the edge of the waterfall and jumped into the second pool. Fern slithered gracefully behind her, and Altor jumped in after them, splashing half the water onto the rocks around them. He resurfaced and grinned. ‘Well, come on you two oldies, how about a game?’

  ‘Oldies?’ Fern repeated.

  ‘How old are you, exactly?’ Altor asked, directing his question at Jane.

  ‘Seventeen,’ she replied promptly. ‘Why, how old do I seem?’

  He just shrugged. ‘Sometimes older, sometimes younger.’

  Jane thought about that for a moment and decided she was okay with it. That’s the way it should be, she supposed.

  ‘I’m having trouble accepting that all my friends aren’t going to be teenagers much longer! You, Altor, were only seven when I last saw you!’ she exclaimed.

  ‘We met?’ he asked. ‘Is that what you were talking about when you said you missed me?’

  Jane flushed, pointedly not looking at Fern.

  ‘Surely not,’ Altor muttered. ‘I’d remember meeting you, Jane, even if it was two years ago.’

  ‘That’s not what I was talking about. We didn’t actually meet. I saw you, and I felt the way your ... father used your power when I fought him.’

  ‘Oh.’ Altor paused. He seemed to be struggling with something. ‘Can I ask you both a question?’

  Fern nodded, treading water quietly.

  ‘What was he like—my father?’ The question seeped out of him, like it had been waiting inside for a very long time, and it made him seem suddenly much younger. ‘I hardly spent any time with him, but I remember ... that I loved him once. Satine won’t talk about him.’

  ‘She must be tormented by what he did to you.’

  ‘More so, I think, because she still loves him. I think he could do just about anything and she’d still love him.’

  Jane let out a breath. Finally, softly, she said, ‘Leostrial was strong. He was so strong. Focused and intent, but he didn’t lack humanity—I could see that at the end.’

  ‘I only met him once, just before the battle, but he seemed cunning, well-educated,’ Fern offered.

  ‘You don’t have to honey-coat this,’ Altor interrupted roughly, his voice taking on a new timbre. ‘I want to know what you really thought.’ For the first time he seemed scared and very young. Jane didn’t know what to say. Something inside her sensed that this moment was important for him, that they had to tread carefully.

  ‘The truth,’ he whispered.

  ‘We hated him, Al,’ Fern said gently. ‘He was our enemy. But ... neither of us knew him. I can’t give you anything you haven’t already heard.’

  The young prince frowned. And then something in him changed. A shadow passed over him, through his heart. His face hardened, and he turned away from them.

  The Black Prince, people called him. Jane hadn’t quite understood why until now. Until seeing how hollow, how frighteningly angry Altor could be.

  Wordlessly he climbed from the pool.

  Quickly they followed him, Jane’s heart thumping, thinking that maybe they’d made a mistake in telling him the truth.

  But he seemed more like himself when the three of them sat down together once more. He seemed to be trying. And that was when Jane knew that the two of them were probably the closest friends he’d ever had, and that they had to be there for him.

  The three of them were connected in a way that neither of the boys realised yet. More deeply than they could understand that day.

  Disappointment was not an emotion he was used to. Loneliness, anger—yes. Never disappointment. But Altor would have preferred to have experienced disappointment every day of his life if it could have prepared him for what he felt that day.

  It came from guilt and love—the two combined, for he’d found a true friend in Fern—someone he had always longed to meet, and had idolised his whole life. Altor didn’t really understand the extent of his fondness. He had only known him a matter of days, but somehow he knew that he loved Fern.

  But then there was Jane, and the fact that he actually cared about her. He wanted to talk to her all the time, to just be near her, and this was utterly new to him.

  How had he let it happen? How had he managed to form two relationships, when he’d not let himself care about anyone in his whole life? It was a disaster. Now, it seemed, he had changed. Once he had only longed to sate his unease
through meaningless distractions; now he had found something to try for. He would be there for both of them, as much as he possibly could in the time that he was granted, simply because they were the only people he’d ever met that could somehow brighten what was inside him. If they needed him—ever—he would be waiting.

  The truth was, he was only a boy. And though he would deny it to his very last breath, and the desire would confuse him beyond his capacity for understanding, what he longed for most of all was his father.

  They weren’t far from the next town, so without speaking the three of them set off, knowing that something had been forged that day, but not needing to speak about it.

  Jane gritted her teeth and sighed as the horse started trotting, jolting her with each step. Altor had thought it would be a great joke to have her paired up with none other than her nemesis, Bridie, and the bloody horse had fought her every step of the way. Altor was riding next to her and, maybe out of a guilt, he reached over to pull on Bridie’s reins, slowing her to a walk.

  ‘Do you miss your home?’ he asked abruptly.

  Jane hesitated. ‘I miss my mum. I’ve got no idea what’s happened to her. That’s what hurts the most, I think. Not knowing...’

  The boys were both looking at her intently and she suddenly wished she hadn’t opened her mouth. Luca was the only person who knew about her family, and that was only because he’d arrived at her house during one of her dad’s episodes.

  ‘Knowing what?’ Altor pressed.

  Jane sighed, shrugging. ‘She has it tough. Especially if she’s there on her own. I used to try and help, but now that I’m gone—’

  ‘What are you talking about, Jane?’ Fern asked, looking closely at her face.

  Jane flushed. ‘My dad isn’t a good man. He drinks a lot, and gets kind of ... violent. It’s not a big deal. There’s plenty of families way worse than mine.’

  They were staring at her, but she couldn’t bring herself to return their gazes.