by Gwynn White
“What are we going to do? We can’t just leave him here like this.”
“If I could just…” Joshua tried to remove the orb from Galleon’s clenched hand but his grip was too tight.
“I can’t get it loose. Quickly! Think of something!”
“Andrew! Do you still have that liquorice moss?” Sarah asked.
“Oh, yes! I forgot about that.” Andrew reached into his keeper bag and pulled out some of the treat from Fable & Florelle’s inn. He wafted it under Galleon’s nose. As the Imp sniffed it, he slowly came around.
“What? Where? What’s going on?”
Galleon snapped out of his trance and shook his head, dazed. Andrew slipped the liquorice moss back into his keeper bag.
“Are you all right?” Joshua asked. “You really don’t seem yourself today. You sort of faded out there. You scared us.”
“Um, sorry, you were saying?”
Joshua frowned and his gaze lingered.
“Come on Andrew, let’s see if we can find something to eat,” Sarah said. The two of them wandered off, leaving Joshua and Galleon behind.
“So, the orb? I was asking you how you think it works?”
“Um…well…I’m sure I don’t know.”
The pair of them chatted for much of the afternoon but Galleon was still trying to make sense of what happened with the orb. He was again unsure if he had simply dreamed the encounter with the Goat. They had been walking for a long time and the sun was intense, so maybe it was an illusion after all. It seemed so real to him but it also seemed as if no time had elapsed. He felt disoriented and didn’t know whether he should trust his senses. Galleon contemplated telling Joshua what had happened, but then Sarah and Andrew returned with some food.
Sarah had been showing Andrew how to snare Flarrets. Andrew was reeling from his success of having caught his first Flarret using Sarah’s much more successful technique. Galleon didn’t say very much as they sat and cooked the pair of Flarrets over an open fire. He found he couldn’t get the sound of the screaming out of his head but he was also wrestling with his loyalties. He wanted to be with his own kind and his family again.
Joshua also remained quiet. He was still avoiding Sarah, who tried several times to strike up a conversation with him. Each time she tried, he found an innocent excuse to get up and go and busy himself with something. After a while, Sarah gave up trying and just sat quiet instead.
As the Flarrets cooked over Andrew’s campfire, everyone sat in sombre silence. As usual, Andrew was the last to pick up on the subtle clues around him.
“You must be looking forward to going back home again, Sarah?” he asked, turning to her as he removed the last bit of meat from his Flarret leg.
Sarah had been sitting in silence, looking at Joshua with a vacant stare. She turned to Andrew.
“Hmmm?” she said, and raising her brow. “Oh, yes, home. Yes, I’m looking forward to seeing everyone again. This journey has been really good, and I’ve learned lots of new things but, um, yes, I am looking forward to seeing home again.” She managed a fake smile that was probably good enough to convince Andrew but not the others.
“Will you stay there when you get back?” Andrew asked. Joshua shifted on his seat at the question. Andrew had a tendency to say things without grasping their significance. Sarah looked back at Joshua. He cast her a fleeting glance, then feigned interest in the piece of Flarret he was eating.
“I…I don’t know,” she whispered.
She kept her gaze on Joshua.
“I’m not really sure what my future holds.”
Joshua finished with his Flarret and looked around to try to find something to distract him. He reached into his keeper bag and took out the orbs.
“What are those markings?” Andrew asked, his voice muffled by a mouthful of Flarret.
Joshua took out the orbs and laid them on the ground.
“This is the one that the Oracle gave me,” he said, showing Andrew the orb with the engraving of an hourglass.
“She said it was the Orb of Time.”
“So what’s the other one then?” Andrew motioned to the other orb. Joshua showed Andrew the engraving of an eye on the side of the other crystal.
“The Oracle called it the Orb of Vision,” Joshua said, studying the orb in more detail.
Galleon was staring expectantly. As Joshua peered into the orb and his eyes started glazing over.
Galleon sat up straight and shouted, “STOP!”
He reached for the orb and snatched it from Joshua’s hand. He wrapped it back in its cloth and tucked it into Joshua’s keeper bag. The others looked at him with puzzled faces.
“What’s the matter?” Joshua asked.
“Look,” Galleon said, letting out a big sigh. “I should have told you this earlier, but I wasn’t sure if it was real or not.”
“Told us what?” Joshua asked.
“I had an encounter with the orb last night and again just now before we started eating. I saw the Goat. He used the orb to talk to me. I wanted to tell you before but I wasn’t sure if I had dreamed it or not.”
“What did the Goat want?” Joshua asked. Everyone sat up and leaned in.
Galleon paused before answering and let out another sigh.
“It’s you, Joshua. He wants you,” Galleon said, as he looked at the ground with his lower lip quivering.
“He knows you have the Orb of Vision and he knows you were looking the Oracle. He’s desperate to prevent you from finding all three orbs.”
Joshua stood up and walked around trying to piece it all together.
“How would He know I was looking for the Oracle?”
“Melachor.” Andrew snorted. “He’s the only other person that knows. He must be working for the Goat.”
Joshua shook his head.
“Maybe. Or he could have been captured by the Goat. So the Goat doesn’t know we have the Orb of Time yet?”
“I don’t think so. He’s desperately afraid of you finding all three orbs. I could sense the thought of it terrified Him.”
Joshua tried to remember what the Oracle had told him. It was all starting to make sense. The Oracle had said the one that had banished her children was also seeking the power of the orbs. But why? What was it about opening up the Portallas that scared the Goat so much?
“We need to get moving.” Joshua proclaimed. “If He’s looking for the orbs, there’s no time to delay. We have to get to Jemarrah and find the third orb there before He does.”
Everyone stood up and collected their things. Andrew stamped out the fire, and the four of them set off north through the valley.
17
Enduring Love
The travellers reached the northernmost end of the Valley of Moross by the following day. They climbed over the final foothills where the twin mountain ranges gave way to a more familiar landscape of forests and woodland.
The sight of trees undulating into the distance stretched to the horizon. Their vantage point was high enough to give them a view of distant flocks of Raetheons flying beneath them across the treetop canopy. Joshua felt a sense of relief at leaving the rocky mountains. No more caves or patches of dry and barren land.
They would all be much safer under the cover of the forest canopy, out of sight from the prying eyes of Blood-bats. He knew the Goat was looking for him, and he still worried he was putting the others in great danger, but there was something comforting about the forest terrain sprawling out before him.
For a brief moment he forgot about the Goat, Blood-bats and the pressures he was under. Closing his eyes, he spread his arms and allowed the breeze to rush over him.
Joshua’s tensions continued to ease as they made their way down and into the forest. He even found himself relaxing to the point he wanted to get closer to Sarah again.
“I bet you’re really looking forward to seeing your village again,” he said to Sarah as they rested under the shade of an Ashfer. Andrew and Galleon had gone off in search of some Flame-
bark.
Joshua was feeling guilty about his recent behaviour towards Sarah. Keeping his distance from her, as he had done over the past couple of days, weighed heavily on his mind. It was clear she was upset, and he felt a deep remorse at having been responsible for that.
Sarah looked at him but didn’t answer him straight away.
“Have I done something to upset you, Joshua?”
Sarah’s voice trembled and there was a quiver in her lower lip. Joshua sensed she was close to tears and this saddened him further.
“No…no, of course not.” Joshua put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“Well, you’ve hardly said two words to me since we left the cave.”
Joshua could see she was almost in tears.
“I don’t understand what I’ve done to upset you.”
She lowered her head and started sobbing. Joshua’s heart sank, as the realisation hit him just how upset she had been these past days. Unable to hold back his own tears, he sat beside her and tenderly put his arm around her.
She turned to look at him. Seeing a tear roll down his face, she threw her arms around him in a tight embrace. Joshua held her and the two of them sat there and hugged with their heads on each other’s shoulders, crying and comforting each other.
Joshua thought about what the Oracle had said but he decided enough was enough and he would hold back no longer. The pain it was causing was too much for him to bear. Whatever reason the Oracle had for telling him his love for Sarah could not last, it was too high a price to pay.
After a while, Joshua and Sarah released each other. Joshua very tenderly put both hands on either side of Sarah’s face. Her skin was soft and warm. Using his thumb, he gently wiped a tear from her cheek. Her smile melted his heart. He gazed into her innocent eyes and felt a warm sensation in his stomach. Slowly and tenderly, he pulled her towards him. They tilted their heads, closed their eyes, and their lips touched.
The kiss was gentle and loving. Joshua’s whole being was filled with a warm and contented feeling. It was like nothing he had ever experienced. Their kiss lingered. Joshua could feel the tears still rolling down Sarah’s cheek.
After their kiss, Sarah and Joshua both looked at each other and each wiped a tear from the other’s cheek at the same time. This made them both laugh, and they hugged each other again.
Joshua closed his eyes and enjoyed the warm embrace. He felt such relief at being able to show Sarah his true feelings, and he didn’t want it to end. For that brief second in time when they kissed, nothing else mattered, and he lost himself in the moment. There was no Goat, no journey, no orbs or Oracles, nothing but his unwavering love for Sarah. It was pure bliss.
“What was it, Joshua? What did the Oracle say to cause you such pain?”
He heaved a big sigh and his shoulders sank. Sarah took his hand and held it tightly with both of hers. There was a long pause before he spoke.
“I only have a few memories of my father,” he murmured, shaking his head slowly, looking at the ground. “But they are happy memories. I loved him dearly. More than anything, I want him to be proud of me: who I have become. It would make Mum so happy if we could be a family again.”
He turned to Sarah and looked her in the eye.
“It’s hard to lose someone you love. The Oracle told me I would have to give up my love for you.”
He shook his head and his lip quivered.
“It isn’t fair. I don’t want to go through that pain again.”
Sarah threw her arms around him and they embraced.
“Whatever happens, we’ll face it together.”
As they sat there holding each other, Galleon and Andrew were making their way back. When the two of them got closer, Galleon noticed Joshua and Sarah sitting together in an embrace and stopped in his tracks. He turned to Andrew, who was walking a few paces behind him.
“Um, d’you know what, Andrew? The clouds are clearing and it looks like it’ll be cold tonight. I don’t think we have enough Flame-bark. Come on, let’s go find some more.”
Andrew, who hadn’t yet seen Joshua and Sarah, looked at Galleon with a puzzled expression, but followed him back into the woods anyway.
Joshua and Sarah eventually released each other. Joshua laughed and Sarah giggled. Now that she was starting to make those infectious giggles once more, Joshua felt that warm sensation inside all over again.
“Come on,” Joshua couldn’t stop beaming. “We’d better clear the ground for the fire before the others get back.”
“I hope Andrew’s aim has improved,” he said, as he began clearing the leaf-litter from the floor. “I’m so hungry, I could eat a Raetheon.”
Sarah glared at him.
“What? You wouldn’t dare! How could you? I mean, you would never kill a poor, defenceless Raetheon, would you?”
She was staring at him with her brow lowered and both hands on her hips.
Joshua laughed again.
“Of course I wouldn’t.”
Sarah scowled at him with a grin for thinking such a horrible thing.
“I’d never eat anything as majestic as a Raetheon,” he added.
Sarah smiled. She was happy to see Joshua was able to laugh and be funny again.
“Besides,” he went on with a smile creeping across his face, “I never did like the taste of the damn things.”
“Oh, you beast,” Sarah laughed and threw some twigs at him. Joshua ducked. The pair laughed as they carried on clearing the forest floor.
Galleon and Andrew emerged into the small glade from the forest. Each of them was weighed down with a load of Flame-bark. Thanks to Galleon, they had brought more than enough to warm them through the night. As an added bonus, Andrew had a pair of Chirvels hanging across his shoulder.
“I see your aim has improved,” Joshua said with a smile.
Andrew and Galleon threw the Flame-bark onto the ground. “I see your mood has improved,” he retorted with a wink.
Joshua and Sarah looked at each other and smiled.
Andrew got the fire going and Sarah prepared the two Chirvels. Between Andrew’s game and all the Flame-bark, the four of them ate well and enjoyed a warm night around the fire.
Sarah spent much of the evening telling the others all about her village and her life as she grew up in Jemarrah. Joshua was glad to see her bubbly enthusiasm was back. He spent much of his time just listening to the sound of her voice and peering into her eyes, grinning. He hadn’t felt this relaxed and content for a long time and was enjoying just being there in her presence.
As the Dengles and other small insects came alive, the four friends felt drowsy. Everyone found a spot around the fire to settle in for the night. Andrew was soon off to sleep, having eaten the most as usual. Sarah and Joshua sat by the fire holding hands until Sarah nodded off with her head falling onto his shoulder.
Galleon got up and stretched. He paced around the fire for a few minutes before Joshua’s curiosity got the better of him.
“What’s bothering you?”
Galleon continued pacing. He stared down and shook his head.
“I’m sorry, Joshua.”
“What are you sorry about?”
Galleon hesitated. He took a deep breath and let out a sigh.
“I was tempted. By the Goat, I mean, during my encounters with the Orb of Vision. He offered me a deal. He said he would return my people if I betrayed you. And…well…for a brief moment, I considered His offer.”
Joshua thought for a few moments before looking up at Galleon.
“It must have been a very difficult decision for you. I can see why you were tempted. I’m glad you didn’t, though. I think you chose to do the right thing, Galleon. After all, there’s no reason to trust He’d keep His word. It’s our actions that define us, my friend. Don’t worry about it. I think I know how you feel.”
Joshua thought about how he would feel if his and Galleon’s positions were reversed, and it was Sarah or perhaps Andrew that the enemy had captured.
“What did the Goat say when you refused?”
Galleon snorted. “He threatened to kill me and my family.”
“Certainly sounds like someone not to be trusted to me. Maybe He would have done that even if you did give Him what He wants.”
Galleon raised his brow and nodded.
“That’s a good point.”
Galleon stopped pacing and looked for a comfortable place by the fire. He curled up on the ground and settled down for the night. With a final yawn, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Joshua gently put his arm around Sarah with his cheek resting against her head. The soothing hum of Dengles hung in the air as the fire crackled through the night. It wasn’t long before he, too, fell asleep.
18
Orb of Time
As the early mist lifted, Joshua awoke and found himself resting against a log in front of the smouldering remains of the fire. Sarah’s head lay against his chest, cradled in his arm. She was fast asleep. He looked down at her face and smiled. Lifting his hand, he caressed the side of her cheek. A smile spread across her face and she gave a deep sigh.
Joshua reached for his keeper bag, carefully removed one of the orbs and unwrapped the cloth from around it. It was the Orb of Time and he studied the hourglass shape carved into one side of it. As he looked closer, the clear crystal clouded up on the inside. There was a swirling motion, like a hurricane was forming inside the orb.
There was a blinding flash and Joshua felt disconnected from his body and floating in the air. He could hear what he thought to be a woman crying but the scene coming into focus before him was hazy and indistinct.
The disembodied Joshua looked around the room for a clue as to where he was but he couldn’t move or feel his body. The image around him cleared, and he got a better sense of things.
He was inside a Woodsman’s hut, and there was a fireplace burning over to one side. There was screaming and noises of pandemonium, like a battle was taking place. It sounded like it was coming from right outside the hut.
