Elemental
Part 2: Book 1
Chapter 10: Deception Island
It was the silence that convinced Jack the portal was closed. It echoed in his ears. He stared; face white, eyes unbelieving. The shape of the portal left an imprint of light against his eyes.
Jack couldn’t bear the thought that he had left Gordy behind. ‘Who was it?’ Jack yelled. ‘Who dragged me here?’
‘Jack, please….’ Cali began.
‘Who?’
‘Would you like to hear my riddle?’ the timeless voice of the Keeper floated; disembodied in the cold blackness.
‘It was you?’ Jack whispered and nodded, answering himself. There was no one else it could be. The Keeper had dragged him through the mass of gnomes, through the portal forcing him to abandon his friend.
‘Where are we?’ Cali’s small voice spoke. After the thunderous stillness it was enormous.
‘I don’t know,’ Jack replied turning to the sound of her voice. Her outline grew through the darkness. He could make out Brayden and Esther too.
‘What was that all about? What happened? Where’s Gordy?’ Brayden asked panicked.
‘They didn’t want us to leave,’ Jack said. The simple understatement struck him and he began to laugh; not a happy laugh but Cali joined in, weak and breathy. Brayden and Esther stared at them.
‘I thought they’d come to see us off,’ Cali said and that set them both off again in gales of laughter. The darkness drew back a little. Later, after Jack and Cali had calmed down, Jack told them everything that he seen and heard.
‘Poor Gordy. I hope he’s OK,’ Cali said.
‘He’ll be fine,’ Jack said and he meant it. If there was anyone he knew, other than Aloysius, who would be all right it was Gordy. Jack was trying to look as if he was calm and in control but his insides felt soft and fluttery; he had never been more scared. He was in a strange place, he had no idea what he was supposed to do next and he didn’t even have his own bag. The others were looking at him as if he should know more than he did.
‘What shall we do now?’ Brayden asked and Jack could hear his own fear reflected in Brayden’s voice. It was a relief that someone had asked the question. Jack could tell them he didn’t know what Gordy had planned. But he didn’t want to admit he didn’t know – he didn’t want to give up before they had even started.
‘Best find out exactly where we are,’ Jack said. He could feel Cali’s stare, and he avoided her eyes.
‘Gordy spoke to you then?’ Brayden asked Jack, his sharp green eyes probing through the darkness.
‘Of course he spoke to me,’ Jack said, looking at the ground as he answered. Gordy had spoken to Jack about lots of things so Jack wasn’t lying. Exactly.
The portal had brought them to a sheltered valley with a scattering of small scrubby bushes. The ground was black and gritty all around and where the portal itself had been a great black rock stood that looked as if it had not moved for centuries. It was cold and windy. Everyone except Jack changed into warmer clothes. Jack put on the cloak Brayden had got for Cali – it was too dark to try to figure out what was in Gordy’s bag. When Jack settled it around his shoulders it was lighter than it was when he held it in his hands. It didn’t blow about in the wind and seemed to hold onto Jack’s body heat and reflect it back inwards.
‘Where did you get this?’ Jack asked Brayden his voice casual. Brayden was hurriedly climbing into a third layer of clothing.
‘It was made by Leofwen’s herd,’ Brayden said, pulling on some thick green socks that were the same shade as his hair.
‘Herd? Of what?’ Jack asked curiously.
‘Her zephyrs.’
‘Zephyrs?’
‘Yes. Leofwen’s herd is the best set of Zephyrs in living memory. She breeds them,’ Brayden said. With that astonishing statement he finished dressing and began repacking his bag.
After a quick scout around to see if there was anyone living nearby (there wasn’t – nor was there any sign of animal life) they decided to make camp for the night. No one could decide whether to stay close to the portal in case Gordy should come through, or to get as far away from it as possible in case, well, in case someone else used it.
‘Why don’t we let Jack decide? Gordy spoke to him about the trip, so he probably knows better than anyone,’ Brayden said, turning to Jack.
‘That’s true,’ Cali agreed. Jack, his eyes almost fully adjusted to the dark now, could see Esther nodding. The combined weight of their eyes fell on him.
‘We’ll camp half way up the valley and take it in turns to keep watch,’ he said. ‘If Gordy hasn’t reached us by daylight we’ll go on without him.’ Brayden didn’t look convinced but he didn’t argue.
By the time camp was ready everyone was exhausted. Cali had hardly spoken a word since they arrived. Esther never spoke anyway. Brayden kept asking awkward questions, questions Jack couldn’t answer. He kept probing Jack for more information.
‘Are you sure you didn’t hear anything Gordy shouted?’
‘I told you what I heard,’ Jack replied through gritted teeth.
‘OK. Sorry. What else did he say about the trip?’ Brayden said.
‘Nothing. He didn’t say anything else.’ Jack could feel his whole body tightening with irritation.
‘He must have said something. Maybe when he was telling you the plan. When are you going to tell the rest of us?’
‘When I know for sure that Gordy isn’t coming back,’ Jack said avoiding a real answer. Brayden edged closer and lowered his voice.
‘But you can tell me surely.’
Jack snapped.
‘I’ll tell you when I tell the others. Can’t you just shut up?’ His voice carried through the camp, echoing between the hills. Brayden, looking wounded, stopped talking and left him alone. After a hurried supper Jack insisted on taking the first watch while the others got some rest.
Jack sat on a large flat rock next to his tent. The air was cold but he had the cloak which was inexplicably warm. He tucked it under his body and where he was sitting on it, the rock felt as soft as a bed. It really was extraordinary.
Although it was July it felt like winter. Without a fire and out in the open the only light came from the sky, which was glowing with looping, oddly beautiful lights. Jack stretched out to lay on the rock watching the beams curving and twisting overhead. The air was crisp and cold. It was amazingly clear and where the lights did not ebb and flow through the massive sky the stars shone like silver pinpricks. They were different - much stranger than the constellations at home.
Jack sighed and got up. He had to stretch his legs and move around or else he would fall asleep. He wandered around the campsite. As he walked past Cali’s tent he heard her moving around inside.
‘Cali?’ he whispered. There was no answer but the movements stopped. ‘Cali, I know you’re awake.’ Cali poked her head out of her one-man tent.
‘What do you want?’
‘I just wanted to talk,’ Jack said meekly.
‘Maybe I don’t want to,’ Cali said drawing her head back into the tent. A few moments later she emerged fully dressed. She stood staring into the night then looked at Jack from the corner of her eye.
‘You’re welcome,’ she said before Jack had a chance to say anything.
‘Thanks. I…’ Jack began and Cali interrupted again.
‘Don’t try to persuade me to go back or something silly because I’m staying.’
‘Are you a psychic today of something?’
‘No. I just know what you’re like,’ Cali replied smartly.
‘Well I wasn’t going to ask you to go back.’
‘Oh. Really?’ she asked, looking a little deflated.
‘I can if you want me to,’ Jack said quickly.
‘No! No I’m not going back and I don’t want you to ask me to,’ Cali said, smiling.
‘I just … I don’t know what to do,’ Jack finally admitted.
‘What do you mea
n? Jack – Gordy did tell you the plan didn’t he?’ Jack pretended she hadn’t said anything.
‘I can’t go home – well, there’s no point without Sophie. I can’t go back to the Headquarters, if I show my face there again I’ll be lynched.’
‘That’s true. But Jack…’ Cali said. Jack interrupted her this time.
‘Aloysius hasn’t told me anything, Gordy’s gone; he’s not going to be able to come back, I know it,’ he said, skirting around the problem.
‘Why did you want to stay here then instead of moving on?’ Cali asked curiously, the question whose answer was at the heart of Jack’s dilemma.
‘I don’t know where to go,’ he said baldly.
‘I know that,’ Cali said.
‘What?’ Jack said.
‘I knew you didn’t know the plan. I know you well enough to know when you’re not telling the truth.’
‘Oh. Right,’ Jack said. There was a long pause.
‘You should have said something sooner,’ Cali said sternly.
‘I didn’t know anything, not when we were supposed to leave, not what we were supposed to take with us. I don’t even know where we are now,’ Jack said the words tumbling from his mouth, relieved to be free.
‘That’s OK, I know where we are,’ Cali said. She ran back to her tent and when she came back she was holding what looked like a small booklet in her hand. ‘I asked Gordy where we were going and he gave me this.’ She passed the it to Jack. It was a map.
‘Look – just here,’ she said, pointing at a red dot on the map.
‘He just… gave it to you?’ Jack asked.
‘Yes.It was his map. I think he forgot he’d given it to me,’ Cali said.
Jack looked from Cali to the map. It showed a horseshoe shaped island close to Antarctica labelled ‘Deception’. A trail ran from the red dot - which was almost at the top right - to the bottom of the island.
‘So, we’re probably supposed to follow this then,’ Jack said, tracing the trail with his finger. Cali nodded.
‘I think so. Listen I’m really sorry, I should have told you as soon as we got here,’ Cali said. The bruise over her eye was darker but the swelling had gone down. Perhaps it was the cold night air.
‘It doesn’t matter,’ Jack said smiling. ‘At least we have somewhere to start.’
‘Why don’t you go to bed for a few hours? I’ll wake you when it’s light,’ Cali said.
Jack walked back to his tent happier than when he left it. He was woken several hours’ later he by tapping on the side of his tent. Jack unzipped the front and looked up to see Brayden.
‘Where’s Cali?’ Jack asked.
‘She’s at her tent. We’re waiting for you to get ready so we can go,’ Brayden said grimly.
‘Listen Brayden, I’m sorry about last night. I was out of order.’
‘Don’t worry about it.’
‘I really am…’ Jack began.
‘Hurry up – Cali said we can’t have breakfast until you’re there,’ Brayden said turning to walk back to the others.
Jack pulled his head back into his tent and hurriedly dressed in some of Gordy’s clothes (thank goodness for Pecksniff’s, Jack thought as he pulled on some waterproof trousers which magically stretched to fit). He tried not to think about Brayden. A few minutes later everything was packed again including the tent. He could smell frying eggs and bacon and hurried over to the others.
‘I thought we weren’t supposed to light fires?’ he said, with no real annoyance in his voice. He was starving.
‘It’s not a fire,’ Cali said and showed Jack the small battery operated cooking ring she was using.
‘Brilliant!’ Jack said.
‘It was Brayden’s idea,’ she said happily.
‘Well done!’ Jack said clapping Brayden on the shoulder as Cali began serving the food out into everyone’s ration tins. Brayden didn’t acknowledge Jack, but nor did he pull away.
The others were already packed, so they set off as soon as they had eaten. As Jack adjusted the cloak around his shoulders the friendship bracelet peeped out from his sleeve.
‘Sophie made that for you didn’t she?’ Cali asked. Jack nodded.
‘She gave it to me the day she disappeared.’ Cali smiled sadly. They set off in a sombre mood.
The way was hard. The gravel made the mountainous hills dangerously slippery and within the first hour all except Esther had fallen several times.
Lunch was a quiet affair, Jack quietly suggested they take the trek more slowly to prevent serious injury. The second half of the day was less dangerous but more frustrating - they covered little ground. Jack was relieved when night began to fall. As he waited for dinner to cook Jack tried to work out how long it would take them to arrive at their destination. Gordy had marked it on the map – right at the bottom of Deception Island. South Point. It wasn’t far, but the terrain was so treacherous that Jack was sure it would take at least one more day to reach it if the weather held out and no one had a serious fall.
They had stayed inland, skirting a lagoon for most of the days’ trek, however when they set off tomorrow they would edge closer to the coast. This meant climbing over the mountains of rock, grit, ash and ice. By the next night Jack hoped to have reached South Point. From there he had no idea what they were going to do.
After they had eaten, Jack took Cali to one side and asked her if Gordy had told her anything else.
‘No. But you never know, it might be obvious when we get there,’ Cali said uncertainly.
‘Maybe,’ Jack said. Cali walked back over to sit with Brayden and Esther, join in their conversation as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He listened to them talking and laughing for a while and wished he could join in; it would feel normal – like he was one of them. The truth was, he wasn’t. He was alone. They had no reason to be there, they could leave whenever they chose. He had to find Sophie.
Earlier the Amulet had felt like a comfort. Now it seemed to represent everything that was wrong and unbalanced. Slowly, he drew it from beneath his shirt. It felt warm, warmer than it should be from lying against his skin. It looked like it was made from metal, but it was light as air and felt silky to the touch.
Jack stared at the Amulet, as if hypnotised. He didn’t know how long he sat like that before a movement surprised him. He turned and felt his heart leap in his chest - Loomis was sitting with his back against a rock no more than six feet away. His luminous orange eyes glowed more improbably than the extraordinary lights in the sky.
‘We meet again,’ said Loomis, his eyes holding and then, somehow, releasing Jack.
‘What are you doing here?’
‘I want to help. There are some among us who are… sympathetic to your aims.’
‘I don’t know what you mean,’ Jack said fiercely.
‘I think you do. I can help you get your sister back.’
‘No.’
‘The gnomes don’t care for you. They only want your sister,’ Loomis said, his eyes gleaming.
‘That’s not true,’ Jack roughly defended his friends.
‘They tried to take you prisoner, stop you from rescuing Sophie because they’re scared.’
‘Not all of them.’
‘They, who do not have to go and retrieve her from the jaws of the Black Prince,’ Loomis said. His eyes flared as he spoke. Jack felt the fire of his own mutiny grow, erupt into every corner of his brain.
Jack looked down into the camp with new eyes. They were here with him. They had been ripped from their lives, braver than he because they had chosen to come with him. Not through fear, intimidation, the horrifying reality that they may never have a family again but because they cared. That was all. They cared. And he, just moments ago thought that they could leave whenever they chose, as if they were here on a whim, a flight of fancy.
‘No,’ Jack said to Loomis, his voice strong. Nothing would allow him to break the trust of his friends.
‘You’re not even going to
think about it?’ Loomis asked, the fire in his eyes flickering brighter, lighter until they were white.
‘No. I’m not,’ Jack said and he watched Loomis draw back into the shadow of the rock, though Jack had not seen the Salamander move forward.
‘You’re braver than I gave you credit for,’ Loomis smiled. ‘I want to accompany you. Help if I can.’
Jack was speechless. Surely Loomis was joking.‘You’re lying.’
‘No, I’m not,’ Loomis said. His eyes, which Jack already took as a measure of his mood, were once more a steady flickering orange.
‘You’re a Fire Elemental,’ Jack said as if Loomis did not know and Jack were telling him for the first time.
‘Yes I am, which makes me an ideal companion.’
‘You tried to kidnap me,’ Jack said, trying to persuade himself now more than Loomis.
‘No I didn’t, I needed to shake your hand.’
‘Why?’ Jack asked.
‘It’s how I was able to track you. Sorry about that.’
‘Track me?’
‘How do you think I found you? No one else can.’
‘You’ve bugged me?’
‘In a way,’ Loomis said.
‘Does that mean… can anyone… ?’ Jack stuttered. The enormity of what Loomis was saying made Jack dizzy. If Loomis was working for Auldred he knew Jack’s exact location – had known ever since Jack had met Loomis in the woods.
‘Only me,’ Loomis said. ‘Trust me, if the Black Prince knew where you were… Well there’s no way you’d be here.’
Jack was stumped. Loomis could hardly slope off every few minutes to give anyone updates with four pairs of eyes on him all the time. And Loomis could follow Jack anyway, so there was little point in refusing him. Still, Jack felt uneasy.
‘I never knew that Elementals could do that,’ Jack said.
Elemental: Steele Stolen: Part 1 and 2 Page 12
