by J. J. Moody
She had faith in him.
The blood tingled in Ben's veins. The hairs on his body stood awake. He felt like he could perform magic.
Soon the path led them to within range of the gentle song of water, and they broke away through the fallen branches and leaves and moss, until at last they found the stream, a giggling carnival parading through the undergrowth.
The water was clear and fresh, and narrow enough that they could have leapt across with ease. They knelt beside it where the bank was low and drank, using their hands to cup the cool water. Goldie crouched and lapped at their side.
After satisfying his thirst, Ben threw a few handfuls over his face and arms, still dirt covered from his mountain misadventure.
He speckled a few drops in Goldie's direction, but the felion snarled unappreciatively, and continued drinking. Ben laughed an apology. He didn't want to offend the creature. Looking at him as he hunched low to drink, he thought that the felion had grown a little broader around the shoulders and scruff.
"Do you think Goldie is a younger felion, still growing up?"
"No he looks about adult size I'd say. Why?"
Ben decided he must be imagining things. It was probably just all the dust and rock fragments from the cave encounter that had matted into Goldie's fur, and which he did not seem particularly eager to remove.
"Nothing, just wondering."
"So we follow downstream from here until we reach the Bitter Falls," Eva announced, wiping her mouth. "Beautiful, isn't it?"
Ben nodded between more gulps. "Have you travelled this way before?"
"Not that I recall although it seems familiar in a way. I remember only two of the Peregrine migrations, travelling west and then south from the westernmost plains of Norchand through Cloudwood Forest. Never through these trees." She played with a low hanging fern.
They followed the flow of water along the mossy banks. They clambered over fallen branches here and there, but mostly the way was easy. Before long the stream began to widen and pick up speed. The symphony of stream, birds and other animals rose to its crescendo, sounding their arrival as celebrated guests into an enchanted kingdom.
Finally Ben caught sight of the water dropping away through the trees, and they carefully came towards the rim. Water tumbled out of sight. They searched for a way down, and scrambled down a steep path, not diverting far from the river. From there they turned back toward the bottom of the falls.
Slowly the waterfall itself came into view, and the scene unfolded like snatches of a film reel glimpsed between the rowdy audience of trees. The water cascaded down over the stones in festive abandon before returning to still, hushed repentance. There was a small pool outlined by a border of moss-softened rocks. At the side farthest from them sat a young woman.
As soon as he saw the pond, Ben felt his chest. The memory of the school swimming pool spread over him like a cruel black wave, rising from nowhere to retake its quarry. The dark waters flooded back. The cold drag clawed for a hold. His limbs slowed, remembering the weight. The sorrow reclaimed his heart.
Eva caught him up. "Are you OK?"
"My chest. I just... The portal - I just remember it so clearly. This pool might be the same."
"Well if that's what a portal is like, and you want to get home, you're going to have to deal with it. And if this pool is a portal too then your journey home might turn out to be a lot quicker and easier than you expected!"
Ben smiled, forced the pain away, but bruises remained.
They observed the woman. She twirled a hand in the pool, languidly doodling. Behind her on a path just through the trees there was a regal carriage, guarded by a group of soldiers clad in polished silver armour and indigo cloaks.
Ben and Eva looked at each other, eyes discussing how best to proceed.
Finally Eva advanced. "Greetings my lady. We are Peregrine farmspeople. May we join you at the water?"
The woman's hand stopped, and she looked up from the pool, slowly examining the group. Her eyes rested on Ben when she answered. "You may."
Two of the guards instantly moved to her side, standing alert. The men looked a great deal larger and more powerful than the hooded brigands Ben had fought at Lake Kaidesh, but their build was also leaner and more muscular than the farmers. These were well trained, disciplined fighters.
Ben stepped slowly beside Eva. Despite the possible threat from the soldiers, his eyes were on the water. Then he and Eva approached the pool with Goldie behind, and as they did Ben was relieved to find it quite normal. The pond was shallow, its bottom made up of a blanket of pebbles wobbling under the watery lens. They cast a dappled mosaic that reminded him of the Hulstead College pool. But here there were no dark recesses, and the water rested easy. There was no hint of anything else.
They made their way to the edge of the pond, opposite the woman. She had lowered her gaze already, and did not acknowledge them further, but her soldiers stood ready.
"Thank you my lady. I am Eva, and this is Silverstone. We are very glad to make your acquaintance." Eva found her most formal vocabulary.
Ben suppressed a grin. She had probably picked it up from listening to Alder's speeches.
Ben was close enough now that he could see the young lady clearly. She was clothed entirely in deep indigo. Her dress was intricately made, full of twirls and frills, patterns and points, but always the same colour. Textured, shaded, thicker, thinner, but always blue. There was something pure, yet very sad about it, Ben thought, as if her bright soul pressed outward from beneath a chaste veil.
He focussed on her face. She was probably a little older than Eva. At first it had seemed as if there was a blue radiance from her dress, or that the pool itself reflected a watery shade, but now he thought her skin itself was tinted. It was lighter than the dress, some remainder of her self straining to survive like the patterns on her clothes. It could have been makeup brushed across her skin but after his encounter with Agar, Ben couldn't help thinking that perhaps her skin itself had been dyed into a dark blue. Whatever the method was, he could certainly see no introductions were needed. This was the Blue Lady.
He moved in front of Eva. "Excuse me my lady. But I have been told you might be able to help us find one of the mages; Evander."
At the name of Evander her eyes rose.
She was not pretty, yet she had a strange allure, perhaps because of her startling appearance. Like an exotic bird. He felt ashamed to stare, yet he couldn't look away. He wanted to free her from her indigo cage, but wasn't certain she wanted to be rescued.
"Well?" she asked, in a soft, pleasant voice, as if sensing his thoughts.
Ben blushed.
She pressed him. "What do you think? Am I beautiful?" Something flickered across her face, but he missed it.
Ben could hear Eva shifting uncomfortably behind him. He was off balance, and it took him a long moment to regain the ability to speak.
"Erm... Yes, you are very beautiful my lady."
Again something shimmered. He caught it this time. Was it playfulness? Mockery? Hope? What did she want?
Then something responded in him just as she began to lower her eyes.
"No doubt the reflections in the water are what cause the birds to weep their joy from the trees up there in the canopy." He didn't know where that had come from, but acting the charming man was easier than he thought.
Eva coughed her surprise behind him and Ben imagined her face. He was surprising himself too.
The lady burst into a smile. Her eyes had shifted now, openness, amusement piercing the blue.
"You are delightful aren't you. If I could only get away from this cursed land and go home, I'd have boys like you charming me all the time. And I'd be able to dance. To proper songs. At proper discos, not the backward barnyard things they have here where fire has only just been discovered."
"You came through then, with your brother, from... the other world?" Ben tried to keep her talking.
"Yes. We came through during a par
ty ironically. I was happily dancing away to Abba with gorgeous Frankie Stevens I think, or maybe I had gone outside to take a drag on something. It seems so long ago now. Anyway the next thing I know I'm in the middle of this ridiculous pond thinking he's slipped something into my drink. Then Evander showed up and dragged me straight off to Botilcester where fun is outlawed."
"He came through at the same time then?" Ben asked.
"Well that same night at the party yes, but he managed to arrive here ages before I did. By the time I got dumped here he had been here for years, getting everything all worked out. He still can't find a spell to make decent music though."
"How long have you been here then? Why haven't you gone back - it sounds like you'd like to?" Ben asked eagerly.
"Evander might know a way. He's always been a bit of a geek. But if he does he won't let me use it. He gets quite angry when I ask him about it."
"Would you help us speak to him? Perhaps I can convince him to send you back to the party as well as... helping me. Is he in Botilcester?"
"He has a fortress there. He's been very busy dealing with some disruptive people today. Probably playing around with his spells again."
She pulled her hand from the water, a watery blue glove slowly peeled away from the indigo beneath. It was hypnotic to watch.
"Well I suppose I could take you to Botilcester. He forbids me to remain out here after nightfall so I must leave soon. Nasty creatures about, he always says. So far I've not seen anything that looks too dangerous." She chuckled flirtatiously. "You won't hurt me will you?"
The guards stood taller, chests expanding, armour straining an answer for him.
Ben took a moment to understand her meaning. And then his own skin changed colour, and for a moment they were almost at neatly opposing ends of the spectrum. He turned to Eva, whose expression was a mix of irritation and mockery.
"I know you want to reach Evander but are you sure we can trust her?" she whispered. "I mean she might just take us back to her palace and throw us in a dungeon somewhere. Or even worse throw me in a dungeon somewhere while she flirts with you!"
Ben grinned. He had never been flirted with before and a part of him wanted it to continue.
"Alder said she was the best way to get to a mage, and we might never get another chance to be introduced to her brother Evander. Anyway she seems nice enough so far. If we go with her now she might help us get what we need from him."
Eva nodded grudgingly. "OK. But if I get thrown in the cells at Botilcester I'm taking Goldie for company."
"That won't happen. We'll be careful."
Ben turned back to the lady. "Thank you for your kind offer my lady, which we accept."
"Good!" She rose quickly to leave. "Well if you are to share my coach, then you must call me Melanise."
Eva coughed something.
Ben and Eva climbed up and into the enclosed carriage, and sat across from Melanise. Goldie leapt up beside them, eagerly testing his claws on the soft velvet seating. Ben tried to control his pet, but realised his efforts were somewhat futile given the damage Goldie's coarse fur would do. Luckily Melanise didn't seem to notice.
The carriage was a large wooden box with no windows out. The exterior was patterned with engravings, polished and clean, so much so that the blue paint was almost hidden behind the shine. There were four oversized wooden spoked wheels, which gave it the appearance of a rejected fairy tale accessory. It was to be pulled by six enormous beasts - the western realm equivalent of horses, Ben guessed - which seemed extremely excessive given their size and the relative weight of the carriage and its occupants, but was probably to demonstrate importance more than practicality. Two of the guards manned platforms at the rear of the carriage, while four sat at the front, one manning the reins. The remainder rode alongside on beasts of their own.
After the guards had closed the carriage door and climbed on, they set off down the road and away from the pool at what felt like a steady pace. The lack of view combined with the bumpiness of the path for a disorientating ride.
In the carriage, lit by a single wobbling candle lamp, Melanise examined her hands, humming a melancholy tune. Sitting this close to her, in the dark of the carriage, Ben was suddenly confronted by the ethereal being blending into the seats in front of him, two white corneas floating faintly in fabric and shadow. Dense stars collapsing in indigo night.
He forced himself to speak.
"Why do you wear only blue? Why is your skin that colour too?"
The white circles scrutinised him. A faded hand reached into a compartment, withdrew a glass bottle, poured glasses.
"Fresh water, from the pond. It's beautifully cold."
Eva and Ben collected their drinks.
"Thank you," Ben said, and looked at her, his eyes repeating the question.
"I suppose the fashion must seem very strange to Peregrine farmers. Perhaps it is odd. But why shouldn't I dress this way? It expresses who I am."
Eva looked away.
But Ben had seen Agar's dying yellow flesh, seen the charmed gold draw him back into the hoard. And then he had seen the mountain open its angry jaws and consume it all. He pressed further.
"Excuse my ignorance of fashion, but what exactly is it intended to express?" Was it plain intrigue or compassion pushing him, he wondered.
The eyes were fierce. "Don't you like it?"
"I do. I'm sorry for prying." He looked away, deciding to try a different approach.
A moment passed.
"I suppose there's something of this world, something of Evander's abilities, impressed on me." The eyes had faded. "I don't pretend to understand any of what has happened to me, to us, to this world. But I know Evander means well in spite of everything."
"The blue is magic?"
"Magic! Who would have thought I'd be saying that word with a straight face."
"But it is, isn't it."
"Yes." She began to cry.
Ben was not surprised to see the colour of her tears.
"It's been a while since I talked to someone who wasn't terrified of me. I'm scared. Of what is happening to me. Of what I'll become."
Ben thought of Agar and felt pity for the young girl.
"I don't really know if it's Evander's spells to protect me from everything, or the world that's making me this way. Or maybe it's something I'm doing myself. All I can do is hope that Evander can save me. And that he'll let me go home." A moist streak carved a path over her cheek.
Ben wanted badly to act. To know some way of helping Melanise. Of bringing her back from the precipice she was slipping towards. And beneath that feeling there was something else, something stronger. Fear, for himself. He pushed it away guiltily.
"I'm very sorry you suffer this way. I'm sure Evander will find a way. I've heard he is very powerful. When we reach Botilcester perhaps I can help. I mean I'm only a farmer but -"
"Why are simple croppers so interested in meeting a mage in any case?"
Ben looked at Eva. "We want to ask for his help with something," he said.
"Something magical then?"
Ben found it hard finding the focus to respond. He felt sticky. Ripples of tiredness suddenly caressed his mind at every bump of the road.
"We aren't sure." Eva rescued him with a perfect non-committal answer.
He looked across to her, but her eyes were closed. She was asleep.
Had he just drifted off for a moment? Had he dreamt the conversation? Or had he fallen asleep in the midst of it and just woken up? He felt adrift, unsure if he was dreaming or awake.
"Are you sure you aren’t sure?" Melanise’s white eyes glowed against the indigo backdrop.
An ache of despair crawled upwards amidst the creep of sleep, pinning him to his seat like glue while it drained every ounce of hope from every corner. How could he ask one of the most powerful men in the land for a favour? Why on earth would he help him? It was like asking the Queen of England to do something for him. And then a pronouncement forced
through his veins: He would never find a way home.
Goldie licked at his hand in sickly slow motion.
"I just want to get home," he said, after what felt like days, and more effort than climbing the Drumald Mountains.
Eva would be angry with him. He didn't really know why he had confided to Melanise, just that it seemed futile not to. Everything seemed pointless.
He closed his eyes to the deep blue sleep.
Chapter Six
Evander
Ben woke with a headache.
He sat up clutching his forehead, and discerned between his fingers that he sat on a gigantic four-poster bed, in the middle of an even more gigantic room.
The gigantic bed was covered in a rainbow of lush, patterned fabrics, and a deep, fluffy mattress - a real mattress, not at all like the Peregrine sleeping mats. At its corners were four giant wooden columns that rose all the way to the ceiling, which was at least twice the height of his cottage in Hulstead. Spiralling around them to the roof was an assortment of creatures captured in carved spectacle. Ben spotted a pomp-hen just above head height being chased by a set of gaping jaws - a cavejaw perhaps.
The gigantic room was so enormous and saturated with elaborate decoration he couldn't tell where the door was. To his left a house length away concealed behind mouldings was a pair of doors. These contained beautiful stained glass patterns through which streamed daylight, and which Ben therefore concluded must lead outside.
Scanning to the right of the room, he found a larger double door, this time solid wood, and shaped with dramatic battle scenes.
The ceiling continued the drama from the bed posts above his head in a huge painting. Animals of all shapes and sizes converged on a single mound in the centre. A man stood there, left arm outstretched, welcoming the congregating creatures into his open hand. In the distance to the left there were buildings, a sun, clear sky.
The man was older than Melanise, perhaps as old as Ben's parents. He was dressed in silver armour like the guards protecting Melanise, but unlike their indigo cloaks his was pure black.
