Airwoman

by Zara Quentin

  Her thoughts endlessly replayed DivineOne’s words: Find the Eigot and you will find your killer.

  It had felt like a command, and even now, Jade felt a compulsion to do something. She just wasn’t sure what; even if she was looking for an Eigot, how was she supposed to find it?

  Jade became aware of movement inside the treehouse, bringing her out of her trance. Namaje moved towards her, holding up her bowl of red paste. The pain had not returned, though Namaje regularly re-applied her paste. Jade was grateful for the relief and wondered how she’d manage without it.

  “Will you teach me how to make it?” Jade pointed to the bowl, as Namaje bent over her shoulder.

  Namaje nodded, then held up a finger. “Not now. Later.” She applied the paste to Jade’s shoulder, then offered Jade another cup of the bitter tea.

  “Magnus like.” Namaje pointed to the steaming tea, smiling. Jade wondered how well she’d known Papa. From Namaje’s memories, the Premyans had known him longer than she had.

  “Were all of those memories yours?” Jade asked.

  Namaje shook her head. “No. Some happen long time ago. Old ones give. I get.” She pointed into the air, then to herself. Then she pointed outwards. “Then later I give. For important remembering.”

  Jade blew away the steam rising from her cup and wondered how to approach her next question. It was one she hadn’t dared ask in the presence of DivineOne, given the Dragon-God’s touchy nature.

  Jade cleared her throat and Namaje turned her wide eyes towards her. “Why doesn’t DivineOne use his magic to find the Eigot? Why does he need me?”

  Namaje set down her tea-cup on the table and made a gesture with her hands, bringing them close together until they were only an inch apart. “DivineOne small. Baby.”

  “A baby? DivineOne can’t use his magic because he’s too young?”

  Namaje nodded. “Must grow. Learn.”

  “When DivineOne learns how to use his magic, he will be able to?”

  Namaje screwed up her face in thought. “Grow. Then sleep. Dream is magic.”

  “He can’t use his magic until he goes into slumber?”

  Namaje held her hands flat to her chest. “Magic inside.” She let her hands float away from her until her arms were outstretched. “Dreams unlock.”

  Jade nodded, taking a sip of her tea and letting her gaze stretch into the distance, thinking. At some point Namaje excused herself to go to sleep and Jade sat there in the dark, gnawing on her thoughts.

  DivineOne had suggested—commanded—she find the Eigot. Perhaps Papa had also wanted her to. But where to start? She balanced the empty cup beside her and drew her knees up against her chest, wrapping her hands around her legs to warm herself from the chill on the pre-dawn air. The inside of her forearm brushed against something lumpy in her pocket.

  Her eyes lit up.

  Her dragonfly.

  Of course! She should send Zorman a message now that she finally had something to report. Zorman’s evidence, Papa’s ring, and now Namaje’s memories all pointed to Axel. She should have known her uncle would be right. She fished the metal dragonfly from her pocket and started recording.

  “Uncle Z! First, don’t worry, I’m fine. I’m still in the rainforest, I found the Premyan settlement inland towards the mountains. More importantly, I’ve just found out…there’s not enough time to explain, but there’s more.” Jade paused, trying to think of how to condense everything she’d learnt for the recording. All she could think of was the thoughts DivineOne sent her: Find the Eigot and you will find your killer. Jade took a breath. “This is going to sound crazy, but I have to find an Eigot. And I think I know where it is.”

  * * *

  Jade dropped softly to the ground and folded her wings behind her back. She slipped into the cover of the trees, putting Kapelton behind her.

  The dawn light filtered through the trees and Jade wanted to put some distance between herself and the village before Namaje discovered she’d gone.

  When Jade had released the dragonfly, the night sky was already becoming lighter. She’d made a snap decision. She couldn’t wait for Zorman’s reply—that might take days. She had to act while the trail was warm. Well, perhaps not warm, but before it went completely cold. Every moment lost put her farther away from the killer.

  Besides, she felt a compulsion to act that she couldn’t set aside. She had to do something.

  As Jade walked through the rainforest, she retraced the journey that had brought her to Kapelton. Keeping the mountains behind her, Jade followed familiar landmarks and ran her fingers over the grooves in the bark of the T’s that she had carved, semi-regularly, into the tree-trunks. As she walked, she thought over the information she’d been shown. Without knowing it, she had put a hand around the charms on her neck chain, feeling for the jade-stone pendant Axel had given her.

  She wanted to deny his involvement. She’d hoped against hope that Zorman was wrong. Now, as she gnawed over the evidence, Jade had to admit it all pointed to Axel.

  He often flew off-world for her father. She’d seen him returning to the Temple on the morning Papa was killed. He’d carried something he wanted to conceal. Jade told him where Papa would be, in the naive hope that Axel would ask Papa for permission to take her out on a date. Instead, her information had given him the perfect opportunity to kill Papa. Then he’d left for Premye. The Portal Record confirmed it.

  Then there was the distinctive tattoo on his shoulder. And he’d been wearing Papa’s ring when she’d seen him in the forest.

  And what about the strange, urgent package Jade remembered Papa had received the morning of his murder. She now assumed it was the charm with the knotted ‘message’ tied to it. After that, she’d overheard Papa talking to someone, warning them that people would be killed over this. The other person had talked about something valuable. Axel was at the Temple that day. It could have been him in that room.

  As much as she had wished and hoped it would turn out to be a mistake, now Jade had to accept that Uncle Zorman had been right about Axel. He’d completely duped her—he’d used her, and tricked her into believing their relationship was more than it was.

  What a fool.

  Jade clenched the neck chain so tight it was pulling against the skin on the back of her neck. Suddenly, she flushed hot with shame. She’d loved her father’s killer. Loved him. So much that she’d been blinded to the truth.

  Axel was a murderer.

  Jade couldn’t hide away from that truth any longer—she’d loved a murderer, who hadn’t even loved her back. What an idiot! She fumbled at the clasp on the back of her neck, then slipped the jade-stone pendant off the chain.

  Hot tears ran down her cheeks as she threw the pendant as far as she could.

  Then she drew the back of her fist across her face, roughly scrubbing away her tears. She gulped down the sobs; she wouldn’t waste any more grief on him.

  No. She was going to find that Eigot and make sure Axel faced justice. Jade gritted her teeth and kept walking.

  * * *

  The sound of rushing water filled her ears. Jade stood at the summit of the rocky incline and saw the river rushing around a bend before it cascaded over the edge of a cliff. The midday sun glared down, illuminating a white ribbon of water, as it seemed to dangle in front of the cliff face, before breaking over the rocks below. Jade scanned the area, certain this was the place where she’d last seen Axel.

  Even though so much of this rainforest looked the same, she was sure this was where he had appeared out of nowhere. It was only a day since she’d been here, but as Jade looked around, she saw no sign of him now.

  Jade retreated out of the midday sun, into the shadows of the canopy. She sat down on the exposed roots of a huge, gnarled tree. Its trunk was so big she could not wrap her arms around it and its bark was rough and rippled with age.

  Jade sighed. Axel could be anywhere.

  When Jade had been on patrol, she’d seen the vastness of the rainforest. I
t stretched out to the horizon, as far as the eye could see. Axel could be a day’s walk in any direction. With Traveller patrols overhead, he would not have risked taking to the air. At least that limited his whereabouts to walking distance.

  Still, Jade had to start somewhere and this was as good a place as any. She scanned the area, determined to find any marks that showed which direction Axel had taken. Since she hadn’t looked back when she’d started running from the blow-darts, she hadn’t seen where he’d gone, curse it. Still, he must have left a clue.

  Jade paced the area, bent double, combing the undergrowth for a sign. She ran her fingers over tree trunks, searching for marks Axel might have left. She saw nothing.

  Then she crouched down and pulled out a dart, half-buried under dried leaves. It was red-tipped.

  A Premyan blow-dart.

  At least she’d found the right place. The reminder of the Premyan presence made Jade look warily into the trees. Perhaps she should have told Namaje where she was going. Too late now.

  She touched her pendants with her fingers, racking her brain to remember what happened after the Premyans fired on her. She had run. Then she’d heard Axel call out to her from behind.

  Wait I need to talk to you! He’d yelled. But he hadn’t followed her. Why? Jade twisted the charms around in her fingers. What she needed was a way to bring him out. If she couldn’t find Axel, perhaps she could bring him to her.

  After all, he’d wanted to talk to her. Perhaps if she pretended to be hurt or in trouble, he would come to help her. Hope flared in her stomach.

  No, stupid. Jade pushed aside her traitorous feelings. Why would he come to help her when he didn’t care about her? She had to put aside this notion that she was special to him—she wasn’t. He’d betrayed her all along. She should be thinking about arresting him, not daydreaming that he might rescue her.

  Wait I want to talk to you! Axel’s words ricocheted inside her mind. Jade turned her head away abruptly, shutting her eyes as the next thought came to her: maybe Axel hadn’t called out to her? She’d assumed he was talking to her, but if that was true, why hadn’t he followed her?

  What if he hadn’t been calling out to her? What if he’d been calling out to the Premyans?

  Jade clenched her fists, curling a hand around her charms, feeling the kangaroo Basalt had given her.

  It can’t go backwards, Basalt had said. Neither could she go backwards, she knew. Jade straightened her shoulders. She had promised to find Papa’s killer and return the Eigot. That’s what she intended to do.

  If Axel wanted to talk to the Premyans, Jade could use that fact to her advantage. She remembered the strange bird calls she’d heard the Premyans using. She could mimic the sound to draw Axel out from wherever he was hiding.

  Jade went a little farther upstream and waded into the river, briefly enjoying the numbing cold of the water over her feet. Standing in the water, there was enough space to spread her wings and she lifted herself up to grab one of the overhanging branches. It wasn’t nearly as graceful as the way Namaje lightly shimmered up trunks and over branches, but Jade couldn’t get the hang of that. The Premyans seemed to defy gravity with their climbing skills. Still, she pulled herself onto the branch until she gripped it with her hands and inner-thighs. She tucked her wings tight to her back and shuffled across the branch to sit closer to the trunk.

  She recalled the strange bird call—that she now knew was a Premyan call—and practised it quietly a few times. When she mimicked it fairly well, she cupped a hand to her mouth and sounded it, loud and clear. She waited a few moments, then called out again.

  A moment later, Jade heard the crunching of dry leaves.

  19

  Somebody moved through the undergrowth, coming towards her. She flattened her body against the trunk, barely daring to breathe.

  The crunching stopped. Jade’s heart leapt into her throat. She looked down, but saw no one. That was the problem with this place, Jade thought. Even above the forest floor, her line of sight was obscured. She longed for Taraqa’s endless flat plains.

  She put a hand to her mouth again and hesitated, straining to hear any movement below. Then she let out another call.

  A twig snapped.

  Jade’s throat tightened as she scanned the forest floor for any sign of Axel.

  A flicker of movement caught the corner of her eye. She peered through the vines to see a hand pulling aside a fern. A figure appeared in her line of sight. Jade swallowed.

  Axel, looking flushed under his strange, black cloak, came to stand directly underneath her.

  He looked up and Jade gasped, before clapping a hand over her mouth. It was too late, though. Their eyes met and Axel’s eyes widened in surprise. Jade saw a twinkle in them, as though he laughed. He opened his mouth as though about to say something, but Jade didn’t want to hear it. She gritted her teeth. She had to act quickly before Axel worked out he’d been tricked.

  Jade leapt off the branch, knocking Axel to the ground. Her newly aching feet jarred with the impact, and she and Axel rolled together, a tangle of arms, legs, wings and a cloak. Axel was stronger, but it took him longer to gather his wits—Jade had the advantage of surprise. She straddled Axel’s chest and pinned him down.

  “What are you doing?” Axel wriggled, straining against her grasp. His hair was longer than she’d ever seen it and his cheeks were lined with rough stubble. His eyes flashed as he looked past her to search in the treetops, his eyes darting left and right. “Look, I know we have to talk but I haven’t got time for this!”

  Jade heart sank in her chest. She was right. Axel hadn’t been looking for her, he’d been looking for Premyans. He’d never cared about her. Even now, he didn’t take her seriously. When Axel looked back at Jade, exasperated, she glared at him. Her whole body tensed and she gripped his wrists so hard her fingers dug into his flesh. She wouldn’t hold him down for long—not on her strength alone—but she wasn’t letting him go easily. When he twisted his wrists again, Jade pulled the knife from her belt and pressed it against the soft skin of his throat.

  “Where’s the Eigot?” Jade demanded. Axel froze, his eyes darted to hers, confused and pleading. Jade narrowed her eyes, refusing to believe his act now. He wriggled his torso again, testing her determination. She held down one of his hands with her own, but his other hand was pinned under her leg as she held the knife to his throat. She was straddled awkwardly across his chest, but if Axel really wanted to get away, Jade wasn’t sure how long she could keep him down. She pressed harder with the knife until a tiny drop of blood appeared at the tip. Axel became still. “Tell me where the Eigot is.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I know you have it—”

  “You’re crazy.” Axel’s expression became angry. He thrust upwards suddenly, using all his strength to push against her, and almost threw her off. “Let me up!”

  “What’s in your bag?” It was still slung around his chest, but pinned underneath him and she couldn’t get to it. Not without letting him go.

  Axel’s jaw set. “Nothing,” he snapped. “I’m not answering any of your questions until you get off me. You could have killed me, jumping on me like that.”

  Jade’s grip on the knife tightened. She could have killed him? After all the damage he’d done? Suddenly she didn’t want to hear any more. She’d heard enough lies. “Fine. You want to be difficult? The judge can wring it out of you.”

  “You’re making no sense.”

  Jade gritted her teeth. Her knuckles were white where they gripped the knife. Her other hand tightened around Axel’s fist. She stared into his eyes, no longer warm and bright. Now they were dark and angry. For a split-second, Jade wondered at his reaction. There was no guilt, no pleading, no apologies. Only anger. Her hand holding the knife shook a little as Jade held her breath, wondering if she’d got it wrong.

  Then she gripped the hilt of the knife harder, pushing the traitorous thoughts aside. Axel lied as naturally as he
breathed. She couldn’t believe a word he said.

  “I’m arresting you for Papa’s murder.” Jade was surprised to hear herself speaking the words. So cold and flat, like her voice belonged to someone else. “Get up.”

  “What?” Axel blinked twice, then his eyes widened. The tense set of his jaw fell away and he shook his head. “Wait… No… You don’t understand—”

  Jade gritted her teeth, steeling herself against the vulnerable, pleading look on his face. He was a good actor, she knew that. He knew how to make her believe he was sincere. This was just another trick. She got up and motioned for him to do the same, jabbing the knife in his direction. He eyed it warily.

  “Turn around,” Jade said. She didn’t want to see his face anymore. His pleading eyes made it hard to breathe. Her traitorous heart still wanted to hear him out. To believe this was a misunderstanding. She willed her hand to be steady as she held the knife like a shield before her. “Start walking.”

  Axel did as he was told, taking each step slowly and deliberately as though afraid of frightening her. They went towards the river where Jade could retrace her steps back to the Traveller camp. Twigs crunched underfoot and the sound of rushing water filled her ears. They hadn’t gone far when Axel spoke again. “Where are you taking me?”

  “To the Portal. You will face justice for what you did,” Jade snapped. “Get moving.”

  “At least let me explain—”

  “Stop talking.”

  Axel fell silent. Jade pushed the blade against his back from behind and, as they made their way through the rainforest, all Jade heard was the pounding of her own heart.

  * * *