Mortiswood: Kaelia Awakening (Mortiswood Tales)

by Gina Dickerson

  Kaelia cried. ‘I’ve missed you so much.’

  ‘And I’ve missed you.’ Bay pulled her to him, onto his lap on the swing.

  Kaelia gazed into his eyes. Soft, brown eyes she’d thought she’d never see again. She swallowed, a sad lump forming in her throat, and shivered.

  ‘Let’s move somewhere warmer.’ Bay gently tipped her off his lap. His pupils dilated to maximum roundness as they struggled to absorb as much light as possible. Keeping a loose arm around her shoulders, he guided her across the play area.

  Kaelia could smell his aftershave. Heat radiated from his body, penetrating her chilled shoulders and she snuggled closer to him. Being so close to him was torture.

  ‘Here.’ Bay guided her to the play-bus and ushered her inside. ‘We’ll be warmer inside.’

  They were both too large and had to bend in order to fit through the small door, it was made for children, not people of their size but the chill from the wind was less and the wooden benches running along each side of the play-bus were just wide enough to accommodate them. Bay sat down first and pulled Kaelia next to him. Lifting her legs, he dropped them over his lap and wrapped his arms around her. He pressed his face against hers, hugging her tight.

  ‘Better?’ he asked. ‘Do you feel warmer now?’

  Kaelia nodded. This was more torturous than a moment ago. To be this close to Bay, knowing he had a girlfriend, was driving her crazy. ‘Why are you still dating Georgina?’ she blurted out. ‘She’s a complete bitch and I know she’s not right for you.’

  Bay gently pulled away. A frown creased his forehead. ‘Are you losing your memory?’ he teased. ‘I told you yesterday that it’s over between me and Georgina.’

  Kaelia was confused. ‘Did you?’

  Bay hooked a finger under her chin and lifted her face until her eyes met his. ‘On the way back, when we stopped off at the service station. I said “We’ve broken up for good this time” and then I told you how it has only ever been you...is that it? Do you want me to say it all again?’ He covered her lips with his, murmuring between kisses. ‘Because I will. Every day, all day. I love you, Kaelia, it’s only ever been you.’

  Kaelia awoke with a start, her heart thundered inside her chest. The pressure of Bay’s lips against hers lingered as if they had just really kissed. She touched her lips and gasped. She and Bay had never kissed during the times they used to meet for nightly chats at the park. They had kissed for the first time at the service station before the wind had fired up and swept him from her. She shook her head. It was a dream. She was missing him, of course she was, and her sleepy mind had merged together patterns she would have loved to have played out in reality. Yes, she told herself, closing her eyes again. It had all been a dream.

  * * *

  Kaelia waited and waited for the wolf but it didn’t return that day, or the next, or even within the week following, by which time Kaelia had run out of water and needed to venture into the town. She hung on until dusk before repacking her belongings in the car. She had kept the area where the wolf had slept that first night clear, and wondered why it hadn’t returned. She knew animals couldn’t read but scratching a message in the dirt floor of the cave made her feel better about leaving.

  Inside the car, Kaelia opened the small book and stroked her palm across its empty, aged pages. ‘I must find answers. What should I do next, where should I go?’

  Shadows wove up again from the pages before twisting into an array of multi-coloured lights which mingled to form the image of a house Kaelia did not recognise.

  ‘Where is it?’ she wailed. ‘How am I supposed to know how to get there?’

  The lights danced, creating a ghostly image of a cottage’s name that was of no help to Kaelia, she still didn’t know where it was.

  ‘You’re doing this on purpose!’ Kaelia picked the book up, determined to toss it out of the window.

  The lights dispersed, reappearing in the image of a map with a route marked out by a steady glow of rainbow colours.

  ‘You’re joking!’ Kaelia shook her head. ‘The Isle of Stone? It’s miles away, why would I go there?’

  The map cleared and one word replaced it.

  Kaelia’s eyes opened incredulously. ‘I have a grandmother? A real, living grandmother?’

  The lights floated through the windscreen to form the image of the ghost-woman. Her long hair billowed around her, floating on an unseen breeze. She gestured for Kaelia to follow, waiting patiently as Kaelia negotiated the car through the trees. Once Kaelia and the vehicle were safely in the car park by the viewing point, the ghost-woman swirled into a whisper of shadows and disappeared back inside the book.

  * * *

  By the cave, the wolf emerged from between the trees and padded towards the entrance. It pushed the overhanging ivy aside with its nose and slunk inside. Its heavy paws stopped at the edge of the message Kaelia had scrawled in the dirt and its head lowered.

  The words were shaky but read: “I will never forget you”.

  A huge sigh shook the wolf’s furry body. Then, with a sudden flick of its tail, the wolf whipped round and pelted from the cave, nose to the ground. The tail-lights of the car were already too far away to be seen but the wolf didn’t need its eyes to follow. The mighty creature took off in a blur of grey-white fur, its paws barely touching the ground as Kaelia’s scent grabbed a hold of its nose and pulled it after her. The wolf paused in the car park, lifted its head and howled.

  * * *

  In the town and pulling into a petrol station, Kaelia shivered, imagining she heard something above the sound of the radio. Shaking her head she told herself not to be stupid and eased the car up beside a vacant pump. She waited impatiently while the tank filled, and snatched up her purse, hoping there wasn’t a long queue at the till.

  A man left the the garage shop as Kaelia entered, bustling past her with a newspaper and takeaway coffee in his hands. Kaelia’s footsteps echoed on the hard floor. She hurried to where a bored looking woman stood behind one of the three tills.

  ‘Thirty-six pounds, please.’ The cashier held her hand out for the money. Her blue eyes narrowed. ‘Do I know you?’

  Kaelia’s heart pounded, of course there must have been reports in the paper about her house and, she gulped down tears, Bay’s demise. ‘I don’t think so.’ She hoped no-one had reported her mother as missing. The last thing she needed was the attention of the police.

  The woman handed Kaelia her change. ‘You do look familiar.’

  Kaelia shrugged. ‘I have that kind of face.’

  The woman lost interest.

  Kaelia’s stomach rumbled as she passed the deli-fridge on her way out, reminding her it had been a whole day since she last ate. She selected a pot of ready cooked pasta and a cheese sandwich before returning to the counter.

  The cashier smiled pleasantly. ‘Is there anything else I can get for you?’

  Kaelia scooped up several packets of crisps from the shelf by the counter and tossed them beside the cold food.

  The cashier bagged the items and handed the carrier to Kaelia. ‘Do I know you?’ she asked.

  Kaelia frowned. ‘You already asked me that and I already told you no.’

  ‘Oh.’ The cashier shook her head. ‘My head’s hurting, I must be coming down with something, I do apologise.’

  Kaelia smiled stiffly and made her way to the exit. Hearing footsteps behind, she turned. The cashier advanced rapidly, her mouth set in a firm line. Kaelia trembled; the older woman’s eyes unnerved her. As the cashier came within touching distance, Kaelia saw the woman’s whole eyes had turned black. Dropping the bag of food, Kaelia wrenched the door open and raced towards her car.

  She fumbled with the key, watching the cashier march towards her, and stifled a scream. A strange, red light glowed from behind the woman, attached to her yet distinguishable. Slowly, the red glow shimmered into focus and Kaelia could clearly see it was a ghostly apparition of the woman herself, half trapped to the back of the phys
ical body and screaming silently. It was the woman’s soul Kaelia thought, not knowing how she knew. The soul’s mouth stretched open in an unheard wail, neck straining to pull away from the body it was locked to.

  At the next pump, a customer, a man in his mid-fifties, carried on filling his car as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

  ‘Help!’ Kaelia screamed.

  The man, who had finished paying for his petrol at the pump with his card, paused. ‘Pardon?’

  ‘She’s possessed!’ Kaelia wildly pointed at the cashier woman.

  Apprehensively, the man looked from Kaelia to the woman and back again. ‘What?’

  ‘Don’t you see it?’ Kaelia screamed. ‘Can’t you see her screaming soul trying to escape from her own body? She’s being tormented by whatever is possessing her!’

  The man edged towards his car. ‘I don’t know what you’re up to but if you’re trying to get away without paying for your petrol, I don’t want to be involved. Leave me out of this!’ He jumped into his car, rolling his window down as he reached Kaelia. ‘You youngsters always think the world owes you something but you need to realise you have to work for things in this life—’ His words were stolen as the cashier woman reached through the open window and sliced her fingers clean through his neck. The man gargled on his own blood, his eyes popping from his head as he futilely clutched at the wound.

  The woman, dark blood dripping from her clawed left hand, unnaturally twisted her head to face Kaelia. ‘I have a message for you!’ She pounced high into the night air, landing on all fours in front of Kaelia. Inching up to her, the woman tilted her head to one side, pushing her face close to Kaelia’s.

  Kaelia saw herself reflected within the dark abyss of the woman’s eyes. The woman’s breath was hot against Kaelia’s face. Suddenly, the woman licked Kaelia’s cheek.

  ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ Kaelia shoved the woman away from her. ‘You can’t go around licking people, it’s not normal!’

  ‘But you taste nice,’ the woman cackled, stepping closer. ‘You are wanted alive. You are to come with me.’

  ‘No!’ Kaelia pushed the woman harder, making her stumble backwards. Fear that The Salloki were behind this spread panic through her. ‘The only time I will face The Salloki is when I’m ready to pay them back for all they’ve done to the people I love!’

  The woman rushed forward, talon tipped fingers clawing at Kaelia’s hair, face, anything they could sink into. Kaelia fought back, pulling the woman’s hands from her until, somehow, she managed to pin the latter against the car.

  ‘Leave me alone!’ Kaelia screamed, whacking her palms against the woman’s chest. Splinters of blue light sparked from beneath her hands causing the woman to cough and splutter.

  Kaelia stepped backwards, joining her hands until they were thumb-to-thumb, palms outstretched. She didn’t even have to think to make the light turn into a blue-white spiral; it happened by itself. The spiral corkscrewed into the cashier woman’s chest and, wailing, she collapsed to the floor. Kaelia watched as a smoky figure tore from the woman’s body, twisting in torment towards the sky. Emboldened, Kaelia formed the hand shape again and shot a final twisted bolt of blue-white light at the hideous apparition. Her aim caught at the foot of the evil figure, before igniting and consuming it in a flash of blinding light.

  On the petrol station ground, the woman drew in a sharp breath. Kaelia ran to her and laid her palms over where she thought the woman’s heart was. Concentrating hard, her palms glowed orange-red and Kaelia willed the woman to survive while the light pulsated into her.

  After a few minutes the woman lifted her head up. ‘What am I doing out here?’

  Kaelia slumped in relief and exhaled loudly; she had done it. She had saved the woman. An uncontrollable grin spread across her face, this is what she could use her powers for: saving people. ‘You’ll be fine.’

  ‘But what am I doing out here, on the ground?’ The woman’s gaze swivelled to the bloodied man in the car. ‘Is he dead? What happened here?’ She nervously scrambled up. ‘Who are you?’

  ‘I’m no-one. It’s better for you if you forget you ever saw me.’ Kaelia turned away, hurrying to her car.

  The cashier screamed, noticing her blood smeared hands for the first time. ‘Tell me what happened. Why am I covered in blood? Oh my god, is it mine?’ Twisting and turning to look herself over, the woman patted her body, feeling for damage.

  Relieved the woman’s focus was elsewhere, Kaelia fired up the engine without answering and sped from the garage forecourt.

  The cashier chased after her. ‘Come back, you can’t leave me here alone!’

  Behind the woman, the garage erupted into a silent ocean of fire, the impact blowing her across the street. Kaelia, speeding up the road, didn’t see a thing for she was too afraid to look back.

  Flames rolled across the road, crawling closer to the woman groaning in pain on the tarmac. She screamed, flames torturously licking her feet, and her mind imploded as she struggled to absorb the image of a huge wolf padding towards her. She faded into unconsciousness at the same time the giant grey-white creature clamped its teeth around the loose side of her clothing and dragged her to safety.

  * * *

  Three

  Five Months ago ~ Perriwinkle Cottage,

  Isle of Stone

  ‘Grandmother, who were you whispering with?’ Kaelia raised an eyebrow at the small, russet-haired woman who turned the corner of the stone cottage, an overfull washing basket in her arms.

  Kaelia’s grandmother, Cassie, set the basket on the grass. ‘I wasn’t whispering.’

  Kaelia laughed. ‘Yes, you were. It was a man wasn’t it?’

  ‘I was speaking to Father Peter who was on his way back to church, then Calix brought up the motorbike I promised you now you’re nineteen.’

  ‘I knew it!’ Kaelia crowed. ‘It was a man! How old is this Calix bloke?’

  ‘Is that all you’re interested in?’ Cassie laughed. ‘Aren’t you even remotely interested in the motorbike? I hate to disillusion you but Calix is not a potential suitor for me; he is more in your age range. He said he’d teach you to ride the bike. He’s a qualified instructor.’

  Kaelia grinned; she’d always wanted a motorbike. Something niggled at her. ‘Father Peter? Why is his name familiar? Oh my god, he was the one who came to my parents when I was born. He warned them about The Salloki!’

  ‘It is definitely you then. You have the power,’ Cassie replied, somewhat sadly. ‘We thought it may be but I hoped it wouldn’t.’

  Kaelia, who hadn’t known how to tell her long-lost grandmother about any of the weird stuff, couldn’t believe she had heard her grandmother’s words correctly. ‘You know?’

  ‘Of course I know. One girl from my family line was always destined to be The Chosen One, our family just never knew which child it would be. I’m sorry it is you. Why didn’t you tell me you have the power? Were The Salloki responsible for your mother’s disappearance?’ Cassie’s eyes misted up. ‘I know they killed your father.’ She touched Kaelia’s cheek. ‘You remind me of my son in so many ways.’

  A movement in the distance behind her grandmother caught Kaelia’s attention. ‘Go inside the cottage and lock the door,’ she told Cassie.

  There, at the outer edge of the large garden stood a man. The screaming, red soul of the human, trapped half-in-half-out of its own body by the evil presence possessing it was clear to Kaelia’s eyes. She had encountered one other after the petrol station incident, midway between there and Cassie’s cottage. She’d hoped she had escaped but The Salloki had found her once more. Hiding from the horrors was clearly not working.

  Cassie raised a hand to shield her eyes against the glare of the sun. ‘Is that our new neighbour? That cottage’s been sold for ages but we’ve not seen anyone.’

  Kaelia tugged at her grandmother’s arm. ‘Don’t even look at it, go inside and wait until I tell you it’s safe to come out.’

 
‘Whatever do you mean?’

  ‘It’s not human!’

  Cassie’s well-lined eyes narrowed. ‘You really do see something don’t you? Wait here. We have a few minutes until he’s upon us.’ Cassie disappeared into the cottage.

  ‘Where did you get that from?’ Kaelia squawked as Cassie reappeared moments later holding a double-barrelled, side by side, shotgun.

  Cassie lowered the gun and pulled down her cardigan, exposing her bare shoulder. A puckered scar zigzagged along the flesh. ‘This was a present from one of the creatures The Salloki sent to try and kill me.’ She pulled up her sleeve and showed Kaelia scars that ran from her wrist to elbow. ‘These are the marks left behind by another creature.’ This time she lifted her cardigan, exposing her stomach. ‘And this gem is from when they almost succeeded in killing me.’ The scar that sliced from hip to hip was still raised and pale-pink in places.

  Cassie lifted the gun back up and loaded it. ‘So that’s why I have a gun. I’ve had it since your father fled the island with you and your mother nineteen years ago. The Salloki have always come for me so I’ve had to take care of myself.’ She raised the gun, lining it up with the figure, which was now passing the cherry tree in the middle of the garden. ‘The Salloki are capable of many things but driving me from my home they are not.’

  ‘Don’t.’ Kaelia laid her hand on the gun. ‘I can save the man.’

  ‘But he’s not human, you said so.’

  ‘The man is trapped by the evil thing. I can see his soul screaming. The spirit, or whatever it is, is tormenting him.’

  Cassie lowered the gun. ‘It’s a demon. You’re only telling me now you can see if a Dybbuk is inside a person? No-one other than The Dark One, the necromancer, has ever been able to see such demons.’

  ‘I’ve never heard of The Dark One and I didn’t even know those things were called Dybbuks, let alone that they’re demons. Besides, it’s not exactly the thing you want to share with a grandmother you never knew you had. Everything’s been a little crazy lately.’