* * *
Harriet Barton studied her reflection in the mirror on the wall of her private bathroom. A sharp pain injected into her neck. She slapped a hand against her neck and stifled a cry. Her face screwed up in agony as the torturous sensation twisted up her spine and into her head. Pain sharply pulled her head back and breathing became difficult. The vicious hold snapped elastic band fast, releasing her head, and she clutched at the vanity unit for support. Leaning closer to the mirror, she studied her grey-tinged face. A flicker of a shadow flitted momentarily across her eyes, obscuring the vivid hazel irises. She rubbed at them and when she peered once more into the looking glass, her reflection was perfectly normal. She stretched her neck to one side then the other. The pain had disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
Harriet unlocked the bathroom door and made her way back to her study where Kaelia and Calix were waiting. Her hand felt odd as she twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open.
‘Right,’ she said briskly, stepping into the room and taking a seat at her desk. ‘It is time to begin learning your true power, Kaelia. After that I’ll show you to your rooms. You can have the room next to mine, Kaelia. Calix, you can have the room opposite my quarters.’
‘But I need to be close to Kaelia!’ Calix protested. ‘If I’m next to her, I’ll be able to hear her if she calls.’
Harriet shook her head. ‘No can do. The room next to my quarters is between them and the library. There isn’t another bedroom on that side of the corridor until after the art-suite.’ She reached for a book that was on her desk and snapped it open, silencing any further discussion on the matter. As she looked at the pages, the shadow flitted across her eyes once more and she momentarily lost focus.
* * *
Bran, hidden in the shadows outside of the clearing in which the exhausted Vallesm lay, closed his eyes. He held out a hand and reached for something. Clasping the unseen item in his grasp, he made a fluid movement. When he had finished, Bran lowered his hand and opened his eyes, a satisfied smile lighting his face.
* * *
At her desk, Harriet stopped writing, blinked, and studied the notepaper. A frown crossed her face. Had she really written that? Calix and Kaelia had not noticed anything strange. Calix was speaking but Harriet was deaf to his voice, the words on the notepaper being the only ones she could hear.
“Kill Calix” the words taunted from the page, “he’ll stop Kaelia from fulfilling her destiny. Kill him”.
* * *
Seven
Two and a half months ago,
Mortiswood Academy
Calix closed his bedroom door behind him, taking care to hold its old, slightly rusty, handle down until it was shut so it didn’t squeak. The other doors in the corridor were all closed and early morning sunlight filtered through the tiny glass panels above each door, the weak rays of light capturing the slow dance of dust particles. Carrying his shoes, Calix hurried along the corridor to the staircase at the far end. There were other staircases - one central and another at the opposite end of the building - but this particular staircase led straight to a door which opened nearest to the walled, herb garden.
Calix slipped his shoes on once he reached the door to outside. The door was not locked; there was no need with the protective sphere encasing Mortiswood Academy and its grounds. Stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets, Calix wandered towards the herb garden. The sun was half-risen and bled pink into the pale, blue sky. The morning air was cool but fresh. Dew lingered on the neatly tended grass, wetting the suede of Calix’s shoes. No-one else appeared to be awake and it was pleasurable to soak in the beautiful surroundings in silence.
Calix whistled lightly, a tune remembered from childhood, as he walked. He stopped. There was a crackling sound behind him. He glanced over his shoulder. Nothing. Calix resumed whistling and carried on walking. The crackling noise sounded again. Calix turned, slowly twisting around. He frowned, shrugged to himself, and then carried on walking without whistling.
The sound was more distinct this time, maybe because he was quiet. ‘Who’s there?’ he demanded.
Calix waited a few moments then, feeling foolish, picked up his pace and walked briskly until he reached the tall iron gates leading into the walled garden. Rust nipped at his fingers as he pushed the groaning gates open. In the centre of the garden was a large, stone figure set within a walled pond. Calix appreciatively inhaled the aroma from the many herbs and plants growing in the garden and followed a cobbled path. He bent down and cracked a green leaf, laced with intricate purple veins, in his fingers. He sniffed his fingers where the sap from the leaf dampened them and giggled. A rush of intoxication made his head light and he lifted the leaf to his nose. Calix was not certain what the plant was but it had an instant, drug like effect.
Calix stood up and swayed. Tipping his head back, he laughed. The sky swirled above him in a dizzying mix of colours. He became aware of a sound behind him but the light-headed feeling remained, numbing his senses. He turned, caught his left foot on the top of his right and collapsed in a heap between the herbs and plants. Something whizzed past his ear, clipping the outer lobe.
‘Ouch!’ Calix complained. His mouth formed an O of surprise. He was bleeding. ‘Who’s there?’
The sensation of blood running down his neck from his cut ear forced his foggy mind into action and he jumped up. A bamboo cane wriggled free from the trailing plant it was supporting and shot through the air towards him. Calix jumped sideways a moment before the cane zoomed past and impaled into the ground beside him. Shaken, he edged back towards the gates. Suddenly, all of the canes used for supporting plants ripped free and flew up, they remained suspended long enough for Calix to guess a rough estimate of how many there were. He gulped, it was a large garden and the canes had been supporting an awful lot of plants, twenty canes? No, he thought, horrified, three times as much as that.
Fear cleared his head completely of the effects of the veined leaf and he jumped up, sprinting to the gates. He looked back; the canes floated together in a tight swirl. Calix moved faster as the canes flew towards him. Adrenalin furiously pumped his heart, sweat oozed from every pore, he was terrified to look away from the flying bamboo canes. He stumbled, his foot caught on a cobble and he crashed backwards, emitting a small wail of pain as he made contact with the hard stones. He held his arms over his face as the mass of canes blotted out the sky. The pointed ends of the canes reached Calix, a scream bubbled from his lips. Points twisted into his arms and his life flashed before his eyes. He couldn’t die like this, impaled to death by bamboo canes! He just managed to cover his eyes as the canes neared them. Three pointed canes ground against his palms. He cried out again. The points pierced his skin, he could smell the mud which still clung to their tips. Calix writhed in agony as the canes slowly twisted and turned, burrowing into his flesh. He could not speak, the pain was too intense - he was a human pin-cushion. Blood sprung from beneath the tip of every cane that tortured him. Then, the canes stopped twisting and Calix’s voice returned. He cried out for help with as much strength as he could muster.
‘I am helping you,’ a female voice shouted in response.
The canes popped out of his flesh and a wave of painful relief washed over Calix. His eyes struggled to focus on the person who had spoken. ‘Cadence?’
‘Yes, it’s me. Now be quiet and let me move these stupid canes!’ The ends of Cadence’s bobbed hair lifted in the air, her eyes were hazy, and she stood with her arms outstretched. Lifting her arms above her head, she made clawed hand gestures and mimicked throwing movements.
The canes wavered an inch from Calix’s body then began to twist back towards him.
‘No!’ Calix cried out feebly. ‘I can’t take any more pain!’
Cadence advanced towards him, her mouth moving with silent words. She repeated the clawed and throwing gestures more forcibly this time. ‘Whoever’s controlling these, is strong!’ She puffed and dropped to her knees behind Calix’s head. The fo
rce of using her magic to push the canes away made her bend backwards. ‘I don’t know if I can stop them!’
‘We can!’ Jade tumbled into view, her long, white-blonde hair whipped up around her face and her eyes were glazed. She fell beside Cadence, joining her hand with her friend’s. ‘Together!’
The Sifars, united in their power to control the bamboo canes, steadily pushed the canes away from Calix. The pair rose to their feet and deliberately walked towards the wobbling canes. With a rush of energy, they blasted the canes apart and the broken pieces rained safely onto the ground.
Cadence rushed over to Calix and nervously touched an undamaged section of his cheek. ‘Calix, can you hear me?’
Calix’s eyes slid open. ‘Yes,’ his voice was pained, and he grimaced. ‘Go find Kaelia to heal me.’
‘Jade!’ Cadence barked. ‘Find Kaelia and hurry!’
‘Why do I have to go?’ Jade grumbled. ‘Why can’t you go and I’ll stay here with Calix? You run faster than me.’
Cadence’s face contorted angrily. ‘Just do it!’
‘Okay, okay.’ Jade hurried off. ‘I’m used to being your skivvy.’
Cadence stood up and looked around. ‘I don’t know who was behind this,’ she told Calix. ‘But when I tell Harriet what happened, she’ll blow a gasket. This was well out of order.’
‘I thought it was you at first,’ Calix joked weakly.
Cadence spun around and clamped her hands on the swell of her hips. ‘Me?’ she echoed. ‘Why on earth would you think that?’
Calix closed his eyes and groaned. ‘I don’t want to argue, not now.’
‘I’m not arguing. You can’t say something like that and expect me to just ignore it. It’s because I’m a Sifar, isn’t it? You thought I was controlling the canes because they’re natural, they’re bamboo?’
‘Yes.’ Calix’s voice was weak. ‘You attacked me when I arrived, remember?’
‘Well, this time it wasn’t me. I’m not that mean!’ Cadence stamped her foot. ‘If it wasn’t for me you’d be pinned to the floor dead right now. Maybe I should’ve let the canes kill you if this is the amount of gratitude I’ll receive.’
Calix let out a long, anguished moan and his eyelids squeezed so tight together they disappeared into a taut line.
Guilt at her harsh words dragged Cadence back to Calix’s side. ‘Can I do anything to make you more comfortable?’
Calix forced his eyes open and focussed on her face. ‘There was a plant I sniffed earlier, it had purple veins in its leaves and it made me feel lightheaded. If you could find a leaf it may dull my pain a little.’
Cadence laughed. ‘You discovered the pleasure of the Dreamscape Vine. Sure, I’ll fetch you some. Jade and I went through a phase when we’d sneak it into our rooms at night.’ She hurried over to the exact spot where Calix had found the intoxicating plant earlier. ‘Here,’ she said once she’d returned. ‘Sniff it up.’
Calix inhaled as deeply as was possible in his weakened state. ‘It’s not working as well as it did before.’ He winced as he tried to move.
‘Stay still!’ Cadence ordered. ‘Stick your tongue out.’
‘Why?’
‘I’ll dab the broken leaf on it and the effects should be stronger.’
Calix obediently poked the tip of his tongue out and Cadence swabbed the leaf on it.
‘Better?’ she asked. ‘Can you feel it now?’
Calix rubbed his tongue against the roof of his mouth before answering. ‘Not enough, do it again.’ He stuck his tongue out again.
‘Please.’
Calix stuck his tongue out harder until Cadence swabbed it once more.
‘Can you feel it now?’
Calix swallowed. ‘A little. It’s still weak.’
Cadence snapped another leaf. ‘Tongue,’ she ordered. She cracked the leaf again over Calix’s outstretched tongue. ‘Now suck it back in.’ She waited a moment. ‘Feeling it yet? If not I think I’ll tear my hair out, or yours for causing me such hassle.’
Calix closed his eyes. ‘Yup.’ He smiled, an intoxicated half-grin. ‘It’s not hassle. I’ve seen you looking at me when I’m in the gym.’
‘No, you have not.’
‘Have.’
‘Now you’re just being ridiculous because of the Dreamscape Vine.’
‘No, I’m not.’ Calix slowly opened his eyes and attempted to look at Cadence but his eyes just would not oblige, they kept sliding back and forth. ‘You look at me!’
Cadence folded her arms across her ample chest and glared at him. ‘Shut up or I stick those bamboo canes in you myself.’
‘No, you won’t.’
‘How do you know what I will and won’t do?’
‘Because I think you like me.’
‘No, I don’t.’
Calix laughed, his head rolling back on the ground. The effects of the Dreamscape Vine had fully kicked in. ‘I think I could get up now,’ he said. ‘It doesn’t hurt at all.’
Cadence pushed her foot on his chest, pinning him to the ground. ‘Feel that?’
Calix groaned, the pain returning where Cadence’s boot pressed against him. ‘Why are you being so mean?’
‘You’re not getting up, you’ll do yourself more damage.’
‘Take your foot off me.’ Calix tried to grasp Cadence’s ankle but failed. ‘If you’re going to pin me down at least do it nicely.’
‘And how do you propose I do that?’
‘You could always sit on me!’
‘You really are a self-centred, egotistical arse if you think for one moment that I’m even remotely interested in—’ Cadence suddenly fell sideways with a scream.
‘Leave him alone!’ Kaelia raced to Calix, blue-white light swirling around her hands. ‘Leave him alone or I’ll really hurt you.’
Cadence clutched her side as she stood up. ‘You already did.’ She grimaced and pulled her hand away, it was red with blood. ‘You wounded me!’
‘You hurt Calix!’
‘I did not. I saved him!’ Cadence’s face paled. ‘Are you just going to stand there or will you heal me?’
Kaelia cocked her head to one side. ‘Why should I heal you? It won’t hurt you to suffer for a while.’
Jade tumbled into the walled garden, breathless from all of the exertion. ‘Oh, Cadence, what happened?’ She ran to her friend and supported her.
Cadence lent heavily on Jade’s shoulder, grateful for the support. ‘The Chosen One decided to hurt me.’
‘You hurt Calix.’ Kaelia stared at Cadence, her mouth set in a firm line.
‘I did not!’ Cadence protested.
‘She didn’t!’ Jade said. ‘We saved him, he was already being attacked when we got here.’
‘By who?’ Kaelia demanded. ‘Who would want to harm Calix?’
‘I don’t know!’ Cadence snapped. ‘Just heal me!’
Kaelia shrugged. ‘Fine. I’ll heal Calix first.’
‘No!’ Cadence screamed. ‘Me first. He’s tripping from the effects of a Dreamscape Vine, he’s not feeling any pain but I am!’
Kaelia conceded and motioned for Cadence to lie down. She crouched beside the Sifar and called up her healing, orange-red light. It took a few minutes to heal Cadence and then Kaelia turned her attention to Calix.
‘If I find out you’re lying about the attack on Calix,’ Kaelia hissed, starting to heal Calix with her light. ‘Be in no doubt that I’ll kill you.’
Cadence rolled her eyes at Jade. ‘Come on, Jade, let’s leave her to do her magic on Calix. She won’t thank us. Even though we’re the ones who really saved him. If it hadn’t been for me, she’d need to call The Dark One to bring Calix back from the dead.’
‘Go away,’ Kaelia growled. ‘Before I regret healing you.’
Jade tugged at Cadence’s arm. ‘Come on, we’d better tell Harriet what’s happened.’
Cadence tossed a final, scornful look at Kaelia before following Jade from the walled garden.
Underne
ath Kaelia’s restorative light, Calix giggled. ‘This feels amazing. I should get skewered more often!’
Kaelia laughed. ‘Whatever that Dreamscape Vine is, it must be amazing. You’ll have to show me what it is when you’re all healed.’
‘Sure.’ Calix’s eyes rolled back in his head. ‘But I’m not sharing it!’
* * *
Obscured behind the far side of the stone walled pond, Harriet opened her eyes and wondered why she was lying on the ground. She dropped the bamboo cane she had been clutching in her right hand, it left an indented pattern on her palm. Her arms were stiff as she pushed up into a sitting position. The shadow flitted across her eyes, underneath the eyelids, and she realised what had happened. Memories filtered into her consciousness - she had forced all of the bamboo canes into the air and sent them for Calix.
Her mouth was dry. ‘No,’ she whispered, staring in horror at her hands. ‘I would never do this to Calix!’ She scratched at her eyes. ‘Get out from inside me and leave me alone!’
* * *
Eight
Two months ago, Mortiswood Academy
Harriet had been awake since the sun first rose that morning. She had mechanically undertaken normal morning ablutions and now sat on the stool at her dressing table, studying her reflection. Mortiswood Academy was quiet, most of the students were still asleep considering it was barely six a.m. Harriet’s hand shook as she raised her mascara wand to coat her eyelashes, her left eye was clouded and she could not see properly out of it. She blinked rapidly, mascara smudging under the lash line but the shadow did not budge. Harriet reached for a stick of lipstick and wrote a message on the glass: “Leave me alone”. She took a deep breath, steeling herself for what she now knew had to be done because she didn’t want to do it.
Mortiswood: Kaelia Awakening (Mortiswood Tales) Page 12
