‘Thanks a bunch. Now I know how much I really mean to you!’
‘Shush.’ Kaelia extinguished the light in her left hand and pressed a finger against Calix’s lips. ‘Do you hear that?’
‘No,’ his reply was muffled against her finger.
Kaelia stiffened. ‘You really don’t hear the howls?’ The sound was light, whispering and weaving around her head but she could definitely hear it.
Calix looked at her as if she were crazy. ‘The only noise out here is us.’
The howl became louder, more distinct to Kaelia and she grabbed Calix’s arm. ‘It’s him! I know it is.’ An image of the wolf’s cave sprung to mind. ‘I know where he is.’
Calix, realising Kaelia was either imagining the howls or hearing something he couldn’t, smiled softly. ‘Go,’ he instructed. ‘Give me something of yours and I’ll do a tracking potion and follow you.’
Kaelia fidgeted, anxious to find the Vallesm. ‘The feather won’t work a second time?’
Calix shook his head. ‘The Rytock feather was a one time deal and I don’t have another. It’s fine, I’ll find you,’ he promised. ‘Being a human balloon is not an experience I wish to repeat soon anyway.’
‘Be careful.’ Kaelia hugged him and peered into his eyes. ‘You’ll really be able to find me?’
‘I will. I have the notes I made in the library. Go.’ Calix gently pushed Kaelia away.
Kaelia removed an earring and pressed it into Calix’s hand. In a flash, she darted into the heavy woods, the ends of her hair erupting into flames.
* * *
Calix slipped the earring into the pocket of his jeans, sat down in the clearing, and opened his bag. Luckily, he’d had the foresight to bring a small torch and quickly switched it on before laying it on the ground beside him. He shivered. Why had he encouraged Kaelia to leave him alone? The torch beam caught shadows between the dark tree trunks, playing tricks on his mind, teasing him into believing he was being watched. His fingers trembled as he reached for the notebook he had been writing collected potions and elixirs in. Thankful he had thought to include an index, Calix found the page he needed when twigs and leaves crackled behind him, frightening him further. Grabbing the torch, he jumped up and waved its thin beam into the darkness.
‘Who’s there?’ When there wasn’t an answer, Calix repeated his words more firmly. He clapped a hand over the base of his neck as a breeze hit it, causing the hairs to stand on end. Laughter tinkled and Calix let out an exasperated sigh. ‘Cadence, I know it’s you. Quit trying to freak me out.’
From the darkness, something launched at Calix and knocked him to the ground, winding him. The torch rolled away, illuminating the outer edge of the clearing.
‘How did you guess it was me?’ Cadence, sprawled over Calix, kissed him.
‘I recognised your laugh.’ Calix held her at arms length. ‘Why did you follow me?’
Cadence rocked back onto her knees until she was straddling him in an upright position. ‘You really thought I’d be okay with you disappearing with Kaelia?’
Calix pushed her off of him, retrieved the torch and returned to his book. ‘Jealousy isn’t a flattering accessory on you.’
Cadence huffed. ‘I’m not jealous. Not of her.’
Calix eyed her over his shoulder. ‘Of course not,’ he replied indulgently.
‘Okay, I admit it. I’m worried about you. I don’t see what could be so important it involves risking your life for Kaelia.’ Cadence jumped up and stalked over to Calix. ‘What are you doing? Where is the spoilt bitch?’
Calix unscrewed a tiny bottle of oil and dropped a thin ribbon into it, allowing the silk to absorb some of the sweet smelling oil.
‘Is that Rosealrium oil?’ Cadence crouched and sniffed the bottle appreciatively. ‘Did you steal it from Mortiswood’s lab?’
Calix nodded. ‘There was another bottle left.’
Cadence whistled. ‘Harriet will string you up if she finds out.’
‘Then don’t tell her.’ Calix withdrew the moist ribbon and screwed the top back on the oil. ‘Besides, I saw they’re cultivating a Rosealrium bush in the lab. It looked ready to flower so they can make some more oil.’
‘Their Rosealrium bush has never flowered!’ Cadence laughed. ‘They’ve been trying to make it flower since I started the academy, many, many years ago!’
Guilt poked Calix. ‘Where did they get this from?’ He tapped the small bottle of oil before securing it safely back in his bag.
Cadence shrugged. ‘Harriet managed to get her hands on a bunch of Rosealrium flowers years ago and had the lab teacher extract the oil. It’s all they have.’
Guilt attacked Calix further. ‘I’ll keep my eye out for the flowers on my travels to replace the bottle I’ve taken. You should go back to the academy. Once I’ve done this, I’m off.’
‘What are you doing?’
Calix withdrew Kaelia’s earring from his pocket and pierced the stud through the oil-soaked ribbon. ‘A tracking potion. Now, what do I have to do next?’
‘It’s not a potion you’re making, it’s a spell.’
‘No, it’s a potion.’
‘What, with an earring in it?’ Cadence scoffed. ‘I’d love to see you try and drink it. I can’t believe you still don’t know the difference between a spell and a potion. Here, let me finish it, I know this one.’ She pulled the ribbon from Calix’s hand. ‘Although I don’t know why I should help you. I’m guessing it’s to find her.’
Calix nodded, watching Cadence pull a lighter from the pocket of her leather jacket. ‘Hey!’ he protested, as she set the ribbon alight.
‘Calm down. You have to burn the ribbon and the personal item.’
Calix eyed her suspiciously. ‘Are you trying to sabotage my potion?’
‘It’s a spell!’ Cadence repeated. ‘No, I’m not trying to sabotage it but don’t think I’m doing this to help Kaelia, I’m not. I’m doing it to help you.’
‘I didn’t know you knew such spells.’
‘I’m not a complete bimbo. I know more than just my Sifar magic. Harriet likes us to be well-rounded in our education. I used this spell.’ Cadence waggled the ribbon, the flame slowly licking up its length. ‘When Jade ran away one time and we all feared for her return. She’d learnt her parents had been killed,’ she explained. ‘And she was, understandably, majorly upset.’
Calix watched Cadence mutter a string of words spoken in the tongue of the old magic and throw the lit ribbon into the air. The ribbon twisted and turned, red-orange fire breaking into an intense, flickering ball of scorching flames. Calix covered his eyes as the ball of fire burst outwards, blinding them with its intensity. When he reopened his eyes a fiery stag stood, burning, opposite them.
‘Is that supposed to happen?’ he whispered to Cadence.
‘Of course,’ she whispered back. ‘You really don’t know about the Rosealrium do you? You call yourself a physician of old, so you should know these old ways. Legend is the first bush grew when Isandr, the Silver Stag, was killed by The Salloki hundreds of years ago. When his antlers were sawn off, shards fell into the ground and grew into the first Rosealrium bush with magical, delicate, white roses blossoming for those who truly believe in maintaining the peace between magic and normality.’
‘The stag’s Isandr?’ Calix gestured at the fiery stag, impatiently scuffing its flaming hooves at the ground. ‘I follow it, do I?’
‘Him,’ Cadence corrected.
Calix smiled wryly, the argument sounding distinctly familiar to him. ‘It’s an animal, well, a fire beast.’
Cadence shook her head. ‘You need to believe in the Legend of Isandr for the spell to work to its full capacity. Isandr was a powerful sorcerer with the ability to shape shift into the Silver Stag, he was once thought to be the one who would defeat The Salloki.’
‘That is why so much rests on Kaelia. People have been waiting so long for her to arrive.’ Calix looked at the fire stag. ‘Will Kaelia end up the same if T
he Salloki have their way? Will she become some kind of fiery being?’
Cadence shrugged. ‘How would I know? Now, follow Isandr before the spell wears off.’ She kissed Calix roughly, bruising his lips with hers. ‘I can come with you, I can protect you.’
‘No, this is my promise to Kaelia. Go back to the academy. I will find you when all of this is over.’
‘And you still won’t tell me where you’re going?’
Calix shook his head. ‘No, you’ll only try to follow me.’
* * *
Cadence watched Calix cautiously make his way to the flaming stag and follow it into the dense woods. He glanced back at her and smiled but his pretence did not fool her. Fear was written all over his face.
‘You’re really going to watch him leave?’ A voice behind Cadence startled her.
Cadence turned. ‘Don’t be ridiculous, Jade, of course I’m not. He just had to think I would let him leave. Give me my bag.’ She held out her hand.
Jade unhooked her friend’s satchel from her shoulder and passed it to Cadence. ‘Do you want me to come with you?’
‘Well, duh.’ Cadence linked her arm through Jade’s, noticing her friend had also brought her own satchel. ‘Come on, we need to keep Calix in sight.’
Jade smoothed her poker straight, white-blonde hair, and grinned. ‘Harriet will lose it when she finds out we’ve all disappeared. This is so bad!’
* * *
Ten
Kaelia reached the cave ten minutes after she had left Calix. Ivy vines overhanging the mouth of the cave had doubled in density and length since her last visit. The ground outside the cave was dry and cracked where mud showed through beneath the dense bracken. Wind whipped from between the trees, snaking a path past the cave mouth, howling eerily, as if it were in pain, making Kaelia wonder if the wind had been all she had heard in the first place and not the Vallesm.
Inside the cave, darkness sucked all particles of light from Kaelia’s eyes once the heavy vines dropped back down behind her. She shone a gentle light from her palm, casting it around the small interior of the cave. A low growl rumbled from the corner opposite to where Kaelia had slept before in her tent. She gasped at the sight of the bedraggled Vallesm curled forlornly in the corner it had once staked as its own. Its huge head lifted slightly as the scent of her reached its nostrils, and then dropped heavily back onto its front paws, it was clearly too much of an effort for its neck to support the weight.
Kaelia reached the creature in a blink of an eye. She collapsed next to it, shrugged off her bag, and lifted its head onto her lap. ‘What happened to you?’
The wolf moaned and feebly tilted its head against her fingers in a gesture of affection. Kaelia laid a hand against the wolf’s chest and willed her healing orange-red light to revive the creature. The Vallesm’s lips lifted in a ghost of a snarl.
‘How the mighty beast has fallen,’ a deep voice chuckled. The vines rustled, footsteps approached.
Kaelia, expecting Calix, turned her head. ‘You!’
‘Me, indeed!’ Bran stepped closer, shining his own violet light before him. ‘What happened to it?’
Kaelia shrugged. ‘I found him like this.’
Bran crouched next to her, his dark denim covered thigh lightly touching her. ‘Is it responding?’
Kaelia, light still pumping from her palm, shook her head. ‘There isn’t any improvement. Why isn’t it working? Do I need to up the intensity?’
Bran raked a hand through his thick, raven hair. ‘Perhaps.’
Kaelia placed her other palm against the Vallesm’s chest and increased the pulsating orange-red light. ‘It’s not doing anything! Will you try instead?’ Her eyes stretched wild with pleading.
Bran hesitated before remembering Thom’s warning that he had to make Kaelia trust him. Violet light pulsed from Bran’s hands into the Vallesm’s chest for several minutes. The wolf raised its lips as the light poured inside it, but there was no change to its laboured breathing.
‘Together.’ Bran grabbed Kaelia’s hand and linked their thumbs.
Kaelia, distraught over the Vallesm’s condition, didn’t even flinch at the crackle of energy between her and Bran. Bran’s violet light merged with hers, this time a cool ice-blue, forming a purple ray to pour into the Vallesm. Bran sneaked a glance at Kaelia while her attention was focussed on the wolf, and smiled. The force of their united powers surged intoxicatingly through his body, resulting in a heady rush to his senses.
‘I want you,’ he whispered.
‘What?’
Bran bit his lip. ‘Nothing. I was thinking out loud. How is it, the wolf?’
Kaelia stroked the Vallesm’s head with her free hand. ‘No change.’
Bran regretfully unhooked his hand from Kaelia’s, already missing the contact. He stood, circling around her and the wolf. ‘There’s nothing else I can suggest. I think your pet has had it.’
‘No!’ Kaelia flung herself against the Vallesm’s once well-furred neck that now comprised of dull, patchy clumps. Tears she had been suppressing sprung free, running tracks over her cheeks before dropping onto the Vallesm’s fur and forming crystals on its guard hairs. ‘Don’t die,’ she whispered into its musty fur. ‘Please don’t die. I’ll never leave you again, I promise.’
‘I think we should make a move.’ Bran touched Kaelia’s shoulder, sparks of connective energy crackling between the pair of them.
‘I won’t leave him!’ A tear slivered from Kaelia’s eye, corkscrewed down to the Vallesm’s parted jaws and slipped inside unnoticed.
Bran suppressed an annoyed sigh and crossed his arms over his slender chest. He paced back and forth, glaring at the Vallesm. ‘Pathetic beast,’ he muttered. ‘Hurry up and die.’
Unaware of Bran’s mutterings, Kaelia eased up from the wolf’s fur and tenderly rubbed its ears, surprised at the fullness of the fur covering them compared to the rest of its body. Gently, she moved her hand downwards, stroking the neck. Her fingers sunk into a dense, thick, soft pile of fur. The Vallesm’s fur returned to its normal, plush, state and the wolf’s eyes glowed with their animalistic amber-flecked fieriness.
Kaelia jumped up. ‘Did you do that?’
Bran watched on in amazement. ‘No, I was certain it was a goner.’
The Vallesm’s lips furled, a strong, low howl reverberating around the cave. Slowly and deliberately it heaved its bulk from the ground and stood, head held low in attack mode, eyeing Bran.
Kaelia tentatively stepped towards it, hand outstretched, eyes shining with happiness. ‘I don’t believe it!’ She snatched her hand back as the Vallesm growled at her.
‘Step back slowly, Kaelia,’ Bran instructed.
‘Something’s wrong.’ Kaelia cautiously moved backwards until she felt Bran behind her.
Bran seized the chance to slip a hand around her waist and pulled her closer. She fitted neatly against his chest, the top of her head not even reaching his shoulders. With a terrifying howl, the Vallesm launched itself towards them but carried on past, out through the vine covered mouth of the cave.
Kaelia, realising her heart was racing, trembled.
‘This is most pleasant,’ Bran mused.
Annoyed with herself for not having stopped him before, Kaelia pulled free from Bran’s hold. ‘Don’t go getting any ideas,’ she warned before stalking out of the cave.
Bran followed at a more leisurely pace, chuckling to himself and thinking how delicious it actually was being tasked with the responsibility of seducing Kaelia. Fun, he thought, would definitely be his for the taking if things carried on in this vein.
* * *
The fiery stag Isandr drew to a halt, much to Calix’s relief. The trail Isandr blazed led Calix deeper into the woods and he doubted he could find his way back to the clearing near Mortiswood Academy. Isandr lowered his burning muzzle to the ground and pointed his antlers forwards then flared into a single, thin line of flames before sucking into nothing.
Calix, exhausted alr
eady and feeling a little odd, trudged through the bracken and woods. The dense foliage lessened as he unknowingly approached the area where the cave was located. He froze suddenly. The Vallesm appeared unexpectedly, snarling, pointed fangs exposed.
‘Kaelia?’ Calix wondered whether this Vallesm was a different creature entirely.
‘Here!’ She burst out from the vines into view.
Calix warily eyed the wolf. ‘Is this your Vallesm?’
‘He’s gone all crazy,’ Kaelia said in a rush, ‘he was sick. I couldn’t heal him and when I thought he was really dead, he sprung back into life!’
‘Is this your doing?’ Calix asked as Bran sauntered up behind Kaelia.
Bran shook his head. ‘It’s nothing to do with me, although I am interested in how this will play out.’
Calix screamed as the wolf pounced at him and an immense pain seared through his body, starting from his back. Fast as lightning, Kaelia threw herself at the Vallesm and wrenched the creature from Calix, sending the wolf howling backwards. The moment it hit the floor, it sprung back up and shot back towards Kaelia.
Bran blocked its path, hands outstretched threateningly. ‘Go on,’ he hissed, ‘give me a reason to kill you.’
The Vallesm lowered its head and snarled menacingly.
* * *
Meanwhile, Kaelia anxiously studied Calix for wounds but she couldn’t find any, not even a scratch. Calix’s eyelids pinged open to reveal blackened eyes, his mouth opened monstrously wide, and his hands clawed around Kaelia’s neck. His head jerked forward, his teeth sinking into her tender flesh.
The pain was excruciating, Kaelia was so surprised with the attack she didn’t even have time to summon her powers. She had experienced this before, except this time the poison entering her was faster and more potent.
‘He’s been possessed by a Dybbuk!’ Kaelia managed to utter before her focus faded in and out.
Kaelia slumped to the floor, body twitching uncontrollably. Blood bubbled up her throat, into her mouth, choking her. She was powerless to do anything except watch while the Vallesm sprung upon Calix. The wolf howled. Calix’s fingers, now resembling claws, scratched at the wolf, slicing through fur into the skin beneath. The Vallesm and Calix rolled, each refusing to let go of the other, snarls and screeches cutting into the early morning air.
Mortiswood: Kaelia Awakening (Mortiswood Tales) Page 16
