Mortiswood: Kaelia Awakening (Mortiswood Tales)

by Gina Dickerson

  Bran’s lips twitched. ‘I’m a good guesser.’

  Kaelia shook the remaining contents of the bag into her lap. She held up a loose-knit jumper in varying shades of silvery grey, a fitted t-shirt, and a leather jacket with faux-fur collar. ‘Thanks.’ She smiled despite herself; she actually liked the clothes Bran had chosen.

  Bran held out another carrier bag. ‘This is for you, too.’

  Kaelia accepted the bag and opened it. ‘Deodorant and wet wipes? Are you saying I stink?’

  Bran shook his head. ‘I thought you may want to want to freshen up after all of your action-hero-work. Besides, there’s blood on your face.’ He kicked off his boots and proceeded to pull off his soiled jeans.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Kaelia glanced around. ‘What if someone sees you?’

  ‘Then they’ll be in for a pleasant surprise.’ Bran tipped out a pair of jeans from the remaining carrier bag and tore the tags off.

  Kaelia pretended not to be watching.

  ‘Enjoying the view?’

  ‘I wasn’t looking!’

  ‘Of course you were.’ Bran deliberately took longer than was necessary to put on the new jeans. ‘And I want you to.’ He zipped up the jeans. ‘Your turn.’

  ‘I’m not stripping off here!’

  Bran peeled off his large, black, overcoat which didn’t show signs of staining, and held it open like a parent holding a towel to shield a child at the beach. ‘I won’t look.’

  Kaelia laughed dryly. ‘Sure.’

  Bran’s head disappeared behind the coat. ‘Promise. If I do, I’ll drive bare bum naked to Margate.’

  Kaelia froze. ‘We’re going to Margate?’

  ‘It’s where the bridge to Niflheim begins.’

  Kaelia swallowed. She was going home. Back to where it had all begun.

  * * *

  The clouds finally parted, revealing the sun, and a long shadow reached the small book which was still on the ground. Jangling gold bangles sounded as a hand reached down and picked up Kaelia’s discarded book. A light breeze swirled, licking at the flimsy robes covering the strong limbed, blonde haired woman whose skin was smooth and porcelain clear. She clutched the book to her chest as the Vallesm skidded down the gentle slope of patchy grass. The wolf pushed its head under the woman’s free hand, howling gently.

  ‘I know.’ The goddess stroked the Vallesm’s well-furred head soothingly. ‘I understand. Stay loyal, the time will come.’

  * * *

  Fifteen

  Calix had been travelling for hours following Bran’s hastily scribbled map, stopping only for a brief motorbike refuel. His stomach growled; he needed to refuel himself. The road he was on led him through towns and villages so he knew he could easily find somewhere to buy food. He was hot and hungry. Up ahead there was a sign with the symbol of a knife and fork so Calix followed the directions from the main road, along a lane weaving between fields and trees.

  The trees grew denser the further Calix followed the lane. Sunlight sliced through the thick foliage, casting the lane in a preternatural, white fuzzy haze. Before him the road was empty and Calix, driving slowly as he didn’t want to miss another direction sign if there was one, welcomed both the change of scenery and pace.

  A sign winked out at the next turn, its lettering partly obscured by the leaves of an old oak tree and Calix was glad he hadn’t bombed down the lane as he would have missed it. Lime trees lined the driveway and an old farmhouse sat at the end, clear of trees and bathed in sunlight. Calix pulled to a stop and switched off the motorbike’s engine. It was a relief to remove the helmet and run his fingers through his hair. Calix carried the helmet with him not wanting to risk leaving it on the back of the bike. The place looked deserted but it didn’t mean someone wouldn’t pop up and pinch the helmet. Calix laughed; he was becoming far too suspicious. All this magical stuff was giving him the jitters.

  A path led from the parking area to the open, main door. Tables and chairs nestled between huge potted plants, injecting a shot of colour. Calix glanced at his watch, it was a little past one in the afternoon and he wondered why all of the outside tables were empty as the weather was pleasant and the setting even more so.

  A rustle startled Calix and he spun around. A tall, young woman strode down the pathway. Calix’s eyes couldn’t help but fall onto the gentle bounce of her bosoms in her tight top as she walked. Her skin, extremely pale with an odd light-blue hue, contrasted with her wet hair. Water dripped from ebony locks, dampening the thin material of her top and making it see-through. Rivulets ran over the swell of her breasts, causing the nipples beneath to pucker and harden. Calix’s mouth was dry; he licked his lips and realised he was staring. Hastily, he headed towards the building. The woman’s footsteps picked up pace. A searing pain tore into Calix’s left shoulder. Gasping, he collapsed to the ground, cycle helmet rolling away from him, and awkwardly rubbed at his shoulder. His hand was wet and he stared it at in horror, he was bleeding.

  ‘What did you do?’ Calix dragged himself up.

  The woman glared at him from underneath the dripping veil of her hair. Water still ran from her hair and her top was now completely transparent but Calix was no longer interested if he could see through it. Blood dripped from the woman’s right fingertips, drizzling onto her shoes.

  ‘I have come for you!’ The woman pointed a bloodied forefinger at Calix.

  Calix glanced anxiously around, searching for anything to serve as a weapon. ‘Why?’ he asked, stalling for thinking time.

  ‘You will not stop my master from having the Sifar. You will take me to her.’

  Calix paled. ‘The Draugr. Thom is your master. This is what will happen to Cadence if I don’t save her, this is what she’ll become!’

  The woman trembled, her head shaking maniacally, spinning side to side so fast it blurred into a scary whir of teeth. Smoke enveloped her and she transformed into a black cat, as large as a lion with teeth to match. Calix bolted for the open door, praying he would make it in time. He stumbled, tripped over something on the ground and crash landed. The huge cat pounced. Calix managed to scrabble out of reach, the fearsome cat’s paws gouging just the back of his shoes. His front foot touched the stone step at the exact same time the cat creature pounced again. Calix crashed to the floor again, managing to land on his arm not his chin, and cried out as claws sunk into him.

  Calix writhed in agony, he couldn’t twist around, the creature was too heavy and no matter how hard he wriggled, its claws wouldn’t release. Calix’s ears burst, ringing with the sudden sound of an explosion. He was dizzy but the creature was no longer on his back. A pair of heavy boots drew into view and the double barrel of a shotgun neared his nose.

  ‘Get up,’ a gruff voice ordered.

  Painfully, Calix drew himself up and raised his eyes. ‘Gunnarr? What are you doing here, why have you left the Isle of Stone?’

  A grin spread across the older man’s face. ‘It makes a change from fixing the church. Bloody Draugar get everywhere. I hate them.’ He strode over to the Draugr woman who was now back in human form and lying motionless on the ground in a pool of blood.

  ‘Is it dead?’ Calix stood with difficulty.

  ‘I’ll make sure.’ Gunnarr’s solid bulk hurried past Calix and disappeared around the corner of the converted farmhouse.

  Calix nervously peered down at the woman. The grisly sight of her blown-out head, made his own spin and he hastily turned away, vomiting the meagre contents of his stomach.

  ‘This should make sure it doesn’t spring back to life,’ Gunnarr said.

  Calix turned green, vomiting again as Gunnarr severed the Draugr woman’s head with a shovel and kicked it away from the rest of the body. The acrid stench of burning flesh polluted the air as Gunnarr set alight to the parts of the Draugr’s body.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Calix managed to ask between dry retching.

  Gunnarr, waving a lit stick in swirling motions above the burning body, laughed. ‘Boy, you re
ally have a lot to learn. This is a piece of Rosealrium wood. It will draw the spirit from the Draugr’s body so we can see who it is.’

  Calix frowned. ‘Why?’

  ‘The spirit was once a human before it was turned Draugr, and therefore deserving of peace.’

  Gunnarr muttered several words in the old tongue, which Calix didn’t recognise, and drove the burning stick into the dead woman’s chest, flames licking the stick, burning it instantly. A smoky blur rose from the burning body and floated towards Gunnarr.

  ‘Do you see her?’ he asked Calix.

  ‘No!’ Calix rubbed his eyes, the fire was making them sore. ‘All I see is a smoky haze.’

  Gunnarr nodded and turned back to the smoke. He spoke several more words in the old language and the smoky haze danced into the clouds and beyond. ‘Her name was Mya,’ he told Calix. ‘Thom captured her spirit after she was killed by what she called demons. Of course they were Dybbuk demons. It was a huge fight, many people were murdered. Kaelia was there.’

  Calix gulped. ‘Is Kaelia alive?’

  ‘Yes.’ Gunnarr gestured towards the building. ‘Let’s fix you up and you can ask me all of those questions I know you have. Then you can tell me why you have left Kaelia’s side.’

  * * *

  Gunnarr pressed a poultice to the wounds on Calix’s back. Calix fidgeted from his position laid on his front across a wooden table in the kitchen of the old farmhouse. A healing remedy Gunnarr had concocted bubbled on the nearby hob, filling the room with an overpowering smog of cinder wood and sage. Gunnarr dampened another wodge of bandages with the boiling mixture before plunging them into a bowl of ice-cold blessed water and slapping them on Calix’s back.

  ‘Aren’t I entitled to a pillow?’ Calix folded his arms under his chin. ‘This table’s hard and why did I think this place was a restaurant?’

  ‘I put out a drawing spell. I’ve not tried one for years but it worked; it drew you in. It sees what you need and fools you into thinking that thing exists. Now, quit grumbling and drink some whiskey. Sit up and I’ll bandage you up.’

  Calix obediently sat, keeping still while Gunnarr secured the dressings with crepe bandage. ‘What are you doing here? Won’t Father Peter miss you at the church, who will help him?’ He took several long swigs of whiskey.

  ‘Father Peter sent me.’ Gunnarr reached for the whiskey bottle and moved it out of Calix’s reach. ‘You’ve had enough of that. You need to keep a clear head.’

  ‘The Father sent you, why?’

  Gunnarr rubbed his bristly chin. ‘It all started nineteen years ago when Father Peter heard the chosen one had been born.’

  ‘Kaelia.’

  Gunnarr nodded. ‘Kaelia’s grandmother Cassie has always been a close friend of Father Peter’s. It was he who insisted Kaelia’s parents take her from the island and hide her.’

  ‘Father Peter has known about The Chosen One all this time? I didn’t think religious people believed in all of this type of stuff?’

  ‘He wasn’t always a priest. There was a time he loved a woman very much.’

  Calix’s eyes lit up. ‘Of course, it was Cassie. I should have realised. That’s why he was always calling on her. He wasn’t just checking up on her because she was part of his congregation!’

  Gunnarr continued, ‘Cassie has always known of The Salloki, she was the one who told Father Peter. Of course this was before he became a priest, when the pair were young. When Cassie was born her own parents feared she may be the chosen one but once she reached her teens, they knew she wasn’t as powers hadn’t presented themselves to her. They, and Cassie, knew it could be a child she bore who would be the chosen one.

  ‘Even though Cassie and Father Peter loved each other deeply, he couldn’t bear to be the one to burden her with a child who could end up being The Chosen One. The Father left the Isle of Stone and returned ten years later.’

  ‘As a priest. Anyway, Cassie did have a child, a boy, Kaelia’s father.’ Calix already knew this.

  ‘Indeed. She had a brief fling with an artist who stayed on the island one summer and when he left, she found out she was carrying Kaelia’s father. Cassie knew he wasn’t the chosen one.’

  ‘Because the chosen one was always destined to be a girl,’ Calix said.

  ‘Exactly. Father Peter did an excellent job of hiding both Cassie and the boy from The Salloki. It was easy for the pair to conceal their identities on the island with Cassie’s ability to conjure spells.’

  Calix stretched tentatively, his back already feeling better. ‘But everything changed with Kaelia’s birth. The Salloki knew she was on the island?’

  ‘Yes, Thom arrived to claim her.’

  Calix gasped. ‘What happened?’ He thought of Cadence. ‘If I could wring that Draugr’s neck with my bare hands, I would!’

  Gunnarr smiled. ‘Thom thought the baby Kaelia was with Father Peter. He almost killed the Father the night she was born.’ His eyes glazed with memories. ‘I saw him, in his hideous cat form bearing down on the Father’s chest. I was on my way to repair a broken bulb in the lamp by the corner of the church. I called Cassie who in turn called on your dad, who helped heal the Father’s wounds and repair his crushed chest. He was a good man, your dad.’

  ‘Until he upped and left.’

  Gunnarr’s eyes flitted to the side. ‘I think it’s time you knew.’

  ‘Knew what?’

  ‘Your dad didn’t leave you. After your mum died, he knew The Salloki were after him too. Your dad was the most powerful physician in England at that time. He could heal things not meant to be healed with the likes of herbs and potions.’

  ‘You mean The Salloki killed him?’

  Gunnarr’s shaven head dipped. ‘I’m saying they took him, Calix. The Salloki took your dad.’

  Calix’s heart fell into his boots. ‘Thom took him, why? Why didn’t you tell me this before? I could’ve gone looking for him years ago!’

  ‘They would’ve killed you! We suspect The Salloki took your dad for his knowledge. The Father and me, we tried to find him but we could never get close to The Salloki, they’re too well hidden. We’ve never stopped searching for him, Calix. Until she died, Cassie was scrying every night, hoping to catch a hint of where your dad was. We’ve never been able to locate The Salloki’s palace nor were we able to enter the Draugr’s own world.’

  Calix swallowed. ‘I managed to. I’ve seen the Draugr’s world.’

  Gunnarr’s stocky frame trembled. ‘You died?’

  Calix quickly explained about rescuing Cadence’s spirit from the Draugr. ‘Could my father be trapped there the same as Cadence was?’

  ‘Unless Draugar, only spirits can enter the Draugr’s world so no, your dad is not down there.’

  ‘I need to find The Salloki.’ Calix grasped his head in his hands. ‘I should’ve stayed with Kaelia.’

  Gunnarr nodded grimly. ‘The Father and me didn’t think you’d leave her. We heard about the Sifar and how you deviated from Kaelia to find a Rosealrium bloom to save Cadence. That is why I am here.’

  ‘How did you hear?’

  Gunnarr tapped his ear. ‘We have people listening, Calix. We’ve been trying to build in numbers ready for the day Kaelia will need our help the most.’

  Calix gulped. ‘She needs help now!’

  Gunnarr shook his head. ‘This is nothing. The worst is still to come.’

  ‘I don’t understand.’

  Gunnarr looked him straight in the eye. ‘You’re twenty-one, Calix, a grown man and I told the Father you needed to know the whole truth before now. The Salloki plan to raise Vanagandr from his binding.’

  ‘Vanagandr, the giant wolf-child of Loki? I thought that was a story.’

  Gunnarr paced the room. ‘So did the Father and me, until Cassie’s spirit was taken. Kaelia can stop them but she is also needed to remove the sword holding the beast’s jaws permanently open. It will melt at a single touch from her hand. That’s why The Salloki want her to pledge al
legiance with them. Her hand must be willing when it touches the sword or it will not work and the beast won’t be released.’

  Calix stumbled to his feet, his heart torn. ‘I should’ve known this!’ he bellowed. ‘Kaelia should’ve known from the day she was old enough to understand. Does everyone know apart from us two?’

  Gunnarr shook his head. ‘No, Father and I worked it all out when you left with Kaelia and disappeared into Mortiswood. I’ve been looking for you, to tell you.’ He stopped pacing the room. ‘You were still supposed to be with Kaelia. She should be hearing this too. You chose the Sifar over her!’

  Calix picked up the bottle of whiskey and threw it across the room; it shattered against the wall and cascaded to the floor. ‘I can’t leave Cadence to become a Draugr!’

  Gunnarr eyed the wasted bottle of whiskey. ‘But you already have.’

  Calix pulled Bran’s scribbled map from his pocket. ‘I was following this to find a Rosealrium bloom—’

  ‘In the grounds of a castle, guarded by a beast,’ Gunnarr finished. He scratched his head. ‘Yes, I know about the blooms but you’re travelling in the completely opposite direction. The castle is in Mortiswood.’

  With an almighty roar, Calix lurched from the room, heading back to his motorbike. ‘I’ll kill Bran, the arsehole!’ He screwed Bran’s map up and tossed it away.

  Gunnarr raced after Calix. ‘You must return to Kaelia immediately and tell her about Vanagandr. She can’t go to Niflheim!’

  ‘Why not?’ Calix paused to scoop up his helmet from where it had rolled when the Draugr woman had attacked him.

  ‘It’s a trick, The Salloki want her to go there. The only way Kaelia will make it out of Niflheim alive is if The Salloki save her. Hel will never let Kaelia leave; the lure of having her power for herself will be too much for her! It must be Thom’s plan. He sent Cassie’s spirit there on purpose so he could be the one to save Kaelia and her grandmother; he wants Kaelia to be indebted to him so she will melt the sword for him. Even The Dark One will be powerless against Hel’s beasts. No-one ever makes it back from Hel’s realm alive, unless they are born of the realm, or pledged to The Salloki.’ Gunnarr gulped nervously. ‘There’s one more thing you need to know. Father Peter believes one other is needed to join with Kaelia to melt the sword between Vanagandr’s jaws but he’s not certain. No-one else has spoken of it but Father Peter fears he’s right. A coin always has two sides after all, the same as the day has the night.’