by Sharon Sant
Makash raised his hand in fury. Luca took an uncertain step towards him; Alex saw her uncle’s intention at the same time.
‘Don’t you dare!’ she shouted. ‘We came for Ioh, nobody else.’
‘Then claim him,’ Makash hissed.
‘Look at the amulet, Alex,’ Ellen pleaded. ‘He gave it to you to show you how sorry he is. You have to believe him.’
Alex lifted the amulet again and let it swing in front of her face. She reached out to touch it…
Images filled her head, so many she couldn’t breathe. The amulet was Ioh, infused with his memories and emotions. Kya saw his past, his hopes and fears, his needs and desires. She saw his loneliness, and the sad acceptance of a destiny that broke his heart a little more every day. She saw Ellen as he saw her, felt his overwhelming love and pride as her own. Ellen’s life had been one lived in the shadow of neglect and burdens too great for her years. But she stayed strong, never let bitterness take her, held fast to the hopes of the bright future that she had to believe would one day be hers. She loved with fierce loyalty where she should have been filled with resentment. What had gone before was not important; the mark she left on the world was what counted. Jacob saw all these things and his love was greater for them, a love that was as much a part of him as the molecules that made him…
Alex gasped as she wrenched herself from the connection. She held the amulet out with a shaking hand. ‘Take it away,’ she pleaded. ‘I saw… please…’ she dropped it onto the grass and stepped back.
Makash stared at Ellen. The power of Alex’s vision had reached beyond his own defences. ‘You….’ he breathed. ‘It’s you…’
Palm extended, Makash pulled back his arm and then threw it forwards. Luca shouted a warning and Jacob tried to deflect the attack. Makash was too fast. Ellen was jolted into the air. She hit the ground, convulsed, and then was still.
‘ELLEN, NO!’ Jacob ran to her.
Luca tore after him. They both dropped to their knees by her side, Jacob gently lifting her limp body into his arms.
‘I said nobody else!’ Alex shouted at Makash, her eyes blazing black with hatred.
‘Now do the job we came to do,’ he growled. ‘Finish it!’
Her chest rose and fell like waves in a storm as she stared at him. She brought back a hand, and unleashed the full force of her rage in one deadly shot.
Makash froze. The expression of shock on his face stayed there even as the breath left his body. He crumpled to the ground.
Alex saw Luca and Jacob huddled over Ellen and ran to them. They were silent and Ellen was still. Jacob cradled her head in his lap, her clothes moulded to her tiny frame by the rain.
Jacob kissed her, stung by her coldness. Makash’s furious strike had been an unnatural end; even now, death was leeching the warmth from her lips. Pulling her close, he buried his face in her neck.
‘Don’t leave me.’
The wind whipped across the cliff top and bit into every joint, but he didn’t notice. All he could feel was the frost of her skin. He kissed her again - her forehead, her eyelids, her nose, her lips - as he had done once before. But the lips beneath the fierce pressure of his were unyielding now.
Luca watched, frozen in shock. He stretched out to touch Ellen, but wavered, just out of reach. His hand dropped to his side. He opened his mouth to speak but fell silent again.
Alex knelt beside them, unable to tear her gaze from Ellen’s lifeless form. Luca raised his face to hers.
‘Why?’
‘I never meant for this to happen,’ she whispered.
‘You killed her.’
‘No… it was my uncle.’
‘If you weren’t here hunting Jake, she wouldn’t have been in the way,’ Luca growled back.
‘I know,’ she said. ‘I know that now...’ She touched Jacob’s hand. ‘What can I do?’ she asked. ‘What can I do to make it better?’
‘Can you bring her back?’ Luca said, his voice hard.
Alex shook her head miserably. ‘Nobody can. She’s beyond help now.’
‘You can save her, Jake?’ Luca turned to him. ‘You did it before, with your dad, right?’
‘No!’ Alex cried. ‘It would kill you!’
Jacob kissed Ellen’s head. ‘She’s gone,’ he whispered. He placed his palm to her icy cheek.
‘So that’s it?’ Luca’s voice was dull as he stared at Ellen. ‘She’s dead?’
The rain beat down but Ellen didn’t feel it. Jacob whispered her name, but she couldn’t hear. Ellen, who had touched so many lives in so many ways, would never see another dawn.
‘Jacob,’ Luca asked quietly. ‘There’s really nothing you can do?’
Jacob gazed up at him. Then he closed his eyes.
‘No!’ Alex screamed, ‘What the hell are you doing?’
She stared as Jacob held Ellen close and began to glow against the tumbling mass of the sky.
Luca leapt up and tore across the grass, returning with the amulet. He held it out to Alex. ‘Will this help him?’ he asked urgently.
She nodded, but instead of putting it onto Jacob, she slipped it over her own head. Luca opened his mouth to argue, but then watched in astonishment as Alex went to them. One hand she placed on Ellen’s breastbone, the other she laid over Jacob’s hand, and she closed her own eyes. Luca could only stare as the air seemed to shimmer in a circle of energy they had now created around themselves.
Ioh found power he had never known before, something from a connection with Kya that had long been hidden from them both. He drew on it, losing himself in the swelling blackness, and their minds became one. Together, they sensed the precipice, sensed they were poised to fall into a terrifying darkness from where they could never return. They pushed on, pain and fear subsiding, until they suddenly felt themselves spinning away from the void. Then all was still.
Twenty: Not of Our Sky
The sensation had gone from Jacob’s hands and feet. He straightened up and swayed where he sat, unable to open his eyes. He was cold and wet, but he didn’t know why. There were voices, so many voices, whispering in his head, a sound he had not heard for a long time. Slowly, he forced his eyes to open and focus on his surroundings. The storm-lashed cliff came into view. Alex was lying on her side, unconscious, with Luca shaking her gently. Jacob looked down at Ellen, dead in his arms. Whatever Ioh and Kya had given, it wasn’t enough.
‘I’m sorry,’ he whispered, stroking his hand along the line of her jaw. ‘I’m so sorry…’
He bit back the despair that threatened to overwhelm him again and looked across at Alex, stirring now. Why were they alive while Ellen had not come back to them? What had they done wrong? Whatever the risk, he could not face a life without her in it. He kissed her once more and then closed his eyes, steadying himself to try a second time.
But his eyes flickered open as he felt a tiny movement in his arms, and a new consciousness touched his.
There was a cough, a gasp, and Ellen was looking at him.
Jacob pulled her up into his arms and clasped her to him as though he could absorb her, laughing and crying all at the same time.
‘What happened?’ she asked in a small voice.
‘I thought I’d lost you,’ Jacob whispered.
‘I’m freezing,’ she said shivering. ‘Can you do your trick?’
Jacob laughed weakly, still feeling vague and disconnected from his limbs. ‘I don’t think I can.’ He tried to rub her arms to warm them, but he was just as cold and wet as she was. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around her. She gave him a small smile.
‘Bit better,’ she murmured.
He kissed her. She was still cold, but it was a natural coldness, and he felt the life within. He pulled away and held her in a steady gaze.
‘Marry me.’
She stared up at him. ‘What?’
‘I can’t be without you. Marry me.’
‘Now? Don’t be an idiot,’ she laughed.
‘One day, then. Say yo
u’ll marry me one day.’
‘Ok,’ she smiled. ‘One day it is.’
Luca’s voice broke in on their moment. ‘Holy Mary,’ he breathed, ‘you did it!’
‘Did what?’ Ellen asked.
‘You were dead a minute ago!’
Ellen’s smile faded. ‘Oh… I don’t remember that...’
‘You wouldn’t, you were a bit too dead,’ Luca replied.
Ellen noticed Alex for the first time, now pushing herself to sit and holding her head.
‘Where’s Makash?’ Ellen asked, a note of panic creeping into her tone.
A look of doubt crossed Alex’s features. Scrambling unsteadily to her feet, the others watched as she crossed the grass to check on the dark shape that lay just yards away. She knelt beside the figure and turned it over gently, almost with affection, and then ran her hands through the air across its length. They watched in silence as it rose from the ground and turned to dust, carried away on the wind.
She returned to them, her face unreadable but her eyes a melancholy grey. ‘He’s gone,’ she said, dropping to the grass again.
‘I’m sorry,’ Ellen said.
‘Sorry?’ Luca exclaimed. ‘He killed you!’
‘Yeah, but…’ she looked at Alex. ‘He was still your uncle.’
‘He was all I had,’ Alex said. ‘He wasn’t much, but he was mine.’
‘You still have a brother,’ Ellen said gently.
‘I guess he has his life back now,’ she said, looking at Jacob. ‘And I sure as hell wouldn’t invite me into my life.’
‘That’s for me to decide,’ Jacob replied. ‘I promised you once that I wouldn’t abandon you. And, whatever happens, I will keep that promise.’
Alex sighed and took off the amulet, handing it to Jacob.
‘Keep it,’ he said, pressing back into her palm.
‘I can’t,’ she said. ‘It’s too full of you.’
He took it from her and slipped it over his head, immediately feeling like a missing part of him had returned.
‘Much as I love a reunion,’ Luca cut in, ‘I like them better when they’re dry.’ The others looked at him. ‘So, is there any chance we can get out of this rain?’
Ellen smiled. ‘Where do you suggest?’
‘Tea shop?’ Luca shot Jacob a pleading glance. ‘I don’t suppose you have any money on you, mate?’
‘I might be able to stretch to a cuppa… seeing as it’s you.’
‘I hope it’s a good one,’ Luca said as he got to his feet. ‘It might be my last if Maria finds out about her bike.’
Jacob hauled himself up and helped Ellen to a wobbly standing position. ‘Alright there?’ he asked, holding on to her.
She nodded. ‘Better now I’m not dead.’
They turned to Alex, still seated on the grass.
‘Coming?’ Jacob asked. She hesitated, glancing around the field as if an alternative awaited there. ‘Come on.’ Jacob extended a hand. ‘One cup of tea with me won’t kill you.’
She nodded and took his hand. He pulled her to her feet and she followed as they made their way down the path.
‘I should have a hot chocolate, with marshmallows and cream, really,’ Luca said as they walked. ‘Seeing how I missed my dinner for all this.’
‘That does sound nice,’ Ellen agreed. ‘Warm us up too.’ She watched him carefully, knowing him well enough to see that he was more shaken up by events than he would ever admit. He suddenly let out a violent sneeze.
‘That’s it. I’ve got flu now.’
Jacob laughed. ‘I’ll sort you out later.’
‘Thanks… I think,’ Luca replied uncertainly.
‘How did you know I’d be here?’ Jacob asked.
‘That was Ellen’s doing.’
Jacob turned a questioning look to her.
‘I’ve been having this dream for weeks,’ she said. ‘All that happened when we got here, I kept seeing… except for the end. I couldn’t figure out where it was, though. Until I called at your house this morning and your mum showed me the photo of you here.’
‘I’d been dreaming it too,’ Jacob said. ‘I had a feeling you knew more than you were letting on.’
‘Me too,’ Alex cut in quietly. ‘I had the same dream, only I was always at the point just before Ellen came and then I would wake. I thought…’ she paused, ‘I thought it was showing me what I would have to do…’
‘I’m glad you were there, whatever your motives were for it,’ Jacob said gently. ‘I couldn’t have saved Ellen alone.’
‘So in a way,’ Ellen said brightly, ‘I actually got you working together. Go me!’
‘You did,’ Jacob mused, ‘the two halves of the young moon.’
‘You know the prophecy?’ Alex halted on the path. Jacob turned to her.
‘I was told of it, when I was looking for you. It spoke of my doom, apparently. When I was coming here today, I thought that this would be the prophecy coming true.’ He smiled. ‘But as it all seems to have worked out, maybe we shouldn’t get carried away about it.’
Alex looked at Ellen thoughtfully. ‘Not of our sky…’ she murmured. Understanding suddenly illuminated her features. ‘Makash thought it was you!’
‘What was me?’ Ellen asked.
‘The star, not of our sky that would join the two halves and bring them back to the light…’
‘The what?’ Luca asked. ‘Seriously, can you just have a conversation that I can understand?’
‘Don’t you see?’ Alex asked. ‘The prophecy did come true.’
‘There was no mention of a star in the prophecy,’ Jacob said.
Alex started to walk again and the others followed. ‘The second half of the scroll…’
Jacob shook his head. ‘There was no second half. The prophecy told of the two halves of the young moon falling into darkness. That’s it.’
‘There was another part,’ Alex explained. ‘I think Makash knew about it. He never told me but when he presented me to the Council, it was discussed there.’ She screwed her eyes up to remember. ‘It said that when the two halves had fallen into darkness, a star, not of our sky, would join them once more and bring them back to the light.’ She glanced across at Ellen. ‘Makash must have realised it was coming. That’s why he attacked you.’
‘And when he did that,’ Ellen said quietly, ‘he made sure that the prophecy came true…’
‘I don’t know about that,’ Jacob said looking at Alex. ‘Have we been joined?’
The wooden-clad teashop came into view. They stopped for a moment.
‘I guess we’ll just have to see what happens,’ Alex replied carefully. Her eyes were blue now, and she cast her gaze to the ground as she saw Jacob acknowledge the change with a quiet smile.
Luca shot a longing glance at the café. ‘Man, that smells good,’ he said, sniffing the air.
Ellen raised an eyebrow. ‘You can smell it from here?’
‘No,’ he grinned, ‘but I have my imagination.’
Ellen looked him over appraisingly. He was shivering, soaking wet and mud spattered. ‘Your hair’s not looking quite so godly today.’
‘You’re not looking so hot right now either,’ he replied.
Ellen looked down at herself and saw what he meant. Jacob and Alex looked the same. ‘Do you think they’ll let us in?’ she asked doubtfully.
‘It’s raining,’ Jacob said brightly, ‘all their customers will be wet today.’
‘I bet none of them will look quite so bad, though.’
‘You’re forgetting something,’ Jacob replied, hooking her waist and kissing her. ‘You have me and Alex with you. We can be very persuasive, you know…’ he kissed her again and she laughed.
‘I’m sure you can. Although, if you employ that sort of persuasion with anyone else I won’t be happy,’ Ellen said, catching her breath.
‘You know,’ Jacob said as he took her hand, ‘you’re the only star in my sky.’
Ten Years Later…
&
nbsp; ‘He’s late.’ Ellen glanced up at the old railway clock hanging over the range.
‘I wouldn’t worry about it,’ Jacob said, drying a glass. ‘He’s probably held up at work.’
‘Chatting up some nurse, no doubt,’ Ellen observed.
‘Isn’t that what all doctors spend their days doing?’
‘The ones named Valvona probably do.’ Ellen said, laughing. She waddled across the stone-flagged floor to the sideboard and took out three plates. Placing them on the table she winced, holding the small of her back.
‘You should sit down,’ Jacob said, watching her.
‘Don’t be ridiculous, who’d cook dinner then?’
‘I can cook, you know. It’s just that you won’t let me.’
‘With good reason, my love.’
‘Not that again. It wasn’t my fault that Alex decided to contact me in the middle of doing a stir-fry.’
‘I know. But you could try to pay a little more attention to earthly goings-on when she does. That way, we wouldn’t set fire to the house…’
Jacob pursed his lips. ‘That’s easy for you to say. You don’t have to divide your time between two galaxies.’
‘Which is lucky, because you take up so much of my time that I couldn’t possibly spare any for another galaxy.’
‘You don’t usually complain.’ Jacob grinned. He went to her and bent down, placing his mouth to her belly. ‘Nearly done in there?’
Ellen giggled. ‘You’re nuts.’
‘I’m excited.’
‘You ought to know when she’s coming, anyway.’
‘I might do. But I can’t tell you, as you well know, it’s against the rules.’
‘Admit it, you don’t know either. Besides, they’re stupid rules,’ Ellen pouted. ‘It’d be nice to have some warning of when to expect excruciating pain and indignity.’
‘If it helps,’ Jacob said drawing her close, ‘I’ll go through it too, in sympathy.’
