by Karen Hughes
Kai frowned. ‘Yes I can. I can’t use the book, that’s all. I don’t need the book to make a fire. I can use my own magic.’
‘Expect it to happen,’ Brek had said. ‘Pretend it has already happened. Be grateful, and whatever you want will appear.’
He held the flint in his hands and pressed it to his heart. He imagined the blazing wood, the warmth against his skin. ‘Thank you,’ he whispered.
Opening his hands, he held the flint out to Indie. It was covered in flame.
'Now I need a pile of stones,' he said.
Indie gathered all the stones she could find, stacking them together to make a small pyramid. Kai placed the flint carefully at its base.
'Mottaka, motakka,' he said, watching as the fire crackled to life.
‘Hooray!' cried Indie, huddling closer to the flames. The terrible cold had left her legs and she could feel her toes again.
‘We should eat,’ Kai said, rummaging though his pack. ‘It will be harder to stop on the ice, and we’ll need all our strength to get to the top.’
Indie took the bread he passed to her, chewing it slowly as she gazed up at the mountain. ‘I wonder if the shaman is really hiding up there,’ she said.
‘I guess we’ll soon find out,’ said Kai.
Indie shivered. ‘Do you think he’s as bad as Dargan says?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Do you think he’ll be worse than Aunt Sofia?’
‘I don’t know. I don’t know any more than you do.’
‘You don’t have to get angry. I was just asking.’
Kai looked up at the ice path and frowned. ‘We haven’t seen any more of our soldiers. Maybe they were all trapped in the ice cave, even Dad.’
‘You said Dad wasn’t there.’
‘I know, but I thought we would have found him by now. I haven’t seen any sign of him.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘There were no footprints in the gravel and no marks on the ice. See behind us. We’ve left a trail that anyone could follow.’
Indie looked back at the tracks leading to the edge of the water, at the muddy steps to the rock, at the scraping marks where she had hauled herself up.
‘He must be behind us,’ she said.
‘We would have seen him,’ said Kai.
They were quiet for a time, listening to the sigh of the wind and the creaking of the ice. At last Kai stood up. ‘We have to find the shaman,’ he said. ‘Brek knew that Dad wouldn’t make it to the top of the mountain. He said the shaman would know where to find him.’
‘Didn’t Brek know where to find him?’
‘No. He said the magic was too strong, he could see nothing in the smoke. It was like the shaman had hidden the mountain under a big black cloud.’
Indie was quiet. She had seen Kai call on the four elements – air, fire, water and earth – to defeat Aunt Sofia. She had seen him use a powerful spell to release the people trapped inside the trees and flowers. But if the shaman was worse than Aunt Sofia, and if Kai couldn’t use Chief Wicasa’s book …
She tried not to think about it.
Brek and Aunty Mai believed in her brother. She had to believe in him too.
As they took their first faltering steps along the icy path, the wind began to howl, whipping around their ears and flinging tiny pieces of ice into their faces. They bent their heads and pushed forward, the ground smooth and slippery beneath their feet.
It was slow going. The valley wall rose up beside them, high and sheer, and they hung on to it with their fingernails. Tree roots and vines helped them on their way, but the path soon became steep and narrow and the roots decreased in number until they were clinging to a bare wall, their fingers grazing the rock, their hands scratched and bleeding.
Kai stopped. His foot slipped, sending a shower of ice into Indie’s eyes. She blinked furiously, her hands clutching the wall beside her.
‘Stop,’ he whispered. He held out his hand. Indie pulled herself up behind him and looked over his shoulder. The path fell away into a deep crevasse.
‘What’s that noise?’ she asked.
“Melt water,’ Kai said, bracing himself against the wall. ‘There must be a tunnel down there with water flowing through it.’
Indie could hear the gurgle and slosh of water, deep within the ice.
‘We can’t go this way,’ said Kai. ‘We’ll have to climb across the glacier, to the middle. The ice looks thicker up there.’ He turned, reaching for his pack. ‘We’ll need to rope ourselves together.’
He fumbled with the knots, fastening the rope first around his waist and then Indie’s. His fingers were cold and stiff; he had to blow on his hands to get them to work. He looked at his blue fingertips and his mud-caked nails, wondering if they would ever make it to the top.
I am enough, he thought fiercely. I can do this.
He leaned out onto the great mass of ice. There was a jumble of rock and sand and gravel a little way above, and he stretched his arms out and pulled himself toward it. Indie had no choice but to follow. She felt the cold shock of the ice through her clothes as she pulled herself up behind him.
They clambered across the glacier, making their way by the rocks and debris, until they reached a line of large ice towers, standing tall and regal in the sun.
‘Seracs,’ said Kai. ‘We have to stay away from them. When the sun hits them, the base melts and the whole tower becomes a falling block of ice.’
Indie climbed faster, keeping a wary eye on the towers as they sparkled above her. Rocks fell around her in sudden showers; boulders came loose and rolled past her. It was as if the whole glacier had come alive and was moving and breathing with her.
A snow bridge rose out of the ice in front of them, crossing the glacier, leading right to the top. The bridge shone pure white in the sunlight, with colours dancing along the edge – red, yellow, pink and green – as if a rainbow had fallen from the sky. The ice formed peaks and turrets on each side, and the path across the middle appeared smooth and strong.
‘Look at the colours,’ she whispered.
Kai frowned. ‘I don’t like it.’
‘Oh come on. It’ll be so much easier. It looks strong enough.’ Indie clambered past him, dragging him up the ice.
‘Wait,’ said Kai. ‘This is the shaman’s mountain. It might be a trap.’
‘So we step onto the bridge and whoosh, it takes us right to him. Isn’t that what we want?’
‘Not exactly,’ said Kai.
‘You are such a baby.’ She gave him a scathing look. ‘I’ll walk on it first and see what happens. You can follow me – if you’re brave enough.’
She grabbed the side of the bridge and hauled herself toward it. Kai dug his heels in and leaned back. ‘No,’ he said. ‘I have a bad feeling about this.’
Indie fumbled with the knot at her waist. She pulled against him, crying out in anger and frustration. The knot stayed tight.
‘Let me go,’ she cried. ‘Can’t you see? This is the right way.’
‘No, Indie! Wait.’
‘I can’t wait. I don’t want to’.
‘There’s something wrong –’
‘I hate you,’ she said. ‘You’re always holding me back. You’re always telling me what to do.’
A wisp of green smoke crept from the edge of the snow bridge, from beneath Indie’s hand. Waves of colour moved across the surface of the ice.
‘Let me go!’ she shrieked. ‘You never let me do what I want.’
She glared at Kai, her eyes flashing, her face red and contorted. He leaned back further, holding her weight, pulling hard on the rope.
‘Let me go,’ she said in a low, dangerous voice.
‘No,’ he answered. Closing his eyes he whispered, ‘Ki-somma. Koko mi ki-somma.’
‘Pah,’ Indie said, starting to shake. ‘That magic is of no use to you here. The Kalika have no power on my mountain.’ Her voice had changed to a low crackle and she laughed; a soft, bitter laugh.
Kai stared at Indie. It wasn't her voice, it was the voice of an old man.
‘Climb onto the bridge,’ she said. ‘I will not hurt you. I merely wish to talk to you.’
Indie pulled the rope with her free hand, yanking Kai across the ice toward the bridge. The green smoke was pouring out now, enveloping her, so he could no longer see her face.
‘Come along, my friend,’ said the voice, muffled now by the smoke, ‘I have much to teach you. You have a power within you that I have never seen before. It is strong and brave, but you are afraid to use it. Come. Let me teach you.’
The voice was soft and hypnotic. The smoke wound around Kai, drifting into his eyes, blinding him.
He took a step toward the bridge. It rippled with colour, calling to him.
‘That’s right,’ said the voice in a soft, coaxing tone. ‘Good. Just a few more steps.’
He took another step, and then another ...
‘Wait!’ a boy’s voice woke him from his trance. There was a shower of cold flakes, as if someone was throwing snow, and the green smoke vanished.
Indie lifted her hand from the bridge and stared at her fingers.
‘What happened?’ she whispered. 'Where are we?'
Kai blinked and shook his head. ‘The shaman …’
He turned to see a boy wrapped in a brown hunting cloak with a silver knife strapped to his side, hauling his body across the ice.
‘Jabar,’ said Kai, his eyes wide. ‘How did you get here?’
‘I’m not sure,’ said the Dasa boy, resting against a rock. ‘I followed you to the big tree in the forest. I watched you crawl in, and then there was a great crack and Brek scrambled out, all covered in dirt. He pounded his fist against the trunk, then stormed off into the forest. When he was gone, I crawled inside the hollow. The next minute I was sitting in the Moon Tree, looking out at the mountain.’
‘How did you make it through the ice caves?’ asked Indie. ‘Our soldiers are trapped in there.’
‘The same way you did,’ said Jabar. ‘I knew I could do it. I never doubted it for a second. I told you that was the secret. ’
‘I know,’ said Kai, looking down. ‘I doubted myself, and we were almost sucked into the ice.’
He looked back at the snow bridge. The colours had faded and it stood cold and white, free of magic. ‘Do you think we can cross the bridge now?’ he said.
‘I’ll go first,’ said Jabar. ‘I’ll test my weight on it. If it will carry me, it will carry all of us.’
‘Let me make sure the magic has gone,’ said Kai. He scrambled up beside Indie and laid his hand on the edge. It was wet and freezing cold, but there was no green smoke.
Kai turned back and nodded. Jabar climbed up beside him, then stepped out onto the narrow bridge. He walked slowly, testing the ice, shuffling one foot in front of the other. At the far side he waved his arm to beckon them across.
Indie looked down at the vast river of ice beneath her. Lumps of rock and sand tumbled together in swirls, painting the glacier a murky grey. As she climbed higher, she saw the grey fade to white and the white thicken to a milky sheen, the colour of the pearls her mother kept in a little box beside her bed.
Green smoke whispered around her. Memories crept through her mind.
Her mother tucking her into bed, kissing her forehead, brushing her cheeks with jewelled fingernails. ‘These pearls belonged to your grandmother. She knew how to be a princess.’
Indie looked down at her own fingernails, short and cracked and brown with dirt. She thought of her fumbling fingers on the mandolin, the disappointment in her mother’s eyes.
A soft breeze blew across the ice. The green smoke sidled up to her, settling in a gentle fog around her.
Dargan, standing in the courtyard, balancing his silver knife on his outstretched fingers. 'A princess does not need a sword. Go back inside. I am here to teach your brother.'
Her father, frowning at her. 'Do not joke about fighting the Dasa Warriors. It is no job for a princess.'
‘Come on, Indie,’ Kai was pulling her to the other side of the bridge. He was standing beneath one of the seracs, the rope stretched tight between them. As she reached out her hand the tower gave a shudder and leaned to one side.
Kai grabbed her and pulled her toward him. The tower creaked. It toppled to the ground. As it fell, it hit the corner of the snow bridge. The bridge buckled under the weight of the ice. Cracks splintered through the sides. With a great crunch, the whole structure collapsed, shattering into a million pieces.
‘Climb,’ cried Kai. ‘Hurry.’
He scrambled across the mound of ice at the top of the glacier, dragging Indie with him.
Jabar was waiting at the top. He leaned over the ice, urging them on.
The ice beneath them shook. The sun shone down, making the white almost unbearable. The ice towers fell, one by one, smashing to the ground, churning the snow and sending flurries of flakes into the sky.
Jabar helped them to their feet. They looked out on the violent scene below. Where the bridge had fallen, small channels of water were springing through the ice, chipping away, causing huge blocks to fall in on each other. Soon the glacier was a seething mass, inching down the mountain, as the snow began to fall and fill up the cracks and holes.
‘There’s no shelter here,’ said Kai, his voice grim. ‘We have to keep going.’
‘The snow is too heavy,’ said Jabar. ‘The princess won’t make it.’
Indie shook her head. The green smoke was gone. The pictures had vanished. Her mind was suddenly as sharp and clear as the ice beneath her feet.
She raised her chin and looked Jabar squarely in the eye. ‘See if you can keep up,’ she said.
Kai followed her. He had no choice. The rope was still tied around his waist.
chapter 9
The Stone Tower
When they reached the top of the rise, Jabar scrambled past and put his fingers to his lips. ‘We’ll take shelter here,’ he said. ‘It looks like it’s been abandoned for centuries.’
They were standing at the base of a tower, or what was once a tower, made from huge square stones interlocked together like a jigsaw puzzle. Snow covered the earth, building up in drifts against the walls. Clinging to the tower was a vine, its glossy leaves and tiny blue flowers the only sign of life on the mountain.
On the far side of the tower was a small door. It was made of wood, with flecks of gold peeling from the edges. In the centre was a large brass knob and above it the words Taataa Natayo in the old language of the Kalika.
‘Strange,’ thought Kai, running his fingers over the letters.
Taataa Natayo.
The Tower of the Wildcat.
The words of the Seeing Tree came into his mind – The flower waits on the mountain, And the wildcat watches her there. He looked back at the snow-covered cliffs and shivered.
Jabar put his ear to the door. Kai did the same, and recoiled in surprise as he heard the rustle of bodies, the clink of spears.
Jabar held his finger to his lips.
The door flew open and the occupants poured out, men with leather bands around their foreheads and patterns tattooed on their faces, clad in animal skins and brandishing short spears. They surrounded Indie and Kai, and shoved Jabar roughly to his knees.
‘The Dasa,’ whispered Kai, the blood draining from his face. He held his hands in front of him, his back to Indie, his shoulders tense.
‘No sudden moves,’ said a big man with a hawk-nose and a deep scar on his left cheek. He looked at Jabar and his lip curled in derision.
‘I knew you would come back,’ he said. His eyes moved to Indie and a slow smile spread across his face. ‘But I did not think you would bring me such a gift. Not after our last parting.’
Jabar glared at him. ‘I did not come to find you, Father. And I did not bring you any gift.’
‘You are here,’ said the man simply. ‘And this, if I am not mistaken, is the Emerald Child of Ballyndor.’ He
gave a low bow. ‘I am Mugadi, leader of the Dasa Warriors.’ He turned to his men. ‘Tie their hands,’ he said. ‘And carry the girl.’
Indie raised her chin. ‘Touch me and I will kill you,’ she said. ‘I have magic powers.’
Jabar put a hand on her arm. ‘No,’ he whispered.
She shook his hand off and glared at him. ‘Why didn’t you tell us Mugadi was your father?’
Jabar hung his head. ‘I didn’t want you to know.’
‘Very sensible,’ said Mugadi. ‘Much better not to warn the enemy.’
A warrior tied Indie’s wrists together and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of grain. She didn’t struggle, there was no use, but inside she was seething with rage.
Mugadi pushed Kai and Jabar ahead of him at spear point. Jabar stumbled on the rocks. Indie heard the hard slap of the spear against his back. But Jabar did not cry out. He regained his footing and walked on.
The last rays of the sun touched the village as the Dasa men marched home with their prisoners. The village was a colourful place – the women wrapped in bright hand-dyed cloth, the children peeping out from beneath their blue-black hair – but there was no welcome in the faces that stared at them in the village square. The Dasa people did not smile. They watched Mugadi in silence, as if they were afraid.
Mugadi stood at the centre of the square. ‘Friends,’ he said. ‘My son has come back to us. I told you he would not desert his own people.’
Jabar’s eyes flashed, but he said nothing.
Mugadi continued. ‘Jabar has brought us a wonderful gift. Look! I offer you the Princess Indigo of Ballyndor.’
He pulled Indie in front of him, and there was a gasp from the crowd. A few of the older people fell to their knees, their heads bowed.
‘Stand, you fools,’ cried Mugadi. ‘She will not be a princess for long. The Emperor of Moto is on our side. No longer will we hide in the mountains, scratching a living from the barren rocks. No! We will thunder into Ballyndor. We will take the throne and rule this land.’
His eyes were wild, his fists clenched.
