“By the Word, what is this?” Katherine stepped into the space and then cried out when the walls and ceiling shimmered. Suddenly they were surrounded by a field in the middle of a vast forest. Above them the sky was blue with clouds drifting lazily past. Katherine staggered at the feeling of vertigo that swept over her. She squinted up at the bright sun and felt the warmth on her face.
I smell the grass and woods, said Dog and sniffed the grass at the edge of the chamber floor.
Katherine walked over to the grass and knelt and reached out to touch it. Her hand instead touched the cold of the quartz. Her eyes struggled to make sense of what she was seeing and what she was feeling. She stood and looked around. To her eyes, she was standing in front of a small home in the middle of a large field, surrounded by forest. She could smell the grass and trees. But then she noticed she couldn’t feel any wind or breeze on her face despite the longer grass and leaves fluttering. This is like living in a painting, it’s not real.
Heather, being more adventurous, put her torch on the floor, and stepped up to the door of the home and unbelievably knocked on the door. Heather looked back at Katherine and grinned.
You knocked?
Ye ne'er ken. Better tae be safe, aye?
Dog ran toward the forest and Katherine cried out to stop him. He ran maybe fifteen feet before he slammed into the side of the cavern. He yelped and fell back.
Are you hurt?
No. What is happening here? I’m confused.
So are we, Dog. We need to be careful here.
Okay.
Come over here with us. No running around.
Dog slunk over to stand beside Katherine, glancing over to the area where he had slammed into the wall. Together they joined Heather.
“No one seems to be home. You first?” offered Katherine.
“Ta.”
Heather grasped the door handle and turned it. The door opened easily, and Heather pushed it open. She stuck her head in and called out. “Hullo?” Hearing no reply, she entered the home. Katherine and Dog followed in behind her.
Inside was a home that was clearly lived in. What caught their immediate attention was the body lying on the bed to their right under sheets as if sleeping. The room had a small table in the centre with two chairs. The remains of a small meal lay mouldy on a tin plate. A small journal lay open in the centre of the table. On the far wall, was a fireplace with a cooking pot hung over the remains of a long-extinguished fire. A small bookcase was near the bed and filled with books. A small wooden chest lay against the other wall, closed and latched. Otherwise the room was empty and very clean. The floor was made of the same stone as the chamber.
The three of them stood in the entrance staring about the room trying to decide what to do first. Dog decided for them and trotted up to the body and sniffed. He sneezed once and then twice.
Dead.
“We can see that.”
Been dead for a long time. Very dry.
“Leave it be for now,” said Katherine.
“Dae ye think it micht be Hietower?”
“Possibly. But why put him in a bed?”
“Och, right. That mak's nae sense.”
Katherine went to the table and gently picked up the journal and marked the page it was open to with her thumb. She closed it and glanced at the cover and held it up for the others to see. “Look here, it has a tree and triskelion on the cover.” Heather came closer and examined it. She reached out and traced it with a finger. Katherine watched Dog pad over to the cooking pot and sniff at it.
“It’s oor symbol. Tis draoi.”
Katherine nodded and opened the cover and read what she saw written on the first page. “Journal of Benjamin Erwin, 895 A.C.”
“That’s several years ago.”
Katherine glanced at the body in the bed. “So this must be Benjamin Erwin. What’s he doing here?”
“Nae weel, ah think.”
“Ha, ha. Let’s check him out.”
Katherine placed the journal back on the table and opened it to the page she had kept marked. They went over to the bed and carefully peeled back the bedsheet. It was stuck to the body and resisted their efforts. They pulled a little more forcibly, and the blanket took a little of the body with it. Underneath lay a figure on his side with his face to the wall. He was dressed in what appeared to be simple brown robes. Other than a long white beard he could have been anyone.
“He could be anyone,” stated Katherine.
“Ohh, aye. An old man by the looks o’ him.”
Dog was bolting around the small home sniffing frantically.
“Dog what are you looking for?”
I smell Gaea, she’s here.
“How can you smell Gaea? Dog? What is it you smell?”
It’s Gaea.
They watched as Dog ran around the entire home. Finally, he stopped and cocked his head to one side.
I think it’s everything.
“Everything?”
Yes, the entire building. All this is Gaea.
Heather snorted. “Tis beyond our ken, that’s fer sure. I mean look at this place. It's lik' bein' in th' forest, bit it's a' lik' a paintin. Juist sae real.”
Katherine was silent and thinking. “This man died in here. Sealed in. This is a prison.”
Heather shook her head. “That doesn’t mak' sense. How come wid Gaea seal someone up? That’s nae her nature. Is it? Benjamin was her Freamhaigh.”
When Katherine turned to look at her, she had a look on her face that caused Heather to hesitate. “Yes, it is—was—rather.”
Heather squinted her eyes. “Ye said is.” Heather pointed at the staff. “That’s Gaea thare oan that staff. Her essence. She bides in yer staff, doesn’t she?”
Katherine glared at Heather and then sat in one of the chairs and placed the staff on the table. She thrust her chin at the other chair and Heather sat. Dog sniffed the body and sneezed again.
“Yes. It’s her. I protected her from being completely wiped out. No one looked to it. No one cared.”
“Th' Freamhaigh did. He ordered it. Said her wishes wur tae be follaed.”
Katherine growled a little. “Perhaps.”
“Mibbie? Katherine, ye gaed against him. Will will be chuffed.”
“Will is not my Freamhaigh, Heather. Not exactly.”
“Whit dae ye mean?”
“When I was severed, Dog and I, we left the draoi. We were on our own. We did…things. It was Dog and I against Erebus. A weapon forged by Gaea to get close enough to infect him. Then we won. And then Will was there with Nadine. Suddenly we were all this happy draoi family again. Except…
“Except ye don’t cop lik' pairt o' that fowk, dae ye?”
Katherine looked hurt. She glanced at Dog and he padded over and laid his snout on her leg. “Not exactly. I do. And I don’t. Dog and I are something different. I’m something different. Will worries only about harmony. Bringing nature into balance. For Belkin. You see that, don’t you?”
“Aye, o' coorse. We a' cop that wey.”
“I don’t. I see a whole world out there. What has Erebus done to the rest of the world, Heather? Who is taking care of it? We have one Freamhaigh and one Cill Darae. That can’t be enough. I doubt Gaea was only thinking only of Belkin. She said it was her last refuge, but I can’t believe that. I needed to keep a part of her alive. Something to take with me out there.”
“Oot thare? Ye mean ootside Belkin?”
Katherine looked at the table. For a moment, to Heather, she looked like a young girl, lost and confused, but when she lifted her face to stare at her, Heather saw eyes very different from those of a young girl. Heather gasped and lifted her hand to her mouth.
“Ye'v changed, Katherine. Ye hide this pairt o' ye, don’t ye?”
Katherine looked away quickly. “Yes.” Katherine stood up and went over to the fireplace. Dog trotted after her. “I’m not a nice person. Neither is Dog. We’ve done things.” Katherine petted Dog’s head and looked ar
ound the small home and gestured with her other hand. “This is a gaol. That body over there is probably Benjamin Erwin. He stole the bones of King Hietower and then came here and was trapped and died. But where is Analise Bracewell? Where is her body? Where are the bones of Hietower?”
Heather tore her gaze from Katherine’s and looked around and then settled her eyes on the journal. “We need tae read this. Bit foremaist let me tell James whit's happening. He’ll be whirlin` by noo.”
Katherine nodded and moved over to the table. “Yes, go tell him.”
Heather hesitated a moment, waiting for something more from Katherine as she pushed the mouldy tin plate away and glanced around. Heather kept an eye on Katherine until she realised Heather was still staring at her. Katherine turned and frowned at her, and then made a face. Heather shook her head and walked out of the small building and soon her footsteps faded away into the tunnel.
Katherine looked at Dog. “This is strange, Dog.”
Dog sniffed the body on the bed again. Yes, very strange. The body smells old. He was a man. Old.
“Probably Benjamin. Either he was trapped here or opted to stay here. I’m tired of this chase after old bones. I feel the need to leave Belkin and head out into the world. Do you?”
Dog woofed gently in agreement.
“For now we’ll stay and help sort this mess out. We can’t leave yet. Belkin is in a right mess.”
Dog remained silent and Katherine went out into the chamber to wait for Heather and James.
They both came back shortly after. James entered and gasped when he saw the chamber. Heather laughed and winked at Katherine.
“Ah didnae tell him anythin'. Ah wanted tae see his surprise.”
James whistled and reached out to the grass and gave a yell when his hand hit the chamber wall. “What is this? More draoi magic?”
“Maist likely. Certainly, something beyond oor understanding.”
“It’s uncanny!” James looked around and up at the sky and then spotted the house. “A house? What is going on?”
Katherine laughed. “We aren’t sure, but this is Gaea’s work. Come inside. We found the remains of Benjamin Erwin, we think. And a journal.”
James followed Katherine into the house and whistled again. “This is getting stranger by the minute.” He noticed the body on the bed and went over and lifted the blanket to look at it. After a moment he covered it back up. “So this is the remains of the man who won the Great Debate and started a revolution? He died in this strange place all alone? Poor fellow.”
Katherine lifted the journal off the table, still open to the last page Benjamin had opened it to. “This is his journal. It was lying open on the table. Hopefully it gives us the answers we seek.”
Heather sat at the table and Dog sat next to her. James moved around the small single room and stopped at the chest. “Did you look in here?”
Heather shook her head. “Not yet.”
“Maybe the bones of Hietower are in here?”
Dog chuffed.
“Dog doesn’t think so. We would have smelled them.”
James crouched and unlatched the chest and lifted the lid. The hinges protested loudly, but James had the lid up with little effort. Katherine peered over his shoulder and Heather leaned over to get a better look. James looked at Katherine for a moment. “Clothes. Maybe something at the bottom?”
Katherine looked disappointed and took the other seat at the table. “Keep searching. I’ll read the last entry in the journal.”
Katherine started to read and after a moment Heather gently kicked her under the table. “Out loud, if you don’t mind.”
“Ouch! Of course, I was just getting a feel for it. It’s Erwin, for sure. He doesn’t sound happy. Listen:
“I can feel the end is near. My heart struggles to beat. I welcome this, at long last. The pain of being separated from the draoi for so many years will soon be over, and I hope that I join the other draoi on my death. So much pain and suffering. It is over…
Katherine looked up at the others. “It ends there. We’ll need to go back to the start and read it through.”
James made a noise and lifted some objects out of the chest. He held them up for them to see. “A woman’s skirt and a hair brush. There was a woman here at some point.”
Heather nodded. “Analise Bracewell, I bet.”
James put the items on the floor next to the chest and other contents. “Nothing but clothes. Well worn, too. Otherwise, it’s empty.”
Dog laid down on the floor next to Katherine. I’m bored.
Katherine poked him with a foot. “Get comfortable. We’ll be here for a little bit.”
Two
Foula Island, June 902 A.C.
HEATHER SEETHED INSIDE. The last few hours provided little insight into what they needed to do next. James and Katherine could not agree, and Dog seemed determined to sleep wherever he could and as often as he could. Even the sound of James’ breathing seemed to irritate her. Everything is too topsy-turvy, but at least we buried that poor man.
They had buried Benjamin and then they had each read the journal. Each of them had taken a different meaning from the content. One thing was clear: Benjamin Erwin had been a prisoner. And Heather was certain Analise had been the gaoler.
Heather stood in the door to the house looking up at the evening sky. It was hard to believe it wasn’t real. The sky in the chamber followed the sky outside. She turned back inside to find Katherine still reading the journal and James sitting stretched out at the table with his ankles crossed. Heather spoke to the two of them. “It’s plain as the day in his writing. Benjamin hated Gaea and figured out she was a spiteful thing. He threatened to expose her. He says so himself.”
James stirred. “Aye, and Analise disagreed with him. It’s Freamhaigh versus Cill Darae.”
Heather blew a strand of hair from her face. “It’s clear they disagreed. Analise, according to Benjamin, had turned from the draoi calling.”
Katherine shook her head and placed the journal down on the table. “He didn’t say that. He merely said they disagreed about the nature of Gaea.”
“No, he didn’t. He said ‘Analise refuses to listen to me on what Gaea is. She went so far as to tell me the draoi are not what I believed them to be. She is so far from the Cill Darae I thought she was.’ That sounds like she turned from the draoi.”
Katherine growled and even James looked up at the sound. It sounded far too dog-like to have come from her throat. “That just says they disagreed. Not that she turned from the draoi.”
Heather strode forward and flipped through the journal searching for an entry. She found it and tossed the journal onto the table in front of Katherine. “Read that!”
Katherine glanced at the page and frowned.
“It says it right there.”
“That was years after she had abandoned him here. I doubt his sanity.”
“Abandoned him? She trapped him in here!” Katherine remained silent. Heather spun on James. “Say something!”
James looked startled. “Say what? That I agree with you? Well, I do. I’ve already said so. Nothing remains of Analise, but a skirt and a brush. Benjamin chronicled everything in that bloody journal.” James counted on his fingers. “One, they left Munsten together after the King burned the bishop fellow. Two, they gathered the draoi and told them to spread out and calm the country. Three, suddenly the rebellion started. He says nothing about what happens next until, four, he and Analise steal the bones of King Hietower. He writes that Analise said Gaea wanted it done. Five, they come here of all places.” James held up his other hand and stuck out a thumb. “Six, she abandons him here and runs off with the bones, places unknown.”
Katherine sighed. “At least we know now that the bones are Hietower’s. We aren’t chasing our tails.” Katherine looked at Dog, but he was asleep.
Heather tucked an errant strand of hair behind an ear. “True. The journal says nothing of why they took the bones out of Munsten. Bu
t we know they brought them here and then Analise took off with them.”
Each grew silent in thought. Dog rolled onto his back and spread his legs wide exposing everything. James smiled at the sight and Heather scowled at him. Men are all alike.
Heather started when James looked at her and winked.
Such cheek!
James pushed himself back to a proper sitting posture and leaned on the table. The tin plate had been put away, and they had brought out their own fare and had a meagre repast. James poked the journal. “What about what Benjamin says about blocking Gaea? I thought that would give you two conniptions.”
Katherine looked at Heather before speaking. Heather nodded and wondered why Katherine would defer to her on this. Katherine leaned back and answered. “It’s interesting. Especially with what we know now about Gaea’s nature. And Erebus. If there is a way to block the power of the motes I would like to know what that is. Heather, do you agree?”
“Aye, o' coorse. Ah wonder if it wid hae worked against Erebus?”
Katherine looked thoughtful. “I think so. They were the same. I would like to know more, but unfortunately it went with Analise. It was her belief. Perhaps if we can find her we can ask her.”
“Ask her! You expect to find her alive?”
“Why not? They lived long after they should have passed from old age.”
“She would be ancient! Well over a hundred years old!”
Katherine shrugged. “Probably not that many years if she could take power from Gaea. We should expect to live as long if not longer.”
Heather gawked at Katherine. “Why? Why should we expect that?”
Katherine looked surprised by the question. “We control the Simon motes. We can repair most injuries to the human body. Our powers allow us unlimited years. You should plan for that. I’m surprised you haven’t all figured that out.”
Heather had her mouth open. She started to say something but stopped instead. She’s not wrong, she thought. This is miraculous. We need to speak about this as soon as I get out of this cave. She shut her mouth when she realised James was smirking at her. “Shut your mouth, James Dixon!”
Cill Darae Page 4
