by Marc Secchia
She was light. Free. The very wind, unleashed.
Flying into a twisting section, Zaranna took the curves like a champion, shifting her weight by instinct, acutely conscious of the tiny burden clinging to her neck and knowing that she was responsible for that life, brushing the inner rock face repeatedly as she shaved the distances to the narrowest possible margin. She hurtled into a small tunnel and out again, startled at the thunder of her hooves over a wooden rope-bridge that spanned a hundred-foot gap, and saw a T-junction ahead!
Zara cried, “South! Which way’s south?”
“Right!”
Slowing the clatter of hooves against wood, Zaranna shot around the final bridge-post and ducked beneath ropes anchored in the rock wall itself. Stone exploded behind them. Kaboom! She switched directions again, dropping precipitously onto a new trail.
Sanu called, “Nearly there … invisible!”
Boom! Kaboom!
Angry cries resounded overhead as she sprang like a mountain goat down a series of switchbacks, occasionally short-cutting a sixty-degree slope as they descended sharply … now there was a straight run again, the cliff shearing off vertically once more. Rock-chips exploded under her feet as she ran with her utmost strength.
“They’re hitting the sparks,” she cried.
“Clouds!” Sanu crowed.
Zaranna plunged into damp and dimness. Kaboom!
“Alright. Quietly, now. If they know the trail, they’ll try to ambush us ahead. Let’s give it a couple of minutes, Zara, then we’ll stop and bag your hooves again.”
The Pegasi certainly had the advantage, but the trail split several times at various bridges. She had the impression of a cracked canyon, of crossing between vast spires of rock with cracks between them so deep, they could not know how far the bottom was. Each time they headed south, as best they could tell. Shortly Sanu stopped to bag her hooves with three layers of priceless, silken royal trappings, sliced up neatly by the Outland Human’s dagger. Sanu seemed to take perverse enjoyment in this destruction. Night fell. Still, they kept walking downhill – how many miles, Zaranna did not know, but they eventually passed through the cloud layer into a realm of the darkest night. There was no hint of light to be seen down below, nor sign of further pursuit. Sanu dismounted and led the Plains Horse with her superior night-vision. Even she had to resort to feeling the way at times.
Many hours later, when she had long since given up on dawn making an appearance, they began to see a lightening of the clouds and canyon walls, yet it was not due to any sunlight. The light was too brilliant, too white. It flickered strangely against the cloud layer. They saw the ground at last, but it was not any kind of terrain either Horse or Human recognised. Zaranna thought of climbing roses, but these were not organic plants – not obviously organic, anyway. Great, tangled ropes of crystalline vines filled the mile-wide gorge with no discernible gap from side to side. They appeared to have leaves and flowers, a vast array of serrated shapes alien to anything in Zaranna’s experience. The massive floral vine cover squeezed into the snaking canyon like cotton stuffed into a pillow, and the further they proceeded, the lighter everything became. An intense glow radiated from a point several miles ahead. The colours were all variegated shades of white, hints of blues and greens and yellows radiating from the plants now as though they were fantastical strings of crystalline Christmas lights.
“Look,” said Sanu. “Spiders … or, something. And a group of plant-eaters. What would you call those, crystivores?”
“My sister would do her nut,” said Zaranna.
“Do her nut? What does that mean? What is a nut?” asked Sanu.
“Ah … sort of like a fruit inside a hard shell that you have to crack open. Also, slang for what’s on top of your shoulders.”
This occasioned significant head-scratching. “You wish your sister’s head would crack open?”
Laughing, Zaranna tried to explain. They kept a weather-eye open for Pegasi, but the chase appeared to have stalled. The monstrous crystivores lumbered slowly along the cavern floor, like glowing sapphire millipede-cross-equines the size of a London Underground train – Zaranna was strongly reminded of the Unbreakable Equipedes, only the front third of these creatures appeared to be mouth rather than unbreakable skull. They crunched unhurriedly through the vegetation with precise, caterpillar-like bites, leaving a swathe of destruction behind, and these jumbled up areas swarmed with other creatures, clearly attracted by the opportunity to feed. Every creature was based on crystalline rather than directly organic biology, Zaranna noticed excitedly, creating a unique ecosystem. Equinox must have entirely novel classes and species of organisms.
Every time she thought the white light must surely burst upon them, they would round another corner and see brighter and brighter visions of crystalline beauty, until at last Zaranna realised that the clouds had burned away and the light was so bright there was simply no opportunity for the sun to further brighten the canyon, and Sanu paused to fashion eye-bindings for them.
“No point in being blind as well as an idiot,” muttered the Human girl.
This time, Zaranna lost control and bit her shoulder. Sanu apologised, but not very convincingly.
They pressed into that brilliance, dazzling yet devoid of heat, and Horse and Human slowly became aware of a mighty rushing sound that swelled and swelled as they walked further along the never-ending trail, as if they approached an as-yet-unseen waterfall. Zaranna had long since decided that rather than constantly screwing up her eyes, she would walk with her eyes closed and peek every so often to check the path ahead. A strange swaying sensation grew within her, as though she lay on a beach beneath the blazing sun, watching the strange patterns on the insides of her eyelids, the heat so intense that her body began to feel as if it was drifting upon ocean swells.
Turning a corner, glory burst upon them. Zaranna squinted to make out multiple columns of lightning spearing into the earth and back up into the sky in endless, roaring torrents of raw power, each column at least a hundred feet in diameter, and some many times larger. The bolts of lightning, entwined, vaulted skyward in a phenomenon that must have been visible for thousands of miles about. Here, the crystalline vines ended in great, open flowers that drank deep of the Sky-Fires’ power, and the rock trembled beneath their feet with the force generated by this awesome phenomenon. Myriad Sky-Fire Pegasi, non-intelligent phenomena of the pure equinoctial power of lightning, seethed and sizzled in endless combat around the columns of lightning.
She realised that she and Sanu had arrived at the place Illume had described. This was the place where the Sky-Fires came to earth.
* * * *
“So, tell me the plan, genius?”
Zaranna gritted her teeth. “We find the Dragon-capable Safeways and pick a good one.”
“Which will lead us in glorious flight across the face of Equinox to stumble upon Wor – I mean, the Hooded Wizard’s forces? Essentially, we make it up as we go along?”
“Well, I can’t return to Obscurant Vale the way I first travelled there,” Zaranna said. “And yes, following my overlarge nose has served me well thus far.”
“Ancestral spirits save me! I can’t believe you – listen.” Holding her fingers between them, Sanu began to enunciate, “Darkwolf Clan. Abyssal Earthen Fire creatures. Capture. Torture. Swamps. Dragons. The Obsidian Highlands. Gryphons. And high treason to cap your efforts – curse it, Zaranna, I’m running out of fingers to count the number of ways your overlarge nose has not landed you hip-deep in fragrant flowers and the blessings of Sky-Fires!”
“We’ve come out alright –”
“You and I need to talk about this amazing strategy you’ve developed. Alright, I’ll grant you’re the first person or Horse or anything larger than an ant to penetrate the Obsidian Pentacle and return alive. One score for your dagger. Escaping the demon-lord was impressive. And getting the Pegasus King on your side was so freakishly awesome …”
Sanu pulled up with a scowl.
Zaranna nuzzled the girl’s cheek fondly. “Yes?”
“Shut the muzzle, Equine. We still need to talk. Let’s you and I find a nice cave somewhere out of this infernal light, and like Pegasus bandits, plot dark, nefarious deeds together.”
“There are bandits?”
“Well blow me down with tumbleweed. Not everyone agrees with Pegasus tyranny, alright? Have the Star-Fires penetrated that dense cranium at last?”
Heavy-hearted, Zaranna dragged after Sanu. Would no-one on this stupid horse-world value her for who she was? Even pretending to be Pegasus royalty, she had remained a nobody. A Dreamer’s power gained her nothing. Sanu was right. All she touched turned to dust.
Chapter 24: Accidentally on Purpose
WAking in the cruising Dodge Convertible, the first thing Zaranna heard was Whiz cursing in wonder. He slapped a few buttons and seated his mobile phone in a cradle on the dash, then grabbed her shoulder. “Pixie! Pixie – oh, you’re awake. Listen. Christi, repeat what you just said.”
The Doctor’s voice, piped through the sound system, boomed in the car, “I’ll let him say it. Alex?”
What? How? She could not breathe. Could not think.
“Hey, girlfriend. You there?”
The sound of his voice, even slightly muffled, was better than flying. Better than the asteroid belt rising over Equinox. Better even than the breath rattling into his lungs as she cleared his airway.
She screamed for joy!
Alex answered with rich, strong laughter. “Pleased, I take it? When can I see you, Zaranna? I’ve a desperate need to kiss the girl who saved my life. Des-per-ate.” Lip-smacking noises, amplified by the powerful bass speakers, made the car rock on its suspension.
“Hey, no smooching my phone,” Doctor Martinez complained in the background.
Every hair on her arms stood to attention. She said, “We’re on our way.”
“Hold onto your hats, ladies and gentlemen,” cried Whiz, gripping the steering wheel with intent.
Zara gasped, “Hoooo-leeeeeee …”
“Anchors out!”
The tyres screamed as Whiz slammed on the brakes, then he hurled the car through a cloud of greasy black smoke, over the grass-and-brush central reservation and into the oncoming traffic. Cars and lights whirled in front of Zaranna. A horn blasted nearby. A swift fishtail narrowly avoided a truck, and then he hit the gas. And extra gas, whatever was in his secret brew. She could feel the moment the explosive mixture kicked in, because that sent the note of the engine rising from a rabid howl to the utterly insane limits of endurance. The car turned into a rocket. It simply was not right to have saggy jowls at sixteen, even if she knew it was due to the excessive G-forces, or Whiz-forces …
He shouted, “Flight two-zero-Whizbang incoming, ETA six minutes.”
Six minutes from Tokai to Groote Schuur Hospital? Even the air ambulance was not that fast. She said, “Gramps, the motto is ‘arrive alive’.”
“I’m glad I have you to talk me into safe driving practices, my darling Mouse,” he said, shooting from one hard shoulder to the other. “You know, we Italians love fast cars. It was this or the Ferrari Testarossa, but my heart could not stand to sully such beauty with modifications. Have I shown you the experimental vertical overtaking capabilities?”
“No … heaven’s sake …”
Zaranna’s stomach turned somersaults as the vertical thrusters fired, sending them soaring over a classic Porsche 911. Whiz yelled, “Eat our dust, buster! Dust buster – get it, Zars?”
“Hilarious.”
Five minutes and thirty-four seconds later, on the clock, Whiz parked with great civility in the visitors’ lot at the hospital and killed the engine. With a hand-slap upon Zara’s thigh and a huge grin, he leaped over his door and attacked the business of extracting her wheelchair from the boot with the enthusiasm of a Scottish Terrier unearthing a juicy bone. She had to laugh. No wonder her Plains Horse had no trouble finding trouble to land in, hocks-deep, belly-deep. She was only keeping up the family’s reputation for zaniness.
For sheer joy, she mimicked the Whiz’s leap over the door. She had no legs for thrust, but her arms had become strong and the lack of leg-weight made it a surprisingly easy manoeuvre to execute. Eat that, Sanu! Perfect landing in the wheelchair, staggering Gramps, but he pretended to take it all in his stride, mumbling something about women throwing themselves at him daily. Fifty feet from the car, he remembered to punch the remote. The Dodge started whirring, closing up shop.
“Cruising,” said Whiz, jogging behind her chair. “Clear the runway, whippersnapper!”
A delivery boy took a startled backward step to avoid being run over.
Up past Reception. Commandeer a lift. Charge down the long, sterile corridors. Zaranna wished they could move faster, much faster, for her heart fluttered in her throat and her hands were sweaty and white-knuckled on the armrests and there was wind in her hair and a song in her heart … they paused at the entrance to the Isolation Ward for the duty nurse to check – as if she needed to – before letting them in.
Doctor Martinez met them at the door. “Alright, I’m not going to ask, Whiz. You were just around the corner, right? Zars, I’ve cleared you to go in once you’ve had the scrub.”
“No, Doctor –”
“Yes, Doctor, or there will be no visit. Right?”
Zara groaned. “Tyrant.”
“I missed being an out-and-out despot by a whisker. Until we’ve run all the tests and cleared him, Alex is going nowhere and neither are you. And no, you cannot kiss him right now, not until we’re certain – more certain, anyhow – that he’s not infectious. Maybe Sunday. I’d wager Monday. But between you and me, I have seldom seen a healthier specimen of a young man, nor a more miraculous recovery.” She looked rather sharply at Zaranna. “Wouldn’t you say?”
“Um … amazing, yes. Can I scrub now?”
Zaranna had to wheel right past his window. That was the moment she started laughing and crying, the moment their eyes connected through all the layers of glass and plastic and there he was, sitting up in bed, a fork drooping forgotten in his right hand, spilling spaghetti sauce on his hospital whites as he waved at her, alive. So alive! She bit her fist so hard, she drew blood. Beautiful. Impossible to tear her eyes off that man.
Ten minutes later, she shyly wheeled through the airlock into Awesome Hunk’s room. The same nurse as earlier was present, beaming up rays of African sunshine.
Alex said, “Zara, dearest, if it weren’t for strict orders to lie here in this blasted bed, I’d be over there like a shot. Nurse, can we hold hands at least?”
“You know the drill, Paramedic,” said the nurse.
“I’m not radioactive!”
“Behave and you might get out sooner,” the nurse scolded him. “Now, you gave us all a dreadful fright, especially this lovely girl here. She prayed for you, she did, right here in this room – I seen it, and I seen you wake up not half an hour later like you were hauled out of death’s jaws by a troop of angels. So you thank her proper and gentlemanly-like. And you thank your Creator even more, hear me? Right. Work to do.”
With that, the nurse bustled off.
Her heart was so full of things she wanted to tell him, but right now, there was one thing she had to do. Zaranna pressed her arm into the plastic sleeve, and reached for Alex. Her Alex.
* * * *
That Friday evening, Zaranna overheard Whiz chatting to Christi over drinks by the pool. “It was touch and go, Luciano,” she said. “I had no idea how close he was to complete collapse until I received the latest batch of tests this afternoon – all useless now, of course, but they tell a tale of a heart on the verge of failure and systematic, pernicious breakdown of almost all the soft tissues of his body. I’ll need to do more research, but I think he’ll make medical history for that, as well as the recovery. What do you think made the difference? Her prayer?”
Whiz made a noncommittal sound.
Sitting abed in her room
just around the corner from the pool area, Zaranna could hear them clearly.
“Well, we’ll see the results tomorrow. The oddest thing was, Luciano – please don’t mock me for saying this –”
“I won’t.”
“Thanks. I just knew she had to see him. This morning was make or break. I sensed it. Nothing in all my medical knowledge or experience can account for that decision, I mean, I broke a dozen rules to put Zaranna in that room. Which will likely get me hauled to a tribunal. She comes in, the machines go haywire and … I don’t understand. I just don’t – and I’m paid an excellent salary to understand these things, let me tell you. It’s been driving me crazy all day.”
Let it, Zaranna thought, closing her window softly. The Doctor would move onto other problems, other patients. And Alex would return to her. Now, how should she broach the subject of Equinox?
Settling back on her pillow, she stared at the ceiling. Maybe she could start with her artwork, and gently clue him into the idea that not all was imagination? Yes.
He would have to love her an awful lot to be prepared to see the truth.
* * * *
Taking shelter beneath a tent formed from their travel bags, Zaranna and Sanu put their heads together and argued. The light of the nearby Sky-Fires was so intense that Sanu looked like a walking X-ray, her bones clearly visible through her skin. Even beneath the bag, pinpoints of light stabbed at their eyes like cunning lasers and the noise level was driving them insane.
“One more time,” said Sanu. “We’re standing inside a magic-bounded oval platter in the company of seventeen potential Dragon-capable portals, which is astonishing in itself. Each is labelled. Many lead to places you and I don’t recognise. But the mighty Plains Horse is not satisfied. She wants to jump into the apparently bottomless hole in the middle of this treacherous crystal platter to find an apparently invisible portal to whisk us to the Ancestors know where. This is the clever solution. The intelligent option –”
