by Kit Berry
‘Magus said it’s all perfectly safe now with the modern technology we have today.’
‘Why’s he opened it up?’
‘He needs stone for his building projects. And the first phase, he said, is a new Village school to cope with all the children. But I heard other talk too. Apparently he’s going to build some new accommodation for Hallfolk – holiday homes for the visitors.’
‘Well, he’s got to do something about the squash. There’s barely room now with all the extra visitors for the Solstice, and there’re more coming next week. We’re too crowded.’
‘I know – trust Magus to come up with such a good idea. Mind you, if he hasn’t even got the stone out of the ground yet, we’re in for a bit of a wait.’
Sylvie thought about it and realised that the place of her nightmares, with its massive boulders and cliffs, could well be a quarry. But how to find out if Yul was there? She would just have to ask Magus directly. She was scared of him, but she also felt a dangerous thrill of excitement in defying him. He was far too used to everyone jumping to obey him. And despite his implied threats, she didn’t think he’d make her leave the community. She went straight to his office.
‘For goodness sake, Sylvie,’ he said irritably, annoyed when he realised the purpose of her intrusion. ‘What is it you don’t understand? He’s a Villager, you’re Hallfolk and you don’t mix. It’s very simple.’
‘I just want to know where he is and if he’s alright. Is he at the quarry? I can’t stop worrying until I know.’
‘But it’s not your place to worry about him! He’s nothing to you. He’s just a Village boy who’s got himself into trouble through his bad behaviour. He’s being knocked back down to size and it’s really none of your business.’
‘It is my business. He’s my friend.’
He groaned, shaking his head and glaring at her in exasperation, infuriated by her stubbornness.
‘Listen, you stupid girl! He can never be your friend. He isn’t good enough for you.’
‘Yes he is!’
‘No he isn’t! You should be mixing with the Hallfolk. There are plenty of attractive boys up here.’
‘It’s not the fact that he’s a boy.’
‘Oh I think it is, Sylvie. Don’t kid yourself that this is anything other than pure animal attraction. He’s a good-looking boy, I’ll give him that, but he’s also an ignorant lout. You’re far too well-educated for a yokel like him.’
‘And whose fault is it if he’s ignorant and un-educated? Who was it decided that Villagers should finish their education at thirteen? And even when they’re in school, they’re not taught to read and write. If I was in charge here, I’d make sure everyone had an equal, proper education.’
‘Fortunately you’re not in charge,’ he replied coldly. ‘And never will be. Anyway, he was given a chance of a better education, along with every other child at Stonewylde, but he proved unworthy.’
‘Hah! That’s just where you’re wrong! He deliberately failed the tests, all of them.’
‘He would say that, wouldn’t he?’
‘Not if he was really stupid. He could’ve passed the tests but he didn’t want to leave his family.’
‘Then he can’t have wanted a proper education very much, can he?’
‘That’s not true! It was because of his father. Yul was scared of what Alwyn would do to them if he wasn’t there to take the worst of it.’
‘Pathos as well. He’s very cunning.’
Sylvie glared at him, seething at his intractability. She refused to back down. Her chest rose and fell fast as her fury at the injustice mounted, her voice becoming shrill.
‘Where is he, Magus? What have you done with him? I won’t give up until you’ve told me the truth!’
And now he became angry too. His velvety black eyes glittered dangerously as he stared down at the defiant girl facing him.
‘You will give up if you care for the boy like you say you do. I forbid any kind of liaison between you and him. Absolutely forbid it. You can rant and rave as much as you want but that’s the bottom line. I am the law here whether you like it or not. Accept my authority or leave the community – it’s as simple as that.’
‘Really? You’d throw me and my mother out?’
‘If you won’t accept my rules, yes! I’m warning you now so there’s no misunderstanding. And if I find you’ve been consorting with Yul when he returns, I’ll punish him all over again, but even harder.’
‘You are the—’
‘When he does come back and you see what he’s been through and how he’s changed, you’ll understand just how unfair it would be to inflict that on him again. So stop being selfish and start mixing with Hallfolk who are your equals. Is that clear?’
If he’d hoped to intimidate her with his anger, he’d underestimated Sylvie. Her light-grey eyes with their startling dark rims blazed at him. Her mouth was tight and quivering.
‘That’s very clear! But you still haven’t told me where he is. Do I have to visit the quarry myself to find out if he’s there? Because I will! I know he’s in danger and I’m not letting this go until you’ve told me the truth!’
Magus moved so quickly that she jumped with fright, thinking he would strike her. Instead he grabbed her arm and marched her to the door. His wrath at her refusal to bend to his will seethed all around him. His face was white with it.
‘You’ve asked for this, young lady. Come with me!’
‘Come where? What are you doing?’
He hustled her down the corridor and through the busy entrance hall. People turned to stare at the sight of Magus, his face a mask of fury as he yanked Sylvie along beside him. He strode round the side of the Hall towards the stable block where all the vehicles were kept.
‘Are you going to punish me as well? Let go of my arm! You’re hurting me.’
He released her abruptly and continued towards the yard.
‘I’m taking you to see him!’
‘So is he at the quarry?’
‘Yes he is at the bloody quarry! And when you’ve seen him maybe you’ll stop this whinging and whining and realise what a stupid mistake you’re making.’
Sylvie gave a small smile of victory as he wrenched open the door of the Land Rover and bundled her inside. He drove from the Hall at an alarming speed and she hung onto the seat as the Land Rover bounced up the track. She glanced across at him and saw the rigid set of his jaw, the thin line of his mouth. He glared at her and she was blasted by the fire in his eyes.
‘I’ll show you just what’s happened to Yul! That boy has really suffered, and largely because of you. I’ve never seen anyone take punishment of that magnitude with such courage, and all to protect your secret.’
‘Poor Yul! How could you do this, Magus? How could you treat someone so cruelly?’
‘Don’t you try to blame me, missy! This is your fault! You’ve given him ideas above his station. He was perfectly happy until you came here, but now he’s a broken wreck. Believe me, he won’t want anything more to do with you when he gets back.’
As they drove further along the ridgeway, Magus started to calm down. Sylvie felt a lessening of tension in the air as he mastered his anger. Now it was over, she was amazed at her own boldness. If she hadn’t been so angry herself she’d never have dared stand up to him like that. But now she began to dread what she’d find at the quarry. Was Yul really broken? Would he want nothing more to do with her?
‘I heard you were opening up the quarry to build a new school,’ she said tentatively.
He glanced at her and his lips twisted in an attempted smile.
‘Yes, that’s right. No point bringing in materials from the Outside when we have such abundance already here. The Hall and Great Barn and several other buildings are made of stone from this quarry. St Paul’s Cathedral and great chunks of London are built of Portland stone, which is famous for its beauty and strength, and the stone from our quarry is almost identical. We’re very fortunate to share
the same geological strata and formation as Portland. Although not surprising really as we’re on the Jurassic Coast too.’
‘Why was the quarry closed in the first place? I heard some Hallfolk say something about an accident there. Was that the reason?’
Magus nodded.
‘Quarrycleave has always had its dark history. Many people are terrified of the place, Yul included. You should have seen him when I brought him here last week. He actually cried with fear.’
His lips twitched at the memory and Sylvie felt a stab of pure hatred. How had she ever thought this man kind and gentle?
‘I can’t understand it myself,’ he continued obliviously. ‘I’ve always loved the place. At Quarrycleave there’s a sense of ancient power, ancient magic. It’s been quarried for centuries, possibly even thousands of years, if our professor’s research is to be believed. Apparently there’s evidence of Neolithic workings, and some macabre discoveries too: human sacrifice, battles, ceremonial rituals. All sort of things have been unearthed at Quarrycleave.’
‘I think I’ve dreamed about this place.’
‘But you haven’t even been there! It does have a strange, dream-like atmosphere, I must say. And there’re the fossils too. Dinosaur footprints, like those at Portland and Purbeck, and dinosaur bones like the ones found at Charmouth and Lyme Regis. Even fossilised trees. If those Jurassic Heritage people found out, the place would be crawling with bloody tourists and fossil hunters. Fortunately it’s private land and I intend to keep it that way.’
‘So what happened then to close the quarry?’
‘There was a serious accident about a hundred and fifty years ago. They were blasting and apparently there was a terrible rock fall. Many quarrymen were trapped underneath and the lucky ones crushed to death. Most were buried alive.’
‘That’s horrific!’
‘Yes, and there was more … I can’t remember all the details. But a lot of it’s mere superstition. An evil spirit that walks the quarry taking lives, or some such nonsense. I remember talk of it when I was a boy, when I used to come up here for fun. The Villagers were always terrified of Quarrycleave and its predator – the beast that stalks, they called it. You know how gullible and ignorant these people can be. But I was conceived up there, I’ve been told.’
‘Really? How weird.’
‘My father loved the place too. He brought my mother there one Moon Fullness at the Autumn Equinox. There’s a special stone, right at the head of the quarry, carved with serpents all writhing around it. That’s where he took her to make love.’
Sylvie was silent, remembering the stone at Mooncliffe where Magus had taken her mother. He glanced at her and smiled.
‘I gather you’ve heard about our custom here and how we celebrate the Moon Fullness? It’s strange I know, but so is the magic of Stonewylde. It defies logic and reason. Remember how I healed you, Sylvie? You can’t deny the power of the Earth Magic. It’s all around us and it’s strong at Quarrycleave too, if a little different. And here we are.’
Sylvie gasped at her first sight of the great white quarry. It was a desolate lunar landscape. As they pulled to a halt by the caravans, she too felt fear tiptoe down her spine. This definitely was the place of her nightmares. How had Yul endured a week here already?
‘Follow me,’ said Magus, striding off the litter-strewn grass and down into the mouth where the raw stone began. The air was thick with pale stone-dust as dumper trucks tipped their loads into a great heap.
‘That’s the waste, the backfill we’re clearing,’ shouted Magus over the din. ‘It’ll be crushed and used for the foundations of the buildings and for the road too. I’ll need to rebuild the road properly to allow the lorries to get into the Village with their loads of stone. They used horse and cart in the old days but that’ll take far too long.’
They picked their way through the white, chaotic graveyard, avoiding the trucks and the bedraggled men caked in chalky dust. There was a terrible noise pounding continuously and Sylvie felt the ground trembling beneath her feet.
‘The core driller,’ yelled Magus. ‘We’re taking samples all over the place to locate the best stone. It removes a plug of rock so we can analyse the depth and quality. They’re establishing the working faces too. After the accident I told you about, all the records of the quarry work were destroyed so now we’re starting again from scratch. Ah, here’s Jackdaw.’
Sylvie shrank at the sight of the man approaching. His bright blue eyes with their tiny pinpoint pupils fixed on her and he leered, a gold tooth gleaming amongst a broken row of brown stained ones.
‘Now there’s a sight for sore eyes, guv!’ he said. ‘Keep her on a short lead with all these foreigners about. They ain’t seen a woman in ages. And neither’ve I.’
Magus gave him a steely look and the man dropped his piercing gaze.
‘We’ve come to see Yul. I want a word with him.’
‘Right. You’ll be pleased with the result so far. Knocked the cockiness out of him like I said I would. He can’t obey me fast enough, and I ain’t done yet. He’ll be licking my boots when I’ve finished with him.’
He laughed harshly and Sylvie felt her anger rising again. What had they done to Yul?
‘Bring him over then,’ said Magus.
‘I’ll call him down. He’s up there – see, up that rock face? We got to clear away the ivy so we can see the stone. Bloody stuff clings to the rock everywhere and it’s a hard job getting it off. The only way is to climb up and hack it away by hand.’
Sylvie saw then a figure high up, swarming amongst the ivy and armed with a glinting blade. He was coated in white dust, hair and clothes caked with it. Was that Yul? She squinted through the haze of dust and bright light that bounced off the exposed stones. How could he bear to work here? It was a terrible place – noisy, violent and chokingly dusty. The core driller stopped its relentless hammering and Jackdaw put his fingers in his mouth and whistled. The figure up high stopped and turned its face towards them. Sylvie gulped. She’d never have recognised him.
Jackdaw laughed again.
‘Trained him like a dog to the whistle. Go fetch. Sit up and beg. Come to heel. He knows all the tricks now.’
He whistled again and beckoned. The figure began to shin down the rock face rapidly, slithering through the glossy ivy. He jumped the last few feet of the drop and ran towards them, slowing as he approached. He bowed his head and kept it down, his steps faltering as he reached them, and stopped at a respectful distance. Sylvie was horrified at the sight of him. His thin body was cowed and stooping. Gone was the defiant tilt of his chin, the proud bearing. His thick dark hair was matted and stiff with white dust. She couldn’t see his face at all, for he stared doggedly at the ground.
‘Blessings, Yul,’ said Magus softly, a smile on his lips. Sylvie swallowed hard. The boy raised his head slightly to look the master in the eye. She saw then the terrible aftermath of the beating. Although the swelling had gone down considerably, his face was still misshapen and covered with ugly bruising. His eyes were frightened. He ignored her completely.
‘Sir,’ he mumbled, bowing his head again as if unable to bear looking at them.
‘I’ve brought you a visitor, Yul,’ Magus continued. ‘Someone who’s been thinking of you and wanting to see you. Even though I’ve explained to her how inappropriate any form of friendship is between the two of you.’
There was a silence.
‘Where’s your manners, boy?’ growled Jackdaw and raised his hand menacingly. Yul flinched instantly, cowering from the threatened blow. Sylvie couldn’t bear it. She stepped forward slightly, stretching out her hand as one might to a frightened creature.
‘I’m sorry, Yul. I just wanted to know if you were okay. I was worried what they’d done to you.’
He nodded but didn’t raise his face or look her in the eye.
‘So now you’ve seen,’ said Magus smugly. ‘And now you realise how Yul feels about the friendship. It’s ended and he wants not
hing more to do with you. Isn’t that right, Yul?’
The boy nodded.
‘I didn’t hear you!’
Yul raised his head and his deep grey eyes looked full at the master’s face, pleading silently for release.
‘Yes, sir, that’s right.’
Magus chuckled and turned away, saying something to Jackdaw. Sylvie looked at Yul still standing there, unsure whether he’d been dismissed or not. He darted a quick glance at her and she felt, in that moment, the full force of his misery. Her throat constricted and tears sprang to her eyes, spilling onto her cheeks. She turned away and stumbled back to the Land Rover. She shut herself inside, trying to stifle her sobs. She saw the two men turn back and notice Yul standing there with his head bowed. Jackdaw cuffed him hard, shouting belligerently in his face, and the boy went scurrying back to the ivy-clad rock face. Sylvie buried her face in her hands and cried.
She resisted all attempts at conversation on the return journey, sitting in hunched silence. Magus finally pulled up in front of the Hall, turned off the engine and faced her.
‘Well? Satisfied now?’
‘I hate you,’ she said quietly.
He laughed.
‘No you don’t, Sylvie. You just don’t like being beaten, but you’ll get over it. Remember who brought you here and who healed you? You don’t really hate me at all.’
She shook her head.
‘When’s his ordeal over? When’ll the punishment end?’
‘I said two weeks. That’ll be the nineteenth. But it’s just before the Summer Solstice and I’ll be too busy to go around collecting waifs and strays. He can miss the Solstice holiday and I’ll collect him afterwards.’
‘That’s not fair. Why can’t Jackdaw bring him back?’
He chuckled at this.
‘You don’t know Jackdaw’s history! He can’t just appear in the Village – there’d be a riot. I’m going to reintegrate him, but it’s got to be done gradually. So no, Sylvie, Jackdaw won’t be bringing Yul back.’
‘But why should he miss the festival? It’s unfair.’
‘Yes, life’s like that. A shame you can’t drive or you could go and collect him yourself. But never mind. A few more days at Quarrycleave won’t do him any harm. He’s shaping up nicely, isn’t he? Jackdaw’s done an excellent job where we left off. Between us all – me, Jackdaw and Alwyn – we’ve finally broken Yul.’
