‘What is that thing?’ he exclaimed.
‘It heals, Delph. Scratches and smashed heads. Pretty much anything.’
On his fourth attempt, Delph soared into the air, flew for about a quarter-mile, made a long, if ragged, bank, turned back towards me and landed. On his feet. He was so excited that he snatched me off the ground and whirled me around until I thought I might be sick.
‘I did it, Vega Jane. I’m like a bird, I am.’
‘A very big bird,’ I replied. ‘And put me down before I vomit on you.’
I decided to show Delph the Elemental. When I first pulled the tiny spear from my cloak pocket, wearing my glove, it was not very impressive to him. And considering it was barely three inches long, I could hardly blame him. But when I focused my thoughts and asked the Elemental to return to its normal state, it grew in my gloved hand to its proper length and assumed its dazzling golden colour.
Delph exclaimed, ‘How does it do that, Vega Jane?’
‘I don’t know, Delph,’ I said. ‘It’s only important that it does it when I need it to.’
He reached out to take it, but I stayed his hand. ‘Only with this, Delph,’ I said, holding up the glove.
‘If you touch it without the glove, what happens?’ he asked.
‘Neither one of us wants to find out, do we?’
He slipped on the glove and hefted the Elemental. I looked over at a tree about thirty feet distant. ‘Think in your mind that you want the Elemental to hit that tree. Then throw it that way, like a spear.’
Delph scrunched up his face in concentration, took aim and let fly.
The Elemental travelled a few yards and then dived into the dirt. Delph looked over at me, smiling. ‘Cor blimey. Is that all it does? Har!’
I took the glove from him, picked up the Elemental, thought about what I wanted it to do and let it fly. The tree disintegrated in a flash of light when the spear struck it. I held out my gloved hand, and the Elemental flew back to it, like the hunter hawks I had seen Duf training up.
Delph had thrown himself to the dirt when the Elemental hit the tree. When he looked up, I gazed down at him with what I hoped was a sufficiently patronizing look.
‘No, that’s what it does, Delph. Har!’
Soon, Delph could hit just about anything with the Elemental. I didn’t know if it would be necessary when we tried to pass through the Quag, but I didn’t know it wouldn’t be either.
Late that night, Delph and I sat at my digs in front of a meagre fire while Harry Two snoozed at our feet. Making up my mind, I stood and said, ‘Now you need to see something.’
‘What?’
Quickly I pulled down my trousers and lifted up my tattered shirt and my shirtsleeves, exposing my belly and my arms. ‘Look, Delph!’
His astonished gaze ran up along my legs to my belly and up my arms. His jaw fell.
I smiled because it was clear he had no idea what any of this was. ‘It’s the map through the Quag, Delph. Quentin Herms left it for me. He had it on parchment. But I was afraid to keep it, so I inked it on my skin.’
He drew closer.
‘I’ve memorized all of it, Delph. But you need to as well. We both have to know the way, just in case.’ I held up the Quag book. ‘You know what awaits us in there.’
For the next thirty slivers, Delph studied the marks on my skin as I walked him through the map of the Quag. I would do this for as many nights as possible until the directions were firmly entrenched in his brain. As the slivers passed, Delph’s eyes slowly closed. Soon he was snoring in his seat. I lowered my shirt, sat in my only other chair and looked through the book on the Quag.
On nearly every piece of parchment there was something that could kill you.
But there were some beneficial creatures as well, including something called a Hob that would help you so long as you gave it a small gift. Cheeky blighter, I thought, trading kindness for coin.
I finally closed the book and peered into the fire. One smouldering log caught my attention, reminding me of my grandfather and my parents – swallowed whole by flames.
They had all left by choice. Which meant that they had chosen to leave me.
That was a hard thought to reconcile with but I had other things to focus on. To leave Wormwood and find my grandfather and my parents, because now I knew they were not dead. They were simply no longer in Wormwood. Which meant they were somewhere else. Which meant there was somewhere else other than Wormwood. And that was an astonishing thought.
But then the thought of my entire family, including John, abandoning me seized me once more. I sat down on the cold stone floor and did something I almost never did. I started to weep. I rocked back and forth. I hurt all over. Almost like I had been swallowed by fire myself.
I was startled when I felt Delph’s arms wrap around me, comforting me. I looked up and there he was, holding me and weeping too.
Harry Two sidled over to us and was inching my hand up with his snout, as if he were trying to make me feel better.
‘’Tis OK, Vega Jane,’ Delph said into my ear, his warm breath tickling my skin. ‘’Tis OK,’ he mumbled again.
I touched his hand to let him know I’d heard. But it would not be OK.
Nothing again would ever be OK.
But come what may, I was going to leave this place.
Because I had come to learn that while Wormwood was full of many things, the truth was not one of them.
And the truth was what I needed.
I had nothing else left.
31
THE DUELUM
When I left for Stacks one light, there it was. The cloth banner was strung across the high street in Wormwood, connected by metal hooks and stout ropes into the fronts of two buildings facing the cobblestones. It read:
GREETINGS, ALL WUGMORTS. THE NEXT DUELUM WILL BE HELD IN A FORTNIGHT AT THE PITCH. FIRST PRIZE FIVE HUNDRED COINS. ALL ELIGIBLE WUGMORTS MUST COMPETE.
Underneath this was a statement that a meeting would be held in the square that night where more information would be provided, along with a directive that all Wugmorts attend.
Duelums were twice-a-session competitions pitting strong males against one another on a broad pitch on the edge of Wormwood proper. And even though he had just turned sixteen sessions, Delph had won three of them, including the last. To be eligible, a male Wug had to be of sound mind and body, and be over the age of fourteen, but not older than thirty sessions.
The coin prize was startling enough. For as long as I could remember, the only prizes one got when winning a Duelum were a metal figurine of a male Wug holding another male Wug over his head and a mere handful of coins.
I wondered if Delph would win again. He and Duf could certainly use five hundred coins. Yet I wondered why the Duelum was still being held when all the young males were working so hard on the Wall.
I headed on to Stacks, changed and went to my workstation to begin my tasks. It was obvious that every Wug at Stacks had heard of the Duelum and was sizing up the competition. I was the only female there, so none of them was looking at me.
In the locker room later, when work was done, I changed into my regular clothes after the males had left. I lifted my shirt and looked down at my flat belly. Parts of the map had faded so badly that I had had to re-ink them back in several times now. It took a long time and was quite the bother, but I reminded myself that it was also important, since Delph needed to memorize it. I lowered my shirt and headed out of Stacks.
Later that night, with Harry Two at my side, I trudged to the centre of Wormwood and joined the crowd massing there. A wooden platform had been set up. I was not surprised to see Bogle and the blue carriage already there. I was also not surprised to see Thansius and Morrigone seated on the platform. But I was flummoxed to see John sitting next to them. And he wore the black dress tunic of Council!
There was a whisper in my ear. ‘’Tis John.’
I turned to see Delph standing there.
Indeed ’tis John, I
thought. And indeed ’tis not John.
Pretty much every Wug was here. Roman Picus and his Carbineer mates – Cletus, Non and Ran Digby – were standing at comical attention with their knives and long and short mortas. I was thankful to be downwind from Digby. The niff that bloke sent off would have me barfing. As a female, I had thought about skiving off this meeting, but I was too curious to stay away.
The one Wug missing was Jurik Krone. I scanned the row of Council members seated in front of the platform, but he was not there. It was not like him to skip a public event where he could preen for the audience. I also wondered what the other far more senior Council members thought about John sitting up there while they were relegated to being down with us average Wugs. I was startled to see Ladon-Tosh, armed to the teeth, guarding the steps up to the platform. He looked as maniacal as ever.
All the males looked tired and dirty. All the females, while a bit cleaner by comparison, looked even more knackered. They had to work on the Wall as well, but they also had to take care of their families – cooking, cleaning and being mother Wugs. Despite all that, I sensed excitement in the crowd. And the reason was obvious. Five hundred coins.
Thansius stood and raised his hands above his head. ‘Greetings, fellow Wugmorts. We have asked you here this night to announce the latest Duelum. It will begin at the second section of light a fortnight hence. The reward for the champion, as you no doubt already know, will be five hundred coins!’
Whispers and murmurs zipped through the crowd. However, my gaze held steady on my brother. He was seated next to Morrigone, and the two of them seemed to be having a conversation about something. John seemed happy, content. And Morrigone, well, she appeared to be like a proud Preceptor with her prize prodigy. Then Thansius said something that made my attention snap back to him.
‘This Duelum will be different from all the others, however.’ He paused, seeming to gather oratorical strength. ‘This Duelum will also include all females between the ages of twenty and twenty-four sessions.’ And he added the stunner. ‘The females’ participation is mandatory as well.’
Now the whispers went up a thousandfold. Most males were guffawing. Females were looking confused and frightened. I shot a glance at Delph. He looked as confused as I did. I next eyed Cletus Loon. He was snickering with two of his loutish friends.
Thansius cleared his throat and asked for silence.
We Wugs quieted down. Of course, there would have to be two champions, I thought, male and female, because there was no way they could expect females to fight males.
Thansius cleared this up with his next comment. ‘There will be only one champion.’ I looked up at him, stunned. He continued. ‘And now here is Morrigone to more fully explain the reasoning behind this decision.’
I supposed the ‘reasoning’ behind that was it took a female to explain to other females why it made sense to get your brain smashed in. Morrigone rose and glided to the front of the platform. She was perfectly composed and took a sliver to look over the crowd and let them feel her presence. Well, I would be composed too if I were her. She was certainly older than twenty-four sessions and therefore would not have to pit herself against males. But then again, she might be able to win against them.
Morrigone said, ‘No doubt many of you are wondering why this decision has come about. First, let me state that all females within the age requirement who are mates with males, or mothers, or who are currently with child, or had a child within the last full session will not have to compete.’
A collective sigh of relief flowed through the crowd. There were a great many females who would qualify for these exceptions, I knew.
Morrigone continued. ‘As well as any females with physical disabilities or other weaknesses or infirmities. This last exception of course will apply to males as well.’
I looked around the crowd of Wugs and saw a good many relieved females who would also qualify for this exception, along with about a dozen males.
She added, ‘But all others must fight. They will be pitted against the males. Some may say this is unfair. But times have changed in Wormwood. The Outliers surround us. They do not care who is male and who is female. They will attack us all. Thus the able-bodied and younger females among us must be prepared to fight. And the way to do that is to train to fight. To learn how to defend themselves. That is why a fortnight has been given for all eligible females to learn these skills. And professional fight Preceptors will be available for all, males and females, who desire to be trained up. I would recommend that all females competing in the Duelum avail themselves of this opportunity.’
I gazed up in disbelief at her. Time to learn these skills? In a fortnight? Was she serious? When females were already killing themselves building the Wall? The males wouldn’t have to waste time training, just the poor females. They couldn’t suddenly develop a male’s strength.
Thansius nodded at one of the Council members down below. The Wug stood and held up a cloth bag. Thansius said, ‘The prize of five hundred coins.’
Wugs made a great fuss over this great bag of wealth. And then Thansius added, ‘We clearly realize the inherent unfairness of this situation, male versus female. Thus, if a female were to win the Duelum, the prize will be increased to one thousand coins!’
There was no cheering over this from any females. They obviously could see that no female would claim it, so what was there to get excited about?
Thansius then told us that the competition rounds would be posted soon, showing who would be competing against whom in the first round. He said that they had already calculated that five rounds would be necessary to declare a champion. He wished us all good luck and then told us the ‘meeting’ was over.
As Wugs started to slowly drift away, I made a beeline for the platform. I wanted to see John. However, before I could get there, someone blocked my way.
Cletus Loon looked me up and down, a murderous expression on his face. ‘It’s a good thing you’re too young to fight. I might draw you in the first round,’ he said.
‘It is a good thing,’ I replied. ‘A good thing for you. Now get out of my way.’
I tried to brush past him, but he put a hand on my shoulder. Before I could react or a growling Harry Two could take a bite out of him, Cletus was flying backwards before landing hard on the cobblestones, his morta and knife flying away.
Before he could even attempt to get up, Delph put a huge boot on his chest and held him down.
Cletus yelled, ‘You take your filthy foot off me.’
One of Cletus’s friends came up and stammered, ‘L-look at Da-Da-Da-Delph.’
Delph grabbed him by the shirt, hoisted him full off the cobblestones and held him close to his face. ‘The name is Daniel Delphia to you, you little prat. And next time I won’t be so polite in reminding you. Now shove off.’
He let the Wug drop, and he ran off as fast as he could. Then Delph removed his foot from Cletus, who was staring up with an amazed look.
‘Y-you’re not stut-stuttering,’ said Cletus in a quavering voice.
Delph knelt down so he and Cletus were eye to eye. ‘You best hope I don’t draw you first, Loon. And if you lay another hand on Vega Jane, you’ll pray for death by garm once I get a hold of you. Now clear off!’
Cletus scrambled to his feet and raced away.
‘Thanks, Delph,’ I said, beaming at him with deep gratitude.
‘You could have taken care of him yourself, Vega Jane.’
‘I know. But it’s nice to have help.’ Then I remembered where I was going. John was almost at the carriage. ‘Good luck in the Duelum, Delph,’ I said. ‘I hope you win the five hundred coins.’
I turned and sprinted down the cobblestones and reached John just as he was about to climb aboard after Morrigone.
‘John?’
He turned and smiled, but the smile was . . . forced. I could tell that instantly.
‘Hello, Vega,’ he said stiffly.
Morrigone leaned out the door. When sh
e saw me, she said, ‘John, we must go. There is last meal and then we must work on your lessons.’
‘It’ll only take a sliver, Morrigone,’ I said hurriedly.
She nodded curtly and sat back in her seat. However, I suspected she would be eavesdropping intently.
‘What is it, Vega?’ asked John. He looked down at Harry Two but made no move to pet him or even ask about him. My brother’s hair was shaved very close to his scalp. He was very nearly unrecognizable to me.
‘How are you?’ I said. ‘It seems like our last visit was a session ago.’
‘I’ve been very busy with the Wall and my lessons,’ he said.
‘Yes, the Wall is keeping every Wug busy,’ I replied, hoping he heard my emphasis.
‘But we’re still behind schedule,’ John said. ‘The official timetable will not be met. We need to work harder. The Outliers may strike at any time.’
His strident tone caught me off guard.
‘Uh, you look well,’ I said, changing the subject.
He seemed to calm, but all enthusiasm drained from his face as he focused on my simple observation. ‘I am very well. And you?’
‘Fine.’ It felt like two strangers meeting.
‘Have you been to the Care?’ asked John.
I flinched and then my gaze darted to the carriage. ‘Not recently, no.’
‘I’ve wanted to visit our parents, but Morrigone says I must stay focused.’
I hesitated. I was trying very hard not to jump into the carriage and have a personal Duelum with Morrigone. But I had given her my word. ‘I’m sure she does,’ I said loudly so that Morrigone was certain to hear.
Morrigone poked her head out. ‘We must go, John.’
‘Just one more sliver,’ I called out, staring directly at her. ‘And don’t worry, Morrigone – I’ll keep focused on what needs to be said and what doesn’t.’
She gave me a piercing look and then withdrew into the carriage once more.
‘I miss you, John.’ I stepped forward and hugged him. I could feel him tense under my embrace.
Vega Jane and the Secrets of Sorcery Page 15
