Delph and I had practised his strategy over and over until I could do it in my sleep. It lifted my spirits. I felt as if I had a fighting chance, which is the least one is entitled to in my view.
Thansius visited me on the night before the Duelum’s final bout. Harry Two let Thansius scratch him on the head before settling down by my cot. At first, Thansius remained silent, his face brooding and his long fingers slowly stroking his beard. Finally, seeming to have reached a decision, he leaned forward and focused on me.
But I broke the silence first. ‘I’m fighting Ladon-Tosh. So please don’t bother trying to talk me out of it.’
‘I believe you must fight him.’
This stunned me.
‘You’re surprised by my statement?’
‘I am.’
‘So many of our fellow Wugmorts never manage to see past the borders of Wormwood or their own narrow minds. For our borders are indeed narrow, Vega.’
‘You put it far more eloquently than I could, Thansius.’
‘I understand that you and Morrigone have had words on a number of occasions. Harsh words.’
‘If she said so, I don’t deny it.’ I paused, sensing that this was a time to choose my words carefully. ‘The things Morrigone can do, Thanisus? Where did that ability come from?’
He paused and gave me a stare so sharp that I thought I would bleed. ‘You mean the things you can also do?’
This gobsmacked me. ‘How did you—’
He waved away my surprise. ‘I know that the powers with which Morrigone has been endowed are showing themselves in you. There is, however, a critical difference, I think.’
‘And what is that?’
‘Simply that your powers are far greater.’
I turned away from those penetrating eyes. ‘I have no idea what I’m doing. She does.’
‘You recall your tree?’
I turned back to him. ‘What about it?’
‘It wasn’t petrified of course,’ said Thansius matter-of-factly. ‘But I knew that explanation would suffice for the likes of Non and his followers. You, Vega, you saved your tree.’
‘How?’
‘By willing it to survive.’
I slowly took this all in. ‘And my grandfather?’
‘I think you know the answer to that. These things are handed down in Wug families. Only a few possess it. It seems that the passage of time has diluted it to almost nothing for most of us.’
‘But what is it, Thansius?’
‘Power, Vega. Your grandfather possessed it in abundance. It is the reason he is no longer among us.’
‘So you know where he’s gone?’
‘A place assuredly beyond the Quag.’
‘But we have always been taught that Wormwood is all there is.’
‘Yet that does not make it true, does it?’
I shook my head. ‘And what of the Outliers? The Wall?’
For the first time I could ever recall, Thansius, mighty Thansius, looked embarrassed, even ashamed.
He said, ‘There is a sense of duty sometimes, Vega, which compels even the most honest of Wugs to do things that lack that very honesty.’
‘So it’s all a lie, then?’
‘Lies are sometimes given for the very best of intentions.’
‘My grandfather once told me that the most bitterly awful place of all is one that Wugmorts don’t know is as wrong as wrong can possibly be.’ I grew silent and looked at him questioningly.
Thansius studied his large, strong hands for a few moments before looking up at me. ‘I would say that your grandfather was a very wise Wug.’ He rose. ‘And now duty calls and I must be off.’
At the door, he turned back. ‘Good luck, Vega, next light.’ He paused and seemed to stare off for a moment before looking back at me. ‘And beyond. For I knew this time must come at some point.’
And then Thansius was gone.
50
TO THE DEATH
That night, it was no surprise that I found it difficult to sleep. I finally gave it up as a bad job. I pulled out my cloak and, using strong thread, sewed Destin into the garment’s sleeves and across its shoulders. This would hide my chain from view. I put the Stone and the Elemental in my pocket and set off with Harry Two.
I had previously fashioned a harness and a cradle of sorts, using scraps of leather and metal from Stacks. When we were safely away from Wormwood proper, I tied the shoulder straps around me, placed Harry Two in the cradle and buckled him in against my chest. I had bound him up like this before and he had taken to it good-naturedly.
I took a running start and soared into the air. This might be my last chance to leave the ground and feel the wind in my face, let it lift my hair.
I flew along for a great many slivers with Harry Two dangling happily underneath me. I don’t know which of our grins was bigger. But there was a melancholy behind my smile, for obvious reasons. And as I looked down at Harry Two from time to time, I could sense the same with him. Canines were indeed curiously marvellous beasts.
We landed on the dirt, and I freed Harry Two from the harness. I had a biscuit in my pocket, and I broke it in half and gave my canine his share, which he wolfed down while I took my time with mine. I chewed methodically, probably because I wanted to slow every sliver down now.
At that moment, something in the sky snagged my attention and I felt a sudden thrill when I saw it.
A shooting star. It raced across my point of view while all the other winks of light remained stationary. I harkened back to what my grandfather had said. When you see a shooting star, it means change is coming for some Wugmort. Maybe he knew that one light, it would come for me. Whether it would be my death or my escape from here, only this coming light would tell.
Since I had never glimpsed one before, I had no idea how long it would be visible. For some reason, in my head, I desperately wanted to keep it in sight. If it disappeared, it seemed to me, then so might I.
And it was there, for the longest time, until the glow finally vanished, with the break of the first section of light. I rubbed my eyes and stretched my limbs. I picked up Harry Two and settled him into his cradle. I soared into the sky, performed a long dive and then came swooping back up into the lightening sky. Harry Two seemed to love this and barked happily.
I landed on the outskirts of the Delphias’ property. I didn’t wake them, though they would be up soon enough. I had brought a bit of parchment with me and used my ink stick to mark a few words down and then slipped it inside the Delphias’ door.
I bent down and gave Harry Two a long hug. It was hard to leave Wugs. It seemed just as hard to say goodbye to a beloved canine. I told Harry Two to stay with the Delphias. That the note would be read and they would understand.
In the note I had asked Delph to take in Harry Two if I was killed this light. I knew he would. My canine would make a wonderful addition to the lives of Delph and Duf, and that was a good thing. Harry Two had given me much happiness in the brief time I’d had him. I hoped I had at least done the same for him. Other than Harry Two, I really had nothing left that anyone would care about. John was provided for. My parents were gone. My digs would go back to being empty. Another Finisher would take my place at Stacks. Life in Wormwood would go on, just like it always had.
I didn’t fly back to my digs. I walked. By the time I got there, it was nearly time for me to go to the pitch. I was surprised to see some flowers that Wugs had left in front of my door with parchments attached containing hopeful words. I took them all inside and placed them on the table, where they looked awfully fine.
I sat alone in my chair in front of the empty fireplace and counted off the slivers in my head. I turned to the window when I heard footfalls outside. Wugs were headed to the pitch. I waited a bit more and then rose and checked to make sure Destin was securely sewn into my cloak. As I touched the chain, it was warm. I took that as a good sign. I’m not sure why. Then I reached my hand into my pocket and touched first the Stone and then the
Elemental. For luck? Again, I wasn’t sure.
I went around the room and touched everything I had found here. The stacks of clothes and papers. And the drawings I had made as a very young. As I opened the door to leave, I took one last look around. Then I stepped outside, closed the door and headed to the pitch.
It seemed that every Wugmort in Wormwood was here this light. When I looked over at the betting boards, I was stunned to see not a single wager had been placed.
When Wugs saw me coming, something truly extraordinary happened. They started to clap. Just a few at first, but then others took it up, and within a sliver the pitch was thundering with the sounds of hands coming together. As I continued to march forward and the sea of Wugs respectfully parted so I could pass, I felt my eyes moisten.
Darla Gunn came up seemingly from nowhere and wrung my hand. ‘You are so brave, Vega – so brave. But I still wish you weren’t doing this. I mean, we just got your hair looking so nice, didn’t we?’
I laughed and it did my spirits good.
I looked away when tears filled her eyes. I was not going to let myself cry. Ladon-Tosh would probably just kill me harder.
Since there was only one bout this light, I was directed to the very centre of the pitch where a special ring had been laid out. It seemed so small that I wagered Ladon-Tosh could simply stand at one end and kill me with one blow without either of us moving our feet. The strategy Delph had laid out was a good one, but right now it seemed absurdly inadequate. My confidence had totally deserted me.
Old Silas’s eyesight had apparently worsened over the last few lights and nights, because he was standing at one end of the ring and looking the wrong way for the combatants to arrive. He remained that way until Thansius emerged from the crowd and gently pointed him in the correct direction.
I next watched as Bogle and the carriage rattled up, and out stepped not just Morrigone but John. I caught her gaze for an instant but then she looked away. John’s eyes lingered on me. I had hoped to see something in them – something that told me . . . I wasn’t exactly sure what. But he dutifully followed Morrigone on to the platform and took his seat while the other members of Council sat in a row below.
Krone was seated at the end of this row with Duk Dodgson next to him. They both seemed self-satisfied, as though my fate had already been decided.
Delph showed up a sliver later. He had Harry Two next to him. He caught my eye and pointed to my canine as if to say firmly, I’ve got him till you come to take him back.
The clapping for me had continued all this time and then it abruptly stopped. A moment later, I knew why.
Ladon-Tosh came striding down the path to the ring. He had on a plain shirt and a pair of old dark trousers. He was barefoot. His eyes looked neither right nor left. Wugs pushed against each other trying to get out of his way. As I watched him approach, I felt Destin start to grow cold against my skin and I panicked.
The official bell rang. Silas beckoned both Ladon-Tosh and me to the centre of the ring so he could deliver his instructions. I stepped forward although my legs seemed unwilling to follow the command of my mind to move. Ladon-Tosh didn’t look at me. My heart was pounding so fiercely in my ears that I could barely hear Silas’s by-now-familiar words.
‘Fair fight. Keep it clean. Penalty if one of you falls out of the ring.’ Here Silas stopped and seemed to remember what had happened to Newton Tilt. He glanced at me and for the first time I think Silas actually saw me. His look of fear for me was not very encouraging.
Silas stepped back, but before the second bell for the start of combat was sounded, Thansius came forward.
He said, ‘This bout will determine the champion of this Duelum. As you all know, tragedy struck last time and we all hope that it does not do so again.’
He looked at Ladon-Tosh when he said this part, but the latter’s gaze rested on a spot about six feet above my head. I even looked that way to see what he was staring at, but there was nothing there.
Thansius continued. ‘If Vega Jane wins, she will be the first female champion ever and more than entitled to the one-thousand-coin reward.’ He looked at Ladon-Tosh again, but since he obviously wasn’t even paying attention, whatever else Thansius was going to say, he apparently decided not to. ‘Let the bout begin,’ he said, and stepped clear of the ring.
Silas motioned Ladon-Tosh and me to opposite ends of the ring, and I obeyed quickly, naturally wanting to put as much space between us as I could.
Right before the bell sounded, I looked over and saw Domitar. He was staring directly at me. I could swear he was saying something to me. I tried to hear the words.
‘All before. Done it before,’ was all I could make out from him.
Then my attention snapped back to the bout. The bell rang. Neither Ladon-Tosh nor I moved. For all my feelings of hopelessness, I had my strategy – well, actually Delph’s strategy – and I intended to carry it out.
For two long slivers, we simply stood there staring at each other. My heart continued to beat like a runaway slep as time ticked by. The crowd was holding its collective breath.
And then it happened. I have no idea how or when. It just happened.
I saw the fist coming at me so fast it seemed impossible to avoid its crushing impact. But as the knuckles raced at me, I flipped sideways in the air and came down on both feet. The crowd screamed as Ladon-Tosh was suddenly now on my side of the ring.
‘Oh my holy Steeples!’ screamed Darla Gunn.
I circled away from Ladon-Tosh as he straightened up and looked at his fist as though he couldn’t quite fathom how he had missed.
He turned towards me. I went into a crouch and studied him. And then another amazing thing happened. Everything, and I mean everything, slowed down. My breathing, the movements of the crowd, the birds in the sky, the wind and even the sounds. I watched one Wug sneeze and it seemed to take him a sliver to accomplish.
But most important of all was the slowing down of Ladon-Tosh.
The next punch came, but I saw it so well in advance that I had already moved, it seemed, before he even threw it. In fact, I leisurely watched it go by at the spot I had been a moment ago. He whirled around and looked at me. Yes, now Ladon-Tosh was looking at me. I was glad he had finally condescended to actually see who he was trying to kill. Though when I saw the eyes, I wished he hadn’t. They were terrifying, to be sure. But they were also something else.
They were familiar. I had seen them before; I just didn’t remember where.
I heard a shriek. I had lost my focus and I spun out of the way in the nick of time as a fist screamed past me with so much force that it seemed to carry a wake of turbulent air with it. This time I struck. I slammed my fist into my opponent’s back with such violence that I was convinced I had punched a hole right through him.
Pain shot all the way up my arm and burst into my shoulder. I had never hit anything so hard in my life. I hadn’t exploded Ladon-Tosh, though I had accomplished the seemingly impossible.
I had knocked him flat on his face. A great cheer rang from the crowd.
But as I stood there, my right arm dangling like a limp rope, I had nothing much to cheer about, for Ladon-Tosh was getting back up. I had hit him as hard as I possibly could and he was getting back up with no signs of permanent damage. I had forgotten Delph’s instructions. Tap-tap. Don’t hit him hard at first. But I had. And it was an enormous mistake.
Ladon-Tosh came at me again now. With my right arm totally useless, but my senses otherwise intact, I easily sidestepped him. Instead of hitting him with my good hand – since it would be good no longer – I spun around, supported by my one able arm, and flicked my feet against his buttocks as he flew past me. This propelled him out of the ring and into the crowd. Wugs ran hither and thither trying to get out of his way. He was like an enraged creta, only a hundred times more powerful and a thousand times more murderous.
Old Silas toddled forward and said, ‘Wug out of ring. Penalty against Ladon-Tosh. Free blow for Veg
a Jane. Well done, lass.’
Fortunately, Delph snatched Silas out of the way before he was crushed by Ladon-Tosh leaping back into the ring to attack me.
He was now throwing punch after punch with astonishing speed. I dodged them all and then I started to employ my other tactic. I started to race in a circle around him. He spun too, punching at me but landing nothing. I told myself that he had to tire at some point.
When I glanced over at Morrigone, she still had her gaze fixed on Ladon-Tosh, yet I could see the rising panic in her eyes. She was upset that I was not yet dead. She was afraid I might win. Well, I just might.
I ran one more circle around him and then leaped and kicked him in the head with my left foot. Again, the shattering pain swept down my limb. Again, he went down hard. I noted with satisfaction that he took longer to rise this time. But rise he did.
But I had made another even more terrible mistake. I could run with one arm. I could not with one leg. ‘Damn!’ I screamed. I was so furious with myself.
Then I smacked myself in the head with my good arm.
The Stone. The Adder Stone. I snatched it from my pocket and, concealing it in my hand, I swiftly ran it up and down my damaged limbs.
They were damaged no longer, but I’d once more lost my focus. I heard the crowd collectively scream and I felt the blow hit me across my shoulders. I was knocked fifty feet into the air and crashed hard well outside the ring.
Ladon-Tosh did not wait for me to re-enter it. He leaped and came down hard with his elbow pointed downward right on top of me. Or where I had been an instant before. He struck the ground so hard, it dug a hole in the dirt three feet deep, and about twenty Wugs toppled over from the ground shaking with the impact.
I raced back to the ring, turned and breathlessly waited for him to attack. I knew the only thing that had saved my life when the blow had struck was Destin. Its links still felt ice-cold to the touch as though it had absorbed almost all the energy of a blow that a few lights ago had easily killed a fully grown male Wug.
Vega Jane and the Secrets of Sorcery Page 27
