by Mali Baker
‘NOOOOOOO!’ Eleon screamed with utter rage, and pelted after Kit.
‘Faster, Kit, faster,’ River yelled. The girls reached their arms towards each other but Eleon was too quick. He came between them, swept Kit up by her waist and threw her over his shoulder!
‘KIIIIIIIIIIIIT!’ River screamed, unable to hide the terror in her voice. Her knees gave way and she dropped to the floor as Eleon strode long and fast, each huge step taking her twin sister further away from her.
The woman jumped out from behind the log, flying high over River and landing a few inches in front of her.
‘Stop right there, Eleon,’ she said. ‘Put the girl down.’
The woman didn’t need to shout; her voice resonated through the forest. Eleon stopped and turned around. He looked surprised to see the woman for a second, but his expression quickly changed to one of arrogance.
‘Sedina, you know I can’t do that,’ he smirked.
Kit was kicking and screaming, using every ounce of strength she had to try and release herself from his grip. ‘Put me down, you big bully. I demand you PUT ME DOWN.’ She was yelling, but her strength was nothing compared to his. It was like a pussycat fighting a lion.
‘She has to come with me,’ Eleon said. There was no room for negotiation in his voice. ‘If she was brave enough to set foot on the path, then she’s brave enough to suffer the consequences.’ He looked down for a moment and River noticed a look of sadness in his eyes. ‘Whatever will be will be. I’m taking her with me.’
‘Eleon, I command you to put her down,’ Sedina ordered.
River followed their exchange as though she was watching a tennis match. Sedina was tall, like Eleon, but moved more elegantly. River noticed she had big blue wings that twittered as she spoke. She prayed that this woman had the power to save her sister.
‘Don’t do this, Eleon. Come back with me and we can put this right together,’ Sedina pleaded.
He started to turn, pausing halfway. A wave of hope ran through River. Eleon lifted his head and looked directly at her. She was desperately fighting back tears.
‘It’s too late,’ he said, apologetically. For the first time he looked human; he looked vulnerable. His red second skin faded, just enough for River to see who he was beneath the façade. But, just as quickly, it reared its ugly head more prominently than ever and River knew he was about to run.
‘Kit,’ she said, in absolute despair, racking her brains for an idea. If she didn’t do something now, she dreaded to think what might happen. Alarm bells were deafening her eardrums; she could barely hear herself think. The adrenalin in her body shot her to her feet and she ran with all her might towards Kit, without a care for her own safety.
Kit quickly reached for a piece of paper and the butterfly pen she had put in her pocket before they left their Great-Auntie Violet’s room. She began writing on it as quickly as she had done back at the house.
‘RIVER, NO!’ Sedina shouted, but River couldn’t stop her legs from running. She was nearly there if she could just keep going a few more feet.
WHACK… River flew backwards, landing flat on her back, completely winded. She coughed, struggling to get the air back into her lungs. She pushed herself up to a sitting position. Her vision was blurry and the whole forest was spinning around her. She had no idea what she had run into, or how she had come to be so debilitated.
Sedina ran to River and knelt down next to her. She placed a hand on River’s forehead and River’s sight became acute. She saw exactly what she had hit. Eleon was surrounded by a gigantic bubble, shielding him and Kit from the outside world. She could barely see either of them through it. To River it looked as though a planet had fallen out of the universe and landed in the middle of the forest, sucking Eleon and her sister into the core of it. The bubble, also a deep shade of red, was growing bigger and bigger, making River feel suffocated.
‘Kit, Kit, KIIIT!’
‘She can’t hear you, River,’ Sedina said, removing her hand from River’s head. The bubble disappeared before River’s eyes. Despite not being able to see it, she knew it was still there: she could feel it excluding her, separating her from her twin. Eleon turned to see River, still on the floor in shock from the fall and the sight of this huge bubble. He and River locked eyes. It felt as though time was standing still, and they were the only two people in the forest.
‘Stay off that path,’ he said, ‘or you will never see your sister again.’
His words hit River like a ton of bricks, whipping away the last bit of breath she had. They cut into her heart like a knife. And then he turned and walked away, every step thudding through the earth, vibrating all the way over to where River lay. With Kit over his shoulder, the girls were now face to face as the distance between them increased. River went to shout but Kit put one finger over her lips. She knew silence was more powerful than anything else right now, especially if she was to get this piece of paper through the bubble and over to River. Kit held it up in her hand. She squinted and angled it like a dart, then launched the paper as hard as she could into the air.
It worked! It pierced through the bubble. River followed it with her eyes, watching it land on the ground beside her. A wave of sickness came over her and she thought she might pass out. As the vision of her sister and Eleon moving further away from her faded into nothing, her head fell back down on to the ground with a painful bump. She felt completely defeated. She closed her eyes and let the tears stream down the side of her face. This no longer felt like a dream; this no longer felt like a game. Kit was gone – she had been kidnapped. And River had absolutely no idea why.
CHAPTER 12
I’m Alive
‘River, wake up.’
River could hear the gentle sound of Sedina’s voice but she could have been speaking in a foreign language for all River understood. The wiring in her brain was completely tangled.
‘Leave her, Sedina, she must rest. She has a long journey ahead of her.’
All of a sudden River was very awake beneath her closed eyes, but she didn’t dare open them. Who was this man now talking to Sedina? How many more people were going to pop out of this forest? She really had had more than a lifetime’s worth of surprises today – if you could call them that; they were more like shocks – and she didn’t know if she could handle any more.
The man sounded much older than Sedina and spoke slowly, pronouncing every syllable of every word. River’s mind was ticking but her body felt heavy and useless. Gravity had definitely won this battle; she was staying flat on the floor for as long as she could get away with.
‘But we need to move quickly.’ Sedina sounded urgent. River could hear her wings fluttering next to her. ‘If Eleon figures out how to use the crystal, the girls may never be reunited and we’ll be finished.’
‘I know, Sedina. But right now the girl needs to rest.’
River could feel the two of them circling her as she listened to their conversation, his pace a lot slower than Sedina’s. River could tell Sedina was worried, and River was too. Her one and only goal was to find Kit, nothing else mattered, but for some reason lying on the ground felt her best option right now. Perhaps because down here she could pretend this wasn’t real. When she stood up, she would have to do something, and she had no idea what that something was.
The man had the most peculiar tone to his voice. River couldn’t compare it to that of anyone she had ever met before. He sounded kind, like a wise old man. His heavy steps synced with the beat of her heart, soothing her somehow. A sigh escaped her; she hadn’t meant to make a sound but she was feeling strangely relaxed in his presence. She had forgotten she was supposed to be playing dead! Both sets of footsteps stopped and she could feel they were both looking at her. She squeezed her right eye shut, as tight as she could, and allowed the left eyelid to open, just enough to take a peek at the two grown-ups that stood over her.
The old man couldn’t help but laugh as he watched River’s face change. Although River hadn’t meant to be funny, he obviously found her attempt to see them without being seen comical. Sedina gasped, just relieved that River was alive. Perhaps she had been better at playing dead than she’d realised.
‘Thank goodness you’re awake, River. We need to get you back on to the path.’
Sedina hooked her forearms under River’s armpits and tried to drag her to her feet. She huffed and puffed but it was useless: River was heavy as a house. She literally could not be moved. And she was glad of it: had Sedina not heard what Eleon said? He’d said that if River ever went back on to the path she would never see Kit again. River wasn’t planning on going anywhere near that path: all she cared about was getting her sister back safely.
The man stood watching Sedina struggle. ‘Oh, Sedina, why do you attempt such things?’ he said gruffly, through a deep laugh. ‘You know she has to get up by herself.’
River lay, examining the man. If she hadn’t heard him speak first she would have been petrified by the look of him. His extraordinary face was chiselled, defining his strong jawline and high cheekbones. His eyes were dark, almost black, but not the same as Eleon’s. The longer she gazed into them, the more she felt she was looking into the eyes of a child. He wore a shield on his right forearm that was almost as big as her, and held a long silver sword with purple trimming in his right hand.
‘Well, when is she going to be ready to get up?’ Sedina demanded.
‘At the right time, Sedina.’ He closed the conversation with the tone of his voice. Sedina looked away from him like a scolded child. ‘How are you feeling, River?’ he asked, turning his attention to her.
‘I’m…’ Her voice was croaky and she broke into a cough, the kind that tickled and made your eyes water. He leant down on to one knee beside her and put his sword down. He gently pulled her to a sitting position and patted her back. His hand was huge and heavy; she hoped he would stop soon, for fear he might break one of her ribs. Thankfully, his patting turned into a rub and she was able to swallow and moisten her throat.
River had been going to say she was fine, but then she realised that wasn’t at all true. She wasn’t fine. Her sister was missing and she had no idea where she was. She felt as though her grandparents’ house was a distant memory that might or might not have ever been a reality. And deep down she wanted to go back to pretending to be asleep on the ground, hoping that, when she opened her eyes again, she would be back to the normal River Baker she had been before she set foot into that STUPID room.
Instead of saying all that out loud, she said, ‘Well…I’m alive!’
Sedina and the man looked at each other and smiled.
‘It’s a good start,’ Sedina said. ‘The question is, what are you going to do, now that you are alive?’
She asked River as though it was a trick question, and River thought really hard about what she was going to say. Right now she honestly had no idea what she was going to do. She breathed the remaining breath in her lungs out into the sky, and a grey, foggy cloud formed above her head. ‘This place is so weird,’ she muttered, as the cloud floated away into the atmosphere. She watched it for a while until it disappeared. ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘What should I do?’
Sedina opened her mouth, ready to give River the answer, but the man held up his hand, making Sedina snap her mouth shut. River’s body slouched backwards as she lay back down again. Despite having the two of them standing there beside her, she felt very alone. She was hoping they would have all the answers, but clearly they were none the wiser.
‘Oh, don’t be mistaken – we know what you need to do, but you must take the first step by yourself,’ said the man.
River tightened her lips, certain she hadn’t said that out loud. Had he been able to hear her thoughts? She looked at Sedina, who was smiling at her, seemingly unaware that anything had been said between River and the man.
River looked up at him quizzically. ‘What’s your name?’
He looked at River, playfully, his eyes twinkling as though she had asked him his deepest secret. The right side of his mouth slid upwards, starting a smile. She knew he was not going to tell her his name but she didn’t mind. After all a name was just a name. What counted most to River right now was that he was there with her.
CHAPTER 13
Back on Track
River knew her body had taken a big hit when she’d run into Eleon’s bubble, but she hadn’t realised quite how bad she’d feel trying to get up. She felt as if she had doubled in weight since the last time she stood. She was convinced that, even if she did manage to stand, the weight of her head would be too much for her shoulders to carry, and she’d flop straight back down into a pile of mush.
Aware that both Sedina and No Name, as she had now nicknamed him, were watching her intently, she felt a responsibility to do something. She was beginning to feel awkward being gawked at like this. Under normal circumstances she would have asked for help, but she got the feeling that was a waste of time. So she focused with all her might, deciding that if she could at least get to a sitting position she was on her way to getting up. The pull from the earth was magnetic, though, encouraging her to stay flat on her back. She placed her palms by her waist, hoisting her top half to sit upright. She smiled at No Name and Sedina, expecting a bit of praise; she was rather pleased with herself. They both stared blankly back at her.
‘OK, then,’ she mumbled, and quickly went back to the job of getting the rest of her body up off the ground. ‘One, two, three…’ she said, cheerleading herself to flip over on to all fours. ‘Come on, River. You can do this.’
Pushing as hard as she could, she managed to lift her knees, sticking her bottom high in the air. She stayed there a few seconds, not sure what her next move should be. ‘Think of Kit, think of Kit,’ she chanted, over and over. It took all the power she had left to walk her hands back to her feet. ‘YesssssssSSSSSS…’ she said, getting louder as she threw the top half of her body to standing. She staggered until she found her balance, and then froze, as if she was balancing a huge bucket of water on her head.
No Name couldn’t help but laugh again. She knew she must look as though she was surfing on dry mud. ‘It’s not funny,’ she said, annoyed that he found her so amusing. ‘That was challenging, and thanks for the help, by the way.’
Sedina, now that River was standing, grew even more impatient and began fidgeting on the spot.
‘Relax, Sedina,’ No Name said. ‘We are still on track.’
River slowly turned herself to face the last spot she had seen Kit. The forest looked dark and cold. It made River feel deeply sad. All she could see, playing like a movie in her mind, was her sister kicking and screaming. The piece of paper Kit had thrown lay on the ground next to River’s feet. The heaviness in her body had lifted enough for her to bend down, but still she was cautious not to move too quickly. She picked up the paper, holding it close to her chest. She closed her eyes to barricade the tears from streaming, but one escaped from the side of her eye and trickled down her face, dropping on to her shoulder. She hoped Sedina and No Name didn’t see it. She could feel its sticky trail on her face, but she didn’t want to wipe it away just yet.
Then River felt the soft touch of two warm hands on her shoulders, one bigger than the other. She was suddenly extremely grateful that they were there. She opened her eyes and a dark cloud came looming towards them, hovering over all three of them.
‘There’s a storm coming,’ Sedina said.
River knew she had no choice but to walk into it, weathering whatever it might bring. She looked at Sedina and then No Name, both standing close to her. ‘Let’s go,’ she said, attempting to lift her foot from the ground. And the strangest thing happened: she couldn’t lift it! She tried again, but, to her disbelief, no matter how hard she tried, she could not move her foot. She tried the other foot;
the same thing happened. She was stuck to the ground. She grabbed her right thigh with both hands and began yanking it with full force.
River giggled, embarrassed. Surely she hadn’t forgotten how to walk?
‘What’s happening to me?’ she asked, feeling afraid. ‘I got up like you wanted, but now I can’t walk.’ She put her hands on her thighs and rested them there, letting her head dip between her arms. She felt trialled and tested beyond reason. ‘Help me. HELP ME,’ she sobbed. ‘WE HAVE TO GET TO KIT!’ Seriously frustrated, she punched the air. She felt helpless, and Sedina and No Name weren’t helping enough.
‘Calm down, River.’ No Name spoke like a teacher. ‘You can walk,’ he said. ‘You are just going the wrong way.’
River wiped her nose and looked up at No Name. What did he mean? She repeated his words in her head. ‘You can walk. You are just going the wrong way.’ But that was the way Eleon had gone. That was the way to get to Kit. THAT WAS THE WAY ELEON HAD TAKEN HER SISTER, SO WHAT WAS HE TALKING ABOUT?
River looked No Name in the eye just as the white butterfly fluttered between them, making her blink. She hadn’t seen it for a while and instantly felt comforted by its presence. She followed its white wings over her shoulder, turning around to face the other way. She noticed there weren’t any clouds that side of the trees, and she could see the trail ahead of her that would lead her back on track, back to the path from which she had come so far, the path she had imagined into existence.
