The sun was setting over Syluria as Charlotte collapsed in an undignified heap at the foot of the Nymet hill. If she hadn’t been ethereal, she would have thrown up. It had been a rough ride through the sap flow and even though she had to discard her physical body to enter the Dreamtime, that part of the journey had been just as bad.
Luned had stayed only long enough to ensure Charlotte had made it through the Dreamtime before streaking back into the darkness. She had to move Charlotte’s body before the elfin guards found it and if she was gone too long she would end up facing some very awkward questions.
Charlotte’s head was still reeling from the revelations of the Norn Interface but she had to focus on the task in hand. Tar’sel appeared at her shoulder.
‘Here try this. It should take the edge off.’ Tar’sel wafted the smoke from a twist of herbs – the same as were in Anya’s potion the night of his first trip into the Dreamtime.
The twin moons of Sorcha and Kyrene were already high in the sky and the purple tinge of dusk was fading into an inky blue-black.
‘Have you figured out how we are going to get to the Vorla?’ Charlotte whispered as Tar’sel beckoned her under the cover of a large willow tree.
The Nymet glowed warmly on top of the sacred mound as the firelight from inside escaped through the gaps in the wickerwork. This, together with the full moons, provided them with more than enough light as they made their way around the base and away from the village.
‘Dad wasn’t willing to talk. The Vorla scare him and he couldn’t see how they would be able, or willing, to help.’ Tar’sel tightened the straps on the packs at his feet. ‘He says only the Fey can help us – and the Vorla are definitely not Fey.’
‘Well, I think I can safely say we can’t rely on the Fey Nation. Remember Dijin and the Seelie Court?’ Charlotte was keen to get moving, Luned had made it clear that time was running out. All they had now was Edessa’s plan. ‘What I actually meant though was, what are we going to use as transport?’
Tar’sel looked confused. ‘We walk.’
‘You have to be kidding, it’ll take us weeks to get there that way, I have a test tomorrow. I’m dead if I don’t go and I’m in enough trouble as it is!’
‘Relax,’ Tar’sel smiled. ‘The Verses all have their own song. Syluria’s is higher and quicker than Earth’s. So long as we don’t hang around, I figure we’ve got time to get you back before you’re missed.’ Tar’sel looked her up and down. ‘We need to get you a physical body though.’
‘Why? Does my being all floaty upset the melodies?’ Charlotte barked to hide her nerves.
Tar’sel shook his head. ‘I’m going to need some help carrying supplies.’
‘A physical body, eh?’ Charlotte had a feeling she wasn’t going to like this. ‘So how is that supposed to work?’
There was a rustle of leaves in the thicket. ‘Easy, we swap.’ Tar’sel’s sister stepped out of the shadows. ‘Mishto hom me dikava tute, I’m Anya. You can use my body.’
Charlotte recognised the greeting as the one Jairo had taught her. ‘Gestina,’ she responded politely though she was uneasy that they had obviously discussed this already, without her.
‘It’s quite common. Me and Anya used to do it all the time when we were younger,’ Tar’sel continued, seeing her discomfort. ‘I used to hate making arrow heads and Anya hated curing skins, so we would swap.’
The idea of taking over someone else’s body unnerved Charlotte but Anya insisted, and she talked her through the process, making it sound so simple. They had to sit with their foreheads touching, staring into each other’s eyes till they sensed the switch occurring, at which point Anya would transfer to Charlotte’s body in Brackenheath while Charlotte’s consciousness was absorbed into Anya’s body.
‘Before we do this, brother, I have something to tell you,’ said Anya, but Mor’seka appeared before she could finish.
‘I’ve got this,’ he grinned.
‘K’hul! Does the whole Barra know?’ Tar’sel hissed. ‘This was supposed to be a secret mission, you know Father would kill me if he knew what we were up to.’
‘Relax, and believe me, friend, you want to hear what I have to tell you…’ Mor’seka said, before adding ‘… and I resent the fact that you think I’ve broadcast this to all and sundry.’
‘So, go on then.’ The resignation was clear in Tar’sel’s voice.
‘Like this, it’ll take at least a month to get there.’ Mor’seka waved his hand to include all of them. ‘I don’t think you have a full understanding of how far you have to travel.’
‘Knock off the attitude, Mor’seka, and get to the point.’ Tar’sel scowled. He hated it when Mor’seka tried to belittle his ideas, just because he was ever-so-slightly older he seemed to think he could act like Tar’sel’s big brother.
‘Whoa there, chavi. I think someone’s…’
‘Did you just call me chavi? You’re only two months older and you’re calling me chavi?’
‘Boys! For Goddess’ sake, you are both acting like children.’ Anya didn’t need to shout to get her point across which was just as well. Even Charlotte could see why she had been chosen to become a Draoi priestess.
‘Now get on with it,’ Anya hissed at Mor’seka before turning to Charlotte in order to initiate the swap.
Mor’seka was clearly sulking but did as Anya told him. He explained about the various stone rings that where dotted across the land, at least one per Barra, and how they were used for transportation. He then explained how they could tap into the Nymet circle to use this network.
‘But the Nymet is wood, it wouldn’t be compatible,’ Tar’sel argued.
‘Not with stone, no. But here’s the genius bit,’ Mor’seka replied, excited by his own brilliance. ‘Do you remember the weavers of the Morsea’a Forests?’
‘But that forest fell centuries ago and the Morsea’a weavers converted to stone. Their circle, if they have one, will be just as unusable.’
‘They do have one and it’s not as incompatible as you think. The markers above ground will be stone but the foundations…’
‘… Are still wood,’ Tar’sel finished.
‘They grow up so fast!’ Mor’seka chuckled and Tar’sel gave him an evil look. Neither of them dared to argue again in front of Anya, especially when she was working magic.
Before Tar’sel could take a playful swing at his annoying friend, Anya’s body lurched awkwardly to its feet and stumbled forward. Charlotte hadn’t known what to expect but this was the strangest sensation and she felt nauseous. Mor’seka looked at her with sympathy.
‘It’s going to be a tough night for you,’ he said. ‘We can patch into the wood/stone ring but it will be a rough ride. Still, it will save you weeks of travel.’
‘Let’s do it,’ Charlotte replied before Tar’sel could object.
Charlotte made slow progress up the Nymet hill and was getting frustrated that this body was not responding to her commands. It was like learning to walk as a child and she had to consciously will her new legs to bend at the knee and lift themselves one after the other but she would not let the others help her. She was exhausted by the time they got to the top.
‘Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it soon, the connection takes a little time to bond that’s all.’ Tar’sel smiled reassuringly.
‘Hush, you foghorn,’ Mor’seka hissed, ‘there are still people in there. We are going to need to act quickly.’
All three of them ducked into the long grass as a train of priestesses, distinctive in their green robes, dreadlocks and tattoos, left the temple grove and began to wind their way down the hill.
‘I think perhaps you should go first, Tar’sel,’ Mor’seka whispered. ‘If there is anyone else in there at least you can give a valid reason for being here.’ Mor’seka pointed at Tar’sel’s own marks and newly acquired dreadlock.
‘You have too much faith friend, I’ll still be asked some awkward questions.’
‘You’ve always been lucky, I have my fingers crossed for you.’ Mor’seka grinned and gave him a double thumbs-up.
Charlotte’s heart was in her mouth as Tar’sel ducked through the willow weave curtain into the Nymet grove. It felt like an age before he reappeared and waved them in. Mor’seka rushed through their instructions, which basically consisted of choose a tree and hang on tight, while constantly looking over his shoulder.
Charlotte watched as he tapped each grove tree, tracing strange symbols on each of them and chanting words she couldn’t hear. He worked quickly and as he finished the final one, Charlotte felt a force pulling at her stomach before the world started spinning. An eerie glow started to grow in the ground and grove trees. Charlotte just caught sight of Mor’seka dashing out of the Nymet temple before a flash, so violent she swore she could hear it, blinded her and she felt as if she was falling.
The wood in her hands soon became cold and it was a while before she got her bearings and realised she has clinging for dear life to a stone pillar.
‘Time to go,’ Tar’sel whispered in her ear and she cautiously opened her eyes. The world was still wobbly and she wasn’t sure if it was this body or their unusual transport but she stumbled a few paces before falling to the ground and vomiting.
‘Definitely time to go.’ Tar’sel winced and helped her to her feet before leading her out of the abandoned circle towards the river a short distance away. Tar’sel reached into his pack and removed a large sheet of what looked like bark and began folding and pinning it in place.
‘A balsa bark boat,’ he answered her quizzical looks. ‘It’s stronger than it looks; in you get.’ He loaded the packs. After grabbing a fallen branch from one of the few trees on the riverbank, he jumped in himself.
To begin with it was a pleasant journey, the river currents carrying them silently through pine woods then out to open plains. The eerie call of a skylark filled the air.
‘We also call it a Vorla eagle,’ Tar’sel told Charlotte, ‘because it sounds like the Vorla or… what is the word you use…? Ah yes, “banshee”.’
Charlotte felt a cold shiver jolt through her. ‘And these are the people we are going to for help?’
‘Don’t blame me, your sister sent us, remember. The Vorla are the keepers of great knowledge though, so I guess if they can’t help us no one can. But they are dangerous, they feel no emotion, no compassion, no empathy, no fear and they can drive men mad – so, nothing to worry about.’
No fear. Charlotte was caught up in her own thoughts as another memory stirred that she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
Tar’sel went back to steering their little boat of tree bark. In the distance the lights of Amrith, the main city of the Morsea’a weavers, shone and Charlotte noticed Tar’sel drop his head and sigh.
‘You have family there, don’t you?’
‘Not anymore,’ he replied without facing her. ‘All root connect-ions were untied by the elders once the Morsea’a weavers gave up the old ways. They are no longer considered Manush de Rukh.’
‘But the heart doesn’t forget,’ Charlotte whispered, half to herself.
‘Something like that.’ Tar’sel busied himself with the boat.
Charlotte didn’t know what to say or do. She wondered if a hug would be appropriate, but she was still ignorant of most of their customs, and she didn’t want him to think she was prying, so she left him to his thoughts.
The warm night breezes worked in their favour and the boat ploughed along with little effort. Charlotte sat back and enjoyed the scenery as it floated past. It was mostly wide open plains full of russet and blue grasses that shimmied in the wind punctuated by vast bodies of water, but ahead of them Charlotte could already see the Zolt foothills at the base of the Mountain of Mourne. They were tantalisingly close and it sent a thrill of excitement down her back, but Charlotte knew they were further away than they looked and there were still many miles to travel as yet.
Charlotte was distracted from their goal by a strange change in the landscape. The ground in the plains had taken on a sickly grey tinge, and the grasses had become dry and brittle. The greyness even seemed to seep into the water of the river.
‘It’s the Withering,’ Tar’sel said as he slowed the boat and cautiously steered it as far away from the grey as possible.
‘It’s where the darkness is leaking out of the Dreamtime,’ Tar’sel explained. ‘A number of adventurous explorers have tried to see what’s inside but no one ever comes out again. It is thought they are the points where two worlds have collided and imploded. It’s just speculation of course, no one really has any idea. All we really know is, they didn’t exist till recently.’
They were close enough now to see the swirling centre, like molten lead, with tiny electrical flashes sparking here and there. They were surprisingly mesmerising and the smell of ozone filled the air.
A thud brought her back to her senses. Tar’sel’s puzzled look alarmed her; this clearly wasn’t just noises of the river. A second thud shook the little boat and was soon followed by a dozen more. The water ahead of them was thrashing and foamy and a whirlpool was forming.
‘Nivasi! Nasty.’ Tar’sel sucked in his breath sharply. ‘I take it you can swim?’
Charlotte nodded.
‘Good, I’d take a deep breath if I were you and dive deep then swim like K’hul for the riverbank there, right?’ Tar’sel pointed to a stony beach a few hundred yards up river from them. It was the other side of the whirlpool.
‘We need to be on the right-hand side of the river,’ he said in response to the look of horror on Charlotte’s face, ‘and we need to avoid the grey, Shala?’
‘Hai, Shala,’ Charlotte replied automatically.
To their left, an orange fish tail, covered in tiny barnacles, flipped out of the water and crashed into the side of the boat, ripping the fragile bark and plunging them into the water.
‘Go!’ Tar’sel cried.
The river was wide and the strong currents pulled the remnants of their boat towards the whirlpool in front of them. Charlotte shuddered. An unnatural keening filled the water as venomous amber eyes peered at them from only metres away. Several more Nivasi hung in the water nearby, dark hair floating wildly around them. They grinned menacingly, gnashing pointed teeth which flashed in the water-dappled moonlight.
‘How are we supposed to out swim these?’ Charlotte signed, already shivering uncontrollably in the icy waters.
‘We have to try.’ Tar’sel responded, tugging at her arm as he dived. Charlotte followed his lead.
A blood-curdling scream spurred the creatures into a frenzy as they swarmed around them, their vicious intent clear, sharp talons poised to strike. Charlotte cried out, swallowing lungfuls of water, as one of them sliced through her calf, another piercing her shoulder. Is this how it is going to end? she thought, before wondering if in fact it was Anya who was dying. Would she wake up warm in bed at Rosemary Heights as soon as she passed out?
Charlotte’s wounds were beginning to tighten and stiffen, making it difficult to move and she began to drift away from the tight coil of water in front of her. Was there some sort of poison in those evil-looking talons? The thought drifted through her hazy mind and she no longer knew which way was up. She could feel herself being dragged into the grey.
A faint green glow bloomed in her vision, getting brighter and brighter, until it filled the water around her. Rainbow colours pulsed and swirled through the river and Charlotte could hear soft chanting. Perhaps this was the light that people talk about seeing in death. However, with the glow the water seemed to become lighter and saturated with oxygen. Her limbs were able to move without effort, all tightness gone and she was no longer falling. Charlotte soon felt the stone bed of the shallows under foot and managed to pull herself onto the little beach, shivering as soon as the cold night air hit her skin.
Charlotte could still hear the chanting, but she could also hear the screeching and she shuddered, amazed at how much malice could be poured into one sound.
Tar’sel emerged from the water, spluttering and coughing up water.
‘Is there a little something you forgot to tell me?’ Charlotte panted.
‘Vorla bad, Nivasi badder.’ Tar’sel smiled weakly, his lungs on fire.
‘Just because I am so grateful we are still alive, I’m going to let you have that,’ Charlotte replied, gratefully filling her lungs with the sweet night air.
The eerie chanting still drifted through the air and Charlotte felt brave enough to look into the water. The Nivasi were still there circling, their eyes as full of hate as ever, but somehow they seemed unable to come near. Except one: a beautiful woman sat on the beach with them, one foot in the water and her verdigris hair wrapped round her like a sari. The rainbow colours Charlotte had seen in the water clearly came from this being and they still pulsed through the river from where her foot was submerged.
‘I apologise for my kin but you had better go now.’
‘You’re not like them.’ Charlotte knew she was stating the obvious but it was all her water-addled brain could manage right now. The woman laughed and it sounded like a wind chime made of seashells.
‘I am Asrai. We are quite distant relations,’ the woman offered as explanation. ‘When you hear the song of my sisters you will be safe in the water, though I would recommend you stay on land for the time being.’
With this, the woman stood up and walked into the river. As soon as her hair floated around her shoulders she dived, disappearing from view.
Tar’sel had managed to retrieve the travel packs and handed her the smallest. ‘Well, I think we should be following her advice. You alright to walk?’
Charlotte nodded. Swimming had been surprisingly easy but walking was a completely different kettle of fish. Being in someone else’s body was harder than Charlotte thought it would be. Anya’s body was strong but Charlotte moved like a robot, unable to make the foreign limbs respond to her commands without a lot of effort. She still had to consciously think about every move and now she was getting tired.
‘This is no good,’ Charlotte spluttered, collapsing to the ground. ‘I can’t go another step. You should have had Edessa for this, she would have been dancing by now.’
Tar’sel gave her a sympathetic look; he was tired himself and glad of an excuse to stop. He was silently quite impressed; she’d done a lot better than she realised and they were already well over halfway. The twin moons were both full and bathing the land in a silver glow but they were now hanging low in the sky and a cool breeze played through the tall grass of the plains warning of a storm brewing. The vast lakes of Morsea’a gleamed behind them. On the horizon the snow covered tops of the Zolt mountain range reared up over rainforest. At its heart lay the Mountain of Mourne, where they would find the entrance to the city of the Vorla.
‘We need to be off the plains before sunrise.’
‘Can’t we camp here? It’s as good a place as any.’
‘Not if you want to live, this is Rheadak country.’
Tar’sel noticed the sky was swiftly getting lighter; they had better move fast. Far to their left were a herd of the giant Rheadak asleep on the plain, but Tar’sel knew they wouldn’t be for long.
‘We have to move now,’ he said, gathering their things. ‘It’s really not that far, then we can rest.’
Charlotte concentrated, and stood up slowly. She seemed to be getting the hang of it which made her feel a lot better, and with renewed energy she followed Tar’sel towards a jagged cliff face.
‘We just need to get to the top of that then we can stop. They won’t follow us there.’
‘Can’t we just build a hide?’
‘This is my world, Charlotte. Please, trust me.’
An ear-shattering roar made them spin round to see the Rheadak groggily stretch their wings as tendrils of light snaked over the horizon.
‘Stand still,’ Tar’sel hissed. ‘They probably haven’t seen us yet. We’ll wait to see which direction they go,’ Tar’sel reassured Charlotte, but his heart sank as first one, then another of the Rheadak staggered to their feet and swivelled their long necks in their direction. A second roar and they started to trot, then gallop towards them.
‘RUN!’ Tar’sel screamed, pointing towards the river.
‘But the Nivasi…?’
‘I’d rather take my chances with them right now,’ Tar’sel panted, leading the way towards the river and a sparse covering of trees and scrub. He could feel the vibration of the Rheadaks’ heavy footfall and could tell they were gaining ground. He allowed himself to look back to judge their distance, just in time to see Charlotte fall.
She’s not going to make it, he thought.
Desperately, Tar’sel scrambled around in the dirt for something he could use as ammunition as he circled away from Charlotte and back towards the bottom of the cliff. His hand fell on a Matuse seed pod, jagged, heavy and full of acid; perfect! He took aim with his sling and fired. The seed pod met its mark, shattering on impact right between the eyes of the first Rheadak. The huge creature faltered, swayed, then fell like a stone, sending a tremor through the dry earth causing the others to stop and look towards Tar’sel. The largest let out a deafening roar, he’d got their attention now!
‘K’hul!’
Tar’sel ran like the wind, doing his best to dodge the lashing, razor-sharp tongues of the angry Rheadak. A blow to his shoulder sent him crashing head over heels to the ground with blood flowing down his arm. Something soft cushioned his fall and he was so grateful he didn’t look to see what it was, he could barely move. It wasn’t till the wide leaves of the Matuse plant sprang closed around him that he realised he wasn’t out of danger yet.
The Rheadak were confused, their prey had disappeared. He could hear them padding around outside. The mature leaves were thick enough to shield him from sight but one swipe of their tongue would cut the plant in two. Tar’sel’s heart was in his mouth and beating so hard he was sure they would hear. He closed his eyes and prayed. The acid sap of the flesh-eating plant began to ooze from the pores in the leaves and Tar’sel could feel it burning his skin; if he didn’t fight his way out soon he wouldn’t have the strength, but he couldn’t be sure the Rheadak had gone.
‘Tar’sel! Tar’sel?’
Her voice was low but full of fear. Taking his hunting knife he plunged it into the flesh of the plant and cut it open. He didn’t have the energy to weave.
‘Tar’sel!’
He was in a terrible mess. Charlotte somehow knew what this plant was; she also knew she must act quickly.
The river was close by and Charlotte managed to half carry, half drag him to the water’s edge. Bathing his skin in the cold water, she washed away all traces of the acid and dressed his shoulder with the mugwort and dock leaves that grew nearby. Starting a fire, she made a broth of the roots from her pack and fresh mussels, as well as bread from orris grain. She didn’t know how she knew to do all this, it must be muscle memory in Anya’s body taking over, but she was glad for it.
She couldn’t believe he had risked his life to save hers and she hugged him. Tar’sel flinched in his sleep and Charlotte cringed; she had forgotten about his shoulder. When Tar’sel slowly came round, she fed him some of the cooling broth.
‘I see you’ve got used to Anya’s body,’ Tar’sel croaked with humour in his voice.
‘There’s nothing like a Rheadak licking at your heels for motivation,’ Charlotte laughed. ‘But… I don’t understand how I knew what to do with you.’
‘Information stays in the body and mind; it’s only the consciousness that moves,’ Tar’sel replied, rather cryptically. Charlotte wasn’t sure she understood what he meant, but she nodded in agreement anyway.
*
The vortex was soon ahead of Edessa, the point where she had entered, and she was grateful. It had been a long night.
To say Asrai was flighty was being generous and it had taken a lot to enlist her help in saving Charlotte but now Edessa could rest easy. Charlotte’s safety was secured – until she reached the home of the Vorla at least.
Without warning, Edessa felt as if her guts had been plunged into a bucket of ice. Red-hot pain shot up her arms as fingers touched her skin and nausea began to build in her throat. A shadow slithered across the ground with a life of its own – red electricity crackling at its heart.
Edessa screamed as she fought to break free from what lay before her, but the thing swallowed the sound. She suddenly felt herself falling before a vice-like grip closed around her neck and pulled. Her vision blurred and darkness descended.
Edessa’s body twitched violently in the hospital bed and a word rasped in her throat as she exhaled a final breath.
‘Raa…niiiii.’
In room 11 of the Crankshaw Wing a heart monitor let out a monotone warning as Edessa Stone flat-lined.