CHAPTER 9

We’re up before dawn. The kitchen is filled with the fragrance of freshly baked bread. The hamper for the High Priest looks amazing. I’ve picked fresh herbs and vegetables, and even a bunch of yellow and orange nasturtiums. Aunty Figgy sits Jasmine down at the kitchen table and cuts her hair close to her head. She binds up her breasts with a bandage so she looks flat-chested. She finds her a servant’s tunic and pants like Leonid’s, and by the time she’s finished, Jasmine looks like a twelve-year-old boy.

I sweep up the hair that is scattered on the floor. It feels like I’m sweeping away the last remnants of our friendship. If she really believes I might betray them to Hal, then there’s nothing left between us. She doesn’t trust me, and after last night I don’t trust her anymore either.

“Come and help me pick mushrooms,” Aunty Figgy says to her. “Let’s leave Micah and Ebba alone for a while. Ebba, make sure you don’t eat any of the mushrooms at breakfast. I’m going to cook some poisonous ones.”

“We don’t want to kill them,” I say, grabbing her sleeve. “That will really get me in trouble.”

Aunty Figgy laughs. “Don’t worry,” she says, handing a basket to Jasmine. “I’ll just choose the ones that will put them out of action for a few days. We don’t want them asking where Jasmine and Micah are.”

Then Micah and I are alone in the kitchen. “I wish you didn’t have to go,” I say softly. “It’s so dangerous.”

“It will be okay,” he says gently, wiping a tear from my cheek with his thumb. “I’ve been training for this for the last two years.”

As he winds his arms around me, my heart wants to tell him again that I love him, but he didn’t answer me the last time. I don’t want to make the moment awkward, so I swallow my words and rest my cheek on his shoulder. “I’m so scared the soldiers will catch you.”

“Come on,” he says firmly, giving me a little shake. “No point in getting upset over something that might not even happen. We’re going to be fine. You’ve got a job to do too. Put a smile on your face and pretend that everything’s fine. You’ve got to stop Shorty getting suspicious.”

Leonid brings the buggy around then and it’s time to go. Micah gives me a quick kiss. “You’re more powerful than you think. Don’t let anyone say otherwise,” he says as he jumps inside.

I sniff back my tears and wave them goodbye. “See you at lunchtime tomorrow,” I call as cheerily as I can.

Aunty Figgy squeezes my shoulder. “Come inside. Let me make you some toast.”

I don’t feel like eating, but I don’t want to be alone. I follow her into the kitchen. Micah’s mug is standing on the table. I pick it up and cradle it in my hands.

What if he never comes back? What if he never drinks from it again?

“Here, light a candle and ask Theia to protect them,” Aunty Figgy says, giving me a lighted twig from the wood stove.

I watch the wick catching alight, and the sweet smell of honey rises up from the beeswax candles. The flame burns straight and strong. “Keep them safe,” I pray. “Bring them home unharmed, and find a place for my sabenzis to live in peace.”

I don’t want to think about Fez and Letti moving in with strangers far away and trying to make a life in this harsh world. I have so much, but I won’t be able to share any of it with them. It’s so wrong.

Aunty Figgy is chortling as she chops the mushrooms. “A nice plate of these with sausages and eggs,” she says. “They will be vomiting for a day and a half. Make that two days for Shorty – he’s so greedy.”

I sit at the table and watch the candle flickering. “Tell me more about the Goddess,” I say. “How is my necklace linked to her?”

“Well, when the Goddess Theia was born,” Aunty Figgy tips the mushrooms into a frying pan, “her parents, king and queen of Celestia, gave her dominion over all living and growing things. Then they invited all the other immortal beings to a party to welcome her. The four most important gods and goddesses brought her amulets, each imbued with special powers, to make up a necklace.

“She grew up to be beautiful, with deep-red curls, skin like alabaster and a gentle spirit. She watched over all the plants and creatures of Celestia, making sure that all could thrive.

“Suitors came from near and far to claim her hand but she turned them all down, until one day, when she was wandering among the mangroves, she met black-browed Prospiroh, the god of wealth and abundance. He was newly returned from a long war against the sky creatures. It was love at first sight.

“Theia fell pregnant. Too hot and heavy to walk the green valleys of Celestia, she needed something to play with. She decided to create a little world where all living things could live together in perfect balance. She called her planet Earth, and she spun a filigree cocoon of spells around it so that none of the other gods, especially the mischievous ones, could interfere with it. She watched over it and it was beautiful.

“Her baby daughter was born, and she and Prospiroh named her Bellzeta. She was as black-haired, passionate and quick-tempered as her father.

“Now Theia’s days were taken up with watching her little Earth and caring for her baby. Prospiroh liked to be the centre of attention and he felt left out. He grew more and more jealous. He decided to steal the baby and take her to the land of the sky creatures, where her mother would never find her.

“But Theia learnt of his plan just in time. She had to find somewhere safe to hide the baby, so she bundled up some possessions, and using the powers of the amulet necklace, escaped to the one place she thought Prospiroh couldn’t enter, Earth. She chose a village in a beautiful wooded area called the Forêt de Soignes.”

Aunty Figgy turns to me. “It’s all underwater now, of course. Anyway, Theia built herself a human life as a wise woman, a healer who knew which plants could cure which illnesses, and which herbs could heal a broken heart. She had a little cottage, and she loved her simple life among the people she had created. Bellzeta was not so happy. Like her father she always wanted more – more things, more love, more wealth, more attention. She was jealous of the attention her mother paid other people. She wanted her all for herself.

“Now, after a few years, Theia fell in love with a woodcutter, a kind man who loved her deeply and who took
Bellzeta as his own child. They had a baby, a happy little girl with a sunny personality they called Laleuca. She loved to hear her mother’s tales of Celestia, the land of the gods, and would often beg to wear the amulet necklace.”

“I’m getting muddled with all these names,” I say.

“Just remember the two children – Bellzeta, who was Prospiroh’s child, and Laleuca, who was the daughter of the human woodcutter.”

“So Laleuca was half god and half human, but Bellzeta was a full god?”

“Not quite. Prospiroh is the child of the king of Celestia and a water nymph, so Bellzeta is three-quarters god.”

The mushrooms are sizzling away, and Aunty Figgy pauses the story while she adds some sausages to the pan and a handful of parsley. “This will disguise the bitterness,” she mutters. “Anyway, where was I? Ah, yes. When Prospiroh discovered where Theia and Bellzeta were hiding, he was determined to find a way to break through the cocoon Theia had woven to protect Earth. Finally he found a way in – through his daughter, Bellzeta. He could make contact with her mind and her heart, although he couldn’t enter Earth. He filled her heart with anger at the woodcutter and jealousy about her little sister.

“By the time Laleuca was seven, Bellzeta was a teenager and a beauty with hair like jet, and flashing dark eyes. She was passionate and rebellious, and her mother had no control over her.

“Bellzeta became pregnant by the mayor of the village, a married man. Theia was very angry when she found out, and they had a terrible fight. Bellzeta’s anger at her family brewed.

“One day when Theia was busy in the village, Laleuca was playing with her mother’s amulet necklace when Bellzeta called her. ‘Come and pick mushrooms,’ she said. Laleuca hid the necklace under her dress. Bellzeta took her little sister deep into the woods and when they had reached a deep ravine, she tricked the child into going right to the edge of the cliff. Then she pushed her over.

“Back home, she told her mother that a pack of wild animals had attacked them and killed Laleuca.

“Her parents were grief-stricken. The woodcutter suspected that Bellzeta had harmed her. Theia was torn. She did not want to believe that her eldest daughter could be so wicked, so she believed her story.

“The marriage broke down under the strain. Theia sat in her cottage and wept. Not only was her daughter lost, but the precious necklace was gone too. The woodcutter searched for his daughter day and night. He was sickened by the sight of Bellzeta and her growing belly. Finally the baby was born, but Bellzeta was not interested in him.

“‘I want to go back to Celestia,’ she told her mother. ‘Use your powers to take us home.’

“Theia was by then half mad with grief, and Bellzeta was insistent, nagging her mother until at last she agreed. They returned to Celestia. Without the necklace and its powers, Theia could never enter Earth again.

“When the woodcutter came home that day, Theia and Bellzeta were gone. He took Bellzeta’s baby to the mayor’s house and handed him to a servant. ‘Your master’s bastard,’ he said.”

“I don’t understand,” I say as Aunty Figgy pushes the pan to the back burner and cracks eggs into a skillet. “You told me I’m a descendant of the Goddess. You mean Bellzeta’s my ancestor?” I’m hoping it’s not true.

“Never!” she exclaims. “Not a drop of Prospiroh’s blood runs in your veins. No, the little girl, Laleuca, had been discovered half dead in the ravine by an old woman searching for herbs. She took her to her cottage, and when Laleuca told her that Bellzeta had pushed her off the cliff, the old woman decided to keep Laleuca hidden for the long months it took for her broken bones to heal. She was afraid that Bellzeta would try again to harm the child. Then she heard that Theia and Bellzeta had disappeared. Laleuca was well again, so she brought the little girl home to her father. He was overjoyed.”

“Oh,” I say. “What happened next? Where do I come in?”

“When Laleuca grew up she married a man called Adam den Eeden. She always wore the amulet necklace, and it stayed in the Den Eeden family, but one by one, over the centuries, three of the amulets were lost. All except the one you’re wearing now.”

“Wait – so I actually have the Goddess’s blood in my veins? I’m one tiny part deity?”

Aunty Figgy laughs. “That’s right.”

“And my amulet is part of a sacred necklace created by the gods and goddesses themselves?”

“That’s right. That’s why the High Priest wants it so much. If he can gain access to Celestia, he and his children will be able to live there forever as immortals.”

My mouth drops open, and I have a million questions to ask, but she brushes them aside.

“Shorty and Victor will be coming in any minute. Let me finish my story. Each time an amulet was lost, Prospiroh gained more power over Earth. Finally, when only one amulet remained, the Goddess’s power was weakened enough for Prospiroh’s followers to cause the Calamity that almost destroyed the world.”

“Why did the High Priest elevate me? He could have just sacrificed me and taken the necklace for himself.”

“He doesn’t want one amulet. He wants all four of them, united on the chain, and only you can locate them.”

“But how am I supposed to find them if they’ve been lost for centuries?”

“Your ancestors will help you.” She grips my hand. “You must be careful. The High Priest thinks they’ll make him immortal. He’ll do anything to get the amulets, but he’s got to do it without spilling your blood, or their dark powers are released.”

“Dark powers? Like what?” I’m caught up in her story, and the thought of dark powers makes me shudder.

She pinches her lips together. “I don’t know. And I hope we never find out.” She turns away, clashes the lid onto the skillet and begins to slice the bread. “The thing is,” she says, after a pause, “the High Priest can’t find the amulets on his own. Only the girl with the birthmark has the power to enter the world of her ancestors and retrieve the amulets. That’s you, Ebba. And when you have them all, united on their chain, the gateway to Celestia will open, and Theia will be able to heal the Earth.”

This is getting seriously weird. Goddess blood, sacred tasks, dark powers and now entering the world of the ancestors?

“What happens if I refuse the task?”

“There will be another Calamity. The world will collapse in on itself and implode into a ball of dust.”

“No pressure then,” I say ruefully. “And let me guess – the High Priest is a descendant of Bellzeta’s baby? The one the woodcutter left at the mayor’s house?”

“Exactly!”

She’s not joking.

Then Shorty and Victor come in for breakfast. “Poor Jasmine isn’t feeling well,” Aunty Figgy lies as she places a plate of mushrooms and sausages in front of them. “I hope Leonid and Mike are feeling alright. They’ve gone to deliver the gift hamper to the High Priest.”

Shorty’s already got his mouth full. “Shame,” he mumbles, spewing bits of sausage. “Hope she gets better. You’re not eating, Miss Ebba?”

“I don’t feel well either.” I take some toast and butter it slowly but I can barely think to eat it. I’m so worried about Micah and Jasmine hiding in the mountain, trying to outwit my mortal enemy. Will they come home alive?