The sky was that specific colour of blue that you only saw in photographs. Birds and insects hummed through the air, busy and unafraid. But goosebumps pricked Alex’s bare arms. She shivered. Somewhere out there was the Tasmanian tiger that had tried to kill Mum.
‘You’re cold,’ Grandpa Jacob said. ‘I’ll get a coat.’
Alex rubbed at her arms even though she didn’t actually feel cold. She didn’t feel warm, either. Right now, she didn’t feel anything.
Had it really been only yesterday that she and Mum had got on the overnight ferry in Melbourne to come to Tasmania? It felt like a million years ago. Before evil spirits, talking alpacas and extinct animals. Before an ancient poison had got into Mum’s bloodstream and was killing her.
Grandpa Jacob returned a few minutes later with a jacket. It smelled of mothballs and something floral. Alex slipped it on, noticing the buttons down the front were shaped like olives. She looked over the destroyed grove. This Olive Grove Belongs to Rosa Surya Ortiz.
‘What was the deal with Grandma Rosa and olives?’ Alex asked.
‘Oh, she was fascinated with olives,’ Grandpa Jacob said. ‘With their history and how they grew. Olive trees have probably been around longer than people, you know. They are the perfect symbol of resilience, she always said. Of peace and harmony.’ He sighed, lost briefly in the memory. ‘She always wanted to go to Crete because there’s an olive tree there that’s two thousand years old. But I didn’t want to leave here, even for a holiday.’
‘Did you tell her about Kiala?’
‘Not exactly. But she knew my tie to this land was stronger than I let on, so she never pressured me to go.’ His eyes shone with tears. ‘And then … it was too late.’
Grandma Rosa had died soon after Alex was born, so she had no reference for the woman who had this impact on her crotchety, stubborn old grandfather. Alex shifted uncomfortably. If he started crying again, she couldn’t guarantee that she wouldn’t break down and weep for weeks. ‘She made olive oil?’ she asked, changing the subject.
Grandpa Jacob gave a soft smile. ‘Won all kinds of prizes. The cooler climate here means a longer growing period and a more robust flavour.’ His smile faded as he surveyed the charred remains of the grove. ‘At least she isn’t here to see this now.’
Grandpa Jacob handed Alex a canvas bag full of apples. ‘In case you need to grease a few palms. Or feet.’
The alpacas were huddled together near the barn. As Alex made her way across the paddock, she wondered what she was supposed to say to these warriors who had been transformed into animals.
She cleared her throat as she drew closer. The alpacas looked at her expectantly.
‘Er, hi,’ she said. ‘I’m Alex.’ It wasn’t the greatest opening line ever, but it would have to do.
‘Told you she could understand us,’ the alpaca with the black coat said in a smug voice. He stepped forward, his mouth contorted into what Alex could only assume was supposed to be a welcoming smile. ‘He-llo.’ He spoke way too loudly, enunciating every syllable. ‘My name is Ollin. O-L-L-I-N.’
‘You don’t need to talk to her like she’s stupid,’ the caramel alpaca said. She turned to Alex. ‘You’re not stupid, are you?’
‘Um, no.’ At least, she didn’t think so.
‘For goodness sake Lilly, I was just trying to be nice!’ Ollin puckered his lips and spat a ball of saliva toward the caramel alpaca’s head — which she ducked — before turning back to Alex. ‘You bring apples?’
Alex nodded and showed him the bag. Ollin brayed loudly then scuffed the ground with his foot. ‘Down here. Anytime you’re ready.’
Alex tossed an apple on the ground. The alpaca started to savage the fruit with his teeth, spraying apple and saliva everywhere. ‘Don’t stop at one,’ he said, between mouthfuls. ‘I’m not shy.’
The chocolate-coloured alpaca sighed. ‘You’ll have to excuse Ollin,’ she said. ‘Always been ruled by his stomach. That’s Lilly —’
‘My name’s actually Lillantha,’ interjected the caramel alpaca, ‘but everyone calls me Lilly.’
‘ — and Alvaro.’
The white alpaca with black goggles dipped his head in an odd sort of bow. ‘Delighted.’
‘And my name is Moraika,’ the chocolate alpaca concluded.
Alex examined the alpaca curiously. Moraika. The bravest warrior there was. Her relative. The alpaca had kind brown eyes and a gentle voice. But there was also a tough no-nonsense-ness to her. She reminded Alex a bit of Mum. She’d be the first person to help you if you were in trouble, but also the first person to tell you if you were being a bit dramatic. Alex smiled, suddenly nervous. She’d never had more than a handful of relatives her entire life. And none of them were anything as cool as an ancient warrior alpaca.
Moraika smiled back. ‘And you must be the person we’ve been waiting for all these years.’
‘The Fortieth Sun. Yeah, that’s me.’
‘How tall are you?’ Lilly asked, regarding her critically. ‘Five one? Five two?’
‘Um, something like that, I guess,’ Alex said. Why did they need to know her height?
‘Hm.’ Lilly cocked her head to one side. ‘I thought the Fortieth Sun would be taller.’
‘Me too,’ Ollin agreed around the mouthful of apple. ‘And be a bit less … you know … like a kid.’
Alex flushed. ‘Well I expected the Guardians would be less furry,’ she shot back.
‘Fair point,’ Lilly conceded. ‘Although technically, we’re woolly not furry.’
‘At any rate,’ Moraika said loudly, glaring at Lilly and Ollin, ‘it’s wonderful to finally meet you. Although, not in the most ideal of circumstances, given that Kiala’s strength is rapidly increasing. But honestly, it’s a relief to finally have something useful to do. We’ve been waiting around a very long time!’
Alex frowned. ‘About that. Grandpa Jacob said you’d only been here ten years.’
‘In these bodies, yes,’ Moraika explained. ‘But our spirits are immortal, so when one body dies, our spirits move to another.’
‘We’ve been all different kinds of animals,’ Lilly said.
‘The best was when we were snakes,’ said Ollin. ‘Ssssssssss! No one messed with us then.’ He sighed. ‘But, we can’t ever be the same animal twice, so here we are.’
Alex shuddered. Thank goodness they’d been through their reptilian phase already.
‘My point is,’ Moraika continued, ‘we’re ready when you are. A thousand years is a long time to sit around waiting to do something meaningful.’
‘Nine hundred and ninety years,’ Lilly corrected.
‘You don’t know why Kiala’s woken up, do you?’ Alex asked. ‘Grandpa Jacob said that she was meant to be asleep for another ten years.’
Moraika shook her head slowly. ‘Magic isn’t an exact science. But now that she’s awake, we won’t have long.’
‘How long?’ Alex asked.
Moraika looked to the others. ‘Two days? Maybe three?’
‘But she’s getting stronger all the time,’ Alvaro added. ‘So the sooner we get underway the better. Is there anything other than the fire that we need to be aware of?’
Alex hastily described what had happened after the fire, leaving out the teensy detail of her freaking out about being the Fortieth Sun and running away. These warrior alpacas didn’t need to know she was the reason Mum was currently lying in Grandpa Jacob’s spare room, comatose. When she told them about the Tasmanian tiger, the alpacas shared the same incredulous look that Leeuie and Grandpa Jacob had.
‘But haven’t Tasmanian tigers been extinct since …’ Moraika looked to the others for an answer.
‘Nineteen thirty-six,’ Lilly offered.
‘Right.’ Moraika frowned. ‘So how is that possible?’
Alex shrugged. It didn’t matter how it was possible. The point was, it had happened and she needed to fix it. ‘I just need to get rid of Kiala so Mum will get better.’
‘Of course,’ Moraika said. ‘In that case, let’s get started.’
Some of the weight lifted from Alex’s shoulders. The alpacas knew what to do. Mum was going to be fine. Everything was going to be fine.
Alvaro pulled himself up to his full height. ‘We’re ready for your command,’ he said in his booming voice.
Alex hesitated. ‘What do you mean you’re ready for my command?’
Moraika smiled patiently. ‘You have to provide us the details of what to do.’
Alex swallowed. ‘I have to provide you details?’
Ollin rolled his eyes and said in a not-so-stage whisper, ‘I told you. Stupid.’
Alex ignored him. When Grandpa Jacob had read out the prophecy, Alex could have sworn that the part about the Guardians referred to them as having the wisdom. They were supposed to have answers, not questions. ‘Aren’t you meant to tell me what to do?’ she asked.
The alpacas looked at one another, then back at Alex.
‘I’m sensing that you’re a little, er, unsure about how the whole Kiala thing should play out?’ Moraika said.
‘I’d never even heard of Kiala before today,’ Alex said. ‘So, yeah, I’m a little unsure.’
An uncomfortable silence descended on the group. Eventually, Alvaro made a sound at the back of his mouth that was somewhere between a hmmm and an ahhhh.
Alex looked from one alpaca to the next. ‘What? What does that mean?’
‘I told you we should have written it down somewhere,’ Lilly muttered. ‘I told you the details would be important one day.’