Fire (43 page)

‘Officially, yes, that is the premise,’ Adriana says. ‘But the groups of sceptics are gaining influence. And Alexander definitely counts among them.’

Minoo recalls Alexander’s sneering smile when she referred to the demons during the interrogation. His contemptuous tone when he came to the fairground and Linnéa mentioned the apocalypse. It seems quite logical now.

‘But what if they are right?’ Ida says. ‘Perhaps we’re not the Chosen Ones. Imagine, it might just be a misunderstanding …’

‘Do you believe that?’ Linnéa asks.

Ida shakes her head.

‘Not really, no,’ she says wearily. ‘But admit it, it would be a relief.’

‘But if you couldn’t tell us all this before, how can you do it
now
?’ Vanessa asks Adriana.

‘Thanks to the exceptionally expensive magic I bought with Mona Moonbeam’s help. I paid for it with information. Of course I couldn’t tell her straight out that Alexander was about to arrive in town, but I put her on the right track. In return, she gave me this.’

Adriana tugs at the leather strap around her neck and Minoo sees the piece of bone. By now it looks more red than white. The process is taking place in front of their eyes, slowly but relentlessly.

‘It has taken the best part of nine months to create an amulet that can block my connection to the Council for a few hours.’

‘I’m guessing,’ Vanessa says. ‘When it’s red all over, your time is up.’

Adriana nods.

‘As you can all see, we must hurry,’ she says and lets go of the strap. ‘You’d better ask your questions now.’

‘What do we need to know about Alexander and Viktor?’ Minoo says.

‘Like me, Alexander is a fire witch. He is as strong as a trained witch can be.’

‘But we’re natural witches, as well as the Chosen Ones and all that,’ Anna-Karin says. ‘Then we must surely be stronger than him.’

‘You are
potentially
much stronger,’ Adriana replies. ‘But your powers are not yet fully engaged. Alexander has had many years of experience. He is utterly loyal to the Council. And utterly ruthless.’

She seems unaware that her fingers are moving up to touch her collarbone again. Minoo remembers what Adriana had said the first time she told them about Alexander.

He is willing to sacrifice even his family, his friends. The people he claims to love
.

And her stomach churns when she suddenly understands the significance of what Alexander said in Nicolaus’s flat.

Will you never forgive me?

Your suffering would have been even greater if it had been someone else who—

‘Did he do it?’ she asks. ‘Did he execute your punishment?’

Adriana nods.

‘He volunteered, to show where his loyalties lay. My parents were present throughout. It was too much for my mother and she died soon afterwards. That was when I changed my surname to hers.’

Alexander had terrified Minoo from when she first saw him. By now, he seems almost worse than the demons. And at least as inhuman.

‘As for Viktor, I don’t know all that much,’ Adriana
continues. ‘Alexander adopted him. It is quite common for the Council to undertake adoptions when especially talented children are discovered growing up in non-magical families. Viktor’s biological mother was a drug addict. He has a twin sister, but I have never met her. Both she and Viktor were educated in the boarding schools run by the Council.’

‘Viktor has told us that he’s a natural witch, and that water is his element,’ Minoo says. ‘Can he mind-read, like Linnéa?’

‘No, he can’t,’ Adriana says. ‘His talent is related to that, though. He can discern when people are lying.’

Minoo looks around the circle of Chosen Ones. Knows that they are all thinking the same thing.
We’re done for
.

Suddenly, their attempts to prepare for the trial seem so obviously pathetic. Fancy them imagining that they could outwit the Council.

‘So that’s what Alexander meant when he said the interrogation was also a test,’ she manages to say. ‘We failed and are seen as disloyal. Because they know we’ve been lying.’

‘Yes,’ Adriana says.

‘Can Viktor see through us and find out the truth as well?’ Ida says.

‘No. Thankfully. He functions more like a magical lie detector. Very reliable. And, as far as I know, you have all been lying under interrogation. Despite my warning to you,’ Adriana says and looks at Minoo.

‘We had no choice,’ she says.

‘I understand that you believe that,’ Adriana says. ‘But, if you had been honest when you answered the questions, they might have decided to treat you more considerately. Because during the trial, they will extract the truth from you, whether you like it or not. And tomorrow, reinforcements from the Council are due. On Saturday, you will confront them all, not only Alexander and Viktor.’

Minoo wants to clamp her hands over her ears to keep out any more bad news. But if they’re to have any chance at all, she must ask about the procedure.

‘The trial itself … how is it organised?’ she asks.

‘Alexander and Viktor have spent months preparing the courtroom. They’ve been thorough to say the least. No magic at all can be practised in that room. For instance, Anna-Karin won’t be able to influence anyone and Linnéa won’t be able to read anyone’s thoughts. Not that I would have recommended you to try anything of the sort. But it might have been a straw to cling to.’

‘Who’s the judge?’ Linnéa asks.

‘The bench will consist of five judges, all drawn from among the Council’s oldest, most trusted members. Establishment figures, who are the least likely to show mercy. Alexander and I will question you.’

‘But if no one can use magic in court, then Viktor won’t be able to know if we’re lying, right?’ Vanessa asks.

‘No, he will not. But that would have been preferable compared to the Council’s standard practices in cases like this. They have very effective means to prevent lies being told.’

‘Oh, can’t you get to the point!’ Ida shouts. ‘What will they do to us?’

‘Alexander and Viktor have collaborated on setting up very powerful circles in the courtroom,’ Adriana says. ‘Alexander is an expert on a technique that reflects witches’ powers back on themselves. Linnéa, you’ll remember what happened when you tried to read Alexander’s mind?’

Linnéa makes a face.

‘Yes.’

‘That’s what will happen to any one of you if you lie during your witness statements. Your powers will be turned
towards yourself. But the pain will be a thousand times worse than what you felt, Linnéa.’

Total silence in the dance pavilion.

It means that only two alternatives are left. To reveal all immediately, or to endure torture until they break down and then reveal all. That is, they will be convicted regardless.

‘What kind of punishment should we expect?’ Linnéa asks.

Naturally, she is the one who asks the straight question, the one Minoo hardly has dared to formulate even to herself.

‘Let’s not speculate about it,’ Adriana says gravely.

‘But there must be something we can do!’ Ida says.

‘Turn to the
Book of Patterns
for advice,’ Adriana says. ‘That’s your only hope.’

Minoo swallows.

‘Some kind of power fluctuation makes it not work the way it’s supposed to,’ she says.

Adriana suddenly turns very pale. She checks the amulet. The redness covers almost all of it now. Only a few white spots left.

Everyone who could help us seems to be prevented from doing anything, Minoo thinks. And everyone is short of time.

‘I must leave now,’ Adriana says, as she stands and brushes down her coat. ‘But before I go, I want to ask you all to forgive me. If I had in any way been able to foresee all this … I wouldn’t have started looking into the stories about Engelsfors. Much better if the Council had never heard of this town.’

‘Surely it would’ve been worse if you had just ignored a prophecy that had predicted the apocalypse,’ Vanessa says.

‘And you really tried to help us, after all,’ Anna-Karin says.

Adriana looks seriously at her.

‘I will do everything in my power to help you during the
trial. I’ll do my best for all of you. But I can truly think of only one possible action you could take.’

‘And what’s that?’ Ida says, feebly.

‘Run away,’ Adriana replies.

The blue fire has died down slowly. Minoo is the only one left in the dance pavilion. She keeps the torch on. The dark is solid beyond the cone of light.

After Adriana’s departure, they talked about what could be done, but it was no more than fumbling about blindly.

Of course, the others had wondered why Minoo wanted to stay, on her own and in the middle of the night. By now, she has begun to wonder too.

Her heart almost stops when she hears soft thumps somewhere in the forest outside the fence. She swings the torch that way and catches a brief glimpse of a deer before it vanishes into the mist.

Run away
.

So, this was all Adriana could think of advising them to do. But they can’t run away and just let the world end.

Minoo takes the
Book of Patterns
and the Pattern Finder from her rucksack, puts them down in front of her and lets the beam of light play over them. She opens the book and places the Pattern Finder in front of her eyes. Twists it as she leafs through the pages, tries to concentrate on just one of the many questions whirling around in her head.

But the signs stay still. The book does not speak.

Nothing, nothing. As usual.

‘Help us, please!’ Minoo says aloud and stares into the
dark. ‘Matilda said that you would help us to get through the trial!’

No one replies.

‘We haven’t got a hope on our own!’

She is speaking even louder now.

‘If you are our guardians, protect us now.’

All Minoo hears is the wind rustling in the treetops. She slams the book shut. Throws the Pattern Finder into the darkness. A gleam, and it is gone. She is so frustrated she nearly bursts into tears.

‘You have blessed me with your magic. Allow me to use it.’

She is going to pieces. Everything is breaking apart. Can’t the guardians see it?

‘If you exist, if you are on our side – show yourselves. Now!’

And something stirs inside her. Her pleas have triggered a response. Something flows through her. Spreads throughout her body, fills her.

It wants out.

And Minoo releases it. Lets the black smoke pour out. Dense, silky, it swiftly streams towards the
Book of Patterns
.

A sharp snap, when the book opens where it lies on the floor. The pages start turning on their own, faster and faster. Finally, they settle and stay still.

The black smoke swirls above the book. Hangs there, waiting.

And Minoo asks her question.

How are we to deal with the trial?

Suddenly Minoo sees the patterns form among the elementary signs.

She can see the signs, she can see beyond them.

When the answer emerges, she does not quite understand.

But she knows what they must do.

‘You know, I really hate this place,’ Anna-Karin’s mum says when she and Anna-Karin walk into the hall at Sunny Side.

And Anna-Karin agrees. She always looks forward to seeing Grandpa but, even so, the actual care home is hopelessly depressing. The smells, the sounds, the bleak atmosphere. It all adds up to the message that Sunny Side is nothing more than a lock-up at the end of the road. The terminus.

When they step into the lift, Mum is fiddling nervously with her rings.

‘I’d rather die than end up in a home like this,’ she mutters and pushes the Up button.

‘Why do you make Grandpa stay here then?’ Anna-Karin says. ‘We do have a spare room, after all.’

Mum blinks. Quite a long time has passed since their last discussion about this.

‘Our flat isn’t suitable for a handicapped person,’ she says.

As the lift rocks a little and stops, she moves ahead of Anna-Karin into the corridor.

‘I’ve checked,’ Anna-Karin says and follows on her heels. ‘The doors are wide enough. All we need to do is remove the thresholds and—’

Mum interrupts her.

‘Anna-Karin …’ She stops. Sighs. Twists her rings some more. ‘I can’t.’

‘But I—’

‘You have your school,’ Mum interrupts. ‘And I … I can’t cope.’

She looks up, meets Anna-Karin’s eyes.

‘I can’t cope,’ she repeats.

Anna-Karin doesn’t know how to answer her. Because she knows it’s the truth. Mum can’t cope. However much Anna-Karin would like her to, she simply can’t.

‘I know,’ Anna-Karin says.

Mum nods. In one of the nearby rooms, an old woman is speaking loudly into a phone.

‘But, please, Mum,’ Anna-Karin says, feeling that her voice is about to crack. ‘Please. Can’t you find someone who will help you? You don’t have to go on like this.’

Mum shakes her head.

‘This is me, the person I am. How I’ve always been. I can’t help it. Just try to do my best.’

Thoughts are buzzing inside Anna-Karin’s head. There are a thousand things she might say, but what’s the point when Mum won’t listen?

‘I must have a ciggie,’ Mum says and quickly touches Anna-Karin’s arm. ‘You go ahead.’

‘I will,’ Anna-Karin replies and Mum walks back to the lift.

Grandpa’s living room is empty. Anna-Karin is just about to turn around and go looking for him when she hears him call her from the bedroom.

‘Sweetheart, is that you?’

Anna-Karin goes to him. Grandpa is in bed, in his nightshirt, with the duvet pulled right up over his shoulders. The blind is drawn.

‘Grandpa, are you still in bed? Haven’t they helped you to get up?’

‘Yes, they did,’ he says. ‘I did get up. But I felt ever so tired.’

One of his hands comes out from under the duvet and beckons her closer. Anna-Karin sits down on the chair next to the bed. Tries not to think about how weak he looks, how much this reminds her of his time in hospital after the fire.

What will life be like for him if she never comes to see him any more? The guardians have told Minoo about a ritual that should help them to get through the trial, but the Chosen Ones aren’t certain about how it will work. Or
if
it is going to work.