Spellfall (16 page)

“Don’t say a word,” she whispered to Merlin. She tightened her grip on K’tanaqui’s ruff and raised her other arm. The argument raged on. She waited a few minutes but still no one noticed her, so she cleared her throat.

The old magehound flipped his ear.
Pup rrrememberrr to be polite!

“Lords! Ladies!” Natalie called before she could lose her nerve. “There
is
a threat to your soultree, but it’s not Merlin!”

That got their attention. Her heart thumped as the chamber went quiet. She faltered under the force of Lord Pveriyan’s glare, but raised her chin.

“Merlin’s no spy! He helped me escape from his father’s spellclave and that’s why he was with me when we came through your Thrallstone. It’s not his fault he was born a Caster.”

“First time I’ve known a Caster help anyone but themselves,” someone muttered, and there were a couple of laughs.

“Shh!” said Thaypari. “Let the girl speak.”

Twenty-four pairs of eyes looked expectantly at Natalie. She flashed Lady Thaypari a grateful smile. But before she could sort the images she’d received from K’tanaqui into some sort of order, Lord Pveriyan interrupted.

“It’s obvious the boy was instructed to make friends with Atanaqui’s daughter so he could tell her all these lies,” he said. “The sooner they’re separated, the better.”

“That’s not true!” Merlin blurted out. “Least, I was supposed to make friends with her, yes, but I didn’t know who she was then, I swear! Father never tells me anything.”

“See?” Lord Pveriyan appealed to the Council. “What did I tell you? Lies.”

“He’s not lying,” Natalie said quickly. “And if you hurt him, I won’t help you, no matter who my mother was. I’ve got a father as well, you know, and I expect he’s really worried about me by now.”
More likely into his fifth crate of beer,
she thought with a pang, but pushed the thought away. “To say nothing of my stepmother Julie, and poor old Tim! From what I’ve seen of the way you treat your guests, you’re no better than Casters yourselves.”

The chamber erupted. Lord Pveriyan leapt to his feet, gesticulating furiously, while K’veriyan put his muzzle in the air and began to howl. Some of the other magehounds joined in, getting to their feet on the lower bench, hackles raised.

K’tanaqui flipped his ear again.
Is pup crrrazy? Big insult to Lorrrds!

“Now you’ve done it,” Merlin whispered, clutching Redeye and eyeing the ivy across the entrance.

Natalie’s mouth dried. But after a few minutes the magehounds settled and the Council quietened. Lord Pveriyan sat down, his face shadowed by thorns.

An old Lord with purple berries in his hair leant forwards and gave her a kindly smile. “Don’t be afraid, child. My name’s Lord Gerystar, and I’m the Second Member of the Council. What threat are you talking about? Speak up now.”

Natalie gripped K’tanaqui’s ruff so tightly, the wiry hairs cut her fingers. She closed her eyes. “Before she drowned, my mother saw something. K’tanaqui has shown me flashes in my head, where the words come. There’s a black bird and a storm of stars falling from the sky—”

“Not that again!” someone groaned.

“Quiet!” said Lord Gerystar. “Go on, child.”

“I don’t understand it all, Lord,” Natalie admitted. “But when we started the fire in the Lodge, Hawk shouted something about a raven in the cellar, and I saw a tunnel down there. Merlin thinks the spellclave were doing experiments on spells.”

“They were always going down there,” Merlin put in eagerly. “And they’d stay down hours. Claudia-the-Fish used to be a—”

“No one gave you permission to speak, Caster!” Lord Pveriyan snapped, jumping to his feet again. “If you open your mouth again, I’ll be forced to ask Oq to silence you.”

“Oh, do sit down, Pveriyan,” Lady Thaypari said with a sigh. “We never did get to the bottom of Atanaqui’s death, did we? The images our magehounds received from K’tanaqui were very muddled. It makes sense that Natalie’s getting clearer ones, so maybe we’ll be able to solve the mystery at last. Go on,” she said gently. “What did you see in the cellar?”

“Nothing,” Natalie admitted, her heart sinking. “But it couldn’t have been a real bird, anyway, because Merlin says his father’s goshawk ate all the other familiars.” She couldn’t help a shudder.

“The ancient meaning of Raven is Bringer of Doom,” said a dark-skinned Lord. “What if it’s a code word of some kind? Or the name of a new human weapon?”

“Then we needn’t worry,” said one of the Ladies. “Our anti-technology spells will keep us safe. Even if the Casters manage to bring a weapon across the Boundary, it won’t work in Earthaven. Oq’s safe.”

Relief rippled round the chamber.

“Hawk’s already tried to harm Oq once,” Lord Gerystar pointed out, frowning. “That’s why we banished him in the first place, wasn’t it? If I remember rightly, he was caught trying to damage one of the outer branches. The storm of stars could mean Spellfall. Hawk’s wanted his revenge for years, and he’ll be after spells. What if he plans to get both at once? What if he’s found a way to kill Oq?”

Shouts of protest greeted this. “Impossible!”… “Nothing’s powerful enough to kill a soultree!”…“Oq’s still young!” …“Spellfall’s centuries away!”

Lord Pveriyan had been listening, eyes narrow. Now he held up a hand. “This merely confirms what I’ve been trying to tell you all along,” he said. “Hawk should have been dealt with properly long ago. Forget this Raven nonsense, it’s the man we should be worrying about. He’s sent his son here for a reason and the sooner the boy’s interrogated, the better.”

“Are you sure there’s nothing more about this raven, Natalie?” Lady Thaypari asked, ignoring Pveriyan. “Might it be a code?”

Natalie shook her head, suddenly very weary. Even clinging to K’tanaqui’s ruff no longer gave her the strength it had.

“K’tanaqui just sees a black bird,” she told them in a small voice. “Flying.”

“Oq might help sort out the visions if she submits herself to the Heart,” one of the Ladies suggested, and sparked off yet another argument.

Natalie closed her eyes, letting their voices wash over her, enjoying the scent of the flowers in her hair. Right now she didn’t care what they did to her, as long as they let her sleep soon.

Pup not sleep yet,
K’tanaqui said disapprovingly, bumping her thigh with his head.
Thayparrri use too many moonflowerrrs.

Finally, the chamber became quiet again and the disembodied voice said, “Both young ones will visit the Heart of Oq to be interviewed.”

“Yes!” Lord Pveriyan hissed in triumph.

The voice continued, “But before their interviews, both young ones will be permitted to eat and rest. We still have almost two days before the Boundary opens. We should not be seen to panic. The local Herders should be alerted and their unicorns prepared for battle. Messages should also be sent to all other Earthaven tribes warning them of a possible Caster invasion. As a precaution, all entrances to the Root System shall be sealed for the duration of the Opening. Any other business?”

The Spell Lords and their magehounds were stretching and yawning, getting to their feet in preparation to leave the chamber. But Lord Pveriyan raised an imperious hand. “There’s the problem of the interrupted cleansing of the human boy. It wasn’t completed to Oq’s satisfaction.”

Natalie looked up, unease penetrating the sweet moonflower haze.
Tim
.

After a short pause the disembodied voice said, “When the Boundary is open, we shall use the Root System to assess his danger to us.”

“And finish cleansing him,” Lord Pveriyan insisted. “We can’t risk a free human knowing our secrets.”

Lady Thaypari smiled. “I don’t think we need worry too much about that, do you?” she said. “People will laugh if he starts trying to tell them about us. Human scientists think they know everything about their world. No one will take him seriously.”

Several Council members nodded agreement but K’veriyan bared his canines in a silent snarl.

“This Council has grown weak in more than numbers!” Lord Pveriyan shouted. “I can remember a time when we used to cleanse humans for merely peering through the hole in the Thrallstone! I can remember when any Caster who dared set foot across the Boundary was hunted the length and breadth of Earthaven and their body displayed in thirteen pieces on the nearest gateway as a warning to all! Now you let the sons of Casters bathe in Oq’s pools and dress them in good Herder green. Pah!”

He spat at Merlin but got his own hound on the foot. K’veriyan turned disgusted eyes upon his master, then with great dignity licked the soiled paw clean.

“And the Council remembers it was you who bungled the boy’s memory cleansing in the first place,” Lord Gerystar said smoothly.

Titters rippled round the chamber.

“The human boy is my responsibility,” Pveriyan said through gritted teeth. “And when the Boundary opens, I shall complete his cleansing by any means possible.”

With great dignity, he rose to his feet and left the Council chamber, K’veriyan stalking, bristle-furred, at his heels.

With their departure, the air seemed to clear. Natalie swayed on her feet, overcome by another wave of moonflower scent, and felt Merlin grip her arm. “What’s wrong?” he whispered.

“Nothing, I’m just tired.”

Pup not sleep yet,
her magehound said anxiously as Lady Thaypari approached.
Brrreakfast time. K’tanaqui hungrrry!

Chapter 12

MEMORIES

Friday afternoon, October 30

~~*~~

Hours after the Council of Oq had decided his fate, Tim woke in Unicorn Wood with a headache to beat all headaches.

He blinked at the overcast sky and dripping trees, stared a moment at the twisted, mossy stone, put a hand to his head and groaned. Had someone hit him? If so, they must have used a boulder. He shouted a few times but no one answered.

Stiffly, he climbed to his feet and began to follow the deep tyre tracks. Last night was a blur. Mr Marlins had brought him up here in the car, there had been an articulated truck and some furtive activity around the stone. What else? An old man with long white hair and green eyes? He shook his head. The rest was like trying to see through smoke. Besides, he had more immediate problems.

The track was uneven and his boots were killing him. They had been made to look good on city streets, not for hiking in muddy woods. To make things worse, it began to rain. He stumbled along, tripping over roots and splashing through puddles, cursing Mr Marlins with all the bad words he knew. By the time he reached a road, his jacket was so wet and heavy, it was like wearing liquid stone. A few cars passed, spraying him with muddy water, but none stopped when he raised his thumb. Once – crazy – he tried jumping into the path of a four-wheel-drive. The woman driver swerved and mounted the verge to avoid him. “Stop, you stupid cow!” Tim yelled after her. “Can’t you see I need help?” Then something broke inside him and he crouched in the middle of the road, hugging his soggy jacket and sobbing as he hadn’t done since he was about three years old.

By the time the rain eased to a drizzle, the tears had calmed him. He climbed to his feet, turned up his collar and started walking. To take his mind off his blisters, he planned what he was going to say to Mr Marlins when he got back. How long had he been unconscious? His watch had begun to work again as he left the clearing, but that wasn’t much help since he didn’t know what time it had been when he woke. The sky was too overcast to see the sun but it felt like late afternoon. His mother would be furious with him.

As he limped up to the front door his steps slowed. He hadn’t got his key with him and the last thing he wanted was to have Mr Marlins let him in. He still hadn’t perfected a suitable insult.

He was about to sneak round the back in search of a window to climb through when the door opened and Jo Carter came rushing out.

“Did you find…” Her voice trailed off. She stared at Tim in undisguised horror.

Mrs Carter called from the hall, “Who is it, Joanne?”

“What are you doing here?” Tim said as the girl continued to stare. “Where’s my mother? Is Mr Marlins—” He almost gave himself away but changed the question just in time. “…still in his garage?”

“It’s Tim,” Jo called back, her tone strange.

Mrs Carter came to the door, took one look at Tim’s wet jacket and the mud on his jeans and planted her hands on her hips. “You’ll be in trouble when your mother gets back, my boy,” she said. “How could you do this to her after what happened to your poor sister? Where have you been for the past two days? She’s beside herself. Thought you and your dad had been abducted too—”

“Mr Marlins is
not my father!”
The response was so automatic by now, Tim had pushed past her into the hall before her words registered. Two days?

“Timothy Lockley!” Mrs Carter called behind him. “Come back here this minute! I’m talking to you.”

Tim couldn’t deal with it. He stumbled upstairs to his bedroom, slammed and locked the door.

He sat on his bed, clamped his teeth into his lower lip, and eased off his boots. Blood crusted his socks. He peeled them off too and stared at his feet, feeling sick.
Two
days?