Windrunner's Daughter (33 page)

“We’re not giving you our sister.” Jay’s fists were clenched.

Wren backed towards the platform.

“No!” Genna wailed. “You won’t get away.” She lunged, twisting like water underneath Raw’s arm and Colm’s grasping hand. Wren could only stumble backwards, her hands raised defensively, as the Sphere-Mistress came at her like screaming vengeance. There was no-one between them. Genna was already lifting the knife and jabbing at Wren’s ribcage.

Colm leaped, his wings spreading to give him distance and lift. He landed right in front of Wren; his arms closed around her, and his eyes met hers. The force of his landing knocked the breath from them both and they fell together onto the platform. Wren struck her head on the airlock rim but over the ringing in her ears she heard the hiss as it opened and Jay’s shriek, like nothing she had ever heard before.

There was a rush of silver above her and a tangle of limbs and skirt. Genna’s furious cries shattered in her ears and Wren writhed.

“Colm, get off me, I can’t breathe!”

She craned her neck and saw Raw bundle the Sphere-Mistress into the airlock.

Erb shouted at them to get away from the airlock, but she was pinned, couldn’t move; could only watch as Raw ripped Genna’s halfie from her face.

“Raw, no!”

Raw was beyond hearing. Genna fought and scratched, but he hurled her to the back of the airlock, leaped into the Dome, slapped his hand on the palm reader and keyed in a code she had never seen before.

Genna’s terrified face. She hammered on the airlock door for whole seconds. And then it cycled open over the desert. Her eyes widened, her hands went to her throat and she collapsed. Wren could no longer see her, but she could hear the drumming of her feet against metal. And then that too, stopped.

“What have you done?” She struggled to get out from under her brother. Why wasn’t he moving? “Colm,
get off
!”

Colm’s eyes were still focused on hers. “Wait a moment, Wren,” he whispered. Blood flecked his lips. Had he bitten his tongue when they fell?

He freed one arm from around her and touched her face. “Do you remember flying kites with me?”

Wren nodded. “We can talk later.”

Colm swallowed and more blood appeared on his face. It dripped onto Wren’s neck. She couldn’t wipe it away. For some reason Erb wasn’t coming closer. Jay thudded to his knees at her side and there was something wrong with his face.

Raw remained standing.

She looked once more at Colm, a horrible suspicion growing. “Colm … are you all right?”

“Don’t worry about me.” Colm’s lips twitched. “You’ll have to lead the other two home, Wren …” he coughed this time and Wren winced as gore spattered her cheeks.

“What do you-”

“You’re the best Runner in the family.” Colm shook his head slightly and his eyes unfocused. “I wouldn’t have believed it, but-”

“Colm,
you’re
leading us home.” Wren’s chest tightened, she could hardly speak.

“Bear right from the … Runway,” he whispered.

Colm shifted his gaze to Raw and Raw nodded. He reached down and caught Wren’s shoulders. He eased her out from beneath her brother.

Wren struggled to her knees and held onto Raw for one precious heartbeat, just stealing one moment when she could pretend everything was going to be fine. She knew it wasn’t. She pulled her face from Raw’s chest and turned.

Erb stood like a loose limbed statue, fat and sweating. She ignored him and looked, finally, at her brother. Now she could see only one thing: the graphene knife, sticking out from Colm’s back and pinning his wings to him. Her eyes flashed to Jay. His met Wren’s, so wide with horror that the whites were showing. He was silent, but Wren knew what he was saying - do something.

She turned to Raw, knowing it wasn’t fair, knowing her eyes said the same thing as her brother’s
.

Raw swallowed as Colm’s breath started to come in terrible rattles. “I don’t think we should pull out the knife.” Raw wrung his hands. “It could kill him.”

Colm lay on his stomach, facing Wren. Now his blood pooled towards her knees. His wings fluttered around his body like escaping breath, and the knife twitched jerkily with each hitching inhalation. “Take … it … out.”

“No!”

Colm half rolled and reached into his shirt. He pulled out a small packet and Wren’s breath caught in her throat. Her mother’s medicine, she had almost forgotten about it. He pressed it into her hand. “Get this home.”

Wren shook her head, but she took the packet with trembling fingers and tucked it into her belt.

Colm looked at Raw. “Do … it.”

Terror blocked Wren’s throat, she choked on the bitter taste, but found Colm’s hand. She interlocked her fingers with her brother’s, crouched down as low as she could and forced him to look into her eyes. “You’re going to be fine.”

His hand was cold, as if dipped in the river they had swum through. He tried to nod, but agony shot across his face.  

“Hold him still.” Wren’s head shot up, but Raw was looking at Jay.

Jay pressed his forearms on Colm’s back, one either side of the knife. “Ready?” Raw shouted.

Jay nodded, his face drawn, his teeth showing outside his lips.

Raw didn’t look at Wren but she saw him take a deep breath and close his hands around the handle.

Colm’s hand convulsed in hers’ and immediately she shifted her attention back to her brother.

She pressed her mouth to his ear. “It’s going to hurt, but it’ll be okay.”

“On three?” Raw’s voice trembled as he shouted. “One … two …”

“Three.” Wren whispered it with him and kept her eyes on locked on Colm’s as Raw pulled the knife.

Colm bucked and his hand tightened so hard over hers’ that she thought he might have broken her fingers.

She refused to look away as Jay pulled Colm’s ripped wings from the wound. “There’s so much blood,” he choked.

A bundle of material was thrust into his hand and Wren looked up, surprised. Erb had removed his tunic. His bare chest heaved in the afternoon light. Rolls of fat hung over his trouser top and the folds were flushed and damp.

Jay’s fingers cramped on the linen and he pressed it to the wound. Instantly it reddened.

Colm’s eyes drifted closed and Wren shook him furiously. “Don’t you
dare
go to sleep. You think this is a good time for a nap?”

His eyes opened again and Wren risked a quick look up. Jay was sobbing hysterically as he tried to stem the blood flow. Raw’s hands too, were working madly underneath her brother’s wings.

Quickly, Wren looked back at Colm’s face. His cheeks were white, but splashed with livid blood that was drying to brown on his lips.

“There’s less blood,” she croaked. “That’s good right?”

No answer came from her brother or Raw and suddenly she didn’t dare look away from Colm’s face. Somewhere deep inside she knew that if she let Colm close his eyes again, he wouldn’t open them. “We’re going home, Colm,” she whispered into his ear. “Mother’s waiting for us.”

Colm sagged into stillness.

“No!” Wren snapped. “Stay awake.”

Colm’s lips twitched as if he was trying to smile. Tears blurred Wren’s vision and when she could see again, the light had fled Colm’s eyes.

“Colm!” She shook his hand, but he made no movement. She leaned right down, lying so that her ear was by his mouth. There was no rattle of breath. She shot onto her knees. “Raw!” She hammered his shoulder.

He immediately turned to her, his face tragic. Jay was already still, his head hanging, his hands useless.

“What’re you doing? Don’t
stop!
”

Raw caught her hand. “He’s gone,” he said quietly.

“It’s your fault,” Wren sobbed. “We should've left the knife in.”

Raw jolted as if she’d punched him, but Jay reached over Colm’s body and pinched her face, forcing her to look at him. “What else could we have done?”

“But he’s dead!” Wren’s face contorted with the power of her agony. “Colm’s dead.” She collapsed over her brother’s corpse, tears shaking through her aching heart. A weight half crushed her, and only when she felt his warmth on her back, did she realise Jay had fallen himself, bawling in her ear as loudly as he had when he was seven years old and broken his ankle.

“I know you’ve done this before Wren, but please slow down.”

Wren looked up. Her mother was a slim silhouette with the sunlight behind her. Her hair streamed around her shoulders; a golden halo.

Wren rolled her eyes. “I’ll be fine. Can you lower me two hands worth? There’s a tear on my right.”

Her mother braced her legs and played out a bit more line. When the slack reached Wren she pulled herself towards the torn netting, examined the tear and ran her palm over the rock beneath it. There was a sharp outcrop and it had worn the netting away. She used her hook to mend the hole with new twine and then reached for her hammer and chisel.

Suddenly there was a tug on her belt and Wren looked behind her, Runners were coming in. She grabbed the rope and walked up the cliff. At the top she reached for her mother’s hand.

Mia pulled Wren into her arms and they stood with their heads together, fine blonde hair blending with thick brown curls, as they watched the bright blurs flicker in and out of the sun.

Mia was so tense she was vibrating. Wren pulled back to look at her. Her mother’s face was white and she was grinding her teeth. Her fingers flexed against Wren’s shirt. Wren squeezed her hand. “They’ll be fine.”

Her mother nodded absently. “Of course they will.” But she did not look away from the sky, nor did she relax until Wren’s father and brothers had landed safely and run into her arms.

Strangely Jay’s wailing forced an odd calm through Wren, just as it had when she was five and had to half carry him home.

She struggled out from beneath him and, still clutching Colm’s hand, she spoke to Raw. “I’m sorry.” She looked at Colm again, her hands shaking with the force of her grief.  “I-it wasn’t your fault.”

Then, searching for somewhere less painful to rest, her gaze went to the Councillor who now stood with his head bowed.

“You’re here for us,” she said.

Erb swallowed. “You saved the colony.” He wiped sweat from his brow. “Here.” He held out a twist of paper. “The Runners have gone, spreading the plague.” He shook his head. “So we have to spread the cure. This is the formula for the medicine. If you can get it to Aaru they might be able to mass produce ... I think they still have a synthesizer.”

Raw took the formula and tucked it into his shirt. “And what about …?” He indicated Wren with a tilt of his head.

“Yes.” The Councillor licked thick lips. “It’s a shame about the girl.”

Jay’s head shot up.

“A shame that the Sphere-Mistress killed her before yer Convocaton could exact justice.” The Councillor pushed past to lift Colm’s body and began unstrapping his wings.

“What are you doing?” Wren leaped to her feet and Erb paused, Colm pressed to his chest, the bloody wings half off his back.

Colm looked peaceful. His eyes remained open and now, in the arms of the Vaikunthan, his face was half turned to the sky.

Raw reached down to close his eyelids, but Wren caught his wrist. “That’s not our way. He’s looking at the sky, that’s right.”

Jay nodded miserably. “I’ll lie as I lived, under wings, under sky …”

Wren could barely finish. “Don’t bury me deep in the dust when I die.” She leaned gratefully against Raw for just one moment. Then she followed Colm’s final gaze upwards to the lavender sky.

“Say good-bye, Wren,” Raw whispered.

“What are you-?”

The Councillor spat to one side. “Yer Runners will want to see proof of yer death.” Awkwardly he released Colm from his wings. “Now I have something to show them.”

“But - what about Colm?”

Raw met Erb’s lizard glare. Then he turned Wren to face him. “We have to get rid of his body. Someone will see three Runners heading to Avalon. Colm has to be one of them.”

Wren’s heart turned to stone. “You can’t mean -”

Raw nodded. Erb left the wings on the platform. He took Colm’s shoulders and Raw his feet. As Wren and Jay stared, hopelessly, they carried him like a sack of seeds to the airlock and, silently Raw entered a new code into the airlock. He pressed his palm against the reader. It cycled open.

“Wait.” Wren took Jay’s hand and led him to Raw’s side. “Not without us.”

They stepped through the airlock and over Genna’s crumpled body. They stood inside, nothing to say, only the sound of their breathing tainted the silence.

Then the door opened onto the desert and the wind whipped inside, welcoming them back.

They walked forward, staggering under Colm’s weight. The wind tore at his hair, as if wondering why he didn’t rise and fly.

Then Raw and Erb lifted Colm up and swung him over the edge of the platform. The Creatures were accelerating towards her falling brother before he even hit the ground.

Chapter Twenty-seven

Wren couldn’t watch. She turned away, letting the wind whip her hair into her face, and the next time she risked a glance at the sand, he was gone.

Raw’s face was drum-tight while Jay’s sagged as if his skull had turned to mush beneath his skin.

Erb nodded, turned and strode back into the airlock. He sighed deeply and started to drag Genna’s body out.

“Should we …?” Jay murmured.

“Let him do it.” Wren shook her head and coughed. “We’re going home.”

She didn’t bother stretching, or even taking a starting position. She pulled her goggles on and then jogged over the net, she could barely bring herself to run. Weighty with grief, she did not leap, but rather fell from the end of the platform and allowed the wind to drag her wings out as it caught her.

Her wings locked and she was pulled from the platform. She circled to see Jay leaping and Raw following him, both hurling themselves into the wind as if they could hurt it.

The two sets of wings rose to meet her and Wren’s stomach churned; neither were wearing goggles. She had to be their eyes and Colm had known it. Somehow she had to get them safely home.