The furyck saga the firs.., p.141
The Furyck Saga (The First Three Volumes), page 141
Here, in the antechamber of the catacombs, they could be as loud and indiscreet as they liked. And so, the arguing had continued for some time. But he could tell that Morana had grown impatient.
They did not have access to the book. Or Jaeger.
She did.
‘We will work this spell!’ she growled loudly. ‘We all need to be together, united, to make it work as intended. But if not, then I will find a way to do it on my own!’ She glared at Yorik, urging him to take control.
‘Morana is right. We must act now! We need to show Jaeger that we are not just impotent dreamers. We must show him that we are a dark force to be reckoned with!’
They were silent now, eager to begin, even if they didn’t agree on the path Morana and Yorik had decided to take. After all this time, just being able to use the book was too tempting an idea to resist for long.
‘We will meet at the Crown of Stones, just before dawn,’ Yorik said with feeling. ‘It is time for us to send a message. The end of this world, as it has become, is near. Soon they will all know that the Darkness is coming!’
‘Why are we here?’ Jael asked impatiently, trying to adjust her eyes. There were no windows in the tiny room. It was almost too dark to see anything at all, but for the faint light seeping under the doors – the one Jael had come in through, and another to the rear.
‘Do you have the stone?’ Marcus asked quickly.
‘Yes,’ Jael nodded, revealing the stone he had given her when he’d pressed a note into her hand as they’d fought over the door handle in his chamber.
‘This room is safe,’ Marcus said. ‘Safer,’ he corrected himself. ‘Protected against the dreamers.’
Jael frowned. ‘Protected? Why?’
Marcus felt impatient. They didn’t have long, yet there was so much he was desperate to say; so much she needed to understand. ‘You have heard of The Following?’
‘Yes. Some.’
Marcus sighed, his shoulders tense with the weight he had been carrying for so long. ‘They have spread like a disease over the years, throughout Tuura and beyond. There have been purges. Good has risen against evil, and the temple has been purified, time after time, but never fully. The evil that lurked in the shadows simply threw a cloak over itself, becoming almost invisible in order to survive and rise again. And now... now the opposite is true. The temple is almost entirely corrupt. The Following has control of Tuura.’
Jael was puzzled. ‘You’re not in The Following then?’
‘No. Never. My last ally, Neva was killed recently. She was an elder, a friend of your mother’s. There’s no one left in the temple I can trust anymore. I’m not sure how long I have before they come for me too.’
‘But you sent my grandmother to Oss. Why should I believe anything you say? I know that Edela didn’t trust you. From what I hear, no one around here does.’
‘No, I expect not, but I had to become what was necessary to protect Tuura.’ Marcus felt around for a hay bale and took a seat. ‘Although, now that the Book of Darkness has revealed itself, I’m not sure what I can do. With that book, there is no reason for The Following to hide any longer. It is everything they want and need. They will come for me, for you, for Tuura. Destroying everything, until nothing exists. Just darkness.’
‘But the prophecy? Do you know what it says? What I’m supposed to do? How we can stop it?’
‘The actual prophecy was stolen from the temple centuries ago. Memories were recorded at the time of its theft, then they were stolen as well. But, yes, I know some of it.’
Jael felt her way to a hay bale near him. ‘Tell me.’
Thorgils saw the signal, and with his heart in his mouth, turned to Klaufi and his men, motioning for them to follow him.
He gripped his sword as he ran silently along the stones towards the fort. They had beached Ice Breaker around the headland, out of sight, and once night had fallen, they had started creeping slowly along the beach, hugging the tussocked banks.
Despite the cold, Thorgils’ palms were sweaty, slipping on the leather grip of his sword. He swallowed, trying to see Isaura in his mind. He knew that he needed a calm head to keep her safe.
Wind billowed his cloak away from him, blowing hair across his face. Annoyed, he brushed it away, swallowing repeatedly as he approached the fort. The salty sea had dried his throat, and he was desperate for a drink of ale.
‘Nephew!’ came the call and Thorgils froze, squinting in the fleeting glimpses of moonlight as Bram hurried towards him.
He was alone.
And smiling.
‘The prophecy warns of a return to the Darkness. The time of endless night and burning fire. Of life without death. The fall of the gods and the humans and the return of Raemus. The end of the world as we know it,’ Marcus said bleakly.
‘The prophecy says that it will happen?’ Jael wondered.
‘The prophecy warns that it will happen. It tells of the fire and the darkness and the monsters that will return if you fail to stop it.’
‘Monsters?’
Marcus shivered. ‘The gods and goddesses tried to please Raemus for a time. To tempt him out of his shadowy gloom. They thought to impress him by creating creatures that he could admire in a way that he could never admire the humans Dala had made. So, they created monsters. Aros, God of Fire, made the powerful dragon, Thrula, for his father. But Raemus used her to burn villages to the ground. Mirea, Goddess of the Sea, made the sea serpent, Sabba, but Raemus used him to sink ships and drown men. He turned all of their creations into weapons, forging an army of monsters to help him destroy the world.
‘And what happened to them?’
‘The time of monsters was ended by Dala. She saw to it that when the Great Uprising was overcome, the monsters were vanquished, along with Raemus and many of his Followers. They were killed, their souls imprisoned in the Dolma, which your people call The Nothing.’
‘And that is what the prophecy is about? That Raemus and his monsters will return?’
Marcus frowned. ‘Partly.’
‘Partly?’ Now Jael was confused.
‘That is all implied. But the actual prophecy is about someone else entirely.’
Jael was intrigued but conscious of how long they had been. As was Marcus, she could tell, as he rustled around, unable to sit still on his hay bale. ‘Who?’ she asked. ‘Who is the prophecy about?’
‘A woman. I don’t know who she was. It may have been recorded at the time, but it was lost when the prophecy was stolen.’
Jael stilled, uncomfortable with the idea that she was involved in such a thing. That a dreamer had seen her all those years ago and imagined what she would need to do. A dreamer who had believed that she was capable of doing it. ‘And what did it say?’
‘That you had to kill this woman. With your sword. With Eadmund’s help.’
Jael stilled. The memory of leaving Eadmund was still fresh. The loss of him nagged at her like a new scar. There were so many things tumbling around her head, but her heart was always full of Eadmund.
She missed him with every breath she took.
‘Well, that’s not looking so likely, is it?’ she said haltingly.
‘This is the book I gave to Edela. The one you came for.’ Marcus lifted a thick, leather-bound book from the hay bale next to him and handed it to Jael. ‘As I said before, it will not save Edela. Derwa is the best healer in Tuura. If Edela can be saved, she will find a way. What is in here, I hope, is the answer to breaking the hold The Following has over all of us, including Eadmund.’ He stood, swallowing, anxious to leave. ‘I’m no dreamer. The answers in here are not meant for me. Whatever you do, don’t take the book out of this room. They will know you have it if you do. Keep it here. There is a chest in the corner by those tools.’ He dug into his pouch and held up two iron keys. ‘This key opens the chest, and this one the doors. Make sure you keep them locked.’
‘You’re leaving?’
‘I have been too long already,’ he murmured, handing her the keys. ‘We can meet here tomorrow, at noon. But, for now, I cannot just disappear. And nor can you. They are always watching. Keep the stone with you at all times. It will hide you from the dreamers. Do not speak of this to anyone. It is not safe.’
Jael needed to get back to Edela, she knew, yet here was a man who had so much knowledge. She stood up, almost reluctantly. ‘But the prophecy... did it say that I defeated this woman? That I stopped the Darkness coming?’
Marcus shook his head. ‘The end of the prophecy was lost, almost from the beginning. Long before it was ever stolen. So, I do not know.’
Jael looked up at the shadow of Marcus’ face. He was an exceptionally tall man, awkwardly so, and he stooped before her, almost shaking, desperate to leave. ‘But?’
‘But if you do not, she will bring back Raemus. And Raemus will destroy us all.’
Aleksander yawned as he felt around for the least unpleasant place to lie. It took a while, but finally, he shuffled into a spot that was uncomfortable but hopefully, sleep-worthy. He lay his head back on the dirt and closed his eyes, pulling his cloak up to his chin as he listened to the fire’s last breaths and Axl’s light snoring. It was cold in the cave and had cooled down even further since nightfall, but they didn’t want a bright fire to draw wolves and all number of beasts and bugs to them while they slept. So, they would shiver through the night and hopefully, wake in the morning unharmed.
Aleksander’s mind immediately wandered to Jael. He knew how she would be feeling in Tuura. How shocking it was to face your worst nightmare again; to walk through the streets, see the buildings. All of them were markers of the darkest moment in their lives.
Nothing about Tuura had felt as though it was a good place to be. And Edela had not trusted that elderman, he knew.
Or, perhaps it was that the elderman had not trusted them?
Yet, who was to say who was right where the Widow was concerned?
He closed his eyes, not wanting to think of her because thoughts of the Widow always led to his mother and he still couldn’t face the truth of what she had done to hurt them all.
‘Come on!’ Bram yelled to the Osslanders as they hurried towards him.
The stones were slippery, wet from the gusting rain, so they were careful, tip-toeing along, squinting as the sliver of moon slid in and out of the rain clouds.
Thorgils was at the front, leading his men, not even sure that he was breathing.
And then Isaura was there, standing before the open gates with a handful of women and children.
Isaura was there!
Thorgils ran, losing his balance, slipping and stumbling but not caring in the slightest.
He raced towards her, pulling her into his arms, holding her close, touching her damp hair, inhaling her sweetness. ‘What’s happening?’ he called over Isaura’s shoulder as he hung onto her, fighting back the tears he had kept inside for eight long years.
‘Ivaar’s men are mostly asleep! We’ve locked them in the hall!’ Bram cried over the howling wind.
‘Asleep?’ Thorgils looked confused, glancing back to Klaufi, who was ready to assume lordship of the tiny island. He looked just as puzzled as Thorgils.
‘That was Ayla,’ Isaura said, blinking the rain out of her eyes as she looked up at him, relieved to be in his big arms again. She had missed the feeling of safety they provided. ‘We picked some herbs and made a tonic to add to the mead bucket.’
‘It will not last for long, though,’ Ayla warned. ‘We must leave now!’
Thorgils turned to Klaufi, his arms still around Isaura, not wanting to let her go. ‘I’ll take everyone to Ice Breaker, and then let’s secure the fort, although I don’t see why they would want to fight us. Not when they can have a much better lord than Ivaar!’
Klaufi smiled, imagining his wife’s face when she arrived to take her seat as Lady of Kalfa, but it faded quickly when he realised that Ivaar would likely come to try and take back the island. How could he not?
Thorgils looked down at Isaura. ‘You’re sure then? You want to come home?’ His voice broke. They were the words he had been saying to himself for what felt like a lifetime. It felt strange to finally utter them out loud. To her. ‘Home with me?’
Tears were running down Isaura’s face now as she gripped his hand. ‘Yes. Please. Yes.’ She looked at her children who were half asleep and wide-eyed with confusion as they stood around in the darkness. ‘Please. Before Ivaar comes.’
‘You think he will come?’ Thorgils wondered, staring at her worried face.
‘I think with Ivaar, you can never be sure what he’s planning or when,’ Isaura said anxiously, desperate to be gone. She ran her eyes over the men who were gathered around Thorgils. She recognised some and their presence was reassuring.
She hoped there were enough of them to keep Ivaar at bay.
Jael stepped out into the street, leaving the stables behind.
There was not much to see of the moon, and she felt almost hidden because of it. Lost. Set adrift from everything and everyone.
Alone.
It was as though every part of her was being pulled in different directions.
Pulled apart.
She wanted to drop to her knees in the street; the muck-filled, stinking street. All the things Marcus had said. All that he hadn’t... it was like a crushing weight, and she couldn’t breathe.
Yet, somehow, it still felt as though she knew nothing.
Jael fingered Toothpick’s moonstone and felt some certainty, but it was fleeting as her mind wandered quickly to Eadmund and Evaine. Evaine was surely in Eadmund’s bed now; in his heart, his head, winding herself around him as though she was his wife.
But she wasn’t.
And the prophecy said that Jael needed Eadmund.
And the prophecy said that they all needed Jael.
So, somehow, Jael had to get back to Oss and save Eadmund.
‘A hot pool!’ Evaine was beside herself with glee as she hurried to remove her dress, inclining her head for Eadmund to join her.
But Eadmund hesitated.
He frowned, watching as Evaine threw her clothes to the ground as she rushed towards the inviting, warm water, her lithe body disappearing quickly into the pool.
‘Eadmund,’ Evaine purred. ‘Come... it’s so warm!’
But Eadmund didn’t move. He felt as though he was somewhere else entirely. He could almost feel his hand reaching back to grab Jael’s, leading her towards the pool.
Her smile.
Her eyes.
Her lips as he skirted them. As they pursed and protested.
As he fought his way towards her, never giving up.
As she relented.
Jael.
His wife.
‘Eadmund!’ Evaine called, smiling. ‘Come!’
And he blinked and Jael was gone; just a memory that drifted quickly away, and he was removing his clothes and hurrying into the water to join Evaine; all thoughts of his wife vanishing into the night air as though she had never been there at all.
‘He can’t walk on his own!’ Ayla called. ‘You need to carry him! He does not have the strength!’
She waited while Thorgils’ men broke down the doors, releasing Ivaar’s prisoners.
Releasing Bruno.
Ayla could barely breathe as they carried him out.
‘Bruno!’ she cried desperately, reaching for his hand as he tried to blink away the rain that fell in his eyes. ‘I’m here! I’m coming with you! You’re coming with me!’
Ayla followed the men as they carried him slowly through the fort, across the beach, down to the ship.
The ship that would take them to their new home.
Thorgils watched as they worked to get Bruno on board Bram’s ship. He turned to his uncle. ‘What do you think?’
Bram yawned, suddenly ready for his bed. He thought of his dead wife and then was not so enamoured with the idea of bed at all. He shrugged. ‘I think we go now. No reason not to. Let’s get Isaura and the children away from here quickly. That’s all that matters. Leave Klaufi to sort out the fort. He’s got enough men to deal with those sleeping babies when they wake up!’
‘You think he can convince them to follow him instead of Ivaar?’
‘I think he has gold and Ivaar doesn’t, so I hope so. At least until Ivaar returns!’
Thorgils felt a chill seep into his bones.
No one knew where Ivaar was, but Ivaar would not let this stand.
His wife and children taken?
Ivaar would not let this stand.
‘Get to your ship!’ Bram insisted, watching Thorgils dither. ‘I’ll follow!’ He clapped his nephew on the back and turned away into the rain, which had started teeming down now, icy and sharp against their faces.
Thorgils stood for a moment, watching his uncle gather his men together, then turned away towards the headland where Ice Breaker waited with his new family on board.
III
The Storm
15
She opened her eyes.
Still in the cave.
But her eyes were open, and she’d had a dream.
She sighed, but her chest was so tight that it barely rose or fell. But she’d had a dream, and her eyes were open.
Derwa could heal her, she knew.
But she had led them all to Tuura.
And now they were trapped.
And danger was coming.
She felt so weak, so weary.
Her eyelids fluttered closed, and she drifted away again.
Ayla covered Bruno’s cold hands with her own as she knelt beside him. His lips were cracked and bleeding. It hurt for him to say much.
But he tried.
And she tried to stop him. ‘Sleep,’ she kept saying. ‘Just close your eyes, my love. We will be safe soon.’ And, eventually, he did fall asleep, tucked into the side of the ship, covered in a mound of furs. There was barely any meat on his bones at all, and despite the layers of warmth, he shivered uncontrollably.
