Vega jane and the end of.., p.10
Vega Jane and the End of Time, page 10
People greeted Necro as he walked along. It was clear that he was both well-known and liked here.
As I watched, Necro crossed the street and approached a couple walking from the opposite direction.
I slowed and took in this pair, realizing who they were a moment later.
‘Jason,’ cried out Necro to the tall, handsome youth. This was Necro’s son. And the woman he was holding hands with was Uma, Bastion Cadmus’s ethereally lovely daughter.
‘Father,’ said Jason perfunctorily.
Necro tipped his hat to Uma, who looked away.
‘Have you set your wedding date yet?’ asked Necro. I frowned. I had always understood that Necro had not approved of this union.
‘Not yet,’ said Jason with a glance at Uma. ‘But it will be soon.’
‘Splendid,’ said Necro. ‘We will anxiously await that happy time. Until then.’ He tipped his hat again and was off once more.
I crossed the street and slowly approached the pair.
‘Hello,’ I said.
‘Hello,’ said Jason, and Uma nodded and smiled at me.
I knew that both of these beautiful young people were doomed. As with Astrea, I was tempted to warn them. But Jasper’s words came back to me once more, and I held my tongue.
Instead I said, ‘I couldn’t help but overhear. Are you to be wed?’
‘Yes,’ said Jason, with a shy glance at Uma.
‘That’s wonderful. I’m sure you’ll be very happy together.’ I knew the marriage would never come to pass.
‘Thank you,’ said Uma, who was now looking at me strangely. ‘Do I know you?’ she asked.
Not yet, I thought to myself. ‘No, I’ve just arrived here.’
‘Well, it’s not often that one receives well wishes from a stranger. Perhaps we will see more of you?’
‘Perhaps,’ I said non-committally.
‘I’m Uma and this is Jason. What is your name?’
‘Vega.’
‘A curious name, but enchanting,’ said Uma. ‘Do you have family here?’
‘I might,’ I said evasively. ‘May I ask – who was that man you were speaking to, just now?’
‘Jason’s father,’ said Uma.
‘He seems delighted at your upcoming marriage.’
‘Yes, he does seem to be,’ replied Jason.
Quietly, Uma said, ‘Yet not everything is as it seems.’ She shook herself. ‘Goodbye, Vega. I hope we might meet again.’
They walked away, hand in hand. I watched them go.
I took my wand from my pocket, tapped it against my leg and said, ‘Pass-pusay.’
My destination was clearly in mind.
Empyrean.
But not the Empyrean I knew.
I landed in front of the place. It looked much like it did in my time, though less old. The grounds were sumptuous and inviting. I glimpsed large marble statues set in strategic places, and wondered if they had served as the inspiration for the enchantment of the outside staff at the Empyrean I currently inhabited. The stone-and-wood house sat there looking as unmovable as a star in the sky.
The sky!
I looked up and the sun was shining and the coldness I had felt in the part of town I had just left was gone, replaced with an inviting warmth.
As I peered out from under the cover of the treeline, I started.
A tall woman was striding purposefully along a path on the right side of Empyrean. She turned and headed in my direction.
As she drew closer, I could see who it was.
I stepped clear of the trees and called out to her.
‘Hello?’
Alice Adronis stopped walking and looked up.
She was dressed not in chain mail, a warrior ready for battle, but in a long lavender cloak. Her face was strained, and sad.
‘Who are you?’ she asked, her brows knitted together, her gaze searching. ‘What are you doing here?’
I drew closer to her.
‘My name is Vega. I seem to have lost my way.’ I paused. ‘Are you Alice Adronis?’
She stiffened but answered, ‘I am.’
‘I saw your husband in town, in Colin Sonnet’s shop.’ I took another step forward. ‘I have travelled far to obtain assistance from Colin to repair a ring of mine.’
‘Then you have chosen well. Colin is excellent in the field of curiosities.’
I nodded and looked around. ‘Your home is truly beautiful.’
Alice drew a bit closer, and I saw her eyes widen when she took me in fully. ‘Do I know you?’ she asked.
‘No,’ I said quickly. ‘Have you lived here long?’
‘Always. Empyrean will always be my home.’
Yes, it will, Alice, I thought.
Her features softened and she said, ‘Are you hungry? Would you like some sustenance?’
‘That would be very kind,’ I replied.
We headed to the house. The door opened as we approached it.
We passed through and it closed behind us.
I looked around and marvelled at the fact that Empyrean had not changed a jot. A tall, portly man dressed in a servant’s livery slipped into the room and said, ‘Madame Alice, lunch is ready in the dining hall.’
‘Thank you, Pillsbury.’
I nearly fell over as I beheld the true form of Pillsbury, before he was conjured permanently into a suit of armour and forced to care for Empyrean for all time.
Alice led me down the passage and into the large dining hall. A tall, thin white-haired woman with enormous blue eyes came in, pushing a serving cart.
‘Mrs Jolly, we have a guest for lunch.’
‘Right you are, Madame Alice. There is plenty, for I had assumed Master Gunther would be here.’
‘He has gone into town,’ said Alice. ‘Though he failed to tell me.’
The meal was placed before us, and Mrs Jolly left the room.
We began to eat. I was ravenous, but I noticed Alice ate little.
‘Where do you come from?’ she said at last.
‘A place far from here, but very much like it.’
‘You look familiar to me,’ said Alice. ‘I noted it outside, and the sense is even stronger inside my home.’
‘I suppose we might have met somewhere, sometime,’ I replied cautiously. Before she could pursue this line of inquiry, I added, ‘I saw Necro in town.’
I saw her lips tighten. ‘And what did you think of him?’
‘I think I have never seen a more evil bloke in my life.’
She lifted her gaze to mine. ‘You are wise beyond your years.’
‘I saw Astrea Prine in town as well. She seems to understand this. But there are others, her husband for example, who do not.’
Alice sat back and studied me. ‘For coming from a faraway place, you seem to have a deep understanding of our politics.’
‘I have the advantage of being in a similar situation of my own.’ Just eight hundred years into the future, I thought.
‘I also saw Uma and Jason. They seem very much in love.’
‘I daresay they are very much in love.’ She hesitated and then continued. ‘But love cannot conquer all.’
What I did next was perhaps a huge gamble, but for some reason it felt like the right thing to do. Alice had told me about the concept of Empchon or the Fates. She said there was a connectivity between us. Well, I was going to put that theory to the test right now!
I took out my wand and set it on the table.
Alice’s gaze was immediately transfixed by it. That the wand was the Elemental was unmistakable.
‘Who are you?’ she said in a hushed tone.
‘Someone who will always be your friend, Alice. Always. You will fight your fight. And I will fight mine.’
The next moment I was cursing myself because the mists covered us, and I was back, standing in front of Colin’s shop.
It was dark now, and as I opened the door, the bell tinkled.
Colin was behind the counter working on something. As I approached, he held up the ring. ‘I believe that it will comport with your requirements now.’
‘Wonderful,’ I said, smiling.
‘And what might those requirements be?’
We both turned to see Necro standing there. I had not heard the bell tinkle, yet there he was.
I said, ‘A ring has many uses, does it not?’
He stepped forward, his disingenuous smile far deadlier than the fanged face of a jabbit.
‘Does it? I should think it only has the one – as adornment for the finger.’
I slipped the ring on my hand. ‘Well, that may show you have much to learn.’ I looked at Colin. ‘I can assume that serendipity has struck once more?’
‘Most assuredly, it has.’
‘What do I owe you for your services?’
He held up his hands. ‘It was my pleasure to do so, Vega.’
‘I insist that I provide you something in return.’
‘I think that you have already done so.’
I glanced at Necro, who was hanging on every word of this exchange.
I nodded at Colin. ‘I thank you for both your expertise and your comprehension.’
I left the shop and Necro immediately followed.
‘You interest me greatly, Vega,’ he said.
I winced. I wished that Colin had not used my name in front of the man. I turned to him. ‘Do I? I wonder why?’
‘Perhaps we can have dinner together? I know an excellent place.’
‘I can’t imagine what we would talk about.’
‘Can’t you?’
I smiled. ‘Actually, I can.’
And then the mists came once more, and the greatest enemy of my life disappeared.
18
STONES IN WATER
‘Was your trip successful?’ Eon asked, as I appeared in front of him.
I twisted my ring around. ‘Can you see me now?’
‘No.’
I returned the ring to its original position.
‘Then my trip was successful.’
‘What will you do now?’ he asked.
‘What needs to be done,’ I replied.
I tapped my leg, muttered my incantation and a moment later I was standing on the steps of Empyrean. I saw it differently now – it had outlasted so much.
When I opened the door and stepped inside, Pillsbury greeted me. On a sudden impulse, I gave him a quick hug.
‘Mistress Vega? Are . . . are you all right?’
‘I’m well, Pillsbury. And I – I just want you to know how very much I appreciate all that you do here for us.’
He gave a short bow. ‘It is my pleasure to serve you,’ he said. ‘I was unaware that you had gone out.’
‘It was sort of a last-minute decision.’
‘Do you require anything? Food? Drink?’
I shook my head. ‘I had something to eat, thank you.’
It was eight centuries ago, but who was counting, I thought as I headed to find Delph.
I found him up in Jasper Jane’s old laboratory poring over books.
‘What are you doing, Delph?’ I asked.
He looked up from a dusty tome. ‘Trying to find something that will help your dad. Where have you been?’
I sat down next to him on one of the tall stools around Jasper’s worktable.
‘I’ve been travelling.’
He shot me a look. ‘Travelling? Where?’
‘Back in time.’
He slammed shut the book. ‘Vega Jane. Blimey!’
I told him everything, including getting my ring repaired. And all those whom I had met along the way.
As I spoke, Delph’s jaw dropped lower and lower until I feared it might smack into the table.
When I finally finished, he shook his head. ‘You shouldn’t have gone by yourself. We’ve talked about this.’
‘But I was going into the past, there was no danger.’
‘Like when you were nearly killed on that battlefield where you saw Alice?’
‘Um, right. Well, I wasn’t hurt this time.’
He was silent a minute. ‘So you saw Necro, eh?’
‘Yes.’
‘And you said he looked all, well, normal?’
‘Except for his eyes. You could tell in them, Delph, of the evil to come.’
He sat back, looking exhausted just by hearing of my adventure.
‘So Petra was ostracized,’ he said at last. ‘I’m not saying you should be best mates, but you should trust her, Vega Jane – you are more similar than you think.’
‘I do trust Petra. I’ve trusted her with my life. And she’s done the same with me.’
He nodded slowly. ‘So with the ring fixed, what’s your plan?’
‘To find John,’ I replied.
He nodded. ‘That is all well and good, Vega Jane. Finding John would please all of us, especially your mother.’
There was a hesitant note in his voice. ‘But?’ I said.
‘I’m trying to find a way to cure your dad, and I know that Astrea is too. But we’re fighting a war.’
I stood and put my hands on my hips. ‘What are you saying, Delph?’
‘You’re our leader. So you need to lead us.’
I had an answer for that. ‘Delph, if the Maladons do have John and are preparing to use him, then we would be far better off with him on our side. With the ring, I can try and find him.’
‘Will I be allowed to come along on these little excursions?’
‘Why, of course, Delph. Perish the thought that I might manage it on my own.’
I grinned to show him that I was not being serious (well, maybe a bit, but he needn’t know that).
I left Delph to his books and went out into the gardens and the sunshine.
As I strolled along, I heard a noise that immediately drew my attention. It was the sound of someone weeping.
I hurried along a path that intersected twin rows of hedges and plunged into a thicket of trees. Once clear of those, I reached a large pond. And sitting on the grass by the water was Uma, or rather her nearly transparent image. I had never seen her outside of Empyrean. In the sun she was far paler, mostly an outline really, of what she had once been.
I hurried up to her.
‘Uma, are you all right?’
‘I’m fine, Vega. Fine,’ she added firmly, apparently to convince herself as well as me.
And before I could ask her anything else, she was gone.
I looked out over the surface of the pond. It was quite lovely, with nary a ripple to mar it.
‘Where she died.’
I quickly turned around to see one of the statues that worked in the grounds – this one was a large horse – staring at me from the copse through which I had come.
‘I’m sorry?’ I said, mightily confused.
It was quite unsettling to find myself conversing with a horse made of marble, but there you are.
‘Mistress Una. Heard a splash and then she was under. I couldn’t save her.’
I looked around at the lovely setting, which had now been transformed into something ugly and depressing in my mind.
And then the beast turned and cantered off.
19
A TIME FOR WORDS
At dinner that night, I looked around the dining room at my remaining army. The mood was melancholy. And who could blame them? We had been fighting a losing battle – and now, we were not even fighting any more.
My mother sat across from me but did not meet my eyes. She had not once looked my way since she had come down for the meal. She spoke to Delph, had even said hello to Petra, and thanked Mrs Jolly for the fine food. She exchanged a few words with Astrea and with the silent and morose-looking Archie next to her.
But for her own daughter, there had been nothing. Not a word, not a glance.
‘Delph said you went into the past.’
I looked up to see Petra’s gaze upon me.
I laid down my fork and knife as all eyes around the table settled upon me, save my mother’s. She continued to eat her meal, her gaze downcast.
‘I did. I was able to get my ring repaired.’ I paused. ‘Your ancestor Colin Sonnet did a fine job.’
‘Clearly not a Maladon, then,’ she said. I could hear the triumph in her words.
I could have said something like, Well, at least not a full-blooded one, but common sense stopped me. Also, I didn’t want to have to duel Petra over my supper.
‘I also met Necro.’
At this, I felt everyone in the room stiffen, including Astrea and my mother.
I looked at Astrea. ‘I also spoke with you, Astrea. I saw your husband. I saw Archie as a young lad skipping along the cobbles.’
‘Indeed?’ she said quietly. ‘You would have thought I would remember that.’
‘Well, it was over eight hundred years ago,’ I replied, forcing a smile. There was something in her face that told me she did remember this meeting. I decided to test this theory.
‘You had on a bright red cloak.’
‘No, it was the—’
She fell silent, her face pale and her look one of chagrin at how I had tricked her.
‘So you do recall. And you must also recall that I informed you that war was coming?’ My query was met by stony silence and a blank stare.
‘Time works in funny ways,’ I continued. ‘Sometimes it seems to make no sense at all. Alice called it Empchon, or the Fates. When I met her, I told Alice something that probably left an impression on her.’ I took out my wand and held it up. ‘I showed this to her. Alice knew it was her wand. Perhaps that’s why she gave it to me on that battlefield right before she died. And also why she told me I needed to survive.’ Astrea remained silent. ‘When I met you in the Quag, did you remember me?’
Delph said, ‘But Vega Jane, you just went back in time today. We met Astrea in the Quag long before that.’
‘Time works in unusual ways,’ I replied. ‘But in one way it works very simply. What came before, came before, regardless of when it occurred. Am I not correct, Madame Prine?’
‘She doesn’t know what she’s talking about,’ said Archie. ‘Does she, Mum?’
I ignored this and said, ‘I believe you did remember my warning, which is perhaps why you allowed me to leave your imprisonment and cross the Quag. You knew Alice had given me the Elemental. You actually showed me that it was also my wand. And because of the power that I showed during one of our confrontations, you knew that I was perhaps the best chance for eventual victory. Am I right?’
