Vega jane and the end of.., p.5
Vega Jane and the End of Time, page 5
‘So, you knew when you saw me on the battlefield that I was the one to lead us now?’
She nodded. ‘It was why I fought to keep you alive that day. I took risks that I otherwise might not have taken.’
Took risks you otherwise might not have taken? ‘Alice, are . . . are you saying that if I hadn’t appeared on the battlefield that day that you would not have . . . ?’
‘’Tis a small price to pay, Vega. Our war was lost at that point. We all knew it. Though some of us stubbornly refused to admit it,’ she added. ‘Myself included.’
‘But how could you possibly have known my name?’
In answer, she snapped her fingers, and in the palm of her hand appeared a delicate tiny bird, nearly as transparent as she was.
‘What is this, Vega?’
I looked at the creature. ‘It’s a bird.’
‘How do you know that?’
‘Because, well – because what else could it be?’
She snapped her fingers, and the bird vanished.
‘You were the bird that came to me that day. Appearing on a battlefield and in an era where you had no other reason to be. Who else could it be, other than you, Vega Jane, my descendant?’
‘I still don’t understand.’ And I truly did not. I didn’t consider myself dim-witted, but I was feeling such.
‘Then let me make it crystal clear.’ She paused. ‘Your ancestor Jasper Jane – you have met his spirit?’
‘Yes. He helped save my life in the Quag.’
‘He was a brilliant man, expert in many magical fields, including the darker ones inhabited by the Maladons. Shortly after the war with the Maladons commenced, he too took a trip through time. But not to the past.’
‘Then he went to the future. And what did he see?’ I said, slowly, though the answer was dawning on me as I asked the question.
‘He saw . . . you.’
7
THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME
The revelation that Jasper had seen me in the future had been a stunning one. But that was all Alice would tell me. She vanished without saying more, despite my pleas.
I walked mutely back to my room that night and spent the next several days in a sort of mental limbo. Nothing that I had learned from either Astrea or Alice could aid me in my principal endeavour: winning the war against the Maladons.
I had cancelled all missions and had my dwindling forces alternating between polishing their fighting skills and resting. But that was no strategy. While we sat here twiddling our thumbs, the Maladons were out there, plotting to finish us off. Even now they could be devising ways to find and penetrate Empyrean. And then, nowhere would be safe.
I had sentries posted day and night whose sole job was to watch for any suspicious activity. But it was not enough. At some point we would have to leave the relative safety of Empyrean and take up the fight once more. Only I still had not conceived of a way to do so that would not result in our absolute destruction.
It did not help my mood that Astrea was often seen deep in conversation with the others. Once, she saw me watching, and she merely smiled and continued on with her conversation with Anna Dibble.
When I questioned my warriors as to what they had discussed, they all said that Astrea was only interested in their confrontations with the Maladons, how they fought, what sort of tactics they used, what their magic was like in battle – and where they were vulnerable. They told me that Astrea was highly complimentary of what I had accomplished, and was in no way trying to undermine my authority.
I discussed with Delph what Alice had told me, one night after everyone else had gone to bed.
‘They have control of garms and jabbits,’ I said. ‘They can make the Elixir and live forever. We . . . can’t.’
‘Well, we’ll just have to beat them before we die,’ said Delph.
‘Easier said than done. And now Astrea is here to second-guess me on everything.’
‘We follow you, Vega Jane, not Astrea.’
‘Thanks, Delph.’
As I rose to leave, Delph took my hand.
He said, ‘Have you thought about life after the Maladons are no more?’
I blinked. I hadn’t thought about it at all.
My look had evidently been answer enough because Delph said, ‘I have. I mean, you have to make plans, right?’
‘What sort of plans are you thinking about, Delph?’
I expected him to flush or go silent, as he often did when talking of anything personal. But he surprised me.
‘My plans include you, Vega Jane. Being with you, until I breathe my last.’
My eyes widened. He sounded so sure, so certain.
‘W-we have plenty of time to discuss all that one day,’ I stammered.
‘Do we?’ he said, his gaze fixed on mine. ‘I think we have a great many things, but time may not be one of them. Just – think about it, OK?’
I nodded and left, heading to my room. I was all wonky in the head. So wonky that I didn’t see him coming.
He stepped from the shadows so suddenly that I had half drawn my wand from my pocket.
‘Don’t do that again,’ I snapped. ‘Unless you want a curse dangling around your neck.’
Archie Prine didn’t look the least bit concerned.
‘We need to talk, Vega.’
‘What about?’ I snapped.
‘You needn’t take that tone with me. We are on the same side after all. You act like I’m your enemy or something. It’s not fair.’
‘Oh, I’m sorry, Archie,’ I said with mock contriteness. ‘I guess it must have to do with the time you tried to murder me.’
‘I had my reasons,’ he said offhandedly. ‘And I didn’t, did I?’
‘Not for want of trying. If it weren’t for Delph, I would be dead at your hands. Now, what do you want?’
‘You’ve been very cavalier with my mother’s offer to lead our forces. She is far more experienced than you are in a war with the Maladons. You have to admit that.’
‘Eight hundred years ago, yes. But I’ve been battling them for the last two years. And my blokes have killed far more of them than they have of us, so there.’
‘She is a great sorceress.’
‘So am I,’ I said heatedly. ‘I’ve faced Endemen and Necro and been outnumbered a dozen to one and survived. And, unless you forgot, your mother lost her war. So, Archie, tell me why should I assume the outcome will be any different this time?’
I had struck home with this point. Archie’s face crumpled with uncertainty and confusion.
I decided to take the opportunity to leave. ‘Now, if you’ll excuse me.’ I pushed past him, went to my bedroom and slammed the door behind me.
‘Those Prines!’ I said to Harry Two, who was lying on my bed. I was seething. Astrea and Archie seemed to have forgotten that I had been fighting the Maladons all this time and had more than held my own. Indeed, if I had fifty more warriors, I was convinced we would wipe the field with them. But I didn’t have fifty more warriors. I didn’t have five more.
I sat on my bed and stroked Harry Two’s head. As usual, he calmed me.
‘It’s a real conundrum, Harry Two. We have to find a way to beat these blokes.’
In answer, Harry Two did something unexpected. He rose, hopped off the bed, went to my wardrobe set against one wall and scratched at the door. He had never done this before.
I crossed the room. ‘What is it, Harry Two? What’s the matter?’
His answer was to scratch more furiously at the door.
I opened it and he pawed at a drawer inside. I opened the drawer and smiled.
I pulled out the old parchment inside and closed the drawer. Embedded inside the parchment was a sometimes cranky but more often helpful spirit (or something) called Silenus.
‘Thanks, Harry Two.’
Harry Two remained staring at the wardrobe.
I carried the roll back over to the bed, sat down and touched the parchment.
‘Silenus? I’d like to talk to you.’
A moment later, a face appeared on the paper. The features were old, but the eyes were very sharp indeed. I had found that there was much wisdom in Silenus.
‘Yes, Vega?’
I explained to him what had happened, finishing with my dilemma.
‘I can see no way to defeat the Maladons by staying the course that we’re on. Even with the addition of Astrea and Archie, that only gives us two more wands in battle. It’s not enough. By the time the last of us fall, there will still be hundreds of Maladons left. I would appreciate any advice you have to give me.’
Silenus mulled over this for a long minute. I went from looking at him hopefully to gazing at him helplessly.
I glanced at Harry Two. He was still sitting by the wardrobe.
Finally, Silenus spoke. ‘You are assuming that you can summon no others to your aid.’
‘But who? If I can find my parents, that would be helpful, but I have no way to locate them.’
Silenus looked at me in a disappointed fashion. ‘Have you tried?’
I felt my face flush. ‘Of course I have! I even came close. I found a woman in a village who had seen my mother. I even found a bit of bloodied cloth – cloth that I know belonged to her. But then I ran into Astrea and Archie.’
‘So, you stopped searching at that point? Even though there was a bloody cloth, indicating they were in some peril?’
I felt my face flush deeper. I had come to him for help, and all I was getting were accusations that I hadn’t tried hard enough to find my parents.
‘I believe that I did all I could.’ I sounded defensive and guilty – and I suddenly realized that he was right.
Silenus did not even deign to answer this statement. After a few moments of silence, I said tersely, ‘Can you not help me, then?’
‘I think, Vega, that the best thing you can do is think about what you want to accomplish and study the tools you have at your disposal to meet your goals.’
‘What do you think I’ve be—’
I stopped, because Silenus had vanished.
‘Argh!’
I stuffed the parchment back into the drawer and slammed shut the wardrobe door, breathing heavily.
‘Well,’ I said to the walls of my bedroom. ‘I guess I’d better just carry on, since certain people do not wish to help me.’
I undressed and climbed into bed.
Harry Two usually curled up next to me, but this time he didn’t. He was sitting on the floor, still staring at my wardrobe.
I sat wearily up in bed and looked at him. Whenever Harry Two did this, it meant he wanted me to do something. But I was simply too knackered.
‘Harry Two,’ I said. ‘Come to bed. I’ve already tried to talk to Silenus. It was no help, and I’m not going to bother with him again.’
My dog didn’t move.
I angrily punched my pillow into a more comfortable shape and slumped back.
Time ticked by. Every once in a while, I would glance over at the wardrobe.
Harry Two was sitting there like a rock, staring at it. Stubborn dog.
I slumped back again.
Harry Two started scratching at the wardrobe door. I sighed, slowly climbed out of bed and stood next to him with my hands on my hips.
‘Harry Two, what is wrong with you? There’s nothing useful in there.’
I opened the door. ‘See? It’s just clothes.’
The next moment I watched in amazement as he leaped up and snagged something off a wall peg in the wardrobe.
It was the bit of bloody cloth of my mother’s that I’d found in the woods the day I’d found Astrea and Archie. It still had the flower and message that I had etched into the fabric with my wand.
With the cloth in his mouth, my dog rushed over to the door.
Realization as to what Harry Two wanted to do spread over me.
Excited, I quickly dressed, grabbed my wand and opened the door.
Harry Two raced down the stairs to the front door. No one was about at this late hour. We stepped outside, I harnessed him to my chest, twisted the ring of invisibility around, and we took to the air.
8
A VISIBLE EVENT
I had been such an idiot not to think of this myself.
I well knew the power of smell that dogs had. I used the Pass-pusay spell to take us directly to where I had found the cloth.
We landed, and I unharnessed Harry Two but created a magical tether so that he would remain invisible along with me.
I had no idea whether danger lurked. I already knew that Maladons had visited this area, and they might come back at any time. I held my wand at the ready, even as I rushed after Harry Two, who was nimbly sprinting over the uneven terrain.
He must already have the scent of my mother in his nostrils, I thought excitedly. He bounded around a tree and then up an incline slicked with rain on top of low ground cover. I struggled up after him. When he reached the top, Harry Two stopped and gazed around, sniffing the air.
But Harry Two seemed confused. He turned and looked up at me. In his mismatched eyes, I saw uncertainty. My spirits dropped. Had we come here for nothing?
I peered around the area. It looked just the same as the last time I had been here. I took a few tentative steps forward and called out softly.
‘Mum, Dad, are you out there? It’s me, Vega.’
There was no response.
I pondered what to do. In the end, I led Harry Two back to the old woman’s cottage. She had seen my mother, after all, and she might have another clue. There was a light on inside, which seemed strange for the time of night.
I approached cautiously and knocked on the door, my wand at the ready. Harry Two was showing his fangs.
Right before the door opened, I turned the ring around so that Harry Two and I became visible once more.
The door creaked open, and the same old woman appeared there.
‘You’ve come back,’ she said.
I nodded. ‘I came looking for Helen, my mother. You mentioned the others – the men with the hats. Have they been back, since?’
She shook her head. ‘But I’m afraid they will return.’
I looked over her shoulder and saw something small and huddled in front of the meagre blaze burning in the stone fireplace.
‘Who’s that?’ I asked.
‘My grandson. His parents were taken.’
‘Did they have the mark on their hands?’
‘Marks? No.’
‘Does he?’ I asked, glancing at the huddled figure.
She looked puzzled. ‘There is something there, yes. It’s faint.’
I said, ‘Can I speak with him?’
She nodded and stepped aside to let me pass.
I approached the boy, who I could hear had a racking cough. ‘He’s sick?’ I asked the woman.
‘Since yesterday.’
‘What’s his name?’
‘John.’
He had my brother’s name, though he was far younger. By the size of him, he looked to be perhaps six or seven at most. I drew closer.
‘John, my name is Vega. Maybe I can make you feel better.’ I took the Adder Stone from my pocket. The Stone held the magic of a powerful sorceress. You waved it over the injured or sick person, thought good thoughts and it could heal pretty much anything. If you ever thought bad thoughts while using it, I had been told the results would be catastrophic. Fortunately, I had no desire to use it for harm.
John was bent over, rocking back and forth.
I held up the Adder Stone and waved it over him, thinking good thoughts.
To my shock, he continued to cough and rock.
I looked down at the Stone. What was going on?
I knelt down in front of the boy.
‘John. Can you hear me?’
He nodded.
‘Can I see your hand?’
He slowly held out his right hand. On it I could see the faint traces of the mark of the three hooks.
I slowly let go of it.
His fingers reached out and touched my ring.
His touch sent shivers down my spine.
‘John, can you look at me?’
He slowly lifted his head. And I received the greatest shock of my life.
My brother, John, was staring back at me.
I gasped, ‘John!’ I felt the tears roll down my face and reached out for him. ‘John, it’s me, Vega.’
My arms wrapped around him.
The next moment I was clinging to air. I was no longer in the cottage. I was standing by the forest with Harry Two next to me.
I looked around in amazement. I was breathing so hard that I could barely stand.
There was a noise behind me and I spun around. It was the old woman. ‘Where is John? Where is my brother?’ I called out.
She didn’t answer me.
The hairs on my arms started to rise, something I never took as a good sign.
I looked back at Harry Two. My dog was no longer staring out across the woods. His full attention was on the woman. He gave off a low growl, and I saw his hackles rise. He bared his fangs.
I also never took that as a good sign.
‘Stay, Harry Two,’ I whispered. ‘Stay.’
I turned back and drew closer to the woman, turning my ring around so that I would become invisible. Her eyes followed me, even though she couldn’t possibly see me!
The next moment I had catapulted into the air, pulling Harry Two with me by virtue of the magical tether.
There were so many spells shooting at where we had just been standing that they seemed to blur together into one massive blast of light.
I levelled out and zipped forward, pulling Harry Two towards me and buckling him into his harness. We soared over the forest as spells hurled skyward. I rolled and banked and dived and rose to avoid them.
How can they see me? And where is my brother?
I tapped my leg and said, ‘Pass-pusay.’
The vision of Empyrean was firmly in my mind.
But my feet did not land on the solid stone porch of my ancestral home, safe from this nightmare.
Instead, nothing had changed. Fear seized me. I felt frozen, even though I was hurtling along at an incredible velocity.
