Lost spirits, p.16
Lost Spirits, page 16
‘Hope this. Makes up for it,’ he gasped, a smile trembling on his blue lips.
‘Makes up for what – letting me in on all this fun? Wouldn’t have missed it for anything.’ Her throat dried and her eyes burned.
‘Me either. Wouldn’t have missed it. Well … not sure about this part …’
‘Shut up a minute.’ Cassie lifted the hem of his bloody shirt to see where the Eldest had ripped a chunk like a shark bite from his side with her claws. She felt a shock of horror run through her at the sight of the wound. Quickly and delicately she let it down again, and he gasped with pain. Cassie tried to imagine getting Richard out of the cavern. Down Mount Kenya. Along dust roads to the nearest hospital – and where the hell was that, anyway?
Not a hope in hell.
‘Halton-Jones, why did you have to play the hero? You stupid bugger.’ A tear rolled down her cheek, and she wiped it fiercely with the back of her hand.
‘Play at it is right. And I was hardly an … Oscar winner …’ He broke off, coughing hard, and Cassie’s heart quickened at the sight of blood on his lips. She reached down and wiped it away.
‘You saved our lives, you crazy loon. But I told you, shut up. Don’t waste your breath.’
‘Can’t expect me to stop talking. Change habit. Of a lifetime.’
‘Listen, Richard, I’m going to get help for you and Sir Alric. Don’t move.’
‘Ha ha.’
Cassie started to get to her feet, but she felt his fingertips scrape her calf desperately.
‘Don’t leave.’ There were tears as well as blood on his face. ‘Please.’
She hesitated only for a second, then knelt back down and put a hand on his chest. She could feel his rapid desperate heartbeat, the shallow tortuous rise and fall of his ribcage.
‘Richard …’ she sighed, fighting desperately to keep the tears back.
‘Wh-what?’
‘I love you.’
His head rolled round to face her, and his lips curved in a smile, his eyes brimming with tears of his own. ‘I’m going to tell Singh on you.’
‘You do that.’ She couldn’t stop crying now. ‘You tell him as soon as we get back. See where it gets you. He already knows, anyway …’
‘Well, in that case. I hope he knows. I love you too …’
Leaning into him, Cassie placed her hand on his clammy cheek and carefully brought her lips against his. When it didn’t seem as if she was going to hurt him, she kissed him gently.
She felt the moment his breath stopped.
Drawing back, she saw the faint white light of his spirit coil from his parted lips, drift with a thin mourning wail towards the roof, then evaporate into the dank air of the cavern.
Richard’s eyes were still open, but the mischievous spark was gone; they were dull and dead. Very gently Cassie put her fingertips on his eyelids and drew them down, then pushed herself up. Every bone and muscle in her body was screaming with pain, and her heart was wrung with grief. She let out a deep, strangled sob.
Cassie felt a hand touch hers, but she shook off Isabella’s comfort. Tears were streaming down the Argentinean girl’s face, and Jake stood staring at Richard, stunned.
‘Isabella, stay with Jake and Sir Alric.’ Cassie’s voice was hollow. ‘Look after them. I’m going to help Ranjit.’
‘Wait.’ Jake was shaken out of his shock, and seized her arm. ‘Cassie. Take these.’
Turning impatiently, she stared at his outstretched hand. The last tiny vial of Tears; all that was left of the precious liquid.
‘It’s too late,’ she said bleakly, shaking her head. ‘I don’t think they’d have helped anyway. He’s gone—’
‘No, listen. Sir Alric’s note, the one he left in his study? It was about these. He thought they could stop the Eldest. If they touch her.’
Cassie stared at him. ‘What?’
He opened her palm, pressed the vial into it. ‘It said something about the Tears’ ancient origins, them being the thing to stop the Eldest. I don’t know how. Just use them. I wanted to … I wanted to do it myself. I’m sorry.’
She shook her head. ‘But what if—’
‘Listen, just take them. Do it for me. Me and Jess, OK?’
‘You and Jess.’ She curled her fist round the vial. ‘And Richard.’
‘Yes. Now go!’
Grief was kindling into fury inside her, and even the darkness in the cavern was stained red through her vision. Turning deliberately away from Richard’s body, she snatched up the Knife in her other hand.
‘This is it, Eldest,’ she hissed. ‘I’m coming to get you.’
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Cassie burst from the cavern entrance into a pale golden Kenya dawn. Between the trees, the horizon was a very distant line, hazy with glowing watercolour tints, but she had no time to admire it. She plunged down the rocks into the valley and ran. If she ran fast enough, she might even outrun the sight of Richard’s broken corpse, branded in her mind’s eye.
She stumbled, tripped and fell, rolling down a small gully with the breath knocked out of her, but she leaped back to her feet and ran again. She must be close to the lowest slopes; she could hear the sound of the river they’d followed. It wasn’t hard to follow the trail: broken branches, scored rock and blood. Gritting her teeth, she hurtled on down, leaping tree roots.
I’ll get there. I’m coming, Ranjit …
Abruptly she skidded to a halt. The river pooled between two waterfalls, a broad placid lake that funnelled into a roaring cascade. But it wasn’t the water that brought her to a halt, sniffing the wind, straining her ears. Her Few senses bristled.
Was she imagining things? Cassie took another hesitant step towards the clear riverside path, frowning.
Shadows stirred, and a squat, malevolent figure stepped out from behind rocks.
‘Marat.’ Cassie shook her head. Of course. Trust him to turn up at the worst possible moment.
The little man grinned at her. ‘That’s far enough, Miss Bell.’
Five words. Was it the most he’d ever spoken to her?
‘Not quite far enough,’ she spat. ‘Get out of my way.’
His pale raisin-eyes were filmed in scarlet. For a moment Cassie was shocked – wasn’t Few status supposed to confer beauty? – but she had no time to wonder. Marat crouched, and sprang.
Roaring, she leaped to meet him. They collided in mid-air, and tumbled, snarling and biting, tearing violently at one another. She kicked him away, but he rolled, recovered, and charged like a bull into her midriff, knocking her on to her back. Cassie yelled with frustrated rage. She hadn’t regained her full strength yet, and his stocky frame was surprisingly powerful.
Marat had a grip on her neck, and he tried to squeeze harder as she writhed, trying to get free of him. ‘You think I’ll let you ruin everything now?’ he growled. ‘I’ll be glad to see the back of you, Bell.’
‘Not … going … to happen,’ she rasped, choking for breath.
He laughed, an oddly high, ringing sound. ‘You’re too weak! Like that arrogant bastard Darke. Too weak, in the end!’
That was what he thought. As his grip loosened momentarily, Cassie struck at him with one arm, knocking him backwards.
‘My mistress has sacrificed herself to the Eldest,’ he shouted angrily, trying to regain his footing. ‘You think I’ll let that be in vain? And my young mistress is now one with the greatest of all of us! You’re not even fit to be struck down by him!’
‘You sound like a bad cartoon!’ Cassie yelled, kicking out savagely at his groin, but he grunted, catching her leg, gripping and twisting. Cassie lashed a fist into the side of his face, loosening his hold enough to let her free herself from his grip, but she slipped, knocking into Marat and sending both of them rolling to the edge of the river and into the shallow, murky water.
Marat went for her again, grabbing her head and trying to force it down under the surface. Cassie struggled, choking, but she managed to twisting a leg round his ankle and unbalance him, sending him splashing into the muddy water. She surged up, sucking in lungfuls of air, coughing hard. As she struggled towards the bank, she felt a grip like a vice close on her ankle, dragging her back. Giving in to the pull, she turned, kicking out, and then, with a roar of frustrated anger, Cassie smashed a fist into Marat’s nose. I have to get away from here, she thought, I have to get to Ranjit! Blood spurted from Marat’s nose and he cried out in pain.
But he still wouldn’t relent. Ugly he might be, but Marat’s spirit was clearly not so weak that he wouldn’t be able to beat her in her present state. Cassie was already exhausted. A foot connected with her gut and she doubled over, then a hand smashed into the back of her neck and she was back in the water.
You might have warned me, Sir bloody Alric …
Cassie blinked, desperately holding her breath. She could see almost nothing in the shallow water at the edge of the river, especially now that they’d churned up the mud with their battle. Strands of weed tangled round her legs and in her hair, and shadows started to pass across her vision. Long, sleek, swift shadows. She was going to drown.
No.
Twisting violently, she finally got away, rolling over and seizing Marat by his thick throat. Snarling, spitting mouthfuls of vile muddy water, Cassie snapped her head forward, felt her skull connect hard with the bridge of his already-broken nose. Marat gave another scream of pain and rage, stumbling back, and Cassie scrambled for the bank. Get out of the water get out of the water …
She spun round as soon as she was on semi-solid ground, sliding and skidding in the mud, but keeping her footing. Marat, shoulders hunched, blood streaming from his face, was staggering towards her again, his red eyes brilliant with killing-fury. Curling her lip, sucking in air, Cassie remembered something at last.
Fumbling at her belt, she reached down and gripped the hilt of the Knife.
She drew it and held it out before her. Marat’s eyes turned to slits of spiteful malice. Ankle-deep at the river’s edge he paused, tilting his head as if to guess at her next move. If he gets this Knife off me, I’m dust, Cassie thought, gripping it tighter.
That thought must have occurred to Marat at exactly the same moment. His lips stretched in a vicious grin, and he wiped blood off his face with the back of a balled fist. He was within an instant of lunging for the Knife when his grin became a grimace, and he let out a sudden short scream. Cassie backed away, startled. For an insane moment she thought he’d stumbled on a log in the water.
But it wasn’t a log.
Marat fell forward on to his face, clutching at handfuls of thick mud, and Cassie saw his leg. Incredulously, she realised it was gripped in a crocodile’s jaws. The creature was pulling him back now, and he could get no hold on the soft riverbank.
The sight was horrendous. Somewhere in her brain, an automatic humanity switched on. Plunging forward, Cassie grabbed at his reaching arm and hauled on it, but it was too late. The jaws snapped once, taking a better grip of Marat’s thigh, and a moment later the crocodile was dragging him relentlessly out into the water. Cassie could see other shapes now, cutting silently through the water to where blood was pooling on the grey-green surface of the water, while Marat thrashed and screamed.
Cassie stumbled back, staring in horror. As the creature moved into the deeper water, Marat twisted, belatedly, hammering uselessly at its eyes and head, striking it with his fists. The crocodile shook its great prehistoric head, thrashing him twice on the surface with a sound like beaten laundry, and then began to submerge.
Cassie could no longer see the creature, but she saw Marat’s face, turned once more towards her, beseeching. As his mouth and nose went under the water his screams stopped, and his terrified eyes were the last thing she saw of him.
And then there was nothing but a spreading pool of blood, staining the thick water a dark and hideous muddy red.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Panting for breath, Cassie ran backwards so fast she stumbled and fell on a rock, but then she was up and running towards the thinning trees. The Knife was still in her hand and she kept it there, clutched tightly.
No, she thought, no. Not back to the trees. Downhill, downhill. Go back to the river path, you’ll get to Ranjit faster.
Her lungs ached and stung, but she stumbled on down the uneven slope, meeting the thin beaten path at an angle. The roaring in her ears could have been her own blood or the river rapids, she didn’t know. Where was Ranjit? Where was the Eldest? The fight with Marat had held her up far too long. She was further behind than ever. Tripping on another tree root, she fell hard on to her face, scraping blood from her palms.
Goddammit, Estelle. You said we could do anything together! Now do it!
No more disembodied voice in her head; no more snide remarks. Just a sudden gathering of strength, as if her spirit was concentrating all her reserves. It wasn’t Estelle and Cassie any more; there was no separation. She was Cassie Bell – one of the Few.
Just run.
Cassie grabbed a branch and hauled herself to her feet. I won’t let Ranjit down. Power surged back into her limbs, and though the pain was still there, it meant nothing. With a low snarl, she sprinted down the hill.
The ground flew beneath her feet; there was no more tripping, no more stumbling. Her body felt like a featherweight as she raced, and her power was electricity in her limbs. Following the trail of wreckage, following the path, she sprinted over a ridge of ground, sprang down into a hollow beside a cliff.
And as she did so, Ranjit collided with the ground at her feet.
Cassie staggered, almost stumbling over him, crying out in surprise. Seeing who it was, she reached down and clasped his hand to haul him up. He gave her the briefest of looks, then they turned together to face the Eldest.
The monstrous creature roared, raising herself to strike again. As the pounding of her own blood calmed in her ears, Cassie recognised the roaring rush of water. Just metres from where they faced the Eldest, the brooding river vanished over an edge into nothingness, hazed with spray. They were on the edge of a huge waterfall.
‘Take her from two sides,’ gasped Ranjit.
He attacked again. Running to the other side, Cassie launched herself at the Eldest’s back, catching and gripping on tight, tearing at the silver-blonde hair of Katerina’s shell as she wrenched the monster’s head back, desperate to snap the vertebrae. Not a chance. The Eldest’s spine rippled nightmarishly like a snake, and Cassie was flung backwards and slammed against a tree trunk. She sprang back instantly, in time to see Ranjit attack the Eldest yet again, lunging his fists into her powerful torso. The Eldest simply grabbed him, swinging him sideways, and he flew through the air and collided with Cassie.
As they scrambled back to their feet, his eyes met hers. ‘She’s too strong …’ he gasped.
‘We’ve got to try—’ Cassie said desperately, but as she spoke, the Eldest’s clawed hand caught her face with a glancing blow. Reeling back, Cassie put a hand to her cheekbone and brought it away dripping blood. She was playing with them, Cassie realised.
‘Scarred!’ The Eldest screeched at the delicious irony. ‘Like my dear Katerina was.’
‘Yeah, but I’m not just a pretty face.’ Cassie jumped and kicked, catching the Eldest in the ribs, but she might as well have been made of rubber. The Eldest laughed, caught her ankle, and tossed her aside. Spray from the torrent beyond made an incongruous rainbow halo around them as she flexed Katerina’s newly-supernatural muscles, smiling.
‘You’re wasting your time,’ the Eldest boomed. ‘And mine.’ Languidly, she flashed a fist into Ranjit’s jaw, and he tumbled towards the edge of the cliff. He tried to raise the Pendant again, but the Eldest stalked to him, seized his wrist and wrenched the jade from it with ridiculous ease.
‘You … fool!’ Contemptuously the Eldest brandished the Pendant. The creatures carved into the jade writhed with terrifying energy. Ranjit held up an arm to shield his eyes as a stronger and stronger light glowed in the heart of the jewel.
‘I won’t soil my hands on you any further,’ the Eldest hissed, and a sickly light began to swirl and gather within the jade. ‘I’ll have that spirit now …’
With a shriek Cassie flung herself on to the Eldest’s back, but was again knocked with a violent blow to the ground. The Eldest turned to give her a smirk, and held out a hand, the claw-fingers beckoning. ‘I’m waiting, Cassandra. Give me the Knife.’
A vision flashed across Cassie’s mind: Richard, torn apart by the Eldest and lying dead in the cavern on the mountain. Her friend. And then her friend Jake, handing her—
On her knees, Cassie bent forward, gasping for breath. Her fingers trembled as she reached into her shirt, and the Eldest gave a low scornful chuckle.
Cassie raised her eyes to the poison-green glow of her adversary’s.
‘You asked for this,’ Cassie growled.
The Eldest’s green eyes brightened, momentarily, with greedy anticipation.
Then Cassie whipped out the last vial of Tears and threw them hard at the hideous monster.
The shatter of glass echoed even above the noise of the waterfall. A rain of crystal exploded against the Eldest’s chest and she reeled backwards, clutching at her ribs in disbelief. As the pieces of broken vial tinkled to the rocky ground, the last of the Tears of the Few trickled down Katerina’s former body, hissing and steaming as if they were boiling volcanic spray.
The Eldest screamed, raking her chest with her claws. She recovered her balance at the lip of the cliff, drawing herself up with a howl of unearthly fury. Cassie staggered towards the Eldest, unable to tear her eyes away. She was in agony, and raged with maybe her first experience of real terror from Cassie and Ranjit’s onslaught. Her body was curling, twisting, writhing.
But not dying.
Cassie shut her eyes, desperate. If the Tears hadn’t killed her, there was nothing else for it. She didn’t dare glance, one final time, at Ranjit. Gritting her teeth, Cassie simply flew towards the Eldest. She snapped her monstrous head up just a fraction of an instant too late. Cassie cannoned into her, and taken by surprise, the Eldest gave a terrible scream.
