The Sorrow of the Waters (Kalika Magic Book 3) Read online

  She had to get Mari back inside.

  Awake now from your secret sleep!

  It was Kai. He stood beside the stream with his arms outspread, chanting the Old Kalika spell.

  Follow my voice from your prison deep …

  The buzzing grew louder. The figures began to move towards Kai in a threatening procession, their arms reaching for him.

  ‘No,’ screamed Indie. ‘Kai!’

  ‘Stay there, Indie,’ cried Kai. ‘I need you. Can’t you feel the magic? The eagle … No limits …’

  The creatures started to form a circle. He stood firm at the centre: his eyes closed, his arms stretched high above his head.

  Let your heart and mind be free,

  Awake now and come back to me.

  The mass of insects swept up into the air, hovered above his head, and then dived into the stream, leaving only bubbles.

  The figures swayed and moaned. They did not seem terrible now. Without their silver cloaks they seemed fragile and somehow sad. Indie watched them tiptoe back to the water’s edge and slowly slide beneath the surface.

  In the morning Mari was pale and gaunt, and she wouldn’t wake. The blisters had spread over her arms, right to the end of her fingers.

  ‘It’s because she tried to tell me about them,’ said Indie. ‘I shouldn’t have asked her.’

  Kai closed his eyes. He could see clouds of darkness around Mari’s body.

  ‘I wish Nima was here,’ he said. ‘She’s the healer, not me.’

  ‘What about the magic of the mountain?’ said Indie. ‘Can’t you call on that again?’

  Kai opened his eyes. ‘I’ll need you to help me,’ he said to Indie. ‘Sit here and put your hand on Mari’s heart. Sami, hold both her feet.’

  ‘Sisika!’ he cried. There was a whirl of wings, the soft whoo-whoo of his owl spirit, and the sudden rush and hum of magic in the air. But there was no change in the girl. Her breathing was fast and shallow. She whimpered, tossing her head from side to side.

  ‘Sisika!’ he called again. And then he heard running footsteps, and Nima burst through the trees with the tall Dasa boy by her side.

  At first Kai thought he was dreaming. Nima looked thin and wild, with her hair a mass of knots and her bare feet covered in bruises. She was wearing her mother’s old Kalika cloak over her tattered dress.

  There was no time for questions. Nima took one look at the girl and knelt beside Kai. She put her hand on Kai’s arm. Kai shuddered as a sharp burst of energy travelled all the way from her fingers to his shoulder. His vision changed. He could still see the shadows around Mari, but he could also see a golden light pouring from his hands. There was a green glow around Nima. The green and the gold flowed together, thrumming and changing, wrapping around the girl.

  For a long time nothing happened. Nima’s breathing grew slow and deep. Her grip on Kai’s arm relaxed. The green and gold became brighter and brighter. And then, when the light was so bright it hurt Kai’s eyes, it dissolved into flash of white and disappeared, taking the shadows with it.

  Mari sighed. Her eyelids fluttered. ‘Sami,’ she whispered.

  ‘I’m here,’ said Sami. He was still holding his sister’s feet, staring up at her, his face creased with worry.

  ‘It’s real,’ whispered Mari. ‘The apiki flower …’ Her voice trailed away. She sighed again and closed her eyes.

  Kai sat under the trees, lost in thoughts of white light, healing hands, and the power of the mountains. Grandma Helki had told him that Sisika was his link to the spirit world. He was only now beginning to understand what that meant. His power animal was a messenger. She was there to show him things most people never see. And she had led Nima to him, just as she had led Dargan to him on the glacier.

  He looked up. Nima was explaining what had happened when she and Shaman Yanti found Sofia on the Dead Islands. She sat on a log, while Sami sat cross-legged at her feet. Indie and Jabar sat beside her. Kai saw his sister’s frown deepen as she listened to the story.

  He braced himself. Indie was shaking her head and muttering under her breath. When Nima came to the part where Shaman Yanti pulled out his crystal on the Gilliba Plains, she jumped to her feet and said, ‘This is all your fault, Nima. How could you be so stupid?’

  She stormed off to the hut. The others watched her go.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ said Kai. ‘You know what she’s like. She’ll be furiously angry and not speaking to you for a few hours, and then it will pass and she’ll be okay again.’

  ‘I’m glad she’s like that,’ said Jabar. ‘I didn’t think she’d ever forgive me for what I did.’

  ‘I’m not sure she has,’ said Kai. He looked Jabar up and down. He didn’t trust the Dasa boy. He had seen him riding with Mugadi, his cruel father, against the army of Ballyndor. He’d heard how Jabar deceived Indie, how he tricked her into believing he was her friend.

  Jabar saw Kai’s look. His eyes hardened. ‘I hope you're wrong,’ he said.

  ‘I don’t think I am,’ said Kai. ‘I think I understand my sister better than you do.’

  Jabar turned red.

  Kai turned back to Nima, urging her to continue.

  Nima looked from one boy to the other, then she sighed and went on with her story.

  ‘Kaosha sent me through a portal in the Seeing Tree,’ she said. ‘He’s such a nice man.’

  Kai stared at her. ‘Kaosha? A man?’

  ‘Well, not exactly,’ said Nima. ‘He’s a tree spirit, but he looks like a man.’

  ‘I thought Kaosha was a tree.’

  Nima smiled. ‘He says everyone thinks that. But he lives inside the tree, like all tree spirits.’

  ‘What about the Moon Tree? Does it have a spirit?’

  ‘Of course!’ said Nima. ‘When I came out the other end of the tunnel I was in the Moon Tree and the spirit was there to meet me. Her name is Magena. She's shorter than I am, and she has yellow flowers in her hair.’

  Nima told them how she had climbed the mountain, passing through the ice caves and over the glacier, all the way to the Dasa village. She smiled when she spoke about Uncle Rauf's children, and laughed as she described them all shivering together under the wharf.

  ‘Those men on the wharf were Fintan and Brek,’ said Sami, when Nima recounted the conversation she had overheard. ‘I’m glad you stayed hidden. I don’t know what Uncle Malik would have done if you’d led Fintan to Taka.’

  At the mention of the forgotten city, Nima became very quiet.

  Jabar took up the story. ‘Uncle Rauf left us with Alim while he went to speak to the council,’ he said. ‘He told Alim to keep us locked in the tree house.’

  ‘Why would he do that?’ asked Sami, shocked.

  ‘Nima healed one of Uncle Rauf’s children – the little girl who couldn’t speak – and she told him that Nima was the apiki flower. Uncle Rauf thought that keeping the apiki flower at Taka would make everything better for the gypsies.’

  Sami leaned forward, his eyes wide. ‘How did you get away?’ he asked.

  ‘Jabar talked Alim around,’ said Nima. ‘He explained what had happened and why we couldn’t stay. He knew exactly what to say, and Alim listened to him.’

  ‘It was Shae,’ said Jabar. ‘My hawk. She was with me. She helped me find the right words.’

  Indie had returned from the hut and she stood with her arms crossed, listening. She looked thoughtful. ‘Uncle Paco says the greatest warriors use words, not weapons,’ she said.

  Jabar looked at her in surprise, a grateful smile slowly lighting up his face.

  ‘I don’t think the Dasa would agree with you,’ said Kai, giving Jabar a hostile look.

  Jabar’s smile vanished.

  ‘What happened then?’ asked Sami, eagerly. ‘What did Alim do?’

  ‘He took us to Old Man Kita,’ said Jabar, ‘but the old man wasn’t himself. He was really confused. He kept saying the apiki flower wanted him to send the children through the water. I don't know what he was talk
ing about. Anyway, he opened the portal, and here we are.’

  ‘Trapped on this island,’ muttered Kai.

  ‘But we’re not trapped,’ said Nima. She smiled at her cousin's incredulous expression. ‘I know the way to Nagara.’

  Chapter 16

  The Water Spirits

  That night the moon shone in a cloudless sky. Indie saw the figure of her mother again. Beside the figure was another woman, a woman who looked similar to Indie’s mother, but not as pretty. She was too thin, and she wore her hair pulled tight against her neck. On her nose sat a pair of spectacles with hard, square frames.

  ‘Why is she here?’ asked Indie. Her face was pale as she watched the figures sway together in a strange and frightening dance.

  Nima was standing beside her, watching. ‘She’s here for me,’ she whispered.

  ‘It’s not your mother,’ said Kai. He put his hand on Nima’s shoulder and turned her to face him. ‘It’s not your mother. You can’t go out there.’

  Nima’s eyes filled with tears. ‘I brought her back,’ she whispered. ‘She’s not dead.’

  ‘That’s not her,’ said Kai. His voice was low and urgent. ‘You have to understand. Even if you did bring her back. That’s something else entirely, some kind of creature that lives on this island. It’s not your mother.’

  Nima nodded slowly. She took a deep breath. ‘I know,’ she said. ‘I can feel it. It’s so sad.’

  ‘Sad!’ Indie blurted the word. ‘Did you see what it did to Mari? To the other children? They can’t even talk about it. They can’t tell anyone, because if they do the marks on their arms swell up and burst, and the pain is agonising. I don’t know what would have happened to Mari if Kai hadn’t used his spell.’

  Sami had come up behind them and was listening to them talk.

  ‘Mari says the worst thing is not being able to tell anyone,’ he said.

  ‘It’s wrong,’ muttered Jabar. He was sitting in the corner, rubbing his feet with leaves. Indie could see the swelling, the bruises. She thought it must have been a hard trek across the mountains. She wondered why he would do it, why he would leave his village and travel all that way to help them when not long ago they had been enemies.

  He looked up and saw her watching him. His eyes met hers and held her gaze, then he blushed and looked away.

  ‘I think it’s wrong,’ he said again, pressing the leaves against his skin. ‘Why would Old Man Kita send us to a place with creatures like this? We’ve done nothing to him.’

  ‘Shh.’ Nima pressed her fingers to her lips. She motioned at the creatures, swaying in the moonlight. ‘They’re calling me. I need to go to them.’

  Indie put both hands around the girl’s thin waist. ‘No, you don’t,’ she said. She pulled Nima back inside the hut, and then stood in front of her with her arms crossed. ‘No one is going outside.’

  Nima’s eyes shone with tears. ‘You have to let me go to them,’ she whispered.

  Jabar stood beside Indie, blocking the doorway. ‘Go to sleep, Nima,’ he said. ‘We’ve had a long day. We’ll talk about this in the morning.’

  Nima gave a stifled sob. ‘You don't understand. This is my fault! If I hadn’t released my mother from the island, these creatures wouldn’t be here. I need to talk to them. I need to find out what they want.’

  Kai frowned. ‘That’s rubbish, Nima. These creatures have nothing to do with Sofia. They’re part of this island, like the nightmares were part of the Island of Paapoka. Remember how you helped me rescue my father? Those shadow creatures were nobody’s fault; they were just there. This is the same.’

  ‘No,’ said Nima. ‘This is different. I can feel it. I can feel their sadness.’

  Indie was still holding her. ‘You think that sadness is because of Sofia?’ she asked.

  ‘I know it is,’ said Nima.

  Kai stood straighter. ‘You’re not going out there, Nima, so you may as well go to sleep.’

  Nima gave him one last desperate look, then her shoulders stooped. She looked down at her feet and sighed.

  ‘Come on,’ said Indie. ‘We’ll work it all out tomorrow.’

  She led Nima to the corner, where Mari was curled up with a few of the smaller girls. Kai and Jabar remained where they were, but they didn’t speak. They sat on either side of the doorway, shivering against the cold, taking turns to keep watch, until the stars faded and the sun rose and the creatures disappeared back into the water.

  In the morning, Nima wouldn’t eat the berries Sami found for her, but sat alone on a log by the stream, gazing into the water. When she leaned down to touch it, the silver insects rose in a buzzing swarm. She did not brush them away.

  Indie emerged from the hut, groggy and stiff after her night on the hard earth. She had tossed and turned, feeling the roots poking in her back, the uneven ground beneath her head. When she saw Nima surrounded by the silvers, she ran to her and tried to swish them away.

  ‘No!’ Nima sat motionless, but she spoke in a desperate voice, begging Indie to leave her alone.

  ‘What are you doing?’ It was Jabar. There were dark circles under his eyes and his skin was very pale. ‘Nima! Indie! Get away from the water!’

  In a few quick strides he was beside the girls, grabbing their arms and dragging them back to the hut. Nima was sobbing, trying to wrench her arm free. Indie was slapping at the silvers, cursing as the welts rose on her body, burning and itching.

  ‘You don’t understand!’ cried Nima. ‘I have to talk to them.’

  ‘You can’t talk to insects,’ said Jabar. ‘Stop being stupid.’

  ‘Yes, I can,’ she insisted. She lifted her arms. ‘Look!’

  They all looked at her arms. There was nothing on her skin, no angry red welts like those that covered Indie and Jabar. No vicious bites or stings. Not a single mark.

  Indie slumped to the ground beside Mari, rubbing her arms and face. ‘It hurts,’ she moaned.

  ‘You should have left me alone,’ said Nima.

  ‘I was helping you!’

  ‘I don’t need your help. I have to talk to them.’

  Kai held up his hands. ‘What’s going on, Nima?’ he asked. ‘Why didn’t they sting you?’

  ‘I’m trying to tell you!’ said Nima. ‘The silvers are protecting the water spirits. The water spirits are angry. They say there was a potions factory in the old stables behind Ballyndor Castle. They say the waste from the factory poisoned the water lily lake. The water turned green, and the fish and the frogs and the flowers died.’

  Her voice was rising, and she paced back and forth in front of them, as if she couldn’t stand still.

  ‘The water spirits protect the water. My mother poisoned it. They know she’s back, and they’re afraid.’

  ‘But why are they attacking the gypsy children? The children have nothing to do with Sofia.’

  ‘They aren’t attacking anyone. They don’t think or plan. Water spirits are elemental spirits; they react to feelings. They feel the sadness of the children and it feels the same as their sadness. They’re drawn to it. So they morph into a comforting figure, a mother.’

  ‘And hurt the children when they go to them for comfort? Hurt them so badly they can’t talk about it? How does that work?’

  ‘I don't know,’ said Nima. ‘I don't think they do it deliberately, but I need to go to them and find out.’

  Indie looked up in shock. ‘You can’t,’ she cried. ‘Haven’t you seen the blisters? They will kill you.’

  ‘I have to,’ said Nima, softly. ‘This is my fault. I have to make it right.’

  Indie frowned. ‘If it is your fault,’ she said slowly, turning the idea over in her mind. ‘If the spirits are angry because Sofia is back, and you brought her back ... won’t they be even more angry with you?’

  She put her hand on Nima’s arm. ‘They must hate you. You can’t go to them.’

  ‘There’s no other way,’ said Nima.

  ‘Wait,’ said Jabar. ‘You said you know the way to
Nagara. Show us. We can take the children and leave this place. Then we can stop your mother, and the water spirits won’t need to be afraid.’

  ‘I can’t show you the way to Nagara unless I talk to them,’ said Nima. She turned back to the doorway, her eyes searching and her voice barely more than a whisper. ‘The way to Nagara is through the water.’

  Chapter 17

  Sleep

  By the time night fell again, Nima had persuaded Kai and Jabar to try things her way. Indie was not convinced. She had seen the creatures up close and felt the strength of their sorrow. She was sure that once they had Nima, they would never let her go.

  ‘You can’t go alone,’ Jabar was saying. ‘We’ll go with you. Surely they won’t attack if we’re all there.’

  ‘And if they do attack, I can use the spell I used last time,’ said Kai. ‘To send them back into the water.’

  Nima said nothing. She gazed out at the stream with a thoughtful look on her face.

  Indie took a deep breath. ‘I’ll go instead,’ she said. ‘Nima can tell me what to say.’

  ‘You won’t be able to hear them or understand them,’ said Kai.

  Indie glared at him. ‘How do you know that? I’m the Emerald of Ballyndor. You have no idea what I can do.’

  ‘Well, I know you can’t talk to nature spirits – ’

  ‘I flew with a giant eagle. You saw me!’

  ‘Only because that old woman in Linden helped you.’

  Indie frowned. ‘What if you and Nima stand nearby and do whatever hocus pocus you need to do, while I go and talk to them?’

  ‘No,’ said Nima. She said it quietly, but Indie knew she had made up her mind. ‘That won’t work. It has to be me.’