The Sorrow of the Waters (Kalika Magic Book 3) Page 6

  He scrambled to the top and looked out. He could see the stars and the waxing moon. It made him homesick for the forest, for Grandma Helki’s tree house in the swaying branches of the old paperbark tree.

  ‘This will all be over soon,’ he whispered, gazing up at the stars. But he knew it wasn’t true. How could they get to Nagara when the emperor’s soldiers were roaming the land, locking away anyone who looked different? Even if they could steal some fisherman's clothes or the simple robes that the others wore, they didn't have pale skin and freckles like the people of Moto.

  He looked down at his brown arms and sighed. Indie might be able to fool the soldiers – her skin was lighter than his, and there would be plenty of people in Moto with red hair – but he and Brek were obviously Kalika.

  Brek was right. It was impossible. There was nowhere to hide.

  In the morning, the boy, Sami, led them up the rope ladder and out into a maze of shallow caves that burrowed through the cliffs at the edge of the sea. There were children everywhere, sleeping on the damp floor, running through the rocks, hiding away from the emperor’s soldiers. They said very little, and they watched Kai and Brek with wide, curious eyes.

  ‘Why haven’t the soldiers searched down here?’ asked Brek.

  ‘They’ve only been to the village once,’ said Sami. ‘The other villagers protected us. They wouldn’t let the soldiers pass. But the soldiers will come back, and in bigger numbers. They’ll find us next time.’

  ‘What about your parents?’ asked Brek. ‘Are they here? I’d like to talk to them.’

  Sami shook his head. ‘My old da tried to stop the soldiers, and they broke both his arms. He’s not a gypsy, but my mam is. The soldiers took them both away. Not my sister, Mari, though. She was kicking and biting the whole time.’ He looked proud for a moment, and then his face dropped. ‘I don’t know if she got away,’ he said. ‘I haven’t seen her since.’

  They sat with the children, sharing the last of their food. Small hands reached for the last scraps of moka bread, the last dried saskaberries. Indie wasn’t sorry to see it eaten. She couldn’t bear the smell of the bread after a week hidden among the grain barrels, and she had always hated the bitter tang of the berries.

  They would need supplies for the long journey ahead. Fruit would be nice, and maybe some cheese. She was so busy dreaming about food and wondering where they would find it that she didn’t realise Brek was talking.

  ‘That’s a brilliant idea,’ he was saying. ‘Well done, Kai.’

  Chapter 8

  Journey to Undaba

  ‘This is your brilliant idea?’ Indie looked at her brother in disbelief. Kai lay on the ground at the back of the cavern. Brek sat beside him, tapping two pieces of driftwood together and singing softly under his breath.

  ‘Shhh,’ said Kai. ‘I need some answers. This is the best way to find them.’

  ‘But it’s dangerous,’ said Indie. ‘You’ve never journeyed by yourself. What if something happens and you can’t get back?’

  ‘Then you’ll have to go on without me,’ said her brother, with a wink. He lay back, his hands flat by his sides.

  'You can't be serious,’ said Indie. She turned to Brek. ‘Don't you understand? He's not a shaman. He's only ever done this with Nima.’

  'Well, the conditions are less than ideal,' said Brek. 'I'm not sure about using driftwood. It might stir up the water spirits, and that can be stormy. But driftwood comes from trees, and trees come from the forest ... and it's all earth magic, after all. Still, it would be better with a fire. And some sage leaves.’ He closed his eyes and went back to tapping his sticks.

  ‘Do you know what he’s doing?’ demanded Indie. ‘He's going to another realm.'

  ‘Kai is journeying to Undaba, the lower world,’ said Brek. ‘I’ve never been there, but they say it is the heart of Mother Earth. Earth magic is powerful and Kai knows how to use it. I believe it will protect him.’

  Indie frowned. She sat on the floor beside them, folded her arms, and leaned back against the wall. This was a terrible idea. She hoped it wouldn’t work.

  But it did work. Kai imagined a tunnel winding down between the roots of an ancient tree. He was back in the Kalika Forest, listening to the whispering of the leaves, the sighing of the wind. In his mind, he dropped to his knees and crawled into the tunnel, following the roots deep into the earth.

  As he climbed down, he heard voices and saw faces in the shadows: Grandma Helki, smiling at him; Chief Wicasa, beckoning to him. And there were others – the low growl of a wolf, the padding steps of a bear, the high cry of an eagle. As the roots trailed away to nothing and the earth closed in on him, he heard Grandma Helki’s voice.

  ‘Let go,’ she whispered.

  His fingers clutched at the roots; his breath came in short, sharp bursts. Below him, there was only darkness.

  ‘Let go,’ said Grandma Helki, again.

  It took every bit of his courage, but he let his fingers slip from the roots; and then he was falling, falling into the black emptiness, lost in time and space.

  ‘It’s taking too long,’ said Indie. ‘He should be back by now.’

  Brek frowned at her. ‘Shhh,’ he said. He tapped the sticks steadily, swaying and singing, and watching Kai as the boy’s eyelids flickered and his breath quickened.

  The darkness changed. Kai felt solid ground beneath his feet. There was a light in the distance, and he realised it was the sun rising over the mountains. He stood in a wide red desert, with flat-topped hills towering above him, layer upon rocky layer, like the pile of gold tokens in a game of hobelar.

  At the top of one mesa stood a golden eagle, its wings spread, its eyes blazing. At the top of another was a black panther, growling and hissing across the plateau. The creatures were too intent upon each other to take any notice of him.

  There was a soft ‘whoo-whoo’ beside his ear, and a flutter of red wings as Sisika flew down to land on his shoulder. He was so happy to see her. He reached up to stroke her shining feathers.

  ‘The panther will not rest until she has destroyed the eagle,’ said Sisika, in her gentle owl voice. ‘You must go to Nagara, the ancient city. You must find the boy with the monkey.’

  Kai remembered the words in Uncle Paco’s book: Two hundred years ago, Kaosha, the Seeing Tree, warned that Gort would face dark and terrible times. Kaosha said Gort would only be saved by the courage of her children.

  Sisika turned her head and looked at him with large, unblinking eyes.

  ‘There are five children,’ she said. ‘The Emerald, the Sorcerer, the Apiki Flower, the Warrior, and the Monkey Boy … You must find them all if you want to save Gort.’

  ‘But how do we get to Nagara?’ asked Kai. ‘There are soldiers everywhere. If they find us, they’ll take us to the emperor.’

  ‘It is not the emperor you need to worry about,’ said Sisika. ‘You feel the darkness. You know what it is.’

  ‘I keep thinking about Sofia,’ whispered Kai. ‘But it can’t be. She’s dead.’

  ‘You know there is no such thing as death,’ said Sisika. ‘Sometimes people go to different places; sometimes they stay with you and you can’t see them any more. Sofia was banished to the Dead Islands. She has been released – ’

  ‘No!’ Kai’s face was stricken. ‘Who would do that?’

  ‘It doesn’t matter,’ said Sisika. ‘It is done. Sofia is in this land, her magic grows stronger, and she will do everything in her power to destroy both you and your sister.’

  Kai said nothing. He was remembering how Sofia had imprisoned him in a sapphire ring, and how she had turned her general, Tenzel, into a worm and crushed him under the heel of her shoe.

  ‘Take heart,’ said the owl. ‘There is always a way. Find the sailor who brought you here. It is no coincidence that your sister met him on the ship.’

  Kai was suddenly aware of a tapping noise, becoming faster and faster. He knew it was Brek’s sticks, calling him back. He said a hasty goodbye to
Sisika, sorry to leave her so soon. Then he was back in the darkness, climbing the roots of the tree, up and up into the shadows of the everyday world.

  He opened his eyes. Brek stopped tapping his sticks. Indie gave a huge sigh of relief and rushed to his side.

  ‘What happened?’ she asked. ‘Did you find Sisika?’

  Kai nodded. It was always difficult to speak when he returned from Undaba. He felt as if his heart was ready to burst, as if he wasn’t alone, as if everything would be okay.

  ‘We have to find the boy,’ he said. ‘The boy with the monkey. Sisika said we’d find him in Nagara.’

  ‘What boy?’ asked Indie. ‘Why does he have a monkey?’

  Kai climbed to his feet. ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘Well, that’s useful.’

  Kai ignored her. ‘Fintan,’ he said. ‘The sailor you met on the ship. We need to find him first.’

  ‘He’ll be long gone,’ said Indie, slumping back against the wall. ‘His ship will be on its way back to Ballyndor by now.’

  ‘No, it isn’t.’ It was Sami. He was sitting quietly in the corner, watching everything. ‘I know Fintan,’ he said. ‘He’s not from Ballyndor. He wasn’t part of the crew. He’s not even a sailor. He’s a gambler. He catches rides on the ships travelling up and down the coast. Makes lots of gold in one place and then loses it in another. The sailors like him because he plays cards with them, and they usually win.’

  ‘Where is he now?’ asked Indie, her voice rising. ‘Is he still here?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Sami. ‘He stays at the Tiger’s Eye with Opalina. She’s one of his ladies. He’ll be there for a few days until they fight and she kicks him out.’

  ‘Can you get him for us?’ Indie asked. ‘Can you bring him here?’

  ‘I can’t bring him here,’ said Sami. ‘I don’t trust him. He’d turn us over to the soldiers if he knew we were here. He’d do anything for a few pieces of gold.’

  ‘But he didn't hand me over to the captain of the Ceradwin.’

  'He wouldn't have got any gold from the captain. He was saving you for the soldiers.'

  ‘But he's my friend!’ cried Indie. ‘I think you're wrong about him. If you don't want to bring him here, take us to the Tiger’s Eye. We can sneak in and find him.’

  ‘No,’ said Brek. ‘It’s too dangerous.’

  ‘There might be a way,’ Sami said to Indie. ‘If you really want to go. I’ll talk to the others and see what they think.’

  He left them in the back of the cavern, and quietly summoned three of the others to him. They whispered together in the shadows.

  Kai was very quiet. Brek was watching him closely.

  ‘What else did Sisika tell you?’ he asked.

  ‘Sofia …’ whispered Kai.

  But before he could explain, Sami came back, leading a tall girl with her arm in a sling.

  ‘This is Luce,’ he said. ‘She says she can sneak you into the inn. Opalina is her mother.’

  Luce looked them up and down. ‘Sami wants to help you, because he’s one of those people who wants to help everyone. But I’m not. I need to know what’s in it for me.’

  Kai thought for a moment. ‘We’re trying to help you,’ he said. ‘If we can get to Nagara, we might be able to stop the soldiers sending everyone to the islands. Then you won’t have to hide here in the caves.’

  ‘I’m not a gypsy,’ said Luce. ‘I’m only here because of my mother.’

  ‘Well, don’t you want to help your friends?’ asked Indie. ‘Are you just going to let the soldiers take them away?’

  ‘Shut up,’ said Luce. ‘You don’t know anything about me.’

  ‘We know that you are very rude,’ said Brek. ‘You don’t have to speak to Indie like that.’

  Luce gave him a sullen look. She turned back to Kai. ‘I’ll take you,’ she said, ‘because I like you. But I’m not taking him, and I'm not taking her either.' She dismissed Brek and Indie with a wave of her hand.

  Indie was indignant. ‘You have to take me. I know Fintan. He’s my friend.’

  Luce smiled at Kai, as if she had decided he was the only one worth talking to. Indie watched with fury in her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but Brek shook his head.

  ‘We’ll wait here,’ he said, softly.

  ‘Don’t let Opalina see you,’ the girl was saying to Kai. ‘She already sold me to the soldiers for three pieces of silver. When I escaped and came back to the inn, she did this to me.’ She lifted her arm, wincing.

  ‘Fintan has always been kind to me,’ she continued. ‘Be careful though. He’s one of the Veladin. My old da says you can never trust the Veladin – they think of nothing but gold.’

  She walked away. Indie turned to Brek and whispered, ‘Veladin? Like the Sword of Veladin?’

  ‘Apparently so,’ said Brek, looking bemused.

  ‘We read about them in Uncle Paco’s books,’ said Kai. ‘Don’t you remember? The Veladin were a tribe of people who lived in the mountains of Moto, hundreds of years ago.’

  ‘That’s right,’ said Brek. ‘They were similar to the Dasa, but not as warlike. They made intricate jewellery, beautiful stone sculptures, and the finest swords anyone had ever seen.’

  ‘They disappeared, didn’t they?’ said Kai.

  ‘No one knows what happened to them. The books say they disappeared, leaving all their possessions behind. Meals cooking on the fire, animals waiting to be fed. Scholars call it “the Vanishing”.’

  ‘The Vanishing!’ said Indie, her eyes lighting up. ‘I wonder what happened. Do you think Fintan is really one of them?’

  ‘I doubt it,’ said Brek. ‘Many men claim to be Veladin, but they refuse to speak about the Vanishing, and so there is no proof.’

  ‘But why would they pretend?’ asked Indie. ‘Why would they lie?’

  ‘Men lie about all sorts of things,’ said Brek. ‘Who knows why they do it. Maybe they think it makes them important. Maybe it is a way of explaining the things they do. Maybe they truly believe it.’

  ‘But you don’t,’ said Kai.

  Brek smiled. ‘I’ll wait until I meet this man,’ he said. ‘Then I’ll decide.’

  Chapter 9

  The Tiger’s Eye

  When it was dark outside and the village was sleeping, Kai followed the girl, Luce, along hidden paths and past silent houses, all the way up the hill to the Tiger’s Eye. The lights were out. Everything was quiet.

  Luce put her finger to her lips. The doors were locked, but there was an open window high up on the second floor at the side.

  ‘You’ll have to climb,’ she whispered, pointing to the uneven stonework. ‘I’ve done it before. It’s not easy, but you look strong. When you get inside, you’ll see a staircase. You can sneak down to the kitchen and let me in.’

  Kai pulled himself up the wall. He thought about using Chief Wicasa’s flying spell, but it was tricky and it only worked if there was no other way. As he climbed, he turned the spell over in his mind. Kikiyama, kikiyo ... mottaka, mottaka ...

  He frowned. Why couldn't he remember it? He shook his head to clear the fog that seemed to surround the words. It was as if there was some protection woven into the spell, as if Chief Wicasa was making sure that no one would use the spell unless they could read it from his book.

  ‘Kikiyo …’ he said again; but it was no use, the rest of the words were gone.

  Kai wriggled through the window, landing with a bump on the floor. He was in a narrow hall, with rooms leading off either side. He listened. There were soft snores and murmurs, but the doors stayed shut.

  Tiptoeing down the stairs and under a low archway, he found himself in a large room with a fire in one corner and a mass of pots and pans hanging from the rafters. There was some kind of stew bubbling in a pot on the fire, so he picked up a spoon and took a mouthful, grateful for the taste of meat and rich sauce after days of stale bread and dried saskaberries.

  There was a tap on the door in the far wall. He hurried to open
the locks.

  ‘I wouldn’t eat that,’ Luce said, glancing at the spoon in his hand. ‘Opalina uses anything she can find to make that stew. Rats, mostly, but sometimes she finds a rabbit or a cat.’

  Kai shuddered. He thought of the rats on the ship and his stomach gave a lurch. But there was no time to be squeamish. Luce was ducking under the archway and tiptoeing up the stairs. Kai followed, holding his breath as the stairs creaked beneath his boots.

  They opened one of the doors and entered a tiny bedroom with a long sloping roof. On a bed in the corner lay a large woman in a red silk nightgown, with heavy gold hoops in her ears. She was snoring. Fintan snored beside her: his legs hanging over the edge of the bed, his big hairy arm draped across her body.

  ‘She won’t wake up,’ said Luce, pointing to the empty bottles scattered around them.

  ‘What about him?’ asked Kai, looking doubtful.

  ‘He doesn’t drink. He calls it firewater. Says it makes you lose your soul.’

  Fintan stirred at the sound of the girl's voice. He opened his eyes and reached under the pillow, turning back with a curved silver knife in his hand.

  ‘It’s only me,’ said Luce. ‘I’ve brought someone to talk to you.’

  The man looked Kai up and down. ‘What do you want?’

  ‘The girl you met … Indie … She’s my sister,’ Kai stuttered. ‘I was on the Ceradwin with her.’

  Fintan’s face relaxed. He lowered his knife. ‘It was you,’ he said. ‘I knew she couldn’t have eaten all that food by herself.’

  ‘You said you’d be at the Tiger’s Eye,’ said Kai. ‘We need your help. We have to get to Nagara.’