B00JX4CVBU EBOK (18 page)

Despite herself, Brooke was listening.

Brenna plucked a non-existent hair from her gown. ‘Where was I? Oh yes. The little terrors. This beautiful High Vordene thought she would teach them a lesson. Make them appreciate her. She snuck into one of the dorms where five of the worst offenders were sleeping. And she wove a Lost incantation around them. The girls disappeared from their beds. “Let them stew on that,” thought the young woman. They would be lost in body and mind in a dark swamp, wandering, beyond hope. In a couple of days she’d return them. Or so she thought.’

Brooke was openly watching Aunt Brenna now, her eyes wide.

‘The young High Vordene went back two nights later and sang the Song of the Found …’ Brenna smiled at Brooke. ‘You know the one. But alas, the little girls didn’t return. She tried again. Nothing. She came back the next night. And the next. Of course you would think that by this time everybody in the castle would be searching for the girls, but here’s the thing about a Lost incantation. In it, you are truly lost, forgotten, vanished from the minds of all who knew you. So the little one’s only had one young woman to help them back. By the fifth night she gave in, and went to her sisters and aunts and told them everything.’

Brooke’s pulse was racing. She blinked away tears.

‘The beautiful High Vordene girl was not denigrated. She was not yelled at. It was worse than that. Her sisters and her two aunts looked at her with sorrow and shame. And they cried for their evil sister, and daughter. They cried for her! The two aunts took the new High Vordene sisters to the little girl’s dorm and we … they sang the Song of the Found, this time with their spirit animal, and brought back the little ones from the Swamp of Forgetting. The little girls were like ghosts. They couldn’t speak for weeks. They stayed in bed the whole time, their eyes … their eyes dark, deep pools. When one of them finally spoke, they asked why nobody had come for them. Why hadn’t we … the High Vordene come for them? None of us had an answer of course.’

Tears spilled over Brooke’s cheeks. She sniffed. ‘You?’

Brenna was silent for a moment. ‘Of course me. Of course. And I’ve spent the rest of my life trying to make up for my mistake. My sisters forgave me over time. I left behind the old boastful, bumptious me and strove to become something better. Help whenever I could, be there for the others, never expected praise or begrudged those that got it. I think I succeeded. Yes, they forgave me, but I never forgave myself. We must learn from our mistakes, or be ever on the brink of a new one.’

Brooke wrapped an arm around the older woman and placed her head on Brenna’s shoulder. They sat like that for many heartbeats.

Finally Brooke broke the silence. ‘The girls … did they recover?’

Brenna sighed. ‘They seemed to. We helped them as much as we could. Forgetting enchantments, that kind of thing. But …’

‘Yes?’

‘They grew up of course, those five little girls …’ Brenna paused, and looked at Brooke with almost panic in her eyes. ‘And they became the Cardiff Vordene.’

Shock ran like knives through Brooke, and she thought her heart would break. ‘No.’

Aunt Brenna’s head hung low, and she said through sobs, ‘Yes. I’m afraid so. So, no one can blame only you for all this. Although we have no way of knowing how much of what I did contributed, I’m still partly to blame.’ She took Brooke’s shaking hands in hers. ‘Remember this: we all swim in the river of hope and risk, unless someone breaks the dam, and chaos reigns.’

Like Brenna, Brooke’s head was bowed, her long hair covered her face. ‘We broke the dam,’ she whispered.

*

Ember sat on a stone wall, its dark flat stones dotted with lichen and moss. The day was quickly losing its light and a cold wind blew, causing her tears to flow horizontally across her face. She looked out across the treeless cow pastures to the Loch of Stenness in the distance. Its choppy waters the colour of the darkening sky. Castle Stenness was at her back, and the wind made everything hard to hear, but she knew Skye was behind her before she spoke.

‘Em?’ said Skye.

‘Celeste sent you, didn’t she?’ Ember said over her shoulder.

‘So what if she did?’ said Skye. She lifted herself onto the wall and placed an arm around Ember’s back.

Ember stared ahead. ‘I know
she’s
here as well. Tell her to go away.’

Skye took a look over her shoulder, but didn’t say anything. Ember turned. There she was. The betrayer. Brooke stood about forty feet away.

Ember’s face was savage. ‘Leave me alone Brooke! Get out of here!’

Brooke didn’t move. She stood, her hands clasped, staring at Ember. Ember felt her pulse rise. Brooke needed to be taught a lesson. Her fury took hold and she jumped from the wall.

‘Em! No!’ yelled Skye.

But it was too late. Ember raised her arms, sparks danced, and a fireball grew between her hands. No longer thinking Ember released the flaming orb. It shot across the field and exploded around Brooke in sparks and flaming lightning. In a moment it was gone.

Brooke stood within an ice dome, her hands in front of her, untouched. She released the hold on the dome and it fell away. ‘Ember! Listen to me!’

Ember could feel Skye tugging at her arm, but shrugged her off. Ember raised her arms again. Another fireball grew between her hands, but before she could throw it, she and Skye were knocked off their feet. Ember flew backwards, landing on the damp grass, her breath taken away. Skye lay next her. Both were covered in snow. Ember sat up. 

Brooke walked up to them, another basketball-sized snowball growing between her hands, her face fierce. ‘I don’t want to fight, Ember.’ Her face softened and the snowball dissipated in a white puff.

‘Listen to her, Em. Please,’ said Skye. She stood up, brushed herself off and held out a hand to Ember.

Ember wasn’t going to take the hand, wasn’t going to do anything they wanted, but the snow was melting and wetting her clothes. She took Skye’s proffered hand and stood. She stared at Brooke.

Brooke’s chin quivered. ‘I’m sorry, Ember. So sorry. Sorry for being a bitch for, like, ever … sorry for hating you and Turner … and sorry beyond words for starting all this shit.’ Tears streamed down her face. ‘I will spend the rest of my life regretting what I did, and trying to make it up to you. Truly.’

Ember looked away, over Brooke’s shoulder to the castle. What had Celeste said? If they knew exactly where Turner was, they could rescue him.

Brooke sniffed, and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. ‘Ember?’

Ember snapped back. ‘What was the last thing you said, Brooke?’

‘I’ll make it up to you?’

‘No. After that.’

‘Truly?’

Ember’s mind went into high gear. ‘True …’

‘What?’ said Brooke.

‘True. The True. Turner and I were just there this morning. I remember …’ But the more she tried to catch the thought, the more quickly it eluded her.

‘What, Em?’ asked Skye.

‘I remember the True spirits … talking to us. There’s something … important.’ 

Ember turned to Skye. ‘We’re going to the True.’

‘What?’ said both girls at once.

‘I need to go back,’ said Ember, talking to Skye. ‘I think it’s important. And if there’s even a slight chance this could save Turner and stop the apocalypse or whatever it is, then I think we should do it. Don’t you?’

Brooke held out her hand. ‘I’m in.’ Ember ignored her.

‘Ember,’ said Brooke, not dropping her hand. ‘I said I was sorry. I mean it. I’ve never been more serious. I need to make it up to you. You’re my sister. We can’t fight anymore.’

The three girls’ hair blew like silk ribbons in the gusty wind. Ember pulled some of her hair behind her ear. She looked at Brooke’s outstretched hand for a moment longer, and then took it in her own. ‘OK. Make it up to me. And no more Bitchy Brooke.’

Brooke smiled gratefully. ‘OK. I’ll be good.’

Skye looked from sister to sister, and pulled them both into an embrace. ‘Yay! We’re BFFs!’

Ember smiled. ‘Not quite there yet, Skye.’ But she
was
willing to give Brooke a go. Or at least she was willing to put it aside so she could concentrate on helping Turner.

The wind whistled through the stone wall.

The three pulled apart, and Skye said, ‘So … the True? I don’t see the point.’

‘If we knew exactly where Turner was,’ said Ember, ‘if we could home in on him somehow, you could both use your ice powers. Double ice domes, zap to where he is, grab him before your ice shields melt. And I think … I think the True can help with the homing part. We can use the castle’s well, zip to the True and find out what we need to …’

‘Whatever
that
is …’ said Skye.

‘And be back before anyone even knows that we’ve gone.’

Ember and Brooke looked at their sister expectantly. Skye’s eyes darted from one girl to the other, her lips drawn into a sharp line, but finally her eyes softened. ‘OK. Let’s go!’

CHAPTER NINE

T
HE
MAIN
ENTRANCE
hall was empty. Ember knew the little ones would be at dinner now. The girls strode across the sandstone tiled floor. Directly under the main staircase was a heavy arched door. Brooke waved a hand at it and it opened easily. 

‘I remember trying to get that open when I was five,’ said Brooke. ‘Me and my friend Avon. We tried every enchantment we knew. Which was basically none I guess.’

The girls wound down a narrow stone spiral staircase. ‘Why did you want to get to the well?’ asked Skye.

‘I thought the well would take us back to our real mothers.’

Skye shook her head, but her eyes were full of understanding. ‘Oh, Brooke.’

No one spoke for the rest of the descent. The three reached a high-roofed, stone-lined room—the well room. The well itself was a round stone water-filled circle in the centre. In each corner stood columns etched with intricate medieval carvings of the five elements.

Ember, Skye and Brooke stood around the well. Any small sound they made was amplified and echoed off the walls.

‘Shouldn’t we leave a message with one of the carers?’ asked Skye.

‘The carers are nothing more than glorified kindergarten teachers,’ said Ember, ‘and a bunch of gossiping old busybodies. Within minutes of telling a carer, Celeste and the others would know.’

‘I guess …’

‘Stop worrying, Skye,’ said Brooke. ‘This is much bigger than getting in Madam Celeste’s bad books.
Much
bigger.’

Skye chuckled and held out her hand. ‘You’re right. Let’s go.’

Brooke held out her other hand to Ember. Once again Ember took a moment, but finally reached out and grasped her sister’s hand. They both gave a little smile.

Ember stared at the well. ‘To the True. On three OK?’ Her sisters nodded. ‘One, two  ...’

‘… Three.’

With the slight nudge which accompanied travel by well, the girls arrived in the True. For all Ember knew it was the same spot where she and Turner had arrived the other day, but as one part of the True looked so much like any other, they could have been hundreds or thousands of miles away. 

‘Auras!’ said Skye, pointing at the others. ‘It’s been so long.’

Brooke took a deep breath, her head back, looking up at the forest. ‘This place is just life itself, isn’t it?’

Ember hardly heard her sisters. The memory came flooding back. She remembered. She shook her head slowly and tears fell unbidden on her cheeks.

‘Em?’ said Brooke, concern on her face. ‘What is it?’

Despite the tears, Ember laughed. ‘I remember. I remember what the True told Turner. And I remember how they told me I wasn’t worthy of knowing.’ She spread out her arms and spun around slowly. ‘The most important thing about the Rings, and we aren’t
allowed
to know!’

‘What? What aren’t we allowed to know, Ember?’ asked Brooke.

But before Ember could answer, a voice in her head said, ‘Sometimes, knowledge can be misused, Fire One. Obtaining information does not guarantee understanding. We will help you, Ember, but we shall not share the knowledge with your sisters. It is too precarious. Even remembering you had forgotten something in itself was dangerous. It was our miscalculation. These truths are delicate. Do not tell your sisters.’ 

Within moments the girls were surrounded by True spirits, which formed into their humanoid shapes. Ghost elves as Turner called them. 

Ember clenched her hands. Not only did they make her forget, now she couldn’t share it with Brooke and Skye. Who died and made these guys kings? She crossed her arms and stared at the spirits. They stared back. 

‘It is death we are trying to avoid, Fire One. Turner is in the Grimshade. We will assist you. But the order of things must be maintained.’

Ember’s shoulders slumped. She needed the Trues’ help. She wasn’t going to jeopardise everything just to be high and mighty.

‘Em?’ said Brooke. ‘Are they talking to you? We aren’t allowed what? What’s going on?’

With a deep sigh, Ember wiped the tears from her face. She turned to her sisters. ‘They are going to help. They know what’s going on of course, but I can’t tell you what I remember. It’s too secret it seems. We’re here to save Turner, and I have to go by their rules. Sorry.’

Skye tilted her head close to Ember’s and whispered, ‘Text it to me while they’re not looking.’

‘We laugh,’ came the voice of the True in their heads. Ember had the feeling that laughing was the last thing the True were doing.

‘Ha ha. Me too,’ said Skye, and held up her hands.

‘Enough discussion. We know where Turner is within the Grimshade. He is in dire need of assistance. We will send you there now.’

‘What? Now?’ said Brooke. ‘Don’t we need to plan things first?’

The True spirit said, ‘Your plan of using two ice domes has merit but is not quite suitable. The flat base of a dome would melt too quickly. We suggest a double ice sphere. We can place you directly on top of Turner. We will then send you back to the High Vordene, as we do not have the ability to heal Turner’s human side. We propose a Binding as soon as possible; its powers should be more than sufficient to heal him.’