P.N.E. (The Wolfblood Prophecies Book 4) (19 page)

Jo and Ali were bound and forced to kneel. They were offered hoods, but refused to wear them.

Silence fell as the firing squad bowed, first to Lethe and Paul, then to the prisoners. At King Paul’s command, they took aim.

Staring into the barrel of the gun that would kill her, Jo said quietly to Ali, ‘My mother is brave, like you. I wish we’d had more time together. Quinn loved you very much.’

She wanted to say more but watched, transfixed, as King Paul fell to the floor, coughing up blood and clawing at his blood-red eyes. Lethe screamed as the red rain stripped away her soft, white skin. Around her the guards were all choking. Titus sank to his knees with solemnity and some shreds of dignity.

Lord Oleander was slowly disintegrating, but with the last remaining vestige of his will, he gave the command to fire, his skin and bones crumbling and floating away on the contaminated air with his voice as he did.

As the volley of shots rang out Jo saw Matthew charging the rifleman nearest to her, knocking his weapon, shouting, ‘Jo! Take my hand!’  In slow motion she saw Ali collapse, and felt herself falling forwards, desperately stretching her hand towards Matthew. As their fingers interlocked one of the VMN knocked Matthew unconscious. Agonising pain shot through Jo’s breast and everything went black.

Jo came to in a mist. She floated. Nothing moved. She lay in a sea of tranquillity that lasted an eternity and she was at rest. And then the sea turned into a vast ocean and the waves gently lulled the planets into orbit around her and she lay there at one with the Universe as the seas and skies grew dark.

And for the first time she could remember, Jo was able to relax her mind. Finally, she was at a place of peace. Eternal infinity stretched out before her as locked and knotted muscles grew heavier and heavier. She had been so swept up in the land of Bayne that she could hardly remember anything else.

And then her eyes flashed open and she emped.

Mum!

Storms arose and lightning burst as whole worlds were levelled by turbulent oceans. Jo fought to pull herself free of the gravitational pull of an inner black hole. Entire continents were dragged to the surface on the planets below. The thrashing waves bore Jo away from the world she knew as home. Focussing her will she dragged her heart back to the present day. On the world around her, many and varied ancient forms of aquatic life were forced to experience oxygen for the very first time. And they died by the multitude as Jo’s healing lotus shone brightly to no effect.

And everything died and the world grew still and in that infinite stillness, Everard Burnley whispered in Jo’s ear.

‘Got you.’

‘You stay AWAY from her!’ shrieked Crazy Em.

The surprised Burnley was cast upon the horizon and shattered into dust. Shock returned stillness to the shattered tranquillity.

‘Sleep, child,’ said Em, softly.

‘Mary?’ came a voice.

‘Matthew? Is that you?’

Chapter Twelve - The Elm Grove

The pain was terrible. Someone was softly calling her name. ‘Open your eyes, Jo.’ She did, but she saw nothing. ‘I’m blind,’ she gasped in horror.

‘You’re not blind, Jo. It’s night-time,’ said Matthew gently. ‘You’ve been unconscious for hours. Do you feel up to talking yet?’

‘I’ll try.’ Jo struggled to sit up, but the exertion was very painful. ‘Why am I so sore?’

‘Can you remember anything that happened?’

‘There was a nuclear explosion,’ she began, stumbling over her words. ‘Some debris hit me in the chest…’ She looked confused. ‘No, that’s not right. hang on… Got it.  There was a firing squad – you managed to knock the rifle – otherwise I’d be dead.’ Fragments of memories drifted through Jo’s mind. ‘But I did get shot! Is that what this bandage is for?’

‘You’ve got a nasty wound but, thank goodness, it’s stopped bleeding. Another couple of centimetres and we wouldn’t be talking now. Thank goodness, you’re going to be OK, Jo.’

‘Not if I’ve lost my mind! Why is everything such a jumble? There
was
an explosion. And there
was
a firing squad. Which of them caused this wound? And which is true?’

‘You won’t like the answer, Jo. It’s both.’

Jo stared at him for a moment. ‘You’re right about that. I don’t like the answer.’

‘We’ve been dream-travelling, Jo, to alternative realities.’

‘From our real reality, right?’ said Jo, struggling to make sense of it all.

‘From the reality that seems most real to us, yes. But we were separated, and I’ve been searching for you for ages. Where on earth have you been?’

‘A terrible city – Bayne. I was in a Deep Level Shelter. Again.’

‘Ah! That would explain it. Harder to connect if one of you is dreaming deep underground.’

‘Not like emping, then.’ Matthew looked puzzled. ‘Emping’s usually better the further down I go,’ observed Jo. ‘But in that horrible reality I had hardly any powers underground. I really missed emping!’

‘I was beginning to lose hope of making contact with you, then there were a few moments tonight when I was finally able to locate you.’

‘So these other realities – Ali getting shot, for example - are they real?’

Matthew pondered his reply. ‘Define
real
,’ he said eventually.

Jo looked exasperated. ‘Is this place real? Where are we? Or should I say,
when
are we? ’

‘Well, I’m hoping it’s 1964, and that tomorrow is Midsummer’s Eve. As to the
where
- we’re in the elm grove close to where I found you just before the Borax-III reactor explosion happened. It’s been seven years since the so-called Peaceful Nuclear Explosion, and the site has been cleared and declared safe. Mind you, their idea of making it safe was to put six inches of gravel on top of the contaminated soil. Gradually the grass returned, and sage bushes took root.’

‘And Titus created
The Lost Funfair of Forgotten Dreams
.
’

‘
Yes – with the highly dubious Colonel Slaughter. I always thought it was a rather frivolous venture for Titus. Perhaps it was a diversion from his main work.’

‘You mean consummate evil and world domination?’

Matthew smiled. ‘You might find it hard to believe, but many see him as a great philanthropist and an astute business man. Not all of Stigmurus Enterprises was destroyed. He salvaged what he could then added an international study centre here, with lecture rooms, a library and laboratories… my university is twinned with it. Much valuable work is done here.’ He looked around, his face pensive. ‘But it was a massive explosion; it’s amazing that these trees are still standing.’ He broke off as Jo lurched to her feet. ‘Hey! What are you doing? You need to rest!’

Jo was scrabbling in the earth under the tallest tree. ‘It’s here somewhere – I have to find it… make things right again…’

‘Dear girl, what are you talking about?’ A bewildered Matthew placed his hand lightly on Jo’s forehead. ‘Perhaps you are running a fever…’

‘Got it!’ Jo’s voice was triumphant as she pulled a parcel out of the soil.

‘Is that an old radiation suit?’ asked Matthew. ‘Why ever would you bury one of those?’

‘I used it to wrap this,’ said Jo, showing Matthew the precious copy of
The Whale
. She gave him a brief explanation. ‘I buried this book to stop Aunt Lethe giving it to Dad, so they wouldn’t have a – you know – thingy.’ She coughed awkwardly. ‘Instead I altered the whole future. That’s why that world was so dreadful. It’s all my fault. I ruined everything.’

Matthew was unconvinced. To Jo’s chagrin, he was smiling slightly. ‘I rather doubt that. Personally I think when it came to creating global catastrophe a lot of other people were more culpable than a teenage girl. Even one as remarkable as you.’

Jo wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or insulted. On the one hand, she didn’t want the burden of responsibility for all that had happened; on the other a small part of her had seen the attraction of power, even the destructive kind.

Matthew watched as Jo struggled with her thoughts. ‘I think we should both try and get some sleep – who knows what the morning will bring!’

‘If we sleep,’ said Jo, ‘can we just dream our way home again?’ Her voice cracked on the word
home.
She tried to make light of it. ‘Wherever
home
is!’

Matthew was quiet for a moment. When he eventually spoke his voice was solemn. ‘I promise we will go home soon, Jo, but I brought us here for a reason – there’s something I urgently need to do.’

Jo studied his face carefully. She saw her old friend through new eyes, because she now had an image of him when he was a young man. She glimpsed a steely determination. ‘Are you going to try and change the future, Matthew?’

‘Something like that.’

Now Jo’s voice trembled, and tears sprang to her eyes. ‘In that case, please try to make my mother better.’

‘I wish I could, Jo. All I can say is, it might happen. But no promises. Now, it’s going to get chilly, so snuggle under my coat and dream beautiful dreams!’

Whatever dreams came to Jo were rudely shattered, very early in the morning, by the sound of helicopters overhead and lorries trundling past the elm grove to the fairground. There was a great deal of hammering and cussing going on.

‘Hey, brother! Stop sweet-talking Magnolia and get your sorry ass down here! These posters ain’t gonna nail themselves to these trees!’

Jo felt as if she’d been punched in the solar plexus. She’d hoped never to hear that voice again. Crow, an outlaw from Grey Wolf’s Itázipčh
o
trib
e
, was cruel and ruthless. His voice brought her out in a cold sweat, made more intense when she heard who replied to Crow.

‘You’re just jealous, boy, ‘cos I’ve got myself a real woman and three beautiful babies – and all you gets is leftovers!’

The speaker, Billy Joe Thunder, sounded so good-natured that for a moment Jo wondered if this could possibly be the half-crazy old outlaw she remembered. Fifteen years into the future from now she had travelled to the derelict and deserted
Lost Funfair of Forgotten Dreams,
trying to rescue Smokey, who was imprisoned in the Mirror Maze. Billy Joe and his gang had terrified her.

‘He sounds so happy now,’ said Matthew quietly. ‘But it won’t be long before tragedy breaks his heart and turns his mind.’

‘I remember,’ said Jo sadly. ‘Lily, Rosie and Daisy. They were electrocuted – on the merry-go-round.’ She winced at the incongruity. ‘A terrible accident.’

‘Not everyone thought it was an accident,’ said Matthew. ‘Sabotage was suspected, but it was never proved. To her dying day Magnolia claimed her girls were murdered by Colonel Dwayne Slaughter. He hated the Indians and didn’t bother to hide it.’

Jo remembered Dwayne’s grandson Nick, who had grown up seething with the same hatred. Jo didn’t like Nick, but he had not deserved to die as he did - a terrible death at the hands of Billy Joe Thunder and his gang. Jo shivered.

‘What happened to Magnolia?’

‘She never recovered. Grey Wolf and Summer Moon did all they could to help, along with the rest of the tribe, but after she died Billy Joe just sank deeper and deeper into drink and violence. In the end Grey Wolf had no choice but to banish him.’

Jo sighed. ‘Poor man. Is that why the funfair shut down?’

‘Yes. People just stopped coming. The place was abandoned and left to rot.’

‘Some of it was still working when we went,’ said Jo. ‘The Tunnel of Love was in perfect working order…’ She couldn’t help it; she blushed at the memory of riding in a golden gondola with Smokey. And Beth and Hawk. How she wished it had just been her and Smokey.

Matthew noticed the blush, but resisted teasing Jo. He had romantic memories of his own, but he kept them to himself.

‘I’m pretty sure Titus and Lethe have kept their secret laboratories going, though,’ continued Jo. ‘When we were in the tunnel Hawk found this place underground where Titus was mucking about with the weather. Putting drugs into the rain, and stuff. And when the Mirror Maze collapsed I thought I saw a doorway behind the glass, but there wasn’t exactly time to check it out, what with Lethe and Billy Joe on the warpath...’

‘So the funfair was more than just a frivolous distraction after all,’ mused Matthew. ‘I wonder what else lies hidden behind the façade. I had my suspicions…’

‘Is that why you’ve come here? To undo some terrible thing Lethe and Titus started in the laboratories?’

‘Not exactly. It’s more of a personal matter…’ and now it was Matthew’s turn to blush. Jo gave him a quizzical look but he was spared further explanations, as they heard someone coming towards them through the trees. ‘Quick! Behind the bushes,’ he whispered, and they darted for cover.

‘Who’s got a secret admirer, then?’ teased the tall, thin, impossibly handsome young man with the long black hair and the drooping moustache.

‘Quinn, I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about,’ demurred his beautiful, red-headed girlfriend.

‘I mean that old rich guy who keeps hanging around. He can’t take his eyes off you, Lethe. And you know it, babe.’

Jo nearly laughed out loud to hear anyone call her aunt
babe
. Then her eyes were like saucers as Quinn produced a painted tobacco tin and started rolling a joint. The tin was the twin of one her mother had.

‘You needn’t worry about Titus,’ smiled Lethe. ‘I’ve got him exactly where I want him. But
I
have an almost unbeatable rival for
your
affections…’

Quinn looked embarrassed. ‘I’m totally over Ali,’ he mumbled. ‘And she’s over me. She’s with Paul now. We’re cool.’

‘I did not mean my stupid sister,’ said Lethe tartly. ‘And incidentally she is emphatically not cool.’

‘Hey, babe! Hang loose! There’s no-one else,’ protested Quinn. ‘And you know it.’

Lethe was annoyed that the joke she had planned had gone wrong. Her mouth tightened and she looked sulky. Quinn noticed. He seemed crestfallen for a moment, but Jo saw a calculating expression flit across his face.