The Forest of Lost Souls (30 page)

Z
OE DIDN’T HAVE TO ANSWER
O
KSA’S QUESTION.
T
HERE
was no point—one look had been enough. A few minutes later, they all filed into the science room for the first lesson of the afternoon. Perched on their stools at the back of the class, Oksa and Gus had an unobstructed view of Zelda’s profile in the third row and Hilda’s in the second. Merlin had once again been the subject of intense rivalry by the two girls. Hilda had managed to grab the seat next to him this time and was looking very pleased with herself.

“Sir!” Zelda suddenly called out. “Could you please ask Hilda Richard to be a little more discreet about her petty romantic triumphs? It’s
getting
embarrassing.”

All the students, including Oksa, gasped at her nerve. This was so unlike the timid Zelda she knew and loved! The turns of phrase and chilly arrogance sounded very familiar, though, and brought back some unpleasant memories… While Oksa was lost in thought, Hilda turned round, seething with rage, and squirted an ink cartridge at her rival.

“Aaarghhh!” screamed Zelda, jumping back, her blouse splattered black. “Look what you’ve done now, you idiot!” Their teacher, Mr Lemon, glared at the two girls.

“I didn’t do it on purpose, sir,” simpered Hilda.

“Yeah, right!” raged Zelda.

“That’s enough, the two of you!” shouted the teacher. “Miss Beck, go to the school office and see if they can lend you a clean blouse. Miss Richard, come and see me after the lesson.”

Zelda jumped up with a face like thunder and left the room. Oksa immediately put her hand up to attract the teacher’s attention.

“Please, sir! Can I go and get my folder? I left it in my locker.” The teacher sighed and nodded.

“What are you playing at?” Gus spluttered, glancing meaningfully at the folder Oksa had hidden under the desk.

“Shhh! I’ll explain later.”

“Sure you will,” he muttered.

Once again, he felt sidelined. Zoe, however, knew exactly what Oksa was doing… and caught hold of her arm as she walked past.

“Don’t go, Oksa!” she whispered.

Oksa met her worried gaze and shook her head. Miserably, Zoe hunched over her desk and watched her leave the room.

Concealed behind a statue in a dark corner of the cloister, Oksa waited for Zelda to come back from the school office. She appeared a few
minutes
later, wearing a spotless blouse. Stopping short in the middle of the corridor, she looked round, then headed straight for Oksa’s hiding place. The Young Gracious felt a jolt of panic and flattened herself against the wall, holding her breath.

“What are you doing there?” asked Zelda sarcastically when she spotted her. “Are you spying on me?”

“Of course not!” retorted Oksa, feeling scared and annoyed in equal measure. “I thought I’d forgotten my folder, so I went back to my locker to get it…”

Zelda smiled as pleasantly as a starving boa constrictor, and jabbed her finger at Oksa’s chest, making her take a step back in fear.

“I’m disappointed,” continued Zelda, in a cold, sarcastic voice. “Someone as clever as you shouldn’t be making such stupid mistakes!”

She continued poking Oksa with her finger for emphasis as she spoke. A wave of nausea washed over the panic-stricken Young Gracious.

“Then again, perhaps your legendary intelligence was impaired by your stay in Borneo…” remarked Zelda.

“I’m absolutely fine, thank you!” Oksa managed to declare.

In reality, she was feeling anything but fine. She’d found what she’d been looking for when she asked to leave the class. The Curbita-Flatulo was undulating wildly on her wrist to calm her down and bolster her courage. Oksa steadied her breathing in time to the pressure exerted by the living bracelet, which was also urging her to be cautious. Zelda stood facing her, eyes unblinking. Her nostrils were quivering and her eyes were clouding over with a spreading darkness that terrified Oksa. Above them, the sky became overcast with an ominous layer of cloud. For all her strength and courage, the Young Gracious hadn’t been prepared to see her sworn enemy—Orthon-McGraw, the supreme Felon—staring out at her from those ink-black eyes. She staggered as large raindrops began falling from the mottled sky. Suddenly, Zelda’s eyes regained their familiar, kind expression. Oksa thought for a second she’d been seeing things. Her exhaustion following Impicturement, the excitement of the reunion and the anguish caused by Marie’s absence had made her very vulnerable. But, in her heart of hearts, she knew… Zelda dragged her by the arm towards the staircase.

“Come on, Oksa! Lemon will kill us if we take too long! I’ll let you have the work you’ve missed, don’t worry,” she declared with her
customary
kindness.

Bewildered, Oksa let Zelda take her hand and lead her up to the first floor like a lost little girl. Just as the two students walked back into the classroom, a loud thunderclap made all the students jump.

The last lesson of the day was finally over. The students in Year 9 Hydrogen noisily took their usual route back to their classroom along the first-floor colonnaded corridor, then headed out into the courtyard, where a few of them clustered around Oksa and Gus. Zelda lost no time in joining them, her eyes darker than a moonless night. The blood drained from Oksa’s face.

“Was Borneo really bad then?” asked Zelda provocatively. “You must have felt so alone… Was your family with you?”

Oksa did her best to keep up appearances.

“Some of them, but not my mother.”

“Did you miss her terribly?”

Gus and Merlin glared at Zelda in indignation at such a tactless remark, but Oksa was ready for a battle of wits. So McGraw wanted to play cat and mouse, did he? Well, he’d never come across a mouse as tough as this!

“Why do you want to know?”

Zelda looked at her innocently.

“That’s what friends are for, isn’t it?” she replied. “Is your mum any better?” she added, her narrowed eyes boring into Oksa.

“Everyone’s fine, thanks…” Oksa said quietly.

“Is she still in a wheelchair?” asked Zelda spitefully.

Oksa looked at her, making a superhuman effort to reply enthusiastically:

“Who, my mum? Oh, she’s great, thanks for asking! She’s going from strength to strength!”

Her mind was racing with the adrenaline and she wouldn’t have been surprised to see smoke coming from her ears. The chilling evidence was staring her in the face. Oksa decided to strike a decisive blow to prove she was confronting the impossible.

“Since we’re having a good catch-up, do you know what’s become of that Neanderthal, Mortimer McGraw?” she asked, staring intently at Zelda.

“M
ORTIMER
? N
O IDEA
,”
REPLIED
Z
ELDA, TURNING
around and starting to walk in the direction of Bigtoe Square. “Shall we go?”

“But this isn’t your way home!” said Oksa.

“I know, but I’d love to say hello to your parents. I haven’t seen them for ages.”

“Sorry, no can do!” snapped Oksa, striding off without her.

Gus followed, looking surprised, leaving Zelda, Merlin and Zoe on the pavement in front of St Proximus.

“What on earth is wrong with you?” he whispered. “Why are you being so rude?”

“I can’t explain now,” she muttered through gritted teeth. “But she can’t come with us!”

“Why not?” whispered Gus.

Oksa gave him a beseeching look, before being interrupted by Zelda, who’d caught them up with a strange smile on her lips.

“I won’t stay long, I promise,” declared the girl warmly. “Just long enough to say hi to your parents and your gran!”

“It’s just that…” began Oksa, scratching her throat. “It’s just that I’m not sure they’ll be in.”

“I’ll take the chance. And if they’re not, well, tough!”

Oksa sighed, then looked around for Zoe. Her second cousin stared at her gravely, biting her lip, just as flummoxed. She knew exactly why Zelda wouldn’t give up. Zelda was just a puppet and cruel McGraw was pulling her strings…

“Well, we can’t stand here all evening!” exclaimed Gus suddenly. “Let’s go.”

He set off, followed by his friends. Oksa pulled a face and looked at Zoe one last time. Zoe nodded helplessly, ready to confront the
unthinkable
. Zelda was walking ahead with Merlin and Gus, while Zoe and Oksa walked behind them, their eyes anxiously fixed on her back.

“The cat among the pigeons,” murmured Oksa.

“What do you think he wants?” asked Zoe.

“To show us he’s still alive and stronger than any of us. He’s trying to provoke us. Just think, while he’s occupying Zelda’s body, he can get as near to us as he wants and we can’t do a thing about it! It gives him quite an advantage.”

At that moment, Zelda turned back to look at them with a hard,
brooding
expression. Her eyes no longer shone with affection. Keeping her arm close to her side, Oksa opened her hand and hurled a tiny fireball at Zelda. The final test… Looking completely unsurprised, Zelda casually sent the fireball spinning off-course with a thin thread of electricity from her fingertips. The spiteful smile on her face proved she was no longer just a schoolgirl. Oksa and Zoe instinctively took out their mobiles to warn the Runaways, but both their batteries were flat.

Zelda had set a fast pace, eager to get to her destination, so the five “friends” soon arrived in Bigtoe Square. Gus was chatting to her and Merlin, blissfully unaware of any concerns that Oksa and Zoe behind might have.

“Dragomira and Abakum will know what to do,” said Oksa to Zoe quietly, trying to make herself feel better.

“Oksa, I’m worried about my gran,” whispered Zoe. “I don’t know if she’ll be able to cope with this.”

Oksa couldn’t think of anything to say, so she just took her friend’s hand and squeezed it tightly. What else could they do? She was frightened to death. Why was this happening today, when she felt so tired and fragile? Would it ever be over? The Curbita-Flatulo redoubled its efforts on her wrist and she kept her Granok-Shooter within easy reach. Though she could hardly fire a Granok at Zelda, could she? What good would that do? The deadly Crucimaphila might not have killed McGraw, but it could kill Zelda, who was just a victim. And an Arborescens or Tornaphyllon might make things worse and unleash hostile forces which none of the Runaways was ready to fight.

As if alerted by instinct, Abakum was standing on the steps in front of the house, ready to greet the small group coming down the street. This unusual welcome made Oksa and Zoe feel better: the Fairyman knew. What’s more, seeing the old man at the front door, Zelda—or the thing inside her body—also realized it and paused before continuing to head towards him.

“Hello!” said the girl cheerfully. “Merlin and I wanted to ask after Oksa’s parents and Drag—”

“Everyone’s fine!” broke in Abakum, much to Gus and Merlin’s surprise. “It’s very kind of you to show so much concern. But please, do come in…”

Now it was Oksa’s and Zoe’s turn to look bemused. Abakum gave them a reassuring glance.

“Let’s find out what he’s up to…” he murmured.

“How on earth did he know?” wondered Oksa. Zelda went in first and stopped as soon as she stepped into the hall, startled by what she
saw: Reminiscens was on the fourth step of the staircase, pale and motionless as a ghost. Dragomira was standing very straight beside her, looking haughty. Despite their emotion, the two women exuded a tremendous aura of power. Even Oksa felt impressed. Behind, Pavel towered over them with the stony gravity of an invincible statue. To their left, Tugdual was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed, a dark strand of hair concealing half his face. Opposite, blocking the entrance to the living room, Naftali and Brune stared at Zelda inquisitively while, behind them, they could just make out Pierre and Jeanne Bellanger. The small group of Runaways stood together in this confined space, challenging Zelda who, after a few seconds of confusion, arrogantly stared back.

“You see? Everyone’s fine!” said Oksa.

The Young Gracious had regained her courage after she’d understood Abakum’s strategy: use the element of surprise afforded by this
welcoming
committee to beat McGraw at his own game and try to get some information out of him in the hope that the Felon was harmless while imprisoned in Zelda’s body. It was a high-risk strategy because they might injure—or kill—Zelda, but it was worth a try.

“Do come in!” continued Oksa, pushing Zelda towards the living room. “Baba will make us a nice cup of tea… won’t you, Baba?”

The old lady nodded and slowly walked down the last few steps. Her face was drawn and her eyes gleamed with rage, while Reminiscens looked like a shadow of her former self. The two women went into the kitchen where Oksa could hear them talking quietly, although she couldn’t concentrate hard enough to hear what they were saying. Anyway, she was much more interested in Zelda, who’d sat down at Abakum’s urging in the middle of the living room, facing the Runaways. The atmosphere was frosty. They all knew why, except Merlin and Gus, who were trying without much luck to attract Oksa’s attention.

“Well, Zelda. I hear you were worried about us?” began Pavel harshly.

“Of course!” replied Zelda cheerfully. “I’m very fond of your family.”

“We don’t doubt it,” snarled Pavel.

“When I learnt that Oksa was ill on the other side of the world, I was shocked. I was afraid I’d never see her again. But I’m so relieved to see her back here safe and sound.”

“I sympathize,” sighed Naftali. “Losing our dear Oksa would be a tragedy. For us all,” added the lofty Swede, stressing the last three words.

Oksa noticed Gus grumbling in the corner. “Poor thing, he doesn’t understand what’s going on,” she thought, with a sympathetic sigh.

“Isn’t Oksa’s mother here?” Zelda said suddenly.

This question surprised everyone. Dragomira poured tea over the tray and Pavel closed his eyes and pursed his lips.

“She’s convalescing,” replied Abakum with admirable calm. “On a small island in the Sea of the Hebrides. We know the people looking after her are taking great care of her. Annikki, a devoted young nurse, is always at her side. We can’t wait to see her again and she’ll be back very soon—we’re just making preparations.”

It was now Zelda, alias Orthon-McGraw, who looked surprised. For a second, her dark eyes clouded with indecision. Abakum’s eyes burned fiercely.

“It’s important not to rush things,” said Zelda, regaining her composure. “Coming back too soon might be dangerous for her health… And what about Leomido? I haven’t seen him yet. How is he?”

Oksa flinched at these callous words. She sensed Dragomira clenching her fists and Reminiscens stifling a cry. The two women looked about to faint. Behind them, Pavel glared at Zelda, his hand over his jacket pocket. He was itching to pull out his Granok-Shooter… On the pretext of
fetching
some sugar, Oksa pulled her father into the kitchen.

“I’ll murder him,” he growled in an icy rage. “How dare he come into my house and make sarcastic remarks about my wife and Leomido?”

“No, Dad!” whispered Oksa. “You might kill Zelda and McGraw knows it. So long as he’s inside her, you can’t do anything. And nor can he. Come on, let’s show him what we’re made of.”

When they came back to the living room, they found Abakum
explaining
to their guest that Leomido had gone back to the peace and quiet of his farm in Wales and that he was fine—thanks for asking. Oksa was full of admiration at the Fairyman’s calm demeanour and wished she could emulate him. What she really wanted to do was to charge at Zelda and shake her until McGraw relinquished his hold. Instead, her impulsive nature got the upper hand.

“Since you’re here, I’ve got some exciting news to tell you,” she said defiantly. Zelda turned to look at her, intrigued.

“We’re all going on a very long journey,” announced Oksa.

Each of the Runaways reacted very differently to this remark. Dragomira choked on her tea, Reminiscens dropped her cup on the carpet, Pavel and Abakum looked at each other in shock, while the Knuts and Bellangers seemed rooted to the spot in surprise. Gus and Merlin had the distinct feeling they were missing something. Only Tugdual and Zoe seemed to realize what Oksa was doing. They both watched her intently, Tugdual with his usual half-smile and Zoe with an encouraging gaze.

“Everything’s ready,” continued Oksa. “We’re leaving in a few hours!”

“But…” stammered Zelda. “Aren’t you going to wait for your mother to come back? You can’t leave without her!”

“She’ll join us later. You said it yourself, we mustn’t rush things. It’s much better if we go on ahead and get everything ready. That way, she can arrive in the best possible condition.”

Zelda’s pupils turned even blacker. Oksa glanced at her father, who looked miserable, then at Abakum, who gave her a discreet smile. She was sure the Fairyman could see what she was up to.

“But you can’t… do that!” shouted Zelda, a tremor in her voice. Abakum slowly walked over to her and replied coldly:

“Why can’t we? Why not… Orthon?”