The Heart of Two Worlds (16 page)

D
ESPITE THE RAGING WIND AND TORRENTIAL RAIN THAT
had slowed their progress through the night, the
Sea Dog
and the
Eagle of Darkness
reached the mouth of the River Clyde at daybreak. The dismayed passengers on the two ships gazed at the coastline from the deck or from their cabins. None of them had been able to sleep after the frightening episode with the giant wave. Exhausted and keyed up, the bleak sight before them only increased their gloom. It looked like the Clyde had overflowed its banks, surprising the inhabitants in their sleep. The withdrawing waters had left behind scenes of total devastation. The houses that were still standing had been badly battered by the violent weather, and what looked vaguely like streets were strewn with furniture, cars and a myriad broken, muddy objects. All around stood formless piles stacked high with memories and ruined lives. They could see people wandering about aimlessly like zombies, shocked at the destructive power of the waves. Others were bustling about frantically for no good reason.

“This is the end of the Outside…” murmured Dragomira, with tears in her eyes.

“We’ll sort it out, Baba, you’ll see!” said Oksa comfortingly. Dragomira was trembling. She raised the collar of her plum mohair jacket, hiding part of her face, and gripped the rail with all her might.

“Are you OK, Baba?”

Dragomira turned away, as if to avoid answering. Oksa looked at her in concern.

“Your gran’s just a bit tired,” broke in Abakum, glancing sombrely at his old friend.

He put his arm round Oksa’s shoulder and led her towards the wheelhouse.

“We’ll be in Glasgow soon, sweetheart,” he said. “So could you round everyone up?”

“How much do the Felons know about where we’re going?”

“Not a lot, to be honest. It’s driving Orthon mad.”

“It must be quite a blow to his megalomaniac pride!” said Oksa.

“Indeed, and I have to admit it gives me a fair degree of personal satisfaction.”

“Oh, Abakum!” said Oksa, pretending to be indignant. “A wise and honourable man like you?”

“I may be a Fairyman, but I’m still human and there are a few little pleasures I couldn’t do without,” confessed Abakum with a laugh. “Picturing Orthon totally dependent on us and fuming on his magnificent ship gladdens my heart.”

“He must be livid!” sniggered Oksa.

Abakum gave her a knowing smile. Making the most of this moment of complicity, Oksa couldn’t help returning to her gran’s worrying behaviour.

“Don’t forget I have a better understanding of things now I’m over sixteen. Is she frightened? Does she think we’ll fail?”

“We’ve all had some terrible shocks to deal with in the last few days,” replied the old man calmly.

Then he turned round to occupy himself with the two Boximinuses and the chest of Granoks, which he firmly strapped up: the subject was closed.

“We’ll reach Glasgow in half an hour!” announced Pavel on the intercom.

Oksa took a deep breath and looked up at the louring sky. She shivered. Would the Runaways be strong enough to face the endless ordeals that fate seemed to have in store for them?

Glasgow had escaped the worst of the flood. Only the lowest parts of the town were still under muddy water but there was a palpable sense of panic. Long queues were forming outside shops and pharmacies, and the volume of traffic in the cluttered streets was totally baffling.

The
Dog
and the
Eagle
navigated with difficulty past countless boats adrift in Glasgow’s port after the wild night. The Runaways and Felons moored their ships at one of the landing stages and disembarked onto the quay, each clan keeping themselves to themselves. Despite the rift, Annikki dared to go over to the Runaways to make sure Marie was OK and Oksa was surprised to see an expression of kindness and respect on her face, which reassured her. Annikki seemed to have made it a point of honour to protect the ailing woman, as if she were genuinely fond of her.

“Let’s go, my friends,” said Abakum.

None of them looked back as they headed towards the devastated town, which was in absolute chaos.

“We need to find a way to get to the airport,” Dragomira told the Felons.

“You mean we have to catch a plane?” asked Orthon furiously.

“We have to take an eleven-hour flight to Urumqi,” replied Dragomira icily. “Which leaves us barely two hours to get to the airport,” she added, looking at her watch. “We don’t have any time to lose.”

The Felons looked furious. They weren’t in charge and Orthon was finding this harder than anyone to take.

“Is the Definitive Landmark for the Portal in Urumqi?” he roared, grabbing Dragomira by the shoulder.

Baba Pollock shrugged him off, as Abakum and Pavel headed menacingly their way.

“Urumqi is the second leg after Glasgow,” she said, indignantly. “Frankly, Orthon, do you think I’d tell you any more than that?”

And she turned her back on him.

“There’s a shuttle to the airport in ten minutes,” announced Tugdual, his telephone pressed to his ear. “The bus stop is a couple of hundred yards away.”

“Well done, Tugdual,” congratulated Dragomira. “You at least know how to make yourself useful!” she finished, glancing meaningfully at Orthon.

“Thanks a million, Zorro,” muttered Gus. Oksa glared at him.

“Don’t you get bored with harping on the same string?” she asked sullenly.

The two groups walked to the bus stop, where Gus suddenly sank to the ground. Folding his long legs under him, he put his head in his hands. A few seconds later, Oksa reluctantly joined him, assailed by a sudden pain.

“What’s the matter?” asked Pavel in a panic. “Are you ill?” Oksa gave him a glassy stare.

“Splitting headache,” she replied, rubbing her temples hard.

“As if you had something boring into your skull?” groaned Gus.

“Exactly!”

Immediately, Dragomira rummaged around in her bag and took out her Caskinette. She gave Gus and Oksa a tiny silvery ball each and instructed the teenagers to swallow them.

“My dear sister and her pharmacopoeia,” remarked Orthon sarcastically.

“Without your ancestors’ diabolical inventions, we wouldn’t need it, would we?” retorted Dragomira. “And may I remind you that our future depends on the good health of these two youngsters.”

“Let me die here. It wouldn’t change much anyway,” moaned Gus, earning himself a sharp dig in the ribs from Oksa.

“Shut up, Gus,” she groaned. “Do as I do, please: suffer in silence!”

The small silvery balls gradually lessened the agonizing pain, leaving them both feeling nauseated, which made it hard to see and think straight. Meanwhile, the Runaways and Felons were impatiently waiting for the bus. Some of them were leaning against the dripping walls of buildings, others were pacing up and down, but they were all tense.

Oksa eventually stood up to stretch her legs. Glimpsing her reflection in a shop window, she felt even dizzier. “Is that really me?” she thought, going closer. With her nose virtually touching the glass, she ran her fingers over her face, fascinated and a little startled by her own image. So long as she couldn’t see herself, it wasn’t too hard to deal with this change—she just had to become accustomed to her new height and shape, which she definitely liked. Controlling her emotions was harder. Everything she felt was stronger, more violent, more overwhelming. When Gus was near her or when Tugdual gazed at her, she couldn’t think straight. Things had been so much simpler when she’d been two years younger, a few days ago… As if to press the point home, she glimpsed Tugdual’s reflection in the shop window. There was no escape! Everywhere she looked, she saw him. Fair-haired Kukka suddenly appeared between them, her perfect figure regal, oozing self-confidence. Oksa turned and saw her walk over to Tugdual. To her amazement, Tugdual did nothing to avoid his malicious cousin. “Leave him alone,” thought Oksa angrily, overcome with jealousy. “Why doesn’t he just walk away? He hates her!” Despondently, she went back to sit on the curb next to Gus in miserable silence, rubbing her temples in a vain attempt to banish her black thoughts.

Twenty minutes later, the shuttle still hadn’t come and impatience had given way to restless irritation. Realizing there was no point waiting any longer, they were all trying to find a solution.

“Let’s Vertifly!” suggested Gregor.

“And risk attracting the attention of the army again? No thanks!” retorted Pavel.

“We could easily overpower any soldiers, even if they were heavily armed,” objected Gregor.

“Of course we could—but we’d also have to be devoid of human compassion to do that, which isn’t really like us.”

Orthon applauded sarcastically.

“That’s all very well, but we won’t achieve our goals with such elevated values!” he remarked.

“The bus depot is only a stone’s throw from here,” broke in Tugdual, with the Tumble-Bawler perched on his shoulder. “Maybe we could borrow a bus?”

They all looked at each other, open-mouthed at such a simple solution.

“Brilliant idea, Tugdual!” said Abakum. “Let’s act fast, time is short.”

The mechanic saw the group of almost sixty people walking into the bus garage, but had no time to react: Dragomira had already hit him with a Memory-Swipe Granok. The man was immobilized in front of his toolbox, eyes blank.

“What about this one?” said Pavel, indicating one of the many buses parked there. “It’s big enough to take us all. Tumble, can you tell us how to get there?”

The creature nodded.

“Stay with me then, please. You can show me the way. The quicker we get to the airport, the greater our chances of catching that plane today,” he added, gazing in concern at his watch.

The Runaways and Felons began climbing into the bus. Gus sat down next to Oksa.

“Has your father ever driven a bus before?” he quietly asked her.

“Er… no,” she replied, smiling. “But he’d never sailed a ship either!”

“Well, I hope the Airplane has a pilot!” This reference to a film they’d enjoyed so much made both of them laugh, despite the serious circumstances, and attracted a deceptively disinterested look from Tugdual. Oksa winked at him and he ducked his head to hide a smile.