The Wind of Southmore (11 page)

Arlen
gazed wildly into the grey air, her heart throbbing so loudly it
was ringing in her ears. It was no use, she thought desperately,
she couldn’t see a thing. But she must do something.

Terrified
as she was, she took a deep breath, and prepared herself to step
into the circle. As she moved, her sleeve caught on something by
the side of the rocks, and when she reached out her fingers touched
ancient, rotting wood. And suddenly she smiled, thinking how odd it
was that she had got her own way after all.

Alice was
lost. As if breathed from the cold sea fog itself, a single gull
dived at her, herding her away from Arlen, further towards the sea
and those clammy hands and desperate voices. She gasped and twisted
and turned away from the furious beat of wings, feathers scratching
her face and the maniacal flap sounding like thunder in her ears.
There was no hope now. She had completely lost all track of
direction. The fog rolled in, drowning out all sound but the
ceaseless throbbing of the waves and the eerie moan of lost voices
driven by the wind. Its damp fingers ran over her skin, and she
felt that she would go mad with the terror of ghostly pleading
hands and lonely cries. She couldn’t help it, she had to escape,
and she began to run, but the grey curls of sea breath wound around
her legs like wool and slowed her pace, and she seemed to be
running in circles, terrified that at any second she would run
straight into the sea. Perhaps that was what it wanted. Another
life to add to so many beneath the cold, treacherous
waters.

She stopped, and pressed her hands tightly against her ears in
a futile attempt to keep them out, the moaning in her ears ringing
in her brain and driving her onwards. Her head ached and it was
hard to breathe. But it was the voices that were the worst. If only
they’d stop. If
only
they’d stop.

“
Alice? Alice!”

The words
were very faint, and yet she could hear them. But it couldn’t be,
she couldn’t hear anything but the cries, the whispers in the wind,
and she crushed her ears even more tightly with her
hands.

“
Alice?
Alice
!”

The call
was stronger this time, and it was with a sudden sharp shock that
she realised it was coming from within herself.

“
Alice,” she murmured softly. “I am Alice.”

It was
then that she saw the light – narrow and pale, but true. Slowly,
she drew her hands from her ears and turned towards the brightness,
straight into the burning red eye of the ruby. She screamed, unable
to help herself, and her cry was swallowed in the dampness. The
dark shape loomed before her, the fog shrouding it like a cloak,
and the ruby gleamed brilliantly and seductively before her
eyes.

“
Alice?
Alice
!”
Arlen’s voice grew louder now, and more frantic.

Alice was
confused. She could hear the voice clearly, so like her own, and
yet – before her shone the stone, winking encouragingly, and the
ghostly shape wreathed itself around her like another skin. She
could feel the cruel talons reach out and stroke her cheek, and she
felt a deep thrill which seemed to freeze her blood and her mind.
All that she could see before her was her own face reflected in
deep, shining crimson.

“
Alice
!”

The cry
broke through the thick veil of air like a knife, and Alice could
feel herself falling. It was as if she had been suspended in
midair, held closely by the tight bands of fog, and now it had let
her go and she was dropping. Into the sea, onto that sand, it
didn’t matter, she was terrified.

“
Arlen
!” she screamed loudly, her brain
snapping to attention. She could see her sister suddenly, floating
somewhere above her, circled in a golden shower of light, and she
wondered how it was that she was falling and Arlen was not. But she
continued to look upwards, mesmerised by the shine, hoping
desperately that somehow she would be carried in its waves and not
fall into the greedy, sucking waters below. How was Arlen doing it?
she thought, mildly aware of how ridiculous such a question was at
a time like this. Above her the light seemed to disperse and
rearrange itself into a glowing, golden shape, which swirled around
her and held her, gone suddenly as oddly as it had come, but in an
instant the way was illuminated and the dream suddenly became
real.

She was
falling. The wind rushed past her ears in a shriek and her terror
returned as she heard the crashing of the waves on the rocks below.
She screamed.

“
Alice, hold on!”

She could
see Arlen mouthing something but she couldn’t hear what, she just
instinctively reached out and her hand caught on something old and
wooden, nearly rotted and very weak, but it held her, still and
safe, for a few minutes. She dangled, the sense of the unreal
returning, as if she were standing outside watching a movie, and
she nearly lost her hold when her swinging brought her alongside
her own face in a dark and decaying wood. The paint was long gone,
but the eyes – the eyes, grey and still as a misty sea, stared upon
her, and she felt reality returning to her in a fearful gasp of
horror. She looked away and realised where she was.

She was
hanging on the prow of the shipwreck, only inches above the circle
of sand which seemed to sit back mockingly, waiting for her,
enjoying her predicament.

“
Alice!”

She could
almost feel the thuds of Arlen’s feet on the creaking boards in her
heartbeat, and she was suddenly filled with a deep, inexplicable
pain.

“
Alice, come on!” Arlen’s face appeared above her, a small
white star in the darkness, the golden charm dangling and glowing
softly about her neck, and Alice couldn’t help but notice how
strange was the positioning of that fresh, young face above the
peeling, rotting wood of the figurehead, its features still so
eerily similar. “Can you climb up?”

“
I – I think – I’ll try,” Alice called faintly, half surprised
to hear that she still had a voice. She didn’t know how Arlen had
got up there, but she had serious doubts that she would be able to
perform the same feat. Below, she could feel the circle quietly
waiting, and her skin crawled in revulsion. She had always hated
gym at school, but she had to escape that sand.

She
gulped, and raised her other hand, sucking in a deep breath from
the dank, sour air. As she moved, the wind soared behind her,
rising fiercely as if to ride through her, swirling up her hair and
pushing her forwards, then tugging her back in a fierce, persistent
gust. She lost hold with her left hand and dangled, blown back and
forth in the wind like a ragdoll. It was then that the voices
started again. She could see the fog rising from the sand and the
ghostly figures sweeping around her, and their whispered pleas
cried in agony in her ears. The flash of red below her grew wider
and deeper, until she seemed to be hanging above a whirlpool of
fire. She gasped, and in an almost frenzy of panic, threw herself
forward and exhibited a feeble attempt to climb up.

“
Come on,” Arlen called frantically from above. “Here, I’ll
help you.”

With
growing fear, Alice watched as Arlen straddled the side of the
vessel and leaned forward, as far as her small frame would allow,
her hands outstretched and straining. She would fall, Alice felt
sure, and pulled herself up in a quick, desperate motion. Around
her the wails crescendoed and her teeth rattled in the wind, but
she felt that if she could only reach that hand, she would be
alright. The ship welcomed her like an old friend, but still she
struggled. Her arms hurt. She was losing strength.

“
Come
on
,
Alice. Just a little further and I’ve got you.” Arlen was now
leaning dangerously over the side of the vessel. One more inch and
she would topple into the watching, waiting sand, Alice just knew
it. She
had
to
reach her sister before that happened.

With a
determined heave she grasped the beam tightly with both hands,
refusing to look down. Arlen’s straining fingers were just above
her. Although it terrified her, she released one hand from the
friendly outpost of the ship, and raised it towards her twin. Their
fingers touched lightly, then Arlen found a warmer grasp and
clutched on to her sister, pulling with all her might. It was a
spring of release for Alice, who immediately felt that she was safe
and loosened her grip on the outer beam.

“
Hey, steady,” Arlen called, reaching with both hands to clasp
Alice’s. But Alice had lost her hold. Swinging precariously and
kicking her legs about, she could feel herself slipping and clung
desperately onto Arlen’s hands. But even with two hands, Arlen’s
matchstick wrists didn’t have the strength to hold her. Alice felt
herself slipping, and damp wood pricked her fingers like needles as
she screamed. The sand was rising beneath her, hungry, anticipant.
She felt her consciousness dwindling.

But
something lifted her. A light accosted her eyes, and again she
could discern a flowing golden shape around her, holding her, and
she had the vague impression that it seemed to be emanating from
Arlen’s charm. Her strength and determination renewed, she swung
her legs, managing to power herself upwards with Arlen’s help, and
it was almost in a daze that she heard Arlen saying gently, “It’s
alright, I’ve got you,” as she was hauled overboard to land with a
gentle thud on the damp, creaking floorboards.

She
closed her eyes. It seemed like hours before she could bear to open
them, although it was actually only a few minutes. When she did,
she saw Arlen kneeling next to her, her face paler than usual, her
eyes large and concerned.

“
Are you alright?” she asked quickly.

“
Yes, I – I think so,” Alice raised herself up on her
elbows.

Arlen
sighed in relief and dropped, exhausted, on her back beside her
sister. “You gave me such a fright.” She stopped, and lowered her
eyes. “I thought I was going to lose you. What happened out there?”
She was frighteningly aware of the way the fierce, unnamed power
had tried to separate them. Just like last night. She shuddered,
the memory of the furious surge of energy still strong in her
mind.

“
I’m not sure.” Alice lay back and tried to fully comprehend
the incident. But its understanding was beyond her. Anyway, here,
safe in the ship, the occurrence suddenly seemed unimportant and
out of reach. “I don’t know,” she shrugged, then rose unsteadily,
requiring Arlen’s assistance. “But it doesn’t matter anyway. So,
are we going to explore this baby or what?”

Chapter Seven

There
really didn’t seem to be much left to explore, as the pair
discovered after several minutes of looking. Not much of the ship
was left standing, and the hull was completely
waterlogged.

“
Well, there doesn’t seem much else,” Arlen said, with a half
laugh, almost relieved.

“
Except – that door,” Alice corrected her, and her voice was
strained.

Arlen
turned to where Alice was facing. “What the – ?” she stopped
suddenly, a cold chill riding her spine, and took an involuntary
step back as she grasped Alice’s arm.

It was a
small door, fashioned of thick wood and positioned almost as if
hidden beneath a heavy cornice carved with various types of sea
beasts. It would have been interesting if their attention had not
been captured by the door itself. A safe door, one would have
thought. Heavy wood, good, thick, solid oak, fastened by massive
iron hinges as thick as a man’s wrist, and adorned by a large,
tarnished door knocker in the shape of a dragon. But no door
handle. It seemed thick and impenetrable.