Moirai
Chapter 18

The next fewdays brought us closer to the edge of the forest. Once we left the trees, wewould be a day’s ride from Druge. With each step, my heart grew heavier. Nowthat the issue of Mayran was out of the way – much to all of our relief, fromwhat I could see – my mind seemed unable to focus on anything other thanIndina. I saw her face all night in my dreams, and even during the day my mindplayed tricks on me. I would see flashes of her; a glimpse of a red eye, or aflutter of a grey dress. Once, I swore I heard her voice on the wind.

My throat grewtight and my stomach clenched with the anxiety that grew worse by the hour. Ibegan skipping meals, depsite Mayran and Loni’s disapproval, and was quiet mostof the day. Both would often try to engage me in conversation, only to have toforce me out of my thoughts, or receive little response. I didn’t mean to makethem worry.

My lack ofeating wasn’t for lack of appetite, but as soon as I would have a mouthful Iwould instantly feel ill and barely be able to swallow it, before coming upwith some excuse that I knew neither of them bought. When I would wake in themiddle of the night, I made the effort not to make a sound despite the fearleft over from the dreams. I worried them enough.

But on our thirdnight since leaving Flowerage, after hearing Mayran comment that we had onlyone more day in the forest, my dreams were the worst yet. Indina no longerthreatened, or taunted. She had learned that I would only convince myself toignore those tactics.

The dream began in the same place as most ofthe others; I stood on a large, flat stone that rose gently out of a stream, whileshe stood on another several metres away. She never explained why it was alwaysthe same setting, and I most definitely didn’t want to get into a conversationabout it.

For a long while she merely stared at me.Her eyes seemed to bore into my very being, filling my entire body with aniciness that rooted me to the spot. I wanted to look away, to try and regainsome semblance of bravery and control over my own night time imaginings, buther gaze held me.

“I have everything prepared.” She told merichly, and the ice melted a tiny bit. A strange and intense hunger and fireblazed in her eyes that terrified me. “You will be most welcome, and yourfriends even more so.”

What did she mean by that? What was shegoing to do to Mayran and Loni? I had asked them earlier that day to staybehind while I went on to Druge, despite my decision to do otherwise inFlowerage, but both had insisted on accompanying me. I knew it would bepointless to bring up the matter again...unless I told them about this dream.

As if knowing what I was thinking, shesmiled widely, showing all the teeth it was possible to show with a smile. Hervoice started up again, but the smile never wavered. In whispers, her wordsreached my ears, lavishing me with compliments, saying how she couldn’t wait toreceive me as her guest. None of it made me feel comfortable. With each word Ionly felt the fear building to an almost unmanageable level. I had to break outof her dream if I could. I started trying and, if possible, her smile widened.

“Only two more days now, Alnya, before youand I can conclude our game.”

I couldn’t bearit. I wrenched myself from the dream, sitting bolt upright in the bedroll and gaspingwildly, half expecting her to step out from behind a tree and strike me deadthen and there. My clothes were sticking to my skin with perspiration; my heartwas pounding so loudly in my ears that I wondered if it would tear through mychest. I felt like a cornered animal, bound on one side by fate, and the otherby Indina. No matter which way I turned, I had only one choice.

I didn’t evenregister that had woken the others until suddenly they were there both there,two sets of arms wrapping around me. More whispered words, but these were wordsof comfort, warmly delivered by friends’ voices.

Slowly, mybreathing and heart calmed. The fear lessened somewhat. The dark figures aroundme that my mind saw as Erkings and other monstrosities transformed back intoshadows.

Wiping my eyesof sleep, I shifted to let Mayran and Loni know that I had calmed down. Theypulled back, and two identically concerned faces met me.

I couldn’t haveasked for anyone better to accompany me on this journey.

“I should haveknown that Indina would be sending you more dreams the closer we got to Druge.”Mayran said. “Is this the first since Flowerage?”

I sighed,knowing that I could not lie. “No.”

I felt a rush ofgratitude when Mayran did not chastise me for hiding the dreams. “Why don’t youtell us about them now.”

“It might help,Alnya.” Loni agreed, rubbing my back soothingly.

They would notwait until morning, but Loni insisted on getting some food into me. I stilldidn’t feel hungry, but I knew that all she wanted was to help so I obedientlytook the bowl she placed in my hands, full of the broth she had made forsupper. What her and Mayran could do with what appeared to be a pile of randomingredients that didn’t particularly look edible amazed me. Perhaps Mayran usedhis aura...I would have to ask, it would be a very useful skill.

It was hard toswallow, but my body seemed to register and react to the fact that I wasactually eating after so long. Before I knew it, the bowl was empty and I wasasking for some more. Loni refilled it, and I then spent the next half an hourtelling them both of my dreams about Indina. Well, my dreams that Indinaappeared in.

Mayran’s facegot more and more horrified upon hearing the quantity and nature of the dreams andLoni, who had taken my hand in both of hers when I started talking, squeezedthem tighter, her own expression scared. When I finished describing the lastdream – the one that had woken me up – I once again felt the chills of fear crawlingup my spine, and my stomach clenched.

Mayran took adeep breath. “I know exactly what she is doing to you. This overwhelming fearthat you feel in the dreams is her aura, spreading throughout your mind,poisoning it, slowly driving you mad. I have seen her do it to others. She ishoping that by the time you reach Druge, you will be too terrified to put upany sort of fight. What you must do, Alnya, is ignore it. Use your own aura ifyou must, but do whatever you can to keep it from bothering you.”

“I agree.” Loniadded. “I do not know much of what Indina is capable of, but I can see how youhave gone quiet, hardly eat and just look…a shadow of yourself.” She lookeddown. “These last few days, I feel like I’ve lost my best friend.”

I reached outand embraced her, the emotion of the night threatening bring tears to my eyes.I knew that what was happening to me affected her, but I hadn’t understood towhat degree.

“I’m sorry. Ishould have spoken about it before tonight.”

“It doesn’tmatter.” Mayran corrected. “The point is, you have now.”

I looked over athim across Loni’s shoulder, trying to convey my gratitude for his advice andcare. It was a strange thing; I hadn’t had a lot of space in my head to thinkabout Mayran the way I had been during the time in Flowerage. Whenever mythoughts had wandered towards him, it had been regarding all of the things hehad told us. Now, I remembered something of what I felt and, for the first timein days, a genuine smile grew across my face. He smiled back.

Soon, I wasordered back to sleep by Loni, though she insisted on moving her bedroll nextto mine in case I had another dream. I got the feeling, from a few side lookshe gave, that Mayran would have also offered, but refrained.

Of course, anygood friend would have offered the same.

*~*~*

The next dayfound us mostly back to normal. My sleep had been peaceful for the rest of thenight, leaving me in a much better mood than the previous day. I ate breakfast,willingly, and didn’t have to make an effort to join in with conversation.However, I also didn’t try to hide the nerves that certainly hadn’t vanished. Iknew that they wouldn’t now, until all of this was over, and I think Mayran andLoni understood that nothing they said would change it.

We all knew thatI was either going to my death, orIndina’s. I still wasn’t certain which outcome it would be, but after thinkingabout the dreams again I did realise that Mayran was at least partially correctwhen he said she was afraid of me. After all, if she was fully confident inherself, she wouldn’t have needed to frighten me.

Mayran and Loniwere scared, too. I could see it in the nervous way Loni glanced around, in thesteady hand Mayran almost constantly kept on his sword. I was wearing mine in abelt around my waist. The dagger that the Praesul had given me was there, too.Still, I had to get Indina in a vulnerable position before I could strike a killingblow – the thought of which horrified me more than the dreams – and a swordwould make that impossible job easier.

However,underneath all the doubts, I was surprised to replace a strength growing.Something new. It wasn’t the same as the determination I felt when sitting anexam, or going into a tennis match. It made the fear bearable. It kept me fromturning my horse around and galloping off back to Nerome, back home; fromthrowing the whole thing away. For the first time in my life, daunting as itwas, I had been given the responsibility of something far bigger than myself.Wasn’t that what I had read about in novels since a child, and always dreamedof? Now I had the chance to live those dreams, and even if I died trying, Iknew I would make the characters of those books proud.

We stopped forlunch in a small clearing near the edge of the forest. There were severalfreshwater pools scattered throughout the clearing, ranging in size from a fewfeet to several metres wide. We had seen other pools as we had neared theclearing, but this seemed to be a sort of concentration of them. I couldn’tfigure out why. Something made me wonder if they were entirely natural.

While taking myturn to organise the food – of which there wasn’t much to do, as our midday mealsconsisted of bread, cheese and the tasty relish the Dryads had given us – Iheard splashing sounds from the pool nearest me.

I turned, butwhatever it was, all that was left was a ripple. I figured it must be some sortof fish. I returned my attention to the food, but the instant I looked away Iheard it again. Soft splashing, like someone walking through the water. Butlooking around once again, I saw nothing, except the ripples were a bit closerto me.

I stood up andwalked over to the edge of the pool, which was about four metres across,holding a hand up to hold back the others’ questions. Kneeling down and peeringover the edge, I tried to see if there were any fish under the water.

Suddenlysomething sprang up from the pool. I threw myself back with a cry of surprise,looking up to replace a figure staring down at me with a half-apprehensive,half-curious expression on her face.

She somewhatresembled a Dryad in size and body shape, but her skin was pale, so much sothat it was almost see-through. Her hair was white-blonde, but when she shiftedher weight parts of it morphed before my eyes to resemble a mirror; not smoothand flat, but as though each strand of hair was made of reflective glass. Shewore very little clothing that looked as though it had been sewn out ofwater-plants and her feet were bare.

Other than the Praesul,she was the most ethereal and fantastical person I had ever seen.

“Why are youtrespassing near our pools?” she demanded harshly, her voice reminding me ofthe harsh strength of river rapids.

“A Naiad.” Iheard Mayran whisper. The name rang a bell somewhere. Then I remembered thatNaiads, in Greek Mythology, were the sort of opposite to Dryads; freshwaternymphs.

“Yes, I am aNaiad. My name is Sauria, and this is my family’s pool. What are you doinghere?” she asked again, now addressing the question to Mayran. I suddenlyrealised that in her hand she held what appeared to be a dagger carved out ofstone.

“We did not meanto trespass.” Mayran said quickly, walking over to her. I scrambled to my feet,thinking what a fool I looked. “We are on our way to Druge. We are trying torid Renenta of Indina.”

At these words,Sauria’s eyes widened, revealing eyes the watery blue of the pool behind her.“If this is the case, then you must come and speak with our King.”

She wanderedover to the largest pool, the one that was roughly ten metres wide. Steppingone elegant foot out, she walked to the centre…only, she walked over the top ofthe water, as though it were made of glass. I gaped at her.

“Come.” Shebeckoned. Mayran was the first to obey, but Sauria held up her hand. “Heronly.” She said sharply, indicating me. I looked back at Loni and Mayran. Thelatter nodded reassuringly, leaving me no choice but to follow Sauria onto thewater. The surface was cold and the soles of my shoes did get wet, but I didnot sink into what should have been nothing other than liquid water. When wewere all standing around Sauria, she instructed us all to hold hands in a ring.

“Hold yourbreath.” Sauria murmured. I had just enough time to do so, before the solidnessunder my feet vanished and I plummeted.

I was instantly surroundedby water and some sort of strange force was pulling me downwards much deeperthan I thought the pool could be. My grip on Sauria’s hand did not waver, asthough there was glue keeping the skin in contact.

The pressurebuilt at an alarming rate and I squeezed my eyes shut. I needed to breathe.Every instinct was telling me to let go and claw my way back to the surface. Asa Naiad, did Sauria know that humans couldn’t breathe underwater? I riskedopening my eyes to look at her, but she nodded at me calmly.

We continueddescending. Just when I thought I could hold my breath no longer and my headwas about to explode, my feet broke through a barrier into air.

I dropped forseveral more seconds onto a dry sandy floor, which luckily broke the fall,before gulping huge breaths into my starved lungs, the process frequentlybroken by bouts of coughing. Once recovered, I pushed myself to my feet andstared around.

We were standinginside what, as far as I could tell, was a gigantic bubble encompassing whatcould only be described as an underground town. The buildings nearest to mewere carved out of stone and were quite plain, except for decoration in theform of water plants and fresh-water shells. Sauria tapped me on the shoulderand I turned around to be faced with a much bigger building. It wasn’t exactlya palace, although I surmised that was what the builder was aiming for, but itwas absolutely stunning.

It was madeentirely out of pearl.

Sauria allowedme nearly a minute of gaping at the building in wonder before taking me by thehand once again and leading me towards it.

“Welcome toScyllia.” She said as we grew nearer to the entrance. “You are the first humanto visit this place in half a century. My King has been waiting for you.”

She fell silentas we continued through corridor after corridor. The interior walls were allpearl as well and I felt rather dazzled by their shimmery glow. I couldn’tpinpoint what the light-source was, because it seemed to come from within thewalls themselves.

Finally, westopped before a large opening closed off by a curtain of hanging seaweed. Twomale Naiads guarded the entrance. I felt like I’d walked into Atlantis.

“We require anaudience with the King.” Sauria said. The guards clearly recognised her, forthey stepped aside and let her pass with only a curious glance in my direction.

The throne roomwas smaller than I expected, containing only a small empty space leading to thethrone itself which, like everything else so far, was carved out of pearl. Ifigured some sort of magic was at work here; there was no way that any amountof clams could produce enough pearl for the entire building.

Sauria kneltbefore the throne and, not wanting to offend anyone, I copied her movements.

“King Nardien, Ibring before you the Moirai, the one who was prophesised by the Dryad,Kasanda.” Sauria announced. It was the first time someone besides Loni hadreferred to me as such, and I briefly flashed back to that day so long ago athome, the book sitting in front of me...

I had half beenexpecting a merman, but King Nardien looked quite similar to Sauria herself,just male. As well as the mirror-like hair, he also had a long beard thatreached down past his chest. The only sign of his authority was his shell crownresting atop his head.

He stared downat me with that detached interest that outer-world politicians usually used.“Know that your courage in accepting the responsibility laid upon you by fateis appreciated and admired by the Naiads.”

I dipped my headrespectfully. “Thank you, your Majesty.”

“Know alsothis:” He added. “Trusting Dryads is a dangerous business. I do not doubt theprophecy, considering its import. However, do not believe that they are tellingyou everything. Kasanda has been known to withhold information if she deems itnecessary.”

I frowned. “Whatdo you mean?”

He remainedcryptic. “Your existence has been known in Renenta since your birth. There ismuch that you do not know.”

“Like what?”

He shook hishead. “It is not my place to tell you. I wish you luck against Indina. Ourwellbeing rests on your shoulders.”

With that heturned away and said no more.

“That was it?” Idemanded to Sauria as we left. “You brought me down here for him to tell methat there are things I shouldknow...but that he won’t tell me?”

Sauria’s eyesturned sharp. “He warned you of something that you would not have thought ofotherwise. Be grateful of that.”

I fell silent aswe rose back to the surface. Sauria left me a few metres from the top, forcingme to swim the rest of the way. Gasping and spluttering, I crawled back ontodry land.

“Well thatwasn’t quite what I expec...” The words died on my lips as I looked around.Loni lay on the ground, unconscious, and...

Mayran was gone.