Descent by Charlotte McConaghy

  Anna shivered. Harry and Luca both reached out and put their arms around her, encircling her against the cool air that brushed through their hair. The three of them stood, waiting, watching, hoping.

  ‘We’ve got one last chance,’ Harry said softly.

  ‘I just hope she can do it,’ Luca replied.

  A long way away, in a distant country wreathed in sand, Mia stood at her balcony, staring out into the desert, her thoughts exactly the same as those of her friends, wishing there was something she could do to help, knowing that all she could do was wait.

  And even further, far out past the waters of Paragor in the realm of the unknown, there sailed a ship, shrouded in mist. And on that ship sat Jack, chained to the oars, being whipped until his back was raw and bloody, his eyes staring out to sea, his gaze unwavering, knowing that what he was doing was right, and believing, even more than they did themselves, in the people he’d left behind.

  Jane shook her head and tried to ignore Fern’s strange behaviour. He was walking too close to her and it was making her distinctly uncomfortable.

  She sped up to try and create some distance between them, but in her distraction she walked straight into a great hole that had appeared in the floor.

  Jane screamed and clung wildly to the edge, catching herself just in time. ‘Fern!’ she screeched, her arms burning.

  ‘ Jane! Jane are you there?’

  ‘Fern help me!’

  ‘I can’t!’ he called down to her. ‘I can’t get close enough! You’re going to have to pull yourself up!’

  ‘What?’ she gasped.

  ‘Pull yourself up!’

  Jane groaned. Looking down, all she could see was blackness, for the torch had fallen from her hand and she had yet to hear it land. This was not the moment for Fern to have acquired a fear of heights. She hung, trying to calm her hysterical mind enough to let her function. Her arms were still tired and sore from the last time she’d had to climb.

  Suddenly she heard a yelp from Fern.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ she shouted but there was no reply. This scared her more than anything.

  With a great scream she wrenched herself up, arms trembling. Finally, gritting her teeth, she pulled her hips onto the edge of the hole and sagged onto the floor, breathing heavily. Quickly she scrabbled over to where she thought Fern had been but nearly bit her tongue off in fright as she realised the floor had dropped away again. There was a chasm in the ground, just as big as the one she’d fallen into. Halfway down, hanging on desperately, was Fern.

  ‘Fern!’ she screamed, kneeling down and leaning over the edge. ‘Are you okay?’

  He didn’t reply. His lips moved, but she couldn’t hear what he was saying. And he wasn’t trying to climb up.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ she called. ‘Climb!’

  Fern didn’t move. Jane broke out in a cold sweat. Why wasn’t he trying to save himself? Granted, it was a very sheer drop, and there didn’t seem to be many hand-holds in the wall. But he was strong! So why the hell wasn’t he moving?

  ‘Oh Christ,’ she whispered, realising what she had to do. Her hands started to shake. Carefully she edged her feet over, turning around so that she was on her stomach. ‘Dear god, please don’t let me fall,’ she prayed aloud, even though she didn’t actually believe that any gods were going to help her now. She reached around with her feet, trying to find a foot-hold, but the cliff crumbled where she touched it. Gritting her teeth, she took a different approach and jammed her toes into the surface, hoping it would be soft enough to burrow in. Her feet made slight grooves in the wall and she managed to get a shaky hold. Holding her breath, she eased off the edge, hoping like crazy that they wouldn’t slip.

  As soon as she lowered herself below the level of the floor, it became difficult. There was nowhere to put her hands. She scrambled desperately, trying to find something to hold on to. Her fingernails started to bleed and her shoulders ached. Her strength was already failing her and she’d only gone about a metre down.

  Sweating and swearing she looked down to see how far she had to go and felt giddy with the length of the drop. Don’t look down you stupid idiot! she told herself. Fern was still a long way away, staring up at her apprehensively.

  Jane took another breath and set off again. Each step was like a death sentence; every time she found a safe hold it became a mental battle to will herself to let go again and inch downwards. Twice her footholds slipped and she scrabbled downwards, frantically gripping onto anything she could and gasping in pain as her arms strained harder than they’d ever had to before. Keep going, she told herself. Just keep going. You’re almost there.

  It wasn’t really a question. She didn’t know what would happen to Fern if he fell—didn’t know if he would just wake up or if he would actually die, but if there was even a slight chance that it would be the latter then she would keep going forever. Sobbing now, she finally managed to make it down to Fern. She had not yet let herself think on what she was going to do once she reached him.

  ‘I can’t move,’ he whispered. ‘I can barely speak.’

  ‘What do I do?’ she cried, tears of exhaustion and fear sliding down her cheeks.

  ‘I don’t know,’ he said slowly. ‘I think ... you just have to go back up.’

  ‘What? What are you talking about?’ she asked through gritted teeth.

  ‘I tried to tell you not to come down here. There’s no way for me to get back up. You have to let me go.’

  Was he joking? This was the hardest thing she’d ever had to do in her whole entire life, and he expected her to just turn around and go back? He expected her to let him die?

  ‘Climb onto my back,’ she snapped, her tears gone.

  ‘What? Jane, no!’

  ‘Fern,’ she whispered, and now there was something in her voice that made him fall silent. ‘ Get on my back right now or I swear to god I will fling myself into the abyss without you.’

  Sighing like he thought this was the end of them both, Fern tried to move and found that he could just manage to grab hold of her shoulders. His weight on her exhausted body was terrifyingly unexpected. She’d never been a very physical person. At school she had been picked for teams somewhere in the middle. She’d never had any reason to think overly about her body and its capabilities.

  Jane struggled not to whimper as Fern held onto her. He swore under his breath, apologising quickly. ‘I can’t move again. I can climb onto you, but I can’t help in any way.’

  Jane didn’t bother to reply. Instead she thought about how Luca had been tortured. She thought about how he had endured it. All she had to endure was this cliff. Just a cliff.

  With a scream of determination she started climbing. The only way she could keep going was to do it one bit at a time, inch by inch, and to try and block out the pain in her body.

  And, finally, she made it.

  Jane slumped, only half her body over the edge, utterly spent, beyond thought. She must have passed out because some time later she opened her eyes and Fern was kneeling over her. Her body ached in places she hadn’t known existed.

  She was too exhausted to even speak. Fern stroked her hair, letting her rest. After a while he gave her some water and she didn’t care at all where it had come from. Slowly she started to feel her strength come back to her, and with it a sense of astonished accomplishment.

  ‘Are you all right?’

  ‘I think so. Actually, yeah. I’m better than all right. I just climbed up a cliff with a giant man on my back!’

  ‘Giant?’

  Jane grinned tiredly and struggled into a sitting position. ‘Wow. I never knew how extremely unfit I was. But I did it!’

  ‘You did it,’ he agreed with a smile that brightened the darkness. ‘I’m so proud of you! It was incredible!’

  She climbed shakily to her feet. ‘But now we have no light.’

  ‘Take my hand,’ he said and she felt around for it in the dark. Her mind was too tired to think about the fact that they wer
e holding hands again.

  She shut her eyes briefly, then started walking again, her legs shaky, feeling in front of her, stepping carefully.

  ‘I’m so sick of being powerless,’ Fern murmured. ‘What is the point of making you do everything?’

  ‘In combat you are probably the greatest fighter in the world,’ Jane said slowly. ‘But sometimes even you need help. And you have to start realising that I can give it to you if you’ll just let me. I’m not made of glass. I’m not going to break.’

  He sighed gently. ‘I’m sorry, Jane. I know you aren’t made of glass. I know probably better than anyone what you are capable of—and I daresay it’s a lot more than me. But I’ve always thought that with all the things you have to do, all the burdens you carry, all the people you feel you need to protect, maybe ... maybe you just need someone to protect you for once.’

  Jane felt a lump rise in her throat. She nodded quickly, squeezing his hands. ‘Okay,’ she said, laughing shakily. ‘Maybe we’re both a bit crazy, and also a little bit right when it comes to each other.’

  Fern smiled and nodded.

  It had grown cold, and Jane shivered. Their bodies came closer together and she felt him shiver too.

  It seemed that they walked for hours, and all the while their discomfort grew. Shadows and flames flew through the air, seen only in the corners of their visions, startling them, making their hearts pound.

  And the whole time, what Jane thought about was the same thing she’d been thinking in the forest when Fern had disappeared. She thought about how unhealthy it was to rely on one person for everything. It was ridiculous and unrealistic. Everything in this dream world was pointing to the fact that she had to do things herself. Fern had told her that they were over, and she simply hadn’t believed him. She’d thought he was just being a coward, and selfish. But what if he was right? What if there was just too much past for them to be able to salvage anything good? Was his guilt about what happened truly so debilitating that he’d never be able to give her what she needed?

  In which case, there was only one answer. One course of action. She had to face life without him. Jane had to find enough courage to be able to do this all alone.

  Looking up, her heart leapt into her mouth.

  Athena was standing in front of them, bathed in an unnatural light, looking more beautiful than Jane could imagine. Fern looked up and froze. Jane felt his hand go limp in her own, and tightened her grip on it.

  ‘Athena,’ he whispered, his voice haggard. And hearing the affection in him made Jane feel sick. She’d been jealous when the woman was alive, but right now, in this dream world, she was overcome with a furious envy that threatened to overwhelm her. As she watched, Athena moved forward and kissed Fern on the lips. And, to Jane’s horror, Fern started to kiss her back.

  Wrenching her hand out of Fern’s, she stumbled away, unable to tear her eyes from the torturous sight of their embrace. Eventually Athena turned to Jane, walking over to her, cold anger in her eyes.

  ‘Do you feel that?’ Athena whispered, her voice achingly melodic. ‘Do you feel the agony of losing him to another woman?’

  Jane couldn’t look away from her, trapped in her gaze.

  ‘That’s exactly what you made me feel,’ Athena said. ‘You deserve this pain, Jane, because you inflicted it on someone else. And now you must suffer forever, because he doesn’t love you—he loves me. It just took my death to make him realise it.’

  Jane’s heart was thumping and every inch of her hurt. Face this, she told herself. Face this, or it will haunt you forever. Jane took a breath and reached out to place her hands on Athena’s shoulders. And then, not looking away from the naked agony in the woman’s face, she said, ‘I’m sorry. Athena, I’m so sorry for all the hurt I’ve caused you.’

  The woman’s pretty face shimmered and then Athena disappeared. Jane sagged in relief and looked at Fern quickly. He was kneeling on the ground, his eyes closed.

  ‘Fern!’ she cried, hurrying to his side. ‘What did you see?’

  ‘I saw her,’ he told Jane, his voice deflated. ‘I saw Athena dying. Over and over again I watched her die, and I wasn’t able to do a thing to stop it.’

  Jane sank to her knees next to him and held him tightly, realising then that even if you faced your fears, you never stopped being frightened of them. You just learnt how to bear the fear and keep moving.

  Anna wriggled uncomfortably on the couch. No matter how she sat, she was still sore. Her whole body ached. Locktar was standing directly behind her, watching her constantly. She wanted to talk to him, to ask him a million questions—was he a human or a dragon? Had he been a man once before? If so, how and why did he turn into an animal? But she needed privacy for that, and now was not the time.

  Sighing, Anna dragged her eyes away from the window, and the orange light that seemed to be darkening quicker than she imagined possible. Everyone had gathered to wait together in one of Elixia’s private chambers. It was a huge room, its walls lined with thousands of books, its floors adorned with deeply coloured rugs. In front of them was a huge fireplace. Harry sighed and moved to light the fire. Almost an entire day had passed, spent doing nothing but worrying. Night was growing closer.

  Luca was seated beside Anna, and next to him, close but not touching, was his new friend Tzenna, whom Anna had yet to decide if she liked. Sitting at a small round table was Ria, the red-haired Captain Bayard and Satine, who were talking quickly, their voices soft. The High Queen stared out of the window, her face impassive, and it was she who Anna’s eyes kept being drawn to.

  Nobody could go more than a moment without wondering where Jane and Fern were, and what they were doing. Anna was praying with everything she had that the two of them were doing something to fix this mess.

  ‘Where’s Altor?’ Elixia asked suddenly, surprising Anna.

  Satine looked at Elixia morosely. ‘I haven’t seen him in hours,’ she whispered. ‘I have no idea...’

  ‘He went with Jane and Fern, I think,’ Harry offered over his shoulder. Neither woman seemed comforted by this.

  ‘Okay?’ Anna heard Tzenna whisper into Luca’s ear. He nodded and gave her a shaky smile, then turned and rested his hand on Anna’s knee. Anna’s eyes prickled—this was the old Luca, the one who looked after his friends.

  A shaft of sunlight rested on the rug by Anna’s feet and she watched as it slowly began to recede, creeping back across the room towards the window from which it came. It would soon be night once more. Only this time, they had no protection.

  ‘Stuff this!’ she said, jumping to her feet and then regretting it as the blood rushing to her head made her dizzy. ‘What are we doing sitting here? We should be getting ready!’

  ‘Ready for what?’ Ria asked.

  ‘To fight!’ She spread her hands. More softly, she murmured, ‘Honestly, guys. How could we not?’

  Those who had been seated rose to their feet. Harry grinned from where he stood next to the fire, a wolfish, excited grin. His hand moved unconsciously to the bow strapped to his back.

  Anna turned to Locktar who hadn’t moved the entire time. His face was expressionless, his red eyes glowing. A problem had occurred to her. For the last two years, all she’d ever known was how to attack the beasts while flying among them.

  ‘Can you change back?’ she asked Locktar as the others began to prepare.

  He stared unwaveringly into her eyes. Then he said, his voice deep and rasping, ‘I don’t know.’

  By the time they were all armed and standing on the roof of the palace, the sun has almost set. It cast a beautiful glow over the ocean.

  Suddenly the air changed. There was a prickle, like static electricity on their skin.

  ‘Here they come.’

  Luca dropped behind the others as they made their way up the stairs. He was having trouble breathing. His mind was being pounded by thoughts and there was a mess of emotions inside him. He reached a shaking hand out and leaned against the wall, closing his e
yes.

  ‘You’re fine,’ a soft voice said in his ear and he turned to look at Tzenna. She was staring at him without an ounce of sympathy in her stony gaze. ‘You’re fine,’ she repeated calmly.

  Luca shook his head. ‘I don’t think I can do this. I need to go back to my room.’

  ‘No.’

  He stared at her.

  ‘There is no way in the world that you are going to walk away from your friends and hide in your room like a coward,’ she said firmly. ‘You’re going up to the roof with me, with the people you love, and you’re going to help us fight. Understood?’

  Luca was unable to take his eyes away from hers. He simply nodded, and took her hand as she led him to the roof. It seemed only an instant later that they watched the shadows descend on top of them.

  Lights flooded the hall, blinding them for a good moment. When their eyes had adjusted to the sudden brightness, they managed to look around them.

  They were still in the hall. But this time there was something on the ground. Something wet. Liquid was up to their ankles.

  ‘What is that?’ Jane asked, peering down.

  Fern was frozen still, his face very pale.

  ‘It’s blood,’ he whispered.

  Jane gasped as the potent, heavy stench of steel permeated her nostrils, overtaking her senses. She coughed with revulsion, trying to pull air into her lungs that didn’t reek of blood.

  ‘Oh my god. That’s so gross!’

  ‘Don’t think about it,’ Fern told her firmly, pulling her forward. ‘Just keep moving. It’s water. Think of it as water.’

  But the level of it was steadily rising. Soon it was up to their knees, and then their thighs.

  ‘Oh, Jesus,’ Jane whispered. She stopped walking because she’d started to gag. It was just so disgustingly thick. And the smell—she’d never experienced anything worse.

  ‘Where’s it coming from?’ she muttered, her eyes watering. Now it was up to her waist. ‘Uhg! Should we be trying to stop this?’

  ‘How?’ he snapped, holding his nose and staring at the ceiling.