The Secret Village: Chapter Six
Sonja and Rael make two discovieries that could change everything.
You can read Chapter Five here.
“Margrit said she’ll warn Oren when he comes back from hunting,” Sonja said, closing the door behind her. “I hope there aren’t any soldiers in the woods.”
Even if there were, Oren was good at remaining hidden; it was what made him such an efficient hunter. Sonja hoped the soldiers didn’t find him, and she prayed that the injured woman did not suffer long. It didn’t look as if the healer could do anything for her.
“Look at this.” Rael held the old book gently in her hands; it was halfway open, revealing a picture of a woman with her hands outstretched on either side.
Sonja’s breath caught. “Her palms are on fire!”
There was no doubt in her mind - this was a depiction of a soulfire.
She frowned at the words on the page next to the picture. “It says she healed more wraith-touched than any other soulfire…and stood with the others of her kind against the ice wraiths…Wraith-touched and ice wraiths? What does that mean?”
“My nurse mentioned them too; she said soulfires are the natural enemy of the ice wraiths, like the hawk is the enemy of the rabbit. She wouldn’t tell me anything more.” Rael turned the page. “Here’s another picture.”
The drawing was of the same woman. She was waist-deep in a river and around her neck was a strange necklace; the artist had drawn a strange halo around the pendant.
Sonja took the book and read the writing next to the drawing.
“What does it say?” asked Rael.
“She’s wearing something called an asalka amulet. It’s enchanted; if you enter a body of water while wearing one, the water will act as a gate and…take you somewhere else. It can even take you to another country, depending on the charm on the amulet.”
The coal in Sonja’s chest began to warm again. She slowly tore her gaze away from the page and onto Rael.
“There are three necklaces in the house.”
For one moment, they stared at each other. Then Sonja snapped the book shut, Rael buckled on her sais and they hurried from the cottage.
Twelve minutes later, they were past the shield and in the house.
“Where are they?” Rael demanded.
Sonja rummaged under the bed and pulled out the box containing the amulets. She opened the box, then the book and compared the picture to the pendants themselves.
It was almost a perfect match.
Slowly, she set the book down, with the page still open, and picked up the amulet with the green stone. Sonja put the thin strap of leather it over her head, where it fell just above her stomach.
“There’s a pool outside.” Rael pointed towards the door.
Sonja’s stomach began to churn; she didn’t know whether it was with fear or excitement. She stepped outside the cottage and gasped.
The surface of the pool was glowing green.
“What is it?” Rael asked. “What do you see?”
Sonja stepped up to the pool and peered down into its depths.
“There’s a forest beneath the surface.” Sunlight fell through the branches and caught the colour of the leaves, sending emerald light between the thick, twisting trunks of the robar trees.
Keeping the pendant around her neck, Sonja held out the strap to Rael. “I think it’s long enough for two.”
Rael eyed the pendant warily, her amber eyes glinting green. Then she stepped forward and slipped her head into the strap.
After a moment, Sonja sensed Rael was waiting for her to make a move. But she couldn’t bring herself to lift her feet.
They had come this far. They couldn’t give up now.
Sonja took a deep breath, held it and together they stepped into the pool.
Immediately, they sank through the surface and down, down until their feet touched solid ground. All around them was a deep, dark blue except for the image of the green forest before them. Sonja and Rael moved forward slowly until they broke the watery veil and emerged, their shoulders above the water’s surface. They clambered out of the pool and looked around them.
Surrounding them were vast robar trees as far as they could see. They were in the forest.
“Why aren’t we wet?” Rael was examining their clothes in amazement. “And where are we?”
“I don’t know.” Everything was happening too quickly. “You’d better make us invisible.”
Within moments, the veil of smoke was around them and they began walking. Woodbirds sang softly above them, drowning out their quiet footsteps. Sonja filled her lungs with the sweet forest air; although her clothes were completely dry, she couldn’t seem to stop shivering.
“Look,” Rael whispered, pointing. A tiny log house stood between two trees; judging from the shining axe resting on top of a stump outside, the house wasn’t abandoned, but who would live out here by themselves?
“Do you think we’re under another shield?”
Sonja shook her head. The air would have felt different if they were.
Just then, the door to the house opened and a man walked out. Both girls stopped walking; Sonja gently touched Rael’s arm, urging her a few paces backwards.
“Shall we ask him where we are?” she whispered. “If things go wrong, we can always run back to the pool.”
Rael stared grimly at the stranger, then nodded and removed the illusion surrounding them.
He looked up as they approached. His sandy hair was cut short on top of his head, and his eyes were the colour of a deep lake touched by a perfect sky. “Good afternoon.”
“Good afternoon,” Sonja replied politely. “I think we might be lost - can you tell us where we are?”
Why hadn’t the Queen’s soldiers found and conscripted him?
“You’re in the Twisted Forest,” he said, with a slightly crooked smile. “And I think I can guess how you found your way here.”
He reached into his pocked and took out a wooden amulet with a small purple stone in the middle. “Am I correct?”
“Erval! Erval!” A boy raced up to them. He came to a halt, panting heavily.
“Take your time. Breathe,” the man - Erval - said. He waited until the boy was standing upright before asking: “What’s wrong?”
“There’s another one…and it doesn’t look good.”
He ran back into the trees, Erval following him. Sonja and Rael looked at each other, then ran after them.
Moments later, they came across a village. It was a little larger than Wildkeep, and one log building loomed higher than the others. Sonja barely had time to notice that before she saw a small crowd of people clustered around something.
“Move aside! Let me through!”
The crowd parted to let Erval see what lay in the centre. A man lay on the ground. He was as pale as fresh snow, and his hair was almost completely grey.
That didn’t make sense. He didn’t look much older than Sonja and Rael.
“He’s a soldier,” whispered Rael. “Look at his uniform.”
Erval knelt beside him. “Easy, brother,” he said, helping him stand. “We’re friends. You’re safe now.”
As he helped the man towards the large building, Sonja felt something move with them - something sharp, cold and dark. It was the same darkness she felt whenever she looked at General Aleksei.
Her fire began to flicker. It wanted to reach out, to help.
Suddenly, the man’s legs buckled and he collapsed on the earth. Sonja rushed forward and felt the darkness throb as she neared. A chill ran down her spine: it was lodged in his chest.
She knelt beside him and placed a hand on his chest.
“What are you doing?” a female voice demanded. “Get away from…”
Ervan held up a hand. “Wait.”
Warmth spread from Sonja’s palm. The darkness shied away, as if trying to wriggle deeper into the man’s chest, but Sonja wouldn’t let it go.
Then her hand burst into flame. The man screamed and writhed…then went still and closed his eyes as blue fire flickered and danced. Slowly, the darkness faded away like ice in the sun.
Sonja moved her hand away and the man opened his eyes. “It’s gone,” he breathed.
There was no burn mark on the uniform.
Someone grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. Rael stood in front of her, one sai gleaming as she pointed it at the villagers. “Keep back,” she snarled.
“We won’t harm her,” Erval promised. “We won’t harm either of you.” He stood slowly, hands raised.
“We’ve got someone else like that soldier,” someone in the crowd said. “Another wraith-touched. Can you help him too?”
Sonja looked at Rael, then at the young soldier, then at Erval.
Yes. “Yes. I can.”
“And then we will leave,” Rael said, glaring at the crowd. “We will leave, and you will not try to stop us.”
“Will you come back?” a woman asked. “What if more deserters arrive?”
Sonja stood frozen. If more did turn up, she couldn’t let them suffer knowing she could help.
“I will come back here.”