Page 17 of Return of the Darkness
Larelle spoke seriously now as she asked, “Who said it was real, Zarya?”
“The man in my dream.” Larelle’s mind instantly went to Caligh, remembering the ease in which he controlled the minds of Caellum’s father and grandfather—an entire army. Larelle swallowed the bile in her throat.
“Was he a scary man?” Alvan asked. Zarya shook her head under the sheets, though it did little to ease her mother’s worry, especially as Caligh could appear in a different body, like that of a kind, frail old man.
“He knew my name. He said mumma knew him and that I could trust him,” Zarya said. Larelle narrowed her eyes, recalling Osiris’s assurances Zarya would find him.
“Did he have a name?” Alvan asked; his voice strained.
“I don’t know how to say it,” Zarya mumbled. “He was only there at the end. He told me not to be frightened.”
“If he wasn’t the scary part of the dream, what was?” asked Larelle, who no longer attempted to pry away the sheets. Instead, she gently rested her hand on Zarya’s trembling knee.
“Everything felt dead.” Larelle and Alvan frowned, waiting for Zarya to reveal more. “I was in our old house, and I stepped outside to find you and Mr Alvan, but everything had lost its colour.” Zarya sniffed, and Larelle squeezed her knee. “It was like there was no more happiness.”
“Can you try to describe what it looked like, like we do when we’re telling bedtime stories?” Alvan asked. Zarya’s small head nodded beneath the sheets.
“There were no pink and blue buildings at The Bay. Everything was pale, like the colour of the sand when it’s dry.”
“Like the colour of the buildings when we stopped for bread in the Neutral City?” probed Alvan.
“Yes!” Zarya exclaimed. “The stone was really pale. I couldn’t tell which flowers were pink and which were purple. They were all an ugly brown.”
“What did the sky look like? Was it night-time?” Alvan’s question made Zarya pause.
“I don’t know if it was morning or night. The sky was brown.”
“Can you remember anything else?” asked Larelle.
“Everything was back to front. I kept getting lost trying to find you.” Zarya sniffed again.
“Were you scared because you couldn’t find us?” Alvan asked. “Was that the only reason?”
Zarya shook her head. “I was sitting on the wall where we used to get bread. I hoped you might find me there, but then two big black shadows shaped like people came from the sea and tried to walk to me. It looked like they were going to steal me.” Larelle frowned. She hoped this was simply a nightmare, but the shadows sounded all too similar to Elisara’s, and potentially Osiris’s, though she was uncertain. “That’s when that man Ossie came and got rid of the shadow people.” Larelle stifled her laughter, envisioning Osiris’s face at Zarya’s nickname. Alvan did not share her smile. His jaw clenched.
“It was nice of Ossie to save you.” Alvan tilted his head at Larelle, confused.
“He said mumma would need to get a message to him soon, and I had to find him there when she was ready.” Larelle was furious at Osiris for entering Zarya’s mind without her mother’s consent, especially after the effect Caligh had on Caellum’s father. Surely,he must know any parent would worry about someone entering their child’s mind. But she was also curious about how he had done so and grateful they could reach him if needed. What was so significant about the location and how it appeared? Had Zarya created it in her mind? Had Osiris? She liked to hope Osiris would have made the setting more comfortable for a six-year-old, but why would Zarya picture The Bay so changed?
“Did he say anything else?” Larelle probed. When Zarya lifted her hands under the sheet, Larelle knew she was wiping her eyes.
“He said I should trust my intu…inshuish…”
“Intuition?” Larelle asked, and her daughter nodded. Alvan leaned forward.
“Do you remember what she said before the battle?” he whispered. “She asked who was going to die, and then Kazaar…” Alvan trailed off as they realised Zarya had been right. Larelle shifted closer to her daughter.
“Zarya, sweetheart. Can you show mumma your eyes?” Larelle asked gently. Zarya was slow as she reached up to push the sheet over her curls. She kept her head down and eyes closed. “Zarya, please.” Larelle leaned forward, stroking Zarya’s hair. Finally, her daughter looked up and her eyes were all too familiar, the midnight blue now glowing brightly with power.
“He said you’re running out of time.”
Chapter Ten
Elisara
“Levanna!” a voice she knew all too well screamed from the other ship, prompting Levanna to tighten her grip around the rope. Hanging off the side of the mast, she summoned all the power within her. The turquoise waves were rough as the river drake thrashed below, eager to be assigned a task.
“I know, sweet creature. All in good time,” Levanna murmured, reaching for the rope. She pulled it taut around her wrist and tied an unbreakable knot, securing herself to the mast. A flash of fire blazed overhead, and the ship rocked when it hit the quarterdeck. Her white hair flew into her face, and she hurried to brush it aside, eager to keep sight of his ship and the waiting river drake below.
