Page 5

‘Hello, everyone. I’m Sereh,’ she managed, yawning again, only to grimace as Arrow set to the meal with noisy slurps and crunches. Elen handed a bowl of the same delicious smelling meat and herbs to Sereh.

‘Eat this, and then sleep.’ Emma offered.

Sereh forced herself to eat the food. She was starving, yet fatigue warred with her desire to eat, as did all the questions she had.

Where was Erann? Why did these people live here? Where was Skaldi? Even the taste of the food on her tongue, which was without doubt delicious, didn’t stir her appetite. Instead, her eyelids grew heavier. The bowl she held seemed to treble in weight while the spoon she used took on the weight of a huge dragon. She managed to crack a weak smile at Arrow’s delighted wolfy smile at the bounty on offer, but then felt her eyelids flutter shut.

The last sounds she heard were of her bowl and spoon hitting the hard black floor and the hungry slurps of Arrow who set upon her discarded meal with glee, despite Emma’s instruction she ‘leave it.’

2

EMMA

Emma bent and picked up the discarded implements of Sereh’s meal with a tight smile. She wasn’t angry with the wolf-dog or the girl. They’d not put her in this predicament.

She was fuming with Skaldi. How dare he be so arrogant as to think she’d welcome this inquisitive and damaged girl into her carefully managed home? Already, he’d presented her with the baby to disturb her orderly housekeeping, but his arrival was manageable. He knew nothing of the outside world. His life would be lived within run-ketill.

In contrast, the girl and the wolf-dog would cause far too much disturbance. They were from outside the shield. They shouldn’t even have any intelligence about drekkikind.

‘She knows too much,’ Emma muttered to herself, as she took the bowl to the wash hatch, aware Elen watched her warily and moved closer so they could speak quietly. ‘She’ll have to stay here for the rest of her life,’ she turned to Elen, aware even as she said the words, that her voice faltered. ‘I assure you, she won’t be able to keep Skaldi a secret if we let her leave.’

‘Skaldi, is it?’ Elen asked, her tone cool. Emma grimaced. She had Elen to thank for being restored to her former self after her unexpected illness in the cave, but Elen was as unhappy with Emma for taking the risks as Emma was unhappy with Skaldi.

‘He asked me to name him as such,’ Emma felt compelled to reply.

‘Hum,’ came Elen’s reply. The two stood close together so they wouldn’t be overheard. ‘It is for the Speaker to instruct us.’

‘That might be the case, but in this, he’s wrong. He’s erratic. Not like previous Speakers. We have Pal now. What will he do next?’

The other woman’s eyes narrowed in thought. ‘It is good he’s more open to our people,’ Elen conceded.

‘Is it?’ Emma felt her rage drain from her. It was, she could agree, a welcome change that Skaldi was different to previous Speakers she’d known. Some had been intentionally cruel. Others had been cruel with their callous lack of regard for them. None had ever done what Skaldi had done, in bringing first Pal, and then Sereh and Arrow into their home. None.

Now, the future stretched before Emma, previously calm, and now unsettled by Sereh’s presence.

‘Tell me what’s happened to her?’ Elen asked, changing the subject, and indicating Sereh with her precious wooden spoon.

‘It was all rushed, and I remain unable to keep up with all of his images. Sereh can see Skaldi now. I don’t know why. And Erann, the one I originally was sent to tend to, the one who could already see Skaldi and has a connection with him, has disappeared. But there’s more,’ and now Emma paused. ‘Did you feel the tremor last night?’

‘Another rock fall, like the one that killed the previous Speaker?’

‘No,’ Emma shook her head, mindful she could hear Finn crooning nearby to Arrow. ‘Gemini’s returned,’ she all but whispered. Elen’s gasp mirrored Emma’s feelings. When Skaldi had summoned her to the ledge to retrieve Sereh, the sight of the planet had been like seeing a long-lost friend who was expected but whose actual appearance was still suspected. It brought with it a flood of memories that almost crippled her in their intensity. Too long she’d put her emotions on hold. Now they seemed to be beleaguering her.

‘Then it’s really happening?’ Elen questioned, her tone impossible to decipher. Emma felt a stirring of hope, and also a twinge of regret.

‘Everything will change, yes,’ she agreed. The arrival of Gemini signified hope of better times to come. From this point on, their lives would transform. She was prepared for it and had anticipated it for years, but the added complication of Sereh and Arrow was one she didn’t feel able to cope with. She needed to see to her needs and those of her family. They’d been pushed aside for long enough.

She realised then that while Elen spoke to her, the others were quiet, and yet, they must be burning with questions. Only Finn showed any sign this wasn’t an ordinary morning, for he had his arms around the wolf-dog and was hugging her close, an exuberant look on the part of his visible face. His auburn eyes were shining. Emma felt her face widen at the intensity of his joy. He’d never had an animal companion before, and thinking about it, probably didn’t realise it was even possible to have one. Arrow enjoyed the attention, her tail slapping softly on the hard black floor. Emma picked up a warmed fur from before the hearth and laid it gently across Sereh. The girl didn’t notice her movements, snoring softly, sleep relaxing the lines on her face from all she’d endured. If it was possible, Sereh looked even younger.

The cry of the waking baby burst upon the quiet scene. Emma sprang to his cot and picked him up quickly, not wanting to rouse Sereh when she’d only just fallen into a deep sleep.

‘Shush, Pal, we have guests,’ she murmured, aware of Arrow’s interest, as the wolf-dog came closer, nose twitching to smell the baby. The baby stared at Emma in shock at such a quick response to his demands and then stuck his fist in his mouth and began to suck noisily. Despite her worries she smiled, and her tense shoulders relaxed. He may be an inconvenience, but he was a lovely one. It had been too long since she’d held such a small child.

Skaldi hadn’t realised what he was doing in bringing the baby to them. They’d no one to feed him as there was no woman of birthing years within the small community. There never had been. That had been one of the conditions.

Instead, Emma had resorted to feeding the boy a runny mixture of the pottage that was their staple diet. He seemed to thrive on it, provided it was liquid enough. Emma had no illusions that it wouldn’t be long before he was sitting and feeding himself. He was a large baby with ample spare fat and flesh on him. Wherever he’d been, he’d been well cared for. Pal was healthy and vigorous. His arrival sent pangs of remembrance coursing through her blood. She remembered her children being so small. It felt like only yesterday and not the centuries it had been.

She sat the baby on her knee, smiling at Brand, who brought her a bowl of pottage. She’d been dipping a piece of soft cloth in it and then letting Pal suck it. Now, he reached for the cloth eagerly and stopped, his chubby arms outstretched, eyes fixed on Arrow. Emma looked at him questioningly.