Eleanor (16 page)

“How observant of you, and here I was thinking you didn’t realise I existed. You certainly don’t seem to care if Amelia ripped me to shreds,” Eleanor snapped.

Conlan looked confused. “Amelia hasn’t laid a hand on you in over a week.”

“No, currently she’s attacking me verbally. Have you
any
idea what it’s like to be hated by someone you love?” Eleanor muttered.

“Yes.”
 

This man never ceases to amaze me.
Her anger began to melt under the strength of his emotionless gaze.
 

“But you’re not going to tell me about it, are you?”

“No, I’m not,” Conlan agreed.

“You’re going to have to let me get closer eventually.”

“Why?”

“Because, oh mighty leader, you’re the reason this connection thing doesn’t work!” Eleanor said, taking a perverse pleasure in the shock on his face.

“You don’t know that.”

Eleanor glared at him. “Yes, I do. I have the bare essentials of how my energy works. I can teach the others how to access and control their own, but I can’t reach you. You’re trapped in this shield I can’t penetrate. I’m fairly certain that you’re not meant to pull energy from us, because it hurts us way too much, but the shield stops us sending energy to you. Hence, the connection doesn’t work.”

“I have a shield around me?”
 

Eleanor nodded. “Ask Will, if you don’t believe me.”

“Why didn’t he tell me?”

“Because he doesn’t want to hurt you. Because up until now it was irrelevant.”

“Do you think you can get the connection working?” Conlan asked. Eleanor sighed – he was missing the point.

“I think I can show everybody how to access and deal with their energy…”

“Even me?” Freddie interrupted.

Eleanor nodded, “… but the rest of it, that’s up to you Conlan. How far are you willing to trust me? You have to accept that we’re in this together.”

Conlan stared at her as the moment stretched.
 

The journey home was silent. They each seemed lost in their own thoughts. So the hysteria that assaulted her as they entered the cave made Eleanor jump. Amelia had taken one look at Freddie and Conlan, covered in dust, blood and bruises, and began screaming in her face, jabbing a finger into her chest like a pneumatic drill as she did so.
 

“What have you done now? You’re not going to be happy until you’ve killed us all, are you?”

Eleanor took a step backward, coming to a stop against the rough cave wall. Amelia swiftly closed the gap and recommenced her tirade. “Say something. You want to kill us all? Have a go at me and see how far it gets you!” she spat as she raised her fist. Different defensive moves ran through Eleanor’s mind, but in the end she discounted them all in favour of simply raising her arms to protect her head and closing her eyes. She could not bring herself to hurt Amelia, and deep down she knew she had no right to. Amelia had a perfectly valid point.
 

“Stop!” Will’s voice was low but commanding. Eleanor opened one eye a fraction. Will stood next to her, his fist wrapped round Amelia’s, holding her back.
 

“You’re on her side now?” Amelia snapped. A pained look passed across Will’s face.
 

“Amelia, think for a minute. Stop letting fear get the better of you, think about what you’ve just said; since when were there sides?”

“Since she started trying to kill us.”

Sighing, Will closed his eyes. Eleanor watched Amelia’s eyes grow wide in shock and she realised what he was doing; he was talking in her head.
Has he never done this with Amelia before?
Amelia’s face froze, glazed eyes staring at nothing. Eventually she blinked rapidly, seeing Eleanor cowering in front of her again. She slowly dropped her fist. Will kissed her lightly on the cheek and moved away. Amelia seemed dazed.
 

“Are you OK?” Eleanor asked.

“Will showed me exactly what happened, showed me what it cost you to bring him back.”

Eleanor sighed. “I’m sorry, Amelia. I never meant to hurt anyone. You have every right to kick me into the middle of next week, but please let me try to make amends. I need you to forgive me.”
 

Amelia glared at her. “What happened today?”
 

“Conlan surprised me, and to say my ‘power’ has a hair trigger I’m only just beginning to understand is an understatement. Freddie pushed him out of the way, otherwise I would have taken his head off.”

Amelia nodded, her eyes hard. “And what happened with Freddie, before?”

“His energy was getting too high and he wanted Conlan dead. I pulled it back, but thanks to the world’s worst headache I pulled a little harder than I should.”

Amelia looked appraisingly at her. “This talking in my head, it’s… unnatural. Will did it once, but he had promised me he would never try it again. He just broke a promise to me to help you. I love him, so I have to trust he had good reason. You seem to have embraced your ‘power’ but I’ve seen the pain and fear you’ve produced. I don’t want any part of it!”

“Amelia, you are what you are. We’re no longer human beings, we’re Avatars. Ignorance may be bliss, but in this instance what we don’t know is going to kill us. Is that what you want? Because if it is, I could quite easily bring this entire mountain down on our heads and end it all now, save us all the pain and trouble,” Eleanor snapped, horrified that Amelia thought she could just walk away.

“Eleanor, you can blow things… people… up. No one should have that sort of power,” Amelia insisted.

Eleanor winced at Amelia’s implications. “Amelia, I think you’ve got similar power, and ignoring it isn’t going to make it go away – it’s just going to make it more likely that you let it loose by accident. We can help the people of Mydren, that’s what we’re here for, and we’ve been given some powerful ‘tools’ because I have no doubt we’re going to face some difficult challenges.” Eleanor placed a hand on Amelia’s shoulder. “Sooner or later, if we don’t step in, the elements are going to destroy Mydren. I would rather accept my role and try to help this world than sit around in a dark hole, too scared of my own talents to learn to use them. We need you as a fully functioning member of the Five for this to work. Are you really willing to turn your back on us, on everything Conlan is trying to achieve? Make a choice, Amelia, our fate is in your hands.”
 

Eleanor made her way back to the lake, Amelia’s desperate sobbing still echoing in her head. She knew bringing Amelia’s trust and love of Conlan into the argument had been a low blow, and making her friend cry made her feel nasty and small. She felt sorry for Amelia; she could relate to her fear, but she also knew she had no choice but to rise above it – and Amelia had to grasp this too. Eleanor understood why the other Earths had killed themselves, that this was the turning point: they had preferred death rather than face the darkness within. Eleanor knew she was in no danger of making the same choice, as she was far too attached to the others. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she was surprised when Conlan sat down next to her and looked out at the lake.

“Did you make that hole?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Wow!”
 

“Is Amelia alright?” Eleanor asked, her voice heavy with guilt.

“She’s really upset and currently not talking,” Conlan said, concern evident on his face and in his tone.

Eleanor sighed. “She’s scared of the power inside her. I can understand that but she doesn’t want to die, or see us die. Joining us is the only option she really has. So don’t worry, your mission is still on track.”

Conlan stared at her. “Do you think you are nothing more than a means to an end to me?”

“You were willing to destroy me to protect the others. If Freddie hadn’t said something you’d have stuck your sword through my head without even asking me for an explanation. After all, it’s far easier to replace one Avatar than four. Not to mention the three Avatars of Earth you went through in quick succession before I arrived. Yes, Conlan, I feel very much like a means to an end,” Eleanor said quietly. Conlan was silent as he stared at her. She could see the hurt in his face, but she refused to look him in the eye. When he eventually spoke, his voice was barely a whisper.
 

“The truth is, I couldn’t function without you, I wouldn’t feel whole. The four of you and Rand are all I have. If I could spare you what you’re going through, attempting to control what I’ve burdened you with, I would.”
 

They sat in silence while Eleanor digested his words. However much Conlan may regret bringing them all to this point, they were still here and they had some large obstacles to overcome, not least of which was this weird shield around Conlan.
 

“Conlan, we need more information.”
 

“On what?”

“On you. We need to understand your role in all this.”

“I’ve told you everything I know.”

Eleanor thought for a moment. “You said your grandfather told you stories – is he still alive, can we ask him questions?”
 

Conlan nodded slowly.
 

Eleanor jumped to her feet. “Good, let’s go.”
 

Conlan looked at her, amused. “I’m the one who’s meant to be manically obsessed.”
 

Eleanor shrugged. “Guess it’s rubbing off on me. Besides, spring is coming, which means the Enforcers will be coming, so we don’t have much time.”

Conlan slowly shook his head. “We can’t leave straight away. Freddie can’t come with us, and I don’t feel comfortable leaving him with Amelia and Will any more… you’re all getting so much stronger… You have to show him how to control his energy before we can go anywhere.”
 

Eleanor smiled. “We’d better get started then.”

The Book

Freddie was a quick learner, and it took Eleanor less than a week to get him to the point where he could monitor his own energy levels. Being careful to avoid Amelia, who was still not talking to anyone, she asked Will how he was balancing his energy. He had invited her into his mind and demonstrated his control. His energy level could be erratic if he was near open water for any length of time, he had found he was pulling energy from it almost as a reflex reaction. He discovered he could push his energy strings into the ground, to find aquifers and underground rivers to drag away the excess energy, and although it was a lot harder, he could also use rain and snow clouds. Impressed with his knowledge, Eleanor had asked why he had not told all this to Amelia and Freddie. Will protested that he had tried, but neither had wanted to listen.
 

Armed with this information, Eleanor had explained to Freddie that whenever he was near open fire, which was most of the time, he was unconsciously drawing energy from it and that he had to remember to attach his ‘overflow pipe’ back into the fire so the energy remained level. She also showed him how to release his energy safely if there was an accident and it did build up. After several practice attempts, he felt confident he could handle himself. Eleanor had also experimented with heating up the water in their bathtub. The first time Freddie just turned the water to super-heated steam, but eventually he had got the hang of it. Will had watched them on one of the more successful attempts. Eleanor noticed him stood by the cave entrance.
 

“Tell Amelia she can thank me for this later.”

“I’m so glad we finally found a use for Freddie,” he said drily. Freddie grinned at him.

The sky was just beginning to lighten as they set out. The frighteningly violent storm two days earlier had left Amelia wide-eyed and trembling and Will twitchy and restless. If she concentrated, Eleanor could feel his energy pulsing. The heavy rain had also melted a lot of snow, and rivers of slush ran down the mountain, in torrents that obliterated trails and washed away vegetation that had struggled to survive the harsh winter.
 

Conlan led Rand, negotiating the treacherous trail with care. Eleanor followed him, deep in thought. Amelia remained mute. Will’s distress was etched into his face and Eleanor had hugged him especially tight when they had said goodbye, but the words he had whispered in her ear had caught her by surprise. ‘Look after Conlan for me. He’s not nearly as invincible as he pretends to be.’ With everything he had to worry about, Eleanor wondered why it was Conlan he feared for. What did he know about where they were going? She had wanted to ask, but Conlan was already walking down the trail and Eleanor knew she would get lost if she did not keep up with him.
 

The further down the mountains they went, the more evidence they encountered of the storms power. Trees had been ripped from the ground and a rockslide blocked the way, forcing Conlan to backtrack around it; the devastation was extensive. Yet, amid this chaos, spring was already in full swing. Birds chirped and whistled to each other in cheery greeting, and a profusion of small blue flowers erupted in clumps where the snow had melted back to reveal the earth beneath. Eleanor was amazed that something so small and delicate had weathered the storm. The life around her made her smile, gave her hope. As they moved through the mountains’ foothills, Eleanor felt the brand on her wrist begin to itch and then burn. Conlan noticed.

“It hurts?”

“Yeah! I guess it’s telling me I’m moving away from the others. I was just wondering why it did it and how it worked out the distances,” Eleanor said. “I wonder if they feel it too.”

“Something to ask them when you get back,” Conlan suggested.

As they travelled further away, the pain reached a peak of agony but then dropped off into numbness – information Eleanor stored for later.

As they reached the dirt track road they began passing the occasional village. Eleanor was horrified at the results of the storm. Houses where window shutters, doors and in some cases the whole roof had been torn off were common. Malnourished animals lay dead in fields, half-buried in silt that had obviously poured down from the mountains. In one village the houses on one side of the main dirt track had been washed away completely, leaving only a few posts as evidence to the homes that once existed. People shambled about, looking for possessions, or bodies, shock and resignation stamped on their faces. Others simply sat where they seemed to have fallen and stared.