Web of Fire Bind-up (59 page)

Sam's house.

In truth, now that she was here she could not remember exactly why she had come, but as she flew across the overgrown garden and saw the little blue slide and the rusted swing, a feeling of longing grew within her that she did not understand.

A ‘For Sale' sign stood at an angle in the middle of the lawn, with the word ‘Sold' plastered diagonally across it.

Skipper landed on the top of the sign and remembered the first time she had seen Sam here all those years ago, kicking a tennis ball against the garden wall while his mother potted up seedlings and his father dug over the vegetable patch. Unknown to him, she had been piloting a wasp, circling high above as part of a mission to protect him from Vermian forces that were trying to kidnap him. Despite their best efforts, however, the Vermian Empire had succeeded and brought Sam to Aurobon. But then at the end of it all he had returned to Earth again; back to his family and his other life.

So why not this time?

Why was he still in Aurobon?

Determined to find some answers, Skipper flew around the house to try to find another way in, an open window
perhaps, or a gap under a door. Finding neither, she searched around for another route and her eyes fell upon the chimney pots at the top of the house. Of course! Pulling back on the joystick she lifted the moth up over the tiles and then as she approached the chimney pot at the far end of the house she put the wings into reverse thrust, hovered briefly, and then dropped down into it.

Applying the air brakes to slow her rate of descent, Skipper kept her eyes fixed on the square of light below her until, a short while later, she emerged into the brightness of a small bedroom.

She flew one circuit of the room to check that all systems were still functioning properly and then brought the moth smoothly in to land on the wooden bedpost. Looking around, she saw that all the bedclothes had been stripped off the bed and the room itself was empty save for several large cardboard boxes, most of which had been sealed up with brown parcel tape.

Staring out through the moth's eyes, she noticed that one of the packing cases was still open on the far side of the room, and lying on the top of it were what appeared to be a handful of photographs. Intrigued, Skipper took off again and flew across the room, skilfully manoeuvring the moth so that it fluttered and hovered just a little way above the box.

Tilting the head of the moth forward, she leaned across the instrument panel and peered out. There in the very middle of the box was a photograph of Sam, smiling and waving at the camera.

There were other photographs too. Sam's mother and father, hand in hand, holding up a fork and a spade and laughing, Sam on his bike and his father standing next to him with a spanner.

She looked down at the other pictures: Sam on a skateboard (she smiled at this), Sam's mother, sitting on a tartan rug in summer, cuddling a small baby, Sam… Skipper was surprised by the sudden ache that she felt in her heart as she looked back at the picture of Sam's mother holding the baby.

What was it about this particular picture that affected her so?

She looked across at another photograph – half hidden beneath a flap of cardboard – and saw that it was of a little blonde-haired girl aged about three or four. She was smiling shyly, standing next to a snowman and her coat was buttoned up to her chin.

She was wearing bright yellow mittens and on her feet were a pair of shiny red shoes.

Then Skipper remembered.

‘No!' she cried, ‘no, no, no, no, no!' And she lifted the moth away out through the chimney pot and up into the blue, blue sky, high above the fields and the valleys and the little farms with their tiny sheep and horses until finally, when the tears blurred her vision and she could no longer see, she came to rest in the long grass that grew tall beside the old stone church.

Stumbling from the moth out into the morning sunshine, she leant against the stalk of a primrose, buried
her face in her hands and cried as she had never cried before.

After a time, she became aware that she was not alone. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she looked up and saw that a man was standing a little way away from her, leaning against the churchyard wall that towered high above them both. He seemed to be gazing at something in the distance.

As Skipper watched, he turned to look at her and she saw that it was Salus, Guardian of Worlds. She remembered the last time that she had seen him, and how they had walked together by Lake Orceia.

‘Hello, Skipper,' he said.

‘Hello,' said Skipper quietly. She wiped her eyes again and realised that the tears were still falling and she could not stop them. ‘I'm sorry about this,' she whispered. ‘I'm not sure why I
am
crying exactly. Only… there was something about those pictures… that little girl in the photograph. Who was she?'

‘Come with me,' replied Salus, ‘and I will try to explain something to you.'

They made their way between the tall stalks of grass until presently they came to a large expanse of white rocks. Skipper sat on one with a flat top and saw how it was embedded with tiny crystals which shone in the sunshine.

‘Four years ago, when Sam first walked in Aurobon, his body still lived on Earth. You helped him to find his
way home again. In doing so, you bravely sacrificed your own life in Aurobon. But at the moment you were lost, so were you found.'

‘Found?' asked Skipper. ‘What do you mean?'

‘Although she did not know it, Sam's mother had been searching for you for many years. You were the child that she longed for and at that time great forces were at work. After your selfless sacrifice, you were reborn as her child on Earth. So you see, the little girl in the photograph is you.'

‘But I don't understand,' said Skipper. ‘If I lived on Earth, why didn't I remember until now? Why does Sam remember his life here so much better than I do?'

‘Because,' Salus replied, ‘he had been a child of Earth for much longer. When you are born, it takes many years to grow and become one with a new world. In many ways you were still closer to the life you had left behind in Aurobon. That is why you came back to it more easily when the Earthstone called to you.'

‘What happened?' asked Skipper. ‘Please tell me. I need to know.'

‘The Vermian Empire cast its shadow across Aurobon,' said Salus. ‘Vahlzi lay in ruins and the Foundation Stone was shattered. In his despair, Commander Firebrand took the Earthstone and flung it into Lake Orceia. And as it sank into those deep waters, the Earthstone called across the worlds to those it knew could save it.'

‘You mean us?' asked Skipper.

‘Yes,' said Salus.

And it was then that she remembered what had happened.

The light failing on a winter's afternoon. She was four years old, dressed in a warm coat and yellow mittens. She ran down the winding path through the trees and watched her little red shoes make tiny footprints in the snow.

‘Not too far, sweetheart,' her mother called behind her.

A blue butterfly, beautiful and strange in the cold, still air. Leaving the path, she followed it down through the bushes and out across the silver, ice-covered lake where the snow swirled and danced all around her.

She knelt down and reached out her hand. Behind her, footsteps on the ice, people calling to her. Her mother and father and her brother. She looked up and waved to them, not understanding the fear on their faces.

‘Look!' she cried. ‘See!'

But just as they reached her, the ice cracked and the butterfly flew away.

She was falling, falling down into the cold, endless blackness and away for ever from the light that was fading somewhere far above her.

Skipper felt the tears welling up in her eyes.

‘I had a mother and father,' she whispered. ‘I was part of a family.' She swallowed and her throat was swollen with sorrow. ‘It was my fault they died, wasn't it? They all died because of me.'

‘No,' said Salus and he took her by the hand. ‘It was
time, that is all. They loved you very much,' he added.

‘What does it matter?' sobbed Skipper. ‘None of it matters any more. Not love, not anything. Everything is lost.'

‘No, child,' said Salus gently. ‘Just because something changes, it does not mean that it is lost. Like melting snow, it simply becomes something else.'

‘But I am so sad,' said Skipper. ‘I do not know if I can bear it any more.'

‘Sometimes,' said Salus. ‘we must shed our skin in order to grow. It is always painful.'

Skipper looked up from where she sat and noticed for the first time that beyond the white rocks that surrounded them was an enormous grey stone that towered high into the air above them. She stared at the huge letters that had been carved into it, stared at them for a long time until the tears ran down her face and she could no longer read the words.

She turned to Salus and said, ‘Please – will you help me forget?'

Salus put his hands upon the top of her head and said, ‘Little one, although you are stronger and wiser than most, you will forget this time, just as you have forgotten others before it. But know this: that love cannot be destroyed. The things that matter will stay with you always.'

As Skipper flew away across the fields, the sun broke through the clouds and bathed the land in a warm, yellow light. Here and there, clumps of snowdrops hung
their heads while yellow crocus buds pushed their way up through the earth to greet the spring.

In a corner of the churchyard, a new headstone stood above a rectangle of white stones, as yet untarnished by the elements or the passing of time. It read:

Jack Palmer
1968–2005

Sally Palmer
1970–2005

Samuel Palmer
1991–2005

Poppy Palmer
2001–2005

fell through the ice
31st December 2005

Suffer little children to come unto me

Beyond the wall, Skipper flew away across the fields into clouds that drew her in and enfolded her, and carried her away from the world for ever.

Sam dreamed of falling through water. He saw his mother and father fighting for breath below him, struggling to reach the circle of light that grew pale and dim above. But they were too far away, too deep for him to reach and soon he lost sight of them in the darkness. A red shoe floated past him and in the dim light he could make out a smaller figure, silently stretching out its hands towards him.

In desperation, Sam kicked his legs and dived deeper, deeper until at last he found her, still and unmoving in the freezing waters. Grabbing her hand, he looked around but could no longer see the surface. Then he saw a blue light shining above him and pulled his little sister towards it. The light grew and spread and suddenly he burst through the surface and found himself in a lake, surrounded by mountains. Gasping for breath, he dragged her towards a pool beneath a waterfall. Then everything went black.

In his dream, when he opened his eyes again, he saw ice crystals frozen on a pebble; clouds heavy with snow hung from a winter sky above him and he noticed a fire burning further along the shore. Shivering, he began to walk towards it.

As he drew nearer to the fire, he noticed a man dressed in a thick woollen robe standing next to it. His long, dark hair was woven with coloured threads and Sam recognised him as Salus.

‘I remember you,' said Sam. ‘You were here with me before. You were here at the beginning.'

‘Yes,' said Salus.

Sam looked at the empty shoreline.

‘Where are they?' he asked. ‘What happened to my family?'

Salus was silent for a while. Then he said: ‘Look around you, Sam. What do you see?'

Sam looked around and saw snow on the mountains, and trees, and the shining lake.

‘I see water, mountains and trees,' he answered. ‘And I see snow.'

Salus nodded. ‘The snow is already melting, I think. One day soon it will all be gone. And in years to come, the trees too will have disappeared. They will lie buried and forgotten in the darkness beneath the earth. The days of sunlight in which they grew will have passed from all memory. Do you see?'

‘Yes,' said Sam. ‘But I don't know what it has to do with me.'

Salus reached into his robe and took out a shiny black object which he held up in the firelight. ‘Do you know what this is?' he asked.

Sam stared at it for a moment.

‘It's coal,' he said.

‘You are right, Sam. It is a lump of coal. At least, that is what we call it now. But it is also what the trees became. The trees that grew here millions of years ago.'

He tossed it to Sam who caught it in one hand.

‘Look at it. A piece of inert rock, buried beneath the ground and forgotten. Until one day, someone came and dug it up again. Brought it out of the darkness and into the light.'

Salus pushed another piece of wood into the fire and then turned back to look at Sam. ‘Close your eyes for a minute, Sam,' he said, ‘and think of a summer's day.'

Sam shut his eyes. He felt the warmth of the fire and imagined the sun shining down upon him.

‘Millions of years ago there would have been just such a summer's day,' Salus went on. ‘The sunshine warmed the earth and the leaves on the trees. But then the sun set and the day was finally over. Lost for ever, one might think.'

Sam opened his eyes as Salus threw the lump of coal into the fire. He watched as a bright yellow flame leapt from its heart and began to burn fiercely, rising and dancing in the centre of the fire.

Salus turned to him and smiled.

‘Look,' he said, ‘the sunshine is back.'

Sam gazed out across the water and saw the sky's reflection, and the trees and mountains locked beneath its steely surface. It was like staring through a window at a world that could never be reached.

‘I'm not going back am I?' he asked.