Chapter 7
Swimming Upstream
De Silva guides us to a fallen log. “Rest a minute. Get your strength back and we will continue.” Both me and Alice sink down onto the makeshift seat. My legs ache and I rub at them, not knowing what to say. She lets out a hollow sigh, leans forwards and stretches out her legs.
De Silva hands me a water skin like the ones you see in old cowboy movies.
Without drinking I pass it to Alice.
Her hand trembles as she lifts it and sips, slowly at first, then deeper. When she’s drank enough, she hands it back and gives me a tight smile. “He was there. My dad. I mean, I know it’s stupid, but I just wanted to give him these.” Her hand strokes the flowers in her lap.
“It’s not stupid to want someone back,” I tell her. But I feel stupid for hearing Josh. My problems look pretty small compared to hers, like I’ve been looking the wrong way down a telescope at things.
De Silva sits opposite us, his foil across his lap. “Try and relax. The spell will take a little while to drain from you. The magic of the trees is older and deeper than most.”
A shudder heads down my spine. “Spell?” I shoot a glance at the tree and the dead woman hugging it. “What the heck is that thing?”
De Silva looks over his shoulder before answering. “That is a Kao tree. It offers you your heart’s desire, then holds you to it forever. Literally, forever.”
A sob shakes Alice’s chest and she leans against me. “It all sounded so nice. I really wanted...It’s all I want.”
I nudge her gently with my elbow. “Hey. Like I said. I think you’re the bravest person I know.”
She looks down and sniffs loudly.
“You had a lucky escape,” De Silva says, leaning forwards. “The tree calls you in with its leaves. The bark traps you like a fly in a spider’s web. And there you stay, gradually rotting, dissolving into the trunk. It can nip you with its leaves, but it rarely does. Its bark is much worse than its bite.”
“Like a dog?” I ask.
De Silva arches an eyebrow. “You think that saying is about dogs?”
The skin on the back of my neck tingles.
De Silva stares at me. “It is lucky you were able to resist, Sir Atkins.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Exactly! And that takes strength. The spirit will always focus on the greater emotion. It is strong. It has been around a long time and tasted many emotions. Grief is...delicious to it.” He stands quickly and taps a finger to his lips. “We must away from here, tout de suite. This is not a place to be come nightfall. I will take you to the town of Angelmere, the magic capital. From there I can return you home.”
“We can get back,” I whisper to Alice.
She smiles tightly and touches my arm. “I’m so worried Mum’s freaking out right now. Ringing round. She’ll be banging on your door.” She shakes her head. “I said I was going out for a couple of hours, not a couple of days.”
I never even wondered if my parents were worried. Guilt fills me up. I’d only ever wanted to get away from the new house, with no thought as to who – or what – was really inside. Suddenly I’m sick with worry. “Yeah. If we don’t get back soon then my parents will go wild. Like call the cops or something.”
De Silva’s eyebrows knit together before a smile creases his face. “Ah! Fear not. Your parents will not have missed you at all.”
“But how?”
He waves a hand in the air. “Time here is...different. Honestly, I can’t tell you how it works, but what I can tell you is that one day here amounts to about five minutes back home.”
“Really?” Alice asks.
He nods. “Yes. Really.”
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She breathes out heavily and seems to deflate before her head snaps up. “So that means we’ve got time to explore.”
De Silva stares hard at us.
“Can we at least see a little of Angelmere, Sir?” I ask, butterflies fluttering in my stomach at the thought of visiting the magic capital. “Sounds like a cool place.”
A smile cracks his features. “I remember once being as you two are now.” The smile twists a little and he rubs his chin then nods. “Angelmere market runs today and tomorrow. You may look at a few stalls, maybe even buy yourself a small memento. Here.”
He hands me and Alice two gold and one silver coin each. The gold coin is exactly like the ones we found in the chest under the tomb. The kings head on one side, the dragon on the other. Excitement explodes like a firework in my chest.
It’s all real.
This strange and magical world exists, and I never knew about it until now. If we hadn’t moved house, if I hadn’t met Alice or gone to Bledgley Fencing Club then I’d never have discovered it.
“Where exactly is here?” I ask.
De Silva chews his lip before answering. “These are the Whispering Woods.” He raises his hands, taking in the wider world. “Here is what will become England. The year is 662AD.”
I flip the coin in my hand. “And magic is real? Like Fairies and Dragons?”
De Silva nods. “I know it seems strange, weird, unusual even. But it’s true. Unicorns roam the forests; trolls guard bridges and dragons sleep in lairs full of treasure. Don’t call them Fairies though. That is a name from children’s stories, and this is certainly no child’s tale. They are the Fae. A wise, proud, and often cruel folk.”
Alice’s eyes are wide. “You’ve met them, Sir?”
He coughs and looks away before answering. “I have had dealings with them, yes.” He looks over his shoulder. “We must not tarry here.”
My heart drums against my ribs.
“Can we hear a story of the Fae, Sir?” Alice asks.
A shadow crosses behind De Silva’s eyes before he replies. “An excellent idea. But let’s walk and talk.”
Me and Alice grab our foils, stand and ready ourselves.
De Silva places a hand on Alice’s shoulder. “Are you rested enough, Sir Werdun?”
She nods. “I think so, Sir.” She stares at the Kao tree for a moment before shaking her head slowly. “I proper saw an ideal version of Dad. You know. The one that told me all the cool stuff, not the grumpy one, or the silent brooding one.”
“We tell ourselves stories to make the world a better place,” De Silva answers. “And some things we think true are oft just stories repeated so many times, we made them true. At least in our hearts.” He points away through the trees. “Come. Our way lies yonder.”
As we follow De Silva into the woods, I think about what he just said. My brain’s all jumbled up. Thoughts of Josh push against thoughts of Alice. Like two magnets with the same poles facing each other, they won’t connect no matter how hard I try.
Maybe they don’t need to…Maybe I should just stop pushing.
The branches of the trees become thicker and denser. They block out the light and the world shrinks, darkening at the edges.
My stomach twists and squirms.
We reach a fork in the path.
De Silva points down the left one. “Angelmere lies an hours walk yonder.” He touches a hand to his foil. “Be on your guard. You have seen a little of what The Whispering Woods hold already. Do not anger the trees. Do you feel them watching you?”
In the half-light it’s easy to imagine figures old, wise, and unforgiving staring down at us.
De Silva nods like we’ve spoken. “Do not fear them. If treated with respect, they will return the favour.” The leaves rustle gently; a murmur of approval passing through a crowd. De Silva smiles. “I have a story that will please both you and the trees. A tale of Lodinitus, First King of the Fae.”
Alice pumps the air with her fist and grins at me.
I smile back, glad to see her happy again.
De Silva saunters down the path towards Angelmere. “This is the story of how the mighty river Angel was split, just like the path on which we now walk. And how, on the island between those two channels, the magic capital of Angelmere came to be born. Listen...”
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In the early days of the world, Lodinitus, first king of the Fae entered the mortal world and climbed to the top of the highest mountain in the land: Sca Fell Pike. At the peak he took a sack from his pocket and leapt off, gathering the winds of England inside it as he fell. He landed at a place we now call Windermere (or where the winds were stolen). Lodinitus, pleased with himself, laughed out loud and set off to take the winds back with him into Fae.
The great hawk god, Kull, felt the wind disappear from beneath her wings and flew down to investigate. Seeing Lodinitus, she gave chase, for she had created the wind and had no intention of letting the Fae steal her work. The chase lasted one day and one night, Kull following the Fae King into the middle of England. Unable to glide on the wind, her wings ached from the effort.
Lodinitus reached the banks of the Angel tired and desperate. Here, the trees linked arms against him, blocking his path, for they too relished the feeling of the wind in their branches. He was trapped; the screams of Kull behind him.
All seemed lost.
But then Lodinitus took his sword, named Minas, and straddled the water. He drove it deep into the river, splitting it in two. But water is not easily controlled, for it flows with a magic of its own. And even the power of The Fae King could only part the Angel for a few miles, forming an island guarded by a natural moat.
Lodinitus dropped the sack, releasing the winds back into the world, then took the form of a salmon and dived into the water. Kull felt the winds return but still her anger raged.
She vowed to kill the Fae.
When Kull reached the river, she searched desperately for him. But if she watched the left fork then cunning Lodinitus swam upstream on the right. When Kull moved to the right fork Lodinitus let himself be carried down the left until the great hawk, tired and believing him lost to the water, flew home. Now Lodinitus swam upstream once more, leaped into the air, and changed back to his original form. On the newly made island he laid the groundwork for the town of Angelmere, then created a gate into Fae and left the human world behind forever.
From this we get the tale of why salmon swim upstream at one particular time of year.