Escape Vo'Arum Read online

  Mila hopped on the spot, hands waving as the images bombarded her mind but she couldn’t quite get the words to follow.

  ‘Oooo! Papa, he-a DRAGON- RED! Stopped it. Enormous! Just stopped!’

  Nanny placed her hands on Mila’s shoulders in an attempt to calm her. ‘Breathe little one. Tell us from the beginning, what happened?’

  Mila sat at the table and watched all the faces that smiled at her, waiting for her story. She took a deep breath. ‘We waited in their lodge.’

  ***

  Nanny and Mila sat at the head of the table while everyone in the room took their turn to tell Mila the various things those of the Manor Lodge did for the village. For the village and all of Vo’Arum. But before most had their turn to speak a ringing of horns caught everyone’s attention.

  Nanny grabbed Mila’s hand, urging her to the nearest window as all the others crowded around. One of the larger boys who’d helped with the washing lifted her up.

  ‘Put your feet on the sill,’ he’d instructed. ‘Then lean back. I’ll keep you up.’

  The buzzing excitement in the room made the hairs on Mila’s arm stand stiff as she looked out the window then to the others, trying to see what they saw.

  ‘Just wait,’ the boy holding her said. ‘You’ll see it soon.’

  ‘Papa!’ Mila cried, leaning to the window. ‘What’s he doing?’

  ‘That’s your papa?’ the boy asked in a surprised voice. ‘Wow, you’re going to love this.’

  Before Mila could think to ask what he meant, a heavy sound punctured the air, like an enormous bird flew above. The sky seemed to darken.

  Mila watched her papa as he walked out between the houses, looking up to the sky.

  She followed his gaze and stiffened, sucking in a gasp.

  ‘Shhh,’ the boy holding her whispered. ‘Don’t worry, he knows what he’s doing.’

  Barely breathing, eyes so wide they watered, Mila watched as the most enormous dark red dragon dropped from the sky, looking as if it landed over Papa!

  It had twisted horns growing out the sides of its head. It snarled at something, revealing nasty black teeth.

  A sound, a humming chime, rang through Mila’s mind. Before their eyes the dragon lifted into the air. The beast seemed astonished, twisting and flapping its massive wings, making the air ring loud with a CRACK as it tried to gain control.

  Beneath the dragon, hands relaxed at his sides and his eyes closed, Papa made the beast float higher and higher.

  Like when he makes my toys fly, Mila thought in fascination, Papa’s ringing hum wasn’t hard on her inner ears like some peoples gifts.

  The room of people clustered at the window watched the beast float higher and higher.

  With a final indignant roar of fury, the dragon gave up trying to get back on land. It launched itself from the platform of energy Papa created, unfurled wings pumping hard before a different chime rang out.

  Right before their eyes, the dragon vanished!

  Everyone in the room broke into applause. Mila scrambled to get down, ready to race out there but the boy wouldn’t let her.

  ‘You can’t leave yet, not until he gives us the all clear.’

  ***

  ‘So I didn’t even get to give you a kiss!’ Mila wailed the last bit out, the moment clear in her mind all of a sudden.

  ‘Oh now.’ Papa stood from his seat and came around behind Mila’s seat, reaching over to hug her. ‘Were you proud of your papa?’

  Mila hugged his arms and stretched up to kiss his bristly cheek. ‘Yes Papa.’

  ‘It’s always lovely to see it from a child’s point of view,’ one of her aunties commented. ‘Makes you appreciate your role again.’

  ‘There is something special about their experiences, isn’t there,’ Mama agreed with a smile.

  With all the words out of her mind, Mila set to eating, getting sleepier and sleepier. She ate as much as possible before laying her head on the long table, staring from the different angle as everyone ate.

  Mama looks so pretty, she thought absently, watching her mama chat and laugh. I wonder when I’ll be able to wear pretty earrings like that.

  ‘Oh!’

  Nanny’s cry made Mila jerk awake, unaware till then she’d been sleeping. When Mila lifted her head to see what had caught Nanny’s attention, she found everyone chuckling at her.

  ‘Come miss sleepy head,’ Nanny said it in a smiling voice. ‘Let’s get you to bed.’

  The doors to the Great Hall opened as Mila and Nanny were saying their goodbyes. Mila didn’t turn to look, too busy hugging another Uncle, but she heard Nanny’s gasp.

  This gasp sounded bad.

  Mila pulled back from her Uncle’s arms and noticed he too seemed distracted, she turned.

  A villager stood amongst a group of adults, speaking quietly. The adults all looked sick, some cried.

  ‘Nanny,’ Mila whispered, and reached for her hand. ‘What’s wrong?’

  Nanny said nothing, only held Mila’s hand tight.

  The villager looked their way and with a visible sigh, walked to their table.

  ‘I am so sorry to bring you such news. Jeran Mestarn was found dead beneath a rock slide this morning. We think it caught him during the night.’

  It took a minute before Mila realized he meant Uncle Jeran.

  The lovely calm feeling froze in her mind. She didn’t know how she should react.

  Turning, Mila found her parents staring at the man with shocked expressions. Moments later their gazes slid in unison to her face.

  Mila burst into tears.

  Nanny carried her back to their quarters, shushing her tears. Mama and Papa didn’t come straight away.

  ‘Poor Mama,’ Mila sobbed into Nanny’s shoulder.

  Mama had turned so white, her beautiful blue eyes overlarge in her face in the moment.

  ‘Shush now lovey,’ Nanny said the words in a strange voice, like she spoke in a dream.

  She didn’t answer Mila’s questions, just telling her to shush. Back in their quarters she helped her into her night clothes and put her to bed, without a story or even a real goodbye.

  Mila lay in bed listening, ears straining. She couldn’t make out any sounds but those of Nanny making her way around their quarters. It sounded like Nanny couldn’t stay still.

  Mila knew her parents would be home soon. With that in mind she stared at the ceiling, trying to stop her eyes from closing.

  If Uncle Jeran died in a landslide it meant what she saw in the tunnel must have been a dream.

  Some of the horrible feelings eased, stopping the pressure on the back of her mind. It meant Uncle Vidna wasn’t a terrible person.

  It meant she had been punished for telling tales, and that was fair.

  All these thoughts occurred to her as she stared at the ceiling, her space of vision growing smaller and smaller, body growing heavy, mind satisfied.

  ‘Mila, darling, wake up.’ A gentle hand shook her shoulder, pulling Mila out of her dreams.

  ‘Mama!’ She sat up, hugging her around the waist.

  ‘Mila,’ Mama said it in a funny voice, rather like Nanny’s strange voice when she put her to bed.

  Mila released her hold, sitting up to meet Mama’s eyes. She’d been crying, her eyes red and the tip of her nose.

  Mila felt her own eyes fill with tears, upset to see her crying.

  ‘No, Mila. Don’t cry, I need to ask you some things about that dream you had about Uncle Jeran.’ The gruff sad voice made Mila’s throat swell in sympathy but she nodded, wanting to help stop her crying.

  ‘When you dreamt Uncle Jeran was dead, what did he look like?’

  ‘Alive,’ Mila said before shaking her head. ‘No, asleep. But his eyes were open.’

  ‘Did he look like-’

  The bedroom door pushed open, Papa stood there, watching the two of them. Mama gave a tiny gesture with her head in a manner Mila wasn’t sure of.

  ‘Did he look like Great Uncle Ilder
looked? Pale and gray?’

  Mila sat straight at that, shaking her head. ‘No! No he didn’t. He looked..’ she paused not sure how to describe it. ‘He looked normal..’

  ‘Did you hear any sounds like rocks, Mila?’ Papa stepped forward. Mama made a swipe at him.

  ‘Don’t confuse her!’

  ‘I heard,’ Mila began, both parents broke from glaring at each other to look at her. ‘I heard.’ Mila shivered, shaking her head as the sound filled her mind. ‘Nasty! Nasty sharp screaming!’

  ‘Okay, it’s okay, darling.’ Mama snatched her hands when Mila tried to press them to her ears. ‘It’s just a memory, a dream. It’s not actually happening.’

  Papa stared at Mila, eyes not telling her anything then met Mama’s eyes. The silence grew till Mama gave a tiny shrug, murmuring. ‘Must be a foreshadow.’

  Mila listened hard, wanting to understand. She thought they talked about her, but she wasn’t sure.

  ‘Come now,’ Mama’s lips stretched in a thin smile. ‘Let’s get you ready, we’re having dinner in the Great Hall.’

  Mila entered the Great Hall with her parents, holding Papa’s hand and Nanny’s skipping in excitement. They rarely ate in the Great Hall but when they did she often got to sit with Addy.

  Sure enough, her white eyed friend gave a squeal of excitement when she spotted Mila.

  ‘Mila! Come sit with us! They can can’t they?’ Addy asked her papa it in the same breath.

  Uncle Vidna smiled, spreading his hands in an open gesture. ‘The Mestarns of Ruhna are very welcome at our table.’

  Mila grinned widely at her Uncle, a tiny tiny piece of fear still in her gut, but she knew now it had been a dream. Uncle Jeran died in a landslide.

  ‘Ruhna – R-u-h-n-a, it’s our special name!’

  Uncle Vidna laughed and patted the empty seat next to Addy. ‘Clever girl, Mila. It is your special name. What is ours, Addy?’

  Addy twisted on her seat, chest puffed up. ‘Veynua. It’s from the god of victory!’

  Mama smiled and Papa nodded in approval as they took their seats at the long table crowded with DeNagas.

  ‘Very good, Addy,’ Mama praised. ‘Are you enjoying your daily lessons?’

  ‘Yes!’

  The adults left the two girls to chat, conversing in low voices about the awful incident. Mila and Addy quieted to listen, the adults so absorbed in the discussion they didn’t notice the girls’ interest.

  ‘He wasn’t meant to be back till next week,’ Mama’s voice broke, Papa reached to squeeze her hand. ‘That rock face had been stable for decades. It’s just..’

  ‘Unfair,’ Uncle Vidna spoke. ‘And one of our nephews had mentioned noticing rock fall there after the last storm. It’s a surprise, but these things do happen.’

  ‘It seems many unfortunate things happen,’ Papa spoke in an odd voice, without any rise or fall. ‘If you are a Mestarn that is.’

  A short silence extended, Uncle Vidna gazing at Papa with his cold blue eyes before he shrugged. ‘Such things can happen to anyone. But it’s true, the Mestarns have had a bad run of it of late. Poor Jeran. Morgahn. Ilder.’

  ‘Halyne and Sasorie ,’ added Uncle Vidna’s wife.

  Another silence extended, enough that more people at the table looked uncomfortable. Addy and Mila looked at each other then to their parents.

  Papa stood. ‘I’m sorry, this is just too soon for us. Thank you for inviting us to your table.’

  Nanny stood and tapped Mila’s arm. ‘Come on lovey.’

  All the conversations in the room stilled. Mila waved goodbye to Addy but couldn’t manage a smile against the opposing sense of energy.

  In the corridor Mama and Papa stared at each other a moment before walking ahead, glancing back to check on Mila while continuing a whispered conversation.

  Chapter Eight

  Mila sat on the floor of her room, toys gathered around as if she played. But the toys lay ignored as Mila tilted her head, ear to the door. The murmur of voices wasn’t loud enough. Mila closed her eyes and relaxed, imaging she heard them in her head.

  The door opened, Mila glanced up to see Nanny smiling at her.

  ‘Well! What are we doing here, lovey? Oh, is it a traveling troupe?’

  The firm way Nanny spoke and her brief check down the corridor made Mila even more certain something wasn’t right.

  ‘Come now, play along. I’ll be Ms Geckna, pulling the giant wagon with all her friends in it. Now, where are we going?’

  ‘Oo…’ Mila shook her head, mind clearing. ‘The village? A show for the village?’

  ‘Very good idea! They’ll love it. Let’s set it up.’

  Nanny wouldn’t stop using the high firm voice, making it difficult for Mila to hear their voices in her mind.

  ‘Not interested? Let’s read a story then,’ Nanny smiled with a closed mouth, offering her hands to Mila.

  They climbed onto Mila’s high bed, tucking pillows and covers around them.

  ‘Won’t I get in trouble?’ If dessert was banned for a month that meant stories were too.

  ‘No,’ Nanny fussed with the blankets. ‘Now, what story would you like?’

  Mila picked the thickest book she had. A wonderful story of a fire dragon that wanted to work in the mines, but everyone said he couldn’t. The journey to the mines took lots of wonderful twists and turns, a story that normally Mila would read along with Nanny.

  But not this time.

  This time she snuggled against the woman’s side but let her mind wander. Though she never really paused to think how she did it, she knew she could hear Mama and Papa’s voice if she just relaxed. The sensation made her head feel like the room started to spin. Nanny put an arm around her when Mila pressed tighter against her, support against the spinning.

  It can’t be. It must have been a rock slide. Papa’s voice sounded angry.

  I didn’t say it was! But Mila hasn’t ever shown an inclination toward premonition! Little Caenis does. You’ve seen it. Fits and starts, not re-imagined. Mila’s nightmare, if it was, doesn’t feel right for a premonition.

  Mila jolted.

  ‘Oh are you falling asleep, lovey?’

  ‘No!’ Mila shook her head. ‘No, I’m awake.’

  Nanny laughed. ‘Not long till the end. Then you can sleep.’

  Mila said nothing, just nodded as she let her mind drift again.

  It HAD been a nightmare.

  It can’t have been true. Otherwise she wouldn’t have been punished for it.

  In the pit of her stomach an unpleasant twisting began; it HAD been a nightmare.

  Hadn’t it?

  How could Vidna even do such a thing? Mama asked. Mila felt Papa’s shrug.

  I don’t know. But he’s always been the best at drawing out illness. It would be a simple step.

  No! Mama’s gasp scared Mila, making her twitch against Nanny who hugged her closer, turning the page while continuing the story.

  He wouldn’t, it’s not possible!

  Papa didn’t reply.

  Mila waited but neither of them spoke. She brought her mind back to the story, Nanny reading away with the occasional squeeze or shake to emphasize the different moments.

  The little fire dragon on the pages was a beautiful orange gold, not like any of the fire dragons Mila had met before. She wondered if any were that color in all of Vo’Arum?

  A tap on the door made Nanny and Mila pause. Mama opened the door, smiling at them.

  ‘Ahh your favorite, Mila.’ She walked to the bed, climbing beside them to read the book. Nanny didn’t continue the story, looking at Mama instead, her steel flecked eyebrow arched in the manner Mila always tried to mimic by holding one of hers in place.

  It seemed a terribly adult expression, one that would make the mean boys in the castle freeze in their tracks. Distracted by the thoughts, Mila reached for her own brow, stroking it while examining Nanny.

  Mama burst out into laughter, hugging Mila tight, the move so u
nexpected Mila’s breath caught.

  ‘Oh darling! You funny little thing.’

  Mila giggled, cheeks hot.

  ‘Now, I wanted to ask you about your nightmare, the one with Uncle Vidna?’

  The giggles vanished, stomach twisting further. Mila swallowed.

  ‘Why Mama? It wasn’t real, it wasn’t!’

  ‘Because you don’t normally have nightmares, Mila,’ Papa’s voice made the three of them turn. He stood at the doorway, smiling, eyes warm with affection.

  Mama made a gesture to Nanny who sifted off the bed, allowing Papa to sit on the other side of Mila who looked up at them both.

  ‘We don’t want you to have nasty dreams like that, darling. We thought we would see if we could stop those dreams.’ Mama smoothed Mila’s hair back from her forehead. ‘That would be nice, wouldn’t it?’

  Mila stared at Mama for a moment while thinking about it. ‘Yes! Yes, please!’

  Mama and Papa smiled, and each took one of Mila’s hands.

  ‘Relax your mind, little Lea,’ Papa said as his big hand closed around hers. ‘Show us the beginning of the nightmare.’

  At first she couldn’t, body stiffening at the thought of going back there. Mama and Papa encouraged her, reminding her to relax, that she was safe.

  Mila took a deep breath and let it out, her mind latching on to the view out of that tunnel.

  The tunnel in my nightmare, Mila thought. It is NOT real.

  Everything went blurry, shimmering and strange as Papa’s then Mama’s energy shifted through her mind. She heard things, the creak of the bedsprings and the soft whisper of sheets as Nanny got her bed ready, but her body was light and insubstantial.

  She sensed her parents communicating while they watched, but with her mind on the nightmare wasn’t able to hear their words.

  The images in her mind started to do something strange, shimmering more and more until the edges glowed white. Pressure grew in the back of her mind, a ringing in her ears grew louder.

  POP!

  Mila gasped a belly deep sucking pull, head ringing like a bucket had been stuck over her and struck.

  ‘Lea.’ Papa held her in his arms. ‘Lea, are you okay?’