She stopped and turned to him. “What are they going to do, arrest us? They’ll arrest us anyway as soon as we step into the city for running off in the first place.”
Connor sighed, deflating. He suddenly looked very tired. “Thanks for dragging me into this by the way, now my own country will be chasing me like I’m a criminal.”
Terry scoffed. “Now who doesn’t know what he’s talking about? They’re not going to know who killed those men in the cellar, there weren’t any witnesses! And I don’t think Micca or Rilario will be telling anyone about what happened anytime soon!” she exclaimed.
He jabbed a finger at her. “We still ran away without telling anyone! I could go to prison for that!”
“You worry too much. You’ve got my father’s protection remember?”
He frowned. “That doesn’t make me feel any better.”
“Well tough, it’s all you’re getting...it’s not like I can offer you anything better anyway.” She noticed Darius trailing behind them. “Are you okay?” she asked.
Darius looked away. “Yeah, I’m fine, thanks...”
She looked at Connor, who shrugged.
“He must think I’m going to eat him.” She whispered as they carried on.
“I think he’s more likely still shaken after what happened yesterday.”
Terry glanced back at the shell-shocked man for a moment but looked ahead again when she spoke. “Why is he still following us anyway? None of this has anything to do with him anymore.”
Connor shrugged. “I don’t know. But he’s not causing any harm, is he?”
He had her there. “No not really.” She agreed, staring off into the distant horizon. “He’s actually ok, even if he is a bit spineless.”
Connor smiled, digging his hands into his pockets. The morning sun may have been above the horizon now but it was still chilly. “Never let anyone off lightly do you?”
Terry regarded him suspiciously for a moment then smiled. “Of course not.”
They walked on in silence for a few minutes. “There’s no way we’re going to get back to Marrich on foot.”
“I would carry you two but I’m too exhausted. I think that’s why I changed back during the night, to save energy.” She shrugged. “I don’t know it’s never happened before.”
Connor stared at her thoughtfully. “That is weird.”
It was her turn to shrug. “Hopefully we won’t need to walk that far anyway. Our two days are up. Dad and Lyle should be coming for us now.”
“I don’t know if I’m looking forward to it or not. On one hand I’d appreciate the lift but on the other I don’t want to see your dad if he’s pissed off again.”
******
The Prime Minister ran into Fallo’s quarters, a small unit of guards hurrying in behind him. One of the captain’s, who was already there, turned to him, his expression grim. The reason why he had been summoned did not need to be explained - the twenty foot wide hole in the floor said everything.
******
Darius crawled his way to Connor and Terry. The three of them had taken refuge under a bramble bush, which lay beneath the shade of a tall tree; moments before they had been running for their lives. Three giant, winged beasts circled overhead; their calls piercing the sky.
The Manbur were large birds that lived in the wilds of the Southlands. Although rare and easily frightened by large groups of people, they did not fear lone travellers or small groups, especially when they numbered two or more. The Manbur were as beautiful as they were deadly. They looked reminiscent of the golden eagles that resided in northern Scotland - only far larger in size and with a white chest and indigo beaks. An adult’s wingspan reached thirty feet and the birds weighed more than three hundred pounds. They had been notorious for the deaths of countless travellers over the ages.
While a primeval Alchemist could easily fight one or two off in close quarters, the Manbur could easily pick one off if there was a flock of them. They had been known to surround Alchemists, some acting as distraction, while two of three would sneak behind and carry them off to great heights before letting go. Gravity did the rest.
Terry was certain that had it been a better day she could have fought off all three of the Manbur circling above due to the superior strength and size she possessed over her brethren. But this was not one of those better days. She was tired and she was hungry. And in the time it would have taken her to transform she would have broken cover and the blood-thirsty birds would have attacked; possibly inflicting fatal wounds.
“Shit!” swore Darius, as he reached Connor’s side, his heart pounding. “They’re everywhere!”
“You okay?” asked Terry.
“No...” He fidgeted, pulling his sleeve free from the snaring grasp of the brambles, only to have it catch on another knot of barbs.
Terry rolled her eyes.
Connor peered skyward through a gap in the brambles. One Manbur circled above the tree, out of sight, though its shadow still pressed through the green leaves. “They’ll lose interest eventually.”
“Or they’ll come back with their friends.” Darius muttered. The thought terrified him.
Connor shook his head, as best he could in the sharp embrace of the brambles. “Nah, Manburs only usually travel in pairs or groups of three.”
“How do you know?”
“I saw it on a documentary once.”
Darius clucked, incredulous. “What? That doesn’t mean you’re right!”
Terry knew they travelled in far larger numbers sometimes but decided it best to keep the knowledge to herself. “Have you ever tried Manbur?” She asked, before anyone had the chance to inquire her thoughts on numbers.
Darius stared at her blankly. “No. Have you?”
“Terry’s eaten most things, just ignore her, she’s trying to wind you up.”
But Darius’s curiosity was piqued. “What does it taste like?”
“Chicken.”
Darius looked up as another winged shadow sped overhead. “Can’t you kill them?”
She shook her head as she peered through the brambles. “They would attack me while I changed.”
Connor shuffled about, the thorns stabbing into every inch of his body. “It’s funny, your next meal is right there but it’s trying to eat us.”
She furrowed her brow. “That’s not funny.”
He shrugged. “It’s true.”
Terry sighed. She gazed up at the shaft of blue sky which was barely visible between the tall grass and the leaves.
“Well...” Connor mused loudly, “While we are here we may as well discuss how we are going to deal with Edward.”
“We talked about that earlier.” Terry reminded him, squinting through the gaps in the brambles.
“Yeah but we still don’t know where he has been hiding all these years.”
“You can guess as much as you want, it won’t give you an answer.”
Darius shifted about where he lay. “Forgive me for asking, but I wasn’t there. How did you kill him all those years ago? I mean, how did you get rid of him...sort of...”
Connor and Terry looked at one another, unsure of who should tell the story. Eventually it was Connor who decided to take the plunge once Terry looked away. “There is only two ways you can stop a Phantom.” He shuffled about on his front, trying to get comfy. “One way is to trap them in the body they are possessing. The only problem with that is when the body dies they escape. The other way is to destabilise them with an electro-magnetic pulse.”
“Why?”
“Because our heads work by sending electrical signals around the brain and after people die their minds continue to create a residue of electro-magnetic signals for a while. Sometimes those escape the person’s dying mind and take a bit of their personality with them. When someone says that they’ve seen a ghost, that’s what they’re really seeing. I think Phantoms are the same.”
Darius looked perplexed. “Are you saying that Phantoms are ghosts of other people?
”
He shook his head. “I don’t know, it’s only a theory. No-one knows exactly how they evolved but that’s not my point. They aren’t like ghosts. Ghosts are just shadows of someone who has passed away. They follow the same routine and haunt the same places.” He shuffled about on his arms. “Phantoms are as real as you are, they are conscious, they had a culture and a society before they all disappeared. I meant that they’re like ghosts in the sense that they exist as an electro-magnetic force.”
The water elemental looked even more confused than before. “Right, I think I understand...but why can’t you just kill him the way you did the last time?”
It was Terry who answered. “Because we don’t know where he is at the moment.”
An ear-piercing squawk snatched their attention back to the giant predators that circled the sky.
“What are they doing?” Darius asked, unable to see.
“I don’t know.” Connor whispered, straining to see and hear.
One of the other birds squawked in response, its cry ringing across the grassy plains.
The three of them continued to stare upward, despite the brambles obscuring their view.
“There is something that I still don’t understand.” Connor whispered.
Terry cast him a sideways glance. “What?”
“Why hasn’t he just attacked us? He’s never hidden from us before.”
“I don’t know. In fact there are still lots of things we don’t know.” Terry admitted, more to herself than him. It frustrated her to think about it. “You know what? A few weeks ago I was thinking how boring life was these days.” She picked at the dry grass with her gauntleted hand. “You know, living in Edinburgh is fine, but having a job and paying electricity bills are not the way I thought I would live my life.”
Connor shrugged. “What’s your point?”
“Nothing, but I just...kind of missed the old days a bit.” Her lip curled up. “I know, it’s stupid, we nearly got killed how many times?”
This bought a smile to Connor’s face. “No, but I know what you mean. I miss the adventure as well.” He laughed. “But not all the parts where we nearly died.”
“My point is it’s strange that I was thinking about it a few weeks ago and now Edward reappears”
Connor smirked. “Sods law isn’t it?”
He flinched as a Manbur plopped to the ground with a heavy thud. It seemed to have appeared from nowhere. The giant bird stood amongst the tall grass a short distance beyond the other side of the tree, twitching its head in various directions. It knew they were there but it was just not quite sure where.
“Shit.” Connor swore, backing further under the bramble, enduring more jabs from the barbs.
The bird, still twitching its head in search for its missing quarry chirped, then began to move their way.
“It can’t reach us, can it? I was told they hated brambles, right?” Darius asked his tone brittle with fear. “Right?”
“Shh.” Terry hushed him. She quietly raised her arm, the unsheathing of metal the only sound to be heard in the desolate landscape. The curious Manbur continued to stroll toward them, its head swivelling this way and that in search of its elusive prey. There was a low whoosh and the bird fell to the ground with a heavy thump, a silver blade protruding from between its eyes; grass crunching beneath its weight.
Terry lowered her arm.
“Nice shot.” Darius whispered. The only things he could hear was the blood rushing through his ears and the pounding in his chest.
“And now the other two will notice something’s wrong and come over here looking for that one.” replied Connor, dreading Terry’s actions.
As if they heard him, the two remaining birds began squawking relentlessly
Now Darius was truly terrified. “They’re going to rip this bush apart aren’t they?” He shuffled back but the brambles held him.
“No they’re not, I have an idea.” Connor whispered. Before anyone could ask what it was, he began throwing fireballs at the overhanging foliage. Within a couple of minutes the tree was ablaze.
The two remaining Manburs seemed to grow even more frenzied as the flames climbed skyward; but after several minutes of panicky squawking and circling the birds fled. They took off on mighty wings to the east.
Darius cautiously emerged from the undergrowth, the thorns tugging as his clothes, desperate to keep him. “I can’t believe that worked.”
“I didn’t think it would.” Connor admitted, brushing bits of grass from his trousers.
“Why did you do it then?”
A smug smirk crept across his face. “I saw it on a documentary once. Apparently most animals are scared of fire.”
“Well done.” Terry said, watching the birds as they became nothing more than black specks on the horizon.
Connor looked around. “It’s nothing but flat grassland in every direction. We might not be so lucky next time.”
“Let me have something to eat and I’ll carry you.”
Connor’s eyes betrayed his doubt before he even gave them words. “You can’t walk four hundred miles.”
“You can walk any distance given enough time.” was her reply, as she headed over to where the dead bird lay.
******
By mid-afternoon the grasslands had given way to the Gyris – a mountain range that slithered almost horizontally across two thirds of the country. Once upon a time the mountains had acted like a natural barrier, cutting off passage to the warmer north. This restriction had led to the formation of two countries, both oblivious to the other for at least a century until travellers from the north finally ventured through.
While journeying on foot was treacherous at the best of times and cost nothing less than several days to complete, even for the most adept explorer, Terry traversed the great rocky mountain range with ease. She nimbly clambered up the featureless bare rock, her many large toes and claws helping pick her way up and over, what others would consider, impassable routes. She always seemed to know which ledge to move one of her many feet to next.
Darius clung to the spike in front of him for dear life. The ascent Terry was making was near vertical, up a narrow, rocky climb just below the top of the mountain. Darius glanced back. His fear warned him not too but something pulled him. He was unable to resist, like a child told to stop staring. He wished he hadn’t – the sight of the valley floor far below made his stomach lurch. He got a terrible fright when Terry sneezed, her entire form rippling under ferocity. She grumbled, letting go of one of the ledges, which held her above a fatal drop – to casually scratch her nose with a hand. She coughed. Satisfied, she carried on upwards.
Reaching the summit, which was no wider than a narrow goat path, Terry levelled her head and chest, using her hands once again to her advantage - eight beat six any day. She picked her away along the narrow ridge until it dropped away into a sharp, faceless cliff. There she came to a halt.
“Why have we stopped?” Darius asked, peering around the spike he clung too.
Connor looked back from her shoulder plate, which clung too. “Terry’s trying to find a way down. You may have to get off and meet us down there.”
“What? How am I supposed to get down?”
Connor rolled his eyes in disbelief. “You can turn into water can’t you? You wouldn’t feel the impact and you certainly wouldn’t die like if you tried jumping down just now.”
“It still hurts. Do you have any idea what it feels like to be separated into a million water droplets and then having to reassemble yourself?”
Connor smirked, his hair fluttering in the wind. “So you have done it before then?”
“Why can’t Terry carry us down?”
“Because if things don’t go to plan she might crush you.”
Darius’s eyes widened. “There has got to be another way down. I don’t like throwing myself over an edge, I’m always afraid I won’t change in time.”
“I’m going to have to do it as well.”
/> Terry growled. Connor nodded.
“What’s she saying?”
“She said if you don’t jump she’ll throw you.”
Darius remembered Micca. “Just...help me to the edge.” He muttered, shaking violently as he stood on the uneven surface of Terry’s back, fearing to let go of the spike. Connor carefully made his way down to the frightened youngster. He offered an arm, which Darius gratefully took hold of. Connor then led the nervous man back to Terry’s shoulder, letting him stand closest to the edge when they got there. Leaning against the curve of the plate, he peered out over the sudden drop which Terry perched on.