Alive (The Veiled World Book 1) Read online

  I glanced at Bruce, who held his glass of crimson wine high, his cheeks flushed from too much of it, a smile on his face and a tear running down his cheek.

  I closed my eyes and returned to the vision of walking Sam through the gate of our property, the hot easterly wind blowing the smell of sheep and wheat along with the dust. I pictured the two of us running down the track towards our house then stepping on the little red brick pathway through Mum’s pretty herb garden and walking right into the house. We’d smell something fresh Mum had baked and she’d catch sight of us in the kitchen doorway and drop the cake tin she was holding, and Dad would drop his mug, sending black coffee and smashed china all over the linoleum. But they’d smile and laugh, and cry happy tears. They wouldn’t care about the mess because Sam would be home and we’d be together again as a family, and Sam’s death, and the fact that I’d survived and he hadn’t, would be like some distant nightmare, a bad dream that faded with time. And life would be good again.

  “And so, though you do not know what you shall encounter out there on your journey to the Land of Resting Souls, know this. I will, we all will, be praying to the great Goddess that you will each return victorious, that we will all be here, together again, with our loved ones by our sides.”

  Everyone took that moment to open their eyes and stand, clinking glasses and raising them to the veiled Earth mural above us.

  “To the return of our loved ones!” the king shouted.

  “To the return of our loved ones!” Bruce bellowed, followed by all of us.

  I stared out over our raised glasses and saw the sparkle of hope in everyone’s eyes. The king’s speech had helped to boost everyone’s morale. Axel’s empty seat caught my attention and my hope was dampened a fraction. I wished he could have heard it too. It was just what he needed.

  Claire caught my eye and raised her glass at me, this time, without Reece’s eyes on her, her smirk was gone. I raised my glass in return.

  “To the return of our loved ones, all our loved ones,” she said, holding my gaze with tear-filled eyes. I nodded and we both took a sip. The wine was hard to swallow. I truly did wish her well. But I wasn’t about to put my heart on the table and let her stomp all over it as she had done in the past six months.

  Setting down my wine glass, my head felt light. I’d only taken a couple of sips and the warmth of the alcohol had already spread though my veins. Axel was right. It was far too strong. I needed a clear head for the Veiled World.

  “Now,” said the king, slapping his hands together. “Let’s get you all fitted with armour and helmets.”

  Chapter 16

  Axel

  Outside, by the weapons keep, all nine of us plus the blacksmith and the king gathered.

  Eight sets of helmets and mail that hung on the walls were mirror copies of the original, earliest documented, helmets. The oldest documentation showed that they had been crafted as far back as the Dark Age.

  I mentally prepared myself for receiving the helmet with a large metal horn sticking out of the top of it. Ridiculous was the only word that could get close to describing how I was going to look wearing it. Then again, at least it wasn’t the hog helmet. That one was not only hideous, but it also had large metal tusks protruding from the front of the helmet, from the nose area. Ridiculous and dangerous. At least my horn was at the top of my head. I’d have to warn Amber not to stand too close to Reuben once he put on that helmet, so she didn’t get an eye poked out.

  When I looked over, I saw her eyes searching for her helmet. But it wasn’t hanging against the wall by thick, rusty hooks like the others. No. Hers was a special helmet. The helmet worn by the last successful challenger.

  It was well known that a splatter of blood still decorated one side of the helmet. The king refused to wash it off because he thought altering the helmet in any way would jeopardise the future luck that it might bring to the next dragon’s dodaem.

  The dragon’s helmet rested in the king’s large, sun spotted hands. The entire headpiece was shaped like the head of a dragon, with flames streaming back against its jaw to look like wings of fire on either side of the helmet. The dragon’s mail was also designed so that it appeared as though the wearer was completely protected by a shield of flaming silver.

  “For you, dragon girl,” said the king as he beckoned Amber forward to accept her armour.

  She kept surprisingly steady for someone wearing ten or so pounds on her head. Even when the king draped the mail over her arm, she didn’t falter. Merely accepted it, muttered a thank you, and stepped aside.

  She didn’t appear comical, as you would expect a teenage girl to look wearing a massive helmet of dragon’s flames and mail slung over her arm. She looked fierce and even fiercer still when the blacksmith handed her a sword and belt. He fixed it around her waist and she sheathed the blade as though she’d done this every day for most of her life. Those pangs of jealousy I’d felt earlier returned and I hated myself for it.

  The king repeated the procedure with each of us. I didn’t wear mine for long, as the horn kept scraping the ceiling. The hoots of laughter that followed me were short-lived as the king presented everybody with their own extremely heavy and ridiculous-looking helmets.

  Lastly, Claire approached the king.

  The king carefully slipped the helmet, with its lion head piece and the slightly smaller and decorative goat’s head protruding out the side of it, over her head and I winced, knowing her thin, delicate neck was not going to be able to carry its weight, which was almost double the weight of our helmets because of the two heads.

  Almost immediately Claire’s head leaned to one side, the solid goat’s head weighing her down. She wobbled on her feet, stumbled across the room, then back again into Reece’s arms. For once he wasn’t laughing or smirking.

  “She can’t wear this,” he said, concern and then fury darkening his features.

  “It’s too heavy,” she screamed, her voice muffled by the helmet. “Take it off! Quick!”

  Reece carefully lifted it off and whispered something in her ear and she nodded before taking it in her hands and thanking the king, her cheeks flushed.

  The king nodded.

  “Return to your rooms, put on the mail, and meet at the front of the castle. Each of you will have a bag packed with food, bedding, clothing, and drink. You won’t need to take personal possessions with you, as you will all return,” he added with a smile, “to collect it and take it home with you.”

  Nobody said a word or cracked a smile. This was really happening. I was going to leave the relative safety of the castle for the Land of Resting Souls. I couldn’t believe that I was finally doing it.

  After entering the castle, I came away from the others and headed downstairs to my room in the servants’ quarters to put on my mail. It was heavy and weighed me down considerably. I raised my arms and tried to twist and turn. This thing would be more of a hindrance, surely. Amber immediately sprung to mind. She hadn’t complained one bit and here I was whinging like Prince Ollie. I shuddered with disgust.

  The blacksmith had handed me a small dagger to sheath underneath it. Its hilt was a unicorn’s horn, twisting down until it touched the base of the blade. The provided black tights were hardly going to keep me warm if it got cold, but I presumed there would be jackets or warmer pants packed in the bags that they were providing us with. My mother warned me that it was forbidden for challengers to take any personal items so as not to be discouraged from the journey with homesickness.

  I climbed the stairs two at a time, helmet beneath my arms, and spotted Noah dragging his alongside of him. I wondered if he’d make it to the castle gates let alone the entire journey before us.

  “You want me to carry that?” I motioned to his Minotaur helmet, though I knew it was heavy and would tire even me.

  “No. Thanks,” he said between puffs of breath, and an admiration for the short kid grew inside of me.

  A small crowd had gathered at the end of the garden where
the largest section of stone wall was separated by a wrought iron gate, similar to the one near where the aeroplane had landed. Roses of every colour bloomed here, their vines entwined around the gates, making it appear as though we were, in fact, about to enter a heavenly kingdom.

  “Just because there could be bad out there, doesn’t mean there is,” Kyle said suddenly, his eyes on the greenery beyond the gates. He turned to face us all. His face shiny with sweat, his eyes wide with fear and excitement. “We could get a good, easy journey. Everyone’s amazingly wonderful, safe heavens.”

  “I know my heaven is lots of babes,” said Reuben.

  Reece high-fived him. “And a football field and endless fountains of beer.”

  Everyone laughed, including the king.

  “So true.” He slapped me on the back. “These boys are right. You needn’t fear doom and gloom, it could quite be an easy journey. Just because others in the past were not so lucky does not mean you need to face the same dangers.”

  A bright spear of sunlight from the world beyond the gates caught against Amber’s face, illuminating the blue in her eyes. She smiled when she caught me staring and quickly turned away. Why on earth was my stomach fluttering like it was full of the tiny multicoloured butterflies that were at this minute hovering around the roses?

  The king seemed relieved to see me smiling.

  He turned to me and squeezed my shoulder before whispering, “I’ll see you again, my son. I believe it. Dream Master believes it.”

  I was about to protest but he shook his head.

  “I spoke to your mother. She was delirious with fever. Do not listen to what she says while feverish. She dreams of her heaven, but that is not the same as your heaven. Dream Master is never wrong.” The king turned and pointed to the small crowd. A cleanly shaven man, his grey hair brushed back into a neat ponytail, waved at me. I waved back.

  “You’ve let him out?”

  “I believe him now. And, more importantly, I believe in you.” A smile warmed the man’s features. “So go, get your brother, and my wife, and return to me victorious.”

  I nodded, my heart swelling with pride and hope, hope that I could somehow manage to bring his wife back as well as my brother. “I will. I promise I will.”

  Ollie’s shrill laugh, combined with Bella’s giggle, interrupted our heart to heart, ruining the moment. They’d been celebrating early.

  Ollie moved to my side while the king addressed Bruce and the others.

  “Say hello to your brother when you join him in hell, boy,” he said, his eyes narrow and his face red from too much wine.

  The king heard and shoved his son aside so that he stumbled into Anya’s arms. She took a step back, causing Ollie to tumble to the ground, landing on his bottom.

  “Do not listen to him, Axel.” It was the first time he’d used my name. Ever. My chest tightened. “Just return and prove him wrong, my son!”

  I nodded and when the guards opened the gates, I felt Dream Master, Hattie, and other women and even the guards kiss my cheeks and slap my back. When I finally wrenched my way out of the swarm, I turned and waved before being the first to step through the gates.

  My muscles clenched and I touched my dagger beneath my mail and relaxed slightly when I felt its smooth, spiral hilt. I relaxed even more when I ran my fingers over my grandfather’s knife, which was tucked in beside the dagger.

  Though I expected danger the instant I stepped into the Veiled World, nothing happened. A soft breeze caressed my cheek, but that was it.

  Vast green fields stretched out as far as the eye could see, some with sheep, and others with cows. As long as we were in this version of heaven, we wouldn’t go hungry.

  There were trees and a stream in the distance. Nothing else loomed, no mountains, nothing. We were far from Leirza, the one who guarded the dead.

  I turned and smiled at Amber, Jacob, and the others.

  “It’s seems harmless so far. An endless farm, as far as the eye can see. Plenty of food for the journey.”

  They all seemed to take one collective giant breath before they crossed the threshold. Amber the only one to touch her dagger while she did so. She had good instincts. I was thankful I wasn’t going to be the only one.

  I stared at Bruce, who was grinning from ear to ear, more like a child than a grown man, but when he caught my eye I saw the glint of hard determination there, the hunger to retrieve his wife was so strong I had to look away. Okay, so maybe not such a child after all.

  “Helmets on!” the king ordered.

  We all placed them on.

  Amber stared at me through her helmet and her blue eyes glowed like jewels beneath them. She looked good and strong, dressed in her mail and helmet. The other girl, Claire, stumbled around and wobbled like she had a stone for a head. I felt for her. But her boyfriend held her up and said, loud enough for us all to hear, “We’ll take it off as soon as were out of sight.”

  The king and the others waved.

  “You will return, all of you!”

  I nodded, taking one last look at the beautiful glass castle, at the roses climbing the walls, and at the faces I’d grown to love, even the hazy memories of my little brother and father. My only home.

  Goodbye, Mother.

  I shifted the weight of the backpack on my shoulders, trying not to think about my mother’s sickness. Trying not to wonder if she’d be here when I returned. If I returned.

  “Once we reach that cluster of trees in the distance, we’ll all take stock of our gear, keep what’s needed and bury everything else at the base of the trees. We can dig them back up on our way home.”

  “But won’t this change by the time we return?”

  I shrugged. “Yes. The lands always change. Our things could end up underwater, or they could end up at the base of another tree.”

  “I’m leaving this thing for sure,” said Claire, tapping her metal helmet.

  “Me too,” said Reece. “It’s stupid and pointless. We’re not in the dark ages.”

  “I’m leaving mine. We can leave all our helmets behind.” I stared at Amber, who still wore hers despite everyone carrying their helmets under their arms.

  “I’m keeping mine,” Amber said.

  “Why?” Reuben asked. “Do you think it’ll save you, like it saved the last guy?

  She shrugged her shoulders and said nothing, just walked faster, away from the group, moving quickly ahead.

  The energy between the members of the group had shifted once again. The earlier glee gone.

  Claire and Noah started to complain about the heaviness of their gear.

  They were moaning already, and we hadn’t even reached the tree. How were they going to handle the rest of the journey?

  Chapter 17

  Amber

  Endless green pastures stretched out before us. Birds twittered as they flew by. Trees grew sparingly but in clusters across the rolling green hills. I filled my lungs with crisp, fresh air and puffed up my chest, the entire act exhausting me with the heavy helmet and chainmail bearing down on me.

  Claire stumbled into the back of Bruce, who swore and rubbed at his chainmail covered back.

  “Careful,” he said before wincing against the harsh daylight sun right above us.

  “So if this journey doesn’t kill us, the helmets and chainmail just might,” said Noah, who had already removed his.

  I turned around to see if the king was still watching us, but was shocked to see a mirror image of the pastures before us.

  “The castle’s gone.” I pointed to where it had been only minutes ago and everybody turned around to see for themselves.

  “Holy shit!”

  Reece ran back in the direction of the castle, only to spin around in circles over where it had once stood. “It’s gone.”

  Only Axel remained unimpressed.

  “We’ve left the castle gates,” he said with a shrug. “We have entered afterlife territory.” He adjusted the backpack and bedroll on his shoulders and
waved his arms about. “All this, this is somebody’s idea of heaven.”

  “Oh my God,” said Claire, who’d removed her helmet. Her hair was stuck to her temples and down her damp neck. “That feels so much better.”

  “At least it’s a pretty good heaven so far. Safe-looking,” Noah said.

  Bruce grinned and started forward in long strides. “Come along, kids, we’ve got some travelling to do.”

  Axel eyed Bruce and glared back at us. “Don’t be deceived by the rolling green hills. There could be anything out there. And I mean anything.”

  “Three-breasted women?” said Reuben, laughing.

  Axel stared him down and nodded. “Those three-breasted women could have knives, or swords or three heads or the body of a dinosaur or—”

  “All right, servant boy, we get it.” Reece smirked at Axel then laughed and elbowed Noah. “Hey, nerd, what does that alien say on Lost in Space? ‘Danger! Danger!’ You can be him and warn us when the three-breasted women come to attack us.”

  “It’s a B-9 robot, actually,” said Noah, staring at Reece with disgust.

  Axel narrowed his gaze at Reece before turning to follow Bruce.

  By the time I caught up to him I was out of breath because of the weight of the helmet I was now carrying by my side.

  “So how do we know where the keeper of the souls is? Do you know much about her?”

  “All I know is that her name is Leirza.” Axel kept his gaze fixed on the cluster of trees up ahead. Bruce was heading there as well. He was pretty quick for an old guy. But then again, his veins were probably filled with energy drink instead of blood.

  “We’ll bury our things there, beneath the trees.” He glanced over his shoulder and I followed his gaze to the stragglers behind us. “At the rate they’re going they’ll die of exhaustion before they get to face any real danger.”

  Hours passed in silence, until the trees appeared only a few hundred metres away.