Kith and Kin
Nondula Ch 10
When Oy had been gone for seven days, Alas spread a map on the dining table. He pointed to the Aul Forest. ‘This is where he said he was headed. I’m going to look for him.’
‘That’s a big wood,’ said Gertie. ‘How’re you going to find him?’
Alas did not answer. Ede was coming towards them. She placed a letter on the table. ‘It’s from Oy,’ she said. ‘He left it with Linnet’s next batch of medicine.’
Gertie opened it out and read:
Dear Alas, Gertie and Gritty, I have gone to Fellund.
‘Damn it.’ Alas slammed his hand on the table. The scholars around them looked up. Gertie began again:
I have gone to Fellund. You know why. Because I’m the last healer. That means I’m the last chance for the Kith or else the Felluns will move in. I’m a poor last chance for anybody but I got to try. Linnet is getting better, but that was Clair’s doing. I haven’t been a lot of use to her. Don’t tell her where I’ve gone, less you have to, and then say I’m sorry. Say I’ll try to come back. Alas, I know your hot head will want to come after me. Don’t. You got another job to do.
I never thought to have friends like you,
Oy
Alas stood abruptly. ‘The Felluns will use him for a nose-wipe.’ He strode off with Gertie and Gritty hurrying behind. They passed a scholar preparing to eat. ‘Eat it – it don’t improve by staring,’ Alas snapped.
After that he didn’t greet or even see the people he passed. He stopped at Emberd’s office, went in and shut the door in Gertie’s face. As the girls opened the door Alas’s voice sounded across the library. Wincing they slipped inside and closed the door behind them. Emberd sent for the elders. Only four could be found. They came without hurry and listened calmly until Alas ran out of words. They were sad to hear about Oy. It was noble of him to sacrifice himself for the sake of the Kith and they agreed it was their responsibility to bring him back. They said they would scour prophesy and precedent. All other reading would be suspended till the answer was found.
Alas looked at Gertie and spread his hands in despair.
Gertie stepped forwards. ‘Prophesy and precedent are very big sections,’ she said.
‘Cards 8021 to 9933,’ said Emberd.
‘That’s an awful lot of reading,’ said Gertie, ‘and if you’ll pardon me for saying, not that helpful. What you really need to read is adventure books.’
‘Adventure.’ Benet pondered the word.
‘Adventure stories were popular with juveniles before the Kith was set up,’ said Emberd. ‘We hold a small collection.’
‘Ah – long regarded as useless,’ said Deven.
‘But,’ said Gertie, ‘to teach you about action there’s nothing better. And because we have a system we know exactly where they are.’
‘Archive 5002,’ Emberd said with a satisfied smile.
Gertie ran off, filled a trolley with books and handed them out to the scholars.
Alas was sceptical.
‘At least it gets ’em on the right track,’ said Gertie. ‘It will teach ’em our language, then when we come up with something they’ll be prepared to follow.’
In the evening the waifs went to see Linnet. Her recovery had been a show. With Oy gone she did nothing but sleep and shrink. The bed seemed to grow bigger as she grew smaller. At first it looked empty; it was a shock to notice the pitiful wisp under the covers. Everyone’s hope had been that Oy would come back with new herbs. That hope had gone now, but Linnet needn’t know. It would do no good.
‘I wonder how Oy’s getting on,’ said Gertie, brightly.
‘Weather’s fine for camping,’ said Gritty.
Linnet’s small face hardened. Her voice was surprisingly strong. ‘Don’t,’ she said. ‘Don’t feed me stories. Do you think I don’t know where he’s gone? He’s gone to give himself up to the Felluns, so’s they’ll leave the Kith alone. It was the right thing to do.’
‘Silly,’ said Gritty, ‘what makes you think that?’
‘I haven’t got time or strength for lies,’ Linnet answered.
‘She’s got a right to know,’ said Alas.
‘But Oy said...’ Gertie protested.
‘What did he say?’ said Linnet.
‘He left a letter. He didn’t want you worrying.’
‘Tell me everything.’
So they told her. ‘We ain’t giving up on him,’ said Gertie. ‘The Nonduls are fired up.’
‘Fired up,’ Alas mocked.
‘Ready to act then,’ said Gertie. ‘We just got to teach them how.’
‘With adventure books,’ said Gritty. ‘They’re getting through them really fast.’
‘Good idea,’ said Linnet, but she said it without hope or interest.
They talked on about other matters while Linnet stared at the wall. The waifs prepared to leave. Linnet asked Alas if he would mind staying a while longer. He hesitated, then he sat down again and picked at his nails.
‘You don’t like being left alone with me, do you?’ said Linnet.
‘It’s not you, it’s...’
‘You don’t like to see illness.’
‘People die around me, Linn. I’m a jinx.’
‘That’s rubbish.’
‘It’s not.’
‘I promise not to die till you’re gone.’
Alas turned towards her. ‘You’re an odd one, Linn. Like Oy, weak and strong.’
‘Tell me about the Kith,’ she said. ‘All of it, what you saw and heard. I want to imagine myself there.’
‘Alright. I’m not as good with words as Gert, but I’ll tell you, near as I can, how it was.
‘As I get near to the Kith I hear something like far off bells or laughter – laughing bells is the closest I can get. This comes and goes. I think I hear it, then I think I’m imagining it.’ Alas stopped. ‘I...’ his eyes pricked. Linnet’s welled in response. He cleared his throat. ‘There’s something in the air down there; you can’t say what it is. Everything’s fresher, brand new, even newer than that. It’s like no badness has ever been there. I walked down into the valley. As I get close to the forest, I don’t see, but I know, there’s children there. There’s flickers of children in my mind, is the best way I can put it. Then I go under the trees and I walk. I feel myself getting quieter inside. I walk quieter. I forget to think. Then I see them. There’s two on a log: the prettiest children; they’re talking. It’s a language you can hardly make out from the forest around you. It sounds like leaves moving, water over stones, bird sounds. You’d never know it was them, ’cept you can see their mouths moving. They’re no different to the forest, Linnet. No different at all. And always, that silvery laughing on the air. I feel I don’t belong. There’s something spoiled in me.
‘I don’t know how long I stayed there just listening and watching. There’s more children. They come and go. The light changes. Still I wait. They remind me of Oy. First time I met him he was touched with the same thing.’
‘I know,’ said Linnet.
‘Then this gent comes along. You ain’t ever seen anything like him: tall and... I don’t know how to say this, but he don’t seem fixed. He’s bigger than himself – wavery. He’s gathering up the children and not doing a very good job of it. An older child comes to him. This one speaks in a mixture of forest sounds and words. She says the Kith is breeched. I think she means me. I’m the breech. I knew I wasn’t fit to be there. Now they start scattering, still laughing, as though it’s a game. There’s lights flowing between the trees like water. But the breech isn’t just me, it’s worse than that. The Felluns are coming, like they always come, trampling and breaking, and their voices doing injury to the air. The children on the log are still there. I want to tell them, run, but it’s too late. The Felluns see them and stop dead. It’s Rigaw himself, getting down from his horse. He goes up to the children. They’re not a bit afraid. He tries to be nice. That was horrible to see. He bends to them, tells them what a nice forest it is, and that he needs a healer. Do they know where he can find one? The children just look at him – they just look at him. Then one, the girl, reaches out and strokes his head like he’s an animal that’s just wandered out of the forest and wants to be friends, and the look on her face, so simple and trusting – it killed me. Rigaw backs off. He gets on his horse and they ride away, slow and quiet.
‘I followed behind. I’d no more business there than a Fellun. I wanted to get away, leave it just as it was. Rigaw doesn’t speak again till he’s out of the forest. Then it’s like his personality comes back in a rush, and stronger still. He gets this jar of slime out of his pocket, dips his finger in it and smears it on a tree. I think his hand was shaking. “Is that it, Capun?” says one of his men. “The curse is broke?”
‘Rigaw says according to the witch all they had to do was smear this gunk on the trees as they enter and leave. But he didn’t seem convinced. So they wait around talking, and all the while Rigaw seems to be listening for something. After a while he gets less jittery, starts making plans. Says a place like the Kith shouldn’t exist. No wonder Nonduls turn out so stupid if that’s the start they get. Says it will make a fine bear park for the Fellona.’
‘I won’t let them do that,’ said Linnet.
Alas looked into her eyes and almost believed her.