Circles of Stone. Ian Johnstone

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СКАЧАТЬ course it was,” said Filimaya. “I should have—”

      “What’s going on? Has the Say-So started?”

      Filimaya frowned. She wanted to ask more, but thought better of it. “No, but it will be almost under way by the time we get there. We should go.”

      “Fine. I’ll just change,” said Naeo. She turned and walked to a driftwood shelf, pulling down the fresh clothes that had been laid there.

      Filimaya was about to step outside, but as Naeo pulled off her top she froze.

      She raised her hands to her mouth. The girl’s back was terribly disfigured by a single scar, which ran all the way down her spine and across her shoulders. It was shapeless and mottled in the manner of burns, but marked out in greys and an inky black. In places the lifeless pigments seemed only to have stained her flesh, while in others they had pinched and raised the skin in a manner that could only have caused extreme pain.

      “For the love of Isia!” breathed Filimaya. “What happened to you?”

      “It’s nothing,” said Naeo, pulling down her tunic and turning abruptly. “Are we going?”

      “Naeo, tell me what—”

      “It’s nothing,” said Naeo, emphatically, walking to the steps. She reached down and picked up two short twigs, which she brushed off and then pushed into her hair in a cross, holding her long locks high above her shoulders. She looked back. “Really, I’m fine.”

      Filimaya watched her climb out of the cave before setting out after her. When she reached the top step she found Naeo waiting outside.

      “Those are the marks of Thoth, aren’t they?” she pressed.

      Naeo sighed and nodded.

      Filimaya shook her head. “He used the Black, didn’t he?”

      Naeo paused. “Yes,” she said. “But it’s fine. I’m fine. It’s nowhere near as bad as what he did—”

      She stopped, the words catching in her throat.

      “As what, Naeo?”

      “As the things he did to my dad.”

      Filimaya was aghast. “Oh, Naeo,” she murmured. She reached out, but Naeo stepped away.

      “Like I told you, I’m fine.”

      “Are your wounds painful? Is there anyth—”

      “They’re painful when I’m made to think about them!” For a moment Naeo glared at Filimaya, but then her features twisted with self-reproach. She turned away. “Look, shouldn’t we be going?”

      Filimaya looked at her calmly for a moment. “Yes, of course,” she said.

      She patted Naeo’s arm and led her out into the dew-drenched forest. They walked over a stream, through a copse of saplings and between a gap in a thick tangle of bushes.

      Soon they reached a clearing bisected by the mildewed remains of a fallen tree. Ash was sitting on it, kicking at the crumbling bark with his heels while chatting to Kayla, who had rested her considerable weight on a protruding branch.

      “About time!” cried Ash. “It’s freezing!” He breathed a cloud of vapour into the chilly air to emphasise his point.

      Filimaya smiled. “The sun’s up, so the valley will warm quickly. A perfect day for a Say-So.” She squinted into the sun’s rays. “Come, we must make haste!”

      She led them across a field of drooping flowers, skirted a gully and then began to descend towards the lake. Pockets of mist gathered in the hollows and ditches, roots and dells, and the nearer they came to the water the more these wispy trails started to criss-cross their path, swirling about their ankles. When they finally reached the edge of the forest and gazed over the great lake, they saw nothing but a vast milky blanket, floating eerily over the surface as far as the eye could see. The morning sun had painted a pathway of luminous pink leading down the length of the valley to the gorge at its far end. There, the waterfall fizzed and smoked in front of the rising disc of gold.

      “It’s beautiful,” murmured Ash, entranced.

      “And more so every day,” said Filimaya, setting off down the bank and into the mist.

      Kayla grinned at Ash and Naeo. “OK, you two, time for a leap of faith,” she said, then set out after Filimaya.

      Ash and Naeo glanced at one another as the two women waded into the mist up to their waists, leaving twists of vapour in their wake.

      “OK then,” Ash shrugged. “I guess we’d better get our feet wet.”

      They wandered uncertainly down the slope into the impenetrable carpet of mist, all the while watching Filimaya and Kayla, expecting them at any moment to plunge into the lake. Naeo suddenly cocked her head on one side, then extended her hand out over the mists. The swirls ahead of them gathered, turned and rolled away, opening a path that revealed the mossy shore of the lake and led all the way to the women.

      “Well, that’s one way to do it,” grinned Ash, clearly impressed.

      Naeo gave a slight smile and a mock bow, then strode on.

      They quickly made up ground and soon they saw what Filimaya had been heading for: a boat, moored to a stump at the water’s edge. She drew to a halt and turned in time to see the remains of Naeo’s strange pathway. She blinked and frowned, then raised her eyebrows at Ash.

      “Ha! Don’t look at me!” he said, nodding towards his companion. “I’m not the only trickster around here, you know.”

      Filimaya looked at Naeo and then broke into a smile. “Deftly done, Naeo.” She waited a moment for Naeo to respond, but when there was only an awkward silence, she turned and pointed at the boat. “Well, come along. It’s hardly the Windrush, but our journey is short.”

      They all clambered into the rowing boat and had soon seated themselves on the bench that ran around its hull: all but Ash, who volunteered to take the oars. The little boat glided over the glassy lake, mist rising at the bow and spiralling off into the air, catching the golden sunlight in a fiery trail. The passengers were just able to peep above the cloud, allowing them to watch the great valley drift past.

      Naeo gazed up at the steep sides of the hills and the luxuriant forest that clung to their slopes. She watched a trio of swans drift over the canopy, then drop slowly into the mists of the lake, before landing softly on the water. She watched the sun climbing in the sky, flecking the treetops with a shimmering gold. She saw all of this beauty, but it felt far away, as though she was looking through a sheet of glass.

      “You look sad,” said Filimaya, who had been watching her across the boat.

      Naeo gave no answer.

      “Is it your father?”

      Naeo turned and met her eyes. “He should be here. He should see this.”

      Filimaya smiled. “He did,” she said. “Years СКАЧАТЬ