Jack Shian and the Destiny Stone (11 page)

Jack looked around the hall. It was the gloomiest place he had ever seen. Then his eye caught something on the far wall.

“Is that a season-wheel?” he asked. The symbols at the base of the wheel looked familiar.

“It is. And you’ll see that it shows a long winter for us; and winter is death for many. The return of the Gusog feather would be as important for us as you getting the Stone back.” Iain Dubh spoke wistfully.

“You see, Jack,” said Phineas, “we both have a reason to go to Tula.”

Did Grandpa just snort again?

“But we need your help, Jack. You’ve got something that will help us.”

Jack’s heart raced for a moment, and he looked across at his father, and without thinking he put his hand up to Tamlina’s ring on his neck.

“They know about the
Mapa Mundi
, Jack.”

“Of course we knew you had it. Did you think we wouldn’t hear about something as important as that? People have been going up and down the coast since midsummer talking about it. And it will certainly help us – if it shows us our true path.”

“Why didn’t you take it when I was asleep?”

“Our laws of hospitality would not allow that, even if we’d wanted to. We’d rather ask you to join us.”

“They haven’t woken the others, Jack; Murkle, and Finbogie and the rest. The Hebseelie need to know what you’ll do with the
Mapa
.”

Jack looked around as one of the attendants coughed. He looked ill, even malnourished.

“And getting Gusog’s feather back will help you to endure the winter?”

“It’s no ordinary feather, lad. It’s the last of his wings; the last remnant there is of our ancestor.”

“The gold feather’s charmed, Jack. It allowed Gusog to control time. Just that one feather meant we could survive the winter without starving: we could speed our passage through time. Without it – well, you can see what we’ve become.”

Jack had to admit that the Hebseelie, after the Hallows’ Eve party, were a sorry sight. He grasped Tamlina’s ring and tugged it down, allowing the
Mapa Mundi
to fall about his neck. He pulled the flag until it was free, and offered it to Iain Dubh.

“Marco told me it shows true believers their path.”

“We know. And for us, that must be the path to the Gusog feather.”

As Iain Dubh took the flag gently, it formed into a sphere, showing the two great map circles … but they were blank.

“What does the map show?” Phineas leant forward to get a better look.

“Nothing,” said Iain Dubh, handing the sphere back to Jack.

Jack stared hard at the circles. Slowly, a dark castle formed in one of the
Mapa Mundi
circles; but not a regular picture: it seemed to be made up of tiny fragments.

“It’s Fractals’ Seer,” said Clavers softly. “Malevola’s castle.”

There was a thump as Grandpa’s head met the table, and he rolled to the floor. Jack jumped in surprise; but he was even more astonished by the next sensation.

Phosphan?!

Rana’s gasp confirmed to Jack that he was not mistaken.

Ishona moved quickly to check Grandpa Sandy’s breathing. Kneeling down in the dim light, she listened intently; then sat up and smiled.

“It’s all right. I think he’s just fainted. Probably hungry.”

But Jack wasn’t so sure. There had been something unusual about his grandfather. Normally, he would take charge of things. Here he’d been … sidelined. And he’d definitely not been keen on going to Tula.

Phineas bent down to scoop up his father’s body.

“Just let me get him back to his room. I’ll see he’s all right.”

“I think we’d better get Armina, Dad,” said Jack. “I can smell Phosphan. It’s like his wound’s opened up again.”

Phineas grunted.

What’s up with him?
thought Jack.

Armina, Finbogie and Murkle were quickly summoned, and while Armina and Phineas attended to Grandpa Sandy, Finbogie drew Jack aside.

“They certainly have an unusual way of treating guests here. I’m sorry that I didn’t foresee the dangers of the island potion. But I wasn’t expecting trouble from the HebShian. They
are
Seelie, after all.”

“Dad says they’re all right; they’ve just got their own way of doing things. But if we’re going to Tula, we’ll need to be well prepared, won’t we?”

“Going to Tula is not possible, given our timescale,” butted in Murkle. “We must be at Novehowe before the solstice. Winter’s closing in; there’s no time for detours.”

“But can’t we slow time down, like we did at midsummer last year?”

“You should have noticed by now that our charms barely work here,” snapped Murkle.

“Murkle’s right,” interrupted Grandpa Sandy. His voice was weak, like when Malevola’s hex had opened his wounds again on the giant’s bridge. “We have no time for diversions; and especially not to somewhere like Tula.”

“But don’t you see, father?” said Phineas, trying to keep the heat out of his voice. “Tula is the key. If we can get the Raglan …”

“The Raglan is nothing,” shouted Grandpa, sitting up despite the pain. “One of Tamlina’s charmstones, no more. If it meant anything, the Congress would have known of it. Am I not right, Murkle?”

Murkle pondered for a moment.

“You are. In all my experience of Shian tales, I have never come across this stone.”

“But the HebShian know about the Raglan,” warned Jack. “And they said we shouldn’t leave enemies like the Tula behind us.”

“The island Shian will squabble and fight, like they’ve always done,” said Murkle coldly. “The Tula Shian have no reason to leave for the mainland.”

“Nobody predicted the Kildashie coming,” urged Jack. “And if they ask the Tula Shian to join them, well … We should destroy them now.”

“Destroy the Tula?” scoffed Murkle. “Have you any idea what you’re saying? You wouldn’t know where to start.”

And I suppose you knew exactly how to deal with Caskill. You were hopeless in that cave.

“But I can help there,” pointed out Finbogie. “Phineas and I have worked on the swords. They’re ready; we can at least take the Tula Shian on.”

“Regardless of that, there is not time,” stated Grandpa firmly. He rose unsteadily to his feet now. “It could take weeks to sail to Novehowe at this time of year. Tula is a distraction; and a dangerous one at that.”

“But father, Iain Dubh was right: the Tula Shian are a dangerous enemy to leave at our rear. And if we get the Raglan stone, that will multiply our chances.”

“Enough! I will not hear of it. We sail for Novehowe. Our task is to persuade Magnus to join us. That’s the key to getting our homes back – and the Stone, and the Chalice. All else is just distraction.”

Grandpa Sandy sat down, quickly weakened by the effort.

He’s wrong,
fumed Jack;
and we’ve
got
to get the Tula Shian out of the way. Tamlina knew the Raglan was important …

“Come on, Jack.” Phineas tugged Jack’s sleeve, and the two of them left the room.

“Why’s Grandpa so against us going to Tula, Dad?”

“Time is tight. If we’re to make Novehowe by the solstice, we’ll have to leave soon. But there’s other problems too.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Families, Jack. If anyone ever said they were straightforward, they were lying. One of the reasons your grandfather doesn’t like the idea is because it came from me.”

“Why’s that a problem?”

“It goes back a long way, Jack. You know your Uncle Doonya was chosen as the Stone Watcher over me? I didn’t like that – so I decided to show them.”

“When you went off to find Tamlina and the Grey suspended you?”

“That’s right. I found out that Tamlina had discovered a fragment of the Destiny Stone. I thought if I got that, it would impress your grandpa.”

“Part of the Destiny Stone!? You mean the corner that’s missing?”

“That’s right. It’s only a small piece; but imagine the power that would give you.”

“But if Grandpa had known the Raglan was part of the Destiny Stone, he would’ve told the Congress.”

“Hardly anyone except me and Konan knew about it. He’d found out from Malevola. He wanted to impress Briannan; and I guess I wanted to impress the Congress. We both thought we could get it from Tamlina, and take it home to show it off.”

Jack thought about this for a moment.

“You mean we could actually get part of the Destiny Stone? Why don’t the Tula Shian use it for themselves?”

“They’ll know it’s important, because it was Tamlina’s. But away from the sandstone near Edinburgh it won’t work so well. Just like when it was in London. I’m guessing they haven’t worked out it’s part of the Stone.”

“Well, let’s tell Grandpa. If he knows what the Raglan is, he’s bound to want to go there.”

“There’s something else. Didn’t you hear it in his voice?”

Jack thought back to the way his grandfather had sounded just now, then to the giant’s bridge at midsummer.
I’ll never forget that smell of Phosphan.
His grandfather had been scared then; terrified, even. Terrified of Malevola and her demons.

“Malevola came from Tula, right?”

Phineas nodded.

“And Ossian said the Boaban Shee are there, and really bad witches. Grandpa’s scared, isn’t he? I always thought he was so … strong.”

“What Malevola did to him is unimaginable, Jack. We shouldn’t think harshly of him for that. Deep down he connects Tula with what Malevola did to him. Whether he knows it or not, that’s why he’s determined to avoid going there. Maybe it’s for the best.”

“But that’ll mean splitting up. Shouldn’t we stay together?”

“Not if we’re arguing all the way. Sometimes a smaller force can achieve more.”

“Can’t we at least tell him why we’re going to Tula?”

“He won’t believe that – he’s terrified of Tula. But he might accept that the HebShian have to go there. The Gusog feather is part of their history.”

“But it only took us three days to sail here from Ilanbeg. Even allowing for bad weather, we could get to Novehowe in a week or so.”

“The sail from Ilanbeg was a breeze, Jack. From here on it’s really tough.”

Jack thought about Petros being seasick.
It wasn’t a breeze for him.

Seeing Jack’s look of disbelief, Phineas continued, “It’s going to be much harder, and not just because of the weather. Whether we head for Novehowe or Tula, we need to leave before too long. Before the Blue Men of the Minch wake up, anyway.”

As Phineas went to find Iain Dubh and Ishona, Jack wandered back into the room where his grandfather lay.

When Grandpa Sandy saw Jack, he reached out for his hand.

“You are the only one who can make the
Mapa Mundi
work,” he gasped. “What does it show you?”

“Iain Dubh’s got the
Mapa
, Grandpa. He was looking at it when … when you fainted.”

“Then maybe he can see it too. Our powers do not work well here. That is why we must enlist the Norseelie to help us retake Edinburgh. Now, let us rejoin our hosts.”

Sandy sat up painfully, steadied himself, then stood up. Armina
tsk
ed as he wobbled slightly, and moved forward to provide support. With Murkle on the other side, the group made their way back to the great hall.

At least the smell of Phosphan has gone.

“And how is our honoured guest?”

“I apologise; a recent illness lingers within me. But we must discuss our plan.”

“We have gathered your other companions,” said Iain Dubh, indicating Enda, Telos and the others, seated at nearby tables.

Jack, his father and grandfather sat themselves at Iain Dubh’s table as Telos stood up, and announced, “Your island brew was a little strong for most of us. Let us repay your compliment with some traditional Irish poteen.”

He produced a flagon and proceeded to pour its contents into the goblets on the top table. As he poured into Jack’s, he paused and stumbled forward, grasping the goblet in his right hand.

“Clumsy!” he said cheerfully, as he righted the goblet. “Don’t want you getting drunk. Go easy on that.”

“I propose that we divide into two groups,” said Phineas, rising, and holding his goblet aloft. “My father will take one group straight to Novehowe; the other will come with me and the Hebseelie to Tula first, then Novehowe. From there we can make our way to Edinburgh.”

“Phineas is right!” announced Iain Dubh, also rising. “The Tula Shian must be dealt with; only then can you take on the Kildashie.”

Grandpa Sandy sat silently, staring ahead of him.

“Sandy!” hissed Armina from the next table. “Speak for the Congress!”

Grandpa Sandy got unsteadily to his feet, clutching his goblet weakly.

“I … I know that some here feel the need to go to Tula. Very well; but I cannot sanction this detour for my grandson. Phineas may travel with you; I will take the rest to Novehowe.”

Jack saw his father’s eyes narrow, and his mouth set.

“Let us consult the
Mapa Mundi
. If there is a true path, that will show it,” said Iain Dubh.

“But it only shows itself to Jack!” screeched Murkle.

“And to the Hebseelie,” added Phineas. “Is that not right, Iain?”

“Only when Jack is present. It would not work for us, while you were down below. But we have seen Fractals’ Seer on it. The HebShian will go to Tula with Phineas.”

“Then what of Jack?” shouted Murkle again.

In response, Iain Dubh produced the
Mapa Mundi
, and handed it to Jack. It lay limply in his hands for a moment, before curling up into a sphere. But for a while, there was nothing to see in the two circles.

“This accursed place!” bellowed Murkle. “The magycks do not work here!”

“Wait!” Gilmore silenced Murkle with a glare. “See! The pictures form!”

Sure enough, into the circles came the image of Fractals’ Seer, and a feather. A gold-tipped feather.

“Then it is settled!” announced Iain Dubh triumphantly. “We take Jack and the
Mapa Mundi
to Tula! Your health, young Jack!” He raised his goblet, and drank deeply.