Shimmer (14 page)

‘Then when we're ready you'll open the portal that will take us back in time.'

She nodded. ‘That is what I hope. I guess we will just have to wait and see if I am powerful enough to do it.'

‘How long do you think it will take Vennum to arrive?'

‘About five seconds, maybe even less. However long it takes his genies to alert him to the use of such a colossal amount of power.' She lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. ‘Then Vennum and his entire army will be there, ready to fight.' She thought of the battle that lay ahead of them. ‘And I will be too weak to help you.'

‘But as long as we can get through the portal in those few seconds before he arrives, he won't be able to see us?'

Kora nodded. ‘But there are a lot of ifs in the plan. If I can open a large enough portal, if I can take the portal back to the right point in time, if I have any strength left to move after opening it, if we can get through it and if we close it behind us in the few seconds we have before Vennum arrives.'

He gripped both her hands in his, making her bangles jingle. ‘Kora, I have every faith in you. Let's agree to make our plans assuming that you will be able to do it.'

David paused and leaned in closer to her. ‘When you say we will actually be back in time, what exactly do you mean? That we will be there for real? In person?'

‘I believe so.' Kora pursed her lips. ‘We should really be there, just as if we belonged in that time.'

He whistled softly, shaking his head in amazement.

She tried to meet his gaze but his eyes were glassy and unfocused. ‘David?'

His brow was creased in thought. ‘So what you're saying, Kora, is that I might actually be able to see my father again in person? For real?'

So that was it! Kora sighed. ‘It may be possible. But I cannot say for sure.'

He leaned back from her, his expression unreadable. ‘I could see my father again,' he repeated, his voice so low she could barely hear it. ‘I could say goodbye.'

‘Maybe,' she replied. ‘But even if we can do it, he will be confused about who you are and how you got there. You are so much older now and we do not know what will be happening to him at the time.'

He nodded, but she could tell he wasn't really listening. She glanced up at the sky. It was still dark, but a soft pink light glowed against the horizon and it wouldn't be long before it was light.

She closed her eyes. It was probably only half an hour or so until the sun rose on her fourteenth birthday. She thought of her father's promise to contact her on her birthday and wondered if Amurru had been summoned to Genesia yet.

She pushed herself to her feet. Suddenly she was very keen to get back to her globe. She grabbed David's hand and hauled him up. With one wave of her fingers all their blankets and cushions vanished.

‘Ready?' She barely waited for his nod before they shimmered, not into David's little sleep-out bedroom on the verandah, but directly into her globe.

Kora and David stared through the viewing portal. The kitchen light was on. Marcia's tear-stained face looked tired as she sipped a cup of chamomile tea. Rodney paced the kitchen, stopping every now and then to peer out the kitchen window into the pre-dawn light.

‘Your mother came to the room about ten minutes after you left.' Amurru pointed a stumpy finger at David. ‘When she found you gone she thought you had run away.'

David grazed a hand through the stubble on his head. ‘It's not like the thought hasn't crossed my mind.'

Amurru sighed. ‘Rodney convinced her not to call the police. He said you would be coming back because you had not taken any of your belongings with you.'

‘They went through my stuff!'

‘Your mother was distraught that you were missing.'

The word ‘missing' seemed to hang in the air. A word that was painful for all of them. Kora glanced sympathetically at David. ‘Would you like me to shimmer you outside so you can come in through the front door?'

David was very still. They watched as Rodney paced over to Marcia and squeezed her shoulder before dropping a kiss on her head.

‘No,' said David. ‘Let her stew a little longer.'

Amurru abruptly turned and shuffled away from them. ‘I have been summoned,' he said, flexing his long, amber wings.

Kora sighed with relief. ‘I thought the waiting would never be over.'

Amurru simply nodded and silence fell between Kora and David. Finally David turned his back on the scene in the kitchen. His eyes flicked to Amurru, cocooned inside his wings. ‘Looks like you'll have some news soon.'

‘Let us hope it is good news at last.'

An awkward silence stretched out between them as they waited.

‘Distract me,' he said.

‘What do you want me to do?' She pulled a face. ‘Cartwheels?'

A tiny smile tugged at his bottom lip. ‘You know, I really would have thought having a genie would be better than this.'

She shrugged. ‘I did warn you.'

‘How would you have celebrated your birthday if you were at home?'

She knew he was only trying to take his mind off his own family problems so she answered him. ‘There would have been a grand feast in my honour, followed by the Tournament of Terrible Talents.'

‘What's that?' asked David.

‘It is the funniest game. Genies compete in a series of four difficult tasks. There is only one rule — they must complete the tasks without using any magic.' Kora grinned. ‘Just like humans.'

David laughed. ‘I guess that would be difficult for a genie.' He looked thoughtfully at her. ‘I forget sometimes you have a whole other life there waiting for you. I suppose you have a best friend, too?'

‘Yes, her name is Bonnetta. We have been close friends since we were babies.' Kora smiled. ‘She is very sweet and I am always in trouble for leading her into mischief.'

David grinned. ‘I can imagine that!'

‘She is not particularly powerful but she is incredibly beautiful. She has many admirers.'

‘I never thought to ask you that, Kora.' David frowned. ‘Do you have an admirer?'

She sighed. ‘It would not matter if I had a thousand. My fate is already decided.'

‘What do you mean?'

‘I am to marry a Clawdonian genie.'

‘Marry!' The word choked out of him.

‘His name is Talon.'

‘How long have the two of you been together?' His question sounded more like an accusation.

‘We are not.' She half smiled at the shock on David's face. ‘Not together, that is. I have only met him once. He lives on another planet.'

‘Then why would you marry him?'

‘Relations between Genesia and Clawdonia have long been rather strained. My parents and the High Council believe our marriage would unite the two.'

‘But what about you? Don't you get a say?'

‘I am an empress,' she shrugged. ‘Duty comes first.'

‘Don't you care that you'll have to spend the rest of your very long life with someone you don't love?'

She did not want to think about marriage to Talon and she certainly did not want to talk about it with David. ‘It is complicated,' she said, with no attempt to hide her irritation.

‘Okay, then. New topic. Why don't we go over how we will attack Vennum when we come back through the portal?'

‘All right,' she said, thankful for the change of subject. ‘I will make us gasmasks.'

‘And we'll put them on before we come back through the portal?' asked David.

‘Yes.' Kora looked steadily at him. ‘The moment, the very second, we are back you will need to be ready to release the chloroform bomb. Otherwise they may have time to wish for their own masks.'

David nodded. ‘Why don't we just come back ten minutes earlier, then?'

‘We cannot,' replied Kora. ‘That would mean we would actually see ourselves opening the portal to leave.'

‘And that's a problem?'

‘It is believed that if you see another version of yourself when you time-travel, one version of you will die.'

David looked shocked. ‘How can you be sure we won't see ourselves?'

‘I will take a fix on the exact moment we leave, and will attempt to return to it.'

‘Don't worry, I'll be ready,' said David. ‘Are you sure the chloroform bomb will be big enough to take out all the genies?'

‘It will not only knock them out but it will keep them unconscious for at least ten minutes.'

‘Then you'll put a mask on Rihando to wake him up?'

‘I will, but I will also make a spare for you to carry in a backpack.' She looked into his worried eyes. ‘If I am too weak you will need to place the mask on Rihando.'

‘You will recover, though, won't you?' asked David. ‘You'll only be exhausted for a bit?'

‘The truth is, I do not know for sure. Sometimes if a genie's magic is depleted enough they do not recover, and even if they do recover, they may not be the same as they were before.'

‘Are you sure you want to do this?'

‘I am sure,' she nodded. ‘What other choice do we have?'

‘And you trust Rihando to take Vennum to the Slaytians?'

‘I would trust Rihando with my life. He will know what to do.'

‘And the Slaytians?'

‘They are not so trustworthy. But I do believe they will do what we ask. There is too much they want.'

Amurru uncurled his wings and settled them back into place against his silver suit. Kora and David turned immediately. His look of grave concern had them both stepping toward him. Something was seriously wrong.

‘What is it?' Kora's voice broke as she spoke. ‘What has happened?'

Amurru shuffled near enough to take her slender hand in his stumpy grip. ‘I am so sorry to have to tell you this.' He took a slow, wheezy breath. ‘It is your father, Empress. He is missing.'

Kora was frantic. Her magic rumbled in her chest, barely under control. ‘Please, Empress,' Amurru croaked. ‘We must remain calm.'

‘Um, Amurru?' David's voice was tentative. ‘Exactly how do we know Kora's father is missing?' His eyes flickered from Amurru's face to Kora's, and back again. ‘I mean, wasn't he supposed to be out in the wilderness, alone, without magic?' He shrugged. ‘I thought no one was supposed to know where he was.'

‘That is true, David.' Amurru nodded. ‘But it has now been confirmed that the Emperor had planned to journey to the Slaytians. Along the way he was to rest at Tarru's house. Tarru is my nephew and lives deep in the wilderness.'

Kora gasped. ‘So you did know where he was going!'

‘To help ensure the safety of the Emperor his exact journey plan was kept a close secret by the High Council.' Amurru let out a long, wheezy sigh. ‘Even I did not know his planned destination until now.'

‘But I still don't get it.' David's brow furrowed in confusion. ‘How can they be sure he is missing? Maybe he's still on his way there.'

Amurru blinked his yellow eyes at David. ‘If that is the case, then his journey is taking far longer than anticipated.' Amurru glanced anxiously at Kora before continuing. ‘The Emperor was to have arrived there several days ago. He planned to rest there until today, Kora's birthday.'

‘So that is how he was going to contact me for my birthday.' Kora let out a long, weary breath. ‘He would have planned for Tarru to teleport himself to the High Council, delivering my father's report along with his birthday message for me.' Her voice hitched as she spoke.

Amurru nodded. ‘The Council received word from Tarru late yesterday.' He shook his head. ‘Words cannot express my sorrow at having to be the bearer of this dismal news, Empress.' His shoulders slumped as he looked at her stricken face. ‘Tarru has searched, but there has been no sign of your father since he left the palace a week ago.'

They all fell silent. A long moment passed as they absorbed the news that Kora's father was officially missing.

Kora did not want to say it aloud, but she knew it was likely that her father had been harnessed by Vennum. Despair twisted in her chest. She tried to block out the images that were flooding her thoughts. The horror of her father and brother in Vennum's power, having to obey his every whim. She knew her father would be distraught at being forced to turn against his own people. She had expected to fight Vennum but she had never imagined she might have to fight her own father and brother!

‘I'm so sorry, Kora,' said David, his voice barely a whisper. She knew he understood the helplessness she felt.

She nodded at him. But she couldn't give up now. There was no way she was going to let Vennum win. She was Kora Archein, Empress of Genesia. She would do everything within her power to save Genesia and her family. She at least had to try!

‘We have to do it now, Amurru. And there is not a moment to lose.'

She grabbed David's hand. ‘Come on,' she said. ‘We are as ready as we are ever going to be.'

‘You mean we should leave now?' asked David. ‘But it's almost morning. I thought we were going to leave at night?'

She nodded. ‘I cannot leave my father and Atym in Vennum's clutches for another moment.'

Fear flickered in David's blue eyes, but he just nodded. ‘Okay, Kora.'

Amurru stood and walked across to them. He waved his hand at the portal where Marcia and Rodney still sat in the kitchen. ‘What about your mother, David?'

David touched his hand to his shaven head and Kora saw the flash of anger cross his face. ‘No,' he said. ‘She can wait until we return.'

Amurru studied David's face for a long moment. ‘You must realise, David,' he said, ‘that there is a very real possibility you will not return.'

Kora took David's hand. ‘Amurru is right, David.' She managed a small smile. ‘Go and make peace with your family before we leave.'