Prologue
The pretty young girl tossed and turned as she slept. Her long, wavy brown hair lay around her on the rough pillow and her pale face was drenched in sweat. The wooden shutters to her window were open allowing the bright light of the full moon to wash over the valley and drench the room in long shadows.
The fire had consumed almost all the buildings. The main barn was still on fire, the inferno fuelled by the stored hay and silage. The pens and outhouses had thick black smoke that hung in the air whilst tall flames still licked from within the farmhouse.
As she ran breathlessly into the yard, tears streaming down her already smoke-blackened face, she knew she was too late. "Father! Mother! Where are you? Father?"
The girl in the bed wore a single red gemstone tied to a leather strap about her neck. Suddenly, the stone in the necklace began to glow faintly.
She peered into the blackness and her eyes widened as she saw four figures striding towards them along the shoreline. They were creatures of fire and flame - elemental forces in human shape – with terrifying faces of coal-black eyes and jagged mouths. "What are they?" she gasped.
The girl sat up as she drew in a huge breath, her eyelids snapping open to reveal piercing, pale blue eyes.
But still she was not awake.
Suddenly an explosion of heat sped past her and scorched the wall behind. At the foot of the steps stood a group of fire creatures, their arms outstretched.
He grabbed her hand. "Run!"
They sprinted back onto the street and across the road, dodging past the abandoned cars and trucks.
The creatures strode up the steps and onto the pavement. Three of them raised their arms and shot lethal bolts of fire after the two fleeing figures.
They reached the other side of the road and were about to dodge around the side of a ruined building when the advancing creatures loosed more fireballs.
She ducked as the bolts passed inches from her head and exploded into the wall of the building in front of them. Bricks and mortar were hurled in all directions and then came an ominous rumble.
The wall in front of her began to collapse.
The girl gasped as the trance was broken and she saw the reassuring sight of her bedroom around her rather than the terrifying nightmarish landscape.
But now the dreams faded fast from her waking mind as they always did.
She found she could only remember one word from the dreams; a name………
"Doctor!"
1.
Toman Fielder straightened up and winced as a sharp pain shot through his aching back like a dagger. He leant on his spade, taking a moment to stretch and wipe the sweat from his brow. He had a muscular, thick-set frame and his face had that weathered look that betrayed his farming background like a badge. His dark, curly hair also had more than a little grey these last few years.
It had been a long day and the sun would soon start to sink below the Tarell mountains that began to rise a few miles to the north. Still he pondered, he shouldn't complain. This had been the fourth consecutive day of fine weather – almost unheard of at this time of year – and it had given Toman an excellent opportunity to gather in the crops before the usual autumnal rains claimed them.
Toman swung his spade over his shoulder and walked across the half-gathered field of beet crop to his cart. Throwing the tool onto the back of it with the crop, he smacked his hands together and picked up his brown jacket from where he had draped it on the cart. The mumoc tethered at the front gave a soft whinny.
"Oh, so you want some food do you?" muttered Toman good-naturedly. He dug in his jacket pocket and pulled out an apple. "Do you want this?" The mumoc, a llama-like animal with short brown fur and a long trunk for a nose snorted and twitched its ears. Toman ran his hand over the row of short horns that ran down the mumoc's forehead before letting it sniff out the apple, grab the fruit with its trunk and eat it.
Toman surveyed the field around him – where had the boy gone now? "Ari!" he hollered.
A young lad of about eleven jumped guiltily to his feet from where he had been lying amongst the un-harvested part of the field. He too had short, dark hair, but his was straight and almost black, and he wore a brown tunic over heavy, grey, woollen trousers. "Yes father?" he stammered.
Toman glared at his son, rolling his eyes with disapproval. "There you are!" he sighed. "Come on son, time we were heading back home – your mother will only worry."
Ari nodded and started pushing his way through the tall beet crop leaves, his shovel in his hand.
Toman grabbed the reins of the mumoc and jumped up onto the front of the cart. As Ari got closer, Toman pulled the boy up next to him on the cart. Then he shook the reins and the mumoc began to walk forwards.
"Still," grumbled Toman, "as least you've been more helpful than your sister!"
2.
The cart trundled along the rough track heading down the valley.
It wasn't long before Toman saw the welcoming curl of smoke from the homestead and then a few seconds later the stone and wooden buildings themselves. His family had built the farm generations ago and lived here ever since. Toman allowed his mind to wander back to the times where he had repaired the barns with his father and grandfather. He had loved those times and smiled to himself – he would have been only eight or nine – younger than Ari was now.
The smile was replaced by a frown as he recognised another wagon that had stopped next to then main house. This was larger than Toman's, covered with a hide frame and pulled by two mumoc beasts.
"Damn Kalwas again," he muttered, as he saw the little pig-like creatures talking to a woman. "What do they want? I hope your mother doesn't buy anything we don't want," he grunted to his son.
"I think they're funny!" said Ari watching the diminutive traders. Kalwas were a native species that traded goods between the outlying farms. Only standing about three feet tall, they resembled grey pigs with two short tusks either side of their mouth and short, coarse fuzzy white hair.
"Don't you get fooled," warned his father. "Most of their stuff is broken or is going to break any day after you buy it. That's if it isn't stolen anyway!"
As Toman's cart approached, the small Kalwas jumped back in their cart and started to pull away – almost as if they could feel the farmer's animosity towards them. But Toman's frown softened as the woman they had been talking to approached them.
He had loved Livia since meeting her on her eighteenth birthday. He had been entranced by her blue eyes and long blonde hair. Now over twenty five years later, she wore her blonde hair up more often than not to hide the streaks of grey, but her eyes were still as blue as ever.
As the cart pulled up next to her, Toman could see his wife was wringing her hands and her brow creased with worry. "What is it woman?" he grumbled. "Those pesky Kalwas bothering us again?"
Livia shook her head. "They came to warn us Toman. The priests have been seen in Stalo."
"Stalo is a few days south of here Livia," Toman grunted, jumping down from the cart and lifting Ari to the ground. "The townsfolk there are no fools either."
"Toman," gasped Livia suddenly as she realised that there was only the two of them on the cart. "Where's Ionay? I thought she was with you?"
Toman's blood went cold. A terrible mental picture of his daughter at the mercy of the robed priests filled his mind. "But she told me you wanted her to do chores on the farm!"
3.
Livia grabbed her husbands shoulders, her blue eyes clouded with panic. "Toman…."
"It's alright," Toman started, "I'll go and find her…"
"There she is," piped up Ari with a groan and pointed to the track. "You're in trouble now Ionay!" he shouted gleefully.
Along the rough track that led to the farm walked a slight girl in her late teens. She had long and wavy dark brown hair that she wore in a long ponytail. Her face was pretty, heart-shaped and with bright crystal-blue eyes, a small nose and generous mouth. The girl wore traditional homespun clothes with a red scarf wrapped around her neck.
As soon as she heard Ari's voice, the girl's expression changed from a carefree daydream into focus. She frowned as she recognised the scowl on her father's face and knew he was angry.
"Ionay……."
************
Livia kissed her son on the forehead. "Go on now Ari – time for bed."
But the moonlight that filtered through the shutters of the farmhouse meant nothing to Ari. "Oh mum, but I'm not tired," he protested, stifling a yawn with his hand.
"Don't argue with your mother," said Toman gruffly as he finished the last of his soup next to the kitchen table, "it's late." He glanced at Ionay who was sat opposite him and cutting some bread. "Besides, I want to talk to your sister."
Ionay sighed as Ari giggled mischievously and then ran upstairs. She knew what was coming. Her father had been quiet all through their meal, answering in grunts and single words like a simmering pot. Now he was going to explode.
Livia had sensed it too and came to stand behind her daughter. "Now Toman….." she warned.
"No Livia, she has to hear this," began Toman, throwing his spoon into the now empty bowl.
"Alright," said Ionay holding up her hands. "I get it. It can be dangerous to up the valley on your own, I know! It was just such a lovely day, I just wanted to sit in the sun and watch the mountains."
"Ionay, will you….." interrupted Toman angrily, but Ionay hadn't finished.
"And yes, I know I should have been doing chores or working, but the sunlight father, it was…..magical."
Toman closed his mouth, the anger and worry melting away as he watched the sparkle in his daughter's eyes. His little girl was almost a woman. How could he deny her the dreams? Then he frowned again as he remembered the Kalwas and their warning. "Ionay," he started, a little more calmly, "it's more dangerous than you realise. It's not just the odd tologra. The Scarlet Brotherhood is on the move again!"
4.
Ionay gasped and bit her lip. Her parents had frightened her with stories about the gaunt, red-robed priests since she had been a toddler. The tales of the child snatchers of the night had often given her strange and vivid nightmares - nightmares that hadn't always been forgotten in the morning. "I thought they were just a legend," she whispered. "I thought you told me those stories just so I would behave."
Livia placed her hands on Ionay's shoulders. "Toman," she warned, "you're frightening her."
"Then she needs to be frightened," countered Toman. "She's not a little girl any more – she needs to be told the truth!"
"You mean the priests are real; they actually exist?" asked Ionay.
Toman just nodded.
"And they steal children in the night?"
Toman glanced up at his anguished wife then looked back at Ionay. After a brief pause he nodded again.
Ionay paused and looked down, her eyes distant in memory as she fiddled idly with her necklace. "Father, when I was small I played with Cynther Gardner." She paused again, dimly remembering the distress of the adults around her, screaming and shouting. "Did she really die of fever?"
Toman Fielder breathed out slowly, clearly amazed at his daughter's perception. "No Ionay, she didn't."
"No, replied Ionay slowly, "I never thought she died….."
"Those devils took her, her fate would have been far worse. Her poor mother," Livia broke off and hugged Ionay tightly. "We need to be so careful!"
"Those Kalwas said that the priests have been seen around Stalo," explained Toman.
Ionay nodded, understanding her parents' concern. "Alright father," she said, getting up from the table and putting her plate near the sink. "No more trips to the mountains."
Toman met his daughter's eyes and then nodded with a grunt. "But," he added with a smile, "you're right about the chores and tomorrow the chuuks need cleaning out."
Ionay's concerned frown was replaced by a warm smile and walked across, leant down and kissed Toman on the forehead. "Yes father."
*******************
Ionay sat up in bed, instantly awake as she heard her mother's scream.
Shafts of the morning sunlight lit her room as she jumped out, sending a book of pressed flowers crashing to the floor where it had been lying on the bed. She ran to her door. "What is it?" she shouted.
Her mother's pale and tear streaked face appeared at the doorway to Ari's room.
"Ari's gone!"
5.
Her father ran up the stairs to comfort an almost hysterical Livia.
"He's been taken," she screamed, "by those devils!"
Toman tried to calm his wife. "Alright, alright – we don't know that."
Ionay squeezed past them and into Ari's small and messy room. She scanned around the room, trying to find any sort of clue and then it came to her. "He's taken his knapsack," she said suddenly. "He can't have been kidnapped by the priests– why would bother to pack?"
Livia caught her breath and looked hopefully at Toman.
Toman's expression changed from worry to anger. "The little fool's planned this all along!"
"You've got to go and fetch him," urged Livia, grabbing at her husband's arm.
"Oh I'll go and get him alright," growled Toman.
Ionay started running back to her room. "I'll get some clothes on and help," she cried over her shoulder.
Toman glanced at Livia who shook her head. "Not a chance – you're staying here young lady!" he shouted.
Ionay reappeared outside her room with some trousers on and belting her woollen tunic over them. "Really? And where are you going to look father? I know where Ari goes."
"I'm telling you you're staying here!"
Ionay shook her head firmly and started down the stairs. When she reached the bottom she looked back up at the worried faces of her parents. "You told me last night I wasn't a little girl any more," she shouted , her face flushed with anger, "so stop treating me like one!"
Toman and Livia heard the slam of the front door as Ionay stormed out of the farmhouse.
"Go after her," urged Livia, her voice cracking.
Toman shook his head. "No, she's right." Livia just looked at him in disbelief. "She is, Livia. She knows where Ari goes and I'll never find him just on my own." He held up his hands to placate his wife as she opened her mouth to argue and then an idea struck him. "I'll go over to the Gardners first. I bet Ari has gone off with young Rok Gardner. If he has, then his father can help me look for them both. Ari needs our help more than Ionay now." He looked down the stairs after his daughter. "She'll calm down," he smiled grudgingly.
"I hope so Toman……"
Toman kissed his wife on the forehead. "Everything will be back to normal by supper."
6.
Ionay strode quickly out of the farm and onto the rough track that led up the valley. The blood rushed through her veins and her eyes flashed with anger. Her fists were clenched tightly with all the pent up frustration and imagined arguments that ran through her head as tears streamed down her cheeks.
It took almost half an hour before Ionay let out a deep breath and stopped walking. She tried to relax and flexed her fingers, looking at the landscape around her almost for the first time.
It was a fine morning, with only a light mist in the air. There were a few white clouds floating in a blue sky, although greyer clouds that threatened rain hung in a dark sky over the Tarell Mountains to the north.
For the first time it struck Ionay that, despite her bravado with her father, she hadn't much of an idea where Ari could actually be. She bit her lip and forced herself to think. Her annoying little brother had a few hideouts and dens that he shared with his best friend Rok. Ionay knew a few of their locations – she'd have to start with them.
With renewed determination, Ionay set off into the hills.
***************
The grey clouds overhead had gathered together and blotted out the warm sunshine as Ionay sat on a large rock in despair and toyed irritably with her necklace.
She had walked for hours, trying the location of every one of Ari's favoured dens, but without success. She had lost track of the time, but could tell by he autumnal chill that it was getting late in the afternoon. She was tired and she was hungry. Suddenly, her anger and frustration boiled over.
"Ari!" she shouted up at the sky. "Where are you?"
Ari and Rok walked through a forest of tall, bare trees - their fallen leaves forming a carpet on the ground. The mist was thicker here and they looked worried, their eyes darting around them.
Something was watching them - a pair of dark, green eyes in the mists.
Ionay took a fast, shocked intake of breath as the vision subsided and she was sat back on the rock. But she knew where the two boys were now – the Silver Forests on the north east of the valley. And she knew they were in danger!
Ionay jumped from where she had been sitting on the rock and ran off.