This chapter is randomly dedicated to...Angelmail!
Rat was hardly aware of his surroundings, so intent was he on the mental battle. He had seen Connie go underwater, but he had managed to save her; so he was confident that he could flush out Kullervo. Hearing Connie pleading for a bridge, he concentrated hard, visualising a strong stone bridge that could carry the universal to safety. A smooth stone path rose from under the black water, stretching from one side of the cavern to the other, and Connie ran across it as fast as her weary legs could carry her. Satisfied that she was safe, Rat turned back to face the dark presence which had been inhabiting his mind.
"You are still mine, wolf-boy," gloated Kullervo.
"I never was yours," retorted Rat angrily. "I belong to myself, and Icefen. No-one else. Go, before Connie finds you. You won't survive this battle," he snarled.
A bead of sweat trickled down his face, and he swiped it away impatiently.
"You will not join me? Then you shall be sorry."
A hundred year's worth of pain and suffering rained down on Rat. It had no effect: the universal's helm was protecting him, gleaming gold in the darkness of Kullervo's presence. Kullervo spat viciously and prepared to try again; still with no effect. With a slow, unpleasant smile, he realised what he had to do. He abandoned his attack on Rat and turned to Connie. The universal was running across the bridge, her black hair streaming out behind her, not daring to glance back. Kullervo became a wave again, washing over all that he could find. Connie screamed as she was swept into the chasm, and Rat's eyes shot open.
Connie was drowning in Kullervo. In the water she could not lift her shield, and so she cast it aside and tried to swim. The yells of the shape-shifter's followers reached her, the screams of the creatures who had suffered at the hands of humans. She couldn't listen to them: she was just so tired, she longed to sleep.
"So sleep," whispered the treacherous voice of Kullervo.
Connie's weary eyes shut. The first image that came to her mind was of Col. Col. She couldn't sleep, wouldn't sleep, because if she did she would never see Col again. Never be able to tell him how she felt about him. Connie struck up to the surface, determined to escape. She found her compass shield, and held it above her as she frantically swam with her legs. All those times she had been swimming with Arran and Jessica had paid off: she reached the wall and attempted to climb it.
"Rat! Rat! I need you! Help!"
The waves tugged at her legs as she tried in vain to find footholds in the slippery rock. She was almost tempted to give up and fall back into Kullervo's embrace.
"No, I can't! What about Col? And Astrid? Come on Rat!" she cried out; but even then her arms seemed to become too heavy to lift. "Rat...please...help me..."
Her arms loosened, and she fell down...and landed hard on something cold. With a start, Connie realised what she was lying on: ice. Rat had managed to freeze Kullervo's wave with his frost wolf powers, and now she was almost safe. At that moment, a huge white wolf trotted down one wave and up to where the universal was standing up, weak legged as she wondered how she could possibly get out of the chasm. She almost fell over again with relief as she saw who it was: Icefen had come to save her. Flinging her arms around his neck, she quickly encountered him and climbed onto his back, letting him carry her up to the safe stone floor. From there, she staggered out and broke the bond.
When she came to, Connie found herself in her attic bedroom at No. 5 Shaker Row. Evelyn was sitting at the foot of her bed, clenching and unclenching her hands. When she looked around again, she noticed that Connie was awake and rushed to her side.
"Connie! Oh Connie, how are you?" she asked, feeling her temperature.
"I'm fine," replied Connie feebly. "How did I get here?"
"Rat brought you," said Evelyn gently. "He said he's better now, and that you'd understand."
Connie smiled wanly, and closed her eyes, letting the day's events wash over her. They came back like images in a film: the waves, the ice, the pain...she shuddered, and opened her eyes. Evelyn had stood up and was walking to the door.
"I'm just going to go and tell Col. He's been sitting up here all the time you were asleep, but I just managed to persuade him to go down and get a hot drink. I won't be long."
Evelyn went downstairs, leaving Connie to her thoughts. Col had been sitting here with her? Was it possible that he, just maybe, felt the way she did? No, no, that's stupid, she told herself firmly. That's what friends do for each other. Mentally scolding herself for being so daft, Connie looked at her watch. It was just a little past eight o'clock: she didn't even know how long she'd been sleeping, but she hazarded a guess that it was over an hour. She heard light footsteps on the stairs, and then Col burst into the room, looking extremely close to panic. He sat down on the bed heavily and grabbed her hands.
"How are you?" he demanded.
"All right, I guess." Seeing Col's expression, Connie elaborated: "I'm fine. Honestly."
"Good." He relaxed slightly, and released her hands. "You had me so worried. I mean, when Rat carried you in like that, I thought Kullervo had – had..." he broke off.
Connie reached out and squeezed his hand reassuringly.
"I'm all right now," she repeated. "Where's Rat? I need to thank him."
"Evelyn made him go back home – he was close to collapse afterwards, really terrified."
Col didn't look that much better, though Connie privately. He looked exhausted and anxious, his hair tousled as though he'd spent hours running his hands through it, and there were dark shadows under his mismatched eyes. There was an awkward silence. Connie desperately wanted to fill it by telling Col how she felt – her most recent encounter with Kullervo had made her think just how precarious the Society's position was; and how much danger they were in with two untrained universals. She wanted him to know just so that she would feel better going into battle against Kullervo, even if Col rejected her. Steeling herself for his reaction, she took a deep breath and began.
"Col, there's – there's something I have to tell you," began Connie tentatively.
They were interrupted by Col's mobile ringing, sounding very loud in the still attic room. He looked up at her questioningly.
"Answer it," she said. "It's all right."
Col answered it. Connie could just about hear a voice talking anxiously and quickly to him.
"It's all right, Rat. No, Connie's fine. I'm with her now. Okay. See you tomorrow, then? After school at my place? Yeah, tell Astrid. Okay, see you then. Bye."
He snapped the phone shut.
"Astrid and Rat are going to come over tomorrow after school, at my house. Apparently Astrid wants to start her training as soon as possible," he declared. "Anyway...what were you going to tell me?"
"It doesn't matter," lied Connie: deep in her heart, she knew it did.
The next week was half-term, and Astrid was to being her training with Connie on the Saturday beforehand. They met on the moor: Connie had decided that, since the only creature Astrid could encounter was a banshee, they would ask the banshees to help with the new universal's training. Astrid summoned Septima easily, and the banshee agreed to assist them readily.
"Right then, are we ready? I think we should start with the shield, that's what I learnt first. Septima, that means that Astrid will try and block you out when you try and encounter her. Is that all right?" enquired Connie, trying to hide her nervousness: she had barely finished training herself, and wasn't entirely sure she was ready to teach anyone else.
Septima nodded, and stepped backwards with an elegant fluid movement.
"Ready, Astrid? I want you to visualise a shield with our symbol on it, and hold it up against Septima's presence. Okay?" Astrid nodded. "Right. Start...now!"
Astrid pictured a silver shield, and mentally raised it above her head to protect her from the banshee's onslaught. She held it fast for a while, but then she felt her hold weaken. She dropped the shield with a clang and let Septima bond with her. Connie held up her hand.
"I am sorry, universal. You are only a child, I tried too hard to encounter you," apologised Septima, her sorrow causing Connie to wince.
"It's all right," replied Astrid softly. "I can't expect Kullervo to go easy on me. I just need some practice, that's all."
Connie studied the other girl's face.
"No," she said finally. "I think you could hold the shield up for longer, but you wanted to encounter Septima. I'm sure it wasn't intentional, but it happened on a sort of unconscious level. I think you could really use your shield, if you tried a little harder."
Astrid nodded, and brushed a stray hair out of her face, preparing to concentrate properly.
"I'm ready."
She raised her shield again, and this time was determined to keep it up. She felt Septima's thoughts beating down on the shield, but hitched it up and pushed it slightly forward. This went on for several minutes. As she finally felt her grip weakening, she thrust the shield forwards. There was a gasp from the creature in front of her. Astrid opened her eyes to find the banshee lying on her back, her eyes wide.
"Septima! What happened?"
Astrid dropped to her knees and looked at Septima with concern.
"It's alright, universal. I am just...shocked. You sent my connection back to me."
Connie stared, looking astonished.
"Wow. That's high-level stuff. How do you feel?"
Astrid shrugged, and rubbed her eyes.
"I've got a bit of a headache, but I think I'm okay," she replied, helping Septima up. The banshee's hands were surprisingly soft and delicate against Astrid's.
"The headache is only to be expected. I think that's enough for today," decided Connie. "You'll have to be able to encounter another creature before we can try out the sword."
Astrid nodded, feeling slightly unsteady on her feet.
"I might try with Arran when we go swimming. I know I felt something when I met him: maybe I can encounter him properly."
Connie looked thoughtful.
"It's worth a try, at least," she replied.
They said goodbye to Septima and started to go back home. Halfway there, Astrid was struck by the same buzzing sensation in her mind that she had felt when Kullervo had spoken to her, like an radio being tuned. She glanced across at Connie, who was wincing. Evidently Connie could feel it too.
"Shield," she whispered.
Astrid nodded and raised her universal's shield mentally, feeling Connie doing the same beside her. The buzzing was blocked out. As if in response to a signal, both girls ran down the hill to avoid the shape-shifter's presence. When they reached Hescombe, Connie realised that they would not be safe for much longer. Kullervo was just waiting for his opportunity; and when that came, they would have to fight it out. The Society couldn't shield their universals forever: one day the time would come when the universals had to fight to protect the Society.