Xinder Rises Read online

  ‘I only wanted to say congratulations,’ he said, rubbing his leg.

  ‘Yeah, right.’ Anika sneered, looking down at him. Then, as if a thought had suddenly entered her mind, she whispered. ‘Know what, Fitz, I think you fancy me, don’t you?’

  Fitzpatrick’s nose seemed to expand sideways, a look of incredulity on his face. He reddened.

  Ryan Williams flashed his friendly, toothy smile at her from the row in front.

  ‘Ani, you are hilarious,’ he said, leaning in from the row behind him. ‘If it’s any help, I fancy you!’

  She turned and winked. ’You like everyone,’ she said, as she found herself whisked away by her fans.

  Ryan turned to Fitzpatrick, his large eyes bulging with excitement. ‘Kicked by a girl, Fitzy. Now, that shouldn’t be painful for a big, tough boy like you?’

  ‘You’re asking for it, Williams,’ Fitzpatrick spat.

  ‘Fine,’ Ryan replied, ‘Anytime,’ he whispered. ‘Just you and me, and since you didn’t make the team, tomorrow’s free.’

  Danny

  Danny draped an arm around his twin Anika. ‘What was that about, with Fitzy?’

  Anika ran her hands through her hair. ‘Oh, nothing, usual jerk-stuff.’ She smiled cheekily at her brother and sighed. ‘Why does Fitzpatrick hate me so much?’

  Danny rubbed his freckled nose and laughed. ‘Because he’s jealous of you. And because you booted him off the team.’

  Anika shook her head. ‘But he was always giving away fouls and kicking people ... in any case, that was last year—’

  ‘He’s like an elephant who never forgets—’

  ‘Well, it’s ridiculous,’ she complained, ‘elephant or not.’

  Danny grabbed his sister playfully by the waist. ‘Strange thing though, the way he looks at you,’ he said, smirking.

  ‘Never! Although I did mention it - as a joke! Ryan thought it was hilarious. I’d never go out with that freak, even if you paid me!’

  Danny grinned and glanced over to the far end of the hall, where Fitzpatrick was talking to his friends. They locked eyes for a moment, then Fitzpatrick reached into his pocket for his mobile.

  Danny turned back to his sister, concerned. ‘Probably a mistake to kick him. Other people do actually feel pain in their legs, even if you don’t—’

  ‘I wonder,’ Anika said, staring airily into the distance, ‘would Fitzy even know me if I didn’t play football? I mean, is there another side to him? How did he end up being such a knob-end?’

  Danny shrugged. ‘You know what, Fitzpatrick’s all right. He’s got problems—’

  ‘Yeah, right?’

  ‘Seriously. He told me about it in a session of detention.’

  ‘I don’t believe you.’

  ‘It’s true. He made me swear never to tell anyone.’

  ‘Well, go on, then,’ Anika urged, nudging him. ‘You can tell me.’

  ‘I can’t, it’s a secret.’

  ‘Don’t be silly,’ Anika implored. ‘He told me yesterday his friends are going to kick the life out of me.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Yes,’ Anika insisted. ‘For curiosity’s sake, and because it’s sometimes better to know your enemy more closely than you know your friends.’

  Danny wavered for a second and shook his head, even if Anika did have a point. ‘Sorry.’

  ‘Pleeease,’ Anika begged.

  ‘No.’

  ‘Pleeease, Tassel.’

  ‘God. OK,’ he sighed. ‘As long as you swear you absolutely won’t tell anyone. And don’t call me that name.’

  Anika wobbled her head inconclusively.

  ‘I mean it,’ Danny said, ‘don’t breathe a word.’ He eyed her carefully. ‘If he finds out he’ll rip off my arms, suck my eyes out and give them to Olivia on a stick.’

  ‘Yeah, yeah, I know. Not a soul. Promise.’

  ‘OK,’ he began, reluctantly, wondering how he’d given in quite so easily. ‘The thing is, Fitzpatrick’s parents died very suddenly when he was little. He never talks about it. And now he lives with his aunt, who he can’t stand. There—’

  ‘That’s awful,’ Anika said, her eyes wide. ‘How?’

  ‘What do you mean ... how?’

  ‘Did they die?’

  ‘Oh, I see,’ he said. ‘One night, driving along in an open-top car way up on the edge of the moors, they hit something, a deer, a fox – no one really knows.’ Danny’s voice turned to a whisper. ‘The rest is properly grim.’

  ‘Go on,’ Anika said.

  Danny looked over his shoulder, and noticed Fitzpatrick exiting at the far end of the hall. ‘Apparently, the car skidded off the road, smashing into rocks as it plummeted into a ravine and blew up. Charred, disjointed remains were found scattered weeks later.’

  Anika whistled. ‘My God, I can see why he doesn’t want anyone to know.’

  Danny nodded. ‘Shocking, huh? And the worst bit is that it took several weeks before the car was found and they only found bones of one body.’

  ‘No! That’s terrible,’ Anika said, staring at the floor. ‘You like him a bit, don’t you?’

  ‘Yeah, I suppose, apart from when he’s a jerk to you two.’

  ‘Well then, come on, tell me more, I mean he’s probably organising my death right now.’

  Danny ran a hand through his hair. ‘Beneath all that macho stuff he’s quite soft – it’s a barrier he puts up to protect himself, well, that’s what his shrink says—’

  ‘Shrink?’ Anika blurted. ‘He has a shrink?’

  A few heads turned their way. ‘Yes, shrink, psychiatrist, whatever – keep your voice down.’

  ‘He gets counselling?’ she whispered. ‘They’re not doing a particularly good job.’

  Danny shot his twin a look. ‘Tell me about it. He seems to snap in and out. I mean, in detention, when he said all this, he cried buckets and went on and on about wanting a normal life with a normal family. And then he thumped me really hard on the shoulder and ordered me not to tell anyone. Remember that massive bruise I had when I said I’d fallen out of a tree?’

  ‘Oh yeah, I thought that was a bit odd.’

  He shook his head. ‘I couldn’t move my arm for a week. He’s sad, bored, and to be honest, lonely. Everyone hates him, and he knows it.’

  ‘Even those sidekicks Jackson and Pulse?’

  ‘Those freaks pretend they’re best mates, but it’s fear that glues them together. Ever seen how they jump to attention when he’s around or their heads get cracked? One moment he’s charming and funny, the next he’s pure evil. It’s like a switch flicks in his head – and he’s powerful for his age – the only boy who can match him is Williams—’

  ‘Yeah, I noticed sparks flying between them earlier,’ she said. ‘But, Dan, why does Fitzy like you?’

  Danny smiled. ‘Because I’m probably not worth beating up.’ He raised his eyebrows. ‘And because I don’t deliberately piss him off.’

  Anika thumped him playfully on the arm. ‘He’s a loser, Dan. Why doesn’t he try being nice for a change?’

  ‘Apparently it’s something to do with offloading emotional pain. That’s why Wynn-Garry and the teachers leave him alone so he can do what he likes; they’re terrified he’ll go even further off the rails. I mean, think about it, if our parents got killed we’d probably go a bit nuts, although to be fair,’ and he pinched Anika on the cheek, ‘you’re almost there.’

  She smiled, sarcastically. ‘Our parents are never around, so it’s almost the same thing,’ she said, a frown slipping onto the corners of her mouth.

  Danny was glad that he wasn’t the only one who missed them. ‘Are you sure you’re alright, you know, about the match?’

  ‘Yeah,’ she said. ‘Thanks, Dan.’

  ‘Another thing, Ani. Do you remember,’ he began cautiously, sensing his moment, ‘anything about your nightmare last night?’

  ‘Which one?’ she said too quickly.

  ‘Put it this way, you woke me up.�
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  She looked confused. ‘Did I? Was it loud?’

  ‘Yeah! The entire Vale of York are waiting outside ready to beat you up. You screamed your head off – I thought you might remember, that’s all. Wondered if you were OK?’

  Anika shook her head. ‘Now you mention it, I did have a nightmare about being in the middle of a storm.’

  ‘And that’s it?’

  ‘And finding three eggs in a cave lined with totally random pictures.’ She pulled a face and laughed. ‘Crazy, huh? If I’m honest, it’s a bit of a blur.’

  Danny reeled. His face dropping. Eventually, he spoke. ‘But nothing about me and, perhaps, the small matter of a murder?’

  ‘A murder, Dan? Nah.’

  ‘Sure?’ Danny felt himself reddening.

  ‘Yeah, think so. Why?’ she thumped him gently. ‘Was that scene this morning something to do with this? Mrs Puddy’s furious with you. And as for Olivia... So tell me, who’ve you been bumping off?’

  ‘It’s not like that,’ he replied, struggling to explain it. ‘You see, I’ve had this recurring nightmare...’ Danny petered out as if was too painful to broach.

  ‘Actually, Dan—’ she started, tentatively.

  But Anika was interrupted by the figure of Mr Wynn-Garry blocking out the light. ‘Anika, Danny, there you are. Now, where is that sister of yours?’

  ‘Over here,’ Olivia said, rushing towards them. ‘Been showing how my project works for Mrs Douglas. I don’t think she knows the slightest thing about paleomagnatism,’ and she turned her eyes up as if reaching for the correct term.

  ‘Her grasp of the matter is extremely loose, to say the least.’

  Guda

  Guda flipped into his infiniti, arriving in the next moment on the planet of Halaria.

  Wasn’t it strange, he thought, how all the inhabited planets had been so similar, but then so utterly different. How Assyria and Cush had been vibrant places bathed in a richness of plants and sparkling seas, living mountains and animals that were happy both on land and in the seas’ great depths. And how Earth embodied a range of static options. The trees whose roots remained fastened to the soil, the mountains who moved like sleepy tortoises, and sands which lay flat and lifeless on the ground.

  Then there was Halaria. In every corner there were marvels of nature: towering rock formations from vivid blues, to ochre reds, to sparkly greys. Moving forests of colour co-ordinated trees, and the luminescent waters of a silver sea. Not to mention the rivers that defied gravity and chose to run, like snakes, above the land, or the snow and rain that covered the rock cities in multi-coloured droplets like confetti.

  Guda remembered the golden ceiling and the glittering chandeliers that sparkled so brightly that people dared not look at them. He remembered the windows cut from jewels and the polished floors made from intricate patterns of coloured gemstones and shaded timbers. The wall of rock that made up one entire length of the palace, with clear, sparkling waters washing down its side like a waterfall.

  Now, a veil of grey dust and grime smothered it like a thick blanket.

  The Animais walked through the air feeling for Xinder’s vibration. Soon, Guda found himself facing a huge piece of furniture with hundreds upon hundreds of drawers lined up row after row in neat columns.

  A drawer opened, its contents spilling all over the ground.

  It was Xinder, searching through his vast stores of precious stones and jewellery, looking for his branchwand.

  ‘Who’s there?’ Xinder called out. ‘Which rapscallion of a rascal is it? I’ll have you. I’ll have you right and proper when I find it.’ Another drawer dived through the air, splintering on impact, diamonds splaying into the dust. ‘Because, thief, when I get my branchwand back, I’ll have just enough magic to turn you into a vile piece of slime.’

  Guda materialised above Xinder’s head, his opaque outline shimmering, his blue infiniti spraying from his midriff.

  Xinder sensed it. ‘Who are you and what do you want? I may be blind, but I see things. Do not underestimate me.’

  ‘It is I, Guda, the Animais.’

  Xinder thought about this for a little while. ‘The Animais, again?’ he said at length. ‘Well, well, well, you’re back. It is lucky I am blind so I cannot look upon your ugly body.’ He floated a little further down. ‘All this exertion exhausts me.’

  ‘You talked with the Sacrum,’ Guda said. ‘What do you think?’

  Xinder sniffed the air. ‘I do not believe that those weak humans on earth are Sacrum? They are merely children.’

  ‘It is as I said,’ Guda replied.

  ‘They have no magic, nor do they possess a sense of nature. IT IS WRONG! You jest, Animais,’ he yelled. ‘Tell me, foul sorcerer of dreams, who are the real Sacrum? Where are these strong, mighty men, blessed with power and incantations? Huh, tell me.’

  Guda plucked his way across the air in silence and then spoke. ‘Those protected by Mazeen become Sacrum. It has always been so. I have seen the writing. Even if the old wizard has forgotten it.’

  ‘That’s as may be,’ Xinder snorted. ‘It was always a foolish idea. You wish to tell me something, don’t you?’ he asked.

  ‘On Earth, the clouds are building, Xinder, the sky is darkening—’

  Xinder went quiet. ‘Then you do not lie,’ he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

  ‘I come with a suggestion,’ Guda began. ‘The final part of the First Dream will soon be given—’

  Xinder roared. ‘While I am stuck here alone in this empty, dying land, the planet of Genartus may be reborn and inflict more useless creations on the worlds. It is diabolical.’

  Two drawers flew out at the same time, sailed through the air and joined the heap of smashed wood on the ground.

  Xinder floated to the ground and peered through the debris in silence.

  ‘They will not succeed,’ he said, softly. ‘They require wisdom, strength and cunning —decades of learning and years of understanding charms. Physical training to the highest degree. But these infants are less than twenty years old. They do not even understand what is shown to them in their dreams. Is that right, Animais?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘They will never make it past the storm.’

  ‘It is my conclusion, also,’ Guda said.

  ‘And what of Mazeen?’

  ‘He wallows. He has grown old. He remembers nothing,’ the Animais said. ‘Earth has mellowed him. He may be more of a hindrance to the Sacrum, than a help.’

  Xinder groaned. ‘So, ugly Animais, why have you returned?’

  ‘I can aid you,’ Guda answered, his fingers vibrating the sound. ‘It is time for a change.’

  ‘Then, Animais, you have my ear.’

  Guda took his time. ‘The supply of dream-powders from Genartus that were stored in the great Atrium have ended. Now, we knit and spin from powders made from the spider webs on Earth and in Halaria.’

  Xinder sounded genuinely surprised. ‘Animais stored dream-powders from Genartus for all this time?’

  ‘Yes. These are the dream-powders that nourish us and the creatures we give them to.’

  ‘And so, Animais, by taking me to the boy Sacrum, you gambled they will fail?’

  ‘Yes,’ Guda replied. ‘To me, their failure is as clear as air.’

  Xinder sighed. ‘What can I do? I was cut down from being a great man, a warrior, an artist, a lover and a prince to a restless spirit with the strength of a faun,’ Xinder moaned. ‘Yes, I have way more sway than those vile ghosts I see from time to time, but I have neither eyes for magic nor enough physical strength for a fight. You have a plan for that?’

  Guda waited. ‘I will tell you more of Animais—’

  ‘Oh doo!’ the ghost replied, his voice laced with sarcasm.

  ‘If a solid being, that of flesh and blood, goes through our infiniti, it is said that we may suffer to the point of death.’

  ‘What is your point?’ Xinder shot back.

  ‘You are not a
solid being,’ Guda responded, calmly. ‘You are a spirit.’

  ‘Yes, I know all this. Why repeat yourself? It is how you took me to the boy.’

  Guda paused and then signed again rapidly, his slender fingers flashing in the air, humming.

  ‘What if you were to absorb a body?’

  Xinder paused for a beat. ‘Ugly Animais, would this really be possible?’

  ‘It has long been known to Animais that if a human were to freely and willingly offer its body to a spirit, there is not a law in the universe that says they cannot be connected.’

  ‘Ha! You talk piffle-paffle of a bygone age.’

  ‘I do not jest,’ Guda replied. ‘A merger would give you substance. You would move with purpose. You would have strength.’

  ‘Intriguing,’ Xinder mused. ‘Get a human to absorb into me? I have never considered it. Why have I not known about it?’

  ‘Because, Xinder, this feat is not so easy to perform—’

  ‘Why so?’

  ‘For many humans, ghosts do not exist. Furthermore, apart from you, spirits are weak. They have no desire for life. They move quickly to other places.’

  Xinder let out a frustrated groan. ‘But, Animais, in a physical sense, how might this happen?’

  ‘A union cannot be forced,’ the Animais said. ‘It must be the true will of the person of flesh.’

  ‘I see,’ Xinder said. ‘Yes, it isn’t exactly the most ideal of negotiating platforms, is it?’

  Guda dipped a long almost icicle-like finger into the blue, radiating hole in his stomach.

  ‘However, as the storm approaches, you might form an alliance with one who realises that there is no further hope? One who might dream of a future elsewhere?’

  ’That would be possible?’

  ‘Yes. For humans, life on Earth is cherished, Guda said, his vibrations softening. ‘Better still would be an alliance with a child.’

  ‘A human child?’ Xinder spat.

  ‘Indeed. But you would have to offer something great in return. Something almost more than life.’