Borderlands (30 page)

At the bottom, we stop for a rest.

We sit on the water's edge, exhausted, and try to hide the trembling in our limbs. I'm almost afraid to stop – to be alone with my thoughts in the silence. While we were walking I had something else to focus on. But now there's just the darkness, and the whisper of the breeze. I want to tell the others to move, to keep going, but the words get stuck in my throat.

I run a finger across our rowboat. Is this the same boat we rode across the lake, dressed as newbie soldiers? It seems like years ago. I think of Radnor sitting in the dark beside me. His chocolate eyes. His mangled face.

I remember, suddenly, the first time I met him – down in the sewers of Rourton. I remember the nights we shared on guard duty. The way he trusted me, accepted me onto his crew. The way I let his body slip, let him tumble over that waterfall. And then we're back in the forest, and he's stepping towards me, and I'm leaning away . . .

And I can't hold it back any longer. I'm on my knees, hands pressed into the dirt, chest heaving and constricting like the air is made of fire. A hand touches my shoulder. Lukas leans in beside me, his face against my neck. ‘It's all right, Danika,' he whispers. ‘It's going to be all right.'

I wrench up my gaze, ashamed of myself. I've got no right to have a breakdown. My crew needs me. I've got to pull myself together . . .

But then I see the others. Teddy rests one hand upon the boat, his eyes glinting. The twins have turned their faces away, but I can see the shake in their shoulders. What are they thinking of – the storm, the boats? Maisy's injury? Silver dying, Laverna's betrayal? Or maybe Radnor screaming in the engine room: the flames, the smoke, the stink of burning flesh . . .

It's too much. It's all too much.

So we just sit there, and we hold each other, and we finally let the memories flow. Time fades. Moonlight floats on the remains of the lake.

And slowly, the knots in my chest disentangle.

It's almost dawn when we hit the water. Our rowboat slides from sand to liquid. It's one of those moments when the world feels still. Not night, but not dawn. Just a strange sense of lingering on the air.

Teddy volunteers to row first, and I'm not about to argue. He adopts the voice and posture of the guard who first rowed us across the lake.

‘Bloody big lake,' he mimics. ‘Sergeant reckons it's as deep as the sea.'

Then he thrusts his oar into the water, and promptly gets it stuck in the muddy silt of the lakebed.

As the sun rises, we float across the lake. Lukas sits beside me, one hand resting on my knee. I still don't know what the situation is between us, but this isn't the time to worry. I don't need to know, or stick a label on it. He's here. And for now, at least, that's enough.

‘It will be strange, won't it?' Clementine says. ‘To leave Taladia.'

Teddy keeps rowing, and our boat slides forward. ‘Strange in a good way, I reckon.'

The mountains arch upwards before us, opening like a pair of palms. Beneath our boat, the water flows deeper. The sky grows light. Unbidden, the words of Quirin's song float into my head:
From the prisoner's pit to the sky.

Finally, Lukas squeezes my hand. ‘You ready?'

I take a moment to answer. Now that it comes to it, it does feel strange to be here. To be on the cusp of our country – the Valley that divides us from another land. My throat tastes dry. A breeze ruffles my hair.

But my crew is here. I'm not alone. I glance between them, one to the other. Weary smiles and dirt-stained faces. Teddy. Clementine. Maisy. Lukas.

Me.

‘Yeah,' I say, a little hoarse. ‘I'm ready.'

And together, we enter the Valley.

Once again,
Chasing the Valley
would never have been published without Anjanette Fennell and Rick Raftos. Thanks for your support and guidance.

Special thanks to the team at Random House Australia, especially: Zoe Walton, who has been so encouraging and enthusiastic in guiding this trilogy to publication; Kimberley Bennett, editor extraordinaire, who saves me from falling on my fictional face; Sarana Behan and Dorothy Tonkin (marketing and publicity gurus); Julie Burland, Nerrilee Weir, Janine Nelson, Becca Diep, Jeremy Vine, Zoe Bechara, Jo Penney and everyone else who helped the book to find its feet.

Thank you to Gerry Schiller and Debbie Locco for their encouragement and belief in me.

Thanks also to Cassandra Styles, who has been so supportive throughout the publication process and is my second sister in all but name.

I am grateful to my mum, Chris, who always encouraged writing and imagination; my dad, John, who is an awesome sounding board when I confuse myself about Taladian geography; and my grand­parents, for their care and support. And finally, Brooke, for the games we played as children – and for the love of story that those games instilled.

Skye Melki-Wegner is an Arts/Law (Hons) graduate from Melbourne. She has worked as a saleswoman, an English tutor and a popcorn-wrangler (at a cinema). In addition to writing fiction, in her spare time, she devours a ridiculous amount of caffeine and fantasy literature.
Borderlands
is the second book in the Chasing the Valley trilogy.

You can contact Skye at
www.skyemelki-wegner.com

What if you achieve everything you've dreamed of – and it turns into a nightmare?

Danika and her crew of refugees finally reach the Magnetic Valley. Will it be the safe refuge and land of freedom they had imagined? 

The conclusion to the Chasing the Valley trilogy will reveal explosive surprises and terrifying new dangers.

Coming July 2014

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian
Copyright Act 1968
), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Random House Australia. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author's and publisher's rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

Version 1.0

Chasing the Valley Book Two:
Borderlands

9781742759579

Copyright © Skye Melki-Wegner 2014

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

A Random House Australia book

Published by Random House Australia Pty Ltd

Level 3, 100 Pacific Highway, North Sydney NSW 2060

www.randomhouse.com.au

Addresses for companies within the Random House Group can be found at
http://www.randomhouse.com.au/about/contacts.aspx

First published by Random House Australia in 2014

National Library of Australia

Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

Author: Melki-Wegner, Skye

Title: Borderlands/Skye Melki-Wegner

ISBN: 978 1 74275 957 9 (ebook)

Series: Melki-Wegner, Skye. Chasing the Valley; 2

Target audience: For secondary school age

Dewey number: A823.4

Cover illustration and design by Sammy Yuen

Additional images: bird, shoreline and ground images

© iStock/Thinkstock; bird tattoo © hemera/iStock/Thinkstock;

clouds © Zoonar/Thinkstock; mountains © Skye Melki-Wegner;

model © Jennifer Yung

Internal design by Midland Typesetters, Australia

Typesetting and eBook production by
Midland Typesetters
, Australia