The Inner Circle: The Knowing (16 page)

‘
I refuse to believe
that they’re all the same.’

‘
It’s not that
they’re evil.’ Emquin frowned. ‘It’s worse--they’re selfish. When
someone dies, they resurrect them, then when the whisp floats off
to kill someone else, they get resurrected, too. This goes on and
on until at last the whisp finds a human to prey upon. We can’t
resurrect our dead,’ the horse finished in an accusatory
tone.

‘
I’m going to find
something to eat,’ Ilgrin murmured uncomfortably. He picked up the
insect-covered stone and exited the cave.

He didn’t know what to make of Emquin.
It was easy to criticise, but she didn’t know what it felt like to
live with the option of raising the dead. When Ilgrin had found his
parents’ bodies, he would’ve resurrected them had he been allowed
the chance to do so. Not for selfish reasons, but for selfless
ones. In that moment of devastation, no one was so cold. Ilgrin had
never known pain like that which he felt on finding his parents as
they were. He wanted nothing more than to bring them back so that
they could live the long and happy lives that they deserved. In
that moment, all he could do was see death and know he had the
power to reverse it.

Resurrection was more complicated than
Emquin insinuated.

Ilgrin dug a small pit in the
earth, emptied into it Seeol’s collection of dead things and
covered them with dirt. He rolled his neck and eyed the trees in
search for anything recognisably edible, but found
nothing.

‘
There’s a stream
down that way,’ Emquin said after exiting the cave and nodding
downhill. ‘There’s a collection of plants covered in blackberries
this time of year.’ She eyed Ilgrin and for a moment he thought he
detected a look of disapproval. ‘You might like to wash while
you’re down there.’

‘
Thanks,’ Ilgrin
replied, realising then that his shirt was stained blue with
blood.

When Ilgrin found the stream he
threw himself in fully clad. The water was freezing and bit into
his shoulder relentlessly, but he ignored the pain and greedily
drank the refreshing liquid. Taking off his shirt painlessly proved
to be challenging, but after some wriggling about Ilgrin was able
remove it for scrubbing in the water. Most of the staining came
out, but in some places the garment remained tinted.

Mud squelched up between Ilgrin’s toes
as he made his way onto the bank where he hung his shirt over a
branch to dry. He found himself surrounded by the plants Emquin had
spoken of and began picking handfuls of berries to feed his
ravenous hunger.

After about half an hour in the morning
sun, Ilgrin’s shirt had dried relatively evenly. He reached out to
pick it up, but hesitated. Although he was scared to do so, Ilgrin
knew that he should inspect the wound on his shoulder. He turned to
look and winced at the site.

The wound wasn’t excessively
long, but it’d been split wide open, telling the tale of its depth.
The knife had penetrated muscle and now pus forced its way out
around a semi-dried and crusted scab. Ilgrin would have to be
careful to keep it clean if he hoped to avoid serious infection. He
stretched his wing cautiously, but his breath caught in response to
a stabbing sensation that ran down the length of his arm. Flight
was out of the question and would be so for some time.

With special care, Ilgrin slithered
back into his shirt and made his way back toward the cave. As he
approached he slowed down to the sound of animated
conversation.

‘
It’s the only way.’
Emquin’s voice echoed off the smooth rock walls.

‘
But what if it tries
to eat us,’ Seeol chattered back. ‘You said they does scary,
naughty activities.’

‘
And I wasn’t
exaggerating,’ Emquin replied. ‘But there’s no way we’ll make it
without him.’

‘
I
don’t--’

‘
Quiet,’ Emquin
hushed the owl as Ilgrin entered the cave. ‘There you are,’ she
said, flabbergasted.

‘
You looking better
than gorgeous,’ Seeol bobbed his head. ‘You have a clean and spiffy
shirt.’

‘
Thank you,’ Ilgrin
said, pausing for a moment before continuing. ‘I’m not interrupting
anything, am I?’

‘
Of course not,
dear,’ Emquin shifted her hoof uncomfortably. ‘We were just
wondering what you have planned now that . . .’ she trailed
off.

‘
Now that my parents
are dead and the whole country is looking for me?’ Ilgrin said
bluntly.

‘
Yesh,’ Seeol
scrabbled across the earth until he stood at Ilgrin’s feet, locking
his motionless eyes on his. ‘Does you have plans?’

‘
I hadn’t thought
about it, to be honest.’ Ilgrin scratched his head. ‘I’ll probably
go to Old World. It’s about time I learnt the truth.’

‘
Oh, you don’t want
to do that,’ Emquin cautioned. ‘They’ll make a meal out of an
innocent thing like you.’

‘
I’m sorry, but I
just can’t believe that,’ Ilgrin said defensively. ‘There must be
others like me.’

‘
I suppose.’ Emquin
glanced at Seeol nervously. The bird looked back at her, but said
nothing.

‘
Well, go on, then.’
Ilgrin raised his hands. Clearly they’d been discussing an
alternative plan in his absence. ‘Out with it.’

‘
Well . . . we were
hoping you might assist us in reaching the Frozen Lands,’ Emquin
spoke hesitantly. ‘Horses don’t get very far without a
rider.’

‘
They can fixes us,’
Seeol screeched overexcitedly as he spun in circles kicking up tiny
clouds of dust. ‘El-i-mish . . . El-i-miir! El-i-miir never told us
this could happen but they can fixes horses to humans again and
maybe make sure some little owls don’t become too big and ugly
anymore.’

‘
I have no idea what
any of that meant,’ Ilgrin said slowly.

‘
I need to find Mish
Mish,’ Seeol barked. ‘El-i-miish will make us better than
ever.’

‘
Right.’ Ilgrin
frowned. ‘So you think the Elglair might be able to give you a
human body?’ He directed the question at Emquin, having given up on
trying to interpret the elf owl’s ramblings. ‘That sounds a little
far-fetched, even for the Elglair.’

‘
It’s the only hope
I’ve got,’ Emquin said ruefully.

‘
What’s in it for
me?’ Ilgrin frowned. ‘I mean, it’s not like this comes without
risk. Do you know what the Elglair will do if they discover
me?’

‘
Probably torture and
kill you,’ Emquin replied, not bothering to water down what they
both knew was the truth. ‘But without our help, you’d have been
killed in Sitnic. You owe us this.’

‘
I freed you,’ Ilgrin
snapped defensively. ‘That makes us even.’

‘
Please.’ Emquin’s
voice was strained. ‘You’ve gone your whole life without going
south. Can’t you give us just a few more weeks? That’s all we’re
asking for, a month or so to help some friends.’

‘
Yes.’ Seeol twitched
his head toward Ilgrin. ‘Please help us have happy times. You don’t
know what it’s like to become all big and horrible and be eating
yucky things and having lots of blood in the air.’

‘
Again.’ Ilgrin
raised a hand toward Seeol. ‘Not making any sense.’ There was a
silent moment after which Ilgrin sighed in defeat. ‘I’m not going
all the way. The Elglair will know what I am the second they lay
eyes on me. I’ll go as far as the northern border of Egsean, and no
farther.’

‘
Oh, thank you.’
Emquin’s voice was full of emotion. ‘If I could hug you, I would.
I’ve waited so long for this.’

‘
Yes.’ Seeol bounced
on his toes. ‘And we can play games with Seteal! She is fun and
likes to do fun things and scratches my head sometimes.’

Ilgrin stared at the bird for a long
moment, wondering not for the first time if Seeol even knew what he
was saying or if it was just garbled mimicry. He turned back to
Emquin. ‘First of all, I’m going to need a cloak.’

*

It hadn’t been long since nightfall,
but already Emquin was finding it difficult to navigate the gloom.
Seeol took it upon himself to guide her to the road into Sitnic.
‘Can you see better now?’

‘
Yes, thank you,
Seeol,’ Emquin murmured, reminding him of the importance of staying
quiet.

‘
I will keep my
eyeballs out for carriages,’ Seeol hissed. He continued when Emquin
failed to reply. ‘Where did we go to?’ he asked directly into the
animal’s ear.

‘
Wherever there are
drunks,’ Emquin replied.

The pair wove through the streets of
Sitnic, Emquin making close acquaintance with the shadows while
keeping the clapping of her hooves to a minimum. The outer
districts were quiet, but the city centre was filled with the usual
drunken merriment of a Saturday night.

‘
Whoa, steady girl,’
Seeol cautioned.

‘
Excuse me?’ Emquin
choked out, apparently having taken offense to the way Seeol had
addressed her.

Seeol bobbed his head enthusiastically.
‘That makes horses stop.’

‘
What is it?’ Emquin
asked irritably, coming to a stop in the shadows.

‘
Waiting here,’ Seeol
ordered, having recognised the distant sound of human footfall. He
flew up onto a street lantern which squeaked annoyingly on the
breeze. A small group of men stumbled toward them from about a
block away.

‘
Seeol,’ Emquin
hissed from below. ‘What’s going on?’

‘
We have to go away,’
Seeol replied after alighting atop Emquin’s mane.

‘
No, we don’t.’
Emquin tossed her head, the action almost causing Seeol to lose his
grip. ‘There’s an inn just down the road.’

‘
Peoples are coming,’
Seeol warned. ‘Ones dizzy from thirstiness.’

‘
Oh.’ Emquin jolted
in alarm. ‘Do you see another way around?’

‘
Hide,’ Seeol warned
as the men’s approach became increasingly loud to his ears. ‘This
is not far. Get into this little street.’

‘
Where?’

‘
Turn right.’ Seeol
bit Emquin’s ear, which prompted the reaction he’d hoped
for.

‘
Ouch,’ Emquin
yelped, turning sharply into the safety of an alleyway. There was
barely enough room for her to turn around, but somehow she managed
to do so in time to watch the men stumble past.

‘
I could’a had one
more drink,’ one of the men stated before somehow managing to
simultaneously burp and take a drag on his cigarette. This was
followed by a doubled-over coughing fit.

‘
All right, Den boy?’
Another man patted him on the back. ‘I think you’ve had about
enough.’ The men filled Seeol’s vision for a second and then they
were gone, leaving nothing behind but the stale smell of smoke and
alcohol.

‘
Here wait,’ Seeol
ordered. He flew to the ground and popped his head around the
corner. ‘Come on,’ he hissed, zipping back up onto Emquin’s head
when he was certain the coast was clear.

Emquin cautiously moved onto the
street. ‘If you ever bite my ear again, I’ll be having owl stew for
supper,’ she grumbled.

‘
Hey!’ A young man
grunted, struggling to do up his pants after urinating on a barber
shop. ‘Someone lost a horse?’ He bellowed at nobody.

‘
Not again,’ Emquin
glowered.

‘
Quickly,’ Seeol
urged. ‘There’s an inn one little way down street. One man is
wearing some lovely cloak that could hide wings from prying eyes
whilst drinking his very favourite thirst-quencher.’

‘
How could you
possibly know that?’ Emquin picked up her pace to a hurried
trot.

‘
I see lots better
than anyone.’ Seeol shrugged his wings, taking the opportunity to
practice a human gesture. ‘You should hurry many times faster. They
want to capture you,’ he said in alarm when he observed a group of
men hurrying after them, the leader being the man who’d urinated on
the barber shop. Emquin launched herself into a gallop.

Seeol released his grip on Emquin’s
mane and flew ahead. ‘Follow me.’

‘
I can’t see you,’
Emquin wailed.

‘
Get the cloak,’
Seeol shrieked as they tore past a crowded inn. Emquin spun around
so quickly that for a moment Seeol feared she would topple
over.

‘
Sorry, but I need
this,’ she said, snatching a long black cloak from the back of a
red-faced man.

‘
That’s mine,’ the
man cried as Emquin continued on her way without a backward glance.
The cloak billowed about her as she ran, occasionally flapping over
her face as she clenched it between her teeth.

Rope whipped through the air and a
lasso snapped around Emquin’s neck to the victorious cries of men.
The horse yelped as her body jarred sideways and her neck was
craned uncomfortably. The cloak flew out of her mouth and landed in
a bunch on the road.

‘
Seeol!’ The word
bubbled up, a panicked cry for help.

With eyes on fire, Seeol banked toward
his friend’s aggressor and dove. He raked his talons forward at the
last possible moment to gouged deep red lines across the man’s
face. He yelped and let the rope go.

‘
Where’s the cloak?’
Emquin bellowed, shaking off the lasso.

‘
Over here.’ Seeol
landed atop the garment. Emquin hurried over and picked it up in
her teeth before turning to find herself standing face to face with
the friends of the man who’d attacked them.