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  ‘Suki?’

  Naif nodded and glanced around the camp. ‘Is she here? Is she all right?’

  Eve studied Naif for a moment with narrow eyes. ‘Suki is with Clash. They will return here soon.’

  Naif sagged with relief. Both her friend and her brother were safe. As safe as Ixion would allow.

  ‘Then I’ll call my friends. You tell your own.’

  Eve gave a sharp whistle that brought the entire group running. Naif noticed some carried sharpening stones and others had weighted leather thongs looped around their wrists.

  ‘Attend me,’ said Eve. ‘Clash’s sister is back and she brings newcomers. They are with us. All of them.’ She gestured to the guards who’d brought Naif in. ‘Go with her.’

  Curious faces watched in silence as Naif and the guards ascended the ridge.

  Once at the top, Naif took one of the guards’ torches and waved it.

  She held her breath, waiting for some sign. When there was none, her stomach pinched tight in fear. Had she been too long? Had the Night Creatures taken them?

  ‘Your friends have gone,’ said the guard who’d twisted her arm.

  ‘No!’ she said, waving the torch again.

  The light caught movement and then shapes emerging from the bushes. She knew Markes straight away and half-ran, half-slid down the slope to meet them.

  ‘Come,’ she said. ‘Eve is there. Clash and Suki will be back soon.’

  Markes pulled her to him in a quick hug then he and Emilia kept climbing. But Liam held back.

  ‘What is it?’ asked Naif.

  ‘Hurt me?’

  ‘No,’ she reassured him. ‘Eve knows we are friends.’

  ‘But this?’ He reached out one of his tentacles, curling it gently around her wrist.

  ‘I will explain to them,’ said Naif.

  ‘Suki?’ he asked.

  She suddenly comprehended his hesitation. He was scared about how Suki would react to his changed appearance.

  ‘She will understand too. She is not here now. But soon will be.’

  The suckers on his tentacles felt soft and moist as he shook her arm gently. ‘Sure you?’

  ‘Sure.’

  He let go of her wrist and began to climb.

  Naif followed him, hoping she was right. As she reached the rise, she looked back into the dark, remembering how it had been at Danskoi. Eve had launched flares into the sky and shown the mass of Night Creatures writhing in the dark. Was it like that around them now? How many watched and who did they report to? How long until Brand came for Eve’s people? And Lenoir. He must surely know she was back.

  She turned and descended slowly. A circle of people surrounded Eve and her friends, but they made way so she could join them. Naif saw the hostile stares directed at Liam, and felt the tension.

  Eve must have felt it too. She squared her shoulders and raised her voice. ‘They have come back to help us in our fight. We are one!’

  No one spoke.

  ‘Cursed League!’ she said in a louder, more forceful voice.

  ‘We are one,’ they replied in unison.

  ‘Now back to your tasks.’ Eve propelled Markes and Emilia forward, almost lifting them both from the ground. ‘We will talk in the cave.’

  As they walked to the other end of the camp, the Leaguers dispersed. Naif watched them return to their jobs. One group shredded old clothing into long strips while others close to them plaited the shreds into ropes. Each rope was being threaded with strips of thorny bush or wrapped around small rocks to make lethal slings or whips.

  Near the mouth of the cave was a pile of coppery coloured slate. Four boys sat close around it, chiselling spearheads from the rough rock. As their piles filled, others came up with rough carryalls made from more clothes and moved the spearheads to a pile of stripped branches for tying.

  Liam’s head swivelled from side to side taking in the industry.

  ‘Weapons,’ Naif whispered to him.

  Ahead of them, the leader of the Cursed League spoke curtly to the guards at the entrance of the cave. They held back stiff hessian covers to reveal wide, roughly cut steps leading inside the cave’s dark misshapen mouth. Each of them was forced to stoop to avoid the overhang as they entered – Eve almost doubled over – but once inside they were able to stand easily.

  Naif’s dread diminished a little as she took in the Cursed League’s lair. It was lit by hundreds of candles and decorated with an assortment of stolen objects: chalices, silver bowls and incense burners. Huge brass crosses suspended from the ceiling glinted in the light, and lurid paintings hung on the cave wall – some lewd enough to make Naif turn away. Hundreds of broken icons – dolmen, prayer wheels and figurines – were fixed to the walls or crowded on roughly made shelves alongside wax-twisted candles.

  Eve seemed oblivious to the gaudy clutter and steered them to the middle of the deep cave. ‘Before we talk, Markes is injured,’ said Naif. ‘Can you help him?’

  Eve took up a candle and held it close to Markes. His pant leg was torn and covered in blood, exposing his poorly bandaged thigh.

  ‘Get Schel,’ Eve called to the guard.

  While they waited, Eve tore the material away from the wound. Markes trembled and moaned as she prodded at his flesh and he suddenly collapsed onto the cave floor.

  ‘Lucky to still have a leg,’ she pronounced, stepping back. ‘Let Schel wash it off and bind it. Filthy creatures can poison your blood if you leave their juices on you.’

  ‘Eve?’ called a voice from the cave entrance.

  ‘Schel?’ asked Eve, without turning. ‘Get him to the sluice pad and clean up his leg. Then give him a shirt and some clean pants.’

  The small dark-haired girl padded over to them. She kneeled down and inspected the wound. ‘I’ll need help to get him there.’

  ‘I’ll come,’ said Emilia immediately.

  Schel nodded. ‘Brenny too.’

  Eve gestured to one of the guards who’d followed them in, a lean, muscular boy with his hair clipped close to his scalp and a fresh cut running from his mouth and along his jaw.

  They watched as he and the others half-carried Markes out.

  ‘It don’t look so good,’ said Eve bluntly.

  Naif swallowed the lump that rose in her throat. ‘The Night Creatures pulled him down into a tunnel of some sort. I had to dig him out and cut the tentacle away.’

  Eve nodded approvingly. ‘Lucky you did. Much longer and the muscle would’ve torn through.’

  The thought brought vomit to the back of Naif’s mouth. She spoke quickly to hide her reaction. ‘Can we talk?’

  Eve eyed Liam. ‘Friend of Suki’s, you say?’

  ‘Stra’Ha. Suki. Me. Share blood.’

  ‘Suki told me about him. They planned to meet here, but Liam was withdrawn early before they found each other.’

  ‘That means they came for you soon after you arrived,’ said Eve. ‘Why so?’

  Liam shrugged. He had his tentacles tucked behind his back, as if self-conscious. ‘Catch me spy.’

  Eve blinked. ‘Talk properly.’

  Naif watched suspicion flood Eve’s face. ‘Liam’s speech was changed by the withdrawal.’

  Eve grunted. ‘So what did you spy on?’

  Naif held her breath, not knowing what Liam would say.

  ‘Hear talk. “Merpati must live.”’

  ‘Who is Merpati? What does that mean?’ demanded Eve.

  Liam shrugged. ‘Merpati lives. Ripers live. They say.’

  Naif hid her surprise at Liam’s revelation. ‘Eve, trust us. I’ve much to tell you as well. Please.’

  Eve scowled at Liam and glanced at the remaining guard. ‘Keep him here ’til I’m ready.’

  She beckoned Naif deeper into the cave and past a curve in the rock. Tucked away there was an empty space big enough to hold a large group. The sides and floor were worn smooth by constant use. Two chairs made of dried brush sat next to each other against the back wall. Eve went straight
to one of them and gestured for Naif to sit in the other.

  She knew right away who the spare seat usually belonged to and the realisation made her uneasy. Eve and Clash were like Elders presiding over their congregation. Except their congregation was a gang.

  Eve stared at her. Shadows across the girl’s face made it hard to see her true expression. ‘Tell me what you know,’ she said.

  ‘The Elders and the Ripers are definitely in league. The Ripers harvest something from our blood during withdrawal and give it to the Elders to help keep them young.’

  ‘Why would they do that?’

  ‘So that they supply the Ripers with us . . . young people.’

  ‘You mean we think we’re coming here for freedom . . . but the truth is we are being lured into slavery,’ said Eve.

  ‘You’re from Grave?’ asked Naif. The news surprised her. Eve did not seem like a Grave girl at all; not with her boldness, her confidence.

  ‘My parents were merchants who settled in Port of Patience. We spent time everywhere before that, while my family tried to build trade treaties. We were in Grave one winter.’ She grimaced at the memory.

  ‘Charlonge says there are old books in Vank that can tell us more about the Ripers. She’s gone to get them and will meet us in the Grotto,’ said Naif.

  ‘When?’

  ‘I’m not sure. She has a boy with her – Emilia’s brother. He helped me in Grave. He’s bold and resourceful and would not be recognised at Vank. He’ll have to steal them.’

  ‘So you came here to tell us.’

  ‘Yes. We’ll need help to bring the books here. I also thought . . . hoped you might have heard something about the uther queen. The Ripers hold her as ransom to force the uthers to do their bidding.’

  Eve raised her eyebrows. ‘We’ve long wondered about the relationship between the two. How did you learn this?’

  ‘From Brand when she spoke with the Grave Elders. They discussed it. I think if we can find the uther queen and free her, then we can convince the uthers to abandon the Ripers and help us.’

  ‘A romantic notion, Naif,’ said Eve with a harsh laugh. ‘The two have worked together for a long time.’

  ‘Only because they’ve had to,’ said Naif stubbornly.

  ‘Do you know what the Ripers are capable of? How brutal they can be? Lenoir killed a Riper called Tanel right in front of us. Naif, he tore his throat out.’

  The sickness she’d felt earlier gripped her stomach again. ‘But he had a reason . . . surely?’

  ‘Tanel had gone rogue and attacked Suki. Lenoir was angry, but I think it was more than that. He sought to teach us a lesson.’

  ‘What lesson?’ whispered Naif.

  Eve closed her eyes and pressed her thick fingers against her brow. ‘It was a warning. That we would have to be as brutal as him if we wished to stop them.’

  ‘Is that why you are making weapons?’

  ‘We have to defend ourselves!’ The Leaguer stood up, paced a little and then came back to the chair. ‘What else do you suggest? Let the Ripers slowly kill us all? Suck our life from us so they can survive?’

  ‘No! But I don’t believe we can beat them with spears and slings, either. They must know already what you’re doing. They’ll be spying on you from the dark. They’re quicker, stronger and more ruthless.’

  Eve lifted a giant clenched fist, angry at being defied, and for a moment Naif thought she might lash out. But suddenly she relaxed her fingers and dropped her hand to her side. ‘What then, Clash’s sister? What is your idea?’

  ‘I believe the answer is in the books.’

  ‘How can you be so sure?’ asked a voice.

  ‘Joel!’ Naif jumped from the chair and ran to her brother.

  Though it had only been weeks since she’d seen him, he seemed larger, more muscular, and a beard shadowed his jawline. He also looked weary.

  ‘It’s Clash, little sister. Joel has been gone a long time.’ He folded her into his arms and she smelt his familiar scent. The whole world disappeared just for that brief instant before he set her back on her heels. ‘I told you not to return.’

  Naif choked the rush of tears that sprang forth. ‘I’ve been home to Grave. C-Clash, it’s the Elders.’

  ‘What is the Elders?’

  Naif retold her story, including what she’d learned on Ruzalia’s island and how many of the young people still died once they’d left Ixion.

  Eve and Clash listened in silence until she had finished, occasionally glancing at each other.

  ‘Then we will die too,’ said Eve flatly. ‘All of us.’

  ‘Unless we reverse the badges, yes. You see why I had to come back.’

  ‘And you think some books have the answers?’ asked Clash.

  ‘Maybe not to the badges. I think the uthers are the ones who made those,’ Naif explained.

  ‘Naif says the Ripers and the Elders are holding the uther queen. She believes if we can free her then maybe the uthers will help us.’

  ‘Where?’ asked Clash.

  Naif shook her head and shrugged. ‘I hoped you would know.’

  ‘No,’ said Clash. ‘We knew they had a power over the uthers, that’s all.’

  ‘What about Lenoir?’ said Eve. ‘Can you get answers from him?’

  ‘Yes. Convince him to talk to you,’ said Clash.

  Naif’s heart contracted. ‘No! I don’t . . . I mean . . . I can’t.’

  Eve and Clash stared at her.

  ‘You say you came back to help us, Naif, yet you won’t do this,’ said Clash softly. ‘What use is your coming then?’

  ‘No one else can get close to him,’ said Eve. ‘You are the only one.’

  ‘He was distraught when Ruzalia took you on the airship,’ said Clash. ‘Whatever it is . . . this bond . . . you have sway with him.’

  ‘I . . . no . . .’

  ‘He will listen to you, Naif,’ her brother insisted.

  Naif gave a reluctant nod. But what will it cost me? What will Lenoir take?

  ‘Then it’s agreed?’ said Eve.

  ‘But first we meet Charlonge and see what is in the books,’ said Naif.

  ‘What do you expect to find?’ asked Eve.

  ‘Charlonge believes the books contain the entire history of Ixion including when the Ripers arrived. If we know how they brought the darkness then maybe we can find a way to destroy it.’

  ‘Destroy it?’ said Clash. His expression became stormy. ‘We should banish the Night Creatures and the Ripers, yes. But destroy the island . . . what point is there to that? It’s our home now.’

  ‘It’s home only because the Ripers force the uthers to clean and give us food and clothes. If there were no uthers, how would we fare? The dark would devour us and there’s no way of growing our own food. This is no place for us to live,’ Naif argued. ‘And we can never go home to Grave.’

  Clash folded his arms in annoyance and looked at Eve. ‘What do you say?’

  Eve chewed her lips for a time before answering. ‘I say that Naif makes some sense. But first we must find a way to reverse or remove the badges. Neither of your arguments will mean fross if we are all dead. In the meantime we continue to make our weapons.’

  ‘Where is Suki?’ Naif asked Clash. ‘Isn’t she with you?’

  ‘She will return any moment. I left her watching the Dominion, spying on Brand and Varonessa.’

  Naif had almost got lost in the Dominion searching for Markes. The concentric tunnels painstakingly dug out by the monks now harboured the Ripers. ‘Varonessa?’

  ‘Suki thinks Varonessa holds the balance of power among the Ripers. Whoever Varonessa decides to follow will prevail,’ said Clash.

  Naif remembered the gaunt skeleton of a woman with flowing hair, who she’d seen in the crypt when the Ripers had fought each other. She had seemed to be their arbitrator then. Was she still?

  Eve gave a disparaging grunt at Clash’s last comment. ‘Suki thinks the ghosts of the dead haunt the clubs. How can
we trust her judgement?’

  Naif bristled at her dismissiveness towards her friend. ‘Maybe they do. And I think Suki’s right about Varonessa. She holds a special position among them. I saw that the day they had Markes chained up in the crypt.’

  ‘Well, if Varonessa is the one, then we should take her. Force her to make them surrender to us,’ said Eve.

  ‘No!’ This time Clash and Naif were in agreement.

  ‘What do you think, Suki?’ Eve looked past them both to the curve in the rock. ‘And how much have you heard?’

  ‘Enough to know you doubt me, Eve. And enough to know Naif speaks good sense. Varonessa has her own band to protect her, and both Lenoir and Brand would come to her call. We wouldn’t get close to her,’ said Suki.

  ‘Suki!’ whispered Naif.

  Like Eve, her friend wore a leather tunic held together with metal clips made from bent cutlery. Her hair was twisted into a topknot and secured with string. Her face and hands and legs were grimy; her knees bleeding.

  Suki strode forward and hugged Naif fiercely. But when she drew back her expression was sombre.

  ‘I’m glad to see you, Naif, but you shouldn’t have come. The Night Creatures will stir. We’re not ready to hold them off.’

  ‘I had to,’ said Naif simply.

  ‘If Charlonge is to meet you then we should go to the Grotto now,’ said Suki, revealing she’d heard all of their conversation. ‘Rogue Ripers drift through there. And Brand watches as well. If she gets there before us . . .’

  Naif’s heart faltered. She’d been the one to say where they should meet.

  ‘Take Brenny. He’s our best,’ said Eve. ‘I’ll stay to mind our work. Bring Charlonge and the books back here. Then Naif will go to Lenoir.’

  ‘Markes should stay as well. His badge is starting to change. And his injury . . . he won’t be able to travel quickly.’

  ‘What about the others?’ asked Eve.

  Naif took a breath and then slowly let it go. She should tell Suki about Liam – prepare her – but not in front of Clash and Eve.

  ‘What is it?’ said Suki.

  ‘Emilia is frightened. It’s best she stays here as well.’

  Eve looked at each of them in turn. ‘Agreed?’

  They all nodded. Eve didn’t mention Liam.