Alive (The Veiled World Book 1) (22 page)

“You remember what Axel said about his mum’s bedtime story? About the River of Truth or some shit like that?”

I nodded. Here we go. What had I said?

“I don’t even remember talking to you,” I said, my breath coming out fast and hard.

“Well, you were pretty drunk, and you came and gave me a hug and you said ‘sorry.’”

“Oh.”

Reece stopped and put an arm out to stop me while the others went ahead.

“You said you were sorry that you couldn’t get your brother out. That you tried until your hands burned, and I never looked at your hands, I never cared to, but you showed me last night.”

I stayed silent for a few seconds, absorbing everything Reece was telling me.

“You saw the scars?” I’d never showed anybody the scars. They were faint enough that if you didn’t look you wouldn’t know they were there. But when you did look, you were treated to a palm no palm reader in the world would be able to decipher.

“Yeah.” His green eyes softened. “Why didn’t you show them to me before? When I first started blaming you, when the whole town did? The newspapers were printing all the stuff about you letting him burn and you starting the fire and then last night you showed me your hands and you told me about how it started.”

Tears burned beneath my lids but I didn’t shed them. My hands burned as though they were being burned on the brass doorknob all over again. My brother’s screams filled my ears.

“It wasn’t your fault, Amber,” said Reece, putting his hand on my shoulder and squeezing me. “And I’m sorry I gave you so much hell about it. I’m an arsehole.”

I rubbed my eyes and swallowed down the solid lump in my throat. “It’s okay.”

Reece shook his head. “It’s not okay. Sam was smoking in his room and fell asleep and the ash fell onto the doona. The firefighters told you that in a report, you said so last night.”

“My mum and dad read the report and they knew Sam started it with his cigarette, but they still blame me. They still think I should have stopped Sam. That he was the wild one and that I’m the responsible one.” I paused to blink away the tears burning my eyes and Reece squeezed my shoulder harder. “When Mum read the report, I was waiting for my hugs, for someone to tell me it was okay, that they believed me and were sorry for blaming me. But when she looked up from that piece of paper, she glared at me like she hated me. And I never got the hugs.”

“Shit, I’m sorry, Amber. I’m so sorry.” Reece pulled me into his arms and gave me a bear hug and I lost myself inside of it, lost myself inside the acceptance Reece had just given me.

“I was such a prick to you,” he said, squeezing me tight, his voice breaking. “Sam would hate me for what I did to his sister. I’m a bad friend to him…and to you.”

“It’s okay.” I squeezed him back and then we pulled apart.

Reece patted me on the back. “So can I call you my friend now? Will you have me as your friend?”

I nodded and rubbed away the last of my tears. My shoulders felt light, my head was free of the painful thumping from earlier.

“It’s nice to have someone who believes me for once.”

He smiled, looking like the twelve-year-old Reece standing by the Christmas tree with his mother.

“You want me to tell the others?” he asked.

I shook my head.

“One’s enough for the day?” he asked, and I nodded. “Okay, but I’ll tell Claire tomorrow. She misses you.”

“Thanks,” I said, speaking over the lump that was building up again in my throat.

“It’s okay. Sam was my best friend.” He elbowed me in the ribs. “I’ve got to look out for his little sister.”

I laughed. “Big sister by two minutes. And I’m taller than he was.”

Reece laughed. “You are. Taller than me too. Which I hate.”

I laughed again, and it felt amazing, like fluttery birds were flying out of my lungs, up my throat, and into the sky, making me feel light and giddy.

“What the hell are you two laughing at?” said Reuben, his brows furrowed. He was standing with his arms folded over his chest. The other’s had turned around too and were eyeing us with raised brows.

Reece just laughed and mussed up my hair before catching up with Claire and putting his arm around her. He turned back to face me and gave me a wink and I smiled.

I caught Jacob looking at me with soft dark eyes again and he quickly looked away. I wondered if he was thinking about the kiss and how disgusting an experience it was for him, or wondering why Reece was now talking to me. Or, worse, did I do or say something to him last night that I wasn’t aware of?

No way was I
ever
drinking again. Water wine or real wine or anything. Just good old plain water from now on.

The earth vibrated beneath out feet.

“Oh shit, not again,” shouted Noah as he ran backwards and crashed into Kyle, knocking him flat on his back.

“What?” Axel said, just in time to see a heard of dinosaurs come bursting through an opening in the trees, running straight for the cliff face…or us.

We split up and ran in opposite directions, and scrambled up the trunks of the low hanging trees that bent over the rushing waters below.

From the thick branch of my tree, I watched as several spiky tailed, short, fat dinosaurs threw themselves off the cliff face.

What on earth? Suicidal dinosaurs?

I blinked as a shimmering light met my eyes, blinding me. At first I thought it may have been the sunlight shining against the water, but then I realised that I couldn’t see the water anymore, just a thick mist of swirling colours that glittered between the two cliff faces.

“Why are they doing that?” Claire said. She was clinging to the same branch as me.

“Maybe it’s the only way to another afterlife, a
Change
. I don’t know.”

“I looks like a
Change
to me,” said Axel.

“What if they went down this river and all died?” asked Noah.

“Or what if the river leads to the Land of Resting Souls?” shouted Reuben from a tree further down the riverbed.

“But why would the dinosaurs do that? Why would they want to just off and ride this rainbow river like a waterslide?” Noah asked.

“We’re probably in some kid’s heaven. Maybe the dinosaurs are his friendly companions and this is some kind of fun, safe land.”

Axel fixed an intense gaze on me before that gaze softened. I knew he was thinking about his little brother.

“I’m not sliding down there only to be crushed by dinosaurs,” shouted Reuben.

Kyle jumped down from the same tree Reuben was in. He shrugged and started to poke around the trees, looking for something. He returned a minute or so later with a large piece of bark, the size of a boogie board.

“What are you doing?” asked Reece.

Kyle ran over to us.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going for the ride of my life.” He grinned up at us. “I’ve been waiting for this moment forever.”

“But you don’t know what’s down there!” shouted Claire.

Kyle shrugged. “All I know is that something is down there, through that rainbow mist, and maybe it’s good. Maybe it’s a nice place where all our loved ones are waiting. Who knows?” Tears filled his eyes and his face turned red. But then he broke into a wide smile. “But I want to find out.”

“No. Wait!” shouted Reuben from the other tree.

Kyle waved at us all before holding the bark in front of him and jumping off the cliff.

He twisted in the air and shouted out a “Woohoo!” before disappearing into the sparkling rainbow mist beneath him.

Chapter 24

Axel

We watched the lunatic disappear into the glittering mist, his cries echoing his joy. Maybe he wasn’t such a lunatic after all. Maybe he was headed somewhere better than where we were right now. It could be the quickest way to the Land of Resting Souls, or, if he survived the fall, he might possibly find Bruce’s body.

But he was still an idiot for leaving us.

Because now we were missing not only Bruce but Kyle too.

Two down.

Not that it mattered in the end. Well, it did. But in the end only one of us got to bring the soul of a loved one to life, and I selfishly wanted that someone to be me.

I’d almost lost my head earlier, when I’d kissed Amber on the forehead and cradled her face in my hand. I’d wanted everyone around us to disappear so that I could kiss her in more places than just her forehead. I wanted to put my lips to her mouth, and on her neck and her entire body. I’d wanted to kiss those scars on her hands that she thought nobody could see.

Something about dangling over the jaws of a dinosaur made me realise how much I wanted her alive after all of this. How much I wanted for her to get her brother back. How much I wanted for her to be happy. How much I wanted for her to be mine.

But then I’d remembered my mother, frail and ghostly white in bed. The only thing that could heal her would be my baby brother. If she saw his sweet face again, she wouldn’t be so sick. She would be so happy she’d have a permanent smile on her lips. So I’d pulled away from Amber, hurting her when I did so.

I had to stay focused. I’d been sent here by the king to bring back his wife and my brother. Nothing would stop me. I’d have to bury my feelings for Amber if I was going to make it to the Land of Resting Souls.

Because if I continued to feel this way, I wasn’t sure what I’d do if I lost her, if she died on this journey. I hardly knew her, but I wanted to know her. I wanted to know everything about her.

I jumped down from the tree and shook my head free of my thoughts.

Amber jumped down and landed beside me and it took every inch of my willpower to turn away from her and start walking.

“Wait. Axel. Please.”

I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.

She didn’t try anymore after that.

We continued on, following the glittering mist, until Reece stopped and started to look around the bases of trees for bark like Kyle had done.

“Not another one,” I said, and Amber looked at me and half smiled.

I wanted to return her smile, but didn’t, even though the curve of her lips sent lightning bolts to my stomach.

Reece returned with two large pieces of bark and handed one to Claire.

“We’ve decided to join Kyle. Anything is better than just walking for hours and hours in the same jungle.” He shrugged and rested his gaze on Amber. The two seemed to be on friendlier terms now. “And hey, at least it sounded like he was having fun.”

Claire smiled weakly. “We could get eaten by dinosaurs up here. We may as well do it.”

Reuben agreed and went off to find his own piece of bark. Noah followed suit.

I looked at Jacob and then finally, because I had to, at Amber, and they both sighed and went to look for their own pieces of bark.

I groaned and did the same, tearing a sizeable piece of thick grey bark from an old tree.

The ground trembled beneath my feet.

My eyes met Amber’s wide ones.

The ground trembled again.

“T-T-T. rex!” stuttered Noah as he stared ahead at the swaying trees in the distance.

“It’s back! Jump!” shouted Reece.

Everyone ran towards the edge of the cliff.

I jumped, gripping my piece of bark tight between my fingers and thumb.

Claire faltered at the edge, but Reece slung his arm around her and pulled her off with him.

Amber screamed and reached out towards me as she jumped.

The sparkling coloured mist swallowed me, shielding Amber from my vision.

“Amber!” I cried, my hand reaching for hers.

Fingers closed around mine and I gripped them tight, pulling her towards me so that I could see her.

“Axel!” she shrieked, her eyes wide with surprise, and I found myself laughing, even though I was falling to my possible death.

“I’ve got you, Amber.”

The thick mist glittered as colours swirled and moved around us.

“What the hell is this thing?”

“I don’t know.”

Someone tumbled towards us.

“Jacob!” Amber cried.

I balanced my chest against my board and reached out to grab Jacob by his shirt collar. The act spun us all around in circles, but we managed to land upright in the mist, floating against our boards on our stomachs.

Jacob laughed.

Amber and I did the same.

The mist grew thinner, and the tops of the others’ heads came into view. They were disappearing over what seemed to be the edge of a rainbow waterfall.

Amber screamed and Jacob cried out.

“Hold on!” I shouted, clutching their hands tightly between my fingers as we were swept over the edge.