Bay and they built the wall. She always knew which boats were going to sink, and which sailors would drown.”
There’s a shadow over the right half of his forehead. It’s not like my birthmark, it’s not shaped like a tree, but it’s a birthmark, and another thing joining us as family. Another sign that I belong with him.
“Come now. We need to get back. It’s time for you and Micah to start rebuilding the house.”
Micah. The name is like a knife stab. “I’m never going to forgive him.”
“Micah?” He chuckles, squeezing my shoulder. “Micah would never betray you. It was one of the girls from the bunker who reported you to the guards. The nasty one, long dark hair, thinks a lot of herself …”
“Bonita Mentoor?”
“That’s the one. Micah went to the council chamber to try and protect you. He can’t wait for you to get home. You’re a hero. The whole resistance is toasting your courage. You’re a superstar. They are going to promote you over Samantha-Lee. It will be you and Micah leading the resistance now.”
“You can see what’s happening on Earth?”
He smiles. “Of course I can. I’ve been watching you all your life. Ever since I hid you in the colony the day that Ali was killed.”
“I loved her with all my heart,” he says with a slow shake of his head. “She was my reason for living. And when we knew you were on the way I was overjoyed that we were going to be a family. I wanted a little girl, and then you were born, in the front bedroom at Greenhaven, with Aunty Figgy and my mother helping you into the world. I held you, so tiny, your face bright red, bellowing your lungs out, and your head fitted into the palm of my hand. I looked into your eyes and I knew, I just knew, you were destined for something special.
“I was so proud when you came out of the colony and took over Greenhaven. Such a slip of a girl with no training, no life skills. Most people would have buckled under the strain of what the High Priest and his family did to you. But you rose to the task like you were born to it …”
I can barely believe it. My father is proud of me.
“I watched you sacrifice yourself for the good of the resistance and I’ve never been more impressed with anyone. You’re so young, barely seventeen, and you were ready to make the ultimate sacrifice. You’re a national hero, do you know that? Even Samantha-Lee has admitted it. She said to Micah, ‘I was really surprised when Ebba went through with your plan. I didn’t think she had it in her. I underestimated her.’”
“What did Micah say?” It’s like the sun has risen in my heart. I can’t wait to get home now, and to be in his arms again.
“He said, ‘I knew she’d do it. Now you see why I love her so much.’”
We’ve just set off when Isi’s barks echo across the landscape. “Come on, girl,” I call, searching for her. “We’re going home. We’re going back to Greenhaven.”
Her barks turn to howls but I can’t work out where she is. At last I see her, standing on top of a rocky outcrop far away from the path we’re taking.
“She’s stuck! She can’t get down.”
“Your mom was just so, always fussing over the dog. She’ll be fine. She’ll find her way down. They always do. Come on.”
Reluctantly I walk on with him, but Isi’s howls grow more desperate. “I have to go and help her down. I can’t leave her there.”
His eyebrows draw together like Leonid’s. I bite my lip, keep walking. I don’t want him to be cross with me … but … this is Isi.
I take his hand and squeeze it. “Please. It won’t take a moment. I’ll be back in a minute.”
His jaw clenches and I think he will say no, but instead he says, “Fine, but fetch her and come straight back. The portal won’t stay open for long. Once it’s shut, there’s no way home.”
I run across the veld, and as I approach, Isi’s howls turn to whines. She’s way up at the top of the rocks. They’re five white, rounded boulders, like huge eggs upended in the sand. How did she even get up there? “Come on, girl. Come down,” I call, reaching the first rock. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
She gives her warning bark, her eyes fixed on my father, who is following behind me. Then she whimpers, gazing at me desperately as I clamber up the smooth side of the rock, grasping for any foothold.
When I reach the top, she licks my hand, still whimpering. What’s wrong with her? I need to make a leash to get her down. I bite the hem of my robe and rip off a strip of fabric long enough to knot around her collar.
My father has stopped about twenty metres from the rocks. He’s watching us, hands on his hips, and Isi goes almost hysterical, backing away from him, barking and growling, towards the far edge of the rock.
“Come on, Ebba,” he calls. “We have to get going.”
I loop the leash around her collar, but when I try and pull her forward, she breaks free, runs away and disappears down the back of the rock. I run after her. The five rocks form a circle and she’s fallen into the gap at the centre. There’s no way she can get out. I can’t even see her down there.
“Just leave the dog!” my father calls. “Come on, we don’t have time.”
I gnaw on my lip. I can’t leave her here. Or will she be alright? This is Celestia. Surely the same rules don’t apply as they do on Earth? Maybe Lucas is somewhere around, and I can leave her to him? But there’s no sign of him. Just rock and red sand and my father glowering at me. Isi is whimpering from below. Is she in pain?
I lean over the edge. She’s lying under the overhang, just her back legs and tail visible from up here. Why is her leg at that strange angle? Has she broken it? I lean over further, and my foot slips on the smooth surface. I slide, reaching wildly, but there’s nothing to grab. Shrieking, I shoot right down the rock, over the edge, and plunge into the gap.
CHAPTER 3
LUCAS
For three days I proceed in a northerly direction, studying the remarkable flora and fauna of Celestia. I am relieved to be able to push all thoughts of Earth and of what transpired in the council chamber out of my mind. Isi trots next to me, delighted with her freedom to run around freely and hunt for lizards. I eat fruit and nuts from the trees, and drink sweet water from the streams. At night I curl up under a bush, and the cold does not bother me, neither does the hard ground.
On the fourth morning Isi disappears. Shortly afterwards, I come across a curious arrangement of ovoid white rocks, alabaster-like, forming a circle. I inspect them from all angles. They’re taller than I am, and half buried in the sand. The surface is smooth. Similar to the skin on the inside of Ebba’s wrists. But that’s not a good analogy. I need a more scientific way to describe it, although her skin is so very pale, and the veins show blue against it, just as this rock has streaks of cream and pink running through it.
I
