Page 110 of Earthbound

Soon the rustling of the locusts’ wings abated and all that was left was the sound of her panting breaths.

She let her magic dissipate and went to inspect the petals.

‘Only a few damaged, but we should get them to the apothecary now,’ Yeeran said. ‘Malak’s trickery runs deeper than I thought–to send locusts after me? He is devious.’ She was angry at herself, furious for being so naïve, even after Malak had warned her.

‘We need to seal the boundary immediately, no more waiting for any obeah to return,’ she continued, then realised she’d had no response from Rayan. ‘What is it?’

He was standing at the top of the steps that oversaw Mosima. His finger pointed into the distance.

Yeeran went to see what he was looking at.

Her stomach sank. The cloud of locusts had found the agricultural land and were sating their appetites.

‘They’re attacking our food,’ he said softly, almost in wonderment, like this was some kind of dream.

But few nightmares could have conjured up such horror, and Yeeran found herself wondering what was best: To die from sickness or famine?

A hundred years I have studied one aspect of the bindings: how to unravel a spell once cast. My hands shake as I write this, but I implore you, Afa, please, take this knowledge and use it. Remove your soul from the earth.

You are not a god.

None of us are.

So free the world of your torment.

Then, and only then, will you free Mosima.

Chapter Twenty-One

Alder

Alder was flying but it wasn’t the peaceful experience he always dreamed it would be. He couldn’t control his movements and he flew chaotically back and forth.

‘Alder!’ He looked up. Lettle was there, and he wasn’t flying, he was swinging on a rope.

Heights had never bothered Alder, but to find himself suspended next to a rushing waterfall without knowing how he got there was enough to stop his heart.

‘Lettle? What’s happening? Where am I?’ He began to struggle, his skin pinching where a harness–which he didn’t remembering donning–dug into his pelvis. His movements drew him closer to the waterfall. Water filled his mouth, his nostrils, and Alder thought he might just drown. Panic seized him and he began to struggle harder.

Then he was moving upwards, pulled by Lettle’s strength. A god above him, lifting him out of this nightmare he’d found himself in.

‘You’re all right, you’ll be all right,’ she said.

Tears and water streamed down his face. ‘Help me,’ he said to the goddess above him.

Sure hands gripped him. Relief washed over him and then, once again, he knew no more.

—

The nightmare repeated itself and he woke an immeasurable amount of time later in the same harness, swinging from the same spot.

But this time Lettle was below him.

‘You’re safe now,’ she said, but he didn’t feel safe.

‘Where am I?’ His stomach lurched and a wave of vertigo struck him. He squeezed his eyes shut as the world spun.

‘We’re behind the waterfall in Caperly.’