Page 25 of Earthbound

‘I can get you some more,’ Mia said.

‘Thank you—’ Lettle’s words clogged in her throat as they turned the corner. The mountain opened out into a spectacular view, stealing her words.

Sunlight and water poured through a gap in the rock above, creating a shimmering rainbow that ended in a pool of dark water below them. A staircase wound its way around the waterfall where Lettle could see more resting rooms set into the mountainside, their hexagonal doors painted bright colours.

From this vantage point, Lettle could see the number of streets that weaved through the mountain. But most of them were empty.

‘It’s so much bigger than I realised.’

‘There are entire floors we haven’t even ventured to; the city is much larger than anyone will ever know.’

‘Were the Nomads much more numerous before?’ Lettle asked.

‘No, our population has grown in recent years,’ Mia rested her hand on her stomach, ‘Caperly was built long before the Nomads arrived.’

Curious.

An obeah pranced through some of the water spray, its jaws snapping at the rainbow.

‘You have obeah here too?’

‘Yes, many. They are welcome, we do not harvest them for magic like root-rotters do.’

‘Root-rotters?’ Lettle asked.

Farhan laughed as though he had heard the phrase before, but Lettle doubted it.

‘It’s what we call the elves bound to a tribe, to a place.’

Lettle quirked a brow. ‘I see.’

‘It’s an insult,’ Mia clarified.

‘I understood that.’

‘Good.’

They looked at each other, neither breaking eye contact. Until Mia’s lips twitched into a rueful smile, and something shifted between them.

‘I’m glad Alder had someone to take care of him on the journey.’

Lettle looked away, her hand going to the threaded twine around her neck, dotted with tiny treasures. ‘It was him who took care of me, truly.’

‘Well either way, I’m happy you had each other.’

They both turned to Farhan who had wandered to the edge of the cliffside. He was trying to cup the rainbow with his hands.

Mia laughed.

‘I really think he might manage it,’ Lettle said.

‘Shall we see how long he tries for?’ Mia said with a wicked grin.

After ten minutes Lettle put Farhan out of his misery and they continued on.

They turned a corner and Lettle noticed that the walls were streaked with colour. She paused, taking in the mural. The flaking paint made it obvious the imagery was old, the brush strokes faded and incomplete. Her fingers trailed the shape of the red streaks, outlining the animal it was supposed to be.

‘Is it a fox?’ Lettle asked. It was similar to the woodland animal, but the tail was larger, almost like an obeah’s.