Page 65 of Earthbound

‘Don’t tell me I’ve lost him,’ she begged.

Afa jerked as though struck by an idea; his movements, like his mind were occasionally erratic.

He stood and went to the waterfall. Then he put on the silkvine harness. When he looked back at her his expression was threatening. ‘There is nothing to be gained by letting me leave. I cannot answer your questions beyond these walls.’ Then he jumped.

Lettle ran to the edge, spray from the waterfall drenching her again in moments.

‘Wait!’ she shouted.

Afa hadn’t fallen far, and he swung back and forth through the waterfall water.

He looked up. ‘Lettle?’

Though there was no physical difference between Afa and Alder, there was a softness in her friend that wasn’t tangible; an innocence that could not be described.

‘Alder?’ Lettle said and automatically began to pull up the rope.

It was only then that he seemed to realise where he was and began to scream. ‘What’s happening? Where am I?’

He began to struggle in the harness, causing him to swing further into the rushing water. She heard him choke as he struggled to breathe.

‘Lettle!’

‘You’re all right, you’ll be all right,’ she sobbed as she tried to pull him up.

His eyes were wide with horror as he moved in and out of the waterfall.

Lettle’s hands were raw and bleeding from the rope, but she didn’t notice. All her attention was on saving Alder.

Inch by inch she hauled him up until his fingers were able to grip the ledge. His face was red from the force of the water and his eyes streamed with tears.

‘Help me,’ he said. She grabbed his hand and pulled him back into the cavern.

‘You’re safe now,’ she said and they both wept in each other’s arms.

It took her a moment to realise his shoulders weren’t shaking from crying. Alder was laughing.

It’s not Alder…

Lettle recoiled and crawled backwards until she felt the warmth of Ajax at her back. She glanced at Mortah’s cane which was on the ground, just out of reach.

‘My heart is aflutter but I have no notion as to its cause,’ he laughed and sat back on his heels. ‘How riveting!’

Lettle watched with revulsion. The brief glimpse of Alder had left her feeling more bereft.

I will get my answers from Afa, then I will bring back Alder.

‘How have you lived this long?’

Afa noticed the strawberries and stopped laughing abruptly. He plucked one and bit into it. ‘I had hoped being away meant I would be able to taste again, but it appears not.’

He acted like he hadn’t heard her, so she tried a different tactic.

‘Was it human magic that did this to you?’

He squished the uneaten strawberry in his hand, the juice trickling onto the ground. ‘Yes.’

‘Why?’