The Lake of Souls

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We broke camp before midday. Debbie and Alice had come well equipped, with ropes, thick jumpers, climbing boots, strong torches, lighters and matches, guns, knives, you name it! As a half-vampire, I didn’t require any special tools. All I packed in my rucksack was a good strong knife and a change of clothes. I was wearing jeans, a shirt and a light jumper. Although Truska had gone to a lot of trouble restoring my pirate costume, I didn’t feel comfortable in it — it was a child’s outfit. I’d picked up more normal gear over the last few months. Truska didn’t mind — she said she’d give the costume to Shancus or Urcha when they were older.

I didn’t wear my shoes. The trek to Vampire Mountain was a solemn tradition among vampires. No shoes or climbing gear were allowed. Normally you weren’t allowed to flit either. In recent years, because of the War of the Scars, that rule had been relaxed. But the others still stood. Debbie and Alice thought I was crazy! It’s hard for humans to understand the world of the creatures of the night.

One other thing I did take was my diary. I’d thought the diary lost for ever – it had been left behind in the city, along with the rest of my personal belongings – and was astonished when Alice produced it with a flourish.

“Where’d you get it?” I gasped, fingering the soft, crinkled cover of one of the several notepads that made up the diary.

“It was part of the evidence my officers collected after you were arrested. I sneaked it out before I quit the force.”

“Did you read it?” I asked.

“No, but others did.” She smiled. “They dismissed it as the fictional work of a lunatic.”

I looked for Harkat before we left, but he was locked away in Mr Tall’s van with Mr Tiny. Mr Tall came to the door when I knocked and said the Little Person was not receiving visitors. I called out “Goodbye” but there was no reply.

I felt lousy as we cleared the camp, having said farewell to Evra, Merla and my other friends. But Harkat had been firm about his wishes, and I knew it made more sense to go to Vampire Mountain and take my rightful place in the Hall of Princes again.

Debbie was delighted to have me back, and held on tight to my hand, telling me how excited she was – and a bit scared – to be heading for Vampire Mountain. She pumped me for information – what did vampires wear, did they sleep in coffins, could they turn into bats – but I was too distracted to answer in any great detail.

We’d walked two or three kilometres when I drew to a sudden halt. I was thinking about the times Harkat had saved my life — when he’d rescued me from the jaws of a savage bear, when he’d jumped into a pit during my Trials of Initiation and killed a wild boar as it was about to gouge me to death, the way he’d fought beside me, swinging his axe with speed and skill, when we’d taken on the vampaneze.

“Darren?” Debbie asked, gazing into my eyes, worried. “What’s wrong?”

“He’s got to go back,” Alice answered for me. I stared at her and she smiled. “You can’t ignore the obligations of friendship. Harkat needs you more than we do. Go help him, and catch us up later if you can.”

“But he told me to leave,” I muttered.

“Doesn’t matter,” Alice insisted. “Your place is with him, not us.”

“No!” Debbie objected. “We can’t find our way to the Mountain alone!”

Alice pulled a map out of her rucksack. “I’m sure Darren can point us in the right direction.”

“No!” Debbie cried again, clutching me tight. “I’m afraid I’ll never see you again if you leave!”

“I must,” I sighed. “Alice is right — I have to help Harkat. I’d rather stay with you, but I’d feel like a traitor if I did.”

There were hard tears in Debbie’s eyes, but she blinked them back and nodded tensely. “OK. If that’s the way you want it.”

“It’s the way it has to be,” I said. “You’d do the same thing in my place.”

“Possibly.” She smiled weakly, then, hiding her feelings behind a businesslike façade, she grabbed the map off Alice, laid it on the ground and told me to ink in the route to Vampire Mountain.

I quickly outlined the easiest route, pointed out a couple of alternate paths in case the first was blocked, and told them how to find their way through the maze of tunnels which led up the inside of the Mountain to the Halls where the vampires lived. Then, without any long goodbyes, I kissed Debbie quickly and thrust the rucksack with my newly recovered diary into Alice’s hands. I asked her to look after it for me.

I wished both women well, then turned and raced back for camp. I tried not to dwell on all that could happen to them on their way to the Mountain, and offered up a quick prayer to the gods of the vampires as I ran, asking them to watch over the ex-Chief Inspector and the teacher I loved.

I was on the edge of the camp when I spotted Mr Tiny and Harkat in an open field. In front of the pair stood a shimmering arched doorway, unconnected to anything else. The edges of the doorway glowed red. Mr Tiny also glowed, his suit, hair and skin pulsing a dark, vibrant, crimson shade. The space within the edges of the doorway was a dull grey colour.

Mr Tiny heard me coming, looked over his shoulder and smiled like a shark. “Ah — Master Shan! I thought you might turn up.”

“Darren!” Harkat snapped furiously. “I told you not to come! I won’t take you with … me. You’ll have to–”

Mr Tiny laid a hand on the Little Person’s back and shoved him through the doorway. There was a grey flash, then Harkat disappeared. I could see the field through the grey veil of the doorway — but no sign of Harkat.

“Where’s he gone?” I shouted.

“To search for the truth.” Mr Tiny smiled, edged aside and gestured towards the glowing doorway. “Care to search with him?”

I stepped up to the doorway, gazing uneasily at the glowing red edges and the grey sheen between. “Where does this lead?” I asked.

“Another place,” Mr Tiny answered obscurely, then laid a hand on my right shoulder and looked at me intently. “If you follow Harkat, you might never return. Think seriously about this. If you go with Harkat and die, you won’t be here to face Steve Leonard when the time comes, and your absence might have terrible repercussions for vampires everywhere. Is your short, grey-skinned friend worth such an enormous risk?”

I didn’t have to think twice about that. “Yes,” I answered simply, and stepped through into unnatural, otherworldly greyness.

CHAPTER FIVE

A SUN burnt brightly in the clear sky above the wasteland, highlighting the arid earth and bare rocky hills. A coarse red dust covered much of the land, choking the dry soil. When strong winds blew, the dust rose in sheets, making breathing almost impossible. At such times I pulled on one of Harkat’s spare masks – it blocked out the worst of the grainy particles – and the two of us sought shelter and waited for calm to descend.

It had been two weeks – roughly – since Mr Tiny brought us to this desolate land and abandoned us. Two weeks crossing barren valleys and dead hills, where nothing lived except a few hardy lizards and insects, which we caught and ate whenever we could. They tasted disgusting but you can’t be choosy if you’re stranded in a desert without food or water.

Water was our main concern. Walking in the heat and dust was thirsty work, but water was in scarce supply and we didn’t have any canteens to store it in when we found the occasional pool. We’d fashioned primitive containers from the skins of lizards, but they didn’t hold much. We had to drink sparingly.

Harkat was angry with me for disobeying his wishes – he ranted at me nonstop for a few days – but his temper gradually abated. Although he hadn’t thanked me for choosing to accompany him on his quest, I knew he was secretly grateful.

A fortnight earlier, Mr Tiny followed us through the doorway, which collapsed into dust after him. There’d been a brief moment of disorientation when I stepped through, a grey cloud obscuring my vision. As the cloud cleared, I saw that I was standing in a round, shallow, lifeless valley — and although it had been day when I stepped through the doorway, here it was night, albeit an uncommonly clear night, bright with a full moon and a sky filled with twinkling star clusters.

“Where are we?” Harkat asked, his large green eyes filled with wonder.

Mr Tiny tapped his nose. “That would be telling. Now, boys,” he said, squatting and signalling us to squat beside him. He drew a simple compass in the dust at his feet, and pointed to one of the arrows. “That’s west, as you’ll see by the position of the sun tomorrow. Go in that direction until you come to the hunting grounds of a black panther. You have to kill the panther to find out where to go next.”

Smiling, he stood and turned to leave.

“Wait!” I stopped him. “Is that all you’re going to tell us?”

“What more would you like to know?” he asked politely.

“Loads!” I shouted. “Where are we? How did we get here? What happens if we walk east instead of west? How will Harkat find out who he used to be? And what the hell does a panther have to do with any of it?”

Mr Tiny sighed impatiently. “I thought you would have developed an appreciation for the unknown by now,” he grumbled. “Don’t you realize how exciting it is to set out on an adventure without any idea of what’s coming next? I’d give my wellies and glasses to experience the world the way you do, as something strange and challenging.”

“Forget the wellies and glasses!” I snapped. “Just give with some answers!”

“You can be very rude sometimes,” Mr Tiny complained, but squatted again and paused thoughtfully. “There’s much I can’t and won’t tell you. You’ll have to discover for yourselves where we are — although it won’t make much difference if you don’t. You got here, obviously, through a mechanism either of magic or incredibly evolved technology — I’m not saying which. If you don’t follow the trail west, you’ll die, probably quite horribly. As for Harkat finding out who he is, and the panther…”

Mr Tiny considered the question in silence, before answering. “Somewhere on this world lies a lake – more a glorified pond, really – which I like to refer to as the Lake of Souls. In it you can glimpse the faces of many trapped souls, people whose spirits did not leave Earth when they died. The soul of the person Harkat used to be lies within. You must find the Lake, then fish for his soul. If you succeed, and Harkat learns and acknowledges the truth about himself, your quest will be complete and I’ll see that you’re guided safely home. If not…” He shrugged.

“How do we find this Lake … of Souls?” Harkat asked.

“By following instructions,” Mr Tiny said. “If you locate and kill the panther, you’ll learn where to go next. You’ll also discover a clue to your previous identity, which I’ve been gracious enough to toss in for free.”

“Couldn’t you just cut the crap and tell us?” I groaned.

“No,” Mr Tiny said. He stood and looked down at us seriously. “But I’ll say this much, boys — the panther’s the least of your worries. Step warily, trust in your instincts, and never let your guard down. And don’t forget,” he added to Harkat, “as well as learning who you were, you must acknowledge it. I can’t step in until you’ve admitted the truth out loud.

“Now,” he smiled, “I really must be going. Places to be, things to do, people to torment. If you’ve further questions, they’ll have to wait. Until next time, boys.” With a wave, the short, mysterious man turned and left us, walking east until the darkness swallowed him, stranding us in the unnamed, alien land.

We found a small pool of water and drank deeply from it, sinking our heads into the murky liquid, ignoring the many tiny eels and insects. Harkat’s grey skin looked like damp cardboard when he pulled up, having drunk his fill, but it swiftly resumed its natural colour as the water evaporated under the unforgiving sun.

“How far do you think we’ve come?” I groaned, stretching out in the shade of a prickly bush with small purple flowers. This was the first sign of vegetation we’d encountered, but I was too exhausted to display any active interest.

“I’ve no idea,” Harkat said. “How long have we … been travelling?”

“Two weeks — I think.”

After the first hot day, we’d tried travelling by night, but the path was rocky and treacherous underfoot — not to mention hard on my bare feet! After stumbling many times, ripping our clothes and cutting ourselves, we elected to brave the blistering sun. I wrapped my jumper around my head to ward off the worst of the rays – the sun didn’t affect Harkat’s grey skin, though he sweated a lot – but while that prevented sunstroke, it didn’t do much against sunburn. My upper body had been roasted all over, even through the material of my shirt. For a few days I’d been sore and irritable, but I’d recovered quickly – thanks to my healing abilities as a half-vampire – and the red had turned to a dark, protective brown. The soles of my feet had also hardened — I barely noticed the absence of shoes now.

“With all the climbing and back tracking we’ve … had to do, we can’t be making more than … a couple of miles an hour,” Harkat said. “Allowing for fourteen or fifteen hours of sunlight … per day, we probably cover twenty-five or thirty miles. Over two weeks that’s…” He frowned as he calculated. “Maybe four hundred in total.”

I nodded feebly. “Thank the gods we’re not human — we wouldn’t have lasted a week at this pace, in these conditions.”

Harkat sat up and tilted his head left, then right — the Little Person’s ears were stitched under the skin of his scalp, so he had to cock his head at a sharp angle to listen intently. Hearing nothing, he focused his green eyes on the land around us. After a brief study of the area, he turned towards me. “Has the smell altered?” he asked. He didn’t have a nose, so he relied on mine.

I sniffed the air. “Slightly. It doesn’t smell as tangy as it did before.”

“That’s because there’s less … dust,” he said, pointing to the hills around us. “We seem to be leaving the … desert behind. There are a few plants and patches … of dry grass.”

“About time,” I groaned. “Let’s hope there are animals too — I’ll crack up if I have to eat another lizard or bug.”

“What do you think those twelve-legged … insects were that we ate yesterday?” Harkat asked.

“I’ve no idea, but I won’t be touching them again — my stomach was in bits all night!”

Harkat chuckled. “They didn’t bother me. Sometimes it helps to have no … taste buds, and a stomach capable of digesting … almost anything.”

Harkat pulled his mask up over his mouth and breathed through it in silence, studying the land ahead. Harkat had spent a lot of time testing the air, and didn’t think it was poisonous to him – it was slightly different to the air on Earth, more acidic – but he kept his mask on anyway, to be safe. I’d coughed a lot for the first few days, but I was OK now — my hardened lungs had adapted to the bitter air.

“Decided where we are yet?” I asked after a while. That was our favourite topic of conversation. We’d narrowed the possibilities down to four options. Mr Tiny had somehow sent us back into the past. He’d transported us to some far-off world in our own universe. He’d slipped us into an alternate reality. Or this was an illusion, and our bodies were lying in a field in the real world, while Mr Tiny fed this dream scene into our imaginations.

“I believed in the … illusion theory at first,” Harkat said, lowering his mask. “But the more I consider it, the less … certain I am. If Mr Tiny was making this world up, I think … he’d make it more exciting and colourful. It’s quite drab.”

“It’s early days,” I grunted. “This is probably just to warm us up.”

“It certainly warmed you up,” Harkat grinned, nodding at my tan.