Free Trading with Death by Ann Girdharry Page A

with a jolt, I recognised the relics of a grand old,
fallen tree which marked the half-way point in the track. We’d come
half way, so no point in turning back.
    I heard a
tremor in my own voice, “Listen, let’s talk about that once we’re
out of here, okay?”
    “Oh no, Taka,
sorry we need to talk about it now. You see, we’re in the middle
and it’s time, it’s almost upon me.”
    Dalvar stopped
and turned towards me. I didn’t know what she was talking about and
I didn’t want to know either so I put my arm around her shoulders
and tried to encourage her to keep walking. She stood rooted to the
spot and folded her arms. That’s one of the problems with a
stubborn sister.
    “You know we
shouldn’t come in here, Taka. It’s been watching me and waiting
every time we’ve crossed the woods but it can’t wait any longer,”
she said.
    I try to block
out her words, try to ignore too that odd look in her eyes.
“Dalvar, stop it, we’ve got to get going. Come on.”
    She stuck her
chin out. “You’re not listening to me. This is important.”
    I swear I
heard the sound of whispering, like the wind in the trees, only,
like I said, there was no wind today. If my eyes weren’t playing
tricks, back down the track the branches by the side of the path
began to sway, as if something just brushed past. I grabbed
Dalvar’s arm and planted myself in front of her. From behind, I
heard her say the oddest thing, “Don’t be frightened, Taka.”
    I clutched a
tree so hard the bark sank into the soft flesh behind my nails. I’d
promised to look after Dalvar, always and always, and I would. I
felt like I was panting and I heard a scream, not from Dalvar but
from me, high and bright, never ending. A swirling mass emerged
onto the track behind us like an enormous, lethal swarm of black
bees. Only I knew it wasn’t bees. The mass moved like liquid smoke,
grey and shifting, advancing. As hard as I could I pushed Dalvar to
safety into the pines. The mass homed it, suffocating me, sucking
out my breath. I sank to my knees, and though I flung myself face
down and tore at the ground to stop myself from slipping into its
grasp, the dark entity sucked me in. It enveloped me whole and its
voices invaded. What they said, I cannot tell you, but they
whispered in a thousand voices in a thousand different tongues,
filling every space in my being until I could stand it no longer.
My mind splintered into thousands of tiny pieces. With no anchor, I
fell into darkness.

Part Two
    When I awoke,
the first thing I saw was a ribbon lying not far from my face. It
lay close enough that I could probably have touched it if I
stretched out my arm. The bright strand trailed across the ground,
pink and familiar on the pine needles, and it seemed to hold within
it a distant memory of something happy and good that felt like
home. From the soft earth, a deep scent of resin filled my nose and
I half-closed my eyes, trying to remember what had happened. My
head felt fuzzy. Why was I lying on the ground? In an instant, I
realised her absence; my sister was missing. I pushed myself onto
my knees and grabbed the ribbon, scanning the trees and the gloom
of the woods stretching out on all sides. Terror tried to drag me
down into its deep waters, but I scrambled to my feet and forced
myself to shout.
    “Dalvar!”
    The trees
swallowed the sound whole. She’d been with me, hadn’t she? We’d
been coming home from school and something had happened. Yes,
something, but what? Nothing came to mind. I willed myself to be
strong and waited a few moments until I felt more solid, then
called her name again.
    “Dalvar!” No
response.
    As I called
this second time, I felt a burning sensation in my lungs and my
chest convulsed in a spasm of coughing. I grabbed onto a tree
trunk. I could sense the solidity of the tree and its roots
travelling deep down into the earth and I steadied myself against
its comforting presence. I bent over at the waist to squeeze
against the