Elevation 3: The Fiery Spiral. Helen Brain

thanked me for saving her or giving her the amulet. I’m not going to sit here listening to her problems anymore.

      “I have to get going.” I get up and dust the back of my robe.

      She gets up too. “Where are we going? Is there another way back? Another portal? Do you know where to find it? You do, don’t you?” She grips my arm, but this time it feels like a chain pulling me down, and I loosen her fingers and step back. “I’m sorry, Ebba, but in Celestia we have to walk alone.”

      She stares, her mouth open. “You’re leaving me? You’re leaving me?”

      Should I stay? What if something happens to her? But then she starts to cry again, and the emotions pouring out of her threaten to drown me, and I have to get away. “I’m sorry,” I mutter. “Good luck.”

      I dare not look back. There’s a rustling in the grass, and Isi appears, lolloping beside me. Ebba calls her, but Isi doesn’t turn, and nor do I.

      EBBA

      What am I supposed to do now? I’d follow him, but I can’t even see him. I was watching them walk away, thinking he’d change his mind and suddenly he was gone. And Isi too.

      There’s a pile of rocks nearby, and I clamber up them. Maybe I can see them from the top. But there’s no sign of anything living. Celestia is flat as a dinner plate, with just the occasional small hill. Far across the other side is a range of mountains. I turn and it’s the same view. No matter which way I turn, north, south, east or west, I see the same. I’m standing in the centre of a circle.

      This world is dead. There are no rivers, no trees, no houses. It’s how we imagined the surface of Earth to be when we were buried in the colony. No animals or insects, nothing living, except Lucas and Isi, and even they have disappeared.

      The realisation that I am alone hits me like a punch to the stomach … My mind whirls with the dangers ahead – starvation, dying of thirst, being injured and in pain with no one to help.

      I just need to get home. I’ll battle it out with Micah. Even if the Goddess can’t return with me, I can go back alone. I can toughen up, stand up to him and Samantha-Lee. My sabenzis and Alexia will help me. I just need to find the portal.

      Then suddenly, a movement catches my eye.

      A man is walking towards me. He’s coming from the east, striding across the sand straight-backed, head upright. “Ebba,” he calls. “Ebba, where are you?”

      Who is he? I’m crouching behind a rock so he can’t see me watching him. I want to run to him, a fellow human in this dead place. But after Micah I’ve learnt to be cautious. He comes closer and he reminds me of … that strong jaw … that particular muscular stride seems familiar. But who?

      Dust rises up around him like the anxiety swirling in my stomach. Will he harm me? There’s nowhere to run, nowhere else to hide, so I sit dead still, watching.

      As he draws nearer I recognise Leonid’s thick eyebrows. In the expression around his mouth I see Alexia’s determination. I hardly dare believe it, hardly dare hope.

      It can’t be. It can’t be.

      “Ebba, Ebba, where are you my darling?”

      My heart bursts with joy and I jump up from my hiding place. “I’m here. I’m here.”

      The smile that breaks across his face is my smile. This man is my father. He’s come to save me. He’s come. He’s here.

      He’s holding me, my dad. He’s here now. Everything will be alright. I bury myself in his chest, his strong arms enfold me, and I’m safe. Safe at last.

      “My little girl, my little girl, I’ve found you after so long.”

      When I look into his face his eyes are wet with tears, and I sob. For seventeen years I’ve missed him. I’ve longed for a father to keep me safe, to tuck me into bed at night, to play games with me. I needed him when the High Priest tried to kill me, when Micah betrayed me. I’ve missed him every single day. And now we’re together, and everything will be alright.

      “I’ve been sent to fetch you,” he says when at last he lets me go. He puts his hands on my shoulders and looks into my eyes. “I’m so proud to be able to fetch you, and to take you back to Earth. Because of your exceptional act of courage, the gods have allowed me to help you with your sacred task.”

      I can’t believe what I’m hearing; it’s such wonderful news. “You’re coming with me?”

      “That’s right.”

      Thank the Goddess! He’s going to be there with me, being the father I dreamed of. He’ll make everything right again, protect me from Major Zungu, from Samantha-Lee.

      “The portal is just over there.” He points back to the direction he came from. “It’s a bit of a walk, but you can tell me all about yourself. My beautiful daughter, all grown up. You look like my mother, do you know that? She was a wonderful woman – strong like you. Always thinking of other people. Her name was Lily. She would have loved you. Loved you!”

      He takes my hands in his and I’m enjoying the feel of his strong fingers when my birthmark starts to tingle, a little vibration that grows in intensity, and I have to let go of his hands to rub it.

      “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

      “My hand. It feels like thousands of pins pricking it.”

      “Our connection is so strong.” He rubs his right temple. “My mark is tingling too. It’s a family mark and my ouma had it too. She was a seer. She could foretell the future. She lived in Hout Bay, before it became Boat Bay and they built the wall. She always knew which boats were going to sink, and which sailors would drown.”

      There’s a shadow over the right half of his forehead. It’s not like my birthmark, it’s not shaped like a tree, but it’s a birthmark, and another thing joining us as family. Another sign that I belong with him.

      “Come now. We need to get back. It’s time for you and Micah to start rebuilding the house.”

      Micah. The name is like a knife stab. “I’m never going to forgive him.”

      “Micah?” He chuckles, squeezing my shoulder. “Micah would never betray you. It was one of the girls from the bunker who reported you to the guards. The nasty one, long dark hair, thinks a lot of herself …”

      “Bonita Mentoor?”

      “That’s the one. Micah went to the council chamber to try and protect you. He can’t wait for you to get home. You’re a hero. The whole resistance is toasting your courage. You’re a superstar. They are going to promote you over Samantha-Lee. It will be you and Micah leading the resistance now.”

      “You can see what’s happening on Earth?”

      He smiles. “Of course I can. I’ve been watching you all your life. Ever since I hid you in the colony the day that Ali was killed.”

      “I loved her with all my heart,” he says with a slow shake of his head. “She was my reason for living. And when we knew you were on the way I was overjoyed that we were going to be a family. I wanted a little girl, and then you were born, in the front bedroom at Greenhaven, with Aunty Figgy and my mother helping you into the world. I held you, so tiny, your face bright red, bellowing your lungs out, and your head fitted into the palm of my hand. I looked into your eyes and I knew, I just knew, you were destined for something special.

      “I was so proud when you came out of the colony and took over Greenhaven. Such a slip of a girl with no training, no life skills. Most people would have buckled under the strain of what the High Priest and his family did to you. But you rose to the task like you were born to it …”

      I can barely believe it. My father is proud of me.

      “I watched you sacrifice yourself for the good