A Hole in the World (17 page)

The last remaining uninjured Baivi screeches into the heavens and the rest pull up, the group turning as one and flying back towards the hills.

‘If that was the easiest trial,’ Daisy says, panting and holding her shoulder as she lets her bow drop to her side, clutched in her other hand, ‘we’re screwed.’

‘Let me tend to your wound.’ It’s the woman who rejected the gold, stepping nervously up to the two of them. ‘You saved our village. It’s the least I can do.’

‘Any chance of a change of clothes?’ Daisy asks, gesturing at the fact her dress is likely to fall off at any moment.

‘I can provide that, miss!’ a boy exclaims. He’s around seventeen and is looking at Daisy like she’s the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen.

‘Someone’s got a crush,’ Bianca mutters in Daisy’s ear, as they move across to the nearest house.

‘Trousers,’ Daisy says. ‘And a shirt of some kind.’

The boy bows to her. ‘Of course. Of course. I will return shortly!’ He flits away as the woman leads Daisy to sit down and reaches for a bowl of water and some bandages.

The boy returns half an hour later with leather trousers, a leather jerkin, a leather cloak and some practical boots clutched in his hands. ‘Here you go, miss,’ he says, offering them to Daisy with blushing cheeks and a grin. He turns to Bianca. ‘Father says he, too, owes you for what you did. He offers two horses; the fastest in the kingdom!’

Daisy glances at Bianca as the other girl splutters, ‘No, we
couldn’t
!’

‘Don’t be a martyr, Bianca,’ she warns, ‘we need to get there faster and we can hardly hike the
whole
way if we want to get there in time.’

Bianca nods. ‘She’s right. We’ll take the horses. Thank your father from us, please.’

‘And thank you for the clothes,’ Daisy says. She turns to the woman who bandaged her shoulder. ‘Have you got somewhere I can change?’

‘Through there...’ The woman gestures. ‘Carlo will show you the way.’

The boy, Carlo, smiles at Daisy. ‘Come on,’ he says, stepping towards the doorway. ‘This way.’

Bianca stays in the main room, watching as the woman potters around. ‘Thank you,’ she says, after a moment, ‘for the bandages and the food.’ She points at the couple of pots of stew by her feet, ready to put into her bag.

‘You’re welcome,’ the woman says. ‘You saved our village. It is the least we can do.’

Daisy returns after fifteen minutes, dressed in the leather outfit and looking mournfully at the once butter yellow, now stained red and brown with blood and mud, dress in her arms. ‘I wanted to keep this,’ she says. Carlo exits the room behind her.

‘Let me take it,’ he says. ‘I may be able to fix it for you. For... when you return.’

Daisy quirks an eyebrow at him. ‘I’m not sure I’ll be coming back,’ she says. ‘We’ve got a long journey ahead of us and...’

‘Well...’ He reaches out and takes the dress from her arms. ‘It will give you something to come back for.’

Bianca watches on, amused, as Daisy blushes for the first time since she’s known her.

‘I... I guess it will then,’ she says.

*

‘You could have stayed,’ Bianca says, as they ride away from the village on horseback, ‘if you’d wanted to.’

‘You kidding? You need backup,’ Daisy replies. The sun is setting overhead and she points at a body of water up ahead. ‘Carlo says that’s the Great Lake,’ she says. ‘We should camp by there tonight. Then, hopefully, we can get to the tower in a day or two.’

‘Agreed.’ Bianca pulls on the reins of her horse, directing the pinto mare in the direction of the water up ahead. Daisy and her chestnut stallion ride ahead, leading the way down towards the water.

Once there, the two girls set up a tent and get out the sleeping bags, getting ready to spend the night.

‘Do you think we’ll get there in time?’ Bianca asks as they cook a tin of beans and a pot of stew over the fire Daisy’s lit.

‘Course we will,’ Daisy replies.

‘How can you be so sure?’ She pokes the beans as though they’re to blame for everything that’s gone wrong so far.

‘I can’t, but it’s good to hope.’

Bianca sighs and nods, the two of them digging into their warm tins and starting to eat silently in the light of the fire.

A twig snaps in the trees nearby and they leap to their feet, Daisy loading and pulling taut her bow, Bianca producing her sword, ready to attack.

From within the trees emerge a pack of lions, a large male leading the pack, his golden fur shining in the light from the fire. Daisy’s arrow wavers. ‘I don’t want to shoot him,’ she whispers.

They come closer, slowly, until the two girls notice the lioness beside the leader has something held in her mouth; a knife with a jewelled handle.

‘They’re on our side!’ Bianca hisses. ‘They’re Nissa’s.’

The leader, as though understanding, inclines his head slightly as the lioness drops the knife at Bianca’s feet.

‘Hey, we’ve got something you might like...’ Daisy turns around and reaches into the pack on the horses, retrieving a large amount of meat Carlo’s mother sent with them; something they hadn’t been sure what to do with yet. 

She chops the meat up with the jewelled knife and, once it’s in several large portions, tosses it into the group of lions, who immediately go to eat it.

‘Looks like we have allies,’ Bianca breathes.

‘Looks like,’ Daisy agrees.

*

‘You know, Carlo was the first boy to ever show any interest in me.’ They’re in the tent, curled up in a sleeping bag each, facing each other in the darkness. It’s cold, so they’re hunkered down inside the bags, five seconds away from sharing one for body heat.

‘I thought Cory...?’

‘Ha.’ Daisy sighs. ‘He never... He doesn’t realise what he means to me. We flirt and we act like we’re together... but when someone else shows interest he’s off and leaving me behind. He doesn’t realise how much I love him.’

Bianca nods. ‘I see.’

‘I don’t think I mean that much to him.’

‘Yeah, you do,’ Bianca tells her. ‘You just... You’re always there. He’s never had the chance to realise what life would be like without you.’

Daisy sighs from within her sleeping bag. ‘He’ll probably find out,’ she says. ‘Do you really think I’m going to survive this?’

Bianca reaches out and puts her hand on Daisy’s wrist. ‘Yes,’ she says.

Daisy shakes her head. ‘No; I’m going to protect you. Even if it kills me.’

‘Not if protecting you kills me first.’

Daisy chuckles. ‘Thanks, Bianca,’ she says. ‘But you’re the one that’s important in this.’

‘We’re both important,’ Bianca insists. ‘So don’t go believing anything different.’

*

At first light, Bianca and Daisy leave the tent. The members of the lion pack are assembled in a circle around the campsite, ready to protect them from anything that may come their way. Bianca greets them with a ‘Good morning!’ she isn’t sure they understand as she wanders into the woods to find somewhere to go to the toilet.  Daisy, meanwhile, prepares some breakfast and once breakfast is eaten they head off towards the tower once more, the lion pack surrounding their horses as they walk.

They travel without incident for a long time – hours, Bianca suspects – until they reach a shining golden field. The lions pause and Daisy and Bianca follow suit.

For a second there’s silence, but then the cats begin to back slowly away the lion’s jaw opening as he lets out a wild roar.

‘What’s happening?’ Daisy whispers.

‘I don’t know,’ Bianca replies. Her horse tries to back away, but she keeps control of the reins, steadying her. ‘Whoa there.’

The grass parts and out of the yellow field swarm rats. Hundreds of rats the size of Jack Russels. All of them heading straight for the lions and horses.

‘Oh good god!’ Daisy squeaks, pulling out the hairspray.

‘Careful!’ Bianca exclaims. ‘You’ll get the lions!’

Daisy shudders. ‘I didn’t sign up for rats!’ she shouts.  They’re coming closer now, even as the lions prepare to battle the rats.

‘Come on.’ Bianca launches herself down from her mare, lands on the field below and draws her sword.  As the lions dive onto the rats, teeth ripping into the squishy flesh of the rats’ bodies, she starts slashing.  Daisy is making whimpering sounds from on top of her horse, aiming her bow into the crowd of rats and firing at random intervals.

‘Daisy, do something constructive!’ Bianca shouts.

‘I really hate rats!’ she squeaks.

The lions roar together as they rip rats apart.  Teeth sink into Bianca’s leg and she screams, falling down as rats gnaw at her, climbing up her body.

‘Bianca!’ Daisy yells.

The rats are climbing up the horse now, the lions doing nothing to stop them, and Daisy is screaming, even as the sheer number of rats weighs Bianca down against the ground, climbing over her chest and towards her face.

This was not how she planned to die. Death by rats wasn’t something she
ever
anticipated.

Out of nowhere, a sword slashes across her chest, knocking the rats flying and slicing a few in half.  Eyes previously squeezed tight shut now squint up. The light almost blinds her until a head moves in front of the sun.

A hand extends and she grabs it, allowing Scotty to pull her to her feet. ‘Scotty,’ she gasps. ‘Where did...
how
did...?’

Before Scotty can reply, rats are on them again and he’s fighting them off.  She turns to grab her sword from the ground in time to see Cory swing his mace, knocking several rats off the saddle of Daisy’s horse. Then, with a grin, he offers her his arm and lifts her down to the ground.  For a long moment, she just stands there, his arm around her middle, staring into his face, and then they’re
both
fighting, back to back, her with a can of hair spray and a lighter, setting fire to the rats she can get to without risking the lions, and him with his fancy mace.

When all the rats are defeated, leaving splatters of rat blood all over the place, the lions’ furs stained red and the humans’ clothes covered in bits of dead rats, the lioness launches herself at Cory, front paws slamming into his chest and sending him slamming backwards onto the ground.

‘Stop! Oh god! Stop!’ Daisy screams.

‘They’re with us!’ Bianca yells.

The lioness eyes Bianca for a moment before stepping back off Cory.  Daisy grabs him by the hand, helping him to his feet and putting herself, protectively, between him and the lions.

‘How did you... when did you...?’ Bianca splutters at Scotty, after a second.

Scotty grins at her. ‘It’s good to see you, too, Yanks.’

She throws herself at him, arms around his neck and face buried in his shoulder, holding him so tight she thinks he’ll probably have damage to his internal organs.

‘I thought you were staying there,’ she says into his shoulder.

‘What, and leave my best friend to fight off evil fanged rats all by herself? Don’t be silly.’ He hugs her back, as tight as he can, and looks towards Daisy. ‘You okay, Dais?’

She nods. ‘Am now. Thanks for the help.’

‘When did you come out?’ Bianca asks. ‘Of the cave, I mean... And where?’

‘We came out the wrong door.’ He chuckles. ‘And we got to this village place in time to see you guys ride away but Cory wouldn’t leave without making sure everyone at the village were okay in the wake of your devastation.’ He gives her a scowl. ‘We lost a couple of nights of sleep trying to catch up, but I guess we weren’t long behind you guys.’

Bianca nods.

‘We were ten minutes behind you guys. Tops.’ He smiles.

‘Where’d you camp?’ she asks.

‘Other side of those woods.’ He gestures behind them and she laughs.

‘We camped this side.’ She grins. ‘Silly! You would have found us earlier if you’d carried on for just five more minutes!’

Scotty smiles, but then it fades and he says, ‘I never would have left you to go on alone, you know. Sorry I was a bit of an idiot.’

‘Well, you’re here now,’ Bianca says, with a smile. ‘And we’re going to need your help if this is any indication.’

‘Okay then. Let’s head off.’

‘We only have two horses,’ Daisy points out.

‘We’ll just have to share,’ Cory says.

‘Okay,’ she says, quietly.

*

Cory’s on the horse behind Daisy, arms around her waist, and Scotty’s behind Bianca. He’s not acting as though he’s holding on for dear life like Cory is, but his hands are loosely on her hips to avoid falling off as they walk. The lions follow at the same pace, licking their wounds and looking as sorry for themselves as the group of humans feel.

‘The tower’s not that far off now,’ Bianca says. ‘If we just stay on the path and make camp up ahead we can make it there tomorrow.’

‘Where’d you get the horses?’ Scotty asks.

‘This boy’s father gave us them after we saved their village from these big winged things,’ Daisy says.