Furnaces of Forge (The Land's Tale) (18 page)

While Reach was away, Aunt Mag finished washing Flyte’s wounds. Calamity lay at Flyte’s head, her nose a whisker away from the wolf’s nose. Megan and Wave made coffee and then Brian told Grunge how they came to be there.

‘When Reach and Wave told us you were coming here to look for Kevin, we decided to come straight over. Wave showed us Leaf’s Meadow on the map. It was Megan who said the quickest way was as the crow flies, but since crows don’t fly on roads we’d have to make our own. She just pointed the bus in this direction and drove.’

‘You should have seen her, Grunge. She’s one fearless bus driver,’ said Wave, making Megan blush.

‘When Aunt Mag heard what had happened to Kevin, she insisted on coming,’ Brian continued.

‘Well, it sounded as if those strangers needed a good talking-to,’ said Aunt Mag.

‘But now we don’t have either Kevin or Crimson,’ said Brian.

‘Let’s see to Flyte. Once we’ve tended to these wounds, she might be rested enough to tell us what happened,’ Grunge suggested.

It wasn’t long before Reach returned with Leaf’s first-aid kit and sewing box. Aunt Mag dressed Flyte’s leg, and then threaded a small needle with the finest cotton she could find. When she was ready, she spoke gently to the wolf.

‘This will hurt, Flyte. I’ll be as quick as I can but you have to keep still. Is it OK if I start now?’

Flyte looked at Aunt Mag and gave a little nod. She lay as flat as she could, stretched her legs and closed her eyes.

Brian couldn’t bear to watch. He drifted away from the others, and found himself looking across the beautiful meadow. He sat in the soft grass and felt refreshed by the quiet of the valley. ‘We will find Crimson and Kevin. Everything will be OK. I know it,’ he told himself. After a while he rose from the grass and headed back to the camp. From somewhere in the long grass of the meadow came the mocking bleat of small white goat.

Flyte raised her head from Reach’s lap and caught Brian’s eye when he walked back into the clearing. The wolf held Brian’s gaze for a moment, and then put her head back in Reach’s lap. He was puzzled. It was if the wolf was acknowledging him. Brian couldn’t imagine what he had done to deserve it. ‘Flyte thinks I’m someone else,’ he thought. ‘But who?’

He pushed the thought from his mind and looked around the camp. ‘Where’s Aunt Mag?’ he asked no one in particular.

‘Behind you,’ said Aunt Mag. ‘Just washed my hands in that lake. It’s cold this time of year.’

‘How’s Flyte?’

‘She’ll be fine,’ Aunt Mag assured him. ‘Poor thing’s more exhausted than anything else now that she’s patched and pricked.’

‘Can she talk?’ said Brian anxiously.

‘Of course she can. All Muddle animals can talk,’ Aunt Mag teased.

‘Well, yes, I know that. What I meant was, is she able to . . .? Is her throat OK? I know it’s not really OK, but is it possible for her . . .? I mean, when . . .’ stammered Brian, who still hadn’t quite got used to the fact that sometimes people tease someone they really like. ‘We have to know what happened to Crimson and Kevin. We can’t just sit here all day. It’ll be evening soon,’ he finished lamely.

Aunt Mag laughed. ‘Let’s go find out, then.’

Wave and Slight had dragged some logs and large stones near the fire so that everyone had a place to sit. Aunt Mag and Brian seated themselves in front of Flyte, who lifted her head from Reach’s lap and managed to roll on to her belly and lever herself upright with her long front legs. When Flyte was sitting on her haunches, Aunt Mag leaned forward.

‘Feeling better? Ready to tell us what happened?’ she said. Flyte nodded.

Of course Grunge had to translate for the Beadles. Flyte’s voice was croaky and unsteady at first but, with the fire behind her and the shadow of twilight creeping across the meadow, the wolf was finally able to tell her story.

‘We crept as close as we could to the camp. Even before we could see the camp, we knew someone was here. We could smell the smoke of the fire and hear someone moving around. We came to the edge of the wood, where we could see the camp, careful to remain hidden.

‘The someone we heard was Kevin. He wasn’t bound or chained. He didn’t need to be. The four spoorhounds were guarding him. They lay in front of the tent and watched every move he made. When he walked to the lake to get water, two of them followed.

‘There was no sign of the man and woman or their horses. Crimson was torn. She wanted to speak to them. I think she wanted to understand why they were in the Land and why they would wish to hurt anyone. And what it had to do with her.

‘But she wanted to rescue Kevin, too, and we had a chance with the man and woman away from the camp. If I could distract the dogs and get them to chase me, she could lead Kevin to safety. When I thought they’d had enough time to get away, I’d lose the hounds in the forest and join Crimson back at Home.

‘One of the dogs was still suffering from its encounter with Calamity. It lay near the fire and rose only once to drink water. It looked very sad and sorry, whining and walking very carefully. Even if that hound stayed in camp, we figured Crimson could deal with it.

‘I went through the woods and round the lake to the other side of the camp. I was to draw the dogs away in that direction while Crimson ran in and grabbed Kevin. It seemed simple enough.

‘When I got to the other side, Kevin was by the fire and Calamity’s hound lay nearby. There were two hounds keeping guard but the fourth one was gone. I waited a few minutes, but every minute we waited increased the danger of the man and woman coming back. We had to risk it, so I walked to the edge of the camp.

‘Immediately, the two hounds rounded on me. I turned to run – and found the biggest one right behind me. I tried to go around it, but it lunged and grabbed my back leg with its teeth.

‘I managed to break away but the other hounds were almost on me. I caught a glimpse of Crimson running towards Kevin, calling out to him.

‘He’s a brave one. The hound lying near him got to its feet and went for him. Kevin picked up a big stick and hit the dog hard, right on the nose. I almost felt sorry for the poor creature. It yelped as loud as I’ve ever heard a dog yelp and ran into the tent.

‘By then, I had three hounds on me and, before I knew it, I was fighting for my life. I just hoped that Crimson would have time to get Kevin far enough away before they got bored playing with me.

‘She didn’t, of course. The next thing I knew, Crimson and Kevin were right there, fighting with the hounds. They wouldn’t leave me. Kevin had his piece of wood and Crimson had picked up a metal pot from the fire. Between the stick and the pot they managed to hold their own against one of the hounds.

‘I’m not sure just what happened next. I was on my back. The biggest dog had me by the throat and the other one went for my underside. I saw Crimson’s face appear over the back of the hound on top of me. She and Kevin must have taken care of the third dog. She raised the pot to hit the hound. I didn’t even hear the horses approach, but the next instant the man was towering behind Crimson. He grabbed the pot from her hand and laughed. It wasn’t a happy laugh. It was a cruel, mean laugh. Crimson said something to him and he laughed again. Then he swung the pot and hit Crimson hard on the side of the head. She fell and I couldn’t see her any more.’

Flyte paused and hung her head. There wasn’t a single sound in the air, as if the whole meadow was listening and had been shocked by Flyte’s words.

‘I felt something I’d never felt before. I wanted to hurt that man. I wanted to hurt the hounds fighting me. I used all the strength I had left to fight back. I felt my teeth rip fur and sink into flesh, and my claws rake to the bone. But it was too late. I didn’t have enough strength left and the hounds wouldn’t stop. And I knew I couldn’t beat them.

‘A woman’s voice called to the hounds. It called several times before they stopped. Her voice was cold and hard. She told them to come, that they had to go and didn’t have time for any more play and, anyway, I was finished.

‘I tried to get up but I couldn’t move. I watched them throw everything into their packs. Kevin was standing while they tied his hands. They must have hit him too, because he had blood on his face. The man came and picked up Crimson. He threw her over the back of his horse, and then he mounted. The woman put a rope round Kevin’s waist. The last thing I remember is watching them ride away, the hounds limping and their tails down. And Kevin walking, pulled behind her horse.

‘I must have fainted. The next thing I remember is hearing Grunge and Slight.’

No one could speak. Tears ran down the cheeks of Reach and Megan. Aunt Mag dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief. Slight stared at the ground in disbelief. Calamity rose and sat next to Flyte, her head resting against the wolf’s side.

‘By the . . .’ Brian started, but his voice cracked and he couldn’t continue.

Grunge didn’t move. He stared at Flyte in disbelief. Without saying a word, he got to his feet walked towards the lake.

After a few minutes, Slight got up and followed him out of the camp. The musician was standing, looking across the water. ‘What do we do now?’ Slight asked quietly.

Grunge didn’t answer. He stared into lake. ‘It looks so black and cold when the sun’s light is fading,’ he thought. ‘What am I supposed to do?’

He reached into his pocket and took out his harmonica. He brought it to his mouth, but paused before it touched his lips. The silver casing caught the last faint rays of the sun. Then the musician of Muddlemarsh drew back his arm and threw his harmonica high across the lake. It glinted once, then dropped downwards and disappeared beneath the water.

‘We find Crimson and Kevin,’ he said, facing his friend. ‘Let’s go.’

≈

“I’m going after them,’ Grunge announced to the others back at the camp. ‘My guess is that they’ve gone to the High Mountains. It’s the logical place. There’s too great a chance that a man and a woman on horseback, with two prisoners and four dogs, would be seen if they stayed in Muddlemarsh or Myrmidia. It would be safer in the High Mountains. And that’s the way back to The Place. It’s too late to go tonight. I’ll set out tomorrow. Megan, would you mind driving us back to Home before you return to Beadleburg? I don’t think Flyte’s up to walking just yet.’

‘Of course, Grunge. You didn’t need to ask. We’ll have some dinner at Whist’s when we get there. I don’t know about Aunt Mag and Brian but I’m starving.’

‘Suits me just fine,’ said Aunt Mag. She gave Grunge a hard stare. ‘And over dinner, young man, we’ll discuss this plan of yours, if that’s what you can call it’

Grunge didn’t argue. He’d made up his mind. No one would make him change it.

The bus bounced and rumbled along the valley floor. Between Leaf’s Meadow and the road from Beadleburg to Home the land is flat and grassy. To the east, the land slopes gently upward, gradually folding into the steeps hills of Beadledom. To the west, the valley wall rises sharply into the last of the hills before the land flattens and becomes the plains of Myrmidia. Grunge looked out of the bus window towards Home. Night had fully overtaken day. The half-moon hung just above the hills and he could see the outline of a steep cliff with the tips of coffee trees at the top. They were passing the spot where Leaf had fallen. At that moment, all that had happened over the past few days went through his head: Leaf’s accident, the attack on Calamity and Crimson, Kevin’s abduction, Flyte’s injuries and now Crimson, hurt and taken by strangers.

Without thinking, he reached into his pocket – then remembered where his harmonica was. Grunge smiled ruefully to himself. ‘That will teach me,’ he thought. ‘Think first, throw later.’ He rested his head against the window and stared into the darkness.

Not long after they joined the road, the passengers were jolted when Megan braked hard and swerved. In the headlights of the bus they saw a fox. It stared at them for an instant, then, head down, continued its dash across the road and into the trees.

‘Friend of yours?’ Megan joked to Wave.

Wave frowned. ‘No,’ he answered. ‘That’s odd. It’s not a Muddle.’

A few minutes later, they drove up the main street of Home and stopped outside Whist’s Coffee House. Whist made a great fuss over them and before long they were seated at one of her long tables. eating their dinner. At the end of the table, shiny metals bowls were placed on the floor for Eugene, Flyte and Calamity.

News of their return spread throughout Home and Muddle after Muddle came by to ask what had happened. Eventually Whist set one of her helpers on the door.

‘You tell everyone who comes in they are welcome, of course, but no questions. If they have questions, they can ask those who already have answers,’ she told the helper.

Aunt Mag came straight to the point about Grunge’s plans. ‘I suppose you intend to go off first thing tomorrow, into the High Mountains’ she asked.

‘Yup,’ Grunge replied. ‘We can’t desert them. Besides, Calamity said that man told Crimson that whatever had been done, only she could change. We have to find Crimson.’

‘Well, you’re not going alone. I’m coming with you,’ Aunt Mag said firmly.

‘Thank you, Aunt Mag. That’s not necessary.’ It was Brian who spoke. Aunt Mag glared at him. ‘Now, before you tell me to go to bed without pudding or stand in the corner, let me speak,’ he went on quickly. ‘You’ve left all the little Beadles in the care of your nieces, thinking you would only be away for the afternoon. It is good of you to offer but you will fret about the children if you go.’

Ever since she was a young woman, Aunt Mag had run Beadleburg’s nursery. After twenty years caring for the children, she had been happy to leave her nieces (all of whom hoped to be the next Aunt Mag) in charge of the little ones and journey to the High Mountains to help bring back the blue ice. But she had been just as happy to return. What Brian said was true: she would fret to leave them again.

‘Be that as it may, Brian, I can’t let Grunge go by himself,’ she said stubbornly.

‘He won’t. I have already discussed it, and we will be going with Grunge,’ Brian said firmly, gesturing to Megan.