Ironheart (17 page)

‘Outrageous,’ he said over and over. ‘Forcing a prisoner to risk his life like this in the middle of the night.’

India stomped up to the top of the nearest hill to get away from him. She paused to catch her breath and took in the view. Something on the far side of the valley caught her eye. A solitary light
blinked once, like a flash from a rotating beacon, and when the moon came out from behind a cloud she made out an unmistakable black shape nestling in the treeline. She dropped quickly to her knees
and waved to Calculus and Clench.

‘It’s another rig!’ she breathed as they arrived beside her. She heard the faint whirring of sensors and magnifiers clicking into place behind the android’s visor.

The Prince of Darkness,’ he
said. ‘Stone’s personal rig.’

‘How did they find us in this wilderness?’ said India.

‘That’s how,’ said Clench, pointing down the hill.

A short way down the slope a man lay in a hollow with his back to them. He was fiddling with a small wooden box.

‘It’s Pieter,’ said India. ‘But what is he doing?’

They watched him twist the dial on the front of the box and direct a thin metal rod towards the other rig.

‘He’s using a Teslagraph,’ said Calculus.

‘What did I tell you!’ said Clench. ‘He’s your spy!’

India’s hand went to her mouth. ‘We have to stop him!’

She broke into a run down the slope towards Pieter with Calculus close behind while Clench hovered indecisively at the top of the hill. Pieter turned in surprise as they approached. He made a
grab for the Teslagraph but Calculus knocked it from his hand and it smashed against a rock.

‘Pieter, what are you doing?’ panted India. ‘Those are our enemies.’

Pieter scrambled backwards to get away from Calculus. ‘They might be your enemies but they’re not mine,’ he said. ‘You didn’t seriously think I would choose a
pirate’s life, did you?’ There was a hardness in his eyes that had not been there before.

India’s face flushed. ‘But how could you? The Company is run by thugs and murderers and if they catch us, they’ll kill us all.’

‘That’s Bulldog’s problem. I have four children and a wife to feed back in Omsk and the Company pays good money for information on pirates.’

A shout from Clench at the top of the hill made them turn. He was jumping up and down and waving his arms.

‘What’s he doing?’ said India. ‘He’s going to get us seen.’

‘Too late,’ said Calculus. ‘Look!’

On the far side of the valley, a swarm of two-seater ski vehicles had left the rig and started out across the valley floor, skimming across the snow like angry hornets. Each vehicle carried a
driver and passenger dressed in broad hats and long flowing coats.

They were so distracted that neither of them noticed Pieter reach into his jacket pocket to pull out a pistol.

‘Stay still and you won’t get hurt,’ warned Pieter, training the gun on them. ‘I’ll get an extra bonus for bringing in the girl and her pet robot.’

India and Calculus stood rooted to the spot as the noise drew nearer. Pieter glanced briefly in the direction of the ski machines – it took him no more than a second – but it was
enough for Calculus, who lunged towards him. Pieter’s gun fired once and the bullet glanced off the android’s visor. But Calculus recovered his balance quickly and India watched with an
absolute knowledge of what was about to happen but with no ability to prevent it.

‘Calc, don’t!’ was all she had time to say.

The android’s hand struck Pieter’s neck with a dull crunch and his body went sprawling in the snow, where it lay motionless. The shock hit India like a bucket of cold water.

‘You’ve
killed
him!’

Calculus grasped her by the arm. ‘He was armed, India,’ he said calmly, ‘and he might have killed you.’

She backed away angrily. ‘You didn’t have to kill him. You could have just taken his gun away. He had a family – what’s wrong with you?’

‘I am trained to protect and I was protecting you.’ The ski vehicles were advancing up the hill now. ‘We don’t have time for this, we need to go!’

India was not about to stop. ‘You said you wanted to change, but you can’t, can you? You’re just a machine. A vicious, cold-blooded killing machine!’

The sound of approaching engines increased and the first ski machine burst over a snow bank. The man on the back levelled his rifle at Calculus. With blinding speed the android darted forward
and seized hold of the machine, sending the riders tumbling into the snow. ‘India, get away now!’ he shouted to her. ‘I’ll hold them off as long as I can. Get back to the
rig!’

India turned and ran back up the hill. It was heavy going and she sank up to her knees in the snow with every step. At the top of the hill Clench was hopping up and down.

‘Let’s go back while we can,’ pleaded Clench, ‘they’ve got guns.’

‘I don’t care,’ she panted. ‘I’m not going anywhere until I’m sure Calc’s OK.’

They watched the battle unfold from the top of the hill. The ski machines began to circle Calculus. The android darted forward and overturned a second machine, hurling it on to the rocks, where
it burst into flames. The air filled with the smell of burning spirit.

‘Come
on,
Calc,’ she cried. ‘Let’s get out of here while we have the chance.’

Calculus turned to look up the hill and motioned at her to start running. That was when the terrible thing happened.

One of the riders picked up a long metal lance and jabbed Calculus in the back. It made a sound like India’s shock stick but a thousand times louder, a dry crackling noise that ripped the
air. Calculus reared backwards as the charge coursed through his metal sinews. India started towards him but Clench held her back. ‘Come on, for pity’s sake, India or you’ll get
us both killed.’

A second man picked up his lance and jabbed Calculus in the chest, forcing him on to his back. His body spasmed violently in the snow. They pulled out a steel net and threw it over him, spearing
him with the lances again and again until he thrashed around, losing all control of his limbs.

‘Leave him alone!’ sobbed India. ‘Please just leave him alone!’

Just when she thought it could get no worse, came the terrible sound of the android’s scream.

It started faintly over the noise of the wind, a high keening that sounded mechanical and human at the same time and grew louder and louder until the terrible screeching echoed around the
valley.

She pressed her hands to her ears to drown out the horror. ‘Stop it, stop it, you’re killing him!’

Calculus finally stopped screaming and went limp. The riders stepped back and watched him twitching weakly on the ground. Clench tugged gently on India’s arm. Even he looked shocked by
what he had seen.

‘Come on, India,’ he said quietly. ‘We have to get back to
The Beautiful Game
before they come after us.’

For a moment, the scene was eerily still. The riders stood around the helpless android, admiring their handiwork. Up on the hilltop, India looked away from the terrible scene,
half blinded with tears.

‘The rig,’ said Clench quietly, tugging on her arm again. ‘We have to get back to the rig.’

She allowed herself to be led away. But when they had gone a few paces one of the riders looked up and noticed them. He turned his ski machine and started lazily towards them.

‘Forget the rig,’ said Clench, with panic rising in his voice. ‘Head for the trees. They can’t follow us in there on those machines.’ He dragged her the short
distance to the treeline and she followed, only dimly remembering Bulldog’s warning to avoid the forest.

They pushed their way through the dense branches, searching for deep cover before the man on the ski vehicle arrived. As the forest closed in around them, they hid behind a thick bush and held
their breath. A light dusting of snow fell from the branches above them, making India glance up nervously. When she looked back, the rider had pulled up and dismounted from his machine. He began to
fight his way noisily through the whippy branches with his gun at the ready.

The leaves rustled overhead again. This time India caught a glimpse of something moving swiftly through the branches. Her eyes flicked nervously from the man with the gun to the overhead canopy.
Now that she looked more closely, she could see several shadows converging overhead. They were bird-black with no discernible shape. Streams of smoky darkness trailed behind them like ragged
silk.

‘What
are
they?’ whispered India, her insides turning to ice. But there was no reply.

She whirled around in a panic. Clench had gone.

‘Thaddeus, where are you? Don’t play games with me now!’

All at once the shadows rushed silently and fluidly from the treetops. The man from the rig looked up and realized his fate a split second before the creatures fell on him. His screams were cut
short amidst a hideous chorus of hissing and rustling that filled the forest.

Her throat tight with fear, India watched as the writhing shadows swarmed over the man, completely blocking him from view Her legs felt as though they were stuck in thick mud and she was unable
to move. She had always thought her father’s tales about living shadows were just made up to scare her but these creatures were real, horribly real. Part of her wanted to curl up into a ball
and pretend this wasn’t happening but she instinctively knew that would mean death. ‘Come on, India,’ she said under her breath, ‘get a grip on yourself.’ She reached for her
pendant and thought of Bella and her dad, forcing the panic to subside in her chest. Moving slowly, she stepped backwards as quietly as she could on shaky legs. The creatures ignored her and
continued their attack on the hapless man. She took another step.

She didn’t see the figure standing behind her until a pair of powerful arms wrapped around her and a hand clamped tightly around her mouth. She tried to scream and all she could think was
that she was about to die alone in this forest and no one would ever know what had happened to her.

But she did not die. Someone moved close and
‘Shh’d’
in her ear. She stopped wriggling and the hand relaxed slightly. It smelled of earth and woodsmoke. She turned to
look at her attacker. He was tall and weathered-looking, with supple, leathery skin creased into hard lines. She was reminded of the men she had seen in Angel Town.

The shadow creatures finished with their victim and his lifeless corpse fell to the forest floor. They moved away, making a noise like snakes sliding over one another. The tall man pressed a
blackened finger to his lips and led her quietly in the other direction. But the path was dark and covered in forest litter, and when India stepped on a dry branch the shadows were immediately
alert. They turned as one and began to weave back through the trees towards them.

The man broke into a run, pulling India behind him. When she stumbled, he scooped her up and threw her over his shoulder. The shadows poured through the trees after them like malevolent smoke.
And, as if this horror was not enough, they began calling her name.

‘In-di-aaaaa.’

The sound of a dozen hellish whispers chased her through the trees, clutching at her heart with fingers of ice. How did these foul creatures know her name and what did they want with her?

They burst into a moonlit clearing where a young boy stood holding on to the reins of two teams of reindeer harnessed to sledges. The terrified, sobbing figure of Clench sat on one of the
sledges with a fur blanket pulled up to his chin. The man dropped India on to the second sledge and snatched up the reins. He flicked the hindquarters of the reindeer and they jerked forward
through the snow at a rapid trot. The shadows did not follow them but gathered at the edge of the trees so that India could still hear their ghastly voices.

‘They knew my name,’ whispered Clench. ‘How did they know my name?’

India took a deep breath. If Clench was going to be a trembling wreck then she would have to make a show of being calm and in control. ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘But they
knew mine too.’ She turned to the driver standing on the back of the sledge. ‘Excuse me,’ she said, ‘but who are you and what were those creatures?’ His attention
stayed focused on the path ahead and he gave no indication that he had even heard her.

‘It’s the ice people,’ wailed Clench. ‘They’re going to tear us apart for fresh meat, I know they are.’

‘They’re not cannibals,’ snapped India, ‘and they just saved our lives, so keep your voice down.’ She tried the driver again. ‘Thank you for saving us from
those
things.
But we need to get back to
The Beautiful Game.
Our friend Calculus is in terrible danger.’

The two drivers said nothing and just stared straight ahead, sticking out the occasional foot to fend off a rock or a tree root that might break one of the sledge runners. India studied them
closely in the moonlight. They appeared calm and focused. Both of them carried rifles, but they were ancient flintlocks that looked like they were only used for hunting. She gave up attempts at
conversation and started to think about escaping. Even though these men didn’t look like they meant her harm, she didn’t want to find out the hard way.