Spellfall (21 page)

Natalie jumped to her feet and ran across. Merlin followed more slowly, clasping Redeye in a suddenly clammy hand. Below them, the magehound sat smugly in the centre of the cache, haloed by the coloured light. Several hundred spells, at least. All alive and rippling with power.

He’d shaded his eyes before he realized. “I can see them!”

Natalie glanced nervously over her shoulder. “Be difficult not to. Quick, let’s go down before someone comes. That light must be visible miles away.”

“I mean I can
really
see them. I don’t need Redeye.” Merlin blinked at the trees in sudden hope. But above the pit, everything remained monochrome green as before. He sighed.

Get on with it
, Redeye said.
We haven’t time for sightseeing. I only hope you’ve remembered your lessons, because I don’t fancy ending up with half my tail stuck in some brick.

Merlin’s stomach fluttered. He slithered into the hole and waded through the glimmering spells to join Natalie, who had one arm around her magehound’s neck and wore a determined expression. “What shall I do?” she whispered.

Merlin took deep breaths to steady his nerves. “I think we’d better both sit down. Uh – hold on to my hand. Keep hold of K’tanaqui.”

He made sure Redeye was safe under his tunic, then scooped four of the warm sparkling spells into his free hand and gripped them tightly. No room for error this time. He closed his eyes and thought as hard as he could of the cellar at the Lodge.

Draw the power up your arm, feel its heat fill you—

Before his mind could shy away from the dark, Merlin imagined that heat rushing out of him, out of Earthaven, and across the Boundary. The resulting spellflash left purple ghosts on the other side of his eyelids. Burnt sugar caught in his throat. Beside him, Natalie gasped. Her hand, sweaty, slipped out of his. Merlin collapsed sideways into something soft, his whole body tingling with echoes of power. Redeye squeaked in protest.

Hardly daring to believe it had worked, Merlin picked himself up and blinked to clear his vision of the spellflash… and his heart tumbled into his boots.

Natalie and K’tanaqui had gone all right, leaving two flattened, smoking patches beside him. But he and Redeye were still in the cache. And around the edge of the pit, silhouetted against sun and leaves, eight grim faces glared at him from behind a circle of bristling spears.

*

“Don’t move, Caster!” a rough voice called. “Drop the spells and throw your familiar up here!”

Merlin dropped the dead spells. “I can’t do anything right,” he groaned. “I’m so stupid.”

You can say that again,
was Redeye’s comment.
Fancy getting us captured when you’re sitting on enough spells to take the moon out of orbit! Shut up and do as they say or you’ll be memory cleansed and I’ll be dead. That’s the punishment for stealing spells under the revised terms of the Spellfall Solution, in case you didn’t know.

Merlin’s stomach gave an uncomfortable turn. He held the mouse close to his chest, reluctant to let the Herders touch a single one of his hairs.

The leader gestured with his spear. “Hand it up here, Caster. Move very slowly.”

Merlin swallowed. Live spells lay all around him. Maybe he could grab one and—

The spear pricked his cheek. “
Now
, Caster! I’m not bluffing.”

Merlin slowly raised Redeye, groping desperately with his other hand in the shadows at the edge of the pit. There were chuckles when the other Herders caught sight of his mouse. The leader seized Redeye just as Merlin’s fingers closed about the waxy heat of a live spell but he couldn’t risk trying to cast it under these circumstances. He quickly pushed the spell into his boot and climbed out of the hole, his heart thumping.

The Herders looked down their noses at him. Behind them, shining almost as brightly as the spells, eight unicorns snorted and tossed their cloudy manes. “Don’t hurt him,” Merlin pleaded, willing Redeye to refrain from biting the leader’s hand.

With a grim smile, the Herder leader passed the mouse to one of his men and untied the sash from his waist. He wound the soft material about Merlin’s wrists, binding them tightly. Merlin’s stomach fluttered again. “You don’t have to tie me, I wasn’t stealin—”

“Silence!” snapped the leader. “I’ll do the talking. How did you get so deep into Earthaven without being spotted by the Boundary patrols? How did you find the spells? Where did you get those clothes? A little squirt like you never dug that hole on your own. Where are the others?”

Merlin bit his lip and thought of Natalie. “I dunno,” he said miserably. “I wish I did.”

“I see.” The leader gave him a disgusted look. “Have it your own way. The Council will soon get it out of you.”

He motioned to his men, and they vaulted on to their unicorns. Bridleless, saddleless, the creatures surrounded Merlin, their horns flashing and their green eyes smouldering. He cringed, terrified someone might try to lift him on to one of those shimmering rumps. But the man who had taken Redeye simply dropped the mouse on to Merlin’s shoulder and backed off. The leader gave him a prod with his spear. “Walk smartly now, Caster,” he said. “We’re in a hurry.”

*

With unicorns in front, behind, and on both sides, the journey back to Oq was even more uncomfortable than the journey out. But the Herders must have known all the short cuts, because at least it didn’t take them so long. Merlin gathered from listening to their conversations that they were heading for a meeting of Earthaven tribes at Oq’s trunk and, as the enormous roots rose around him, he began to feel excitement at the prospect of another visit to the Heart. His stride lengthened, drawing surprised looks from his escort.

“Told you Casters were crazy,” muttered one, which made the others laugh.

They arrived at the soultree shortly after sunset to find Oq in a state of frenzied activity. Great arched doorways stood open all the way round the massive trunk, spilling emerald light along the root-canyons where the Earthaven tribes had gathered. The seething mass of excited people and animals blocked all routes to and from the tree. Some had proper weapons – long twisted knives, spears, clubs, and axes. Others were mounted on bears and stags, whose growls and clashing antlers echoed in the shadows. Still others were armed with sticks, or heavy metal cooking pots, or ropes with weights knotted into the ends. Harassed Treemages hurried in and out of the trunk doors, shouting orders that no one listened to. Several groups of mounted unicorns, their silver coats lighting up the dusk, were accorded a respectful distance by the other tribes.

As Merlin’s escort closed around him and began to squeeze their way through the press of bodies, someone shouted, “It’s a Caster prisoner! Kill him!” and there was an angry roar as they all surged forward. It took his escort’s combined strength and the threat of their spears to get him safely past the hostile cries. Merlin didn’t feel completely safe until they had passed through one of the doorways and were inside Oq’s glowing passages.

Here, the Herders fell silent. The unicorns pranced nervously, flaring their nostrils at the strange draughts and scents. Even Redeye was uncharacteristically quiet, peeping from the neck of Merlin’s tunic as they went. “It’s all right,” Merlin whispered, wishing he could hold the mouse in his hands. “We’re safe now.”

“Don’t count on it, Caster,” muttered the Herder leader.

At the first junction he dismounted, prodded Merlin up a short side passage into a chamber where a group of Treemages were gathered, and dutifully handed him over to a harassed Lady Thaypari. “Caught him in a spell cache,” he said simply as he freed Merlin’s wrists. He shook out the sash and retied it about his waist, bowed his head to the Spell Lady, then hurried to rejoin his men. The Treemages look one look at Thaypari’s face and tactfully followed him out.

When they were alone, Lady Thaypari looked Merlin up and down and said, “Where’s Natalie?”

“I don’t know,” Merlin admitted, massaging his wrists.

She gripped his arm and shook him hard. “You little fool! What did you go running off like that for? Haven’t you any sense in your head? Have you no idea how serious this is? Oq’s lost touch with Natalie and K’tanaqui, and no one’s got time to look for them now. You can see what’s happening outside. Every resident of Earthaven wants their drop of Caster blood tonight. It’s chaos out there! You’re lucky they didn’t kill you on sight.”

Merlin hung his head. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? Is that all you can say?”

“It was Natalie’s idea.”

Lady Thaypari gave him a disgusted look. “You didn’t have to go along with it!” Then she sighed and released him. “I suppose old Pveriyan didn’t help matters. I don’t know what he was thinking of, letting you two go outside like that. At least you’re back where Hawk can’t get at you. Now, tell me exactly how you got separated and then I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask Oq to restrain you in here until after the Opening. It’s far too dangerous for you to be running around Earthaven tonight.”

Merlin bit his lip. On the whole he was glad to be back inside the soultree but he’d have preferred Natalie to be here with him.

“I transported her,” he said in a small voice. “Least, I think I did. K’tanaqui too, only I don’t know where. I was trying to get us all to the Lodge.”

Lady Thaypari went white beneath her crown of wilting orange flowers. “You little idiot,” she whispered. “Did nobody tell you that you can’t transport across the Boundary when it’s shut?”

There was a sudden flare of gold at the end of the passage as someone outside lit a torch. A ragged cheer went up, the noise level rising as the army prepared to ride out. Merlin didn’t have time to wonder how he was suddenly seeing colours again, and the Spell Lady didn’t need to speak.

Around them, Oq’s leaves rustled anxiously. Merlin’s stomach did peculiar things. “Then where— Oh no, what have I done?”

Chapter 15

SPELLCLAVE

Saturday night, October 31

~~*~~

Tim’s stomach did peculiar things as he shrugged into his birthday jacket on Saturday evening. It had set like concrete as it dried out but he wasn’t going to wear his old anorak, not tonight. He thought about squeezing his sore feet into his fashion boots, just to show Jo, but his blisters were still too puffy. Anyway, trainers would probably be better if they had to run.

He checked his watch. Six o’clock and still no sign of Mr Marlins. He hadn’t realized how much he’d been hoping his stepfather would turn up with Nat wrapped in a blanket, or the police would arrest someone, or Mrs Carter would forbid Jo to set foot out of the house, or his own mother would try to stop him going out tonight. But once they had adjusted to the idea of their offspring going to the Disco together, the two mothers had seemed all for it. They made Tim promise to collect Jo and see her home safely afterwards, then raised their eyebrows at each other and smiled in that mysterious adult way. So here he was, stuck with Jo’s crazy plan.

It was a clear, frosty evening, the stars so bright they almost made Tim dizzy. He walked fast to the Carters’ house, hands in his pockets, his breath making clouds in the air. Jo was waiting at the door. She hopped from foot to foot, blowing on her hands, as Mrs Carter gave Tim a stern look.

“You look after her, Timothy Lockley, do you hear? If there’s any trouble, I’ll hold you responsible.”

“Yes, Mrs Carter.” Tim gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile, certain their deception must be written in flaming letters across his hot cheeks.

But Mrs Carter must have thought it was embarrassment. She smiled as she kissed Jo goodbye. “Be careful, love,” she said. “You two have fun.”

They had hidden their bikes in the boat shed earlier that day, along with torches and other useful equipment. Tim was mildly surprised to find everything was still there. They quickly transferred the supplies to their pockets, checked the torches and cycle lamps, then stared at each other. Jo was the first to break the spell. She pushed her hair under her baseball cap and grinned. “Well?” she said. “What are you waiting for? Let’s go!”

Before Tim could stop her, she was off towards town, jumping her bicycle up and down kerbs with a skill he had to admire. He pedalled madly after her, hating to think what might happen if she reached the fountain before him. But he found her waiting at the entrance to the precinct, looking slightly less confident.

Tim didn’t blame her. The shopping mall was spooky now all the shops had shut, their metal grilles padlocked in place for the night. A chip wrapper blew against Tim’s front wheel. An empty can rattled in the shadows. The echoes made him jump.

“Where are they?” Jo said. “I can’t see anyone.” She pushed her bike across the paved area to the fountain and sat on the rim, swinging her long legs.

Tim joined her, thankful of the chance to ease his blisters, acutely aware of the arm’s length between them. “They’ll be here.”

He was starting to think this wasn’t such a bright idea. The Death Heads’ second rule – the one after not talking to the police – was never to bring a girl on a gang outing. But he wasn’t exactly bringing Jo, was he? More like her bringing him. He grinned at the thought, and she gave him a sharp look. “Your feet all right?”