The Catastrophe of the Emerald Queen (11 page)

“
How dare you
intefere with a lawful arrest!!” he shouted back

 “
The queen’s absence is no
excuse for barbarity
,”
Mordalayn said angrily. Turning to the other soldier he snapped.
“Let him go.”

 
The
soldier hesitated, his gaze flicking between his colleague and the
powerful figure in front of him. 

The man Mordalayn had thrown reached for his sword. The
crowd around them watched in terrified silence. Mordalayn glared at
him. “You are both clearly drunk. Does Provost Marshall
Lighvoor know that his men drink on
duty and torture prisoners?”

 
The
guard paused and then lunged at Mordalayn who sidestepped
contemptuously and tripped the man face first into the street. The
soldier jumped up and Mordalayn moved as if to lunge but then
brought his foot up at blinding speed and kicked the man hard in
the knee. The man screamed, dropping his sword and collapsing.
Mordalayn moved and stood over him, planting his foot on the man’s
chest and drew his own sword, the three blade tips quivering.
 

“
Puh, please
,” the soldier stammered.

 
Mordalayn turned to the other
soldier. “Let him go or I swear on Our Lady I will kill you
both!
” 

The soldier released the still struggling man and moved to
his injured colleague. “Get him out of here. I see either one of
you again and you will regret the day you were
born
,” Mordalayn snarled. The
man stumbled and almost fell on his friend. He reached down and
picked him up and together they limped off in the direction they
had come from, the injured man whimpering loudly.

 
The
crowd were still staring at Mordalayn and he glared back silently.
Slowly they moved on, their amusement at his embarrasment now
replaced by their original sense of awe.

 
Mordalayn turned to the little man who had knocked him down.
"Are you alright?"

 
"Yes thank you sir, he didn't
touch me, no no. Just scared me a little bit so he did sir, I thank
you" the man replied, rubbing his ear as if to check it was still
there. He scrabbled over to recover his grubby hat and pushed it
back onto his head. Then he stood and bowed to Mordalayn and Jared.
"Kind sirs you have been most kind to poor Scious, who is less
fortunate these days than he was. My gratitude for your service.
For that you may call on me any time to help you
.”

 
"Most
noble of you" Mordalayn replied resheathing his sword and then
looking Scious up and down. "What did you do?" he asked inclining
his head back towards the corner the man had run from.

 
"Oohhh,
vicious lies sir. They blamed me for stealing a ring from an
elegant lady but it was lies sir, LIES so it was!"

 
"Be on your way little man"
Mordalayn said quietly. "They will come back sooner or later and
you had better be gone
.”

 
"Thank you both sir, most
kind
," Scious replied,
glancing frantically around him to see if anyone was already
following him. "Remember, I will come to help you if you need me"
he glanced at Jared and smiled. "Either you or your young
companion. Just say my name five times and Scious will be
there.”

 
The man bowed one final time
before clasping his hat to his head and scurrying off across the
road, darting down an alleyway between the pan shop and
what appeared to be a
butcher.

 
Mordalayn turned to Jared. "We
need to move. Spies for our enemies may have seen
this
.” He turned to the
tavern owner who stood behind Jared in the open doorway. "My
apologies for the mess my old friend but we need to go. I will
return one day for a plate of your famous stew.”

 
The
innkeeper smiled. "I'll keep a bowl warm for you Takoba" he laughed
and raised his hand in farewell before moving back
inside.

 
Jared looked at Mordalayn. "Why did you hurt that soldier?
You did everything you could to save the man on the
lake.”

 
Mordalayn was
sil
ent for a moment then
replied. "The man on the lake was an unfortunate victim. That cur
acted in defiance of Our Lady's rules.”

 
"But
you busted his leg!" Jared replied, still shocked by what he'd
seen.

 
"Look boy!..." Mordalayn said
angrily then looked away. "The Queen...you don't...there are RULES
here
.” He looked down as he
said it and Jared could see the anger but also sadness in the tall
cat man’s eyes.

 
"One of
those people called you Our Lady's Sword. What did that
mean?"

 
Mordalayn paused and Jared could tell he was thinking about
telling him to wait but then...

 
"Our Lady is an elected
monarch, a child chosen to rule us who is pure and good and kind. I
am her protector. The rules she laid down are just and fair and
were like no other ruler’s for a long time. Those that
flouted them paid dearly. Those that
respected them flourished. She forbade all but necessary force.
Even her enemies were treated fairly.” Mordalayn then stopped and
looked at Jared for a long moment before
continuing.

 
"She laid down plans about how
this world would be governed if she was absent for a long time or
unable to get back. Her work is everywhere and there is the work of
others before her
.”

 
"She loves her people more
than any previous ruler has been known to. No one is treated
unfairly and through all of this she kept peace and joy in this
world. For many years she has been our ruler and
then...
.”

 
He
paused.

 
"Rancidrain's cowardly attack
on Sophie was not something we expected. I got there in time and
had you not been there he would have killed her. The magic the
queen wields here cannot help her now but...we can use it to help
her. Were she to return she would be able to end all this in an
instant. But while the kingdom is weak, the forces of darkness
gather
.”

 
Mordalayn turned up a side street heading out of the village
and they walked slowly along it. There were less people by now and
ahead Jared could see a building that looked very old. Either side
of it was woodland, spreading out as far as he could
see.

 
Another man walked past them
pushing a wheelbarrow and
touched his hand to his forehead respectfully. “Takoba,” he
said..

 “
You are going to be safe here”
Mordalayn said as they walked up to the old building. “Keep what I
have told you to yourself
.” A
small black dog ran past them, span in a circle as if chasing its
tail then bolted back down the road, yipping happily until it was
out of sight.

Chapter
7

As they moved up the wide stone
steps to the arched doorway Jared was nervous again. He still had
very little idea of this world he had been thrown into and was
constantly confused by the changes and situations he found himself
in.

 
The
door was of a dark wood in a tall arched frame. Two halves with a
bright, brass plaque. Jared squinted to read it, the sun shining
brightly off it’s polished surface. “Bretheren of Alegria” it said
simply and next to it was a large brass knocker. There was a face
moulded into the metal, at the bottom.

 
The
building was only one storey high and of a creamy coloured brick.
It reminded Jared of the dentist he went to near Warwick, a very
old but elegant building with smooth designs and vast angles on the
walls.

 “
This is the orphan home of the Bretheren,” Mordalayn said.
You will be looked after here. It’s only temporary.”

 
Jared
looked up at Mordalayn, who towered over him. “What are the
bretheren?” he asked.

 “
This is an orphanage, for
children whose parents have been lost or died protecting this
world. For the children of those loyal to Our
Lady
.”

 
Mordalayn reached up to grasp
the brass knocker and the face on the handle suddenly moved,
transforming from a static expression of ugliness to an uglier one
of anger. As Mordalayn took hold of the ring surrounding
it
, it bit down hard on his
finger.

 “
Aiaya!
Be cursed!” Mordalayn said, fanning his fingers and quickly
inspecting the bitten one for injury. There was none. “What was
that for you miserable little monster?” Jared looked on in
shock.

 
The
face glared at Mordalayn and then the eyes shifted to look at
Jared. They examined him for a moment then appeared to get bored
and looked back at the cat man. It then said in a high pitched
voice. “How would you like it if I banged your head against a
door?”

 “
What?!!” Mordalayn snapped in
irritation
, “that’s your
job.” 

“
That’s your job
,” the face mimicked angrily then closed it’s eyes, stuck
out its tongue and blew a long raspberry. When it had finished it
replied. “Stuck here all day, people banging me into the door at
any given moment and then just as I think I’m going to get some
peace one of these little wretches comes and puts metal polish all
over me. Do you think it’s nice to get that stuff in your eyes,
nose and mouth and not have hands to wipe it
away?”

 “
My apologies doorkeeper, I
meant no offence
,” Mordalayn
replied solemnly.

 
The
face continued to glare at him.

 “
If you could tell us how to
communicate our presence to your masters, I would be
grateful
.”

 
The sullen expression didn’t
change but after a pause, “use your fist on the
door
,” it snapped and then
the animation in its features melted away and it was back to being
an ornament.

 
Mordalayn pounded the door with one huge fist and after a
couple of minutes an elderly man opened it. His face was round like
an apple with bright red cheeks. His head was almost completely
bald apart from snow white tufts over his ears. His green shirt
seemed huge and the buttons were straining to stay in place against
his belly. He looked about 60 and as he opened the door he squinted
at the two visitors, the sun shining off his large round
nose..

 “
Can I
help you?”

 
Mordalayn
replied
, “come Jorehlo,
surely you haven’t got so old to forget an old
friend?”

 
The man paused for a moment
and then as his eyes adjusted to the change in light, recognition
flashed across his face and he beamed broadly. “By Our Lady!
Mordalayn!!!” he exclaimed loudly and stepped forward extendng his
arms. Mordalayn hugged him briefly and the old man clapped him on
the back. “It’s been such a long time. I hear you are now the
Queen’s Sword
,” he said
stepping back and looking the tall, imposing figure up and down as
if examining him.  

“
That I still am” he replied “but as you know
things have changed
.”

 “
That they have Takoba, that
they have
.” He glanced at
Jared. “Who’s the boy with you?” he enquired, smiling at Jared in a
friendly fashion.

 “
His name is Jared Miller,
Jorehlo, I need to speak to Susan Veer urgently
.”

 “
Of course, of course. Anything
for
you my old friend,” the
old man smiled again and stepped back to allow them
in.

 
As they stepped inside the
door knocker muttered
. “Not a
word of thanks and still I have to stay here all
day.”

 
Jorehlo opened the door
wider,
stuck his head round
and snapped “shut up you or you’ll find yourself adorning a pull
chain in the latrines!”

 
He
slammed the door as the knocker continued to mutter
loudly.

 “
Now then my
friends
,” he said stepping
ahead of Jared and Mordalayn and rubbing his hands together
briskly. “I suggest we make straight for Madame Veer’s rooms
immediately.”

 
He walked ahead of them down a
corridor, arched red doors either side. One had the sounds of
singing coming from it but off key like the people inside were
still learning. As they moved further up a boy dressed in scruffy
brown shorts that came to just below his knees was standing outside
a door. He was leaning against the wall with his arms folded and
gazing up at the ceiling, whistling softly. His shorts had multiple
repairs on them and there was a small hole above the right knee. He
wore a green shirt, similar to the one that Jorehlo had on. The
sleeves were rolled up and around his neck he had an orange stone
on a piece of black cord. His brown hair was unkempt
and messy and he looked about
12.