The Catastrophe of the Emerald Queen (22 page)

 
Sylvia
jumped with fear. “What do you want?” she stammered. “I haven’t got
any money on me.” 

“
I’m not here
to hurt you,” the voice replied. “I just want to give you
something.” Sylvia twitched her head but there was only a shadow
behind her, the low light on the driveway was not enough to see by.
She closed the dustbin lid and rested her hands on it. After a
pause the voice continued. 

“
The boy who
hurt your daughter today will never do that again. He is sorry and
he wants you to have this to make up for his actions.”
 

Sylvia
glanced to her right as a paper bag was placed on the lid of the
wheelie bin next to her. The gloved hand withdrew and after a long
silence she slowly turned round. The driveway was empty. Breathing
out heavily she placed one hand on the wall to steady herself. Then
she delicately picked up the bag and walked into the kitchen to see
what was inside.

Next morning
Maria came downstairs for breakfast bleary eyed and grumpy. She was
still upset and was surprised to see her mother making pancakes at
the cooker, singing softly to herself. As Maria came in she smiled
broadly.

“
Hello my
little angel” Sylvia said, wiping her hands on a tea towel, hugging
Maria then kissing her cheek.  

“
What’s the
special occasion mummy?” Maria asked, looking confused and taking
her seat at the breakfast table. They only usually had pancakes on
special days like Shrove Tuesday or sometimes on a Sunday.
 

“
Well my
sweet, today is a special day because your grandmother has bought
you a new doll.” 

Maria thought about this and
even though she was only 7 she wasn’t stupid. “Mummy, how can nana
buy me a doll?”

 
Sylvia
smiled again, barely able to contain herself. “Look in the bag
darling,” she said, nodding to the white paper packet on the
table. 

Creasing her face in confusion
Maria leaned over the table and took hold of the packet. She placed
it in her lap and opened it. Reaching inside she pulled out the
contents and gasped.

 
Inside
was her doll, but different. It had golden, curly hair down to its
waist. which shone in the morning light from the window.

 “
Oh
mummy, it’s beautiful,” she exclaimed, holding it up and smiling.
Sylvia put her arms around Maria and laughed. “Yes my dear, it’s
lovely,” She saw her daughter’s face light up with joy and wondered
who had been the one who’d put things right.

“
So, remember
when you tease or bully someone else you cause them pain that can
usually not be taken back.” 

Stone, who’d
taken the flute, bowed his head in shame and after another long
silence Leppard said, “I think we all need to try and get some
sleep now. We have an early start in the morning.” 

The boys
began silently arranging their packs as pillows. No one spoke and
no one would look directly at Mordalayn in case they met his steel
gaze.

Chapter
15

The foliage swept past him as
he leapt clear, the leaves clinging briefly to his chest and face
as he grunted with the exertion, grabbing the tree branch for
leverage and then hauling himself on. Him and his three fellows
knew only one of them might make it out but none cared who it was.
Their mission was far too important for petty self
preservation. 

The dogs snarled in the
background and cries from the men pursuing them echoed around the
vast gardens of the castle estate. They had done what they were
sent to do and now at least one of them needed to get back to give
that precious information to their leaders. 

Kulkrain sprang over the low
wall that bordered the sanctuary and sped on. Hereth, Dexan and
Javohl were behind him. All four were grimy and exhausted after the
gruelling mission but, after days of discomfort and the loss of two
of their number they finally had what they wanted.  

As they ran across the circular
courtyard facing the king’s bird sanctuary and pounded through the
tall maze of hedges a soldier appeared in their path and raised his
crossbow. Before any could react the man triggered the weapon and
the bolt caught Dexan in the throat. He flew back and landed
lifeless, spread eagled on his back amongst the thousands of tiny
black stones that made up the courtyard. Kulkrain reached the man
before he could reload and chopped brutally with the side of his
hand and then flung him aside. The man went limp and they ran on,
none of them sparing a backward glance for their fallen
comrade. 

They ran to
the side gate, the wall surrounding it overgrown with clinging
vines and vegetation, the stone work old and ancient. The gate was
a portcullis like all entrances and exits in the royal palace and
as Kulkrain and Hereth ran through there was a grinding noise. The
spiked gate flashed down in a split second, trapping Javohl.
Kulkrain and Hereth whirled, their dark skin shining in the
moonlight. Breathing heavily Javohl looked back. “Go my brothers. I
will hold them as long as I can,” he gasped without
hesitation.

Kulkrain
reached through the gate and grasped Javohl by his forearm.
“Strength in the next world brother”, he said quietly and Hereth
silently reached through and grasped his friend’s arm
too.

 
Javohl
reached to his belt and drew a long dagger. “GO!” he shouted and
turning he ran back the way they’d come, the sounds of dogs and men
much closer now.

 “
COME
ON!!!” he shouted loudly as the first soldiers appeared and ran
straight at them. Kulkrain and Hereth ran on, not seeing him take
down two soldiers before they could even raise their bows. Javohl
snarled and drew the sword of one of the dead men at his feet and
whirled, taking the head of another man who strayed too close. Then
one of the huge dogs leapt at his sword arm and bit down hard.
Javohl fell and in seconds it was all over as the soldiers and dogs
engulfed him. 

Kulkrain and Hereth hurtled on.
They heard the distant shouts of someone shouting for the gate to
be raised and ran along the path that led to the river. As they
passed the eastern keep a shout went up. They ran to the trees and
under the shelter Hereth grabbed Kulkrain’s arm and whispered.
 

“
You have
more strength left than I brother,” he gasped. “Go now, I will lead
them the other way.” 

Kulkrain saw
the soldiers emerge from another gate on the far side beyond the
keep. “Strength in the next world,” he whispered and turned and
ran. Hereth ran back to the main path and pounded along it. The
soldiers shouted and made to follow him. 

Kulkrain cut through the trees,
his instincts and the moonlight helping him through the thick,
twisted ground. The boat was maybe two hundred yards beyond where
they were. If he could make it he could be out onto the protected
waters in minutes. 

He clubbed and fought his way
through the branches and finally saw the white rippling of the moon
on the water. Without pausing he lurched forward to where the small
boat was moored and hacked the rope in two short strokes, jumping
into the rocking vessel. 

Shouts behind him meant that
Hereth’s diversion had failed. He frantically heaved the oars into
position and pulled hard, trying to get out of crossbow range as
fast as he could. 

He twisted to see a squad of
ten or more soldiers appear howling on the bank. Two or three
pointed and some tried to shoot after him but the shots splashed
into the water. Not slowing down he continued to haul hard and knew
that unless they pulled a miracle he was now clear until the far
side of the lake. There he could ditch the boat and move back to
land, where they would never find him.

The captain
of the guard knew the mission had been a partial success. Of the
six spies they’d caught, two had been killed upon discovery, one in
the courtyard and another by the dogs at the gate. The final two
had nearly made it but one had tried an unsuccessful diversion. He
knew also that King James would be looking for someone to blame if
even one got away and it would almost certainly be him. He glanced
over his shoulder as another soldier; huge and bearded appeared
from the trees. The man’s shoulder insignia signified he was a
marksman. 

“
Can you make
the shot Tobias?” he said indifferently. 

“
Did you need
to ask?” the figure said in a rumbling voice and raised a huge and
sleekly designed bow to his shoulder. After interminable seconds he
pulled the trigger and the cord twanged. The bolt whistled out
across the glimmering, velvet water. After a second there was a
thud and the silhouetted figure pulling so urgently on the oars was
flung forward, tumbling from the tiny boat and into the water with
a splash. 

Nodding satisfaction and
silently thanking his personal gods, the captain turned to
Tobias. 

“
Good shot,”
he said nodding his approval.

 
Tobias
grunted and stared out where the empty boat continued to drift
away. 

“
Right! Back
inside. There’s a mess to clear up. Find out who was on guard
duty.” He barked to his men and they melted back into the trees,
heading towards the castle.

Kulkrain
waited until he could no longer see any sign of movement on the
shore and then painfully hauled himself back up into the boat and
lay flat on his side. The bolt had pierced his left shoulder and
gone clean through. When he was sure that no one would be able to
see him any more he sat upright and winced as the pain lanced up
his side. Stripping his shirt he rolled it up and tied the soaking
material around his shoulder, the fabric turning crimson where it
touched his wound. When he was certain he had staunched the blood
flow as much as he could he slowly pulled on the oars and made for
the far side of the lake.