A voice shouted out from inside the gate. Instantly, the guards snapped themselves as upright and straight as freshly placed fence poles. Another two Shrikes marched out of the warren, and Uki could hear Jori give a quiet groan beside him.
‘Prepare for inspection by Captain Needle!’ the taller, broader Shrike bellowed.
The Captain stepped up to each guard in turn, checking over their armour and testing the points of their arm spikes with a finger. Satisfied, she nodded, then reached up to remove her beaked helmet. Underneath was a fierce rabbit, grey-furred, with the same streak of black paint across her eyes as the guard.
‘Back to your posts,’ she said, then turned to look at Uki and his friends. Her gaze was dark, cold and predatory. Empty of all feeling and emotion except, perhaps, cruelty.
‘What have we here?’ She walked across to where Uki and his friends stood. ‘Three little strangers, all on their own? A plains rabbit, and two with some very interesting armour and weapons. Are those spears? With crystal heads? How unusual.’
Uki waited for Jori to do the talking, as she usually did, but this time she was strangely silent. From the corner of his eye, Uki saw she had pulled her cloak across her body, hiding the silver-topped flask of dusk potion on her belt. Next to her, Kree was clearing her throat to speak. Knowing she would probably say something tactless enough to get them all killed, Uki realised it was up to him.
‘We’re on our way to our aunt … I mean, uncle!’ he blurted.
‘Really?’ said Needle, leaning closer to peer at the red and yellow gems in his spear harness. ‘An aunt-uncle? Here in Reedwic?’
‘No, in Herongate.’ Uki tried to remember the story that Jori had spun to Father Klepper. It had sounded so natural and convincing when she said it. ‘We wanted to travel through the fen. It has many rare and beautiful species of frogskinned rabbits. And the customs of the birds are fascinating.’
‘Are they indeed?’ Needle smiled, showing white teeth that seemed far too sharp for a rabbit. ‘You must tell me about it during your stay.’
‘M-must I?’
‘Oh yes.’ Needle’s gaze moved on to Jori, sliding over her fine leather armour before resting on her belt. For a dreadful moment, Uki thought she was going to snatch the cloak away and spot her flask. ‘I spend most of my time wandering around the town, keeping an eye on things. I’m sure we’ll bump into each other again.’
‘That would be … nice,’ said Uki, sounding entirely unconvincing.
‘And while you are here … if anyone offers to sell you any wine or cloth, you will let me know, won’t you? We have a terrible problem with smugglers, you see.’
‘Of course,’ said Uki. He nodded and tried to smile, although it came out as more of a grimace. ‘We’ll let you know right away.’
‘Enjoy your visit.’ Needle grinned again, then she stepped aside and ushered them into Reedwic with a sweeping gesture that, from any other rabbit, would have been welcoming.
The three friends scurried past. Looking over his shoulder, Uki saw Needle’s blank stare following them, until finally they were lost amongst the crowd of carts and bustling rabbits.
‘Nam ukku ulla,’ said Kree. ‘She was a mean one!’
Jori put a paw on Uki’s arm. ‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I dared not speak. I was certain she was going to recognise me as Septys.’
‘Don’t worry,’ said Uki. ‘At least they let us in. I thought for a minute they were going to arrest us on the doorstep.’
Jori looked back towards the gateway, a stark frown on her face. ‘I believe she only let us in so she would be able to keep an eye on us. The quicker we can leave this place, the better.’
‘Why are you two so worried?’ Kree reached down from Mooka’s back to ruffle their ears. ‘Uki is strong enough to throw all those spiky rabbits from here to Icebark Forest, and Jori could slice them into salad before they finished a blink. And if it came to the worst, we could all jump on Mooka and race home to the plains. We are the Outcasts – the meanest rabbits in all Hulstland. It is them who should be frightened of us.’
Uki laughed, even though he didn’t share his friend’s confidence. Keeping a wary eye out for Captain Needle, they began to search Reedwic for a guide.
*
Even though they were almost neighbours, Reedwic looked a very different place to Mudstock. Almost all the houses were made of wood and raised on stilts. Steps led up to the front doors, and they seemed to be the place everyone sat, enjoying the sunshine. There were rabbits outside every building, chatting to neighbours, drinking tea or playing musical instruments. A kind of long-necked, round-bodied lute seemed to be the most popular. It had a twangy sound that made Uki want to tap his feet and dance.
The stone wall surrounding everything was only a semicircle. At the far end of town was a wide, fast-running river, and on the other side of that, the Fenlands.
There were docks beside the river, and many boats and barges loading and unloading. Uki spotted several different styles of craft, and sails of many patterns and colours.
Also, unlike Mudstock, there were more than a few inns and taverns. Good places to look for a guide and maybe some information about what was happening in the marshes.
‘This one here has a stable,’ Kree called. She was pointing up at a painted sign that showed a tall scrawny bird with a frog clutched in its long beak.
‘The Greedy Heron,’ said Jori, reading the runes beneath the picture.
‘Do you think it will be safe?’ Uki asked. Something about the meeting with Captain Needle had set him on edge. Or perhaps it was the lingering tendrils of his dream about Necripha. Maybe even the constant pulsing at the back of his mind that came from Charice, hidden somewhere in the marshes.
‘I’m sure we’ll be fine,’ said Jori. ‘Although … I have a feeling we’re being watched.’
‘Me too,’ said Uki. He looked around the crowds of rabbits in the street, but couldn’t spot anything out of the ordinary. ‘Maybe we’re just worrying about the Shrikes?’
‘Maybe,’ said Jori. She followed Kree into the courtyard of the Greedy Heron, and Uki was about to join her when he noticed a movement on one of the wooden stilts of the inn. Stepping closer, he could see it was an insect of some kind. A fat one. It seemed to be struggling – perhaps caught in a spider’s web?
Closer still and he could see it was some kind of fly. But it wasn’t trapped by anything. Instead, it was trying to move on stunted, misshapen legs. Its body was bloated, bulging out in strange places and oozing thick yellow pus. It looked like it had too many eyes and its wings were lopsided. They buzzed and flapped in vain, trying to lift its bulk into the air.
Charice, Uki thought. This was one of her diseased creatures. They had already started to spread, out of the heart of the fen and into places where rabbits lived. That thing could be filled with plague, sent here to pass it on to any rabbit that touched it.
Carefully, Uki drew one of the spears from his harness and used the butt to crush the fly. It went pop, releasing a trickle of foul liquid, which made Uki feel more than a little queasy. He wiped his spear on a patch of weeds several times, until he was sure it was clean, then trotted after his friends, wondering how many more poisoned insects were in the air, crawling through the buildings …
*
Once Mooka had been safely stabled, they climbed the steps to the inn itself. There were quite a few rabbits inside, eating their lunch or passing the time while their ships were loaded. Uki spotted several lops, with their enormous, droopy ears, a few angoras, with masses of tufty fur, spotted harlequins, tiny dwarf rabbits and even a towering giant rabbit, who took up a whole corner by the fire.
But most of the customers had short ears, long legs and large feet with splayed toes. These seemed to be the inhabitants of the Fenlands, and they all spoke with a deep, rich accent, full of ‘oohs’ and ‘arrs’.
After a quick scan to make sure there weren’t any Shrikes about, the three of them found a table near th
e window. Uki peered up at the sky, looking for clouds of black flies, swarming from the marshes.
‘What are you staring at?’ Jori asked. ‘Started birdwatching already?’
‘Oh, nothing,’ said Uki. ‘Just … checking for flies.’
‘Flies?’ Jori was about to ask more, when a bar rabbit came over. One of the fen locals, he spoke with a thick, buzzing accent.
‘Art’noon,’ he said. ‘Just the three of you for nammet?’
‘Nammet?’ Kree frowned. ‘What kind of word is that?’
‘It means food,’ said the bar rabbit. ‘Bain’t you from round here?’
‘Do I look like I’m from round here?’ Kree pointed to the red-painted stripes on her ears and cheeks.
‘Hmm,’ said the bar rabbit, beginning to sound annoyed. ‘Well, we has marsh orchid salad, sweetgrass gumbo, eel pie and stickleback surprise.’
‘What’s the surprise?’ Uki asked.
‘You finds out when you eats it,’ said the rabbit.
‘Pok ha boc,’ said Kree. ‘I don’t like the sound of swamp food.’
‘These be fens, not swamps.’
‘Mud, water and gloop,’ said Kree. ‘That makes a swamp, whatever you want to call it.’
‘Perhaps you should let me order, Kree,’ said Jori. She gave the little rabbit a glare as sharp as the edge on her sky-metal sword. ‘The sweetgrass gumbo sounds nice, don’t you think, Uki?’
Uki nodded. He was only half listening. Being around so many rabbits was still very new to him, even after his adventures in the twin cities. For most of his life, it had been just him and his mother in their little hut. Now there was so much to see all the time. His eyes were drawn to something new every second.
He had just seen a fen rabbit in a purple cloak slip out of the inn, glancing back at them several times as he left. Was that something to worry about? Or just a local rabbit staring at the outsiders? How did you know who could be trusted – whether they were kind and friendly or wished you harm? The outside world was too confusing.
I miss Mother so much. A picture of their hut appeared in his mind, heartbreak clear. His mother putting a fresh batch of dried pots into her kiln, him building a castle of stones next to her. Everything was so safe and simple then.
‘Uki?’ Jori’s paw on his arm brought him back to the present. He wiped a tear from his eye and looked about. It seemed Kree had just said something else offensive, and the waiter was looking even grumpier. And to make things worse, some of the local rabbits had begun to notice.
‘Do there be a problem?’ A big fen rabbit stepped over to their table. His ears were tight back against his boulder-shaped head and his eyes were narrowed in a frown. Two more came to join him. Uki noticed how the fur on their wide feet was matted and spiky with dried mud. Their clothes were spattered with it too, and at their belts hung long bronze skinning knives. Well used, but sharp. These were hunters of some kind. Proud and local and dangerous.
‘No, no,’ said Jori. ‘We were just ordering some food.’ She gave the rabbits a broad, friendly smile, but at the same time her paw had gone to the flask at her belt. Uki tensed, ready to get in between these scary swamp rabbits and Kree if they tried to touch her.
‘Sounds like you be having a problem with our fen,’ said the big rabbit. He ignored Jori and glared at Kree. ‘Sounds like I might have to put you across my knee and give you a good spanking.’
The other swamp rabbits laughed at this and Kree stood up on her chair, bringing her face closer to the ringleader.
‘I’m not a child, you know. I’m ten years old!’ She put her hands on her hips and glared.
‘That’s old enough for a whooping, wouldn’t you say, boys?’ The big rabbit’s friends laughed some more. ‘We don’t take kindly to folk coming here and insulting our home.’
‘This has all been a misunderstanding,’ said Jori. ‘Perhaps we could buy you a drink to apologise?’
That isn’t going to work, Uki thought. These rabbits were bullies and they had sniffed out someone weaker than them. Bullies never gave up when they had easy prey, he knew that all too well.
Except Uki and Jori weren’t as vulnerable as they looked. They could make short work of the Reedwic rabbits if they wanted. But that would draw attention to them, which would make it impossible to find a guide and slip into the fen unnoticed. And that was what their whole mission depended on.
Uki looked around the inn, seeing if there was a quick way out. All the other customers were staring now, and through the window, in the street beyond, he could see a patrol of three Shrikes coming this way. If they did try to defend themselves, they would be spotted.
‘Jori,’ he said through gritted teeth, grabbing her arm. ‘Jori, look outside.’
‘What do you think, boys?’ The big rabbit had begun to roll up his sleeves. ‘Three little brats and three of us. How about we take one each and show them what happens to naughty kittens when they talk slop about us?’
Pop. Jori’s thumb flicked the cap off her flask. Kree clenched her little fists and held them up in front of her face.
This is it, thought Uki. We’re going to end up spiked by Shrikes or thrown in prison before our quest even gets started.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Stranger
‘Now just hold on a minute, boys.’
A gruff voice came from the bar, followed by the sound of someone walking across the floorboards. Clump-clonk, clump-clonk.
Uki took his eyes from the trio of angry locals to see a strange figure coming towards them.
A rabbit? Could it be?
The newcomer was so scarred and mauled it was difficult to tell what he was. He leaned on a crutch, his left leg having been replaced with a wooden peg. The skin of his face and arms was scorched of almost every single hair. It was puckered, pink and torn – seared all over. His ears were tattered stubs and his left eye covered by a patch.
But the thing that really made Uki gape – and that silenced the Reedwic bullies too – was his right arm. Or rather, what had taken its place.
It was missing from the elbow down, and fitted on the stump was a heavy blacksmith’s hammer. The shaft was polished walnut, wrapped in leather. The head, a thundering piece of sky metal that could crack a rabbit’s skull as if it were a robin’s egg. He lifted it up and rested it on the table in front of Kree.
Clump.
There was a moment of silence as the three bullies stared at the scarred rabbit. He stared back, his good eye unblinking. The melted skin around his mouth slowly pulled back in a smile. A smile that he might give a piece of hot steel, just before he pounded it flat.
‘Ch … Charcoal,’ the big rabbit said. ‘We was just having a chat with these ’ere nippers. A spot of fun, like.’
‘Well,’ said Charcoal. ‘It appears the fun’s over now. Unless you want to have some with me?’
‘No!’ The big rabbit almost jumped out of his muddy rags. ‘I mean, no thank you. We’ll just be going about our business now. Won’t we, lads?’
‘You do that,’ said Charcoal. He left his hammer resting on the table as the three bullies scuttled away. When they were gone, he turned to the waiter, who had been edging back to the bar. ‘You can fetch these young rabbits their gumbo now,’ he said. ‘And perhaps with some complimentary drinks thrown in.’
The waiter bobbed his head like a priest of Kether gone crazy and dashed back out to the kitchen.
‘Thank you,’ said Jori. ‘But we didn’t need your help.’
‘No,’ said Kree. ‘We were about to kick those frog-lickers back into their mudholes!’
Charcoal laughed, a deep, husky sound, as if his lungs had been baked as thoroughly as the rest of him. ‘I’m sure you were,’ he said. ‘But I thought I might lend a paw. Even though I only have one to spare.’
‘Would you like to join us?’ Uki asked. He had noticed the Shrike patrol pass by without so much as a blink at the inn. The scarred stranger had saved them, without even realising it, and
Uki felt a rush of gratitude. Kree and Jori had no idea how close they’d come to serious trouble.
‘Why, that’s very kind of you,’ said Charcoal. ‘But I wouldn’t like to intrude.’
‘I insist,’ said Uki. Jori looked at him with an eyebrow raised. Uki waggled his at her. This rabbit might be a good guide, he was trying to say, although he didn’t think she understood.
‘Then I shall accept.’ Charcoal pulled over a chair, rested his crutch against the back of it and sat down. As the young rabbits watched, he grasped the shaft of his hammer and twisted it. There was a click and it came away from the metal cuff on his arm. He set it down on the floor with a thunk that shook the table.
‘Everyone round here calls me Charcoal, by the way,’ he said. ‘Because I look like I was left in the fire too long. But friends shorten it to “Coal”.’
‘What … what happened to you?’ Kree was staring at his furless skin, mouth open. ‘You look like a fire demon chewed you up and spat you out. Or like an ogre roasted you on a spit, then ate your arm and leg and didn’t like the taste.’
‘Kree!’ Jori slapped her hand on the table. ‘Didn’t anyone ever tell you that you don’t have to say every single thought that comes into your head?’
Coal waved his hand and gave that smoky laugh again. ‘It’s all right. Don’t worry. I’ve heard just about every mean thing that could be said about me. I know I don’t exactly look pretty, but there’s nothing I can do about it.’
‘Have you always been … different?’ Uki knew all about being treated badly because of how you looked. He had spent most of his life hidden away from his tribe, thanks to his split-colour fur and mismatched eyes. He had felt the sadness, the unfairness, of folk calling him evil and wicked before they’d even taken the time to speak two words to him.
‘No, not always.’ Coal gave a sad smile. ‘I was a miner once. Chief Engineer. I worked in Eisenfell, digging out sky metal from the crater around the city. I was paid good money. I had a house, a wife … and then one day we were digging a new shaft. We came across a pocket of gas. One of the lads had an uncovered candle and … boom.
Uki and the Swamp Spirit Page 4
