The Hunting of the Princes

by Peter F. Hamilton

  Jemima stuck her tongue out and walked away.

  ‘You are a cheeky girl,’ the guard called after her. ‘Don’t let me catch you here again.’

  ‘Jem!’ Taggie groaned despairingly when her sister rejoined them.

  ‘What? I found out he’s definitely up there. And he’s been here for five years at least.’

  ‘That’s not the point . . .’ She broke off. On the other side of the lobby’s thick smoked glass wall, not ten metres away, a dozen Ethanu were lining up, facing her. Beneath their hats, circular glasses glinted silver.

  ‘How come the tower has Ethanu inside?’ Jemima asked in alarm as everyone started backing away along the pavement outside the tower.

  ‘They only ever have one master,’ Felix said. ‘So they’ll be Lord Colgath’s guards, I expect.’

  As they watched, the Ethanu extended black fingernails as long as their fingers as they edged closer to the glass wall.

  ‘Maybe we should find a better place to think about this,’ Lantic said apprehensively.

  They quickly walked round the corner into Upper Bank Street, struggling to stand against the wind, which seemed to be building in strength. Taggie looked up at the sheer glass face which this side of the tower presented. It was easily more than twice as high as the jail tower at Red Loch Castle. ‘I don’t want to fight our way up through forty-five floors of Ethanu,’ she said. ‘Lantic, could the olobikes get to the top?’

  Lantic gazed up the imposing cliff of glass and pulled a face. ‘Well, yes. It’s rather high, though.’

  ‘Yes, I sort of noticed that myself.’

  They shared a grin, and he took the tiny olobikes from his satchel. Taggie watched them grow as he cast the counter-spell. Within a minute the two full-size olobikes stood ready on the pavement.

  ‘I know said it before,’ Taggie said, ‘but that is so cool.’

  Lantic smiled with pride.

  ‘I should be able to catch you if anything goes wrong,’ Sophie said quietly as Taggie took hold of the handlebars, trying to nerve herself up for the ride.

  ‘Thanks.’ She smiled at her friend.

  Jemima suddenly turned round, her eyes tight shut as she faced the end of the road, the wind whipping her hair across her face. ‘Uh-oh. Captain Feandez just arrived.’

  ‘Tell us what can you see, Jem,’ Taggie said.

  ‘He’s at the underground station with a whole gang of Blue Feather officers.’

  ‘I will delay them,’ Felix said, growing up to elbow height. ‘Go now, quickly. Time is short. Jemima, find somewhere safe to wait.’

  ‘I will not!’

  ‘You must.’

  ‘No!’

  ‘Jemima,’ Taggie said in exasperation. ‘This is Felix’s job. I can’t look after you as well as find Lord Colgath. Don’t be difficult, not now, there’s no time! Please.’

  ‘All right,’ Jemima said sullenly. ‘I’ll go and hide like a baby then.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Taggie said. She sat astride the olobike’s saddle, next to Lantic. ‘What do I do?’

  ‘Just ride,’ he said.

  Taggie watched him start pedalling. It looked ridiculous: he was heading straight for the base of the tower and going far too fast. She started after him, pedalling harder, trying to catch up. From the corner of her eye she saw Sophie shrug out of her fleece, and slide her crossbow round so it was across her chest. Then the skymaid took off. It had been a good distraction, because Taggie was now almost at the tower. About to crash into the tower, her instincts told her. She caught up with Lantic, surely going fast enough to break the glass. But the olobike’s front wheel hit the big dark pane at pavement level, and began to roll upwards. Her perspective abruptly shifted. The sheer wall of glass became the ground, and behind her the road had flipped round to the vertical.

  ‘Oh yes!’ she laughed in elation. ‘This is how it’s done.’

  Beside her, Lantic gave her a fierce grin. ‘Absolutely. Let’s go and give Lord Colgath the surprise of his life.’

  When Taggie looked down at her feet she saw an Ethanu pressed up against the window she was cycling over. Its narrow mouth was visible, open wide in amazement. She chuckled wildly.

  Somewhere behind – below! – Jemima was shouting frantically.

  ‘Oh just do as you’re told for once,’ Taggie muttered to herself. Trust Jemima to spoil the exhilaration of this amazing ride.

  A harsh mechanical droning sound started to rise, swiftly getting louder.

  ‘What is that noise?’ Lantic shouted.

  Taggie tried to make out what she was hearing. ‘Helicopter, I think. Maybe two by the sound of it. There are loads of them flying across London all the time. Especially around here.’

  ‘Ah. Very well. Taggie . . . what is a helicopter?’

  ‘Outer Realm flying machine. Not steam powered,’ she added hastily. ‘They have different engines. Turbines I think . . .’ though it was becoming hard to talk as the helicopters were so loud now. Puffing from the effort of pedalling, she glanced back over her shoulder to see Sophie keeping level with the two olobikes. The skymaid was peering round uneasily as she flew.

  ‘What is that?’ Sophie shouted above the din.

  Taggie rolled her eyes. Here we go again . . . ‘Helicopter. That’s an Outer Rea—’

  The dark silhouettes of two helicopters zoomed into view above Canada Square, their navigation strobes flashing bright as they cut across the illuminated skyscrapers beyond. They were squat shapes with small stubby wings that carried long pods: military helicopters.

  The helicopters swung about, adjusting their positions so their noses lined up on the two cyclists. Flame leaped out from the pods of the lead helicopter, and the glass behind Taggie erupted into a million shards as machine-gun bullets slammed into the tower.

  LORD COLGATH HAS VISITORS

  Standing at the base of the tower, Jemima watched in horror as the helicopters opened fire on Taggie and Lantic. Then she sprinted for Canada Square just as a cascade of lethal glass daggers rained down on the pavement where she’d been standing a few seconds earlier. Cowering, with her arms over her head, she raced over the road junction to the corner of the square where the trees lined the side of the grass. Wind plucked at her black denim jacket, sending the loose fabric flapping.

  ‘Jemima?’ Felix was yelling above the roar of the helicopter guns. ‘Are you all right?’

  She looked round to see him standing ten feet away, one forepaw gripping his glowing green sword, the other holding a dormant firestar. ‘Yes.’ She nodded.

  Up above, the helicopter stopped firing. Taggie and Lantic pedalled furiously round the corner of the tower. The helicopters rushed forward to follow them.

  ‘Oh no,’ Jemima gasped.

  Behind her, the glass wall of the tower’s lobby suddenly shattered. The Ethanu stepped out on to the pavement. Six of them raised their arms, long black fingernails pointing at Jemima. She squealed. Sparkling, icy-blue wizard light streamed across the road to hit Jemima full on the chest. Her jacket and baggy combat trousers ignited, engulfing her in a maelstrom of fierce flames that soared high into the air. Blackened embers of cloth snowed on to the tarmac as the flames died away.

  As one, the Ethanu stopped and stared at what should have been her charred corpse. Jemima was standing there, hands on her hips, and a huge sneer on her face. Her athrodene armour gleamed as if it was reflecting moonlight. She stuck her tongue out at them, and blew a raspberry.

  Jemima!’ Felix yelled in exasperation. ‘Don’t provoke them!’ He flung a firestar, which chopped savagely into the closest Ethanu. The figure in the leather coat crumpled.

  Arms began to rise again, black fingernails lining up.

  Felix’s paw gripped Jemima’s hand, tugging urgently. ‘Run!’ he shouted.

  Captain Feandez led the squad of his fellow Blue Feather officers into Canada Square as the sound of helicopter gunfire ended. The whole place seemed deserted except for the little Blossom Princess on th
e other side of the grass. She was running fast, wearing an astonishing suit of shining athrodene armour – you could buy entire Second Realm estates with that much of the fabulous substance. Captain Feandez was just recovering from the shock of seeing that, when a blast of deadly magical light struck her back, and she staggered forward. But the athrodene protected her easily, of course. That was when she saw him.

  They stared at each other for a long moment, both of them uncertain. ‘Get back,’ she called out. ‘The Ethanu will . . .’

  Her voice was lost in the mechanical howl from above. Captain Feandez instinctively looked up as Sophie flashed overhead, her red contrail sparkling against the night sky. One of the helicopters chased after her. When he looked back down he saw eleven Ethanu walking their slow deliberate walk across the road, closing on the shining princess. The squirrel was slashing at one with a luminous green sword, while the Ethanu fought back with a slim orange blade.

  Captain Feandez knew his orders were to apprehend the Queen of Dreams and her friends, but as a soldier his duty was clear. His purpose in life was to defend people from the forces of Darkness, no matter what.

  ‘With me,’ he called to his fellows as he drew his sword. All the Blue Feather regiment officers drew theirs.

  ‘No, no,’ Jemima shouted. ‘Get back. I’ll deal with them.’

  Captain Feandez smiled at the badly misplaced bravery and pride of the little princess, and raced forward on to the park.

  Jemima turned and hugged the tree closest to her. Its small dozing spirit was delighted at the uplifting touch of the Blossom Princess herself. ‘Help me,’ she implored.

  A hundred thousand leaves rattled in a chorus of anger as every tree around the square awoke, anxious to shelter their precious Blossom Princess. Deep below the grass, roots burst into life, burrowing fast through the soil, wrapping round the cables and pipes that lay there. They tugged and tore at the electricity cables, ripping them apart. The Ethanu following her hesitated as they sensed the surge of hostility directed towards them.

  All the lights in Canada Square and the surrounding skyscrapers went out. Somewhere behind the tower, the other helicopter started firing its machine gun again.

  Jemima could see Felix’s green blade dancing through the darkness, clashing with the orange blade of his Ethanu opponent, both moving with remarkable speed. Another orange blade appeared behind Felix.

  ‘You leave him alone,’ Jemima snarled. She asked the trees to reach for the Ethanu. Thick, wiry roots began to surge towards the surface, precisely where booted feet could be felt treading down on the grass.

  Taggie twisted the olobike handlebars sharply as the bullets ripped through the glass behind her. Her enchantment shield hardened as the bullets came ever closer. Then she and Lantic surged round the curving corner of the building. The machine gun fell silent.

  ‘I’ll do what I can,’ Sophie shouted, and soared away into the burly gusts of wind blowing between the skyscrapers.

  ‘What do we do?’ Taggie yelled.

  ‘Keep pedalling. We have to stay out of its sight,’ Lantic shouted back.

  They’d almost reached the other side of the wall when a lone helicopter came charging into view, turning sharply over North Dock station so its weapon pods lined up on them. The machine gun opened fire again, chewing up the skyscraper wall in a wave of disintegrating glass.

  Taggie screamed as they shot round the next corner. The bullets were coming terrifyingly close. A small swarm of glass shards had smacked against her enchantment shield, creating a patchwork of purple fizzes. She heard Lantic cry out in alarm.

  ‘What happened?’ she shouted in panic. ‘Are you all right?’

  ‘My wheel,’ he yelled back as the firing stopped. ‘It’s been hit.’

  Taggie looked over at him. His olobike was badly damaged, wobbling along as the mangled rear wheel quivered from side to side. She turned to see where the helicopter was. They were cycling directly over the low section of the building that held the entrance. Next door was another massive glass office block. But the distance between the two skyscrapers was too narrow for the helicopter to follow them. Instead it was wavering about over North Dock, trying to get a good line of fire.

  ‘What do we do?’ she cried.

  ‘Keep going,’ he called back. ‘You have to get to Colgath. Leave this one to me.’

  As he said it, he turned the handlebars, angling away from her, heading towards the roof of the entrance building. It was going well until his front wheel hit a broad band of metal vents in the skyscraper wall. The olobike began to judder violently as it crossed them. Then the helicopter opened fire again. Lantic flinched, ducking down over the handlebars. With the olobike rocking unpredictably, he lost his balance and fell flat against the skyscraper wall.

  It probably saved his life. The machine gun ripped a line of destruction that overshot him as the olobike skidded unexpectedly down the wall.

  Lantic yelled as his chaotic slide picked up speed. Gravity began to reclaim the damaged olobike, and he fell the last ten feet, to land with a painful thud on the flat roof of the entrance building.

  As he lay there groaning, Taggie vanished round the corner of the skyscraper to the front wall. The machine gun stopped firing. Lantic had lost his glasses when he hit the roof, so he squinted at the helicopter as it swung from side to side like a lost insect before shooting upward over the top of the building next door.

  He scrambled round in his satchel amid the blurred shapes, and pulled out the illuminious bird. The instructions he incanted were fast and direct. It fluttered away into the night. Next he grabbed a spider. It quickly spun a gossamer thread around the end of a metal support, and with one hand clutching tightly at its body he rolled over the edge of the roof.

  At the moment the lights of Canada Square went out, Captain Feandez cast the spell to animate his beautiful scarlet-and-black tunic. The threads of its cloth flipped over and hardened. Within a few seconds he was clad in a dark suit of armour, rich with shield enchantments. One of his fellow officers threw a firestar at an Ethanu, who chopped the flaming circle in half with a glimmering orange sword.

  Despite himself, Captain Feandez was impressed with the Ethanu. Then the sword vanished, engulfed by the darkness.

  ‘Altras? Homenz?’ he called softly.

  ‘Here, Captain,’ they replied.

  ‘Protect the Blossom Princess. The rest of you, we will take the Ethanu. Go swiftly.’

  ‘Aye, Captain.’

  More Ethanu were drawing their swords, whose blades glowed with orange runes, casting a weak luminescence at angles that made little sense. They continued their methodical advance across the grass towards the Blue Feather officers. The shining princess had vanished.

  Captain Feandez ran across the grass towards the dark creatures, hoping the princess had not already been struck down. ‘Falavor,’ he chanted. His illumination spell sent a flare of brilliant white light arching over the square.

  In his heart, Captain Feandez knew that the Hell Realm was just a story, a tale that parents employed to scare children with, to make them clean their teeth properly and eat their vegetables. But if it did exist, he knew, it would undoubtedly look something like this. The ground of Canada Square was splitting open as cracks multiplied across the grass. Long sinuous roots clad in dripping mud were reaching up from the depths of the earth like blind vindictive serpents. Three of the Ethanu had already been caught, with roots coiling round them, lifting them off the ground like puppets. They flailed round, trying to hack at the dirty wood with swords. Being upside down didn’t help; their coats flapped about, impeding every movement they made.

  He had to duck fast as roots came sliding up to grab him. Then jumped as a fissure split open beside him. Slashed with his sword at a root that lashed through the air like a whip.

  Finally he was clear and stumbling on to the road which was covered in broken glass. The illumination spell was fading, allowing shadows to swell out and engulf Canada Squa
re once more. His headlong flight from the angry trees sent him crashing into an Ethanu. Long black fingernails raked down his armour. To Captain Feandez’s horror they gouged deep grooves into his breastplate. The armour was supposed to be enchanted against any weapon. So he battered the Ethanu away with his fist and brought his sword round. Five of his Blue Feather comrades were standing with him on the road now. All of them holding their enchanted swords ready to fend off the line of Ethanu who were walking steadily towards them.

  As the two helicopters appeared and opened fire with their machine guns on her friends riding their olobikes up the glass tower, Sophie yelled, ‘I’ll do what I can,’ before shooting up as fast as she could. She curved in a fast loop above their whirling rotor blades, and tugged her crossbow off its strap as she headed down again. When she was below the blades she could see the machine clearly, and started. A Karrak Lord was sitting in the cockpit. She fired a bolt at him.

  The armoured glass cracked when the bad magic tip hit it, but didn’t quite break. The Karrak Lord turned to look at her, then tilted the helicopter’s joystick. The helicopter swung round in response. Sophie didn’t wait; she took off fast over Canada Square, streaking round towards the West India Docks. The helicopter came roaring after her.

  She caught sight of a large black eagle flying in from the middle of the city. It glided silently over the line of Ethanu battling the Blue Feather officers, then soared round to the Upper Bank Street side of the tower and slipped easily into the huge ragged gap in the glass which the machine guns had just torn open.

  Sophie frowned as she flew on; there was nothing she could do about the odd intruder now. She waited until the helicopter followed her out over the water of the colossal West India Dock, then banked sharply, curving back under and round. She fired her crossbow again. The bolt struck one of the engine casings, and penetrated two-thirds of its length. The engine pitch changed slightly. She streaked away again, pushing hard into the turbulent wind blowing across the water. What she wanted was to keep the helicopter chasing her, keeping it away from Taggie.