Hayley and Alfie sprang away from each other, embarrassed.
“Yeah, whoa, OK, whatever this is will have to wait,” blurted Ellie, words tumbling over each other in her excitement. “Because there’s something you both have to see. Right now.”
Alarmed, Hayley and Alfie got up and ran after Ellie.
Across the plain, lights were approaching from every direction. Flickering torches held by figures that were dark against the snow.
“Who is it? Vikings?” asked Hayley, slotting an arrow on to her bow.
Alfie looked down at Herne, who was scratching himself behind an ear, apparently unconcerned. “I don’t think so,” he said.
Tony scanned for a possible landing spot. Then, seeing an exposed rock near the group of figures holding torches, he pulled on his mask. “Back in a sec,” he said, and disappeared.
They saw him appear on the distant rock. Everyone held their breath.
Then, with a loud pop and rush of air, Qilin was back. He removed his mask, breathless and beaming from ear to ear. “You’re never going to believe this!” he cried.
They had come. From north, south, east and west; from desolate cities, wrecked towns and hidden villages; by boat, by car till the petrol ran out; by foot through miles and miles of snow. The Yeoman Warders had returned. And with them had come an army of ordinary folk, heeding the rallying cry. Rumours of the Defender’s return had spread through the countryside, whispered from neighbour to neighbour. The beefeaters had confirmed the news – a secret signal had been received, a force was massing in the south. Some said that the infamous Resistance fighter Hayley Hicks was leading them, some that the young King Alfred himself had returned from the dead with new allies from foreign lands.
“What did I tell you?” Hayley said to Alfie. “We’re not alone any more.”
That night the weary crowd of new arrivals made camp downhill from the stones. Alfie, Hayley, Tony, Ellie and Brian helped set fires and gave out what food and blankets Celia could plunder from the visitors’ centre. At first, Alfie was nervous about what reaction he might get – after all, everyone thought he was dead. What would they say when they realized he had only run away? Would they think he’d abandoned them at the first sign of trouble? In the end he needn’t have worried. The ordinary people who had joined the Resistance force were ecstatic to see their young king “back from the dead”. As word spread that he was there, they rushed towards him, eager to set eyes on his face for themselves, to tell him they were glad to see him and determined to take their country back. Alfie was happy and relieved, but after a while Brian was forced to pull him away from the excited crowd before he got crushed.
Even better than the army’s welcome were the many reunions they had with old friends – Yeoman “Sultana” Raisin was there, all the way from Lindisfarne, with most of his darts team and a dozen burly fishermen. Even Yeoman Gillam, the apprentice Armourer, had made it from his hiding place in the Welsh borders with a small group of soldiers he’d found defending Skenrith Castle against a horde of berserkers. From the south had come Yeoman Burgh Keepers Hein and Chambers of Bridport and Hastings. Yeoman Warder Stevens, who had been the last to leave the outskirts of the Tower after it collapsed, told them about the sad but brave demise of the Ravenmaster, Yeoman Eshelby, who had stayed behind to ensure his birds flew to freedom. Gwenn and the other ravens seemed to understand the grim news and took off from the stones, circling and calling with a mournful cry no one had ever heard them make before.
There were maybe eight hundred people in total camped around Stonehenge by morning, many armed with nothing more than what they could find in their garden sheds. Not exactly a huge force, but as Brian said, it was a decent start. They would surely pick up more on their way to London.
At dawn a single shaft of sunlight somehow found its way through the heavy clouds above Salisbury Plain to warm the stirring army. It felt like a good omen. Hayley found Alfie pacing behind one of the huge stones, passing his Shroud Tunic from hand to hand.
“They’re waiting, Alfie. You should say something.”
“I know,” he said. “But what?”
“‘Thanks’ would be a start,” said Ellie, joining them. “I can’t believe so many people came.”
Brian and Tony were close behind, carrying bowls of warm soup fresh from one of the campfires. But Alfie didn’t take any. His appetite had deserted him. He lifted the tunic to put it on, but Hayley stopped him.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“They want to see the Defender, don’t they?” said Alfie.
“They want you, Alfie. Their king,” she replied. “You saw how pleased they were to see you last night.”
“Yeah, but this is different. I’m asking them to go into battle and risk their lives… I just think the Defender can ask them to do that better than me.”
“Maybe it’s time they knew who the Defender is anyway?” said Tony. They all looked at him, shocked. He shrugged. “It’s just an idea.”
“What do you think, Brian?” asked Ellie.
“I’m not sure what LC would say, but well, he’s not here,” Brian replied. “And under the circumstances, no one could blame you, Your Majesty.”
Alfie peered round the stone, at the mass of expectant faces further down the hill. All he had to do was show them he was the Defender and he would instantly get the respect he’d never had before. They would know it was he who had saved the people at the coronation; it was he who had fought the Viking invasion: Alfie, their king and Defender. He thought for a moment, then lowered the tunic still in his hand.
“No, the secret has to be kept,” said Alfie. “Yes, I want to take the kingdom back from Lock. But not for me, for them. I’m not supposed to be in charge of the country; I’m just supposed to defend it.”
“I heard people talking about it last night,” said Tony. “A lot of them already think it’s you. Although some were still like ‘that scrawny kid’s the Defender? Yeah, right.’”
“Thanks, Tony,” laughed Alfie. “I just wish there was a way the king and the Defender could walk out there. Then they’d never know.”
“Bit late to rustle up a remote-control suit of armour, sorry,” said Hayley. “You can’t have two Defenders.”
“Actually,” said Brian, “that’s not completely true…”
Everyone turned to him.
“Seriously?” asked Alfie, looking sceptical.
“Yeah, this is more LC’s department than mine, but from what I recall, there was one reign when two monarchs ruled jointly,” continued Brian.
“William and Mary!” said Ellie. “They called it the co-regency, seventeenth century.”
Alfie looked at her, surprised.
“What? Some of us actually pay attention at school, you know.”
“But, how would that even work?” asked Hayley, confused.
Brian scratched his head. “Well, normally you’d need an Act of Parliament to allow it, but seeing as there is no parliament right now, I suppose the monarch could just declare it?”
“It can’t be that easy,” Alfie said. “OK, I declare it.”
“Better make it sound official,” suggested Brian.
“All right…” Alfie stood tall. “I, Alfred the Second, King of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, declare that my sister, Princess Eleanor, shall henceforth …”
“Ooh, good word,” said Tony.
“… shall henceforth reign as my co-regent. Um, that’s it,” said Alfie with a shrug.
Thunder boomed out in the distance.
“That’s probably just a coincidence, right?” said Hayley.
Ellie stepped forward nervously. “Wait a minute, did you really just make me queen?”
Alfie held out the Shroud Tunic to her. “Let’s see, shall we? Sorry, I didn’t have time to wash it.”
Ellie took the tunic, sniffed it, pulled a face, then put it over her head, letting it fall down over her body. She was halfway through saying “I feel ridicul
ous”, when it happened. The magical white armour appeared, covering her from head to toe until she stood there as the Defender.
“No … WAY.” Ellie’s excited voice squealed from inside the armour.
She lifted up the nearest huge trilithon stone.
“Look at me!” she yelled.
“Excuse me, put that down, please!” yelled Celia from afar.
“Sorry!” said Ellie, putting it back down.
Moments later, Alfie and the new Defender prepared to step out and greet the crowd. Alfie couldn’t stop smiling every time he looked over at his sister, flexing her gloves and testing out her new superhero suit.
“Seriously, Alfie, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me before about all this,” she said.
“OK, just don’t get too comfortable,” he replied. “And whatever you do, don’t say ‘spurs’. Wyvern is kind of tetchy with new people.”
Alfie took a deep breath and stepped out in front of the waiting crowd. There was applause and some cheers. But clearly many of those watching were weary and uncertain about what to expect. He needed to say something inspiring.
“Good morning! Um … how are you?” Yeah, that wasn’t going to work. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Last night I’d kind of given up hope. We all felt very cold and alone out here. And it’s hard to feel brave when you’re alone. But then you all came…”
“God save the King!” shouted Yeoman Gillam.
There were nods and cheers from parts of the crowd. Alfie held his hands up.
“There are a lot more important things than me we need to save. There are countless families out there who feel like I did last night – scared, and like no one is coming to help them. We have to show them they’re not alone. It won’t be easy, but we have some good friends here to help us.”
Qilin materialized next to him to gasps of surprise from the onlookers.
“You get used to it. This is Qilin. With a ‘Q’,” said Alfie. “And there’s someone else you already know too.”
He waved to Ellie, who strode out from behind the stones. Now the crowd erupted into cheers and yells of triumph. Some were in tears. The Defender waved at them, excited, and even pulled a couple of muscle poses.
“Hello, Stonehenge!” shouted Ellie.
“All right, take it easy,” whispered Alfie.
“Oh, chill out, Alf,” she replied. “Your problem is you never knew how to enjoy this enough. SPURS!”
Wyvern uncoiled beneath the Defender and took to the air. Alfie watched in horror – the first few times he’d tried to ride Wyvern, she’d almost killed him – but he needn’t have worried, as the spectral horse didn’t seem to mind its new rider and shook her mane with pleasure, pulling a loop-the-loop over the exhilarated crowd.
“WOOOOHOO!” yelled the new Defender.
Alfie shook his head and laughed.
“Wyvern likes her? Unbelievable…”
The rest of the morning was taken up with preparations for the army’s next move: the march on London. While the Yeoman Warders organized the volunteers into different squads, Brian laid out the strategy for taking back the capital from Lock. He explained that when vastly outnumbered, as they were, the best military option was to “cut off the head of the snake”. While they would try to rescue Tamara and LC and Freya if they could, the priority had to be taking the Tower of London and catching or killing Cameron Lock. If they could do that, then they could stop any chance of Hel’s return.
“So how are we supposed to take back the Tower of London?” asked Hayley.
“Yeah, a hit-and-run raid is one thing, but taking it and holding it against that undead army is a whole different kettle of fish,” said new Chief Yeoman Stevens. “They don’t call it the Fortress for nothing.”
Brian took out a map of central London, showing the River Thames snaking beneath Tower Bridge and the famous hexagonal outline of the Tower of London’s walls on the north bank.
“It won’t be easy, but I have a few ideas…” he began.
*
Later, Brian found Alfie standing in the middle of the tall stones clutching the Shroud Tunic, lost in thought.
“You finally got your armour back from Ellie, then?” he asked.
“Yeah, although she took some persuading,” said Alfie. “I had to promise she could ‘have another go’ later.”
Brian shuffled awkwardly. Alfie could see that there was something on his mind, but he was having trouble saying it.
“You don’t think I should go back to London, do you?” Alfie asked.
Brian looked surprised. “Well, that’s not exactly what I was going to say, sir, but…”
“You’re worried about what happens if we lose and Lock captures me? Then we’ve given him exactly what he needs to bring back Hel.”
“Yeah, something like that. LC might be a stuffy old coot, but he’s pretty wise when it comes to this sort of thing. I’ve arranged a boat for you and your sister. If you want, you can take it.”
Alfie took a deep breath. “Into exile again?”
“Just till we’ve got rid of Lock, and it’s safe to return.”
“But without the Defender, you’ll have less chance of winning, won’t you?”
Brian didn’t need to answer – it was clear Alfie was right.
“Do you remember what Greg said when I wanted you to stay at home? He said we had a duty to do our jobs, to show leadership.”
“Yeah, he’s kind of annoying like that – always right.”
“I know it’s dangerous,” Alfie said, “but I’m not running away this time, and I’m not letting others fight my battles for me. We’re going to London and we’re going to win.”
Alfie pulled the tunic over his head and the Defender armour flowed over his body.
“Yes, sir.” Brian saluted him.
“Did you just salute me, Brian?”
“Er, yeah, sorry.”
“No, I liked it. You should definitely keep doing that.”
They were expecting to be attacked at any moment. All morning they trekked through the countryside, waiting for the ravens that flew high above them to sound a warning cry at the first sight of Vikings charging their way. Deep into the afternoon they kept one eye on the dark skies, waiting for the Black Dragon to swoop down and strafe them with flames.
But the attack never came. Instead the king’s army travelled from Salisbury Plain all the way into London almost without incident. First, a former bus driver from Yeovil had led them to a depot untouched since the invasion, where they had found a dozen buses with full petrol tanks. The Yeoman Warders had tracked down a snow-plough and cleared a path for them up the motorway. It was slow progress, as the roads had not been salted and the Defender and Qilin had to act fast more than once to stop a bus skidding out of control on the ice. At the outskirts of the city the snow-plough had run out of petrol and with the roads increasingly clogged with abandoned vehicles, they’d decided to continue on foot. Alfie, in his Defender armour, was riding ahead on Wyvern with a disgruntled Ellie sitting behind him, while Hayley walked next to them, eyes constantly scanning the side streets for movement.
“I don’t know why you get to wear it the whole time now,” Ellie muttered to Alfie.
“Because I’ve had the training and I have actually fought a few battles, you know,” replied Alfie.
“Yeah, I suppose so. Sorry, I keep forgetting that you’re … him. Still seems ridiculous.”
“Tell me about it.”
A pop of warm air and Qilin arrived next to them.
“Message delivered,” he said to Hayley, before disappearing again and blink-shifting from rooftop to rooftop ahead of them.
“What message?” asked Alfie.
But Hayley didn’t have time to answer before Qilin appeared in front of them on top of a row of shops and whistled an alarm. She readied her bow, and soon a berserker came round the corner, frothing at the mouth and growling.
“That could be someone’s dad or brothe
r, remember,” said Alfie.
“Chill out, I know,” Hayley said and shot an arrow close to the berserker’s feet.
The berserker must have had a trace of brains left because he wisely backed off and disappeared.
“Do you think they’re stuck like that for ever?” asked Ellie. “Or can we still save them?”
“Only one way to find out,” said Alfie, leading them on through the streets.
Aside from the odd berserker, they had seen very few people along their journey. Curtains twitched and faces appeared at windows, watching the strange sight of the ragtag army marching past, but only a handful came out of their houses and joined them.
“I thought we’d get more new recruits than this,” Alfie said to Brian, who had caught up with them after his shift guarding the rear of the army.
“That’s what months of living in fear will do to people,” Brian replied. “They’re not going to risk their necks unless they think it’s worth it.”
When they reached Southwark, not far from the river, the army split up as planned. After some hasty goodbyes and hopeful “see you laters”, Brian and Qilin took several of the Yeoman Warders and a handful of ex-soldiers and headed west. Alfie and Hayley led the rest on towards the Thames, beyond which lay their target, the Tower of London. It was just after four o’clock that the first Viking attack finally came. The small army was picking its way down a wide street carpeted with rubble and wrecked cars and lined by tall office blocks, when they heard a sudden smash of breaking glass, and a photocopier crashed on to the road in front of them, shattering to pieces.
“Here we go,” said Alfie, drawing his sword.
From the broken window a couple of floors above, four draugar Vikings climbed out and dropped into their path. The sight of the hulking, festering brutes with their dead eyes and blood-stained axes sent a wave of fear through the army of ordinary folk. A few broke ranks and fled into the side streets. Alfie couldn’t blame them – he’d also felt like running away the first time he saw an undead draugar in the stinking flesh, and he wouldn’t like to face them without his armour and weapons.
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