“I think Sam should have a word with our four legged friends,” Patrick whispered to Ellen. “Maybe we can take some of them with us for the rest of the quest to use instead of horses.”
“I would not even think about suggesting that if I were you,” she replied sincerely. “They may not take too kindly to the idea and I for one do not want anyone annoying them. They are doing us a great favour and we should be grateful.”
“You have a point. Being on top of a unicorn may become decidedly unpleasant if it gets pissed off.”
It was during their midday break that the journey became a lot less pleasant. All of the unicorns, even the young foals, became tense, raising their heads and sniffing the air. Sam went to speak with Spike and there was no trace of a smile on her face when she returned.
“What is the problem?” Tor asked, his voice filled with concern.
“They are picking up the scent of a kankril.”
“What is a kankril?” Dal asked, not liking the way Tor’s face paled when he heard Sam speak the word.
“The only creature that unicorns are afraid of,” Sam informed him. “And they think there is more than one out there.”
Chapter 20
“Can we outrun them?” Tor asked. Sam shook her head. “Then we need to find a more defensible position. We should go and discuss tactics with Prince Spike.”
“Did anyone except Brin bring any weapons with them?” Patrick queried. Nobody had. There had been no room for swords in their backpacks and nobody had dared to suggest tying them to the backs of the unicorns. They had all been placed in the cart for Ban to take care of. It had not occurred to any of them that they would need weapons while crossing the plains. It was common knowledge that the most dangerous animals inhabiting the Sha-Na plains were the unicorns, so it never even crossed their minds that they would need to defend themselves at any time during the journey.
“So all we have is Brin with his bow and a limited supply of arrows,” Patrick concluded. “Ellen, can you wake Bellak up from his self imposed trance? We may need to get the unicorn’s permission for you to use magic, if you know any spells that will help.”
As she had feared, Ellen was unable to awaken Bellak. He sat on top of his unicorn as though made of stone, not reacting to her shouting, pleading and prodding. She did not dare to use magic as any spell she knew that could help might also be adversely affected by his trance spell. In the end Seth walked up to him and pushed him off the back of the unicorn. As the wizard landed unceremoniously on the ground, his eyes popped open.
“What did you do that for?” he shouted. He was quickly brought up to date with the situation they had found themselves in and the anger rapidly left him.
“Fire,” he said gravely. “Kankils are afraid of fire. I know a spell I can use, but it will only deter them, not kill them.” He took Ellen to one side and was still teaching her how to correctly pronounce the words when Tor and Sam returned.
“Pack up; we are moving out,” he ordered. “We are completely exposed where we are. There are trees to the west where we can at least get some branches to use as clubs.”
“Burning torches will be better,” Patrick told him. “Bellak says they are scared of fire.” Tor nodded his approval then grabbed his backpack before heading off to find his assigned unicorn.
The unicorns ran swiftly and Dal, ever the optimist, became filled with the hope that they would, after all, manage to outpace the kankrils. That small hope was soon shattered as the air around them was filled with a roar so loud it made the ground shake. The sound had come from the left and an answering roar was soon heard, and felt, from the right. The unicorns had been right; there was more than one out there.
They safely reached the trees and rapidly dismounted. “Can we hide in the trees?” Ria asked.
Tor shook his head. “The kankrils will just knock the trees down. It is not safe for us to stay here long.”
“You are kidding me.” The look Tor gave her told her he was not.
While Ria, Modo, Cirren, Ellen, Bellak, Dal and Seth set about finding any suitable branches that would be used as torches, Sam, Brin, Patrick and Tor went with the unicorns to the other side of the small copse to see if any defensible position could be found.
They soon returned to collect the others, Tor frowning at the small collection of branches they had found.
“There is enough,” Ellen assured him. “The fire we create will not burn the wood so two each will be plenty.”
He merely nodded; more important concerns were weighing on his mind. There was nothing but open plains as far as the eye could see when they exited from the trees, meaning they would either have to make a run for it and risk being caught before they could reach any shelter, or make their stand with no defences around them. The ground shaking as another deafening roar hit them took the decision out of his hands. “Mount up,” he called out. “We need to get out of here now.”
As though reading his mind, the unicorns had already positioned themselves to allow their riders easy access and began running through the trees even before they had managed to position themselves correctly on their backs. They broke from the trees at a fast gallop, putting as much distance between themselves and the copse as possible. Deciding they had travelled far enough, Spike skidded to a halt and Sam slid off his back as though she had been riding bare back for years. She spoke to the foals then called Dal over to her. His job would be to keep them calm. A means of protecting them had been agreed upon, but it relied on them keeping in one place and not panicking.
Sam, accompanied by Dal and Bellak, led the unicorn foals away from the adults. Bellak explained to Dal what he was going to do, then stepped back. Dal gently placed a hand on each of the foals’ muzzles and nodded towards the wizard. His head had barely stopped moving before both he and the young unicorns were surrounded by a ring of fire. The eyes of the animals went wide with fright, but Dal stroked them gently and spoke soothing words. They could not understand him, but his tone of voice calmed them down.
Spike was initially startled by the fire surrounding the young of his herd, but when he saw that Dal was with them, he realised it was the best form of defence against the kankril that they had and nodded his approval. Knowing the foals were as safe as they could be under the circumstances, the adult unicorns could concentrate on killing the beasts.
The branches that had been collected were stuck into the ground as though they were spears and systematically lit. Everyone, except Brin, Bellak, Ellen and Sam, grabbed one, leaving the rest positioned randomly in case anyone lost theirs and needed another. The discussion on tactics was necessarily brief. The skin on the bodies of the kankril was hard and thick, effectively acting as armour. This meant that the tops of their bodies, the tail and the front of their legs were more or less impenetrable; neither fire nor Brin’s arrows would have any effect. Their only weak points were their underneaths, where the skin was much softer, and their eyes. While the humans and Modo harried the kankril with their burning torches, Ellen and Bellak would use their magic to set fire to the creatures. The fire would not cause them any noticeable harm, but everyone hoped that it would distract the kankrils enough for the unicorns to attack. If the humans managed to get one of the creatures to expose its vulnerable underbelly, the horns of the unicorns would cause a great deal of damage. They could even kill the creature if the wound went deep enough.
Then there was no more time for talk. The enemy had arrived.
“Frack,” Seth exclaimed loudly as one of the creatures jumped over their heads, landing heavily behind them. “No wonder we cannot outrun them.”
The beast was huge. Sharp bony ridges covered its entire back, running all the way down its spine to form vicious looking spikes at the end of a long tail, which it was swishing menacingly from side to side. Its wide flat feet were larger than even Ban’s head. ‘It could kill me with just one paw,’ Seth thought. A short stubby neck kept its head close to its body, forcing it to completely turn around
when it wanted to look in a different direction. Long thick tusks and tiny eyes, the colour of blood, made it look evil. Then it opened its jaws so wide that a young boy could stand upright in its mouth without hitting his head on the roof. Two fangs hung down, green liquid dripping from them, and a forked tongue flicked in and out.
“Did I mention they are also venomous?” Sam asked.
“Nice of you to let us know,” Patrick replied sarcastically.
“Everyone keep your distance as much as possible. If anyone gets poisoned I will have Ellen bring you back to life just so I can kill you myself,” Tor called out.
Brin sprang onto Spike’s back, pulling Sam up in front of him. Her job was to relay messages between the elf and the unicorn as Spike tried to manoeuvre his riders into as safe a position as possible, while still allowing Brin’s arrows to hit their target. He was told to aim for the eyes, when the kankrils were on the ground, and their heart if their undersides were exposed in any way. Sam lay down low over Spike’s neck so she did not have to raise her voice and would not get in Brin’s way. Clinging on with just his legs, Brin already had an arrow ready to let fly the second a suitable target made itself available.
Without warning, the kankril charged, making the unicorns and humans scatter. With its head down, its tusks were thrust forward. Anyone not swift enough to get out of its way would have been impaled. It skidded to a halt and turned around.
“Its weight makes stopping and manoeuvring difficult for it,” Tor observed.
“Pity there are no cliffs around,” Seth replied, grinning. “We could make it charge one of us then it would go over the edge as we jumped out of its way.”
“If we live through this, remember that in case we ever have the misfortune to meet one of its relatives.”
Conversation stopped as the kankril lowered its head and charged once more. This time, instead of going straight, it suddenly turned ninety degrees, catching Seth unawares.
“I thought you said it had difficulty manoeuvring,” he panted as he jumped out of the way just in time.
“I guess I was wrong,” Tor replied dryly.
The kankril had spotted Brin on top of Spike and instinctively knew him to be the most dangerous of all of the enemies it was facing. As it lowered its head to charge, Ria and Patrick waved their flaming torches on its right side, causing it to raise its head and look in their direction. As soon as its head had turned, Ellen and Bellak simultaneous said a fire spell and flames erupted from their hands, engulfing the entire left side of its body. It roared in pain and swung to face them. The flames immediately died, leaving no trace of their presence on its thick hide. As it turned, it lashed out with its tail and Ria would have been killed if Patrick had not pulled her out of the way in time.
For what felt like days, but was no longer than an hour, the humans attracted the kankril’s attention while the unicorns tried to attack from behind, but it protected its vulnerable parts expertly and the unicorns could not get into a position where they could do any damage. There were many narrow escapes, but no serious injuries, though not a single one of them remained totally unscathed. The unicorns had managed to get close enough to cause a few cuts and scrapes along the sides of the kankril, but not weaken it.
“We will not be able to keep this up for long,” Ria said, breathing heavily. Exhaustion was beginning to creep through her aching muscles. “All it needs to do is keep wearing us down till we are too tired to get out of the way in time.”
Though it kept eyeing the foals hungrily, not once did it make any attempt to go near the fire surrounding them. At least the young ones would be safe for a while. The flames would continue to burn until Bellak commanded them to die, or until he himself died, whichever happened first.
“Where is the other one?” Patrick called out. There had been no sign of it so far, which made Patrick nervous. As if his question had summoned it, the second one suddenly appeared behind him, knocking him flying with its tail. He landed painfully on his back, the wind knocked out of him, close to the first kankril. It turned to face him and looked like it was smiling. Patrick looked about him frantically; his torch had been knocked out of his hand and was still burning, just out of his reach.
“Here,” Seth called out, throwing his burning torch to Patrick, who deftly caught it in his right hand and thrust it into the animal’s face as it lunged forwards. The kankril roared in frustration as it reared back, giving Patrick just enough time to get back onto his feet and run behind the defensive line the others had formed.
The two kankril stood side by side, watching them. If they both charged at once, there was going to be bloodshed; not all of the humans, vexen and unicorns would be able to get out of the way in time. Taking slow careful steps, they spread out, reducing the risk of so many being killed in the initial charge. Suddenly Bellak saw movement out of the corner of his eye and Samson was charging the nearest kankril, biting the back of one of its legs where the skin was not quite so tough. It swung round in surprise, just missing Samson with its tail.
“Get out of there,” Bellak yelled. “You will be killed.”
As if following an unspoken command, the unicorns uniformly broke off to the right, grabbing the attention of the other monster, which ambled after them. With the two beasts split up, the danger had lessoned, but things were not looking good for the defenders. They needed to make a kill quickly while they still had the strength. Frustration got the better of one of the smaller unicorns and it ran in close to the kankril instead of holding back at a safe distance. The kankril spun round and the unfortunate unicorn found itself facing the beast’s wide open mouth instead of its side. Unable to turn in time, the unicorn lowered its head and charged, intending to pierce the roof of the mouth, or the throat, with its horn. As soon as its prey was close enough, the Kankril elongated its neck, revealing it to be considerably longer than previously thought, and its jaws came down on the unicorn’s neck with a sickening crunch. It died before it even had time to scream. The kankril did not waste time devouring the corpse, deciding instead to kick the limp body to one side and concentrate on killing those that were still attacking.
Spike, with Sam and Brin aboard, joined the rest of his herd, hoping an opportunity would present itself. With the kankril on its feet, the eyes were its only vulnerable spot. Knowing this, the kankril managed to keep Brin to the side or back, preventing the elf even seeing its eyes, let alone shooting at them. No matter how many times the unicorns charged, or from which direction, they could not make their foe turn towards Spike and his passengers.
Then finally their luck turned; of its own accord, it turned to face Brin. He raised his bow and took aim. As he let the arrow fly, the kankril spat in his direction. Even the unicorns appeared to hold their breath as they watched the arrow close in on its target. At the last moment the kankril turned slightly and the arrow bounced off its shoulder, unable to pierce the tough skin. Brin, his eyes intent on his arrow, had not been watching the small hard pellet that the kankril had spat at him. He did not see it flying towards him at great velocity. The first he knew of it was when it struck him squarely between the eyes, knocking him off Spike’s back. By the time he hit the ground he was unconscious.
Sam jumped down to him, panic and dread filling her. She relaxed slightly when she felt his pulse was strong, but she could not wake him. “What do we do now?” she asked Spike. “I need to get him to Ellen.”
Spike looked at her sadly and explained that they would have to leave him where he was for now and concentrate on defeating the kankril.
“But how can we without Brin?” she wailed in despair.
“You will have to take his place,” Spike informed her.
“I can’t. I’ve only had a few lessons. It will be a miracle if I even hit the bloody animal let alone kill it.”
“Then I suggest you start believing in miracles.”
Sam removed the quiver from Brin’s back and retrieved his bow. Once she was settled on Spike’s back they rejoi
ned the battle, endeavouring to steer the kankril as far away from Brin as possible.
The battle with the second kankril was continuing just as fiercely. Ignoring Bellak, Samson charged again. This time he got a firm hold, sinking his teeth deep into the flesh. The kankril kicked back violently, throwing the wolf off, tearing off its own flesh in the process. Seeing the Achilles tendon was now exposed, Samson attacked once more. His jaws found their intended target and snapped shut, severing the tendon in two. The kankril leaped into the air, turning round as it did so. It landed heavily, the injured leg unable to support its weight. It started to fall over and a cheer went up; its vulnerable underbelly was about to be exposed.
The cheers turned to screams as the Kankril toppled over. Samson had not moved far enough away and it was able to grab the wolf by the tail, its fangs pumping him full of venom.
Ignoring the danger, Bellak ran forward, fire pouring from him, towards the injured kankril. The flames licked the wounded leg, making the creature scream in agony. It released its grip on Samson’s tail and Ria rushed forward to drag his inert body away.
The kankril lay on its side on the ground, its tail thrashing. Cirren manoeuvred around it until he was level with its head. Modo waved his torch, diverting the beast’s attention away from Cirren. Taking a deep breath, Cirren lunged forwards, driving his burning branch through the creature’s eye and into its brain.
Those closest fell to the ground, holding their hands to their heads as the dying kankril emitted an ear-piercing wail. The noise attracted the attention of the remaining kankril, which turned towards the sound, ignoring the attacking unicorns. Seeing the body of its mate lying still on the ground, it bellowed loudly and jumped high into the air. It leaped over Spike and Sam was ready. Quickly taking aim, she let an arrow fly and started to pray. Her aim was true and the arrow embedded itself into the kankril’s chest. It missed the heart, but found a lung and the kankril fell to the ground, breaking a leg as it landed. The unicorns rushed in, using their horns to stab whatever part of its underbelly they could reach. Sam dismounted and Spike, whose horn was longer than any other in the herd, charged. Blood squirted all over his face as his horn penetrated the heart. The kankril convulsed, its legs twitched once, twice, then lay still. It was dead.
The Maze Page 23
