by Lorna Reid
‘Air doesn’t have the best track record for honesty. Even if the story came from you. Look, it’s more a political thing.’
‘It’s what?’ Russell looked aghast.
‘The Allied Lands don’t want to entertain the notion that the Darklanders are “back” in any way, that they are anything but trapped. Reapers have been sealed in their homeland of Neath since the time of the Ancients, with only a few disastrous excursions since.’ He shook his head.
‘None, to our knowledge, have ever come into the Lands. That the enemy have either found a way into Neath through one of the sealed archways, or a way of getting a Reaper out and are using it as a weapon is unthinkable to many, and if it became known …’
‘Let me guess. People would panic,’ said Poppy, shaking her head in disgust.
Peter gave a snort of contempt and nodded. ‘Yes. There are some in positions of power and influence who feel that the Darklanders “no longer pose a threat”. They won’t have it any other way. Inflated, old, arrogant, and lazy. They’re entrenched and intractable. Wankers.’ He closed his eyes for a moment.
‘Our grip on the Lands slips with each passing year, and the darkness moves to catch the crumbs. Edred said that. I thought he was just being eccentric,’ Peter mused.
‘What happens if the Darklanders get a few bits of that Soul Core, anyway?’ said Danny. ‘Can they really put it all back together? Maybe those old farts are right, and it doesn’t matter.’
His dad shook his head. ‘Things like this always matter. But I have no idea. What happened to it is unprecedented. They could maybe open a portal, I don’t know. I just know it isn’t good. We fought and lost friends to protect it. To see it retaken, fragment by fragment while the Allies pretend it doesn’t matter, cuts.’ He fell silent.
Poppy stared down at the floor, lost in thought.
‘So aside from one company, no one is helping?’ said Katrina.
‘It’s only one of those Reapers, though. Surely they can take it out?’ Poppy said.
‘Don’t bet on it. Ever,’ Peter replied. ‘So the fragment and Isa are at risk. And Niri … She was there at the Ridge.’
‘She was in the same bubble of magic as the Reaper,’ Danny said.
‘What colour was it?’ said his dad, suddenly.
‘Erm … orange?’
‘That’s portal magic, isn’t it?’ Poppy said.
Peter nodded.
‘Yeah. So the Darklanders don’t take it in with them, they summon it from somewhere else.’ He looked pensive.
‘Did you get a message back from Mum?’ said Danny after a moment’s silence. He hadn’t wanted to ask before; part of him, in a stupid way, thought that by not asking, the answer could (and would) be yes. But the question weighed on him until he couldn’t hold off anymore.
‘I don’t know.’ His dad rubbed his head. ‘We sent a short message. There was nothing back, and then, shortly after, the beacon went dark.’
‘So we still don’t know where she is,’ said Poppy.
Danny could feel the sympathy descend like a pall. He rallied against it. ‘But it doesn’t matter anymore because we know where she will be,’ he said. ‘Right?’
‘If she’s really there. I’m not sure what you saw, Danny, as much as I want to be. If she’s in the same bubble of magic, then it means that she’s where the Reaper is when it’s summoned. Maybe we can get her out.’ Danny would have been angered by his father’s cautious words, if he didn’t recognise the wavering of hope in his voice, hiding beneath the untypical logic.
‘Where’s Thom? He should be here,’ said Danny.
‘Attached to Jack’s company, along with Jen. I hopped him up with some of my magic, which has left me a bit tired, but I’m hoping he’ll be at the Ridge by now.’
‘Will we be in time?’ Russell said.
They heard running feet from outside somewhere and several shouted orders.
‘I wouldn’t ever bet against the Riana or her Captain,’ said Peter, grinning.
‘So what happens now? We still need to make sure that Isa’s okay,’ said Russell.
‘And I’m not going anywhere without Mum,’ said Danny.
‘No one is going anywhere. At least, you lot aren’t,’ said his father. ‘You think I’m taking you into the heart of Darrant Ridge with an attack imminent?’
‘It’s extra guarded,’ said Poppy. ‘And there will be a load of mages there, given what it is now. How much danger will we be in?’
‘Plenty, Poppy,’ snapped Russell. ‘If what I saw—’
‘Maybe it’s already changed? Maybe the reinforcements mean that the Reaper gets killed or never summoned at all?’
‘I won’t take the chance,’ said Russell. ‘I want to see Dad. I want to convince him this threat is real.’
‘He believes you,’ said Peter. ‘And Jack has huge influence, which is why there are extra people there now.’
‘How was he when he found out? About us, I mean?’ ventured Russell.
‘Livid would be an understatement.’
Russell deflated into the sofa cushions and Poppy placed a sympathetic hand on his arm.
‘I’ll arrange for you to stay here.’
‘It may not be the safest place,’ said Poppy, listening to the shouted orders above and feeling the ship veer hard to starboard.
‘I want to go and see,’ said Katrina. Before Peter could stop her, she had run from the crew room. Danny’s father got up and they followed her out.
‘Good thing you’re here,’ Patches called as they emerged on the deck into a half-light that made Danny think they were back in the Pass. ‘We may have to just chuck you off once we pass the backdoor.’
‘You’d need a better arm than you’ve got,’ said Peter, getting a laugh in return.
‘Where are we? What’s going on?’ Danny looked around. They were in a long, dark cavern with the occasional chink in the roof sending light lancing down. It didn’t feel like the Pass.
‘Under the Varron Range, just veered off the main pass from Varron to Silverside into the old smuggler caverns, heading for the underside of Darrant Ridge,’ said Patches, glancing toward the stern. ‘And we’ve picked up some extra company.’
To Danny’s horror, two ships were now in pursuit, both flying the hunter/killer flags. ‘Great,’ muttered Russell.
‘You have more bounty in Varron than you let on, Dar?’ Peter shouted up to the Captain. He got a finger gesture in return, which made him cackle.
‘Seriously though, those ships are close,’ said Russell.
As uncomfortable as the truth was, Danny had to agree. ‘I thought we could outrun them.’ He felt a touch of disappointment.
‘Not yet, lad.’ Patches gave him a wink and with a nod from the Captain ran to the stern. They followed him to where Min and Wake were waiting with what looked like two deck-mounted crossbows. The impressive weapons squatted on opposite sides of the deck, seemingly joined by a long, loose cable that lay coiled between them.
‘They’ll need something bigger than those,’ said Katrina.
‘Size isn’t everything,’ said Danny, without hesitation. Poppy snorted and Katrina laughed, and he could hear his dad chuckling.
They watched the ships gaining on them, and Danny shook his head. The ship could go faster than this, he knew, so what were they playing at?
‘Closing, sir,’ shouted Jake from the rigging. Danny looked up in time to see him slip and catch himself at the last moment on one of the ratlines, his shirt dragged up by a rope that scorched over his ribs, leaving an ugly red trail across the mishmash of tattoos, giving tails to stars and wounds to Delphans. Danny winced. That would burn like crazy.
The cavern ahead of them was narrowing, and the dark, lichen-encrusted walls were growing closer. ‘Wake, Min.’ The Captain’s voice was low but clear.
‘On it,’ Min said, swivelling her crossbow and staring down the sight.
‘Sir,’ shouted Wake from the other side of the deck, before counting down f
rom five.
Danny frowned. ‘Wait, they’re pointing to the sides. The ship’s behind us.’ As the words left him, the crossbows fired. Rather than a boom, there was a shrieking noise and a pair of near-simultaneous metallic thuds against the walls of the narrowing gap. A line hung across the cavern, glowing. There was a sharp grinding noise and then it jerked up and went taut as they opened up the distance and left it behind.
‘Surely that won’t get them. It’s too high,’ said Danny. The closest ship had spotted it and was trying to turn.
‘It’s high because the Captain’s not a monster. And it’s the ship he’s looking to damage,’ said his dad, draping his arm around Danny’s shoulders. The line flared and lit up with red flame, just as the lead ship ploughed into it.
Her sail hit first and was slowly ignited, followed by the rigging, before the line bit into a mast, which pressed heavily against it.
Ropes and rigging snapped and cascaded down over panicked sailors on the deck like smouldering, flopping innards. The air was thick with smoke and the sails were now ablaze, the pennant lost.
‘At least they’ll have someone to pick them up,’ Katrina said, straining to see through the smoke to the rear ship, which had managed to evade the line.
The Riana swung hard to port and passed out of sight around a rocky outcrop, heading on through the darkness, only the deck lamps and her familiar, comforting black flame lights offering solace.
The Captain left Patches on the helm and joined them. ‘Flying visit, I’m afraid, Pete. They’ll likely pick up whomever they can and plough on after us, leaving those who make it ashore for later.
‘That’s fine,’ said Peter.
‘Any other time we would have joined you. Didn’t expect this.’
‘You’ve got your own problems, Dar, don’t worry it.’ They looked over to a dimly lit landing stage jutting from a rocky shoreline whose posts bore old lanterns only half-keen to work.
‘Take care, Pete. I mean it. We’ll lose them and meet you back in Varron harbour in the hidden berths – you know the ones.’
While they conversed, Danny looked out over the landing area – so close now – and the waves lapping and gnawing at the rocky shoreline. A worn path wound its way through a rough-hewn doorway and vanished. This was to be the end of the line.
‘Hard to believe, isn’t it?’
He jumped as Russell joined him.
‘Yeah. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.’
‘I know. I just … If Katrina saw what happened to the Oracle and she still died …’
‘Then how can Isa be safe?’ Danny whispered.
‘No one really believes this thing is coming. Only Dad and a few others. I don’t even know if Isa does.’ Russell puffed in frustration and looked back at the Captain and Peter.
‘If that thing can kill Isa with a fucking army or something there, then what hope does Mum have if she’s right behind it caught in the same magic?’ said Danny.
Russell looked at him and opened his mouth, but he had no words. Neither did Danny. His mouth had gone dry and he felt sick.
‘I can’t just … go. I can’t leave this. I can’t not finish this.’
The groan of the gangplank being lowered drew their attention. His dad was still in deep conversation with the Captain. Danny heard his mother’s name mentioned, along with Blake’s.
As he turned back and placed a hand on the rail, he brushed Russell’s fingers and the world spun. Teeth, orange eyes, a screaming mouth, and then a clash of swords. Black scaled skin filled his vision, revealing a creature surrounded by green and red magic. And screams, screams all around him.
‘No.’ The vision broke away and Russell jerked back from the rail. He looked pale and dizzy. He shook his head. ‘No.’
‘Russell?’ Poppy began. ‘What happened? Did you see her again?’
He looked at Danny. They looked at the gangplank, at his father’s back to them and the distant doorway hacked into the rock face. They ran.
Poppy’s curse fell behind them, but Danny pounded down the gangplank, sick to the stomach that any minute a hand would fall on the back of his cloak and yank him to a halt. His mother was so close.
He banged elbows with Russell as they ran, the pair of them nearly slipping on the wet rock as they hared up the slope, past lanterns with cracked glass panels, to the doorway ahead. They heard feet behind them. ‘Bastards, could have told us,’ puffed Katrina’s voice. Danny felt a tide of relief.
Chapter 23
◊
‘FUCKING FUCK.’ PETE SCREAMED down the gangplank and ran after them. His feet barely hit the landing stage when there was a howl. He turned and a flaming ball of magic arced out of the darkness and hissed down into the water, perhaps a hundred metres from the ship.
‘Pete, just get them. We can hold them off!’ shouted the Captain.
Pete glanced up the slope. The four kids were lingering in the doorway. A second ball whistled out of the darkness and plunged into the sea, closer.
‘Finding their range, sir,’ shouted Bayard.
Pete looked back and the children were gone. He swore viciously. He would never retrieve them in time for the Riana to make an escape.
‘Dar, don’t wait for us. Just go. Go now.’
‘We’ve taken worse than her, Pete.’ He laughed.
‘Not when you don’t have to. Go.’
The Captain nodded as a third ball blazed into the air. Min fired an arrow from a glowing quiver, which hit the blazing ball and disintegrated it in a shower of flaming slivers.
‘Watch yourself, Pete,’ the Captain said, and turned and darted up to the helm to join Patches as Min took out another projectile and the Riana eased away.
*
Russell raced through dank corridors, keeping pace with Danny, occasionally banging into him or brushing walls. They reached a junction and skidded to a halt, and Katrina and Poppy caught up. Poppy jabbed him in the back.
‘Arseholes,’ she panted. ‘You could have warned us. What’s wrong with you? We nearly got left behind.’
‘Sorry,’ Russell wheezed, groping for his inhaler. It was then he realised that their packs were tucked away in their cabin on board the ship.
‘Did you see that stuff? The fireballs?’ said Katrina.
‘Hope they’re okay,’ said Russell.
‘From what we’ve seen so far, I’d put damn good money on them,’ said Poppy. Katrina looked guilty and glanced back. The mouth of the passageway was lost among twists and bends.
‘What’s wrong?’ Poppy asked, watching Russell try and focus on his breathing.
‘Nothing, I … I just didn’t get a chance to say goodbye.’
‘You will when we meet them in port after this fucking mess,’ said Peter, peeling round the corner, flush-faced and angry. ‘Do you know what shit you’re in?’
‘Are you taking us back, because—’ Danny started off hot, but his father cut him down.
‘No. The Riana is gone. We’re on our own. You need to start listening or you’ll get yourselves and others killed.’ Peter pushed past and headed to the left. They trailed after him, Danny looking sullen but rebellious. Russell’s chest had stopped burning, but he was still taking gulps of air.
‘We’re going to see Dad?’ he asked.
Peter nodded. ‘Yeah. This is going to please him no end.’
Russell’s heart sank, but he didn’t care, not anymore. There was more at stake than him being in trouble.
‘Where are we going?’ whispered Danny.
‘No idea,’ said Peter, pausing at another junction. ‘I didn’t have time to get directions, remember.’
The tunnels had given way to slightly more tolerable passageways, many of which had decaying plaster clinging to the walls, speaking of some level of habitation, albeit a long time ago.
Poppy was flailing at cobwebs that had attached themselves to her clothes, and Danny eyed them in horror, stepping carefully to try and avoid touching them.
/> ‘I don’t want to find out what size spiders they have here,’ Danny said. Neither did Russell. Some of the creature horror stories he’d overheard from the ship’s crew had left him in dread.
Dust idled in the air, making it seem thick; it was as if time had stopped. After what seemed like many passages, doors, and stairs later, the dust had gone and the floors and niches proudly displayed busts and colourful pottery. Every corridor and room was brightly lit, not a shadow cast. It made Russell’s eyes water after the dusty gloom of the lower levels.
‘Where is everyone?’ muttered Peter. He rounded the corner and froze before backing round slowly, a sword tip pressed to his throat. A tubby man in a dark green uniform eyed them from the other end.
Russell felt his mouth go dry and stared at the sword.
‘The annexes are closed until further notice, so you couldn’t have come through the front. So, are you thieves or trespassers? Where did you all come from?’ he said, looking ecstatic at this unexpected gift.
‘Take that sword away from my throat and I’ll consider answering,’ hissed Peter.
Mean little eyes narrowed and the man sneered. ‘You’ll consider? If you don’t want to breathe your last breath through a lungful of blood, you’ll do as you’re told.’
To Russell’s surprise, Peter smiled. In a flash, Danny’s father had leaned back and swept a blade of his own up, knocking the sword away before smashing his fist into the man’s groin. He kneed him in the face as he doubled over, sending him sprawling to the floor, unconscious.
‘Never been one for being told what to do,’ said Peter, sheathing his dagger and picking up the sword. ‘Now, we just need to find someone a little more helpful.’
Poppy grinned, watching Danny trail open-mouthed after his father until a door ahead of them opened and a cluster of guards trooped out and spotted them. There was a hiss of steel as six swords were drawn. Peter swore and glanced back along the corridor, looking for another option as the guards advanced.
‘I’m here to meet a company from Lallial and to bring a warning,’ said Peter, keeping his sword lowered. ‘The Soul Core fragment is in danger.’
‘So we’ve already heard,’ said one of the guards. ‘From a company that’s already here.’
