Zal and Zara and the Champions' Race

by Kit Downes

  Inside, the room was filled with a neatly organized collection of different artefacts. Tools, weapons, pot shards, broken statues, paintings, models, toys and kitchen utensils lay in display cases or were mounted on the walls around the room. According to the exhibit sign they all came from somewhere called Jaktivar, which Sari had never heard of. But that did not matter, as she quickly saw the item they had come for, sitting on a table in the middle of the room.

  The sand-coloured box was an almost perfect cube, half a metre long on each side. It was made of stone and its sides were scratched and scarred, its edges and corners chipped. Four deep grooves, carved close together, ran around all four sides of it. The lid fitted into the top so tightly that there was only a hair-thin crack to show it was there, with some writing in an alphabet Sari could not read carved across it. The wooden table where it sat was highly polished and surrounded by a red velvet rope, held up on four metal stands.

  Sari reached over the rope and placed both her hands on the box. She pushed gently across the table top to test its weight. The box wobbled, and so did the table. Sari paused and looked down. The table was not actually resting on the floor. There were two centimetres of space between the granite flagstones and the table’s legs. The table was floating in the air. Sari let go of the box and touched the table and felt it pushing upwards against her hand, like a magnet repelling another one away. She smiled. A levitation spell. The table had been enchanted to fly. Without the weight of the box holding it down, it would go straight up towards the ceiling, where there hung another bronze bell, ready to ring and summon the guards.

  “Sheer,” whispered Sari.

  Sheertooth stood up and placed both his heavy paws on the table. Sari lifted the box off. The table buckled as it tried to rise, but Sheertooth held it steady. Sari set the box down on the floor, still inside the velvet rope, and gripped the edge of the table. She nodded to Sheertooth and counted silently to three. Sheer pulled his paws off. As the table shot up, Sari flipped it over. It flew straight downwards with some force and Sari just had time to grab its legs and stop it slamming loudly against the floor. She lowered it gently onto the granite flagstones and stepped back. The table remained motionless, trying to fly through the solid floor. Sari smirked. City-dwellers thought they were so clever. But they never thought far enough. She picked up the box again and lifted it over the velvet rope.

  Suddenly, she felt something snake around her ankle. She looked down and saw it was the velvet rope, coiling around her legs.

  “Monkey droppings!”

  Sari quickly put the box down and pushed it, sending it sliding across the floor, out of the rope’s reach. Sheer, Cloud and Jewel dived forwards, sinking their teeth into the rope. Sari reached for the weapons in her belt, but the rope looped around her wrists and pulled her hands together, holding them away from her waist just as she had expected. Sari reached into her sleeve and drew her obsidian knife from her wrist sheath. The razor-sharp, black glass blade sliced through the rope like soft fruit. Sari freed herself with two further strokes and jumped out of its grip. The tigers padded back as well. The severed ends of the rope stretched towards them, but couldn’t reach far enough. Sari snorted, sheathed her knife, and picked up the box once again, heading for the room’s other door.

  It was a basic rule of theft – one of thousands Sari had learnt during hundreds of burglaries – that you never left a robbery the same way you had come in. Sari took different corridors and another staircase back down to the second floor. Cloud led the way, his nose and ears open for danger. Sheer and Jewel walked on either side of Sari, ready to protect her as she walked as quickly as she could with her arms wrapped around the box. It was not heavy – in fact, it was very big for whatever was inside it, sliding around loose in the bottom – but it was large enough to be awkward to carry, especially with the sharp stone edges. But another rule of theft was that you did not stop to rest while escaping with the loot. They reached the first floor and were heading in the direction of the next staircase.

  “Well, I don’t see why we have to wear these amulets!”

  Sari froze and so did the tigers. They were three-quarters of the way along the corridor. There were windows that looked out over the garden on one side and on the other a wall with nothing but a side table, three chairs and a small, silver framed mirror. There was nowhere to hide. A second voice and two pairs of brisk footsteps echoed closer.

  “Stop playing with it! You need it. Whoever drugged that poor guardsman and frightened the dogs might still be in here somewhere, so we’ve got to check every room.”

  Sari cursed under her breath. Museum magicians! The amulets had to be shrouding charms, which would hide their auras from criminal magicians and would also stop the tigers from smelling them. Sari stood petrified as the two men rounded the corner.

  “Fine! But I’m still not…”

  The two magicians, a tall one and a short one, strode into view, their long purple robes trailing along the floor behind them. They both jumped in astonishment when they saw Sari.

  “Hello,” said Sari, in a trembling tone.

  “What in the name of…?” said the short magician. The tall one looked shocked, but he recovered himself quickly.

  “Uh… Don’t move a muscle!” he ordered, holding out his hands. “Give me that exhibit!”

  “You’re the boss,” said Sari, and threw the box towards him.

  “Aaah!” The tall magician caught it awkwardly, stumbled backwards over his own robe and fell over.

  “By the Stork!” yelled the short one. He thrust his right arm towards Sari. A glowing blue sphere of magic shot out of his palm and flew towards her. The tigers scattered in three directions. Sari did a back flip over the top of the spell and landed on her feet, flicking a red Sleeping Snake dart at the magician.

  “Aargh!” The magician ducked under the dart at the last second and threw a red spell back at her.

  “Get her, Archibald!” yelled the tall magician, struggling to sit up with the box on his chest.

  Sari did a sideways cartwheel out of the way of the spell onto one of the chairs. She stepped from it onto the table and snatched the silver mirror from the wall. As the magician launched a third spell at her, Sari spun around, thrusting the mirror into its path. The ball of magic bounced off the silvery glass straight back the way it had come. It hit the short magician in the forehead and he dropped unconscious to the floor.

  “Oh, merciful Stork!” The tall magician tried again to sit up, pushing the box off his chest to free his arms so he could use his own magic.

  “GGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!”

  “AAAAHH!!!”

  Jewel, Cloud and Sheer all pounced on the magician at once, pinning his arms to the floor before he could throw a spell at Sari. Sari leapt in between them and plunged another dart into the side of the magician’s neck. His eyes rolled back and closed.

  Sari shook her head and pocketed the dart. Security had improved, but not enough. It would never be enough to stop her. She bent to pick up the box.

  “All right. I admit it. That was impressive.”

  Sari stood bolt upright, leaving the box on the floor. She threw the mirror like a discus, aiming at the tall blue curtains hanging over the corridor windows.

  “OUCH!” yelled the voice, as the mirror struck its intended target.

  “Mr Leader?!” said Sari.

  The curtain was pulled back from the inside, revealing the Leader and his three cohorts, all in their brown uniforms and masks.

  “Oww! Yes, it’s us,” said the Leader, rubbing a growing lump on his forehead. “Good evening, my dear.”

  “What are you doing here?” said Sari.

  “Observing your progress,” said the Leader. “As I said, we had no guarantee you could actually pull this off, so I thought we’d better tag along in case anything went wrong. That way, we could grab the—”

  “Sir,” said Mira.

  “Be here to assist you, I mean,” said the Leader,
“should you have needed it.”

  “Really?” said Sari, placing her hand on her dagger. Cloud, Sheer and Jewel all growled.

  “But it seems we weren’t needed,” said the Leader, holding out his hands. “You’ve lived up to your reputation after all, my dear. Now, please. Pass me the casket.”

  “Where’s my money?” said Sari, stepping in front of the box.

  “Uaaargh!”

  The sudden groan of effort had come from the short magician.

  “Look out!” Sari shouted. She did a handspring out of the way as he launched a red combat spell in their direction.

  “Sir! Get down!” yelled Hara.

  “Don’t worry! I’ve got it!” said the Leader, stepping forwards and drawing his dagger, holding up the polished blade to use as a mirror.

  “No! Don’t!” shouted Sari.

  It was too late. The Leader was already holding the dagger out in the spell’s path and the swirling ball of magic hit it. But instead of bouncing backwards, the curved blade sent it shooting off at an angle.

  “Waaah!” Etan just ducked in time as the spell flew over his head and sailed down the corridor, through the door of an exhibit room labelled THE HISTORY OF FIREWORKS.

  “Oh, Vulture!” said the Leader.

  BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

  The windows shattered and the floor shook. Orange, green, pink and purple lights burst into the corridor. Sari dived to the floor between Sheertooth and Cloudclaw as fireworks streaked, hissing and shrieking up and down the corridor.

  “AAARGH! VULTURE’S CURSES!” screamed the Leader as a green and red Catherine wheel hit him in the face.

  The tigers snarled and yelped as hot sparks fell like rain and burnt their fur. Shielding her eyes with her hand, Sari squinted through the heat and smoke and spotted the box, still sitting beside the unconscious tall magician. She crawled towards it. This job had gone to pieces faster than a coconut falling from a tree onto a large flat rock, and all thanks to her own client! But she had never failed to complete a job, and she was not about to start now. Sari gripped the box and stood up. Fireworks were still streaming out of the exhibit room, blocking the way to the stairs. There was only one thing for it.

  “Come on, guys!” Sari shouted to the tigers.

  Sheer, Cloud and Jewel raced to her sides. Together, they ran forwards and jumped out through one of the broken windows.

  By an extraordinary piece of luck, they landed on top of a tall and leafy cherry tree. Sari crashed down through the branches, tearing off leaves and fruit, still clutching the box. She dropped out of the bottom and landed lightly on her feet. Sheer, Cloud and Jewel came tumbling out of the tree and landed behind her. Sari quickly checked they were all right and then looked upwards. Pillars of sparks, smoke and fire were pouring out of the broken windows on the first floor. She could hear alarm bells ringing and guards shouting. It was definitely time to go.

  Sari and the tigers ran across the lawn, dodging around the flaming patches of grass set alight by falling fireworks. Sari cursed under her breath. Never before had she worked for anyone so breathtakingly stupid as—

  “MISS STORMSTRONG!”

  Sari stopped. The Leader, Hara and Mira came running across the grass towards her, their brown clothes covered in soot. Etan was hopping behind them, trying to pat out the flames on his right trouser leg. The Leader reached her first. A large piece of his brown cloth headscarf had been torn off by the Catherine wheel, revealing extremely pale skin, apart from the sun-burnt oval around his eyes and nose which wasn’t usually covered by his mask.

  “Thank the Vulture!” said the Leader. “You managed to save the casket! Now please, give it to me. We need to be gone before the guards or the Royal Protectors arrive.”

  “Sure,” said Sari, keeping a tight hold of the box. “That’ll be twelve thousand gold pieces.”

  “What?” The Leader blinked. “Oh, for Vulture’s sake, young lady! I didn’t bother to bring it! Hand it over. I’ll pay you tomorrow.”

  “Not a chance,” said Sari. She stepped back keeping the box out of reach. Sheertooth, Cloudclaw and Jeweltail moved in front of her and growled.

  “What?!” said the Leader.

  “I don’t work for free, Mr Leader,” said Sari. “Until you pay up, the box stays with us.”

  “Not on your life!” said the Leader, as he took a step forward. Sari shifted the box under her arm, freeing one hand so she could flick her last Sleeping Snake dart into his shoulder.

  “OW! WHAaaaaaahh,” said the Leader, as the venom took effect.

  “Damn you, girl!” said Mira. She and Hara leapt forward and caught the Leader under his armpits before he hit the ground. Mira reached for her sword. Sheer, Jewel and Cloud snarled, baring their teeth.

  “No! No! Don’t!” Etan jumped between Mira and the tigers, waving his arms. “Stop! Sir was right. We can’t fight now! The Royal Protectors will be here any minute. We have to go. Please, Miss Stormstrong. We will pay you.”

  “Good,” said Sari. “When you do, you can have the box. See you tomorrow.”

  Nothing ever changed. City-dwellers were still the worst people in the world. Sari turned around, with Sheertooth, Cloudclaw and Jeweltail beside her, and ran away into the night.

  Four

  The next morning, the sky over Shirazar was bright and clear. Dew clung to the grass and covered the leaves of the trees in the western park as the Rainbow Carpet cruised overhead. Apart from the slight smell of gunpowder that was drifting from the museum, the air was fresh and cool.

  “What kind of moron decides to start a fireworks display by himself in the middle of the night?” said Zal, who was in the pilot’s place with Rip beside him.

  “The hotel clerk said the night watchman tripped and dropped his lantern in the fireworks exhibit or something,” said Zara. She was behind him, reading her tourist scroll again. “Let’s go south. I want to see the Fountain of Feathers at the Great Stork Temple first.”

  “Oh, that’s boring,” said Zal. “Can’t we go to the Arch of Champions? We’re not that far from where the race will start.”

  “Zal, we agreed,” said Zara. “Sightseeing in the morning, training in the afternoon. Let’s go. Unless you want to practise by yourself.”

  “OK. Fine.”

  Zal pushed down with one hand on the soft pile of the carpet, turning it south. It was a beautiful day. The clear sky and crisp air made it almost a perfect morning for flying. Zal pushed down with his other hand and felt the carpet push back against him as it rose up. The Rainbow Carpet was as flat and even as a table top and it felt as solid as sitting on a stone floor. The wind whistled past his ears as the carpet sped up. The seven colours of the carpet glowed bright and vibrant in the morning light and the carpet’s magic sparkled like stardust among the woven threads.

  “Where do you want to go after that?”

  “I haven’t decided yet. But probably—”

  Zara broke off, as a small yellow flower petal floated past the carpet. Zal blinked. He and Zara turned their heads to follow it. It wasn’t unusual to see leaves or flowers carried by the wind while flying, but this petal was different. It was glowing with yellow magic.

  “Did you see…?”

  Another petal flew past the carpet, and then another. Suddenly, dozens of them were turning and spinning in the air all around them, like falling cherry blossoms, only they were falling up instead of down. Most were yellow, but lots of violet ones were among them. Both sorts were glowing with magic.

  “Wow!” said Zara. The sight was strange, but very beautiful.

  “What are they?” said Zal.

  “I don’t know.” Zara reached out and tried to catch one, but the petal slipped easily between her fingers like water. However its aura touched hers, and she could tell it was filled with yellow magic. All yellow magic was part of the yellow shade and Zara recognized it easily. It was inside the yellow stripe on the carpet, inside her in her own magic and in the sunlight all ar
ound them. But the petal also felt empty, like a seashell, as if there was a space inside it waiting to be filled. “I don’t think it’s dangerous.”

  Dozens of flower petals were flowing past the carpet now in moving curtains. Rip sniffed at any that came close to the carpet’s edge. Zara peered over the edge, but they were so high above the streets that it was impossible to see where they were coming from.

  “What are they?” said Zal, again. “What’s going… OH, HOLY STORK ON A SUNBEAM! ZARA!”

  “What?” Zara jumped at Zal’s sudden outburst.

  “LOOK!” Zal pointed down at the carpet.

  Close to the edges, the petals were brushing the carpet. Now that Zara looked at them properly she saw they were coming away from it bigger and glowing brighter than before. But the seven colours in the carpet were fading and becoming dull and flat. The tiny glittering jewels of magic were disappearing from amongst the weaving like stars going out.

  “THEY’RE STEALING THE CARPET’S MAGIC!” shouted Zal.

  “Oh, Holy Stork!” said Zara, as she saw he was right. At that same moment, they both froze as the normally solid Rainbow Carpet began to soften underneath them.

  “GET US OUT OF HERE!!!” she yelled.

  Zal spun around and punched both his palms into the carpet. The Rainbow Carpet lurched forwards through the cloud of flower petals, its corners flapping in the air. Rip yelped and jumped into Zal’s lap as he felt his paws sinking into the carpet. Zal pushed harder as the Rainbow Carpet rippled, rising and falling like the surface of the sea. It felt like trying to fly through treacle.

  “Zara?”

  “Hold on!”

  Zara scooted around onto her knees and pressed her hands against the carpet. Her magic blazed inside her like rainbow fire. It flowed down her arms, through her palms and out of her fingers into the weaving. The carpet glowed and then grew steadier as fresh magic flowed through the threads, lighting up the colours once more.

  “Oh, Stork!” said Zal, as the air grew thick with more and more flower petals, which flowed past the carpet even faster than before. The colours faded as the magic started to drain from the carpet again.