by K. Jewell
He went on slowly, seeing a vast cage ahead of him with something gnawing and gnashing inside of it, something huge and moss green that tramped and fought against the bars. Blood-red shapes protruded from its head, and through the distance he made out a sharp curved beak.
'Don't look at it,' he heard carried on the piercing wind, whilst Captain Briggs flailed around from behind the caged creature waving his arms towards him. Billy immediately closed his eyes and pulled the horses to a stop, his face scrunched up against the biting rain. Rufus and Josie felt themselves come to an abrupt halt, and with their hands tied behind their backs both shuddered and shook, steadying themselves from falling over with their eyes firmly closed. The feeling of the reins changed in Billy's grasp, and he knew that they were wrapped around things cold and lifeless now. He let them drop and placed his hands over his eyes.
'Get out of the cart with your eyes closed,' called Captain Briggs, his voice assertive and familiar. 'Turn away from the cockatrice and bring them to us. Do not look at it, that's an order.'
'Yes Sir,' shouted Billy. He made his way to the back of the cart and hoisted them both out, slinging Rufus over his shoulder and putting him down first.
'How undignified,' managed Rufus, his eyes tightly squeezed shut as Josie was placed next to him. 'Don't look,' he whispered to her, 'keep your eyes closed, I'm right next to you.' They walked over the splayed figures, their eyes open very slightly and staring at the ground. Bodies jerked and twitched, and one sat up and muttered something about sausages as Rufus was mid-stride; he screeched and hurtled over it, unable to stop the fall with his arms but landing in a soft round belly that gurgled appreciatively. He felt himself hoisted up and dragged along until they eventually reached Captain Briggs.
'An honour Sir,' said Billy. 'I believe you might be wanting these two.'
'Good work,' replied Captain Briggs slyly, the sock gently rocking at his side. 'Excellent work. There will be an appropriate reward for your hard efforts, make no mistake. So, who do we have here?' he asked, surveying the two dog-heads who stood side by side.
'This is Rufus, Elli's best friend in the whole wide world,' Billy answered with a smirk. 'And this is Josie, the bait I used to catch him.' Captain Briggs beamed and looked at them both carefully.
'Lord Lansdown,' he called out, 'we've got some excellent news Sir...'
Lady Lansdown and Gerald stood whispering behind them, sharing the same flask of hot sweet tea and nibbling appreciatively at currant buns. Both looked ahead at Lord Lansdown who leapt from the top of the high cage with grace and precision, landing seamlessly on the ground, a perfect dismount. 'Any ideas?' she asked quietly, watching Gerald roll the soft bun around in his gummy mouth.
'What, now?' he whispered. 'I suppose they won't miss us...'
'About him,' she said, nodding towards Lord Lansdown who unfurled himself with audible creaks and stood like a bemused praying mantis in front of them. Gerald chewed noisily and slurped at some tea.
'A couple,' he answered, looking around him at the slumbering army. 'What are we going to live on though my love?' he asked, watching her ramming the bun into her mouth and then gently flick the crumbs away from her sticky painted lips. 'I was thinking we could settle down, have a family, watch the nippers grow and all that,' he said wistfully with a far-away look in his eyes. He heard her cough and assumed she'd choked on a currant, her eyes welling with tears.
'I wouldn't worry too much about the money,' she said quietly, opening the tea flask and whipping out a small brandy bottle that she kept in her cleavage in case of emergencies. His eyes opened wider and he gazed at her longingly. 'He never did know about all of my dowry, it was for me after all.'
'In that case Berta my sweet,' he said, giving her a wink or suffering from a small stroke, she wasn't too certain, 'leave it to me.'
George watched as Max listened to the reports, his black labrador face giving nothing away and his brow furrowed. Elli kept herself bustling with tasks, and George saw that her stone glistened now, giving her skin an otherworldly quality like oil on old puddles. She repeatedly looked beyond him and into the city as the cacophony of cheers and excitement inside seemed to be ebbing away. He wondered if Max realised that he was inside the gorgadon suit but he'd already told him everything, what more was there to say?
'Elli,' called Lord Lansdown's creaking voice from outside the wall, drifting towards them with a growling resonance. 'Come out, come out wherever you are.' She could feel just how close the stone was and had a deep longing need to reunite them that tugged at her flesh and pulled at her bones.
She ran up ladders and over steps until she was level with Max and Alpha Sawyre, her face turned to the wall and her head raised to the sky with her eyes firmly shut.
'I'd be happy to,' she called out archly, 'but first you should show good will by removing the cockatrice. Then we can talk.' The sound was pure and low, reaching through the air with a metallic echo.
Lord Lansdown heard it with a smile from his vantage point on top of the shuddering cage, the cockatrice inside it writhing in fury. 'Good will?' he asked, snorting with derision. 'I can show you something much better than that.' His eyes glistened and his small white teeth were set in a satisfied grin. 'I can show you the tragic death of two of your friends. Josie and Rufus they say they're called.' Elli felt Alpha Sawyre's hand on her shoulder and saw Max flinch from the corner of her eye. 'They're still alive at the moment, but that won't be the case for much longer. Tell me, which should I kill first?' he asked, his voice crackling and sizzling as the stone danced over his skin.
Elli looked in front of her, her fear raw and real in the gloomy light, and saw two things. The first was George hovering by the bricks on the floor, his sketchbook in his hand; the second was an unimpressed ferret, nimbly held by a thatch-haired ogre.
She twisted her body around and called out, 'I'm coming out, and I have something you want. Your man-servant George belongs to us. You can have both of us for the exchange of Rufus and Josie, unharmed and alive. I have the stone.'
Lord Lansdown stroked his beard slowly and gratuitously. 'Very well,' he called, his voice thick and syrupy. 'Come out. And I suggest that you both wear a blindfold unless you wish to decorate the surroundings.' He looked across at the high walls and felt a surge of joy, his prize within his grasp.
Chapter Twenty two
How to grasp a weasel
Elli and George walked through the huge metal doors together, two small specks in a mass of polish and thorough workmanship. George walked at her side, his blindfold threatening to fall down and small glimpses of the world beneath them on view. They stood over tangled limbs and ugly weapons, tired cobbles and discarded trinkets. Beyond them the cockatrice shook and screamed, screeching at them to free it and daring them to look it in the eye.
George held onto Elli's arm, holding her when he needed to and supporting her when her balance floundered. He could feel the smooth vibration of the stone searing through her skin, skin that felt surprisingly cool to the touch. If he raised his head enough then he could just see the weasel, its brown fur glistening as she held it tightly by the scruff of the neck, its body held tightly into hers. It looked up and its shiny black eyes gave George a pitying look before resuming its attempts to scratch Elli and jump down.
'This way,' called Lord Lansdown, watching them stumble over broken things and tread carefully with shuffling steps. Perhaps this is what it is like to have a sense of humour he thought, as they walked on towards him in the grey light.
'Oh you there, husky,' called out Lady Lansdown, waving over at Billy the Duck who at first tried to ignore her. 'You there,' she continued, waving around a handkerchief in his general direction. He looked again at his captives and shrugged before walking over towards her and away from them. As he left Gerald sidled up from behind a snoring mastiff dog-head and stood behind Rufus, his rheumy eyes darting around as frantically as they could for signs of danger. He pulled a sharp knife out from his belt and got in c
lose, whispering something to him before raising it against the small of his back.
The stone sank into Lord Lansdown's flesh, promising his mind all kinds of wealth and influence. He moved forward over the rattling bars and waited, seeing something dark moving and writhing in Elli's arms. And George as well. We obviously can't help our relations he mused, as the two of them walked on, over and around obstacles towards him.
'Stop there,' he called out, his tone commanding and strong. 'What do you bring with you?'
She paused and held the wriggling weasel even tighter. 'My stone,' she called out, her voice like iced water in a fast flowing stream. 'A trade we said. Where are Josie and Rufus?' Lord Lansdown signalled to Captain Briggs who whispered something into Rufus' ear.
'I'm here Elli,' he called out, grimacing as Captain Briggs' hot breath hit him in the face and fervently hoping that his breath would be all that would. He looked across at Josie, her eyes wide and unblinking, and behind her the lean husky face looked on with a wry smile. 'We haven't been hurt,’ he hollered.
'Ready?' she called out, as Lord Lansdown and Captain Briggs exchanged glances. 'Send them to me and you can have the stone.' George held onto her arm tightly, his unseen hand gripping the weasel's tail in the way the thatch-haired ogre had shown him.
Lord Lansdown laughed abrasively. 'I really don't think you're in a position to be giving me orders. And you haven't answered my question. What is that moving thing you're carrying?' he shouted, spittle flying out in front of him as his stone danced and shone with gleaming light, reaching out its long fingers towards her.
'Are you ready to go Rufus?' she called to him as she felt the stone strain and pull towards its other.
'Yes,' called Rufus and Josie in unison, their breathing faster and their arms still taut behind their backs.
'Then here's my stone,' she called out, pulling the weasel from its hypnotic trance as it jumped onto the floor in front of her. 'Around his neck. And good luck,' she added as it darted over and through limbs, its small body disappearing as it leapt and sprang away.
Lord Lansdown squealed and slid down from the cage in one movement, clawing at the lock with eyes shut tight until it gave way beneath his desperate grasp; he was flung to the side of the cage gasping and squirming as the cockatrice bellowed in fury and jumped out onto the wet ground. Large serrated claws tapped against discarded shields as it focused its red-rimmed eyes on George and Elli.
The ropes that Rufus and Josie had been holding fell to the ground, and Billy the Duck observed them lying there just before he saw a Josie-sized fist coming towards him with alarming speed. He twisted and ducked, his mind racing as he grabbed at her arm and pulled her towards him. She clawed and fought him as Rufus ran into his side, causing him to fall but taking her with him. He held her arm and reached out for a weapon but Rufus kicked at his arm and tried to pull Josie away. His hand grasped a club-handle just as he sprang up onto his feet, his vision filling with cool red and a familiar numbness settling over his mind. This was the boxing ring, and he owned it.
'No!' screamed Lord Lansdown, watching the small fur shape of the weasel sprint away, his face pale and long in the beckoning light. He pushed at the cage door and looked on as the cockatrice moved slowly and carefully towards Elli and George and away from the other stone.
'Here,' called George, flinging dripping red meat that he had stashed in his pockets. 'Follow this.' The weasel looked up as a shiny morsel flew over his head and landed on the forehead of a twitching human, who shuffled and groaned as it bounded towards him. His claws were on it in a heartbeat and he sprang forward, following the next piece and the next.
Billy swung the club at Rufus who pushed Josie out of the way, ducking narrowly so that it just missed the top of his head. Rufus followed with an upper cut and a jab, feeling his fist collide with a chiselled husky jaw. Billy gave him a lop-sided grin and then barrelled into him, raising his huge clenched fist. The shield was swung with expert precision and made a satisfying clang noise as it made contact with his head, leaving the dent of a proud husky face in its battle-worn metal. As he slumped to his knees and collapsed to the floor Josie dropped the shield and stood over him, before giving him a hearty kick between his legs.
'And if you had any dangly bits that would have really hurt,' she said calmly, before dropping the shield and bending over next to Rufus.
'I hope I still have,' he whimpered as she helped him up.
Ahead of them Lord Lansdown crept forward in front of the cage, his arms outstretched towards the chewing weasel. 'Throw it further,' called out Rufus, his voice cracking, as George pulled his arm back and sent the globular mass in a clean arc over Lord Lansdown's head and into a patch of dusty land in front of the cage, his eyes still tightly closed.
All was still for a moment and then two huge eyes turned slowly in a great white feathered head, a small reflection of a long black tunic and a pointed beard in their centre. The weasel darted towards it, flinging itself over knees and heads, its claws scratching the yielding flesh underneath until it reached the glistening red lump.
Lord Lansdown ran, his arms outstretched and his head bobbing as he tripped and fell, grasping for the silky brown fur of the weasel. He threw himself into the air and grasped at it, his fingers gripping the surprised body as he rolled around in the dust, finally coming to a stop in front of the cage. Two huge red eyes looked down at him and blinked. He stood, ripping the thin chain around its neck and dropping the weasel to hold up the nebulous stone in front of him, his back turned to the cockatrice. 'No,' mumbled Rufus, stumbling and reaching out for Josie.
Elli and George kept their eyes firmly shut, knowing that things had tipped the wrong way as Lord Lansdown looked at the second stone with sparkling eyes, removing his chain and holding them up next to one another. Sparks of light and flame shot out from them both as the stones reached towards one another, a sizzling, crackling beam moving up over his arms.
'Excuse me,' came a voice, thin and distant and wise. He felt a gentle tap on his shoulder and span around, a faraway look in his eyes. 'Thank you,' said the old man as a hand reached out and took the stones away from him with smiling green eyes, and then vanished. Lord Lansdown stood still, the enormity having some trouble reaching his brain as he stared at his empty hands. He brought them down slowly, his mouth still hanging open and two red, piercing eyes looked into his, the crimson wattle below them rocking gently as it moved its head.
Lord Lansdown went to speak but no words came, the pulsing energy that had been seeping through his body seconds ago replaced by cold, dead certainty. His pale skin became ashen and then dull grey, the life extinguished forever. The cockatrice screeched, its rage finding an outlet and its fathomless eyes looking to do it again.
'Keep your eyes shut,' called out Josie, calm and authoritative, and Elli held on tightly to George's hand. Behind her Captain Briggs began to swing the heavy ball inside of the old sock back and forth, back and forth. The crack to the back of his knees surprised him just before the pain came, sending him sprawling forward and onto his face, his arms in the dust in front of him and the sock landing with a thump on the ground. Lady Lansdown stood behind him with a riding crop in her hand.
'I never could stand to use them on horses. Oh Gerald my love,' she called out demurely through lips like sandpaper. 'I believe you wanted a word with him.'
Josie volunteered to do it in the end, giving Rufus a cold hard stare when he said 'no really, I'll do it,' with no conviction whatsoever. She pulled herself up onto the top of the cage and grabbed at the tarpaulin, hoisting it quickly over the top of the cockatrice as it wriggled and screeched beneath her. Rufus was armed with a sword and shield but neither were needed as it became still and was pushed towards the cage with averted eyes. She secured it inside and jumped down, glad to have some distance from the cockatrice. 'Where did he find this thing?' she called to Lady Lansdown, who was powdering her nose in a small cracked mirror.
'Captain Briggs procured it
for him. It cost a small fortune and ate mountains of food. I'll be glad to see the back of it,' she said heartily as Josie pinned the grimy fabric down over the cart. The cockatrice inside bellowed once and then settled into rhythmic nasal snores.
'When was it last fed and watered?' called out George, peering from behind the covered cage and shuddering at the sight of Lady Lansdown. She was different though; softer somehow, like a picture soaked in rain.
'George my dear, I'm so pleased you're alright. Meet my intended,' she announced proudly. He felt his eyes move towards the statue of her husband moments before, its palms held in front of it with a quizzical look on its face. 'This is Gerald,' she said as a withered old stump of a man moved into view, his mouth open in a wide smile bereft of teeth but full of vigour.
'Watch yer son,’ he said, looking at George carefully. 'I can see the resemblance. You look a bit like your aunt, you lucky boy.' Gerald nuzzled into her neck with a faint sucking motion and George turned away as he heard her giggle and fawn, thinking that perhaps looking at the cockatrice would have been preferable. Elli stood at his side, looking around from sleeping ogres to the tall statue in front of her. She walked towards it carefully and reached out to touch it, withdrawing her hand quickly as she felt the cool hard stone.
'It's quite a sight, isn't it,' said Rufus, looking down at the dull grey figure. 'The question is should we draw a moustache and glasses on it now or wait for students to have that pleasure?' He pulled her towards him and gave her such a tight hug that she felt the breath leave her body. 'Well done girl,' he said quietly, his wet nose against her skin. 'And you,' he added, pulling George in towards them both.
