The Sword of Azaray

by Shannah Jay

  Shayla heard Kerril gulp as they waited for disaster to strike.

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  7 TUNNELS

  Expecting the lantern light to betray their presence at any minute, Shayla pressed back against the wall of the tunnel trying to make herself as small as possible. When her hand met a crease in the rock, she felt up and down it, finding that it widened below her hand. Bending down, she continued to explore the hole and found it got much wider at the bottom. She pushed her hand through it as far as it would go but found no rear wall. Excitement ran through her. Was this somewhere to hide, or even a way out of the tunnel?

  Kerril reached out and touched her hair. ‘What are you doing?’

  He was speaking too loudly again, but perhaps the man hadn’t heard him through the splashing water.

  ‘Shh!’ She stood up, moving till her lips were close to Kerril’s ear and whispering, ‘There’s a hole down here. It may give us somewhere to hide.’ She let go of him and felt her way more carefully inside the narrow gap, finding that she could just get her body inside and still keep her head above water.

  The roof wasn’t as high here and she had to crouch. The water came right up to her neck, leaving only a small patch of air. It was dark but she could feel that the space extended backwards and she could find no rear wall to it.

  When she moved out again, Kerril grabbed her. ‘Where were you?’ he whispered. ‘I thought I’d lost you.’

  Behind him, she saw the light getting brighter and brighter.

  She tugged his tunic, pulling him close, ‘There’s a tunnel that you get into by a narrow gap. Well, I hope it’s a tunnel, but it may just be a fold in the cave. Whichever it is, there’s room for us to hide from them. The entrance is hidden by this fold of rock, so if we’re lucky, they may not even find it. I nearly missed it. The roof’s not very high, so you have to crouch but there’s enough room to keep our heads above water.’

  He gulped. ‘You mean—we’ll be nearly covered in water?’

  ‘Yes. Follow me! And quickly.’

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  There was a faint splashing noise and when he reached out, he realized she’d gone back into the tunnel. He hesitated, but as the lantern light was nearly touching him now, he had no alternative but to feel for the opening. Shivering, he bent down and edged through the narrow gap.

  The men were so close he didn’t dare speak. Where was Shayla? Only fear of the men finding him gave him the courage to move forward into the darkness.

  The tunnel grew even narrower and for one dreadful moment, he thought he was stuck. By wriggling desperately, however, he managed to get past the narrow part. Water flowed swiftly past him in a darkness that seemed almost solid, lapping against his chin.

  To his relief the tunnel widened a little after the narrow part and the roof got higher, so his head was no longer pressed against the ceiling. Stretching out one hand above him, he moved forward with a sigh of relief.

  There was a faint splashing sound ahead of him, but he didn’t dare call out. The brightness behind showed that the men must have reached the metal grill. It cheered him up a little to think that grown men would have difficulty getting past the narrow part of the tunnel, even if they did find the entrance.

  He and Shayla had escaped being seen now, surely? If they waited a few minutes they’d be able to go back. Oh, how he wanted to get outside again and see the moonlight, breathe the fresh air!

  Feeling carefully ahead with his hand, he inched his way forward through the cold water. Once something bobbed against him in the darkness and he barely managed to smother a yelp of terror.

  Whatever it was must have bobbed away because he didn’t feel it again. It wasn’t an animal—at least, he hoped it wasn’t an animal! Snakes didn’t swim, did they? Or rats?

  Perhaps he and Shayla would go on crawling through this watery tunnel for hours and hours till it got so narrow they were stuck. Or they might take a wrong turning and get lost. He didn’t allow himself to worry about what would happen if the water rose any higher. Well, he didn’t worry much, considering.

  Suddenly he bumped into his sister and clutched her thankfully. ‘Is something wrong?’

  ‘No. I just wanted to check that you’re all right,’ she said in a low voice.

  ‘I’m—um—fine. Sort of. I hate this, though. Are you all right?’

  ‘Yes. Just a bit cold. Let’s go on and see where it leads. It might get us right into the castle.’

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  Every few shuffles forward, he stopped to listen and stare behind him. The glow of the lantern had vanished completely now and the faint sound of voices with it.

  He didn’t know whether to be glad or sorry about that, because the darkness seemed to be pressing down on him. The only sounds he could hear were the water gurgling and rushing around him—and his own gasping breaths.

  I really, really hate this, he thought. But if his sister could move along the tunnel, then so could he. He was sure Ronan wouldn’t even be afraid. His brother looked brave, somehow. Then he smiled at the thought that he had a brother and sister now, and that made him feel a lot better. However afraid he was, he didn’t intend to let them down.

  The next time he felt above him, he couldn’t find the roof of the tunnel at all. He was shivering from cold now. The icy water gurgling along the passage seemed to be sucking all the warmth from his body.

  As he started moving again, he began to wonder if the darkness ahead was lightening just a little. Oh, he did hope it was! He blinked his eyes, took another couple of steps and bumped into something, yelling loudly in shock.

  ‘Shh!’ A hand reached out and found his face, then settled on his shoulder for a moment and squeezed it. Shayla’s voice was very low. ‘Move forward a couple of paces, Kerril. Yes, that’s it.’

  The mere sound of her voice made him feel better. He breathed out a huge sigh of relief, grinning in the darkness. ‘We got away from them, anyway.’

  ‘Yes. We were lucky.’

  ‘Where are we, do you think, Shayla?’

  ‘Inside the castle, I hope.’

  ‘We must be. They wouldn’t dig a tunnel to nowhere, would they? Or do you think this is a natural crack in the rock?’ Another worry struck him and he didn’t wait for an answer to his last question before asking another. ‘How will Ronan find us now, though? Should we go back, do you think and wait for him outside, like he said?’

  Silence, then she said thoughtfully, ‘If we do, the men will still be patrolling nearby. They might even be watching the mouth of the tunnel. Or they might hear us stumbling around and come after us again.’

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  ‘Well, we can’t stay here.’ Kerril tried not to let his teeth chatter. ‘It’s freezing cold and Ronan definitely won’t be able to find us in this tunnel.’ He hung on to her arm. He didn’t want to lose her in the darkness. She was hanging on to him, too.

  ‘If we’re already in the castle,’ she said slowly, as if she was still thinking it out, ‘then we could perhaps find Ronan. After all, we know which tower his room is in. Then he won’t have to go outside.

  Come on. Let’s see where this tunnel leads. We’d better not talk from now on, though, or we might give ourselves away.’

  She let go of Kerril’s shoulder and moved forward once more into the darkness. He drew in a deep breath and started to follow her. He had a bad feeling at the thought of going wandering round a strange castle, very bad.

  But what choice did they have?

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  8 INSIDE THE CASTLE

  Shayla and Kerril found higher ground to one side and clambered out of the stream with sighs of relief.

  They stumbled over slimy, uneven rocks, needing to move very carefully. But light shone steadily from ahead of them.

  The tunnel ended in a short, steep climb into a roughly circular space whose walls were damp. As Kerril looked roun
d, he saw ferns sprouting in crevices. An apparatus like a wheel with buckets attached was lifting up the fresh water.

  From a hole higher up on one side poured a stream of dirty water that splashed and gurgled its way down a deep groove at the side and ran away down another tunnel.

  ‘What do you think this place is?’ Kerril whispered, shivering involuntarily.

  ‘It’s where the castle gets its water, and that’s the waste water running away.

  How do you get your water at Sendalands?’

  ‘From a well inside the walls of the bailey.’ He’d had to haul a lot of buckets into the castle from that well, an unpleasant job at the best of times and painful in winter, with the heavy bucket to balance in numbed hands and icy water slopping over your feet.

  ‘We get our water from a stream that runs through the grounds of the house,’ Shayla said thoughtfully.

  ‘So all our worlds must be different once you get away from the black rock and that high cliff.’

  ‘Mmm. Hey, look at that!’ He pointed to a line of metal bars in one wall, going up into the dimness above them like a ladder.

  ‘Shall we climb up?’ she asked. ‘It seems to be the only way out.’

  ‘I suppose so.’ Kerril was shivering so hard he could hardly think straight. ‘I’m the boy, so I should go first.’

  She laughed and moved quickly towards the metal bars. ‘I’m nearer and what does it matter whether I’m a girl or a boy? We’ve both got two legs and two arms, haven’t we?’ She stared down at herself.

  ‘Though I’m at a disadvantage with these stupid skirts.’ Other girls had worn shorter skirts, but as soon as Shayla turned ten, Lady Alvyna had insisted she wear full length skirts like the older women did and stop THE MAGIC SWORD Shannah Jay 35

  running around like a boy—had also insisted she work for her daily bread, folding linen, pounding herbs, fetching and carrying for anyone who needed help.

  Kerril followed his sister up the rusty iron rungs. Cold water from her soaking wet skirt dripped down on him. His shoes made squelching sounds as he climbed. He had to concentrate because the rungs were cold and so slippery they were hard to hold on to. Luckily the sound of running water hid any noises they made.

  At the top Shayla paused to peer over the edge.

  ‘What can you see?’ he hissed.

  ‘A room cut out of solid rock. The water from the buckets tips into a basin and—Shh! Get back!’ She moved down again suddenly and her foot hit his head.

  He bit back a yelp and climbed down a step or two quickly. When he heard footsteps above him, he didn’t need to be told to keep quiet, just hung on to the rungs, closing his eyes for a moment and resting his forehead against the cold metal.

  When Shayla started moving upwards again, he followed her without a word and this time they climbed right out of the shaft.

  She moved towards the entrance arch. ‘Come on, we’ve got to get out of here before anyone else comes to get a bucket of water.’ She looked both ways then tiptoed out into a narrow corridor, still dripping water from her long skirt.

  Kerril sighed and followed her again.

  At the far end of the corridor there was a circular staircase leading upwards. Only after Shayla had started up it, did Kerril realize he’d let her take the lead again. He scowled in the dim light of a flaring resin torch on the wall. Fine hero he was, spending most of his time feeling terrified! He had to do better than this. He just had to. Squaring his shoulders he strode after her.

  At the top of the stairs she paused again. Hearing footsteps approach, they stared at one another in horror.

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  It was Kerril who pulled his sister across to a wall tapestry, shoving her behind it and squeezing in after her. They must have made it bulge outwards, but the footsteps went past them without even slowing down, despite the trail of drips on the stone floor that led to their hiding place.

  He leaned back against the wall with a long sigh of relief. ‘That was close.’

  They listened but could hear nothing so crept out from behind the tapestry again.

  ‘Where exactly did Ronan say his room was?’ Shayla whispered.

  ‘In a tower. The west tower. Wherever that is. How can we tell which way is west from inside here?’

  ‘Well, at least we know we’ve got to go upwards.’

  ‘Yes.’ Kerril didn’t feel enthusiastic about that. He’d rather find a hole and crawl down it. A hole with a lid would be even better.

  Shayla looked at him and smiled. ‘I’m frightened too, you know,’ she admitted in a low voice. ‘But we have to press on. We can’t stay here.’

  ‘You don’t look frightened.’

  ‘Neither do you.’

  He glanced sideways at her. ‘I’m glad you’re my sister.’ His voice came out gruffly, because he was a bit embarrassed, but he wanted to say it. ‘I’ve never made friends with a girl before, but you’re all right.’

  ‘Why haven’t you made friends with girls?’

  ‘There aren’t any at Lord Bezroll’s hold and there are only a few other lads. The lord has two daughters, but they live in Azaray.’

  ‘Azaray,’ she repeated the word softly. ‘Don’t you just long to go there, Kerril?’

  He shrugged, but she seemed to be expecting some answer, so he said, ‘I suppose so. Anything has to be better than Sendalands. And if Ronan’s the real king, we’ll have to go to Azaray, won’t we?’

  Then he banished that thought because they had a lot to do before they could even think of going to the city—like finding and reuniting the parts of a magic sword and defeating their uncle—not to mention defeating the most powerful wizard ever known as well. And how they were to do all that when the whole world was afraid of that fearsome man, Kerril couldn’t begin to think.

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  Well, he told himself, you only had to take one step at a time. One of the friendlier cooks at Sendalands was always saying that and it made sense. ‘Come on,’ he said, tugging Shayla’s arm. ‘We can’t go anywhere till we’ve found Ronan.’

  She gave him a quick smile and they started moving again.

  They spent the next few minutes trying to make their way upwards. Several times they were nearly caught and had to dodge behind tapestries or into storerooms. Once they had to lie crammed in a narrow space behind a big wooden chest as an old woman shuffled past them with agonizing slowness. She must have had bad eyesight not to have seen them, because they could both see her only too clearly.

  Fortunately the people who passed them all seemed to be in a hurry.

  When they found another narrow twisting staircase that led upwards, Kerril tried not to think what would happen if they met anyone coming down. He moved forward quickly and took the lead. Shayla smiled at him as he passed her and didn’t protest, just followed closely behind him.

  At least the air felt a bit warmer up here, he thought as he hurried upwards, but he was still cold and wet. What’s more, the stone steps seemed to echo their footsteps, however carefully they trod.

  Suddenly he realised it wasn’t an echo he was hearing, but someone coming down towards them. He froze and turned to look in panic at Shayla, but before they could turn and rush down the stairs again, the person came running round the curve and bumped right into Kerril.

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  9 INTO DANGER

  The person moved backwards with a sharp exclamation, but didn’t call out for help.

  Shayla peered round Kerril to see who it was just as he exclaimed, ‘Ronan! Oh, thank goodness!’ and sagged against the wall in relief.

  Their brother was staring from one to the other in blank astonishment. ‘How did you two get inside the castle?’

  Before anyone could answer, they heard more footsteps coming up the stairs, a heavy tread this time.

  ‘Come on!’ Ronan didn’t even wait to see if the others were behind him, but turned and ran back up.

  Ke
rril followed so closely he almost trod on his brother’s heels, while Shayla gathered up the awkward weight of her wet skirts and muttered in annoyance as she tried to keep up with the two lads.

  At the top they turned to the right and the two fugitives found themselves stumbling up some even narrower stone stairs that circled very steeply upwards. On a tiny landing there was a rough wooden door and the steps went on past it.

  Ronan flung open the door and gestured to the others to go inside. As he followed them, he closed the door and dropped a wooden latch into a socket. Putting one finger to his lips, he cocked his head to listen.

  There was no noise of footsteps coming in their direction, no sound of anything. When another minute had passed, they all exchanged glances of relief

  ‘We did it!’ Shayla murmured. ‘We found you.’ She explained what had happened.

  ‘Well done!’ Ronan beamed at them. ‘That saves me a lot of trouble. Everyone in the castle seems to be in a very edgy mood tonight. I was worried I’d not get out to you.’

  Kerril took two paces to the narrow slit of a window and looked out at the dark landscape. Below him torches were flaring and people were hurrying across the bailey towards a lighted doorway. ‘Where are they all going?’ he asked, surprised at how high up in the castle they now were.

  ‘To eat their evening meal in the hall.’ Ronan came to peer out. ‘Which is where I must go, and quickly, or someone will come looking for me. You’ll have to tell me what happened later.’

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  With another shiver of cold, Kerril studied the small circular room with rough stone walls whose major piece of furniture was a narrow bed of ropes strung across a wooden frame topped by a straw-filled mattress and blankets. Apart from that, there was only a small chest and a stool, with a torn and scuffed animal skin on the floor.