by Lauren Child
There was a crack of lightning, a rumble of thunder. Ruby looked up at the sky and felt a fat drop of rain on her cheek, then the heavens opened and the rain poured down.
Up in a small lookout cabin
high up on the mountainside
a woman was standing at
the window
The pounding rain had woken her and she was staring out into the grey early morning.
‘What are those lights?’ she said, picking up a sweater and draping it over the floral dress she wore.
‘What are you talking about, lights?’ said the guy sitting next to the open fire. ‘We’re miles from anywhere.’
But the woman continued to stand there, staring out.
The man got up and walked to the window. ‘Well, I’ll be darned,’ he said. ‘I better go check it out; it might have something to do with Lorelei, the double-crossing snake.’ He pulled on his rainproof coat and big hat and stepped out of the door.
‘Don’t forget to take this.’ The woman handed him a heavy black object.
‘I doubt I’ll need it, but if it makes you feel better I’ll take it,’ he said.
‘A gun always makes me feel better,’ she said. ‘I’ll follow in the RV once the rain clears. I just need to make a house call.’
Chapter 63.
Betrayed
RUBY SAW THAT THE DARKNESS WAS LIFTING, the sun edging upwards, the rain had come to an abrupt stop and already the sky was turning blue.
She looked behind her. She had come a long way; she could actually see her path very clearly because it was dotted with little glowing lights, all the way back up the mountainside. Their mirror-like sparkle was quite something, unmissable in fact. As the glows danced their way through the forest like pixie lights, so Ruby thought about the little warning at the bottom of the gadget card.
This had to be the reason the ground glows had been taken out of service. When the ground was dry, they provided a discreet and careful trail, but when wet they told the whole world exactly where you were; these tiny turncoats were leaking her whereabouts to anyone who cared to know.
Ruby began to run faster than she ever thought she could. She relied only on her instinct, letting go of any previous plan – she just listened to her gut, she was more animal than girl, determined to find her way home.
As she made her way out through the trees, she saw a figure standing in the clearing, his back to her. The figure of a boy, Clancy Crew. What a sight for sore eyes. He turned and smiled.
‘Why did you stop?’ called Ruby.
‘I was waiting for you bozo.’ He turned back to look at the view. ‘Plus, I sorta came to the end of the road.’
Ruby looked down and saw what he meant: the mountain fell away steeply and the only way down was to climb.
‘I think we should go round the other side of the mountain and then take the path down from there; you can sit on the back of the bike that way.’
Ruby agreed. It would take longer, but would be less dangerous than climbing down the rock face.
‘Boy, is that ever some strange-looking storm cloud, it’s huge.’ Clancy was staring across the valley, towards Great Bear. The sky was clear blue but for an enormous, single, strangely-lit cloud. It mushroomed out from a dark grey mass which seemed to rise up from the forest.
‘Oh no,’ said Ruby in a hushed voice. ‘No way.’
‘What?’ said Clancy.
‘That’s no storm cloud, that’s a pyrocumulus,’ gasped Ruby.
‘A pyro-what?’ said Clancy.
Ruby looked him right in the eye. ‘Fire,’ she said. ‘The forest is on fire.’
The vehicle screeched to a
halt in the middle of
the floodlit yard. . .
. . .and Eduardo ran to meet it.
‘Lorelei?’ he called.
‘No,’ said a different voice, one he did not recognise, ‘not Lorelei.’ The woman stepped out into the light and the young man instantly knew who she must be.
‘It’s not here,’ he said. ‘It was, but then that kid let it go.’
The woman smiled. ‘A kid you say? A kid let my client’s wolf go? The one he paid for, the one he was assured would be delivered to him?’
Eduardo looked out into the forest.
‘I can’t help wondering what Lorelei was doing hanging onto this wolf so long. Why would she not just hand it over as planned?’
Eduardo was saying nothing.
‘I can only conclude, and of course I don’t know for sure so correct me if I’m wrong, but I can only conclude she was stealing some of the Alaskan Cyan from that wolf.’ She cocked her head to one side. ‘Is that right sweetie?’
‘It was just one vial,’ said Eduardo. ‘She just took one vial of scent from the wolf. I mean it’s not really like stealing, is it?’
The woman looked at him pityingly. ‘Now there sweetheart, I have to disagree. To take such a valuable scent from such a valuable creature when it doesn’t belong to you is stealing; ask anyone.’ She put her hand in her purse like she was searching for a tissue. ‘So where is the vial?’
‘The kid took it, the girl,’ said Eduardo. ‘She ran into the forest – she’s out there.’ He gestured towards the trees. ‘She’s out there.’
‘Looks like we’re in a bit of a bind here, doesn’t it sweetie?’ She wasn’t smiling. ‘The wolf is gone, Lorelei’s gone, the kid has gone, the vial is gone and it looks like I’m going to have to fix everything all on my own.’
Eduardo turned towards the house. ‘Wait, I’ll help you,’ he said.
‘And how are you going to do that sweetie?’
‘How do you mean?’ said Eduardo, puzzled.
‘You’re not going to be much use.’ She pulled a gun from her purse and shot him. ‘Not now you’re dead.’
Chapter 64.
No time to lose
SURVIVAL RULE 19:
React as soon as you see the smoke. The fire may not be upon you, but if it’s heading your way and fanned by the wind it soon could be. When you start to see falling ash and burning leaves, it might be too late.
‘It’s a long way off,’ said Clancy.
‘Depends how fast you can run,’ said Ruby. ‘Fire moves quick and there’s been a drought so the grasses are all tinder dry.’
Clancy stared at her. ‘So why are we stopping here? We gotta go!’ He gripped the handlebars, but Ruby stood still.
‘What are you doing Ruby? We have to go! Get on!’ But she didn’t move a muscle or blink an eyelash. ‘Now!’ insisted Clancy.
‘Clancy, could you just take a deep breath and keep your hair on.’
He looked at her and tried to remain calm. Ruby was thinking and if she was thinking she was sure to come up with a plan and, knowing Ruby, it would be a good one. So Clancy didn’t speak; he just let go the bike and flapped his arms, a reflex action when faced with a situation beyond his control.
‘Clance, if you have to flap, then could you maybe do it quietly? I’m trying to think here.’
Clancy stuffed his hands in his pockets and kicked at the dirt instead.
SURVIVAL RULE 17:
Forest fires can travel at great speed and once upon you cannot be outrun.
‘Fire travels uphill a whole lot faster than it travels downhill and, if the wind’s behind it, can travel at up to fourteen miles per hour.’
She checked to see which way the wind was blowing.
Clancy began to kick the earth harder. He didn’t like what he was hearing; after all, they were halfway up a mountain here.
SURVIVAL RULE 18:
Look for areas of hardwoods. Deciduous trees take longer to ignite than conifers.
Ruby scanned the trees; all were pine trees and firs, and all made for perfect forest fire fuel.
She made a 360° turn, taking in the landscape. What she was looking for was a break in the trees: water, road, rocky escarpment. Something to put a barrier between them and the fire. She spotted a river, wide with only a few tre
es around it; they might make it, depending on the wind, but it was a long way off from where they were standing, and it was likely the fire would reach them first. Then Ruby had a better idea.
First they needed to aim for the ribbon of road that ran round the base of the mountain and if they were lucky they might meet a passing car, otherwise. . . well, otherwise, they would have to fall back on plan B.
Finally, Ruby spoke. ‘OK Clance, so here’s the plan: we have to get back down the mountain super fast; we need to get to that road. When we get there, we can try and find someone who’ll drive us onto Little Bear, we need to warn the Wichitinos, and if the fire is too close we can all go jump in the lake.’
‘What?’ said Clancy.
‘OK, maybe not jump, but we’ll paddle out to the middle of Emerald Lake. They have canoes, I saw them; we’ll be safe there, but first we need to get to that road.’
Clancy peered down. ‘You mean that road as in the road at the bottom of this sheer drop?’
‘It’s not sheer exactly,’ countered Ruby, ‘it’s steep.’
‘Yes, steep is a word for it, as in no footholds and no way of getting down without falling.’
But Ruby wasn’t listening; she was walking towards the edge and she was determined to get down that cliff face any way she could.
‘Come on Clance, it’ll be OK and you know that pyrocumulus cloud might bring about something good.’
Clancy peered over the edge and didn’t feel super convinced about either statement.
‘Ruby, can I just remind you that I am thirteen years old and way too young to die.’
‘So don’t bozo. Hold on tight and get climbing.’
‘You aren’t exactly the most understanding person, you know that Ruby?’ Grumbling helped Clancy to forget that he was on a thin ledge perched several hundred feet above a mass of sharp looking rocks.
‘You know I don’t like heights,’ he complained.
‘So don’t look down,’ replied Ruby.
‘How does that help?’ hissed Clancy.
‘Because if you try to imagine you’re only a foot off the ground then you won’t worry about falling and if you stop worrying about falling then you most likely won’t, OK? Plus, you need to hang onto me; you might not believe it, but I’m wearing Spider-Man’s shoes.’
‘I’ll take your word for it,’ said Clancy.
They began to make their descent.
‘So what was the good thing you were going to tell me about these pyro-whatsit clouds?’ wheezed Clancy, trying to catch his breath.
‘It doesn’t always happen,’ said Ruby, ‘but it does occasionally. Just sometimes the pyrocumulus cloud gets so heavy with moisture that it turns into torrential rain and puts the fire out, though other times. . .’
Clancy waited for her to finish her sentence.
‘. . .other times it becomes a thunderstorm and the lightning created starts further forest fires.’
Chapter 65.
Twinkling eyes
THEY MADE IT DOWN THE ROCK FACE WITHOUT FALLING; now all they had to do was get down this final section and make it to the road.
Then, as they stumbled and slipped and skidded down the steep mountainside, they saw what might be their salvation. A camper van pulled into a siding off the tarmac road.
Ruby began to shout, waving like crazy, trying to get the driver’s attention. She’d lost her shoes somewhere along the way, but she didn’t care: she had her heart set on home. Clancy, who wasn’t about to leave these miracle sneakers behind, was desperately trying to retrieve them from a nasty-looking thorn bush, but Ruby just kept going. The last few feet she practically rolled like tumbleweed, arriving grazed and bleeding in a heap at the base of the mountain.
The door to the van opened and a woman clambered out; she was perhaps in her fifties, her face weathered, friendly, she looked concerned but unpanicked; exactly the kind of person you wanted to meet when you were in this kind of trouble.
‘Hey, are you all right there sweetie?’ She hurried over to where Ruby was sprawled.
‘I think so,’ Ruby replied. She got to her feet and made a half-hearted effort at dusting herself off.
‘What happened to you?’ asked the woman.
‘I don’t think you’d believe me if I even began to explain,’ said Ruby. The woman looked at her, puzzled.
‘Try me,’ she said.
Ruby felt relieved looking into her twinkling eyes. The woman was reassuringly ordinary in her pretty floral dress; she looked kind of motherly, not like Ruby’s mother, but sort of how a mother was meant to look.
The woman smiled. ‘Don’t tell me,’ she said, ‘you were almost captured by a band of kidnappers?’
‘Kinda,’ said Ruby slowly.
‘But you escaped with the help of the last Cyan wolf? Is that about it?’
The woman’s eyes were no longer twinkling: they were steely blue. ‘Tell me sweetie, just how did you do that?’
Ruby looked back into those cold eyes and said, ‘The usual way.’
The woman nodded. ‘And how did you figure it out?’
‘I pay attention,’ said Ruby.
‘I guess you do sweetie, so I hope you’re paying attention now because I sort of have the upper hand, don’t I?’ As she said this, she pulled the gun from her purse, then she shrugged. ‘You see how life turns on a dime.’
Ruby did see this. Just a minute ago she was imagining making it back, surviving.
‘So how about you hand me that little blue bottle? Since you lost me my wolf, I reckon you owe me that – a lot more actually, but I’ll settle for what I can get, no point being a sore loser. I can’t abide a bad sport, can you?’
Ruby took the blue vial from her pocket and placed it in the woman’s palm. ‘All this so you can make some money out of some stupid fragrance,’ said Ruby.
The woman laughed. ‘Is that what you think this is about? No sweetie, this is not about some high-end perfume counter cluttered up with rich folk wanting to waste their money. This is about something important, more important than you could ever imagine.’ She examined the bottle just to be sure it wasn’t a fake – she was no amateur.
‘No, this is not about perfume – you’re getting me confused with Lorelei, not the same kettle of fish at all.’ The woman smiled again as if a nice thought had just flitted through her mind.
‘Lorelei is a clever girl, but silly with it. She thought that she could double-cross me by stealing some of the Cyan for herself, but a mother always knows her child, whatever the disguise. She has never fooled me and never will. I see through every lie she tells.’
‘She’s your daughter? Lorelei von Leyden?’ said Ruby.
The woman laughed. ‘Lorelei, she thinks her mother is dead, wants to believe it, but I know different.’
The woman aimed the gun at Ruby’s heart and Ruby instinctively stepped back, one pace, two. . . and into thin air. She didn’t fall far, ten feet, maybe onto a small ledge about six foot square, a sheer drop behind her, a sheer rock face in front, and the way she felt the pain shoot through her, a possible broken arm.
Now injured and without her Bradley Baker shoes, how was she ever going to climb up or indeed down? The woman peered over the cliff edge to where Ruby lay sprawled and then looked beyond to the approaching flames.
‘You don’t want to be here sweetie, don’t you know? There’s a forest fire heading this way, it’s gonna get real dangerous real quick.’ She reached into her purse and took out a box of matches. ‘And you know what fires are like: once one gets going, they sorta spring up everywhere.’ She struck the match and dropped it into the long grasses by her feet.
‘I guess I better get going if I’m to make it out of here unscathed; there just is no predicting nature.’ She smiled sweetly at Ruby. ‘You don’t mind if I save my bullets, do you sweetie? Ashes to ashes and all that.’ She turned and Ruby watched as she disappeared; heard the engine rev and the car speed away.
Ruby looked into the flames
and saw her number was up.
Chapter 66.
A real good plan B
CLANCY HAD SEEN IT ALL, the woman and Ruby, but he had watched enough thrillers to know to wait until the villain has left the stage. Ruby had a rule about it, one she’d shared with him and which he often thought about: RULE 10: NEVER REVEAL YOUR HAND TO A PSYCHOPATH (this rule worked for adversaries of all kinds).
He scrambled down from where he had been hiding and ran over to the cliff edge; he began stamping on the burning undergrowth, but the fire was already out of control. Ruby was stuck on a cliff ledge too far down to reach, on the wrong side of a flaming barrier with a forest fire advancing fast behind her.
‘Clancy, someone’s got a warn the Wichitinos about the fire! They’re up at Emerald Lake – tell them to get out a there!’
‘What about you?’ yelled Clancy.
Ruby shook her head. ‘You gotta get out of here, you hear me?’
But Clancy didn’t move.
‘Run Clancy, run!’
‘I’m not leaving you Ruby!’ Clancy had his face set firm and his feet had become like roots in the ground. ‘I can’t.’
Ruby Redfort knew that face; she knew that no amount of begging, no amount of ordering would change his mind so instead she said, ‘I’m gonna be fine Clancy, I gotta plan. What you gotta do is to get over to Wichitino Camp, warn them about the fire, tell them to get themselves into the middle of that lake in their canoes. You paddle out with them, OK?’ She was shouting now above the roar of the flames.
Clancy didn’t move.
‘I’m telling you Clance, you’re the only one who can save them. You’re the fastest runner in Junior High, way faster than me, and you’ll get there in time, I know it, and when you do you get into that lake with them. I don’t care how dorky they are. And you remember, I’ve got a real good plan B so don’t run off worrying about me.’ And she smiled at him just for a split second and with the flash of that smile Clancy believed her.
