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686 lines
38 KiB
HTML
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<head>
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<title>Mythlands - Chapter 22</title>
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<h1>22</h1>
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<p>
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The shouts of panicked men woke Jack and Kerry in the low bunk they'd been given in a hut near the outer wall. They stumbled out into sheer mayhem.
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</p>
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<p>
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On the palisade walk, soldiers were firing clusters of arrows into the dark and torches flickered while something huge and heavy battered at the big timber
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gate.
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</p>
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<p>
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"To the wall. All arms to the wall." Alevin's wide form went striding past. His twin knives dangled from his belt and he gripped a long two-handed sword.
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</p>
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<p>
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Scree were clambering up ladders and over the spikes, armed with clubs and curved blades like scimitars, but these Scree were different from the hunters
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who had chased them half-way across Temair. They were massive, squat and ugly and all fired up with heat and violence. Jack saw one of them roll over the
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spikes, with three arrows dug deep into its warty hide and it still kept coming. One of the palisade garrison hit it with an axe and almost took an arm off
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at the shoulder, but the Scree only grunted, swung its club and the axe-man flopped.
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</p>
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<p>
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Both Jack and Kerry ducked back inside the hut. Kerry drew out the sword and Jack had his bow. Over by the boardwalk, the dead man's quiver was full of
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arrows. Jack snatched it up and slung it over his shoulder.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Look at the size of that thing," Kerry had to shout over the clamour. Jack was looking down the length of a war arrow a yard long. He let fly and the
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point took the monster under the chin. It whirled, clubbing the timbers and tumbled back over the spikes.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Great shot!" Arrows were singing in the air, stuttering against the barracks hut. Men and Scree were roaring battle-cries. Up on the walk, Alevin paced
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beside the defenders, his fair hair pale in the torchlight.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Throw them back!" He bent over the palisade and his sword came down with a meaty thud and something fell away. A platoon of men were up at the gate,
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firing through slits even while the great timbers buckled inwards. They stabbed long spears through, but it was clear they couldn't hold it for long.
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</p>
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<p>
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"We better make ourselves scarce," Kerry said. "I think we're on the losing team."
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</p>
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<p>
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"Where's Corriwen?"
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</p>
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<p>
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"Dunno. She was with her cousin and the big guy."
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</p>
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<p>
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"We should find her."
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</p>
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<p>
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"We should run like hell."
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</p>
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<p>
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"That too," Jack said, pulling back on the bowstring as another huge Scree popped its head over the parapet. It took an arrow in the eye and fell back
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without a sound.
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</p>
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<p>
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"You're really getting the hang of that," Kerry clapped him on the back..
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</p>
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<p>
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Just then a troop of men came surging out from behind them and almost bowled them over. Kerry was knocked to the side and carried along by the press of
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bodies. Up ahead the door began to splinter and buckle. Flames were reaching up the timbers and big spears were now driving in through the arrow-slits.
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Jack could see this wasn't going to end well. He ducked back into the hut and grabbed their back-pack. When he came out again, Kerry was nowhere to be
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seen.
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</p>
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<p>
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A hand grabbed his shoulder and he spun.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Can you make use of that toy?"
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack didn't understand.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Can you draw the bow?" The big stranger looked enough like Alevin to be a relative. "And hit anything?"
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</p>
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<p>
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"I already did," Jack said.
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</p>
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<p>
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"They're High Crag Scree," the man said. He carried a bow six foot long and a quiver of huge arrows. "Thick skinned beasts. Neck and eyes. Let them get
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close."
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</p>
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<p>
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"Okay," Jack said.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Right. Let's go to it. See what you're made of."
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</p>
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<p>
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"Corriwen…."
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</p>
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<p>
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"She's protected. The gate is not." The big fellow hustled him towards the gate which was now on the point of collapse. Something rammed through and
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splinters fountained out.
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</p>
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<p>
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One of the defenders turned. "It won't hold, Declan."
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</p>
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<p>
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"So we give them a hot welcome," he said. He braced his feet and fired two arrows through the splintered wood, quick as a blink. Jack heard grunts from out
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there. This close in, the flames were scorching. He rammed some arrows into the soft earth and stood beside the big man, letting loose at anything that
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moved.
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</p>
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<p>
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Another huge crash smashed the gate off its hinges and the massive timbers tumbled inwards. Something truly huge with rugged horns curved in a tight spiral
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shook a hoary head and ploughed forward, knocking defenders right and left. The Scree were already running up and over the fallen timbers in the time it
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took for the gate to fall. Great clubs were swinging wildly and the sound as they hit bone and flesh was awesome. One giant of a Scree separated two beams
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with bare hands, shattering them like matches, and used one beam to sweep two men out of his path.
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</p>
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<p>
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Declan fired non-stop. Every arrow skewered a grey throat and stopped a howling cry dead. Behind the first wave, Jack saw a tidal wave of Scree, all of
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them roaring and snarling and he knew this bottleneck wouldn't hold for long. In the corner of his eye, he saw Kerry up on the palisade walk, slashing and
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slicing at hands and fingers as they gripped the spikes, while big men around him used their swords against clubs and spears. Kerry kept low and out of
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sight, just popping up whenever a Scree hand needed attention.
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</p>
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<p>
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Another front came blasting through the gateway, braving the flames that now blazed up the timbers.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Fall back," Declan roared. "All men to me. Fall back."
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack stayed close, screwing eyes up against the blast of sparks kicked up by stampeding feet. One of his arrows was stuck in the snout of the horned
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monster which spun in a circle and smashed Scree and men alike, but helped block the gaping gateway for a moment.
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</p>
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<p>
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Two squat Scree came barging from behind the barracks huts. Declan took one and another soldier skewered the second with a pike. More shadows came shoving
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up between the buildings and Jack was cut off in a desperate skirmish. He picked up a fallen dagger and hit at anything that moved before another wave of
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Scree came pouring into the redoubt. He tried to call out a warning to the fighting men but as he turned he got a glimpse of a shape coming behind him.
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Something glistened in the corner of his vision and then a blow felled him flat and everything went black.
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</p>
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<p class='break'>* * *</p>
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<p>
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He came to, lying athwart a heaving boat and was immediately sick over the side.
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</p>
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<p>
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"You okay Jack?"
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</p>
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<p>
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Kerry's voice seemed to come from far off and the boat would not stop heaving. He groaned, managed to open a watery eye, and saw the ground blur past him.
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It wasn't a boat. He was lying across the back of a great horse and it was running at full tilt over the heath-land.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Thought you were a gonner," Kerry said, grinning like a lemon wedge. "I'll never need All-Bran again, I came so close to filling my pants."
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</p>
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<p>
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"Gonna be s…." Jack was sick over the horse's flanks. It didn't notice. Behind them, in the distance, the redoubt was aflame and the Scree were
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roaring in triumph. Jack wiped his mouth and managed to sit up behind Kerry.
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</p>
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<p>
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"You were down and out," Kerry said. "The guy who had this horse got spiked. It was awful."
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</p>
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<p>
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"What happened? Where's Corriwen?"
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</p>
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<p>
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"I dunno. I just got you up on this thing and took off. I can't steer it, but it's following the rest of 'em. Just hang on."
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack hung on and the great horse thundered behind the mass of retreating men all the way back down the road they had followed, not stopping until they came
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to within a mile of the brooding Sappeling Forest and the beaten army wheeled in a confused circle. The big horse slowed and cantered up to where Alevin
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was already arranging a line of defence.
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</p>
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<p>
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He turned and saw them and wheeled his own mount.
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</p>
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<p>
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"You!" He rasped. "Traitors and spies, you dare face me?"
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</p>
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<p>
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He drew his sword and came racing towards them.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Hold," another voice called out and a rider broke away from the milling horsemen.
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</p>
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<p>
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Alevin had his sword up, ready to slash it down at them. It could have cut both in half with one easy sweep.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Don't be hasty, big brother." Declan was almost as tall as Alevin, but broader in the shoulder. "They fought with us, not against us."
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</p>
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<p>
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"They brought the Scree." Alevin's face was a mask of fury. "I <em>knew</em> they were trouble."
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</p>
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<p>
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"We did not," Jack called out. "Mandrake uses the birds for spies. The Bard told us."
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</p>
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<p>
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Declan rode close, putting himself between Alevin and them. "They risked their lives with me at the gate. Mere boys, but they took many a Scree."
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</p>
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<p>
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Kerry stood up in the saddle. "Jack made a promise to Corriwen. All he's ever done is try to help her. So put that in your pipe and smoke it."
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</p>
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<p>
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One brother looked at another. Behind them, the Scree were still chanting in victory, but already hordes of them were spilling out of the redoubt
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</p>
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<p>
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"I have heard oaths before, all broken," Alevin says, raising his sword. Kerry twisted round in the saddle, under the sword blade even though it put him in
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real danger. He ripped Jack's shirt wide open.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Time to play the ace"
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</p>
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<p>
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Alevin's sword halted in mid-strike when he saw the Red Hand on Jack's skin, and the replica of the Corona stars.
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</p>
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<p>
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"He wears the Red Hand," Kerry cried. "And it cost him plenty. So don't you <em>dare</em> call him a traitor."
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</p>
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<p>
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"The Red Hand. The Cullian hand." Alevin froze. His men let out a collective gasp.
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</p>
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<p>
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"The Coronal," Declan said. "The Bards foretelling."
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</p>
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<p>
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"How did you come by this?" Alevin demanded.
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</p>
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<p>
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"No time," Jack said. He realised how close it had been. But now he had to act. The Scree were haring over the heath in pursuit, knowing the men were
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trapped against the forest wall.
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</p>
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<p>
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Alevin wheeled the horse to face the beleaguered men. "We stand here, brave men. It may be our last, but we will take many with us."
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</p>
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<p>
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"Run for the trees," Jack cried. "Into the forest."
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</p>
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<p>
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Another gasp went through the ranks.
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</p>
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<p>
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"No," Alevin said. Beside him his brother nodded agreement and made a hand sign that Kerry thought looked like the evil eye. "Sappeling Wood is forbidden.
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It has evil magic. No one returns."
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</p>
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<p>
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"We did," Jack said. "You will be safe." He looked over his shoulder at the approaching Scree outrunners. "But <em>they </em>won't. Trust me this once."
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</p>
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<p>
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His eyes held Alevin's. "I <em>swear</em> you will be safe."
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</p>
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<p>
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"Aye, don't worry," Kerry says. "We've got some good wee friends."
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</p>
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<p>
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Alevin sat stock still for a moment. He glanced at his brother, then at the men who waited his command. Jack knew he was considering which death he
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preferred. Out here it was certain.
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</p>
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<p>
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Finally he shrugged.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Even to <em>Tir-Nan-Og</em> if we must," he said. "Lead then, Coronal."
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack and Kerry dismounted the great horse and led the trapped and bloodied fighters into the depths of the wood.
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</p>
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<p class='break'>* * *</p>
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<p>
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Corriwen held tight to her cousin Brodick as his horse pounded northwards, smelling his sweat and the blood from the cuts where splinters had peppered his
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face. Her cloak was ripped in several places and a clawed Scree hand had ripped skin from her back
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</p>
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<p>
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When the attack erupted in the darkness, she had woken with a start, but her knives were already in her hands. Flames were crackling at the gate and the
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heavy thuds told her it would not last long. The clash of arms was ringing out and men were running along the parapet, hacking and slicing, but it was
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clear this was a desperate situation.
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</p>
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<p>
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She had eased out of the doorway. Out towards the gate, men were fighting and big Scree were pouring in a wave over the burning gate which had been knocked
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off its hinges. Declan's bull-roar came across the yard and somewhere on the wall, Alevin responded. All was mayhem.
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</p>
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<p>
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Two Scree came thudding down the passage between two long houses and passed her in the shadows. Without a thought she flicked both blades out, fast as a
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wasp, and stung them both in the belly, two quick jabs and then she whirled away from them, leaving them bawling in the dark.
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</p>
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<p>
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Beyond the longhouses, men had set a defensive line, with archers behind spearmen, taking on a wall of Scree who tried to smash them down with big clubs
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and their curved hack-swords. The beast that had battered down the gates was milling about in the yard, hooking and stamping and adding to the confusion.
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The smell of blood and smoke and fear was thick in the air.
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</p>
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<p>
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A massive Scree, one of the High Crag fighters, half a head bigger than the ones who had captured her before, came in swinging a hammer to smash at the
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spears. Corriwen used her slight stature to best advantage. The Scree were looking for warriors. She sneaked between the legs of the spearmen and hamstrung
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the Scree with a swift slash and when he toppled sideways a spear took him in the throat, but she was already gone.
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</p>
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<p>
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She rounded the barracks hut, scanning the jumble of whirling bodies for Jack and Kerry and thought she saw Kerry up on the palisade hacking at fingers,
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but she couldn't be sure, She wheeled round the corner and found two Scree fighting double-handed against a handful of men, using their weight and
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hide-thick skins to barrel their way through. She sneaked in and managed to chop at a heel and the big creature roared, spun and almost took her head off
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with the first swipe. She stumbled back and it shot out a great grey hand and snatched at her. The grip was so strong she was lifted straight off her feet
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and she felt sharp nails dig into her flesh. The Scree opened its mouth, raised its blade in a low arc and swung at her while she dangled.
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</p>
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<p>
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Another sword flashed in from the side, like a bolt of lightning, and the Scree's arm went whirling away, still grasping the sword. The second blow cleaved
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the ugly thing from its narrow skull to chin and the hand that held her opened and dropped her. She landed, rolled fast, and Brodick leant down from the
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great horse, caught her by the hood and swung her up behind him.
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</p>
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<p>
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"They've over-run us."
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</p>
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<p>
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She could see that, but she was grateful. Brodick wheeled the steed around, used its weight and its massive hooves to trample a way through the wall of
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Scree, slashing and smiting as he went, caving them up. Corriwen held to his belt and stabbed at faces and eyes as they fought their way through.
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</p>
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<p>
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The gate was well alight and all the men had pulled back. Brodick turned the horse, but by then the barracks was over-run ands the defenders had left the
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palisade.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Hold tight," Brodick shouted, spun the horse back. The horned thing that had battered the gate was stampeding round the open square, slamming its great
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head into walls and posts, maddened by the smoke and the smell of blood. The great horse leapt over its broad back and they crushed half a dozen Scree as
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they came pounding through the gateway. He slashed down, urging the horse on and then they were into the dark, wheeling to the side away from the onrushing
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attackers and in a few seconds they were out of sight of the redoubt, running at a gallop, leaving the mayhem behind.
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</p>
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<p>
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They rode all night, only slowing to a halt when the smoke and fire was just a glimmer in the distance, but Brodick kept up. Corriwen knew that he'd had no
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option but to smash a way through, and told him so.
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</p>
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<p>
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"I should have stayed," he said. "They will think I fled."
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</p>
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<p>
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"I saw you fight. And you saved me too. There was nothing else to do."
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</p>
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<p>
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"We've lost the redoubt. And many have died."
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</p>
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<p>
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"And many Scree too," she shot back. "Did you see my friends?"
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</p>
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<p>
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"One was on the wall. The stone-thrower. The other…." He turned his head away.
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</p>
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<p>
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"What?" Corriwen demanded.
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</p>
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<p>
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"I saw him fall," Brodick said, almost a whisper. "He was struck down."
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</p>
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<p>
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Corriwen's mouth opened, but no sound came out. It was as if a hand had clenched her throat and squeezed. The shock was so great that she felt the blood
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drain from her head and the world started to waver into foggy grey. Brodick twisted in the saddle and held her tight before she fell to the ground.
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</p>
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<p class='break'>* * *</p>
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<p>
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The woods enfolded them in inky shadow and the men were afraid, men who had fought a savage battle against thousands of Scree were so afraid they could not
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speak. Dawn was just breaking, but here in the woods, only a few paces in from the forest edge, it was all gloom. Jack led the way, with Kerry leading the
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great horse by its reins. Alevin and Declan walked close, scanning around, expecting devils or ghosts or whatever they had been brought up to believe. Jack
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knew the truth was just as strange as anything they could imagine.
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</p>
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<p>
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He had promised they would be safe, and that had been a gamble. The Leprechaun had told him he was welcome. But he had said nothing about other people.
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</p>
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<p>
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The upside was that the Leprechaun people had nothing against men. But they hated the Scree. That had to stand in their favour.
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</p>
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<p>
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They walked on, stirring up leaves and loam underfoot. Twigs crackled. Behind them on the heath, the approaching Scree were roaring and snarling, moving
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fast, beating war clubs against shields in steady drum-beats. Jack could tell some of the men wanted to turn back and face them and die like heroes. Jack
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did not want to die, like a hero or anything else. He wanted to stay alive and find what had happened to Corriwen Redthorn.
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</p>
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<p>
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They topped a rise and down into a leafy dell and Jack stopped all of a sudden as the hairs went walking on the back of his neck. They were not alone.
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</p>
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<p>
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The forest had been empty and now they were surrounded. He could feel the eyes on him.
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</p>
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<p>
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He held a hand up, trying to think of something to say.
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</p>
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<p>
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A pair of eyes blinked at him from a vast tree-trunk. Something else shoved its way out. Shapes were scrambling slowly down a trunk.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Hello," Jack called out. "If you can hear me, we need shelter again."
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</p>
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<p>
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"I hear you, Journeyman," the crackly voice whispered out. Jack strained his eyes.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
A shape emerged right in front of him and the old leprechaun held up its twiggy fingers.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"Welcome again to our glades."
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"Thank you," Jack replied. Alevin walked forward, with his brother by his side.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"What is this…?" Alevin began. He was staring at the old creature as if he had seen a devil.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"And how did he come from that tree?"
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"It's a long story," Jack said. "Let the old guy talk. It's his forest."
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"Battle weary and bloodied," the old thing said. "But not beaten."
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"Well beaten," Alevin said. "Too many of them."
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"We see them come. They are not welcome in our glades. They have not learned that lesson." He held up his hand to the brothers. "Friends of Redthorn,
|
|
shelter here in the heartwood. The Scree beasts come at their peril."
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"But they'll come anyway," Declan said.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"The heartwood knows," the old thing said. "The heartwood remembers."
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"What's he talking about?"
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
The Scree entered the forest, still clattering shields and swords, blood boiling and hackles high. They had smashed their way into the redoubt and sent the
|
|
men to flight. Now was the time to finish the job and take what reward Mandrake would give them.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
The old Leprechaun led the bloodied warriors along the pathways and into the deep wood where he finally stopped them at the dell where Jack, Kerry and
|
|
Corriwen had listened to his stories.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"Rest and root," he said. The glade's trees were filled with the little creatures, great polished eyes unblinking in the lightening gloom. "Be at ease."
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
He merged into the shadows between two tall buttressed roots.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"Where did he go?" Declan demanded. He whirled round, scanning the trees. All the leprechaun were gone.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"It's a hell of a neat trick," Kerry told him.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p class='break'>* * *</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
The Scree captain held a hand up. He was head and shoulders taller than the rest and built like a wall. His grey, scaly skin was scarred and puckered from
|
|
many a fight.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"Finish them, us will," one of the others said. "Stamp them down."
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
The forest was silent now as they waited for him to speak. No birds sang. No leaf moved. They had come deep into the woods, following the trail of broken
|
|
twigs and the smell of blood and sweat, but it was silent here.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"Find them," the big Scree growled. "Kill them all." The others repeated his orders in deep hoarse mutters.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
The captain raised his great curved blade. "Crush their bones and eat their brains."
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
He slashed at a low branch close to his head and it fell to the ground. And the ground shivered under his feet.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
A shadow blurred from the leaf litter, so quickly that none of them saw it clearly. The captain disappeared in a puff of dead leaves.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"Where he go, him?" The Scree scratched their heads swinging round, baffled. A couple went forward. The captain was on the ground. His eyes were rolling
|
|
and his mouth opened and shut with a click of big flat teeth. The first trooper stepped back. The leader was not on the ground. He was <em>in</em> it. Only
|
|
his head showed above the leaf litter.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"How you get there?" one of them asked as he bent to help him up.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Just as he moved forward, something flashed out from above and caught him by the ankles and whipped him right off his feet. He yelled in fright, grabbed at
|
|
the ground to save himself. His hands found the captain's head and he grasped it. Whatever pulled at his feet yanked hard and whipped him upwards. The
|
|
captain's head came with him, dripping blood, glaring at him with ferocious dying eyes. The second Scree looked in amazement as the captain's head
|
|
scattered droplets in a spray and in a flick of green, the other soldier simply disappeared into the canopy. There was no sign of the Captain's body, but
|
|
the head came tumbling down from above, followed by a huge and hollow scream.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"What's happenin'? Eh?"
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
The trooper looked around him, blinking slowly. "Gone, him."
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
The group of Scree whirled around. They were all crowded together shoulder to shoulder. Something came fluttering down from on high and one of them
|
|
snatched at it. It was just a seed, whirling down on a brown papery vane. Another one fell. It disappeared down the Scree's tunic. Another helicoptered
|
|
from up there and hit the ground, and more followed it until the air was thick with a snowstorm of seedfall, all whirling silently from the leaves up
|
|
above.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"Just seeds," the second-in-command growled. "Come on. Lets us kill men." He scratched at his neck. A seed landed on his head and stuck to his warty skin.
|
|
He scratched again and the papery vane broke off. But the seed stuck like glue to his warty skin. Beside him, another trooper tried to brush something from
|
|
his eye and then let out a curse.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"Burns, this," he gasped. He tried to pluck the seed from his eyelid and when he did, the skin puckered outwards. He pulled harder and the skin ripped
|
|
away. The big Scree grunted in pain.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Little bloody roots dangled from the seed. Blood filled his eye. Beside him, another Scree soldier was scrabbling at his cheek where three seeds had stuck
|
|
fast. The skin there was already squirming and bulging as rootlets dug in.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"Gerrit offa me," he bawled, trying to dig horny nails in to prise the thing off. He spun, wheeling and kicking up dead leaves and barged in between the
|
|
great root buttresses of a tall tree. His face hit the rough bark, and quicker than the eye could follow, the buttresses closed around him with a meaty
|
|
snap.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
By now, the Scree troop were twisting and writhing, all plans for pursuit gone as they scratched and clawed at their skin where hundreds of little seeds
|
|
were driving roots deep into flesh and bone and growing fast. A big club-wielder fell over a log, face first into the loam, while on his warty back, little
|
|
seedlings wavered upwards and roots snaked deep inside, paralyzing muscle and flesh.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
He screamed then, surprisingly high for such a big creature, but the screams were ignored by the rest of the troop who were grunting and moaning all
|
|
around, unable to comprehend just what was happening top them,.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Way in the depths of the forest Jack and Kerry heard the commotion. Alevin and Declan had arranged the men on the ridge of the dell, all armed and ready,
|
|
and when they heard the mayhem out in the shadows, Alevin led the men forward slowly through the undergrowth. Up in the trees, the little forest creatures
|
|
watched them impassively.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Over the ridge Jack and Kerry stood frozen, ready with sword and bow, as the Scree milled about, barging into trunks and crashing through bushes, all of
|
|
them now panicked and bawling in terror.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
A big mountain trooper swung his club wildly against his own skin, trying to beat off the growths that now covered him from head to chest and writhed along
|
|
his thick arms.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Another lurched against a smooth-barked trunk and as soon as he fell against it, the bark oozed a golden resin that simply gushed out from the wood and
|
|
covered the Scree like toffee. In mere seconds, the trooper was stuck like a fly in amber, its struggles growing more feeble as the resin hardened, pinning
|
|
him against the trunk like a statue. The club slowly dripped to the ground, trailing a sticky mass.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
On the far side of the clearing, more Scree were forcing into the forest, following the roars of their fellows. It sounded like a battle.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
As soon as they flooded the clearing, the trees behind them suddenly came alive. Gnarled branches reached wooden fingers down and snatched them up from the
|
|
ground. Roots as wide as man's thighs snaked out of the ground with explosive force and coiled around them, dragging them, bawling and screaming, back into
|
|
the earth.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Ivy grew at lightning speed up legs and smothered some of the grey fighters. Thorns spiked eyes and faces and Scree screeched in terror and pain as the
|
|
forest fed.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
It seemed to go on for hours, but it could only have been minutes, as Jack and Kerry and Alevin's fighters watched in horrified fascination as the trees
|
|
took their revenge on the High Crag Scree who had come into the forest before and cut down the heartwood for Mandrake's timber.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
One by one, in sudden vanishings or in slow stranglings, the Scree were overwhelmed and clubs and spears fell to the ground from horny hands until they
|
|
were all gone, every one, drawn back down into the earth to feed the living roots. The forest smelt of blood and fear and the goat-smell of frightened
|
|
Scree, but that was all that remained.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
After a while, the forest became very quiet and the motion stopped.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Finally Alevin turned to Jack.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"What devilry is this?"
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"It's good magic," Jack replied. "The leprechaun just saved your lives."
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"I never saw such a thing," Declan agreed. "Nor would wish to, either, even if it was for our best."
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"So what now?" Kerry asked.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"We find Corriwen," Jack said. "She's not with us. And there's another thing."
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"What's that?"
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Jack pulled his shirt open. The red hand and the crown of stars stood out clearly on his bare skin.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"The stone's gone. And so has the book." His face was grim. "Somebody stole them."
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"What happened?"
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"I don't know. But whoever hit me must have taken them, and we have to find them. We need them both to get home, and we need the book to help Corriwen if
|
|
we can find her."
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"Some treachery, I fear," came a voice behind them. The old leprechaun slowly made his way towards them. "A new twist, it seems to me."
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"What's he saying?" Declan wanted to know, but the words were hardly out of his mouth when a sound like a gunshot cracked in the distance, way out beyond
|
|
the glade. For a second there was silence and then, from nowhere, a fiery streak soared above them, like a shooting star.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
All of the men looked up just as the fireball crashed into the canopy of a huge tree and showered sparks all around. The leprechauns who peered down at
|
|
them scrambled for shelter, twittering like monkeys in their twiggy little voices.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Another fireball came whooping in, sizzling as it arced through the branches, and smacked into the undergrowth. Dead leaves and dry twigs erupted into
|
|
flames.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"Fire arrows," Alevin said. "They used them before."
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
The old leprechaun's face went completely still. He closed his eyes, raised his knobbly fingers and from high above them came a steady rain of sticky sap.
|
|
It came in a sudden downpour, as clear as water, and the flaming bushes began to hiss and gutter.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"You helped us, wood-sprite," Alevin said. "Now we help you."
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
He called all the men to him and they came round in a circle, leading their great horses.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"We take some revenge now," he said. "No quarter for Scree."
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
The men all nodded silently and began to mount. The old leprechaun made another motion with his hands and somewhere above them, Jack saw little bodies
|
|
moving fast through the branches, carried along in that fluid motion as the trees whisked them away and they were gone.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"He's up to something," Kerry whispered.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Alevin wheeled the men and the boys clambered back up onto their horse and followed the cavalcade back the way they had fled. All the fighters had drawn
|
|
swords and had bows at the ready. They moved silently in file for a mile or more until they reached the edge of the forest. Out there, the Scree had pulled
|
|
up wagons with huge bows. They were drawing the strings back on pulleys and massive arrows, ten feet or more in length, wrapped in burning tar, were sent
|
|
flying high into the air over the trees. Alevin gathered the men in a charge formation. Jack and Kerry were on the left flank.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"Looks like its fun time again," Kerry said.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"Let's stay out of this," Jack replied. "It's their fight. We have to find Corriwen."
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Just as he spoke, tiny shapes beyond the fringe of trees caught his eye as they loped out from the shelter, using grassy tussocks as cover, swift as
|
|
rabbits towards the Scree bowmen.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
"The little people," he said. "What are they up to?"
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Alevin raised his sword, brought it down, and the cavalcade of great horses came charging out from the forest, straight towards the Scree who were so
|
|
intent on setting fire to the forest that the charge took them by surprise. But even before the horsemen reached them, something quite amazing happened.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
The little forest people raced right up to the bows, silent as mice and blurringly fast, and then, in a matter of seconds, the huge bows began to twist and
|
|
tilt. One of the Scree archers bawled in alarm as the massive curve eased upwards as thick roots simply swelled out of the ground and wrapped themselves
|
|
around the shafts. The pulley-rope gave way and the flaming arrow, instead of arcing over the forest, went flying backwards into the mass of Scree troops.
|
|
It cut a sizzling line through them, scattering them like chaff. Another bow tilted as roots grasped and twisted, then broke with a snap, sending sharp
|
|
shards scattering like grapeshot into the Scree.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Before Alevin and his men had crossed half the distance, the roots had thickened to huge, rippling snake-shapes and had crushed and smashed all of the bows
|
|
and surrounded the panicked Scree in a writhing barrier..
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Alevin rode right in to the middle of the enemy, his sword flashing like lightning, and his men roared in fury as they fell upon the terrified Scree and
|
|
cut them down like wheat while the mysterious living roots snared the Scree attackers who were now trapped in a seething, twisting corral of living wood.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
It was slaughter, pure and simple.
|
|
</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
</div>
|
|
</body>
|
|
</html>
|