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289 lines
14 KiB
HTML
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<head>
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<title>The Shadowmaster - Chapter 3</title>
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<h1>3</h1>
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<p>
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The red glow drained from the sky and real darkness fell. Nothing stirred in the village. In the barn, the Jack, Kerry and Corriwen huddled together,
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listening intently, but all they heard was the faint squeak of a mouse deep in the hay, and their own quiet breathing.
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</p>
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<p>
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An hour later, the first glimmer of dawn broke, sending rays of light through the narrow cracks on the barn wall, real daylight now, to Jack's relief, not
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the poisonous glow of the bale moon.
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</p>
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<p>
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All three were tired from lack of sleep as they roused themselves, stretching stiff joints, when sounds outside told them the village was waking up. Warily
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they edged to the wall and Jack put an eye to a crack. In the street, men were gathering, talking loudly amongst themselves. A group of them ran up an
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alley and came back with a piece of broken branch. Then the shouting started. One big man came along with two small dogs on a leash. They snuffled around
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in the alley then began to bark, dragging the handler across the cobbles straight to the barn.
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</p>
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<p>
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"We'd better go say hello," Kerry said. "If it wasn't for this place, we'd have been up the creek with a hole in the boat and no paddle."
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<p>
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No sooner were the words out of his mouth when the barn door almost fell off its hinges, and half a dozen men came barging in. Jack stood up on the hay
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bales and one of the men cried out in alarm before the rest of them rushed forward and grabbed him.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Hey," Kerry shouted, as Jack struggled in their clutches. "There's no call for that."
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<p>
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Corriwen twisted and kicked as two brawny men hauled her off the hay, but to no avail. These were big farming types, dressed in leathers and rough plaids.
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The three of them had no chance.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Bring them out," one of them growled. He snatched Jack's jerkin and dragged him forward.
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</p>
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"You brought the nightshades," he snarled. "Let them in, you did. You'll pay for that."
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</p>
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<p>
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"We didn't bring anything," Jack began, but before he could finish a big hand and clamped over his mouth.
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<p>
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"Save it, trespasser. You cost us dear."
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And with that the three of them were bundled out of the barn and frog-marched up the street, while men, women and children watched them go by, with sullen
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angry eyes.
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</p>
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<p>
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Corriwen managed to pull free enough to speak.
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</p>
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<p>
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"You've made a mistake. We didn't bring these things. They hunted us."
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</p>
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"Aye, and you broke the Rowan Ring," the big man spat. "Here and at the coppice. You know the penalty for that."
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<p>
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Kerry managed to get a breath. "We don't know anything. We've just arrived here. We don't even know where <em>here</em> is."
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</p>
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<p>
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He grimaced at Jack. "And here was I thinking this place was pretty cool."
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</p>
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<p>
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They were hauled to a big wooden building which Jack assumed was the meeting-hall. The villagers crowded in as Jack, Kerry and Corriwen were shoved towards
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a stout table. From behind it a squat bearded man glared at them.
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</p>
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<p>
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"What are they?" the head man asked. "Dwarves or sprites?"
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</p>
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<p>
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He pointed at Jack. "You boy. What's your ilk and where from?"
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</p>
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<p>
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"I'm Jack Flint, from Scotland."
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</p>
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<p>
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"Never heard of you, nor your Scotland either, and I know everybody in these parts."
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</p>
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<p>
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He banged a hand on the table. "I bring this testing to order. Three strangers stand accused. Who speaks against them?"
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</p>
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<p>
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"I do, Master Boru." A woman came forward. She bore a wicker basket and laid it on the table, opened its lid and drew out a brown speckled egg which she
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cracked open. Something grey and leathery rolled out. Huge red eyes slowly opened and the beak gaped, showing two lines of tiny sharp teeth. The creature
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looked more lizard than chicken.
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</p>
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<p>
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"They brought the nightshades," the woman said. "And now my chickens are sprite-sick."
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</p>
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<p>
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A thin man came forward. "They broke the sacred Rowan Ring. Not a nut or fruit left on a tree."
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack stood up straight, as tall as he could get, and still felt small against the men who surrounded them.
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"Don't we get a chance to speak?"
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"You get a chance to answer what you're asked," Boru said. He delved under the table and drew out Jack's long sword. Corriwen's knives, the bow and Kerry's
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short-sword followed suit. Jack gasped when he saw the heartstone join them on the table. He hadn't even felt them take it in the struggle.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Now where, I'm wondering, would you get blades as good as this?" Boru asked. "Not around here, I'm sure of that. No man but hold-keepers may carry such.
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They are forfeit."
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</p>
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<p>
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"They're ours," Kerry said. "You've no right."
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</p>
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<p>
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"I'll be the judge of who owns what." Boru growled. He raised Jack's sword, admiring the fine blade. He ran a thumb down an edge then started back when a
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thin trickle of blood ran down to his wrist.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Sorcery wrought, for sure," he declared. "I've never seen its match. This was either stolen or bought for service to the dark."
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</p>
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<p>
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He glared across at them. "You come here and break the Rowan Ring and come armed with sorceren blades. And we don't even know what you are."
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</p>
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<p>
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"We're people," Jack said. "People like you."
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</p>
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<p>
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"Ha. So you say," the headman rasped. "None travel Uaine under the bale-moon. None but the demon-touched."
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</p>
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<p>
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He jabbed a finger at Jack. "Or the fiend-friend."
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</p>
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<p>
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"They hunted us," Jack protested. "We just ran for shelter."
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</p>
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<p>
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"I say you're outlanders," Boru retorted. "Outlanders come for mischief."
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</p>
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<p>
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"We're nothing of the sort…" Corriwen began to protest. But Boru snatched up the heartstone on its chain and raised it high. People gasped and made
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signs with their hands
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</p>
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<p>
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"Black heart! Just like your own."
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</p>
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<p>
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A murmur of approval went round the hall. A voice called from the back.
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</p>
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<p>
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"I say send them back to the pit they crawled from!"
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</p>
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<p>
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All around them the crowd muttered consent. The headman stood. "For breaking the Rowan-Ring and bringing shades and sprites, there is but one penalty. Take
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them out and give them back to the dark."
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</p>
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<p>
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"What's the penalty?" Kerry demanded. "We didn't do anything."
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</p>
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<p>
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A hand clamped over his mouth to cut off his words and they were dragged away, unable to fight or protest. The villagers followed their progress as they
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were half-carried and half frogmarched out of the hamlet, up a narrow track to a small hill barely a mile from the village where several stout wooden posts
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had been driven into the ground.
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</p>
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<p>
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Their captors pushed them against the posts and quickly tied their wrists securely behind them. That done, the villagers turned and went back down the
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track.
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</p>
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<p>
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"I think we're in a real heap of trouble," Kerry said when they had all gone.
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</p>
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<p>
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"They are afraid," Corriwen said. "People were like that with Mandrake."
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack's heart felt as if it had sunk into his boots. Their weapons were gone, but worse that that, the Book of Ways was back in the village, and the head
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man now had the heartstone. The three of them were tied to posts on a hill, completely defenceless. A long and uncomfortable day lay ahead of them.
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</p>
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<p>
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And after that, the <em>night</em>.
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</p>
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<p>
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"There are circles everywhere," Corriwen said. The boys followed her gaze and saw fertile fields and little orchards on the flatland at the bottom of the
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hill. Each field, each orchard and coppice was surrounded by a fragile fence of thin branches.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Must be some sort of protection," Jack said.
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</p>
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<p>
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"From the nightshades," Kerry added. "We have to get ourselves out of here."
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</p>
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<p>
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He leaned out past Jack. "Corrie, you don't happen to have a knife in your boot?"
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</p>
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<p>
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She shook her head. "Not even the clever little one Jack gave me."
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</p>
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<p>
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Corriwen twisted and turned against her bonds, though it was clear she'd never break them. Jack and Kerry did the same, but soon the rising heat of the
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day, combined with hunger and thirst, tired them out. They sagged despondently against their bonds as morning became afternoon and then the shadows began
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to lengthen.
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</p>
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<p>
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A scraping sound startled Jack to sudden awareness. He twisted round, half expecting to see some animal creeping towards him, but it was Corriwen who'd
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made the noise. She sucked in her breath and wriggled round until she was facing Jack and Kerry.
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</p>
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<p>
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"I remembered Tig and Tag, the Acrobats in Eirinn," she said. "They taught me a few things when we escaped from Wolfen Castle. I think we have a
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chance… maybe."
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</p>
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<p>
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With that, she bent forward, leaning out from the post as far as the bindings would allow. Both boys heard her muscles and ligaments creak as she pressed
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to the limit of endurance and Jack saw her face twist into a mask of concentration and effort.
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</p>
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<p>
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"What's she doing?"
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack shushed him to silence.
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</p>
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<p>
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Corriwen's arms were now pointing directly behind her and Jack thought if she pushed any further, they might pop out of the sockets at her shoulders. Very
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slowly she forced her body forward. Jack winced at the sound of tendons stretched to their limit, but Corriwen ignored her pain, and inch by inch, she
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began to walk her feet backwards up the rough wood surface, her head almost touching the ground.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Sun's almost gone," Kerry said anxiously. Above them, the moon was still silver, but they had seen that before and seen it change.
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</p>
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<p>
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The dark came so quickly it took them by surprise, and again the weird green flash rolled across the sky.
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</p>
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<p>
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"I can't…" Corriwen wailed. "I can't reach."
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</p>
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<p>
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Somewhere in the distance, something big and wild howled, startling all three of them.
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</p>
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<p>
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Corriwen moaned and Jack heard a distinct snap. Then all of a sudden he saw her edge away from the post. She paused, gasping like an exhausted animal, then
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stood up.
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</p>
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<p>
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Only now she was <em>facing</em> the stake. Somehow she had managed to loop herself through her own arms. Then she winked at him and Jack's heart began to
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pound as she began to shin up the post. It seemed to take forever until she finally got both hands over the top.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Yes!" They both heard her hiss of triumph.
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</p>
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<p>
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Closer now, the big animal howled again.
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</p>
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<p>
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A purple wave rolled across the face of the moon and as it had the previous night, it turned red, glaring down at them with a face of blood. <em>Bale moon!</em>
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</p>
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<p>
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Corriwen slid down the post and ran across to Jack and Kerry. Her hands were still tied in front of her, and one shoulder was raised higher than the other,
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oddly askew. Jack knew she must have dislocated her own shoulder to get free. She scrabbled about on the ground until she found a rough stone and then
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began to saw at Jack's bindings.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Do Kerry first," he hissed.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Don't be daft," Kerry said. Corriwen ignored them and scraped away until Jack felt the rope break and he lurched forward. Instantly Corriwen was behind
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Kerry and sawing fast as the purple sky deepened to real night and out there, beyond the hill, the low moaning sound echoed in the dark, and further out,
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barely audible, the feral growling of nightshades on the hunt.
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</p>
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<p>
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Kerry rubbed his wrists and then hugged Corriwen tight. She winced in pain, but bore with it. "You're a genius," he told her.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Tell her in the morning," Jack said, pulling him away. "Now we really have to move."
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</p>
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<p>
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And as dark shapes came slouching past the barricades at the fields at the base of the hill, Jack, Kerry and Corriwen began to run in the opposite
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direction.
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</p>
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