Sebastian Darke: Prince of Pirates (33 page)

Again she didn't reply but drew back the bow a third time and stood there, waiting calmly as the yarkle approached, closer, closer, its huge jaws opening to claim her.

Cornelius appeared from behind them, his baby face splattered with blood. 'Let it go now,' he whispered. 'That's close enough.'

But still Jenna waited, and now that awful hot raw-meat stench was engulfing them and they all had a grandstand view of the creature's open jaws and into the fleshy caverns beyond.

'
Let it go!
' yelled Sebastian.

And then, with a loud crack, the bow snapped in two, leaving Jenna standing there, looking in dismay at the useless length of broken wood she held in her left hand.

There was a moment when it seemed that they were as good as dead. Sebastian recovered first. He threw his arms around Jenna and pulled her back out of harm's way just as the yarkle's teeth came lunging down at her, snapping shut a hair's breadth in front of her face; but in that same instant the creature shook as though from an impact. It leaned back and looked down, and there was Max, slamming his horns repeatedly against the beast's haunches, the sharp tips sinking into the scaly thighs and drawing blood. The yarkle swung round to strike at its tormentor, but before its open jaws could close around the buffalope's shaggy neck, three swords had moved in to defend him, and the beast met with a flurry of blows that struck against its head, neck and nose.

It snorted in anger and launched a kick at its tormentors, the great claws of its hind feet as sharp as daggers. Jenna and Cornelius were swept aside like a pair of rag dolls, but the claws just missed Sebastian and he saw his way free to slip inside the outstretched leg. He raced in and, using both hands, plunged his sword up into the softer, vulnerable belly of the beast.

The scream that issued from the yarkle was terrifying. Sebastian left the sword where it was, buried to the hilt, and started to run. The crippled yarkle was staring stupidly down at its punctured belly. It made a few pathetic attempts to reach down with its tiny forelegs and then, acknowledging the futility of that, set off in pursuit of Sebastian, intent on revenge. But it had only taken a few halting steps before its huge back legs stumbled, lost their footing, and the creature pitched abruptly forward. Sebastian felt the creature's shadow looming over him and he instinctively veered to one side.

The yarkle fell in a curious kind of slow motion and slammed into the ground, the impact so great that its head and chest half buried themselves in the soft earth. Sebastian turned back to look at the fallen creature, holding himself ready to run again if he needed to. But though the yarkle's chest rose and fell a few more times, it was clear that it was finished. The fall had driven the sword deep into its bowels. The back legs gave a single convulsive shudder, scraping two deep furrows in the soil, and then it lay still.

As Sebastian stood there, gasping for breath, the others came running up.

'Are you all right?' Jenna asked him and he nodded.

He gestured to the yarkle's body, lying embedded in the churned-up earth. 'Not much chance of getting my sword back from under there,' he said bleakly.

'Let's hope we have no need of it,' said Cornelius. 'Donovan mentioned two of the beasts, but we can't be sure there aren't more.' He surveyed the dead yarkle for a moment, then thumped Sebastian's hip with a clenched fist. 'That was a brave move,' he said. 'Slipping inside his guard like that.'

'I saw my chance and took it,' said Sebastian quietly.

'Yes, but you only got the chance because I distracted the beast,' said Max tetchily. 'I hope you all noticed that I gave him the old one, two!' He tossed his head, proudly displaying his horns, the points of which were caked in gore.

Cornelius smiled. 'We all did well,' he said, 'because we worked as a team.'

'Yes, but I think I did especially well,' persisted Max.

'I suggest we move on,' said Jenna coolly. 'While we're all standing here congratulating ourselves, time is passing. And we don't know what other dangers may lie ahead of us.' She began to walk, heading towards the mountain.

Max pulled a disapproving face at her back and glanced at Sebastian. 'Excuse me, I'm sure,' he said.

Sebastian and Cornelius followed Jenna through the long grass, but Max hesitated a few moments before stepping up to the yarkle and giving it a swift poke with one of his horns. 'Take that, you big scaly bully,' he snorted.

A last convulsive hiss of air emerged from the beast's open mouth, sounding almost like a growl. Max retreated quickly.

Wait for me!' he yelled, and hurried after the others.

On the far side of the sea of grass, the land rose in green moss-covered slopes. At first the incline was gradual, but it quickly grew steeper and rockier, and soon it became quite a struggle to climb. It was hard enough for the two-legged members of the expedition, who could at least use their arms to haul themselves up; but it was even worse for Max. His hooves kept failing to find a purchase on the slippery rocks, and time and again he slipped back down the incline, dislodging little avalanches of shale, his heavy body threatening to keep going until he was back at the foot of the slope. Eventually there was nothing else for it but to leave him behind. Of course, he wasn't very happy about it.

'I've come this far,' he protested. 'I don't want to miss out on the final stretch.'

'We all appreciate that,' said Sebastian. 'But what are we to do? We can hardly get up these slopes ourselves and we can't carry you.' He pointed up to the rocky heights. 'If you slipped from up there, there'd be no hope for you.'

'Yes, but if I stay here, I'll be unprotected.' Max looked scornfully at Cornelius. 'So much for all that twaddle about working as a team.'

Cornelius frowned. 'Max, we couldn't have got this far without your help,' he said. 'But you surely can't expect us to give up the quest simply because you can't go any further?'

'Well . . . no . . .' began Max.

Cornelius looked around for a few moments and then pointed to a narrow gully in the rocks. 'I suggest you back yourself into there,' he said. 'Then if anything should come at you, you'll be facing it. You know,' he added slyly, 'there's no creature living that could match you in combat.'

'I
am
a force to be reckoned with,' admitted Max.

'It's settled then,' said Cornelius, turning away. 'We'll be back for you as soon as we can. And don't worry, you've earned your share of the treasure. You'll still get your cut.'

'Provided there
is
a treasure,' muttered Max. 'And there'd better be after all that blooming exertion.'

Cornelius ignored the remark. He began to climb and Jenna followed him. Sebastian hesitated for a minute. He realized that there was nothing he could do, but nevertheless he felt guilty about leaving his old friend behind.

'I'm sorry, Max,' he said. 'You know that if there was any other way—'

'Yes, yes,' said Max brusquely. 'You go on. Don't mind me. Though of course, if anything should happen to me while you're up there—'

'I'm sure nothing will,' said Sebastian, a little too quickly.

'– don't make any special efforts on my behalf. Just leave me where I'm lying and carry on with your life. I don't expect anybody to waste any effort mourning me. I mean, one would like to be remembered, of course . . . talked about when tales of heroism and adventure are being recounted . . . perhaps a special mention could be made of my valiant struggle with the yarkles . . . but as you know, I've never been one for blowing my own trumpet. In the end, it's just . . .'

Sebastian turned away and began to climb, aware as he did so that Max was still talking, his voice droning on and on as it gradually receded into the distance. Sebastian made a considerable effort and managed to catch up with his two companions.

Jenna gave him a knowing look. 'Well, well,' she said. 'Out in the world, without your constant companion. How
will
you manage?'

'Frankly, I'm sorry to see the back of him,' said Cornelius. 'Max can be irritating, but he's got plenty of muscle.' He peered up towards the misty mountain peak. 'We may need some of that before we're through.'

Nobody had an answer to this so they continued to climb in silence.

* * *

They climbed for what seemed like hours, the way ahead growing ever steeper. Sebastian, who had no great head for heights, found that he had to concentrate all his attention on finding hand and footholds in the smooth grey rock. Several times his boots slipped and he found himself hanging on by his fingers, horribly aware of the great void behind him; and when on one occasion he had the misfortune to glance back over his shoulder, it was to see the great stretch of grassland far below him and the two crumpled bodies of the yarkles looking like a child's discarded toys.

All in all, it was quite a relief when they finally reached a plateau, a great stone ledge in the side of the mountain, sparsely dotted with tall coniferous trees. The three friends slumped down on the ground, glad of the opportunity to get their breath back as they examined what lay ahead of them. A narrow sheer-sided ravine cut through solid rock, as though it had been hammered out of the stone by a giant chisel.

Cornelius reached beneath his breastplate and pulled out the map. He unfolded it carefully and read the next instruction aloud.

'
If our secrets you would know,
Into the chasm you must go
Until you find the special place
Where footsteps venture into space.
'

'
Into space?
' repeated Sebastian. 'What do you suppose that means?'

'Only one way to find out,' said Jenna, getting back to her feet. She held out a hand to help Sebastian up. He took it gladly, because the long climb had exhausted him.

'Think we're getting close?' he asked the others hopefully.

Cornelius looked at the map and nodded. 'Shouldn't be much further,' he said, standing up. 'Come on.'

The three of them headed into the ravine and it was as if the sun had suddenly been extinguished. The ground was littered with a deep covering of loose shale, which made progress difficult, and the sound of it clattering underfoot seemed to echo eerily in the enclosed space. The three adventurers found themselves looking up at the overhanging crags above, nervous of anything that might appear at the tops of the slopes, ready to attack them. But they saw no signs of life, save for a few ragged black shapes flapping overhead. Not birds, but the huge leathery-winged bats they had seen from the ship.

As they walked, they noticed that the ravine was growing narrower and narrower, as though the walls were gradually crushing them. Sebastian's keen ears caught a sound up ahead, a prolonged crashing, which after a while he recognized as the noise of falling water. As the cleft closed in, so the sound rose to a thunderous roar, and finally the ravine ended in a narrow opening in the high walls of rock, only just wide enough to admit one person at a time. Cornelius went first and Sebastian heard him say, 'Shadlog's beard!' Jenna was next and her reaction was a sharp intake of breath. Then it was Sebastian's turn.