Spook's: The Dark Army (The Starblade Chronicles) (20 page)

However, in its death throes, the right row of legs collapsed and the creature twisted onto its side so that the left legs were raised up in the air. I quickly changed direction and passed beneath them, pulling Alice to safety with just seconds to spare; almost immediately it twisted back onto its belly, raising a great cloud of grey dust.

Supporting Alice with one hand, I retrieved the pouch from the pocket of her dress and held it out to her. She fumbled awkwardly with it, so I undid the drawstring, opened the neck and pulled out an assortment of herbs and leaves. I held them out in the palm of my hand – I had no idea which one might be able to help her.

Alice hesitated; then, with a shaking hand, she selected a small piece of leaf. It was pale green with yellow spots and lighter white areas that looked like mould. She put the leaf in her mouth, pushing it under her tongue.

‘Is there anything else here that can help?’ I asked.

I glanced back at the dying vartek. I could hear the cracking of bones and gurgle of liquids. The muscles, now relaxing in death, could no longer bear the creature’s weight. Its internal organs were being crushed as the vast body settled down on the sand, the legs still twitching.

But where was Lenklewth? I wondered. The saddle was now empty.

I turned back to Alice; she hadn’t replied, so I repeated my question.

She shook her head, so I shoved everything back into the pouch and handed it over. No sooner had she pushed it back into her pocket than her legs buckled beneath her. I only just managed to catch her before she hit the ground.

Alice was unconscious, breathing heavily. I carefully stretched her out on her side so that she wouldn’t swallow her tongue. I saw that she was really struggling for breath now. I was desperate with worry, but there was nothing more that I could do. How virulent was the poison? I wondered if she could use her magic to fight off its effects. Maybe she was too weak now? Maybe she was dying?

A lump came into my throat. We’d been apart for so long and I’d missed her. How cruel it would be if I were to lose her again now!

I sensed a movement behind me and turned to see Lenklewth. At last my enemy had showed himself. He was standing beside the vartek’s huge head.

The mage wore a coat of mail which flared out over his hips, almost brushing the sand; it extended up to encase his neck, but his head was bare.

Why? I wondered. Why would he face me bare-headed when he had been wearing a metal helmet? Had it been dislodged when the vartek collapsed? That combination of body armour and helmet would have made him almost invulnerable.

Then I knew. He had removed it deliberately. Lenklewth
wanted
me to go for his head. He would be prepared for it. Beneath my cloak I was just wearing my lambskin jacket. I was totally exposed to his blades.

Then the mage spoke to me. ‘Nothing survives that poison,’ he gloated. ‘The little human witch is dying. In moments you will join her!’

His words were designed to prod me into some reckless move. No doubt he assumed that his ruse had succeeded, because I ran at him fast, the Starblade already in my hand. He drew his two sabres from their scabbards, and with a confident smile readied himself to meet my attack.

I stopped short of him, just out of reach of his blades. Then I spun like Grimalkin; I spun as she had once taught me; I whirled the dance of death – first to the right with the clock, then widdershins.

I felt strong and fast – back to my former self. But how long would that last?

As I reversed direction, I brought my sword across in a horizontal arc – not aiming for his head, as he expected; with all my force, gripping the hilt with both hands, I struck his shoulder.

Grimalkin had told me something of the power of the Starblade. The mage would be wasting his time using magic against me; it would nullify his most powerful spells. Although rusty in appearance, it kept its edge, never needed sharpening and could not break.

Now I learned something else: it could pierce the strongest armour.

Lenklewth’s armour was first rate, but the Starblade sliced through it like butter, deep into the flesh of his shoulder. He cried out in pain and dropped one of the sabres. He brought his remaining weapon up in time to block my next blow, but the third got through his defences, slicing another piece of armour away from his chest.

The blade felt light and responsive – a far different weapon than the first time we’d fought.

I was forcing him back towards the dying vartek. My fifth blow tore another piece from his side. Now blood was oozing from his cuts, forming red rivulets that streamed down the long coat of chain mail to splatter onto the sand.

I knew I had to finish him before my strength failed. Alice might yet recover. She still might be able to use her magic to help our retreating army. But first I had to kill this mage. Only when he was out of the way would Alice be able to act without hindrance.

I was still whirling and spinning, driving Lenklewth backwards, when the huge vartek stirred behind him. It opened its jaws wide, as if to spit poison again; instead, a great sigh erupted from its throat. I could see its eyes twitching behind the pink lids which were covered with brown, wart-like protuberances. No doubt these offered some protection when the vartek burrowed into the earth. The creature suddenly opened its left eye and raised its head. I think Lenklewth sensed the danger, because he glanced back over his shoulder, presenting me with the opportunity to slice away more of his mail.

My blow never reached its target. The vartek lunged forward and seized the mage in its long jaws, gripping his upper torso. I heard his bones crack. He opened his mouth to scream, but then it tossed him into the air, caught him, and swallowed him whole. In a second he was gone.

I stepped backwards in alarm, but the huge creature closed its eyes again and gave another great sigh, its acidic breath washing over me. It settled down and continued the slow process of dying.

I stared at it for a few moments, my whole body shaking. Then I took a deep breath, sheathed my sword and walked back to where Alice lay.

She was still breathing deeply. I wondered if she was dying, sinking ever deeper into a coma from which she would never awaken. I sat down and stared at her while a number of emotions churned within me.

Despite all she had done, despite my feelings of bitterness, I still loved Alice. Tears came into my eyes as I watched her. I realized that I still felt jealous: her explanation of how Pan had demanded that she form an alliance with Lukrasta had not convinced me.

Then I remembered why Alice had brought us to this space between worlds. It had been to lure Lenklewth here so that I could kill him, thus freeing her to save our army. By now, our cavalry might have escaped over the river, but the infantry would be easy prey for the Kobalos horsemen and varteki.

Finally my thoughts turned to my own predicament. Without Alice there was no way I could escape this place.

After a while I sat cross-legged on the sand beside her. The vartek was totally silent now. The only sound I could hear was Alice’s slow, steady breathing. She was no longer struggling for air. That was something.

So much had happened in a short space of time. I felt exhausted. Part of me wanted to give up, to close my eyes and never open them again.

All I could do was sit there, close to despair.

SUDDENLY ALICE OPENED
her eyes very wide and began to choke. Full of concern, I reached towards her, but she got to her knees and vomited a thin green liquid into the sand.

I knelt beside her and put my arm round her shoulders in reassurance. At last the spasm passed and she stared at me, breathing heavily, her arms crossed over her stomach. Her brow was pale and slick with sweat.

‘That hurt,’ she said at last. ‘Twisted my insides something rotten, it did. But I’m rid of it now.’

‘Are you going to be all right?’ I asked.

Alice nodded. ‘I just need a few minutes to get my breath. I used my magic to draw the poison out of my blood and into my stomach while I kept the leaf under my tongue. It’s a special leaf, an emetic that makes you vomit: I swallowed it to make myself sick. I’m a bit shaky, but it’ll pass. I need some rest, but I’ve got something to do first. You dealt with Lenklewth?’

I nodded. ‘The vartek finished him off. Now they’re both dead.’

‘Dangerous creatures, varteki. The Kobalos use torture to train them. Got its revenge, it did. It serves him right!’ Alice exclaimed.

I helped Alice to her feet and she took a couple of shaky steps forward, as if checking that her legs were strong enough to bear her weight. ‘First we need to get your horse back,’ she said, giving a thin, high whistle. She had to whistle twice more before the horse came into view, trotting towards us.

‘More magic?’ I asked with a smile.

Alice nodded. ‘It only took the tiniest bit – but now I’ve got to do something much bigger. I hope I’ve got the strength for it . . . We ride that way,’ she said, pointing off into the distance.

We rode for almost an hour, Alice once more seated behind me. All I could see was grey, featureless sand, a vast plain of it. I began to grow anxious. Alice had brought us here very quickly; why was it taking her so long to get us back to our world? Had she drained her magic? Was she no longer strong enough to do it?

Eventually it began to snow; within minutes the snowflakes were whirling down in a fury. Then I had a brief feeling of nausea and heard the sound from the horse’s hooves change. The soft sand had given way to rock and loose stones. It had no covering of snow. Steam was rising from the ground and I could smell sulphur.

Alice had succeeded. We were crossing the Fittzanda Fissure, that unstable area that marked the old boundary between the Kobalos and human lands. Moments later the ground began to shake – nothing more than a few trembles, but it was a warning of danger; the Earth’s crust was very thin here, and not far beneath was molten rock.

Soon we began to pass bodies, some already coated with snow. Many wore the blue uniform of Polyznia. Some were covered in blood, clearly dead from their wounds; others bore no mark to show what had killed them. They could have died of exposure and exhaustion.

A terrible thought entered my mind. What if Jenny had fallen off her horse? What if she was lying out here somewhere, dead or wounded?

In some places dead horses and riders lay together. The lancers had paid a heavy price for their action. But I counted at least as many Kobalos corpses, along with their long-haired horses. It was clear that an advance party of the enemy had clashed with our infantry and cavalry.

The snow was lighter now, little more than sleet, and the visibility was improving. Ahead I could now see the uniforms of our infantry, amongst them the blue of Polyznia, the red of Wayaland and the green and grey of Shallotte – hundreds of them, retreating in the same direction as us. They were no longer in orderly ranks; just a mass of men desperate to reach the river before the enemy caught them.

I looked back over my shoulder and saw the main Kobalos army in fast pursuit. Grimalkin’s tactic had been to delay them with a series of cavalry charges. But that would also have cost lives and couldn’t continue for long; the last of our lancers would now have crossed the river, leaving the poor stragglers to their fate.

Ahead of the advancing Kobalos I could see a number of monstrous varteki, tentacles raised. We were almost at the southern edge of the Fissure now. The stones were giving way to soft snow; the earth no longer trembled. We rode on for another five minutes before I heard Alice whisper into my ear.

‘This is the place, Tom. This is where I have to do it. Leave me here and ride ahead.’

‘I won’t leave you, Alice. I’ll stay here until it’s over.’

Without protest she slid down from the horse. She made as if to walk away, but the moment I was on the ground she turned back to face me.

‘I might not survive this, Tom, so there’s something I need to say to you.’ She took a step towards me. She came really close and then wrapped her arms around me and held me tight against her. Then she kissed me.

It couldn’t have lasted more than a couple of seconds, but her warm lips seemed to melt into mine; it seemed like an eternity of bliss. Then she stepped away and stared right into my eyes.

‘I’ll tell you something now that I want you to remember. This is the truth. From the moment I first saw you I knew we were meant to be together. I loved you when we both lived with Old Gregory in Chipenden. I loved you when I was with Lukrasta. And I love you now. Either believe me or call me a liar – that’s up to you. But it’s the truth.’

My eyes filled with tears and I opened my mouth, not knowing what to say. But it was too late in any case: she was already walking towards the enemy. Then she came to a halt.

Alice hadn’t told me what she intended to do. That wasn’t necessary. It was clear enough.

She’d said that she was an earth witch. Now she was going to use the Earth itself against our enemies.

She raised her arms high above her head, her fingers splayed wide. For a moment everything was silent. Then, very faintly, somewhere in the distance, I heard the music of Pan; the thin reedy sound of his magical pipes.