Terrible Beast of Zor (6 page)

T
he clanging of swords filled the hall, as the two fencers moved about the floor. Their blades made flashes of light like lightning. Back and forth they went.

As the contest went on, Alcindor was impressed by the swordsmanship of the boy before him. He had tried all of the Sleepers, to test their mettle with a sword, and had found that Jake and Wash were mediocre. He decided that the girls were worthless, not having the strength to wield the heavy sword he preferred. Dave was very good, Josh not so expert. But this young man with the red hair and the freckles that stood out on his pale face was holding his own against the best swordsman in Madria.

Suddenly Alcindor threw himself forward and risked everything on a single stroke. But he miscalculated the speed of his opponent. He found his blade turned away, and all at once the beaded point of Reb’s sword was on his chest.

“A touch!” Alcindor cried out. “I do confess.” He saluted Reb with his blade and then put his arm around the boy’s shoulder. “You are a fine swordsman! As good with a sword as Sarah is with a bow.”

“Aw, shucks!” Reb said. “I’m not all that good.” His eyes were warm and friendly and admiring. “But you were really something, Alcindor. I never saw better.”

“You must have had much sword practice almost from the time you were born.”

“No, never had a sword in my hand before I came to NuWorld. But I’ve had to use one a lot since then.”

Josh had been watching Reb and Alcindor and found himself to be somewhat envious. He waited until Reb left and then walked over to the king’s military aide. “Reb’s the best of us with a sword, Alcindor.”

“He’s a fine swordsman indeed. You must be very proud of him.”

“I’m proud of all the Sleepers,” Josh told him. Then he sighed. “I’m the only one that’s not much good for anything.”

“Why would you say a foolish thing like that?”

“But it’s true,” Josh said. “I can’t invent things like Jake. I can’t ride a horse or wield a sword like Reb. I can’t use a bow like Sarah …”

Alcindor smiled. “Still, Goél thought you could do something.”

“What do you mean?”

“He made you the leader of the Sleepers, didn’t he?”

“Yes, he did, but—”

“If he made you the leader, he saw something in you that perhaps is not obvious to other people—or to yourself. You know, Josh, there are qualities more important than swordsmanship and archery in a kingdom. I have known kings who were not skilled in these things, yet they were always victors. Some individuals have the ability to be leaders when they are not particularly good at other things. I believe you may be one of those.”

Josh was embarrassed at the praise. He scuffed his feet in the dirt and decided to change the subject. “What do you think is going to happen in this war, Alcindor?”

The question obviously troubled the tall soldier.
He bit his lip for a moment, then slowly raised his sword and looked along its silvery length. “Nothing good,” he admitted finally. “I keep hearing rumors of a new attack. The Zorians are moving their men around in large numbers.”

“They’ve always done that, haven’t they?”

“True enough, but this time I hear something else.”

“What is it you hear?”

“I’ve heard from another good authority that the Zorians now have a new weapon.”

Josh was interested. “Jake will want to hear about that. Maybe it’s a catapult.”

“No. Catapults wouldn’t do them any good here. They wouldn’t help them get through the mountain passes. And that’s our secret, Josh. We can hold the passes because we’re the best archers
and
we’re in a good defensive position. If we ever lost the passes, the Zorians would be in on us like wolves.”

“But you’re really worried about this, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am. Things do not look good for my country right now.”

“We keep hoping that the prince will change and be some help for you.”

“You keep on hoping that, Josh.” Alcindor tried to smile. “I’ve hoped for a long time, but nothing has come of it.”

Sarah had not really wanted to visit the prince. She had been to see him twice since she and Josh made their initial visit, and both times had been unpleasant. For the most part he simply disregarded her and played with his dog, Shasta. Today she had come to make another try.

“Prince, I know you get tired of me—” she began patiently.

“That’s right. I do. I’m tired of you right now. Why don’t you go?”

Sarah ignored this. She watched as he ruffled the silky hair of the small dog and tried again. “You must get tired of staying in this room.”

“Of course I do. Do you think I’m a fool?”

“Then why don’t you get out of it?”

The prince put down the dog and came to stand over her. “Because I’m not a child. I can make up my own mind about what to do with my life.”

“But you shouldn’t be angry with your father, Prince Alex,” Sarah said. “He’s one of the finest men I’ve ever known.”

For a moment the prince hesitated, then he said, “He has been a fine soldier and a fine king. He has not been a good father.”

“You’re angry with him because he wasn’t there when you were growing up. But the people of Madria need you, Prince Alex.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” the prince said. He began to pace around the room, and it was obvious to Sarah that he was indeed sick of his surroundings. He walked to the window and stared out without saying a word. Then he turned back. “The people don’t need me. They have Alcindor. He’s a first-rate soldier.”

“But they are accustomed to having a king at their head, aren’t they?”

Reluctantly Alex nodded. “Yes, they are.”

“And that will soon be you.
You
are the one who should be out leading the people even now.”

Alexander clamped his jaws together and stood staring out the window again. The silence grew until a
knock came at the door. Whirling around, he yelled, “Come in!”

The door opened, and a man entered, a small pale-faced man wearing the castle uniform. “A special treat for you from the kitchen, Prince.”

Alexander walked over to him and stared down at the tray. It held breads and silver goblets and a silver pitcher.

“Who are you? I haven’t seen you before, have I?”

“I am new to the castle service, sire.”

“All right. Get out.”

“Yes, sire.”

The little man scurried out, and the door closed behind him.

Alexander glanced at Sarah. “You might as well eat this. They feed me well enough here, and I’m not hungry.”

He poured some wine out of the pitcher into the two goblets. “I guess they knew I had a visitor. Here. Have some of this wine.”

“Not for me,” Sarah said. “But thank you.”

“Suit yourself.” The prince picked up his goblet and walked to the window to look out again, silently holding the silver cup.

Sarah joined him there. “It’s a beautiful day. Oh, look, they’re practicing archery over there.”

“I saw you the other day with Alcindor. You’re very good. Where did you learn bowmanship?”

“I’ve always liked archery.”

The prince studied her. “Tell me about some of the battles you’ve been in.” He set down the goblet on the windowsill.

Sarah hesitated, then thought,
At least he’s talking. Perhaps this is a good way to gain his confidence
.

“Well, there was the time we were engaged in a battle with dinosaurs.”

“What are dinosaurs? Here, sit down.”

They sat in chairs by the window, and Sarah briefly told the story of when she and the other Sleepers had been trapped in a land where there were dinosaur-like creatures. He listened intently and, to her surprise, asked that she tell another one.

When she finished, he said slowly, “You’ve certainly had a more adventurous life than I have—and done more good, too, I suppose.”

Sarah said, “We try to help wherever we can.” She did not want to make much of herself, but she spoke warmly of the other Sleepers.

The prince finally reached for the drink he had set down on the windowsill and said, “Well, here’s to you, Sarah. Are you sure you don’t want a sweet roll?”

Sarah glanced back toward the tray that he had left sitting on a low stool. Then quick as a flash and hardly thinking, she struck the prince’s hand. The silver goblet went flying, and the wine splashed on the wall.

“What are you doing?” the prince cried. “How dare you slap me!”

“Look, Prince!”

Alexander did look. Then, with a cry he ran and knelt beside the small golden-haired dog. “Shasta! What’s wrong?”

Sarah stooped down by him and laid her hand on the dog. “She’s dead, Prince Alex. I’m so sorry.”

“How can she be dead?”

Sarah’s mind was working quickly. “See? She ate some of the bread. And perhaps drank from the other goblet.” She picked up the goblet and saw that it was
nearly empty. “That’s what it was,” she whispered. “She drank this, and it had poison in it.”

“Poison! How could that be?”

Gently, Sarah pulled him to his feet. “You’re in danger here, Prince Alex. That poison was meant for you.”

“I don’t believe this!”

“You have to believe it. Your dog is dead.”

The prince looked down with sorrow.

Sarah knew she had to take action. “We must get you out of here. You’re at the mercy of … of anyone.”

“But … but they guard my quarters. I can’t go anywhere.”

“Alex, you’d be dead if you had swallowed whatever was in that cup. Many people can get access here. Guards can be bribed. You’re
not
safe. Someone wants to get you out of the way.”

“You—perhaps you’re right.”

Sarah said, “I’ll tell your father at once.”

Sarah left the prince’s rooms, but she did not go directly to the king. First, she sought out Josh and took him aside.

After Josh listened carefully to all she said, he nodded his head in agreement. “You’re right, Sarah. We’ve got to get the prince out of here. He’s the only hope of Madria. If he’s dead, it’s all over.”

“Let’s go to the king.”

They went to the king’s quarters but were told that he was too ill to see anyone.

“I know. Let’s go to Dethenor,” Sarah said. “He’s the highest power under the king.”

They found the old man in his office.

He took one look at their faces and admitted them at once. Then he listened while Sarah explained what had happened, and his own face turned pale.

“I knew it!” Dethenor whispered. “I knew it! We must do something quickly to save the prince’s life.”

“We think that the prince should be taken out of the palace and concealed where no one can get at him.”

“I agree. But he’s carefully watched. He can’t leave his quarters …”

Josh smiled. “We’ll find a way, Dethenor, with your permission. We’ve become pretty good at breaking out of jails.”

“Very well,” Dethenor said. “Do it. Tell no one what you’re doing. We can trust nobody for a time.”

“What about Alcindor?”

“Yes, you can trust him,” Dethenor said instantly. “But no one else. Now, go quickly. There’s not a moment to lose. If anything happens to the prince, the country will come under the authority of the Dark Lord, and I myself would rather die.”

J
osh looked around the circle at the serious faces of his six friends. The thought passed through his mind,
We’ve done this before—quite a bit
.

He and Sarah had called them all for a quick war parley, and everyone had expressed shock at the attempt on Prince Alex’s life—and Sarah’s. Josh let them talk for a while, then broke into the hubbub of voices. “Wait a minute. We’ve got to make a plan, and I mean like now!”

“I’ll tell you what I vote for,” Reb said. “Let’s buckle on our weapons and go charging in and get the prince out of there.”

“That won’t do,” Dave said immediately. “There are guards on every floor. And even if we got out of the palace, we’d still have guards to contend with. And we don’t know which ones are the enemy.”

Reb argued valiantly that they could do it.

But Josh shook his head and said firmly, “Dave’s right, Reb. We can’t fight our way out of this one. Now, does anybody else have another idea?”

The talk went on for some time, and nothing workable seemed to come of it.

“Who do you think sent that poisoned food?” Abbey asked. “Whoever did that is the enemy.”

“I know who it was,” Wash said. “I’ve been watching that fellow Rondel, and he looks like a suspicious character to me.”

“He looks suspicious to me too,” Jake said. “He looks like the villain in an old gangster movie.”

“It doesn’t do any good to talk about who might have done this or that,” Sarah said. “We’ve got to do something for the prince—and right away. Now, let’s just be quiet for a moment and think.”

The silence that fell over the room then seemed to stretch on and on. Occasionally someone would start to speak but then shake his head as if deciding some idea would not work.

All at once Jake sat straight up and slapped his hands together. “I know what! I’ve got it! I’ve got a master plan that’ll work for sure!”

Reb looked at him with some doubt. “I’ve seen some of your master plans that didn’t work too good,” he said.

“Well, this one will work fine,” Jake snapped. “See if it doesn’t.”

“So what is it, Jake?” Josh asked.

“It’s real simple. The prince just walks out of his room, down the hall, down the stairs, across the courtyard, and out the palace gates.”

“Oh, that’s a wonderful plan!” Dave said sarcastically. “Only thing wrong with it is it won’t work.”

“No, wait, Dave. There’s got to be more to your plan than that, Jake. Isn’t there?” Josh asked. He studied the smaller boy, knowing that inside his skull was a keen brain, one that had often gotten them out of serious trouble.

“Now you listen to your Uncle Jake.” He smirked. “I’ll tell you how we’re going to get Alex out of this. The first thing to understand is that people see what they want to see.”

“What does that mean?” Wash demanded. “‘People see what they want to see.’”

“Did you ever see a magician? Of course you have. What he does is get you to looking at his left hand. Then he does something with the right hand that you can’t see because you’re looking at his left hand.”