The Ruby Quest (4 page)

Kettil! He'd drawn level and was hitting her with his whip. The next blow came harder still and Tia struggled to keep on Yufa's back.

Kettil hit her again. She felt herself slipping.

Suddenly Loki was flapping and darting round Kettil's head. Folski shied in alarm, and bucked Kettil off. The bird soared away.

‘Now's our chance!' Tia yelled to Yufa, who took the bit in her mouth and ran like a winter wind. They thundered over the line far ahead of Drifa and the rest of the field.

‘Yes!' Tia yelled as they slowed down. ‘We won!'

‘I told you we would,' Yufa panted. ‘Are you all right?'

‘I think so.' Tia slid from the horse's back and took a few steps. She was fine apart from her painful leg. ‘It's just bruises.'

She led Yufa back to the line and the cheering crowd. Gunnar was waiting at the front, the High Witch beside him.

When Yufa saw Hyldi she stopped and refused to budge another inch. Hyldi's face tightened with anger.

‘You girl, come here,' she ordered.

‘Yes, Lady,' Tia said politely. She turned to Yufa and whispered, ‘Let the man hold you while I talk to the witch.'

Yufa wasn't happy about it but she stayed still when Tia passed the reins to Gunnar.

‘How is it that you can ride this horse?' Hyldi demanded.

‘I was raised by Traders, Lady, and know their way with horses. They trust me, as they trust all Traders,' she added remembering what Shandor had said to the witch.

Hyldi must have remembered too. ‘So they all say,' she muttered. She gripped Tia's shoulder hard. ‘Child, you will train this horse to obey me.'

Tia wanted to shout, ‘Never!' but reporting to Hyldi now and then might help her work out how to steal the ruby and free Shandor. ‘I'll try my hardest, Lady,' she said meekly. ‘It may take some time.'

‘Time? Time is nothing to me.' The High Witch sneered and swept away, flanked by two guards. They made her look even smaller and sillier as she swaggered back to the castle.

Gunnar stroked his bristly chin thoughtfully. ‘Take Yufa back to the stable and make her comfortable, then take yourself back to your room,' he told Tia. ‘I'll tell Vanna to draw you a hot bath to ease those bruises Kettil gave you. We all saw what happened. It's no way for a rider to behave.
I'll deal with him. And you can have the rest of the day to yourself.'

He handed the reins back to Tia. ‘It was strange about that bird though. It looked as if it deliberately flew at Kettil to stop him hitting you. Never seen anything like it.'

Shaking his head, Gunnar went to see the other riders and their horses.

Tia led Yufa back to the stables, washed her down, groomed her thoroughly and gave her food and water. When she'd straightened the little mare's bed she said, ‘We showed you really can race.'

‘I know,' Yufa said smugly through a mouthful of hay.

Smiling, Tia closed the box-stall door and limped wearily off for a warm bath to soothe her aches and pains.

Frida was needed at the castle so Tia was free at last to search for Loki and give him a message for Finn. She tore a leaf from the book she carried in her backpack and wrote a note explaining what had happened to her and how much she missed her DragonBrother. Then she retrieved the sapphire bracelet from the cushion, wrapped it in the paper and tied up the whole thing with threads from the cushion's cover. She left one side poking out of the parcel like a handle. She hoped it wouldn't be too heavy for Loki to carry.

She set off for West Gate Square but stopped on the way at a Trader stall selling goods from far Cathay. There was a bronze horse that looked as
if it were galloping through the sky, one back hoof supported by a flying bird.

‘It's one of our finest pieces,' the Trader told her. ‘Perhaps the Lady Hyldi will buy it. We all know how much she loves horses.'

DragonTeacher had told Tia and the dragonets that Hyldi was famous for two things: stealing the ruby of power, and her fearsome temper. He hadn't known about her passion for horses. It would explain why the High Witch had been so angry when Shandor refused to part with Yufa.

A jade medallion carved with a dragon chasing a creamy pearl caught Tia's eye. The pearl was the last magical jewel that Tia would have to recover for the dragons. The High Witch Ondine, Tia's own mother, had it. Tia touched the green stone gently with a fingertip.

The Trader's brown eyes crinkled in a friendly smile. ‘I can see this has a special meaning for you. Would you like to buy it? The people of Cathay say that the dragon brings good fortune and the pearl guides you to the truth you are seeking.'

Tia shook her head. She didn't want anything to remind her that her mother was a High Witch. She said goodbye to the Trader and went to the stone troll, hoping that Loki would be there. He was,
perched patiently on its shoulder. Tia waved and pointed the way to a smaller, quieter square. They met there by a fountain.

‘I suppose you want me to run errands to that DragonBrother of yours,' Loki said. ‘Have you got the sapphire?'

Tia showed him the package. Loki eyed it. ‘Are you sure you don't want an eagle to take it?'

‘You can manage, I know you can.' Tia stroked his ruffled feathers. ‘I miss you and Finn.'

‘He misses you. He spends most of his time practising his camouflage to take his mind off it. He's getting very good. I think he could fool the spell boundaries completely now.'

‘He'd better not try!' Tia said. ‘That spell the High Witches cast to protect their lands is very powerful. I know he's fooled it before for a short while but he didn't have to keep it up for very long.'

She shuddered. The spell was very strong. It had overcome the great dragon Andgrim. Tia didn't want to think of the same thing happening to her DragonBrother, who was far smaller than Andgrim.

She turned her attention to Loki.

‘Thank you for stopping that boy from hitting me. Yufa and I wouldn't have won the race without your help. It was very brave of you.'

‘Yes, it was.' Loki grasped the loop of bracelet with both claws. ‘Try not to get into trouble again. I might not be able to rescue you next time.'

He took off clumsily, flew around to get his balance and then was off, away over the town. Tia watched till he was just a tiny black speck in the sky. She wished she could fly away to Finn too. But she had the ruby comb to steal and Shandor to set free. There was no time to feel sorry for herself. She returned to the bustling centre of the town and went to look for honey cakes to share with Frida.

After she'd bought the cakes Tia walked past the Trader's stall on her way back to the castle. A small gathering was clustered around it with Hyldi and her two guards at the front. The witch, her eyes narrowed greedily, had her hands on the bronze horse.

‘I want this horse,' she said to the Trader. ‘You will deliver it to my palace immediately.'

‘Of course.' The Trader bowed a very small bow. ‘And will the honoured lady pay me now, or later, at the palace?'

‘Pay!' Hyldi's eyes bulged in fury. ‘You will present it to me as a gift, and be grateful!'

‘I am a Trader, Lady Hyldi. The horse is for sale.'

People gasped. ‘The Lady Hyldi will be so angry with him for saying that,' a man murmured.

Tia thought he was right but Hyldi was very rich – why shouldn't she pay for the horse?

The witch's hand flew to the ruby comb in her hair. It blazed red and the world came to an abrupt halt. Birds were suspended in the air; people stood with their mouths open, halfway through saying something, or paused in mid-stride. Hyldi had stopped time throughout the town.

Why aren't I frozen too
? Tia wondered. It could only be because she was a witch, like Hyldi.

Hyldi reached into the Trader's stall and took a necklace, several rings, a circlet made of golden leaves and the jade dragon. She put them all in a bag.

She's a thief!
Tia thought.
How dare she steal from an honest Trader?

Of course, Tia was a thief too but she was only stealing the jewels from the High Witches so that she could return them to their real owner, the DragonQueen. She wasn't taking things just because she wanted them for herself.

Hyldi stepped back, a sneer twisting her face, and stroked the ruby. Another red flash brought the world back to life. Time began again from the exact moment it had stopped. Only Tia was aware of what the witch had done.

‘Take this horse to the castle,' Hyldi ordered one of her guards.

He picked up the bronze horse and the Trader stood by helplessly as Hyldi and her guards walked away. The small crowd around the stall melted away, leaving just a single man. He wore a long cloak
and a wide-brimmed hat that shaded half his face. Fair hair straggled greasily over his shoulders.

‘Well, Trader,' the man said, ‘seeing that the Lady Hyldi has taken your valuable bronze horse, perhaps you'll sell me one of your real ones now?'

‘Never,' the Trader said. ‘We'd never sell a horse to one of your kind.'

The man's face flushed. ‘Then perhaps I should follow the example of the Lady Hyldi and
take
what I want.' He pulled his cloak around himself and slouched away.

What had the Trader meant by ‘your kind'? Puzzled, Tia watched the cloaked man. She saw two soldiers approach him. The men were too far away for Tia to see clearly but she thought the soldiers were Hyldi's guards. They talked and then the man in the cloak followed the soldiers in the direction of the castle.

Tia was sure they were up to no good. She followed them.

The soldiers and the cloaked man strode along the castle tunnels, down to the deepest level. Tia thought they were going to the cavern of time bubbles but they stopped before they reached it, and a soldier hammered on an iron-banded door.

‘He's here, Lady,' he boomed.

‘Well send him in, fool!' Hyldi's voice shrieked.

The guards let the cloaked man in, closed the door and stood to attention.

‘It's about time those arrogant Traders got what's coming to them,' one of the guards said.

The other gave a harsh snort of laughter. ‘And Bragi is the one to do it!'

‘This time tomorrow they'll be sorry.'

Tia chewed her lip. The cloaked man, Bragi, and Hyldi were hatching a plan to harm the Traders
but she had no idea what it was. All she could do to help the Traders was warn them that something bad was going to happen tomorrow.

She sneaked back up the tunnels.

‘There you are!' Frida came hurrying towards her, shaking her head in exasperation. ‘Vanna sent me to find you – don't you know it's time to eat? Come on, we're waiting for you.'

‘But I have to…'

Frida put her hands on her hips, her face stern. ‘Vanna said I was to fetch you immediately.' She looked so like the Headwoman that Tia laughed, even though she was worried about the Traders.

‘All right.' Frida would drag her to the castle if she had to, rather than disobey the Headwoman! Tia would just have to warn the Traders later. And she was hungry. ‘I stopped to buy honey cakes.'

Frida grinned. ‘Vanna will be sure to forgive you, then – she likes them even more than you and I.'

Frida was right – Vanna ate more honey cakes than anyone else. ‘That's the last of them' she said regretfully, finishing off her third. ‘What else did you do in town, Sura, besides buy cakes?'

‘I went round the stalls – and I saw a very strange man.' Tia described the man in the cloak. ‘I think someone called him Bragi.'

‘He leads the bandits!' Frida said. ‘They raid travellers, and the Traders' trains too.'

‘Stay away from the likes of Bragi and his band,' Gunnar said sternly. ‘They're greedy for money.'

Tia nodded vigorously. Gunnar was warning her that Bragi would capture her for the reward if he could. But now she knew that the cloaked man was a bandit chief, she had to warn the Traders as soon as possible. Hyldi and Bragi were both angry with them; they must be plotting to raid them in revenge.