The War of the Grail (19 page)

Jack would have to do something now. He couldn’t just stand there and be shot. He was about to lunge forward, when the captain suddenly shoved the pistol in his holster, spun briskly on his heel and marched back towards the other cavalrymen.

‘Come on,’ the captain said. ‘There’s nothing here.’

One of the cavalrymen said, ‘But we saw—’

‘There’s nothing,’ the captain snapped. ‘They got away.’

Jack breathed out as he watched the horses clop back down the gully, turn the corner and disappear into the night. He realised now that he was still holding his breath and a layer of sweat was covering his face.

Kanvar gave a gasp and slumped forward, as if his legs had been shot out from under him. He clung to a rock to support himself, and his horse whinnied and gouged at the earth.

The veil of darkness vanished and Jack could see clearly again.

‘You need to rest.’ Jack put his hand on Kanvar’s shoulder. Clearly the Sikh was exhausted after using the power.

Kanvar nodded and swallowed. He seemed to be struggling not to vomit. ‘I will rest. But first we must hide.’

Jack glanced around at the rocky slopes looming about him. Kanvar was right. The Rajthanans could come back at any time. He and Kanvar would have to scramble up to the forest as best they could, dragging the horses along with them.

Then suddenly he felt hot breath on the back of his neck and a hand slid over his mouth. His heart shot into his throat. He went to grasp for the knife in his belt, but stealthy fingers were already slipping it away. He brought the Lightning yantra to mind, but whoever was behind him held a dagger to his throat and whispered, ‘Try anything and you’re dead.’

Jack let the yantra slip away.

Figures flickered from the shadows ahead of him. Five European men emerged from the darkness, two of them carrying ancient flintlock muskets on their shoulders. They all wore peasant clothing that was tattered and worn, and their faces were gaunt, their grey skin hanging from their scalps. There was a look of grim desperation in their eyes, a look Jack had seen plenty of times before.

The men were starving.

One of the group strode up to Jack. He was a tall man who must have been a powerful giant once, but now he was a thin wraith. Much of his hair had fallen out but several long clumps remained clinging to the back of his head.

He stared at Jack. ‘Keep your voice down. We won’t harm you.’

He then nodded to the person standing behind Jack, who lowered the dagger and stepped away. Jack glanced back and saw that his assailant was another haunted-looking man in ripped clothing.

Kanvar was coughing and leaning against a boulder. He appeared too weak to even raise his head.

The tall man gestured towards the far end of the gully. ‘The heathens could be back any time. We’ll get you out of here.’ He turned to leave. ‘Follow us.’

‘Hold on,’ Jack said. ‘Who are you?’

The man looked back over his shoulder. ‘No time to talk. You come with us or stay here and get shot by the heathens. Your choice.’

Jack turned to Kanvar. ‘Can you walk?’

‘I will try.’ Kanvar pushed himself away from the boulder and managed to stand upright.

Jack took the reins of both of the horses and led them up the gully, following the group of peasants. Kanvar stumbled along beside him, continually swallowing as if he were fighting off nausea.

After they’d gone about ten yards, the tall man, who appeared to be the group’s leader, gestured to the slope to his left. Jack peered into a knot of shadows and now noticed a thin gap between two rocks. Beyond this lay a track that led up the empty scarp towards the forest.

The peasants slipped between the boulders and jogged up the path. Jack and Kanvar scrambled after them. The track angled steeply uphill and the horses skidded and slipped in the sandy soil.

The dark line of the woods rose ahead. The peasants were almost there already, but Kanvar was panting, wheezing and sweating heavily. He could barely walk.

‘Can you keep going?’ Jack asked.

Kanvar nodded, trying to catch his breath.

As they pressed on towards the forest, Jack glanced to his right and saw that he was high enough now to get a good look across the plains. The fires of the mills glimmered about half a mile away.

The peasants melted into the woods, but their leader stood on the track and waved frantically at Jack and Kanvar.

‘Hurry!’ he shouted down. ‘The heathens are coming back.’

Jack’s heart battered in his chest. Damn it. He and Kanvar had almost reached safety and now the bloody cavalrymen were returning.

He dragged at the horses and urged Kanvar on. The Sikh found some reserve of strength and clambered up the track on all fours. They made it into the trees, where Kanvar collapsed and lay panting on the ground.

The peasants crouched in the undergrowth and stared downhill. Jack squatted next to their leader and followed the tall man’s gaze. Ten riders were galloping past along the edge of the hills. Jack only noticed them because of the pale dust billowing behind them.

‘You reckon it’s the same men?’ Jack asked.

The leader nodded slowly, but didn’t speak.

A horn blared and the Rajthanans disappeared round the side of the hills.

Jack relaxed his shoulders. It looked as though he and Kanvar had escaped.

The group’s leader went to stand, saying, ‘We have to go.’

But Jack put his hand on the man’s shoulder. ‘Wait a minute. Are you going to tell me who you are now?’

The man’s eyes darkened. He gripped Jack’s wrist and shoved the hand away from his shoulder. ‘Who are
you
, stranger? You show up in our manor with those heathens after you. Then you vanish right before our eyes.’

Jack sat back on his haunches. ‘You saw that?’

‘Aye, we did. And we’re not too sure about you and your Rajthanan friend there.’ He nodded at Kanvar, who was now sitting propped up against a tree. ‘We were thinking to slit your throats. But we reckoned you can’t be all bad if the cavalry were after you.’ He sat forward. ‘So, again I ask. Who are you?’

The rest of the group gathered in a circle around Jack and their leader.

Jack sucked on his teeth. These men had helped him and Kanvar. He owed them some sort of explanation and he didn’t want to get into an argument, or worse. He held his hand out. ‘Jack Casey.’

The man narrowed his eyes and sniffed. Finally, he took Jack’s palm in his. ‘I’m Elias.’ He nodded at his comrades. ‘We’re all from around here.’

Elias’s eyes then strayed over to Kanvar.

Jack cleared his throat. ‘This is Kanvar. He’s not a Rajthanan.’

Elias grimaced. ‘Looks like a Rajthanan.’

‘He’s a Sikh. That uniform’s just a disguise.’

Elias shot a look at his colleagues. They all frowned and leant closer to get a better look at Kanvar.

Eventually, Elias turned back to Jack, ‘Whoever he is, he’s no friend of the Rajthanans. That much is clear.’

Kanvar bowed his head slightly, pressed his hands together and said in a weak voice, ‘Truth is God.’

Elias snorted and spoke to Jack as if Kanvar weren’t there. ‘He’s a sorcerer of some sort, then?’

Jack tensed. He and Kanvar could be in trouble if these men accused them of black magic. ‘He’s not a sorcerer. Just a yogin.’

‘Don’t you worry. We’re not out here hunting witches or warlocks.’ Elias rubbed his face with his hand. ‘We’ve seen a lot of terrible things anyway. If you and your friend are against the Rajthanans, we won’t give you any trouble.’

‘We’re grateful for your help. We won’t delay you any longer. We’ll be on our way.’

‘And which way is that?’

Jack paused and glanced at the men congregated about him. Should he tell them where he and Kanvar were going? ‘We’re heading east.’

‘East? If you go that way, you’ll only come across more heathens. Staffordshire’s crawling with them. And the army are on their way. Led by Vadula himself, they say.’

‘We’ll have to take our chances.’

Elias studied Jack closely. ‘Why are you going east?’

Jack thought quickly. These men weren’t enemies. But, at the same time, he didn’t like the idea of giving away too much information. ‘We’re …’ He couldn’t think of anything to say and flicked a look across at Kanvar.

‘We are meeting a colleague of mine,’ Kanvar said. ‘He has information that should help us fight the Rajthanans.’

Jack wasn’t sure it was a good idea to mention fighting the Rajthanans. He still didn’t know who these men really were.

But Elias simply nodded slowly, looking between Jack and Kanvar. ‘You’re fighting the Rajthanans? You’re crusaders, then? From Shropshire?’

Jack paused for a moment. How much more should he say? ‘Aye. We’re from Shropshire.’

Murmurs of approval rippled around the gathering.

Elias gave Jack a grim smile. ‘You’re crusaders. Then you’re among friends. We support your cause. Although I don’t like your chances. You’re facing a tough fight.’

‘We’ll do our best,’ Jack mumbled.

Elias scratched his balding scalp. ‘If you’re sure you want to head east, you’d best stay off the road. There are heathens and spies all over the place. Where exactly are you going?’

‘To a circle of stones,’ Kanvar said. ‘About six miles from here.’

Jack was surprised to hear this. Kanvar hadn’t mentioned that the meeting point was in a stone circle.

‘I know the place,’ Elias said. ‘A circle of stones. Put there by the ancients, they say. I can show you a better way to get there. There’s a path through the forest. The heathens don’t go along it. You’ll be safe. Safer than the road, at any rate.’

Jack glanced at Kanvar, who shrugged and nodded.

Elias’s offer was a good one. But Jack didn’t want more of a delay. He and Kanvar had already wasted valuable time fleeing from the Rajthanans and hiding in the hills. ‘How long will it take us to travel along this path?’

‘By horse?’ Elias eyed Jack’s mare, as if she could somehow provide the answer. ‘Two or three hours, I’d say.’

Jack weighed all this up in his head. Elias’s route would take longer than the road, but there would be less risk of being caught. ‘All right. We accept your offer.’

‘Good.’ Elias stood up. ‘We’ll take you—’

But before Elias could finish his sentence, one of his comrades grasped his arm and hissed, ‘Look. It’s here again.’

The peasants all scurried to the edge of the forest, squatted in the undergrowth and stared out at the plains. Jack clambered across to join them, while Kanvar crawled over on all fours.

At first, Jack couldn’t see what the men were looking at. But then he spotted it – a dark patch moving across the dark ground. He stared harder and made out angular metal and glints of fire. He traced a rounded abdomen, a head, segmented legs and claws.

It was the giant avatar from the forest.

Either that, or a creature exactly like it.

J
ack felt a tremor of nerves. The creature was three or four hundred yards away at least, but he still found himself worrying it would somehow see them up on the hill and launch an attack.

The peasants all whispered, muttered and made the sign of the cross.

Jack looked across at Kanvar. ‘You reckon it’s the same avatar?’

Kanvar gazed through his spyglass. ‘I suspect it is. I can see several broken stalks on its head. I destroyed them with my powers.’

Jack clenched his jaw. ‘It’s come all this way. You reckon it was following us?’

‘I do not know. Perhaps.’

Elias turned to Jack. ‘You’ve seen this beast before, then?’

‘Aye,’ Jack replied. ‘Just last night. Over the border in Shropshire.’

Elias stared back at the creature. ‘It comes past here often. Always at night. Some call it the Devil.’

Jack frowned. ‘It comes here often?’

‘Every few days. It comes and it goes across the border.’

‘Where does it go in Staffordshire?’

‘Couldn’t tell you. I’ve heard rumours it walks all the way to the army camp in the east.’

‘Vadula’s camp?’

‘Aye. That’s what they say. It walks for miles back and forth, spending a few days in the camp and a few days in Shropshire.’

Jack shot a look at Kanvar. ‘What do you make of that?’

Kanvar sat forward. ‘Strange indeed. It has undoubtedly been built by the Rajthanans. Perhaps it has been constructed by Vadula himself.’

‘And they’ve been sending it into Shropshire?’ Jack said. ‘Why?’

Kanvar pursed his lips. ‘I can only think to soften up the rebels. Perhaps to prepare the way for the army’s advance.’

‘That must be it.’ Jack tensed his hand into a fist. ‘So, they’ll be marching into Shropshire soon.’

‘It appears that way,’ Kanvar said quietly.

There was no need for either Jack or Kanvar to say more. It was obvious what the advance of Vadula’s forces would mean – the complete destruction of the crusade. There was no way the rebels could withstand combined attacks from the armies under Jhala, Vadula and the Lord of the Marches.

Jack knew he had to get to the Great Yantra as soon as he could. Even if he failed to use the yantra’s power, he might at least still have a chance of getting back to Folly Brook before any invasion.