Beyond the Shroud (18 page)

‘I don't get it,' said Rich for what seemed like the zillionth time.

Kai grinned at him through the bars. ‘A master of the Force-back fob you may be, Rich, but you sure ain't got a heavy head.' We were all clustered on the other side of our cell — the side adjoining Kai's. He'd shared his lunch between us, even giving a morsel of cheese and a crust of bread to Weevil, who was munching away at it so hungrily he'd completely forgotten about his spinning-top act.

Hannah was curled up on Kai's blanket in her cell with Tiger Lily snuggled under her chin, watching and listening.

‘They came for me two sunsets after I met you,' Kai was telling us in a low voice. The dimple had disappeared. ‘I woke to find them bending over me — the Faceless. I remember the stench of them … the chill of their shadows. Then nothing more, until the morn.

‘I came to my senses in the back of a wagon, under guard, bound, gagged and blindfolded — headed for
Shakesh, torture and certain death. I could not see or speak — but I could hear. And hear I did.

‘I heard the guards tell of a mystical creature that had appeared by magic on the upper levels of the temple, and used its powers to uncover and overcome a traitor to the king. I —'

‘Do you mean
Tiger Lily?'
blurted Rich. ‘It wasn't a traitor to the king we — I mean she — duffed up, it was one of those curator guys — the white one.' Then, remembering he wasn't supposed to know all this, he flushed.

Kai shot me the ghost of a wink that told me he knew — or suspected — a lot more than he was letting on. ‘Aye, I do mean Fang — the Mauler — she you call Tiger Lily. It seems the Curator was selling the Potion of Invisibility in secret, for his own profit. It was to procure phials of potion to sell under cover of darkness that he crept to the upper level of the temple — forbidden even to the Curators at that hour — just before the noon closing.

‘The Curator was in the wagon with me, though I did not know it then. As was Fang — and she I
could
hear, hissing and growling at all who approached her makeshift cage. Then the jolting of the cart on the rutted road dislodged the fastening, the door sprang open, and Fang escaped. In seconds she was gone — into the upper branches of a tall tree, from whence even the bravest of the guards could not recover her. At last they hit upon a plan — to send the prisoner, who had no choice in the matter.' He grinned. ‘I have always been good at climbing. All too soon I reached her and held out a trembling hand … and she gave a grumbling growl and rubbed her silken head against it. And I carried her down, tame as a glonk.

‘We reached Shakesh, and I was cast into the dungeons. As for Fang — she became an instant favourite of the king. He kept her in a gilded cage beside his throne and
tempted her with sweetmeats, hoping to make a pet of her. But they say she was as one possessed — pacing the confines of her cage with burning eyes, refusing to sleep or eat. Within days she had faded to a shadow of skin and bone, death staring from her sunken eyes. King Karazeel ordered his sorcerer to find a way to save her, or his own head would roll. And it was only then that Evor hearkened to the whispers of the guards: tales of the one who had gentled the Mauler … and now festered in the depths of the dungeons.

‘And that is how I became the Keeper: part captive, part courtier … and one in whom the king's trust grows with every sun that rises.'

‘But Kai — he's evil! Surely you aren't …
on his side,
now?'

‘On the side of King Karazeel, Kenta?' Kai's face was grim, and though we knew the dungeon was deserted, he lowered his voice. ‘Never. I am sworn to the Believers — the secret army that grows daily in the shadow of the evil reign of Karazeel, awaiting the return of the True King.'

‘Zephyr?' breathed Jamie.

‘Aye, Zephyr — the Lost Prince of the Wind. The time of the prophecy draws nigh … and Karazeel knows it. Even now, he is building a new fortress in the west, in the shadows of Dark Face: The Stronghold of Arraz. They say it will be mightier even than Shakesh, and that none — not even the True King — will be able to storm it.

‘But if I can gain the trust of Karazeel, maybe I will be able to work towards his downfall from within those walls when the time comes.

‘My friends, I believe it was not by chance that I was captured by the Faceless and brought to Shakesh.
There be patterns in the tapestries of destiny, yet those caught in the weave find the patterns hard to see.
'

I felt a strange thrill at Kai's words. I'd heard them
somewhere before … but where?

‘So you're planning to win the trust of King Karazeel, and kick him in the teeth if you get the chance? Wicked, Kai — way to go!' Rich's eyes gleamed.

‘Yeah, that's great,' said Jamie bleakly. ‘But, at the risk of sounding selfish, it doesn't help us much. We've found Hannah, but she's locked in a separate cell with bars as thick as my arm, too close together for anyone except Tiger Lily to squeeze through. We've found Tiger Lily, but if we took her home — not that there's any chance of that — your head would be on the block. One of us has been changed into a chatterbot, and it doesn't show any signs of wearing off. And Gen —' he gulped — ‘Gen's going to have her tongue cut out and be made into a slave. As for the rest of us: we've been saved for now … but who knows how long it'll last?'

Right on cue came the echoing clang of the portcullis. We moved hurriedly away from the bars and huddled by the back wall, exchanging uneasy glances. But we needn't have worried. At the sight of the small procession entering the dim dungeon, every face broke into a broad grin of sheer disbelief.

At the head of the column strode the Captain of the Guard, and behind him marched three page boys, each carrying a laden tray. I blinked and rubbed my eyes, wondering if I was dreaming … but the rich aromas escaping from the silver covers and tickling our nostrils were unmistakably real.

The Captain unlocked our door; the pages filed in and set the trays down on the floor. The four of us sat there gawking. Were we hallucinating … or had the king really decided to hand-deliver us a four-course gourmet banquet — courtesy of the Mauler?

The Captain gave us a rather nasty grin, slammed the cell door behind the retreating backs of the serving boys,
and locked it. ‘His Excellency High King Karazeel of Karazan has toyed with you enough,' he snarled. ‘He bids you enjoy the Feast of Karazeel. I will return within the hour to collect —' that strange smile again — ‘the remains.'

With that, he turned on his heel, hung the key on its hook and left.

Jamie and Rich were over at the trays in a flash. ‘Hey, Adam, check this out!' squeaked Jamie, lifting one of the silver domes. ‘A whole roast chicken — and roast potatoes! Real crunchy ones, too!'

‘And this tray's full of desserts — steamed syrup pudding, and chocolate eclair-type things — raspberry buns — and what looks like pecan pie!'

After a second's hesitation Kenta had joined them, and was lifting the lids of the last two salvers. ‘Fruit — fresh fruit! And crusty rolls, still warm — with butter and honey!'

Before I could stop him, Jamie reached out and grabbed one of the roast potatoes. He was right, it did look crispy … and it sounded crispy too, as he bit into it with a crunch that echoed round the walls of the dungeon.

‘Hang on, Jamie!' I squawked. ‘I don't think we should …'

I looked over at Kai for support. Their hands full of food, Jamie's cheeks bulging, the others followed my gaze.

We all froze.

Kai's face was grey, and he was clutching the bars as if he was about to fall.

‘What is it?' I was first to speak. ‘Kai — the food — is it …'

‘Poisoned?' breathed Kenta.

Jamie spat out a huge glob of half-chewed potato.

But Kai shook his head wordlessly.

‘What then?' Rich's voice was rough in the silence.
‘What is it?'

At last Kai spoke, with a terrible gentleness. ‘The food is safe to eat, my friends. Enjoy it … if you can. For you have been sent the Feast of Karazeel — the Feast of the Damned.'

‘How long do we have?' My voice sounded oddly calm and matter-of-fact.

‘Not long. An hour at best.'

‘So we have an hour to get out of here. Or else … there
is
no or else.'

Suddenly, the platters of food might not have existed. Instead, we stared hopelessly at the thick iron bars, the stout locks, the rack of keys that might as well have been on the moon. The seamless stone walls; the roof above us, invisible in the shadows. Two portcullises lay between us and the stairways to the rest of the castle. There was no escape. Except …

‘The only missing piece is Gen. We've found Hannah and Tiger Lily. Even Kai. If Gen was here we'd be done and dusted and on our way home. Blue-bum, will you
stop
twirling and keep quiet!'

But Kai was staring at Weevil with a strange look on his face. ‘Adam,' he said, ‘have you used it yet?'

‘Used what?'

Kenta's face lit up, and she clutched my arm so tightly it hurt. ‘Of course —
of course!
How could I have been so stupid! It's been right under our noses — I should have realised!'

‘Realised what?' growled Rich impatiently.

‘Weevil's a chatterbot! And I actually
said
it in Chattering Wood …'

Suddenly I understood what Kenta was on about — and like her, I could have kicked myself. I could hear her words clearly in my mind: ‘In the game, they were cute little furry things —
if you caught one, it could give you a wish.'

We stood in a circle round Weevil, who was squatting on his bright blue haunches on the cold stone floor. ‘I still think we should wish for a million more wishes …' said Jamie wistfully.

‘Nay, Pinkie — magic don't work if you be greedy.'

‘OK then.' Rich took a deep breath, frowning with concentration. ‘Here goes. I hope I get this right. Weevil: we wish … we wish …'

‘We wish Gen was here with us, in this cell,
NOW!'
Jamie blurted.

Instantly, Weevil started to spin. Round and round he spun, like a spinning top, faster and faster, till at last he was a blur in the middle of the floor. Suddenly there was a loud POP, like a cork coming out of a bottle … and Gen was standing next to Jamie.

Weevil collapsed on the floor in an exhausted heap like a bundle of rags, but all our eyes were on Gen. ‘Gen …' said Jamie warily, ‘are you … OK?'

It was clear she wasn't. Last time we'd seen her, she'd been dressed in a ragged brown tunic and cloak, woollen
hose and leather boots. Now, she wore a long gown of sky-blue satin girded with a skein of plaited silk, and flat leather sandals. She was cleaner than she had been for days, and her hair had been washed and hung in a tidy plait down her back.

But it wasn't her clothes that made us all stare at her as if she was a stranger. It was the look on her face: a dazed, unfocused look, almost as if she didn't recognise us.

‘Is that … Gen?' Kai croaked in disbelief. For a second I didn't understand, but then I remembered that last time he'd seen her she had looked very different from the beautiful girl standing on the cold stone floor.

‘Yeah — it's Gen all right. But …'

Then she spoke. ‘Take me to my master. I await his bidding.' Her voice was flat and expressionless, like a robot — and totally unlike the Gen we knew.

‘What are you talking about, Gen?' Kenta was beside her, peering into her face. ‘Who do you want us to take you to?'

Gen looked through her as if she wasn't there. ‘I await the bidding of King Karazeel,' she said in the same dreary monotone. ‘His wish is my command.'

We gawked at her, dumbstruck. ‘Have you gone crazy?' Richard stuck his face two centimetres from hers and scowled fiercely. ‘Five minutes ago you were saying you'd rather be dead than serve him, and now listen to you!'

I looked into Gen's blank blue eyes, and suddenly I understood. ‘You're wasting your breath, Rich,' I said grimly. ‘It's not her fault. She's been brainwashed … or hypnotised, or something.'

‘Aye. Evor has brewed potions for many things, and blind allegiance to the king be one of them. I have heard whispers that he works on others yet more powerful …' Kai's voice trailed away, and he shook his head.

‘Does it … like … wear off?' croaked Jamie.

‘Never mind!' I said urgently. ‘The only thing that matters is, we've got Gen! We're all together and we can head on home!' I was digging in my bag as I spoke. Hannah was pressed against the bars of her cell, Tiger Lily in her arms, her eyes sparkling.

‘Will I see Q again? And Bluebell?'

‘You betcha, kiddo.' I held up the microcomputer. ‘Here it is, guys. Kai …'

I turned to face him. He was standing very still, watching us.

‘Kai,' I said awkwardly, ‘what we told you before … about Winterton. It was true — it is a distant land. But it wasn't the whole truth.' I felt my face turn red. What I was about to say … well, it would sound real weird, and I doubted Kai would believe it. Still … friends forever. He deserved to know.

‘Winterton is in … another world. And that's where we're from. It's called … I guess it's called … Earth.'

There was a long silence. Then Kai spoke, very softly. ‘So. The legends be truth. The tales of a portal in the Cliffs of Stone …'

‘Nope — we didn't come through a portal, whatever that is,' said Rich cheerily. ‘We came through a computer — and that's how we're going back. Come on, everyone: let's not waste any more time.' He grabbed Gen's wrist and dragged her to the bars between Hannah's cell and ours, the others hustling along behind. Weevil staggered to his feet and reeled up to me, clutching the leg of my breeches with one paw.

‘Kai — we can take you with us, if you want to come.' He shook his head. I thought I could see a gleam of tears in his eyes, and knew that for his sake, I must keep it brief. ‘Then there's just one last thing. Tiger Lily.' I met his gaze levelly.

‘Aye.' The softest whisper. ‘I know that Fang belongs
with you — with the little princess.' He tried to smile. ‘I knew in my heart that she be a creature from another world … and now, the time has come when she must go back there. Farewell, Fang … Tiger Lily. And … forever farewell, friends.'

He stroked Tiger Lily's silken head. One by one, we clasped wrists … and then I reached through and hugged him, the cold iron of the bars between us. ‘Good luck, Kai,' I muttered. ‘All that stuff with Zephyr and Karazeel — I hope it works out for you, and that us taking Tiger Lily won't get you in a whole heap of trouble. You can always say you tried to stop us, I guess. Anyway, thanks … for everything.'

And then we were standing in a circle, hands clasped. Tiger Lily and Weevil were stowed in backpacks, Richard's hand firm on the back of my neck.

The Feast of Karazeel lay forgotten on the floor. The screen of the microcomputer glowed ghostly green in the gloom. I gave the others a grin; rested my fingers gently on the three keys. Alt Control Q.

‘So long, King Karazeel!' I said — and I don't think any words ever sounded so good. I pressed the keys.

And nothing happened.