Spook's: The Dark Army (The Starblade Chronicles) (9 page)

He’d given me no clue at all that he’d been considering this option. When I’d asked to go home he’d just brushed aside my pleas.

My heart soared with happiness. At last Tom had seen sense. I hated this cold war-torn land and felt homesick for the meadows and green hills of the County.

At last we were going home!

TOM KNOCKED POLITELY
, and then we entered the room I shared with Grimalkin.

She was sitting cross-legged on her bed and stared at us without blinking. The moment I saw her face I could tell that she knew what Tom was going to say – whether she had scryed it or was simply reading the intent in his eyes, I don’t know. Her gaze was anything but friendly. My powers didn’t work with the witch assassin – she kept me out – but my instinct was that we might be in real danger from her if she was angry.

Tom stood facing her while I closed the door. I grew more and more anxious. I knew that Grimalkin wasn’t going to like this. How would she react?

‘I’m going back to the County tomorrow,’ Tom told her. ‘I’m not fit enough for what you propose. It’ll take months for me to regain my strength – probably the whole of the winter – and I’m better off recuperating back home.’

‘You cannot leave now – it will disrupt my plans,’ Grimalkin spat. ‘Without you here, army morale will disintegrate at the first setback. The prince is expecting you to lead them.’

I was furious when I heard her say ‘my plans’. Why had Tom allowed himself to be caught up in her schemes in the first place? I wondered.

‘Why does it have to be now?’ Tom asked. ‘Wouldn’t it be better to attack the kulad in the spring?’

Grimalkin shook her head. ‘The Kobalos will not wait for spring. They are a people of cold and ice. Winter is their time. Within months their army will cross the river and overwhelm these small principalities. It is vital that we strike before that happens. What I can learn at the mage’s kulad will not save these border lands, but may well ensure the survival of the County. Our only chance is to act now.’

I couldn’t fault Grimalkin’s reasoning; I expected Tom to yield to her will – I’d watched her controlling him ever since we left the County. Why should that change? She was very persuasive. But, to my surprise and delight, he resisted.

‘I just can’t do it. I’m weary . . . I’ll be no good to you. You’re better off without me.’

‘You must do it! You
will
do it!’ Grimalkin growled, showing her pointy teeth.

‘Don’t threaten me!’ Tom cried, an edge of anger coming into his voice. ‘We’ve been allies in the past and will be in the future, but I need to rest. You should listen to what
I
want for a change.’

‘How can you let down Prince Stanislaw and the warriors who believe in you? The odds are against them – many of them will die in the coming conflict – but they have seen you defeat the Shaiksa assassin and survive death itself. Only your presence will give them the confidence to cross that river. You cannot refuse.’

‘I
do
refuse! When I fall off my horse with exhaustion, it won’t inspire anybody with confidence, will it?’

‘You will do as I say!’ cried Grimalkin, coming to her feet.

I couldn’t stand this. It was plainly wrong, a spook taking orders from a witch!

‘Do you think I can bear to see women enslaved and maltreated by the Kobalos?’ Grimalkin shouted. She and Tom were standing face to face now, their noses just inches apart. ‘Do you expect me to stand by and see more slaves taken as city after city falls under the yoke of our enemies? No, it shall not be! I will destroy the Kobalos forces and pull down the walls of Valkarky until all is a frozen wasteland and not one of the creatures lives! And
you
will play the part that I have shaped for you!’

‘No!’ Tom snapped angrily, his own voice raised for the first time. ‘I have been shaped and controlled by you! You brought me here without explaining what would be involved. All along you planned to pit me against the Shaiksa assassin but didn’t tell me until we reached the river. You never thought fit to warn me and let me make up my own mind about it. You led me into danger – into
death
– completely blind. I never asked to be a part of this. I need to be back in the County, fighting the dark in my own way. I’ve taken on an apprentice and my duty is to train her properly. That’s what I intend to do. I’ll spend my winter doing exactly that.’

Grimalkin let out a deep sigh and spoke again, her voice low. ‘For most of my life I have been motivated by vengeance,’ she explained. ‘I have only truly loved once. I have cared for others and been deeply hurt by their loss, but not totally devastated as I was when the Fiend slew the child who was at the centre of my life. I failed to protect that child, but with the help of others, particularly you,’ she went on, nodding at Tom, ‘I helped bring about the destruction of the Fiend. That was something that shaped me; that made me what I am. So I too have been forged into a weapon on an anvil of pain. Now I recognize that I was born for a specific purpose – to destroy the Kobalos. We will win in the end – I promise you that, whether you choose to help or not. But you have disappointed me. I expected more of you.’

Tom sighed, his expression resigned. Now, once again, I feared that he would yield to her will. But then that determination I’d seen in the Tom of old came back.

‘I’m sorry, but I can’t help you this time. I’ll travel back with Jenny tomorrow. If you still wish it, I’ll return in the spring.’ He turned to me. ‘I’ll see you in the stables just before dawn. Don’t be late.’

Then he left, closing the door behind him, leaving me alone with Grimalkin. I looked at her fearfully, but she simply gave a sigh to match Tom’s and then smiled at me.

‘You look tired, child. Get yourself to bed. Things will seem better in the morning.’

I was surprised by how pleasant Grimalkin was being. I would have expected her to be angry and snap at me.

I took her advice. No sooner had my head touched the pillow than I fell into a deep sleep.

Suddenly I was in the grip of what seemed like a terrible nightmare. The room was in total darkness and someone was pinning me to the bed. I fought to get free, but it was useless – I was being held in an iron grip.

All at once I realized that it wasn’t a nightmare after all; it was really happening to me. I was on my back and someone was stuffing something into my mouth – it felt like a ball of cloth. I began to cough and choke.

Then I felt two fingers being pushed up into my nostrils and my head was filled with a stinging, burning sensation. I couldn’t breathe, and I panicked, bucking and twisting, trying in vain to escape. But I couldn’t get free – and then, suddenly, the fingers were removed.

I could breathe again, but I felt strange and light-headed, as if my soul was drifting away from my body into an ocean of darkness. It was as if I didn’t care what happened to me; nothing mattered any more.

Then I was lifted up and slung over somebody’s shoulder. I heard a door close somewhere behind me, then footsteps echoing along a passageway, but I could see nothing and I suddenly realized that there was something wrong with my eyes. After a while the air grew colder and there was a breeze on my face and I knew that we were outside.

I could hear voices in the distance that grew louder as we approached – along with whinnies and snorts.

The person carrying me came to a halt and spoke. ‘Take good care of her. I’ll see you in two days.’

It was the voice of Grimalkin.

I WAS UP
well before dawn, and dressed quickly. I feared that the prince might try to prevent us leaving if he spotted us. The main meal in the castle was a five-course supper with lots of ale, so few wanted breakfast. Down in the kitchens, the cooks and their assistants were still sleeping, so I helped myself to food and packed our saddlebags with provisions. We’d have to buy more on the journey, but I had coin enough for that.

I waited for Jenny, but the sky was already beginning to lighten to the east and there was still no sign of her. I began to pace up and down impatiently. I didn’t want to be spotted riding away. Finally I went up to her room. She’d been tired the previous night. Perhaps she’d overslept . . .

I rapped on the door impatiently and called her name, but it was the voice of Grimalkin that bade me enter. I opened the door and went in. I expected her to try to talk me out of leaving, but I was determined to stay firm.

Grimalkin was sitting cross-legged on her bed in exactly the same position as when I’d left the night before. There was no sign of Jenny.

‘Where’s Jenny?’ I asked. ‘She’s not at the stables.’

‘She’s gone north in the care of Prince Kaylar.’

I stared blankly at Grimalkin, attempting to make some sense of what she’d just said. ‘Why would she do that?’

‘I placed her in his care,’ the witch assassin told me. ‘He has ridden out towards the kulad with a small patrol to assess its defences and monitor the movement of Kobalos forces in the region.’

‘She wouldn’t have gone willingly!’ I said angrily. ‘Why have you done this? What has she done to deserve being placed in danger like this?’

‘You are right – she did not go willingly. I used a narcotic and a little magic, but nothing that will cause her permanent harm. I did it to force you into riding with us. I know that you will not go home and abandon your apprentice. We ride immediately. The best way for you to ensure her safety is to lead us as I planned. Is that not so?’

‘Are there no lengths you won’t go to?’ I asked, angered by Grimalkin’s deceit. She must already have been planning this when she spoke to me last night.

She shrugged and gave a little smile. ‘I simply do what must be done. Within a week we will be back here. Then you may ride home with your apprentice.’

I hoped that Jenny was all right. It was my duty to ride after her and ensure her safety as far as I could – after all, it was my fault for bringing her to this place – but I liked the girl and would have gone anyway. I would ride out with the army – I had no choice now – but I was seething inside and worried about Jenny. Grimalkin could be ruthless and had displayed that quality now. Being taken towards the kulad would put Jenny in danger of death and if the Kobalos caught her, she’d end up a slave, tortured every day to teach her obedience.

Grimalkin had beaten me and now she controlled me once more. I wished I had never listened to her. I should have stayed in the County.

We left the castle and rode north; after two hours, we crossed the Shanna River, using the same ford where I’d fought the Shaiksa assassin, Kauspetnd. I remembered how I’d struck his head from his body; how it had rolled across the stones and into the shallow water, the blood swirling away with the current.

His sabre had pierced my guts simultaneously, but I hadn’t felt any pain. I recalled how I’d looked down at the hilt in astonishment, knowing that the blade had passed right through me. I’d watched my own blood trickling onto the stones. The pain came again – and with it the intense cold and fear of death.

I felt nauseous and swayed in the saddle, almost falling off into the water. I was weak for almost an hour afterwards.

Our army marched in six columns; with the exception of Prince Kaylar, each prince rode at the head of his own cavalry, with his foot soldiers bringing up the rear. By far the largest was the central column commanded by Prince Stanislaw. I rode on his left, with Grimalkin on his right. In Prince Kaylar’s place was his eldest son. He was only eighteen and not experienced in war, but Grimalkin told me he had trusted the warriors at his back and advisers at his shoulder.

He didn’t belong here, and neither did I. I was only seventeen – barely old enough to function as a spook, never mind as the leader of this army. But I was doing my best, riding with my head held high, even though my breathing was laboured and I ached in every joint.

It was vital that I made this pretence work, otherwise we would not link up with Prince Kaylar’s force and be able to save Jenny.

I was very anxious about her. Grimalkin had explained that Prince Kaylar’s patrol was small, numbering no more than forty men. If the Kobalos spotted them, they’d soon be overwhelmed and either slain or taken prisoner. If Jenny survived such a battle, she’d end up as a slave in Valkarky. My anger at Grimalkin simmered away at that thought.