The Catastrophe of the Emerald Queen (14 page)

Jared watched and without
warning the light in the room dimmed gradually until it was just a
bare glow. He waited puzzled, wondering if the reduced light was
some form of handicap to make the task more difficult. Both figures
stood rigid, not moving, the bows held at waist height. 

The sound of breathing was the
only thing that could be heard now. 

The seconds dragged on and suddenly light flashed in two
places, very close together at the end of the hall. Jared winced
against the sudden flare and from the bright blue
radiance
two huge creatures emerged. Except they weren’t real. They
were made of light. Both appeared to be some type of huge pig with
tusks like a warthog and hugely powerful forelegs. They were yellow
and then blue and then red, the colours changing as Jared watched
transfixed. They were like moving holograms, snorting loudly and
stamping their feet. They looked around as if getting their
bearings and then focused on Bue and Leppard and snarled loudly,
throwing their heads back and roaring. Then they lunged forward,
charging at the two figures who stood stock still in front of them.
Both Bue and the teacher raised the bows and fired, seemingly
simultaneously. The bolts passed through the transparent shapes
without slowing and hit with a double thunk into the straw boards
behind them. The pigs squealed as the bolts passed through them and
suddenly vanished, fading in a second as if nothing was
there.

 “
Master Bue, I believe you have
that one
.” The teacher
chuckled as he reloaded his bow. 

“
That I do sir
.” Bue smiled back, copying the man’s
motions.

 
When
they were reloaded they stood facing the targets again and there
was the previous expectant hush. Jared watched
fascinated. 

The lights flashed and this
time it was the see through spectres of two armoured soldiers that
appeared before them. As the light faded the soldiers glanced down
the hall and saw the two bow men. They roared in challenge and
screamed in an unintelligible tongue. Neither Bue nor Leppard
raised their bows. The holographic warriors shimmered from blue to
red and then stayed that colour, the tone brightening until they
were both bright crimson. They drew the short swords from their
belts and wihout any further hesitation suddenly charged, their
feet slapping noisily on the floor as their sandals pounded
down.

 
Both figures then raised their
crossbows and fired but Bue’s was slightly off mark and passed by
the shoulder of his opponent before hitting the safety board.
Leppard’s went through the running man’s face who stuttered in his
steps and then vanished abruptly as the sound of the bolt thudding
home echoed round the hall. The ghost soldier continued to charge
at Bue who stood facing it, his bow unloaded by his side as the
figure raised its sword and brought it down towards Bue’s head.
Jared wanted to shout a warning but as the sword flashed
down
, the same light that had
given birth to the man claimed him and he vanished; his scream
echoing and then fading away. 

Bue
turned to
Leppard. “Good aim sir, a fine shot”

 “
You’re too kind young master
Bue
,” the man replied
smiling, “but now is our real test.” 

The other boys edged forwards
to see what was going to happen next. Jared, already spellbound by
what he’d seen, wondered what could beat the previous two
challenges.

 
As Bue
and Leppard stood after cranking their bows and loading them for a
third time there was another dual flash of light and a loud squawk
as if a flock of birds were in the room.

 
Jared
looked towards the end of the room and saw what seemed like a dozen
large crows wheeling in spirals from the light points towards the
silhouetted figures. They screeched loudly, their cries carrying
and one behind the other wheeled crazily down the hall. Jared could
see that there were at least six racing towards each figure in
identical groups. They swooped around wildly, green eyes burning
bright and huge claws extended. Like the soldiers they became a
brighter and brighter shade of crimson as they hurtled down the
hall, spiralling around in a twisted, looping charge of ruby and
sapphire.

 
Leppard
raised his bow and fired and his bolt passed through one of the
murderous flock facing him. Almost simultaneously Bue raised his
and hesitated a fraction of a second before triggering. His shot
passed through the lead bird which screamed loudly and then
vanished. Leppard’s birds however continued to streak towards him
malevolently until they all seemed to hit an invisible barrier. One
by one they vanished into a shower of bright sparks just a few
inches from his face. He stood there without flinching as the birds
screeched into oblivion. Bue smiled triumpantly.

 
The
lights in the room became bright, the only sign of the epic
demonstration were the bolts embedded in the targets..

 “
Well young master, it seems
you have earned your sash
,”
Leppard said smiling and reached into his pocket, taking out the
red and gold cloth and handing it back to the grinning
boy.

 “
Thank you sir, you are a fine
shot
.” 

Leppard smiled and winked at Bue then turned to the boys.
“Now then, form up. You know the drill, two
lines
.”

 
Bue
walked over to Jared still grinning. “Pretty good eh?” he
said. 

“
How come you won that last one?” Jared asked,
confused. “You both hit a bird and his bolt hit before
yours
.”

 “
Ah ha
.” Bue replied pointing his empty bow at the targets
and looking back down the hall. “It’s not that you have to kill any
bird. You have to kill the leader. I did, he
didn’t.”

Chapter
8

Jared lay back on his bed
couldn’t sleep. His mind was still racing over what he’d seen in
the past day. Despite reassurances he was worried about his family
and knew they must be frantic with worry. He pulled the thin
blanket up to his chin and looked across the room. Bue was already
fast asleep, his cheek resting on his clenched hand. He snored
quietly as he slept. Around them the other eleven boys lay in bed,
most sleeping. Only the odd grunt or cough punctuated the dark
silence in the dorm room.

Jared finally felt his eyelids
slowly close and his last, sleepy thoughts were of the charging
hogs he’d seen Bue and the bow instructor face in the hall.

Challandra hummed happily to herself as she set about
taking in the dry clothes from the boiler room. The big wooden
basket she was carrying was heavy but she
hefted
it easily. She
had been concerned for the new boy when he arrived but from what
she’d seen he’d fitted in and had even made friends with that
rascal Bue. She smiled to herself as she thought of Bue. Orphaned
three years ago when his mother and father died in a boat accident
on the Solitary Sea. He was totally uncontrollable for the first
six months. Only Madame Veer had been able to reach out to him but
even her efforts took time. Finally his grief and rage had subsided
and the gentle boy beneath the surface had begun to emerge. His
father had been a keen huntsman and Leppard’s prowess with a bow
had been something that Bue respected and was even in awe of.
Within a year he’d become the finest shot with a bow that anyone
could remember, rivalling Leppard himself. Leppard had seen the
boy’s pride in his ability and had fed the passion that Bue
approached the sport with. He challenged him seven months ago to a
competition with Leppard’s Sharp Eye sash as the prize. Bue had
lost the first few attempts but kept coming back, practising every
spare moment that Madame Veer and Leppard would allow. The boy’s
reaction to finally gaining the prize had been moving to say the
least. True to form Bue had played it down, trying to act like it
was no big deal and rarely talking about it unless asked.
Challandra was happy to see that he’d taken the new boy under his
wing.

 
She
whistled to herself as she placed the last of the dry clothes in
the basket and opened the door. As she stepped into the corridor a
huge hand clamped over her mouth stifling any sound she could
make.

 “
Don’t struggle and don’t try
and scream
,” a deep voice
whispered clearly but with deadly sincerity. She dropped the basket
with a clatter, the clothes spilling out. The figure pulled her
into the darker recesses of the corridor. Her hands tugged on the
iron fingers over her mouth and she saw glimpses of metal and
armour. Flashes of yellow and silver. A bearded man turned towards
and glared as the figure pulling her came to a
halt.

 “
My apologies for this miss. My
friend will take his hand away now, but if you scream or try to
move he will kill you. Nod if you understand
.”

 
Challa
ndra nodded slowly and the vice-like grip relaxed and
the hand withdrew. She turned around and there appeared to be many
armed men in the darkened space. They were near the caretaker’s
lodge and she was glad the old man and the other day staff had gone
home.

 “
Now miss
,” the voice said with the same chilling menace.
“The boy who was brought here. Where is he?”

 
Challandra’s heart was racing
as she swallowed and answered quickly
. “Where do you think? He’s with the other
boys.”

 
The figure was silent for a
moment then said
, “is the
Caracalic with him?”

 “
No, he left this
afternoon
.”

 “
Good.
One more question miss and then we can get about our business. Is
there anything else we should know about?”

 
Challandra knew straight away
what he meant
. “No, if you’ve
got this far then the magic won’t hurt
you.” 

“
That’s very good miss. While we fetch the boy
you’re going to stay with my friend. If I find you’ve lied to me I
will come back. Is there anything you feel you’d like to tell me
before it’s too late?
” His
voice was still a harsh, cruel whisper in the shadows and
Challandra’s mind raced. 

“
No, there’s no security here. We’ve never needed
it before
.”

 
Without
further conversation the soldier grabbed her roughly, again
clamping a hand over her mouth to prevent any noise.

 “
Right” the leader whispered.
“We get the boy and leave. Anyone gets in the way…well, I think you
know what to do
.”

 
The men
chuckled and slowly withdrew their swords which rasped from the
scabbards. Challandra went wide eyed with fear and struggled
against the grip but the man held her tightly. 

The leader
signalled
to her captor and then quietly began to move his group off down the
corridor in the direction of the boys’ room.

Jared lay in the darkness and
finally felt sleep descending. His mind and body were exhausted
from the day’s events and he wished nothing more than to get some
rest at last. When he closed his eyes he could see Mordalayn
standing on the dock. His sword flashing as he knocked down the
mercenaries. Jared yawned and as he did so a hand clamped down over
his mouth, stifling the shout of protest that rose up in his
throat.