The Catastrophe of the Emerald Queen (4 page)

 
The man ran, the fact he was
also carrying Jared seemed to make no difference to his speed as he
sprang nimbly along the track.
“Let me GO!”
Jared
cried out, thrashing madly.

 
The light of
Terminal 3’s train platform was getting ever brighter. Jared could
see the train on the platform and to his horror saw it start to
move towards them as they ploughed down the tunnel.

 
The train’s lights were
dazzling and as they ran Jared could see nothing and closed his
eyes as the blinding glare shone in his face. The man ran up to the
platform edge and just as the train reached them he leapt onto the
platform. Jared’s scream was drowned out by the roar of the
locomotive and the wind blasting his face. Without pausing, his
captor ran through the nearest exit and made for a service
door.
People stared
gobsmacked. He charged up a darkened staircase and emerged at a
security entrance. Jared winced as he saw the door looming towards
him but the man twisted at the last moment and turned his shoulder
to the frame. Pushing Jared behind him he barged into it and the
magnetic security seal cracked loudly. They were on a similar area
to the one they’d been on when all this started in terminal 5. He
craned his neck to look up as the figure holding him scanned the
area frantically. A police officer nearby was talking on his radio
and staring at them in astonishment
.

 “
Hey!”
he yelled, releasing his grip on the radio and raising
his machine gun.
“Armed
police! Stand still!”

 
The figure paid the officer no
heed and suddenly sprinted off to the right. The officer lowered
his gun and grabbed the radio again
. “1142 to control, he’s here and he’s headed to the
Departures area!”

 
The hooded figure leapt
agilely around, then vaulted the
security barrier and hurtled through the queue, shoving people
aside. He charged towards the metal detectors while bewildered
security personnel stared blankly at them both and scattered. The
alarms screamed loudly as he ran through and hurtled on. Jared had
ceased to struggle now. He was too frightened and confused. In the
back of his mind he realised that keeping quiet meant he might have
a chance of getting out of this without being
hurt.

 
The man bolted along
the linking tunnel to the Departures lounge, the few early morning
passengers flinching to one side or the other as his heavy boots
thudded down the carpeted corridor. Another armed cop came out
ahead of them and dropped to one knee, raising his machine gun and
yelling at them to stop.

 
Halfway down the corridor was
a fire exit, the handle taped up with a big red sign saying “DO NOT
OPEN EXCEPT IN EMERGENCY
.”
The stranger skidded to a halt and ran at it, kicking the door
hard. It shook in the frame but remained closed. Cursing loudly he
booted it a second time and the door opened. The restraining tape
snapped and fluttered outside, caught by the sudden blast of cold
air.

 
He leapt through the
door frame and Jared had a terrifying glimpse of the tarmac,
realised it was at least eight metres to the floor and before he
could scream they were suddenly down. The man’s knees bent and he
grunted slightly but then straightened and ran, this time parallel
to the building. A large aeroplane was pulling away from the
building, the turbines in the jets whirring loudly. Suddenly the
man skidded to a halt and dropped Jared on the tarmac who scrabbled
into a sitting position and found himself next to a motor cart,
loaded up with luggage. He looked up to see the hooded figure draw
his sword as two more black-clad shapes on hover boards swooped
down out of the sky, the same maniacal laughter heralding their
presence. Jared glanced over to the cockpit of the large jet and
saw the pilot and co-pilot’s looks of confusion turn to fear. The
jets whirred loudly and the plane halted its withdrawal from the
terminal.

 “
Meddling oaf,”
one of the flying creatures cackled
maliciously as it flitted past then up and away, taunting
them.

 “
Oafish meddler,”
the other said as it flitted past
and away.

 
The man turned to Jared and
stared at him, his face still hidden behind the large hood he was
wearing.
“Stay there
boy!!”
he shouted in a
muffled voice and whirled as the second creature flew down
shrieking and then swooped away as the big sword was swung at
it.

 
The driver of the
luggage cart that Jared was next to looked out in fear from his cab
and then jumped down and ran into the building via an open staff
door. Jared wanted to run after him but was too petrified to
move.

 
The two flying monsters flew
back up into the air, about 20 metres from the ground and pointed
at Jared while whispering to each other. One snickered and they
flew away from each other in opposite directions. Then they rushed
in at almost blinding speed towards where Jared sat with the
man
above him, standing guard like some immense
statue.

 
As the two howling
figures dived in the swordsman adjusted his stance and correctly
guessed that the first one was simply to throw him off. He ducked
as the board shot by where he had been a micro second before, fast
enough to take his head off. Then, almost too fast to see he swung
the three bladed weapon in a powerful arc at the second creature
that was rushing in, teeth showing in a yellowy, terrifying grin
with its arms outstretched to grab Jared. The blades cut through
the front of the board and it veered away, wobbling dangerously
with red smoke belting out from the gaping hole.

 
The creature
screamed as the board bucked and weaved in the air, careening
around and looping the loop, barely missing its colleague as it
spun wildly. Then with a deafening screech the board and the rider
flew straight into the left hand jet engine of the plane. There was
a grinding crunch and flames billowed out. Jared saw the pilot
grimace and shout into his radio. The same explosion of grey
shimmering particles hung in the air for a moment, dancing above
the orange flames and then the smoke from the fire smothered them
and they were gone.

 
The second creature glared
furiously at Jared and his savior.
“Nasty little interfering PIGS we have don’t we!!”
it hissed and launched its board
straight at them. The figure stood impassive as the monster hurtled
towards him and at the last moment shifted his grip on the sword to
one hand and stepped to one side, grabbing the creature by its
leather coat and pulling it clean off the board. The board zoomed
forward and embedded itself in the wall with an ear splitting
crunch of grinding metal.

 
The man flung the creature to
the floor and pointed his sword at its throat. The creature showed
no fear but instead glared up at its victor and
spat
. “To the Sea of Glass
with you! No one can stop us. That child will
DIE!!”

 
Without saying a word the man
brought the sword up over his head and then swung it down hard. The
creature exploded in a final screech of fury,
a shower of sparkling grey particles which again
swirled around before making a path to the chest of the swordsman,
his body momentarily shining and then returning to normal. Jared
glanced over and saw the board disintegrate like the previous
one.

 
The man sheathed his huge
sword and turned. Jared glared at him and snapped
“I’ll come ok, just forget the baby
carrying.”

 
The man paused for a
second then shook his head and scooped him up.

“
Oh, for God’s sake!”
Jared shouted but chose not to struggle as he’d
realised this did nothing except tire him out. The jet engine was
still on fire, black smoke and orange flames pouring out from the
crippled motor.

 
As the man ran on with Jared
tucked under his arm, the door ahead of them burst open and four
armed police officers spilled out onto the tarmac. They saw the
sprinting figure. One shouted the challenge as they raised their
machine guns. He didn’t slow in the slightest and bounded forward
relentlessly. The guns wavered and suddenly the man jumped high,
sailing over their heads and landing with barely a break in his
speed. The confused cops turned round and one
shouted
.
“HEY!!”

 
After another fifty or so
metres, he came to a piece of wall that looked older than the rest
and in the middle was an old service door. Jared could see that it
looked ancient, rusted and red and had clearly not been opened in
years. The man pushed Jared against the wall next to it and
shouted
.
“Don’t move!”
Reaching into his robe he pulled out a bright red crystal.
He gazed at it and spoke some strange words then hurled it at the
door. Jared flinched but before it could impact the metal, the
crystal exploded into rainbow coloured swirls. They spread slowly,
the colours forming into a square that fit the doorway exactly, the
frame glowing with a pulsating light. The man lunged forward and
grasped the handle. Jared expected it to remain stuck with the rust
but it opened easily and he looked away as pure white light dazzled
him. As it quickly faded and the view cleared, instead of an old
service corridor he was met by a mesmerizing sight of a red field
and a sky lit by what looked like the most spectacular sunset he’d
ever seen.

 
This incredible
sight was suddenly interrupted as the police officers ran up behind
them and a police car made its way from around the corner, siren
blaring noisily as it skidded to a stop. The man glanced over his
shoulder then leaned forward and grabbed Jared by his collar and
belt. As Jared yelled in protest, he swung him back and then flung
him through the open doorway.

 
The police ran to a halt ten
metres from the figure who whirled and stood there facing them, his
sword still sheathed. The car driver killed the siren and someone
shouted
. “
Armed police, stand still! Do NOT move!”
The man stared at them silent and
unmoving, his face hidden in shadow, the door open behind
him.

 
The driver of the police car
had two gold pips on each shoulder and appeared to be in charge. He
raised a megaphone and shouted through
it. “Place your hands on your head and drop to your
knees.”

 
The silent figure
made no attempt to comply and simply stared at them. The cops
shuffled nervously, their headsets crackling with frantic chatter
from their control room.

 
The officer shouted through
the megaphone
.
“
Just do as we say. Put your hands on your head and drop to
your knees.”

 
Without a word the
man simply turned on his heel and walked through the door, slamming
it behind him.

 
Jared staggered
backwards, his view of the runways and skyline at Heathrow airport
now gone as his kidnapper marched towards him. Impossibly, the door
he was now facing appeared to be the back door of a shed on a farm
He was all dusty where he’d landed and while before he’d been too
caught up in what was going on to be really scared he was now very
frightened.

 
The man walked
forward and stood over him, the dying sunlight bathing his robe in
red light. As if sensing Jared’s unease he reached up and grasped
the sides of his hood and pulled it back and yanked down the black
scarf that covered his mouth and nose. Jared gasped as he saw the
man wasn’t a man but had the head of a large Caracal hunting cat.
The ears were tall and black sticking up from its skull, its nose
coloured with a black tip, the whiskers long. The fur was a light
brown and it had long hair, like a human, extending from behind the
ears, tied back with a purple cord.

 
The cat man looked at him and
after a pause said slowly.
“Do not be afraid. My name is Mordalayn and I will not harm
you.”

Chapter 3

Jared tried to stand up but his
feet slipped and he fell over. Mordalayn reached down and gently
took his arm. Around them was a field of what looked like tall red
wheat stalks, waving lazily in the fading sunshine. The sky was a
magnificent array of orange, red and purple, the clouds lit up by
the dying shades of dusk. The house next to them was ramshackle.
The bricks looked old and the chimney on the top was crooked. Smoke
was puffing from it slowly and Jared could smell something like
stew cooking. 

The farm
creature nearest to them broke from its grazing to see what had
interrupted its task, then looked away disinterestedly and carried
on. Its four small horns moving as it munched away
contentedly.

 
The
wooden door was closed and Jared somehow guessed that if he opened
it he wouldn’t find himself staring at Heathrow’s
runways.

 “
Where are we?”
he
said to Mordalayn while trying to brush the dirt from his
sleeves.