The Island of Whispers (9 page)

Long Snout
squatted opposite the Watchers, glowering fiercely at them. Behind
him, the Inner Circle rats looked out expectantly from their nests,
like avid spectators hungry for sport to commence. On Long Snout’s
right, several Protectors crouched in a half-circle round a pool of
blood. A lifeless, unrecognisable bundle of raw flesh and matted
fur lay in the blood.

Long Snout
stirred, baring his fangs, directing his words at the Watchers.

‘
So,’ he hissed, ‘here are the other brave warriors who wish to
leave our society.’

The bundle
shifted momentarily. It emitted a gasp of agony. Two glazed,
pain-filled eyes opened, took in the scene and closed again.

‘
I’m sorry, comrades,’ the bundle wheezed.

Long Snout
nodded. A Protector dug into the heaving form at his feet, tearing
away another strip of bloody fur. Narrow Back’s shriek filled the
lair. His body shuddered for some moments and then became still
again.

A spasm of
fear jerked Long Ears. Urine trickled from beneath him. Twisted
Foot didn’t move. Instead, his eyes fixed on Long Snout, matching
the Chamberlain’s cold glare. He hadn’t killed before – that action
was the exclusive domain of the Hunters and Protectors – but he
could gladly kill now. Hate occupied his thoughts, keeping his own
terror at bay.

Long Snout
continued.

‘
Yes,’ he sneered, ‘your comrade – this pile of dung – has told
us all about your plot. Tonight, the fool came blundering into the
Protectors’ lair. He came through the sacred tunnel. Your escape
tunnel, warriors. As you can see, it was not too difficult to get
him to reveal his secrets.’

He looked over
to the guards by the tunnel.

‘
Get this useless creature out of here,’ he commanded. ‘Take it
back to the Watchers’ lair. Let it serve as a lesson for Sharp
Claws and his traitorous scum.’

Two guards
scurried across to Narrow Back. They proceeded to prod and nip him
until he was conscious again.

‘
Move!’ one of them screamed.

Slowly,
painfully, Narrow Back slithered along the ground. Streaks of blood
marked his tortured progress. He halted several times, and each
time the prodding and biting were renewed. Finally, their patience
gone, the guards grabbed at his flesh and dragged him, screaming
and pleading, the rest of the distance out of the lair.

Long Snout
turned his attention to the remaining Watchers.

‘
Now for the two other fools,’ he spat. ‘You! The small one
with the big ears! Tell me who leads this plot. Give me the names
of its members.’

Long Ears
squirmed forward on his belly. He stared at the ground in front of
the Chamberlain.

‘
Me!’ he squeaked. ‘It was my idea, Chamberlain. I am the
leader. There are only three of us.’

‘
Silence!’ screamed Long Snout.

Two Protectors
rushed up to the trembling Watcher. Each took hold of one of his
ears, pulling hard, tearing the flesh. The pain was excruciating;
the squeals high-pitched and deafening.

‘
Now the truth!’ Long Snout shouted over the din.

Twisted Foot
continued to stare at the Chamberlain, the lust to kill even
stronger now.

‘
He lies. I am the leader.’ The words were uttered boldly, with
no hint of fear.

The attack on
Long Ears stopped. The Chamberlain stooped down, bringing his snout
closer to Twisted Foot.

‘
Yes, you,’ he hissed. ‘The little cripple.’

He stepped
back again and then suddenly lashed out with one of his front
claws, slashing the Watcher across the top of the head. Twisted
Foot stifled the scream. He tried to maintain his stare, but blood
blurred his vision and stung his eyes.

Broken Tail
stepped up from behind and seized the Watcher’s neck in his jaws.
Twisted Foot felt the fangs bite deep, his life slipping away. He
had to struggle to speak.

‘
But there are ... only three of us ...’ he gasped through the
pain. ‘Long Ears ... Narrow Back ... and me ...’

Broken Tail’s
grip eased slightly. Long Snout appeared again through a red haze.
Twisted Foot could barely hear the words.

‘
Put the traitors in with the slaves. They will be executed –
slowly – during the Assembly. Their torment will be an example for
the whole of the Outer Circle.’

–
o –

–
Chapter Nineteen –

Belcher saw
them first.

‘
Visitors,’ he said to Slayer.

Both Slayer
and Slasher interrupted their feast to look down at the entrance
tunnel. They recognised the huge frame of the Master. A group of
the Master’s underlings squatted some way behind him.

Slayer spat
out a small bone.

‘
Let’s go,’ he ordered.

The three
Scavengers climbed down from the high ledge. The wall was nearly
perpendicular, but their descent was swift and nimble. As soon as
they were far enough away, others on the ledge pounced noisily on
the half-eaten carcass of the young she-slave.

When they
reached the level ground, Slayer moved ahead of his companions to
approach the Master. Their conversation was brief, but Slayer
seemed happy with the outcome. Then the Master departed with all
but two of his group. The prisoners he left behind huddled
together, their expressions bewildered, frightened.

The place was
not like any other part of the underworld. The walls of the lair
were high and steep, descending to the left and right in a series
of narrow ledges. Nests, crammed with slaves, occupied every inch
of each ledge. The floor stretching out from the entrance tunnel
stayed even for several feet and then dipped sharply into a deep
pit. The bottom of the pit also teemed with rats, their squirming,
jostling bodies almost obliterating sight of the murky pool at the
far end of the lair. Gangs of he-slaves roamed the pit; clambering
over their neighbours, they searched out the weak and undefended,
raping, killing, squabbling over murdered corpses. Shrieks and
cries rose up from the pit, combining with the constant chatter on
the ledges to produce a single, deafening cacophony.

The Scavengers
numbered more than twice the Inner and Outer Circle rats put
together. The prisoners’ senses reeled with the sights and sounds
of the multitude. Nothing could have prepared them for this
madness, this bedlam. They stared transfixed into the pit. The
heaving black mass reminded Twisted Foot of the maggots that he had
once seen in the belly of an old, decaying No-Legs which had been
washed up on the rocks. There was that same sense of agitation, of
mindless hysteria; that same blind frenzy.

Twitching
snouts began to emerge above the mass. Eyes, hungry and violent,
found the newcomers, recognised their vulnerability. A cry went up,
and the mass surged forward suddenly. Bodies leapt from the crowd
and clung to the wall of the pit. Twisted Foot and Long Ears
cowered back, but the three Scavengers who had come to greet Broken
Tail stood their ground.

Slayer glared
down at those on the wall.

‘
Get back!’ he commanded. ‘Or the lair will feast on your
miserable flesh tonight!’

There was a
brief moment of hesitation, and then the leading slaves slid back
into the pit. The crowd resumed its milling and jostling.

Slayer now
approached the prisoners. Like his two companions, he was small and
muscular. Old scars striped his coat, the harsh mementos of his
struggle to dominate the lair.

‘
Welcome to my kingdom,’ he said in a voice that was deep and
rough.

Still
quivering, the prisoners said nothing.

‘
Follow me,’ Slayer barked.

They climbed
up to the highest ledge on the lair’s left, Slayer in front, and
Slasher and Belcher taking up the rear. Slayer hissed fiercely, and
the slaves occupying his nest shot away. Not much remained of the
carcass that he had abandoned. He kicked the skeleton and scraps of
hide into the pit.

‘
Settle here,’ he ordered.

Twisted Foot
and Long Ears crouched down in the nest. Slasher crept close to
them, examining their wounds, licking the congealing blood.

‘
Let’s kill them now,’ he growled.

‘
Yes, let’s kill them,’ Belcher joined in.

Slayer pushed
the eager Scavengers away.

‘
No,’ he rasped. ‘The Master wants them kept safe. They’re to
be executed.’ His tongue curled round his large fangs. ‘Then we’ll
have their corpses,’ he added.

–
o –

–
Chapter Twenty –

Long Ears had
stopped trembling some time ago. His heart no longer thudded
wildly, and his breathing was now slow and measured. Warmth
radiated from his sleeping body.

Twisted Foot
had felt the tenseness slip away from Long Ears. He, too, had begun
to relax, despite the incessant madness below. We’re safe for the
moment, he said to himself. A respite. But such a respite! They’ll
come for us soon, and then ... We had been waiting anxiously for
the Assembly to begin. That was last night ... or is it still the
same night? He couldn’t remember. He knew only that the agony of
waiting was worse this time.

He looked
sadly at his companion. Poor Long Ears, he thought. He blames
himself for the mess we’re in. But it wasn’t his fault. It was me –
my mistake. I was wrong to choose Narrow Back. I should have been
more cautious. Narrow Back paid dearly for his incaution. Twisted
Foot shuddered when he remembered the bloody pulp and the horrific
screams. The penalty for my failure will be exacted soon. But the
others are all right, thank goodness! They’ve been spared. We kept
our heads. We showed courage, at least.

He looked up,
startled, from his thoughts. Slayer was prodding him roughly.

‘
Tell me,’ he said. ‘Why does the Master want to execute you?
What have you done?’

The three
Scavengers had crowded into the nest. Long Ears woke with a jolt.
Twisted Foot found it difficult to concentrate, to form the words.
He had to shout over the eternal din.

‘
It was because –’ he croaked, ‘because we wanted to leave this
world to form a new society.’

‘
Leave this world? Go where?’ Slayer looked amused.

Twisted Foot
hesitated. I don’t suppose it matters anymore, he decided.

‘
To the land across the water,’ he replied
defiantly.

‘
Land? Water?’ Slayer was incredulous now.

Belcher
pressed closer to Twisted Foot and belched loudly.

‘
He’s a dung-head, King-rat!’ he cried. ‘He’s mad!’

Twisted Foot
began to understand. He took a deep breath. Then he spoke clearly
and deliberately.

‘
Above this world, there is another world. A world with light
as well as darkness. It has a sun and a moon, clouds and rain. It
is surrounded by vast waters. Across the waters, there are other
worlds. Lands with trees and grass and many strange creatures –
creatures not like us. We had planned to go to one of those
lands.’

‘
Dung-head!’ Belcher shouted again.

‘
It’s a trick,’ growled Slasher. ‘He lies. There is only one
world. This one. We all know that. Kill him, King-rat!’

‘
Sh!’ commanded Slayer. He stared at Twisted Foot for some time
and then said, ‘We know nothing of these strange words you speak.
Perhaps you are mad, I don’t know. But tell me, why – why you
wanted to leave, why you wanted to go to this ... this so-called
other world.’

‘
Because of the cruelty in our society,’ Long Ears piped
up.

‘
Yes,’ Twisted Foot continued. ‘We are Watchers, you see
–’

‘
Watchers?’

‘
We watch over the outside world. There are also Hunters. They
kill the white birds on the world above –’

‘
Yes,’ Slayer nodded, ‘we have seen these white creatures. The
Master brings them to us from time to time. Go on.’

Twisted Foot
was more confident now.

‘
There are also Protectors ... guards. They guard over your
lair. They are led by Broken Tail ... the one you call Master. They
serve the Inner Circle ... the Rulers –’

‘
Rulers?’

‘
The large brown ones. The Rulers ... our Masters.’

‘
Yes,’ Slayer nodded again. ‘The fat brown corpses. The Master
brings them to us.’

Twisted Foot
went on quickly.

‘
The Rulers eat our young. The Protectors molest our mates, and
kill and maim us. We are treated no better than ... slaves. Slaves
... like you.’

‘
Slaves!’ It was Slayer who was angry now. ‘Explain yourself!’
he demanded.

Twisted Foot
gulped. He glanced furtively at Long Ears. His companion nodded, as
if to say: Better to die quickly here, comrade, than slowly out
there.

‘
They call you Scavengers,’ Twisted Foot said carefully. ‘But
you are kept here as a food supply. The many warriors who are taken
from your lair are killed ... and devoured –’

‘
The cripple lies!’ Belcher screamed.

‘
No, it’s true! All true!’ Long Ears cried.

‘
Kill them now!’ Slasher hissed.

Slayer moved
swiftly, placing himself between the Watchers and his angry
cohorts.

‘
Shut up!’ he commanded. He stared again at Twisted Foot. The
look was thoughtful, pensive.