Behind the Canvas (31 page)

Leaves crackled in the darkness off to the left. Pim tensed, clutching the horse's mane.

A twig snapped ahead of them. Another off to the right.

Claudia readied her feet to kick against the flanks of the horse, mentally bracing herself for the Fireside Angel to come barreling toward them.

There was movement in the darkness directly ahead of them and something emerged from the trees. But it wasn't the Fireside Angel.

It was a horse and rider dressed in a black cloak and a broad feathered hat.

“Balthasar? Is that you?” Claudia gasped.

The rider urged his horse slowly forward. The paltry moonlight filtering through the treetops glinted on the blade of the sword he extended toward them.

“If you have harmed a hair on this lady's head, witch-son, I will run you through without a second thought.”

Claudia let out a sigh of relief. “It is you!”

There was movement off to the left, and Hendrik, also on horseback with sword drawn, stepped from the trees.

“Let her go, boy.”

Claudia slid off the horse and placed herself between the Dutchmen and Pim. “Stop it right now! Whether you like it or not, Pim is my friend. He's helping me—helping all of you. He's fighting against Nee Gezicht. Against the Sightless One. You have to trust me.”

The tip of Hendrik's sword dipped slightly. “The canine was right?”

Claudia made the connection right away. “You talked to Cash?”

Balthasar nodded slowly. “Not but an hour ago. He said you had stolen something valuable, something powerful from the witch. And that the boy Pim was fighting on our side.”

“Yes, but—”

Hoofbeats came from behind them, along the path they had traveled. The third rider broke through the trees and came to a stop. Cornelis took in the gathering with a single sweeping glance, his eyes lingering on Pim.

“The Fireside Angel approaches,” he said urgently. “It has picked up their trail. You have a matter of minutes, if that.”

“And the metal beast?” Balthasar asked.

“I've seen no sign of it, not since we heard it earlier.”

“The canine's story rings true, Cornelis,” Hendrik said, nodding toward Claudia and Pim.

“The Sightless One is after her,” Pim said. “I need to get her to the window-caves, the ones close to where you first found her. Get out of the way and let us go. Please.”

“If that is your destination, then I would wager that you are lost,” Balthasar said quietly, eyes on Pim.

“Then help us,” Claudia pleaded.

Cornelis approached, towering over Pim. He drew his sword and placed it against Pim's neck. “We will help you, my lady. But I cannot assure you that my sword will not wander in the heat of battle, and land where it has so longed to strike.”

Pim swallowed. “If that is the price of recompense, then I will pay it. But not until she is safe.”

The sword lingered for a moment, and then withdrew. “Well, then, my lady. It appears you have the service of our swords once more.”

“Huzzah!” shouted Hendrik. He immediately shrank under Cornelis's gaze.

Balthasar dismounted and bowed in front of Claudia. “With permission.” He lifted her at the waist and set her back on the stone horse.

“You cannot outpace the Angel,” Cornelis said. “Even with your curious steed, it will overtake you. Ride on. We will wait here and meet the monster.”

“Can you beat it?” Claudia asked, suddenly concerned. It didn't seem likely it could be held with ropes, as the dragon had.

There was a flicker of doubt in Cornelis's face. “I have always wanted to try,” he said grimly.

The Fireside Angel shrieked. It sounded close.

Pim grabbed the horse's stony mane.

“Wait!” Claudia said. They didn't know if they could beat it. It was quick and powerful, even with a wounded foot. She didn't need them sacrificing themselves for her—this time to something fiercer than a dragon.

Again the image of the dragon lying bound in the forest clearing sprang to her mind. And with it, an idea.

“You don't need to fight it, just slow it down.”

“That is how we slow down such a creature, my lady,” Hendrik said.

“But what if there's another way?”

“What do you mean?” Balthasar asked.

“Has Saint George come to pick up his dragon yet?”

It took a moment, but the eyes of the three Dutchmen grew wide.

*   *   *

It turned out that Saint George hadn't come to claim the dragon yet. A short and furious ride brought them to the clearing from the previous day. Here the moon shone brightly as the trees opened up, revealing the leaf-strewn ground.

And in the center, the dragon. Its feet were still bound and Claudia's shoelaces were tied in a bow around its neck.

Even as they rode into the clearing, the wicked cry of the Fireside Angel sounded in the not-so-distance.

The riders leaped from their horses. They would have to work quickly.

“You have rope?” Claudia asked.

“Do we have rope?” Hendrik said, digging into his saddlebags. “Ha!”

“Tie one around me,” Cornelis ordered.

“No. Around me,” Claudia corrected.

“But…” Pim said.

“I'm the lightest and you're the strongest. There's no time to argue, just do it,” Claudia said.

Reluctantly Cornelis began busying himself with the other rope.

Balthasar gently looped the rope under Claudia's arms and tied it firmly. “Where does your courage come from?” he asked quietly.

Claudia looked over at Pim, who was tossing the ends of the ropes over branches high above. “From synergy.”

“Hmm. Synergy. There's a song in there somewhere, no doubt.” Balthasar handed Claudia a knife with a leather handle. “It is sharp enough to split the ropes with a single thrust.”

She nodded, swallowing hard. “Right.”

They were ready in less than a minute, and the others scattered farther into the trees with the horses.

The dragon looked up at her with large, adoring eyes, attempting to scoot its body closer to her.

“It's too bad. I kind of like you this way,” she said.

She focused on the edge of the clearing. The Fireside Angel would be tracking them, following the same path they took. She listened carefully, but the night was silent. Just the panting of the dragon. A soft whinny from a horse.

She looked back at the others, but they were lost in the darkness of the forest.

And then a sound of tearing branches. There was no doubt what it was.

She knelt down and thrust the knife against the rope binding the dragon's hind feet. The rope fell away and the dragon came alive with excitement, scrabbling on its scaly claws to get closer to Claudia.

“Down, boy, down!” she whispered.

She pushed the knife against the front rope, freeing the dragon's front paws as well.

Immediately it leaped on her like a giant, friendly Great Dane, knocking her to the ground and licking her face over and over.

“Claudia!” she heard Pim cry out.

Her face soaked with drool, she pushed back at the dragon's head. “Down! Sit! Sit!”

The dragon backed off and sat. Claudia wiped the slobber from her face with her shirttail and stood up, wondering how the dragon knew the command for
sit
. Then she noticed the dragon was staring at the edge of the clearing.

And the Fireside Angel was staring right back.

In an instant, the Angel charged. He ran on all fours, favoring the foot that had stepped on the nail polish remover. But, if possible, he was quicker and fiercer in his movements than before.

Claudia grabbed the shoelaces around the dragon's neck and slipped in the knife. “Good boy,” she whispered.

She thrust the knife back, slicing through the shoelaces. “Now!”

The rope around her torso went taut and she snapped backward and upward, the Fireside Angel just steps away. He leaped after her, gnarled claws outstretched, sailing higher into the air than she would have thought possible.

But the territorial dragon had sprung to life the second the shoelaces fell. It snarled and spun, once again lithe and powerful, and larger than Claudia remembered. Its gaping jaws snapped at the Angel's leg, catching him and pulling him to the ground in a wild cry of pain.

Claudia flew into the trees, completely unnoticed by the dragon. A second rope had been attached to redirect the first, and now they lowered her while taking the second rope in, drawing her to them on the ground.

As her feet touched the earth, she looked up at the melee in the clearing. The Angel had freed itself from the jaws of the dragon, and the two now grappled and snapped in the most ferocious wrestling match imaginable.

“Well done, once again, my lady,” Balthasar said as he lifted her from the ground and onto the stone horse. “And on we go.”

Once more they were hurtling forward through the trees on horseback, the mild thrill of a tiny success surging through Claudia. Minutes passed and there was no indication of pursuit. But the thrill quickly faded. As they rode, they could hear the thunder of crashing rock in the distance. Like a deep bass drum, resounding and ominous.

“No!” Pim finally shouted as they left the cover of the forest.

The sounds of destruction, of course, came from Celebes. As Nee Gezicht perched in her seat on its back, the potbellied monster crashed its tail against what remained of the entrance to the window-cave Claudia had exited the day before. The overhang and the outer walls had fallen, blocking the cave and the Rubens painting inside with debris and leaving only the smallest of openings at the top.

Nee Gezicht whirled in her seat to face them. She shouted something at them—at Claudia, perhaps—but they were still out of earshot.

Pim kept the horse moving at full speed but veered it sharply to the side. “There's another cave!”

The Dutchmen didn't waver from their original course. They charged Celebes, swords drawn, barreling down at full speed.

Claudia turned to watch as they met the elephantine beast. They swerved and ducked, but it caught Cornelis hard with the blunt of its tail, and he flew from his saddle. The others scattered, but even as they regrouped, Celebes broke off the fight and charged after Claudia and Pim.

“Here they come!” she shouted.

The horse tore along the foothills of the mountain, crushing the gravel beneath its feet into powder. Ahead of them was an opening into what looked like a canyon. They turned sharply. It had cracked, stony walls topped with boulders and tall trees far above. It was narrow, but plenty wide for Celebes.

Claudia looked back as they turned. Celebes trailed close enough that she could see the beast's fiery red eyes and Nee Gezicht perched on top, silhouetted in the moonlight. The Dutchmen were still in pursuit.

“Almost there!” shouted Pim.

Claudia looked back again to see Celebes enter the canyon. No sooner had he done so than Nee Gezicht lifted her arms. Dust fell from the walls above her, and then more than dust. Stones tumbled, followed by rocks and boulders, and finally a tall pine tree that cracked in half as it fell, slanted, into the canyon.

Though dust and darkness obstructed her view, the result would be obvious. Nee Gezicht had blocked off the canyon, shutting out the three Dutchmen.

But how? Celebes hadn't even twitched his tail.

“Ride on, my lady!” came a distant shout from Balthasar. At least they were all right.

“There it is,” Pim said. “Get ready!”

She gripped the straps of her backpack.

As they approached a shadowy patch in the side of the canyon wall, Pim hauled back on the horse's mane.

“Whoa!”

The horse slowed and Pim slid off its back, pulling Claudia after him. She turned and slapped the horse on its rump. It leaped away without any further encouragement—the metal elephant was closing in quickly.

They ran toward the craggy stone wall. Claudia almost hit it before she saw that, buried in the shadows of the moonlight, a vertical crack stretched upward, just big enough to squeeze through. Not big enough for a horse, and definitely not big enough for a metal elephant.

Roughly, Pim hurried her into the crack and closely followed. It was a tight fit and at an odd angle, but after several feet she was through. It opened up into a large tunnel, the walls of which were erratically striped with thick veins of crystal. The veins glowed eerily with a light of their own, like some sort of Halloween spiderweb decoration.

Pim still hadn't wriggled out of the crack when trembling footsteps from outside ended with Celebes's tail crashing against the outer face of the wall, once and then again.

The walls of the cave shook. Pim's foot seemed to be wedged against something, and he struggled to get it free and pull himself from the entrance. Claudia reached in and grabbed for his hand.

“No!” he cried. “Go now!”

“Hold!” shouted a voice from the outside.

Claudia caught Pim's hand and threw herself backward. Pim pulled free from the entrance and they tumbled to the floor of the tunnel.

The pounding stopped. They both turned and watched for just a moment—a moment too long. The mismatched eyes of Nee Gezicht, bathed in moonlight, peered through the crack.

“Claudia,” said the Sightless One. “Come to me.”

 

C
HAPTER
28

T
HE EFFECT
was immediate and it was powerful. No sooner had Nee Gezicht spoken the words than Claudia's strongest desire was to push herself back through the crack in the cave wall. All other thoughts became blurred and elusive, like reaching for sunbeams in murky water.

She stepped toward the crack.

Someone's hand clinched her shoulder in a flash, jerking her back into the darkness of the cave. Someone her own height—a boy, maybe—slapped a hand over one ear and smothered the other against his shoulder, and then pulled her deeper into the tunnels. They hurried through one passage and then veered down another, then another.