Jack Shian and the Mapa Mundi (13 page)

“I did not see you training before the match.”

“A late substitute. One of our players got ill,” said Jack casually as he drew near to his opponent. “Your team have us pinned down back there.” His hands remained visible and weapon-free.

The Claville player smiled. “Better tactics for us, I think?”

“Perhaps,” said Jack. “But only if they work.” In a flash he had scooped out his sceptre and pointed it at the surprised Claville player.

“
Attonitus!
” A spark flew from the sceptre, and the Claville man fell back without a sound.

Seeing this, Gandie trotted out from where he had been sheltering and kicked the ball up to Jack. Between them they played keepy-uppy a few times as they moved without opposition towards the castle gate. Seeing that statue-like tourists partially blocked the view of the gate, Jack placed the ball on the ground and indicated to Gandie to act as goalkeeper. As he lined up to take the free kick, Matthew appeared as if out of nowhere.

Jack retreated a few paces, then ran up and struck the ball. It curved up, just clearing the humans’ heads, then down again towards the gate. In an extravagant display of incompetence, Gandie pretended to try to save the shot. He fell in a crumpled heap, turning his head to watch the ball strike the castle gate.

Petros and the others, watching in the Finisterre, let out a roar of joy as the goal was scored. Matthew, standing just yards from the goal, held up his sceptre and shot a bolt into the sky, signalling that the game was over. Within seconds, the hex-fight at North Bridge ceased. Jack scooped up the ball and handed it to Matthew, and together the three of them walked back across the esplanade. Encountering the prostrate Claville player, Jack and Gandie picked him up and made their way back down to the North Bridge crossroads. Several hexed players lay motionless on the ground. The rest of the puzzled Claville players stood around the High Street, unsure about what had happened.

Cosmo emerged from the shelter of a doorway, grinning. Gandie walked up to him and they embraced, clapping each other on the back.

“It worked then,” said Cosmo happily. “Well done, Jack. Your speed along the Grassmarket was what we needed.”

Jack beamed with pride as Henri approached, a look of disappointment on his face.

“Ah, you tricked us,” he said sadly.

“You started it,” replied Cosmo happily. “All that show about retreating at the beginning.”

Henri had to concede that the Claville bluff had been bettered by the home team’s stratagem.

“I felt sure that we could win, playing down the hill.”

“Things aren’t always what they seem,” replied Gandie with a grin.

“I couldn’t let you know before the game,” said Cosmo to Jack. “The Claville boys were watching our training. You were our secret weapon.”

Those players who had been hexed were starting to come round, and there was a general hubbub as the game was discussed.

“My friends,” declared Matthew, “we have witnessed a fascinating game tonight, a game of ploys and deceits. I congratulate the home team. I am sure that the party back at Cos-Howe will be memorable. Sadly, I cannot join you for that. The time is set to return to normal for the humans in fifteen minutes; by then you should all be safely back at Cos-Howe.”

The players began to walk down the High Street, and were soon mingling with the crowd that was pouring out from the Finisterre. Excited chatter and complaints about the strategies used by both sides were mixed. Purdy ran out and gave Jack a big hug.

Cosmo approached the fiery outline that still hung in the air.

“We thank our friends for coming from Claville,” he said happily. “You are all invited to join us at Cos-Howe.” He reached up to grasp the chalice, which, as it had done the year before, vanished as soon as it was touched.

Jack joined the rousing cheer that went up from the home players. In the commotion, he didn’t see Matthew simply disappearing along with the Chalice.

The crowd turned down St Margaret’s Street and made for Cos-Howe. Walking arm in arm with Jack, Purdy’s face showed her delight in the game’s outcome and his part in it. Within ten minutes they were near the safety of Cos-Howe, but the last few yards were a mad dash as the skies darkened and heavy rain began to fall. Thunderclaps echoed from building to building as the stragglers made their way in.

Despite the sudden wintry blast, the High Street resumed its usual activities, with none of the humans any the wiser about the events that had so recently taken place there. There were broken glasses and several cracked windows in the pavement bars around the North Bridge crossroads, and several smears of blood on the ground where a hex had worked too well. But as the humans retreated indoors to escape the rain, none thought to challenge these things: it was a Saturday evening, after all.

At Cos-Howe, the party was getting into full swing. Players swapped stories of hexes delivered and rebuffed, of injuries sustained and of opponents vanquished. Jack, supplied with a large goblet of juniper juice, was regaling his cousins – again – with stories of how fast he’d had to run along the Grassmarket and how puffed he’d been by the time he climbed all the steps to the castle.

“Ambush!”

There was a cheer from the assembled Cos-Howe players and supporters as a ragged figure ran in amongst them shouting.

“We know,” shouted Gandie, waving his arm extravagantly. “But the smart ones got out of the way. And we won.”

“
Ambush!
”

The cry was more insistent. Then Jack saw that it was Armina who was shouting. Her tall frame was almost doubled over as she staggered around in a blind panic.

“The Kildashie,” she spluttered, “have taken the Congress.”

Silence.

Then screams.

Cos-Howe was in a state of uproar, and it was several minutes before Cosmo’s pleas for quiet had the desired effect.

“Tell us what happened,” he said firmly to Armina, who had collapsed onto a chair.

Armina looked up at him.

“They will come here,” she gasped. “They know that you will resist them; they will try to kill you.”

“What are we to the Congress?” demanded a voice. “They tried to ban us having the match in the High Street. A fight between the Kildashie and the Congress is not our affair.”

Cosmo turned and fixed the speaker with a beady eye.

“The Kildashie are Unseelie. If they take the Shian square, they can get the Stone and the Chalice. Then nothing will stop them.”

“The Kildashie know there is a low road entrance here.” Armina’s voice was weak.

“How did they take the Congress?” demanded Oobit.

“Our meeting was at Falabray. Suddenly, the air froze, and they were all around us. One of your men was with them.”

“Who?”

“His name is Rob, I think. But there was no sound.”

“No sound!” shouted Tom. “Then they have the Tassitus charm. It’s as good as being invisible.”

“Calm down, Tom,” said Cosmo bluntly. Then he turned to Armina. “Is anyone killed?”

“Atholmor – I think. And Tomte the dwarf. He tried to fight, but there were too many. The rest are killed or captured.”

“And how d’you get away, then?” sneered Tom. “If you were surrounded?”

Armina’s gasps lightened. She stood up slowly and fixed Tom with a piercing glare. Tom looked away uncomfortably.

Then Jack saw the blood.

“Armina!” He ran forward and guided the enchantress back into the chair. “Please help!” he shouted behind him.

A Claville supporter stepped forward and produced a linen cloth, which he deftly wrapped around Armina’s upper arm, staunching the blood. Then, taking a small vial from his cloak, he dribbled some oil over Armina’s whole arm. There was a puff of blue smoke.

“You believe Tig will come here with his warriors?” demanded Cosmo.

“Not Tig,” replied Armina, wincing in pain. “Boreus. He boasted that Tig and Donar were dead. Boreus brought in many more Kildashie; he controls them now.”

Jack’s scalp felt icy cold.
That Boreus … he was always a menace … Without Tig around to keep him in order
… Jack gritted his teeth.

“You must stop them,” begged Armina. “They may not risk a full assault on the square, but if they can get in from here, then all is lost.”

“We’ll stop them,” said Cosmo calmly. “But you need to get away. And someone needs to protect the Stone Room, in case they get into the castle.”

Armina’s gaze fell upon Jack and Rana.

“You – you must take me to your grandfather. We must warn him.”

Rana looked uncertainly at her cousin.

“Come on,” said Jack simply. He helped Armina back up.

“Your arm will heal,” said the Claville physician to Armina as she tottered forward. “You know what to do. Here I must stay: if there will be fighting, I am needed.”

Lizzie had gone pale; her right arm started to shake. Rana moved over to her, and took her arm gently. She pulled her sister along after Jack, who was steering Armina toward to the low road entrance.

“I’ll come too,” said Petros. “Freya, you’d better take Purdy to your mum and dad.”

Within seconds they had all reached the low road and were whisked along to the Shian square.

The news had got there first.

Good old grigs
, thought Jack.

Uncle Doonya was in earnest conversation with his neighbour Festus and a Darrig Jack didn’t think he’d ever seen before. Aunt Katie stood at the front door, looking anxiously towards the low road entrance. When she saw the youngsters, she let out a scream of joy.

Rana and Lizzie made their way quickly to their mother, while Petros looked rather sheepishly at Jack. However, Jack’s full concentration was on getting Armina up to her house. She walked painfully, making Jack wonder what other injuries she had sustained.

Uncle Doonya strode over to Petros.

“We’ll have to get Grandpa out of here. Pack what you can carry for him. We’ll leave in two minutes.”

Petros, relieved to have someone take control, ran towards the house, but was met at the door by his grandfather. When Armina saw him, she stopped.

“We must protect the Stone Room.”

Grandpa Sandy nodded.

“Petros, you can take us to the Stone Room,” he said simply. “We can place a series of hexes that will stop the Kildashie – for now. Then we must leave. We’ll go to Keldy.”

Jack watched as Petros led Grandpa Sandy and Armina, both shuffling awkwardly, towards the side wall of the square. Once there, Grandpa Sandy placed his sceptre on the ground, and they all seemed to melt into the rock.

If I’ve got to leave
, thought Jack,
I’m taking my things with me
.

He ran upstairs, grabbed his work satchel and stuffed a few clothes inside. Then he took the Sintura belt from his pocket and examined it briefly. With all the excitement of the match, and the party, he hadn’t given his birthday present another thought. Feather-light, it was almost a yard long and had a series of small pouches along the side. Quickly, he rummaged in the box under his bed and filled the pouches with the charms and hexes Finbogie had given him.

Finbogie: he was in the Congress. Has he been killed? Armina wasn’t sure.

“Jack! Get a move on! We have to leave now.” Aunt Katie’s voice was insistent.

Jack wound the Sintura belt around his waist and secured it. Despite being crammed, it weighed next to nothing. Then Jack remembered:

My vococorn!

Locating the prized ram’s horn Tamlina had given him, Jack realised instantly that it was much too big to take. Even the Sintura belt wouldn’t cope with that. Prising up a loose floorboard, Jack thrust the horn underneath it. Grabbing his satchel, he ran downstairs.

The square was packed. Shian were filing down towards the low road entrance; others milled around anxiously. Jack caught sight of his uncle.

“We must get you lot out of here. The Kildashie could be here any minute.”

“Will they get into the square then, Dad?” Petros had returned from his brief errand to the Stone Room.

“We’re not taking any chances: they obviously believe that with the Congress defeated they’ll have free rein. Grandpa and Armina aren’t fit to fight. We must get them away.”

“Are we going to Keldy?”

“We’ll be safe there. Once we’ve regrouped, we can work out how to get back. And don’t worry about the manuscripts – I’ve hidden them.”

Jack took his grandfather’s arm and gave it a squeeze.

“I’ll carry this, Grandpa,” he said simply, loosing his grandfather’s grip on the bag he was clutching.

“I’ll take Armina along to the low road. She’s grabbed a few things from her house. I’ll tell you about the Stone Room later,” Petros added with a grin.

The crowd had broken into small groups and was steadily disappearing along the low road. Petros led Armina along, helped by Lizzie and Aunt Katie.

“See you in Keldy,” declared Petros, as the four of them stepped onto the mound.

“We’ll come last,” announced Uncle Doonya, indicating the Darrig. “Make sure everyone else is away safely.”

Jack and Rana shepherded their grandfather up onto the mound of earth that marked the low road.

“I’ll do it,” announced Jack confidently. He stepped onto the mound and ushered Rana and Grandpa Sandy up beside him. Gripping both their waists, he called out, “Wind-flock Dunvik!”

It was like the time they’d gone up to Keldy two months earlier. The howling and moaning were loud and insistent. After the mild air of May, the wind that whipped around them was freezing and the spinning sensation was violent. The journey took nearly twenty minutes, and for the first time in many trips, Jack felt sick. He felt Rana grip his arm tightly.

At last the spinning slowed down, and they came to rest within the ruined hermit’s cell at Dunvik. Grandpa Sandy immediately collapsed onto the ground, gasping.

“Grandpa!” called Rana, her voice quavering.

“I’ll be all right. Need to rest for a while.”

Rana turned on Jack.

“We were supposed to go to Keldy,” she snapped. “Why d’you bring us here?”

“I … I don’t know. Something must’ve made me think this was better.” Jack felt confused. It was dark, an almost moonless night, and a steady drizzle fell.