Oksa Pollock: The Last Hope (26 page)

“Cool,” said Oksa, proudly tapping her Granok-Shooter. “Thanks for all this ammunition.”

“Please, just promise me you won’t use them recklessly.”

“You know me, Baba. I’m the soul of discretion!” said the girl
reassuringly
, ignoring Gus’s amused expression.

The highlight of this uneventful day undoubtedly came from an idea that occurred to the Young Gracious. Early in the evening, exhausted by all her diligent revision, she went looking for Gus and saw him at the far end of the large living room, near the hearth, surrounded by a good twenty creatures, which were gathered around him and listening very closely. It was an incredible scene. Gus looked up in her direction and his expression shocked her: her friend seemed so elated and yet so sad. He ran his fingers through his hair and gave her a smile which immediately dispelled this impression of bitterness. Oksa had a wild idea: she went over to Gus and told him to follow her into the middle of the large room.

“Stand behind me and put your hands on my shoulders!”

“What are you doing, Oksa?”

“Hold tight and don’t let go, okay?”

“I won’t let go,” he said, surprised at how embarrassed he felt
touching
her.

They rose above the floor, first by a few inches, then quickly ascended the twenty-four feet or so to reach the high ceiling. Clutching Oksa’s shoulders and pressed against her back, Gus let her carry him, murmuring:

“Amazing! I’m Vertiflying! I’m Vertiflying!”

They flew back and forth like this in the air, which filled Gus with happiness, until Oksa, with aching shoulders but a joyful heart, landed them both back on the floor.

“Wow, thanks so much!” said Gus shyly, his cheeks scarlet and his grateful eyes fixed on the floor. “Thanks…” 

“C
HILDREN, WE HAVE A SMALL SURPRISE FOR YOU, WHY
don’t you follow me,” said their host, leading the little group out of the house.

Outside the weather was marvellously mild, the sky was clear and the mood was high. This was Gus and Oksa’s fourth day with Leomido and they were already excited by the discoveries they were bound to make. Gus began running through the grass, which was still wet from the day before, with Oksa in hot pursuit. Brimming with energy, they both let off steam by scaling the low hills that extended across the estate. They then rolled around on the heather-covered moor, laughing until they were breathless. Leomido and Dragomira were walking arm in arm at a much more sedate pace, following the barely visible path across the rolling hills. Dragomira’s long turquoise dress floating behind her was the only splash of colour in the autumn landscape. Soon they branched off towards a deeper valley than the others, sheltered by gorse rippling in the light breeze. Two huge birds more than six feet tall were gliding on a lake lined with reeds at the bottom of the valley.

“Let me introduce you to my Gargantuhens,” announced Leomido.

The Gargantuhens, one white and the other russet, turned towards their visitors and cackled noisily, flapping their wings frantically.

“They’re enormous!” remarked Oksa. 

“Be careful what you say, my dear, they’re very concerned about their appearance and they don’t take criticism well,” warned Leomido. “Do you fancy a short trip on their backs?”

A minute later, the Gargantuhens drew alongside the small wooden landing stage and docilely allowed the four to sit astride them. Leomido clambered onto the russet Gargantuhen with Gus, Oksa climbed onto the white one with her gran, and the unusual craft began to drift peacefully on the lake. Oksa and Gus were having great difficulty suppressing their hilarity. They were actually bent double with laughter and this didn’t seem to go down well with the large birds, who showed their annoyance by giving ear-splitting squawks.

With their hands muffling their ears, they were advised by Leomido to pet the annoyed Gargantuhens by stroking the mottled feathers at the base of their necks. With sparkling eyes, Gus and Oksa exchanged looks, biting their lips to stop themselves roaring with laughter. Then, obeying Leomido, they plunged their hands into the plumage which emanated a gentle warmth. The Gargantuhens, surprised by their attentions, stopped swimming. A few minutes later, peace and quiet had been restored on the lake and the boat trip continued.

“How soft they are,” remarked Oksa, still stroking the feathers, which were over twenty inches long. “They feel like silk! They’re magnificent creatures. Can we fly with them?”

“Well, we’re in danger of attracting attention with creatures like this,” replied Dragomira. “If someone saw us flying in the Welsh sky, perched on giant hens—dear me, no, I’d rather not think about it… Anyway, the Gargantuhens are expressly forbidden to fly without permission from one of us. We occasionally allow them to on very dark nights, even though they have very poor night vision. Otherwise, they have to stay away from prying eyes on this lake and in the hennery built specially for them over there,” she said, pointing to a wooden cabin the size of a house further along the bank. “But let’s enjoy our trip.”

This was such a delightful excursion that their thoughts soon began to drift and they slipped into a trance-like state. Gus felt so relaxed that he was almost asleep, his body limp on the comfortable back of the giant bird. With one cheek against its silky neck, he gazed dreamily at the rolling hills and the cloudless sky, thinking about the fantastic, thoroughly enjoyable adventure he was having, thanks to the generosity of his friend and the Pollock family. And what an amazing family it was! He was lucky to know them, very lucky. On the other Gargantuhen, Oksa was so happy that she felt as though her muscles, veins and even her bones had turned to jelly. Copying Gus’s lazy pose, she leant forward to let her head rest against her mount’s warm, downy neck. All they could hear was the soft rustling of the gorse and the reeds along the bank and the faint lapping sound of feet moving in the water. The Gargantuhens were gliding past the opposite bank to the landing stage when the one carrying Dragomira and Oksa suddenly screeched piercingly, as if in terrible pain. It began to thrash about frantically on the water, beating its wings wildly as though it could no longer control its movements.

“Baba! What’s going on?” shouted Oksa, trying to keep her seat on the giant bird.

“I don’t know! Stay calm, Dushka, we’re going to take it back to the bank.”

Dragomira leant over the Gargantuhen, putting her arms part-way round the rotund body of the hen, which was squawking and
struggling
harder and harder. Leomido and Gus tried to draw nearer to it, but the white Gargantuhen was beating its wings so hard on the water that they had to keep their distance to avoid being capsized. Dragomira, still holding on tightly to the feathered body, was finding it harder and harder to keep her balance.

“Oksa!” she shouted. “Hang on! Keep hold of its neck, I’m going to dive in!”

“Baba! The water must be cold as ice!”

Dragomira didn’t heed this warning in the slightest: she had already jumped into the water. With her dress spread out around her body like a blue water lily, she swam round until she was behind the Gargantuhen and began kicking her legs furiously, pushing the poor creature with all her might. Unfortunately, the Gargantuhen didn’t budge an inch.

“Fine, desperate times demand desperate measures,” muttered
Dragomira
, her hair dripping down her face.

Oksa turned round and what she saw almost knocked her sideways. Dragomira had given up swimming and had adopted a completely
different
mode of transport: Baba Pollock was now walking on the lake, as if its surface were solid ground. Standing on the water—
standing on the water
—she was leaning against the Gargantuhen and shoving with her entire body, as if pushing a wardrobe or a broken-down car, relying on her feet for purchase. This proved to be much more effective than swimming. Leomido, understanding his sister’s tactics, quickly guided the russet Gargantuhen behind its companion to help complete the manoeuvre. With a lot of pushing and shouting, they soon reached the bank. Leomido leapt to the ground and helped Gus and Oksa to dismount.

“Stand back, children!” he told them sharply.

“We’ll help you.”

“NO!” he snapped. “Get away from the bank.”

And he somehow hauled the Gargantuhen onto solid ground, pulling it by the neck while Dragomira pushed from behind.

“Phew, I didn’t think we’d ever do it,” she sighed, soaked from head to foot.

Leomido rushed over to drape his velvet jacket over her shoulders. Then he turned to Gus:

“Gus, my boy, would you run to the hennery? You’ll find a cupboard in there. Open it up and bring back all the blankets inside.”

Gus didn’t waste a second and ran off at top speed—the sprint of the century! Three minutes later Dragomira resembled a mummy, completely
swathed in rugs which stopped her body from shivering and her teeth from chattering.

“But what’s wrong with it, Baba?” asked Oksa, looking at the Gargantuhen, which was writhing uncontrollably.

“I don’t know. This is the first time a Gargantuhen has reacted like this. Oh, look! It’s injured.”

And it was. But this was no ordinary injury—far from it: one of its legs seemed to have been turned to glass. The poor creature tried to move its limb in vain and its cries of pain, which had been piercing at first, gradually turned into long, pathetic whimpers.

“Leomido? Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” said Dragomira to her brother, unable to take her eyes off the Gargantuhen.

“I’m afraid so…” he replied with a grave expression.

“What is it?” asked Oksa in turn. “Baba? Leomido?”

There was a heavy silence, which made the Gargantuhen’s whining sound even louder.

“Tell us what’s going on!” insisted Oksa, tensely.

Dragomira and Leomido seemed at a loss, as they frowned and stared at the vitrified leg. Leomido finally raised his head, looked at Gus, then Oksa, and said in a dull voice, which shook despite his attempts to control it:

“A Colocynthis… a Black Globus.”

Leomido had stayed with the injured Gargantuhen while Dragomira, struggling to walk because of the blankets wrapped around her, had escorted the children back to the house, trying her best to hide her agitation. With their hearts pounding, the three of them were now in the large living room.

“Gus, Oksa, wait for me here,” said Dragomira, sounding grave. “I shall lock the doors and I don’t want you to go out for anything. If there’s the
slightest problem, send this Veloso to tell me, okay? As its name suggests, it’s very fast. It can warn me if need be.”

An eight-inch-long creature, similar to a weasel, with two long striped legs, rushed over to stand proudly in front of them, ready for action.

“I’ll be back in half an hour at the most. I’m going to change, this is really no time to catch pneumonia,” said Dragomira, as if talking to herself.

Then, addressing the two friends:

“I’m going to take an ointment to Leomido to treat that poor Gargantuhen’s leg. Lunatrixes, I’ll leave these children in your capable hands.”

Oksa wondered what this mysterious Colocynthis might be but, from the strained look on her gran’s face, she guessed it might be better to leave her questions until later. Anyway Dragomira had just turned on her heels, carefully locking the door behind her. Astounded, Gus and Oksa looked at each other.

“Well! I’d really like to know what’s going on,” remarked Gus.

“I’ll tell you how I see things,” continued Oksa in a low voice. “From what I know, Black Globuses are very dangerous Granoks; some of them are even lethal. The Felons perfected them to attack Edefia. I’ve already seen a man hit by one of those Granoks on the Camereye and it was horrific. This Colocynthis obviously belongs to the same category. And that would mean that the Gargantuhen was attacked by a Felon.”

“A Felon! You’re out of your mind. How could that be?”

“I don’t know, Gus. Lunatrixa?” asked Oksa, suddenly turning to the little creature, which was staring at her. “You did say that someone broke into the estate last night?”

“Yes, Young Gracious, the truth is thus,” replied the Lunatrixa.

“What else do you know? Tell me! I’m the Young Gracious!” ordered Oksa more curtly than she would have liked, which made her flush slightly.

This was the first time that she had flaunted her status and she felt slightly ashamed at taking advantage of such a considerate creature as
the Lunatrixa. She was about to apologize when the little steward, her eyes filled with panic, began speaking nervously:

“The Master and the Old Gracious had a great vocal anxiety yesterday, their fear could be measured. I have already made the explanation to the Young Gracious of all the details which were in my head and I do not know any supplementary information, that is my promise!”

“Okay, Lunatrixa, calm down,” replied Oksa, patting her head. “Thank you for your help.”

Then, turning to Gus, she continued excitedly:

“You see! Something is going on. I’m sure that the intruder the other night has something to do with this business of the Black Globus. If that’s the case, he’s still in the vicinity, I’m sure of it. And don’t forget that the Abominari has disappeared—there may be a connection.”

“You’re probably right, but what I’d like to know is why that poor Gargantuhen was attacked,” added her friend.

“The Gargantuhen may not have been the target.”

“You mean—”

The front door banged heavily. The children fell silent and Oksa put her index finger over her lips to warn the Lunatrixa to keep silent about what they had just said.

“Yes, my Young Gracious, I have understanding.”

Leomido came into the living room, looking drawn. He seemed to be making a great effort not to show how worried he was, but his eyes kept scanning the room from left to right, without coming to rest on anything. His obvious anxiety didn’t escape Gus’s or Oksa’s attention.

“Well, Leomido? Is the Gargantuhen feeling better?” asked Oksa, getting up from her armchair to come over to him.

“Yes, much better,” he replied, pouring himself a glass of brandy which he knocked back in one.

“We were able to save its leg, it has almost returned to normal, thanks again to Dragomira and Abakum’s talents. I’d never have thought that I’d have to use that ointment…”

“What ointment?” asked Oksa. But Leomido didn’t seem to hear the question. Looking distraught, the elderly man stood near the hearth, holding his empty glass.

“Did Baba stay with the Gargantuhen?” continued Oksa, in a fresh bid to rouse Leomido from his daze.

“Yes, to keep an eye on it,” he replied finally in a dull voice. “The poor bird has had quite a shock.”

Oksa looked at Leomido even more intently. Although the Gargantuhen was feeling better, her great-uncle didn’t seem to be doing so well.