Temptations of Pleasure Island (16 page)

A
bigail was sobbing softly, hoping that no one would hear her. She and Sarah had been given one corner of the dungeon, where they could have some privacy. Three days had passed since the sentence of death had been pronounced upon them, and Abbey felt at the end of herself emotionally.

“Now, Abbey, don’t cry.”

Abbey felt an arm slip around her shoulder, and she looked up. Sarah had come to sit down beside her. Just the warmth of Sarah’s arm made her feel better. With tears running down her cheeks, Abbey said, “I’ve made such a mess of things, Sarah!”

“That’s all over now. You made a mistake, but when you make a mistake and apologize, you don’t make another one by reminding yourself of it.”

“How can I help it? I was so foolish to believe in Maeve and to take that awful drug!”

Sarah squeezed the smaller girl’s shoulders. “No one is holding that against you except yourself, Abbey,” she said quietly. “It’s time to put it behind you. You said you were sorry, and we’ve forgiven you, and that’s all anyone can ever do. So no more tears.”

Abbey wiped her face with a soiled handkerchief and tried to smile. “You always make me feel better, Sarah.” She looked around then at the still-sleeping forms of the boys. “It’ll be today, won’t it?”

“Yes, I think it will.”

“And you aren’t afraid, are you, Sarah?”

“Yes. I am.”

The answer surprised Abbey. “You are? I can’t believe it!”

“Why should it surprise you that I’m afraid? You don’t think I’m Supergirl, do you? We’re all afraid. Even Reb. Just ask him.”

“He doesn’t show it.
You
don’t show it.”

“Well, that’s part of a person’s training, I guess. Learning not to give way to your fears outwardly. So don’t feel that you’re the only one that’s thought about that arena and what will be waiting for us there.”

“Dave feels worse than I do about getting everyone into this—if feeling worse is possible.”

“I know. But Josh has talked to him, and I’m sure he’ll get over it. So will you.”

“I’m not sure we’ll have time. Before this, Goél always appeared to one of us and helped us. But he hasn’t come this time. He hasn’t come!”

“It’s never too late for Goél to act, Abbey,” Sarah said, apparently with as much strength as she could put into her voice. “And now try to get a little sleep.”

Josh was exhausted, and he knew the other Sleepers all were as well. They had been given somewhat better food recently, but life in the dungeon wore one down. Living in half-darkness, in a horrible setting, was part of the punishment that Maeve wanted them to know. He was sure of that.
She won’t get me down though
, he thought with determination.
I’m not giving up
.

Time wore on, and the Sleepers had no way of knowing whether it was light or dark outside. Their watches had been taken from them, and, without sight of sun or moon, all times were the same in the gloomy prison.

Finally Josh heard the sound of many footsteps coming.

“All right,” he said, getting to his feet. “I think this is it. Remember now, we may be afraid, but we can’t let any of these people see it.”

“Right you are,” Reb said. “Keep a stiff upper lip.”

The door clanged open, and the warden announced, “Came to bid farewell to all of you. We won’t be seeing you again here. Have a nice time in the arena.”

“We’ve enjoyed our stay,” Josh said pleasantly. “Thank you for your hospitality.”

“Yes, the food has been excellent,” Sarah said. She gave the warden a forced smile and added, “We’ll be sure to recommend your place to anyone looking for lodging.”

The warden’s face froze, and then anger burst out of him. “Go ahead and joke! You’ll be dead in an hour! Get them out of here!”

Josh guessed that it was late afternoon when the Sleepers were herded from the prison. The sun was low and the sky a red wafer. It blinded him as it had before. Like the other Sleepers, he kept his eyes covered as much as possible with his hands. The guards hurried them along, prodding them with the staff end of their pikes from time to time.

The streets, Josh saw, were lined with people who had come out of curiosity to watch them. However, many of them called out encouraging words.

“Don’t let them get you down, Reb!” a voice cried out. “You rode worse horses than this one!”

“You’re mighty right, friend,” Reb said, waving his hand. “Thanks and just keep on cheering.”

Some of the voices jeered, but not many. Josh
finally decided,
These are the poor people. They’re on our side. They don’t have any power, though, so they can’t help us
.

And then he could tell they were approaching the arena, for he heard the muffled roar of many voices. Once there, they were driven inside, where they were marched into a large holding room.

As the guards locked the door behind them, Josh looked around him. The room was empty except for several coffins stacked in one corner. On one side were two great closed doors. From the other side of those doors sounded the roar of the crowd.

“Well, looks like we’ve reached the end of the line,” Josh said. “And I want to say something—if this doesn’t turn out right, knowing you guys has been about the greatest thing in my life.”

“That goes for me too,” Sarah said. “Why don’t we all just say good-bye right now and tell each other what we feel—in case we don’t have a chance to later.”

“You think Goél won’t come through for us this time?” Dave asked worriedly.

“I’m still hoping he will,” Sarah said soberly. “We know he can. And if he does, someday we’ll remember this and we’ll smile. But I just want you to know, Dave—you’re a great guy.” Sarah went over to him then and, to Dave’s obvious astonishment, hugged him hard. “I think you’re wonderful!”

Dave swallowed. “I think you’re wonderful, too, Sarah.” He could hardly speak, but he returned the hug.

It was an emotional time for the Seven Sleepers. Beyond the great doors, the crowd shouted at some event that was going on, but they took this time to tell how they felt about each other.

Finally, Abbey, with tears in her eyes, said, “It’s
strange, but I’m not so much afraid anymore. As long as we’re all together—that helps.”

At that moment the great doors slid apart, revealing steel bars. To one side was a single door, just large enough to allow a person to step through. All the Sleepers went at once to the bars and looked out into the arena.

There had been a wrestling contest, Josh saw. A badly beaten man was being carried off to the mines by Maeve’s followers.

Ten minutes later, he saw Sylvan and Kapo coming toward the small door. Sylvan carried a key, and he allowed the wrestler to step into the holding room.

Kapo looked huge, as indeed he was, and he grinned evilly at the Sleepers. “Well, you’ve had your fun. Now you pay the piper. Did you see how I flattened that fellow that dared challenge me?”

Not one of the Sleepers answered him, and Kapo laughed. “Scared spitless, eh? Well, I’m a merciful man. I’m going to give you a chance to make a decision. Instead of hanging, you can try your luck with me. If one of you beats me, you can go free. If not, well …” Kapo motioned to the coffins piled in the corner.

“I’ll take you on,” Reb said quickly.

But Josh stepped in front of Reb, blocking him. “This is my time, Reb.”

“Why, you little runt! You won’t last ten seconds! All right, then. Get out there. Say your farewell speech to the king.”

Sylvan swung open the door, and Josh stepped out into the arena.

He heard the screams and the cries that went up, but he paid no attention. Now that he was outside, he could see the hastily built gallows, with seven ominous
nooses—nooses that awaited the Sleepers. He searched the crowd for a moment, hoping to catch a glimpse of some friendly face—Mark’s, perhaps, or Mr. Fletcher’s. He even had a vague hope of seeing Prince Derek. But no friendly faces were visible.

Then Josh walked across the arena toward the royal box, holding his head high. Glancing up, he saw that the king and the queen were both present today. He thought the queen looked distressed. He also saw Lady Maeve, her eyes fixed on him and that triumphant smile on her face. Behind the king and queen, Princess Cosima stood, and Josh could see that she was weeping. The crowd quieted down as he approached the royal box.

When he was close enough, Josh spoke. “We are no traitors to you, O King Leo. We came to bring peace to your country. The serpent that has stung you now sits by your side.” Josh pointed directly at the sorceress, and his voice rose above the gasp from spectators close enough to hear. “Though I die today, your time comes quickly, Maeve. You and all followers of the Dark Lord will perish!”

Maeve turned pale and made a quick signal with her hand. Josh heard a nearby gate clang, and he whirled about to see Kapo striding toward him. The giant looked ready to wrestle, even ready to kill. The match was on.

Josh had wrestled before, but not against anyone of Kapo’s size and skill. Another cry went up from the crowd, but Josh paid no heed.
I’ve got to use his size against him somehow
, he said to himself.

Perhaps the huge wrestler planned to crush his opponent in one mighty lunge, for Kapo did not hesitate. Laughing wickedly, he charged, more rapidly than
Josh would have thought possible for a man his size. Josh held his breath.

When Kapo was only a few feet away, Josh called out loudly, “For Goél and the House of Goél!”

Kapo was likely not expecting Josh to be as calm or as quick as he was. With one swift move, Josh deftly turned, allowing Kapo to race by him like a mad rhino. The force of the big wrestler’s charge was too great to stop easily. Stunned by Josh’s quick dodge, Kapo plunged toward the gallows built for the Seven Sleepers.

With a loud crash, his head and shoulders slammed into the central support post. The whole gallows shuddered with the mighty impact. Kapo, stopped in his tracks, collapsed like a rag doll at the foot of the gallows. As the stands of spectators watched in total silence, the whole gallows creaked and groaned, then collapsed itself, as formless as the giant wrestler.

With a yell, Josh ran to the pile of timbers, stood atop it, and cried, “For the House of Goél!”

The crowd began screaming, “The Sleeper! The Sleeper! He has won his freedom! Turn him loose!”

Sylvan watched Kapo’s defeat from across the arena. It was obvious that Lady Maeve’s plan had gone wrong. She had been sure none of the Sleepers could defeat her champion, but he knew the wily woman had a backup plan, anyway. Now she sent another signal, which he saw at once.

Throwing back the barred door, he leaped into the waiting area. He grabbed the two girls by the arm and thrust them out into the arena. “We can find another gallows,” he grated. And his eyes narrowed as he eyed the tall poles that held torches for night events.

Then someone struck him in the back, hard, and he turned to see that it was Reb Jackson. He backhanded the boy and knocked him to the floor, where he lay shaking his head.

“All of you, get out there!” he ordered the boys. And he shoved each one through the doorway. Then Sylvan raced across the arena toward the collapsed gallows. No, the Seven Sleepers would not escape their fate of hanging.

Unbelieving, the king watched from the royal box. There were the Seven Sleepers, clustered together at the center of the arena. There was that deceiver Sylvan, gathering up the ropes from the fallen gallows. The king cried, “What
is
this? What is happening here?”

“They are traitors, my lord,” Maeve said calmly. “The Seven Sleepers have been proven traitors.”

At that moment a piercing shout suddenly rose above the din, and the king saw still another figure running into the arena and toward the Sleepers.

“Who is that? Who cries?” the king asked. This time he stood to his feet.

The newcomer stopped then, standing between the Seven Sleepers and the royal box. He wore a cloak with a hood, and his face was not visible. Voices everywhere were crying, “Who
is
that?”

The king again asked the woman beside him. “Who is that man, Lady Maeve? And what is going on here?”

Maeve tossed her head angrily. “I do not know, but he is a dead man.”

Suddenly the man threw back the hood, and a shout sounded from the spectators.

“Prince Derek! It is the prince!”

And then the king seemed to freeze.

Queen Tamsin arose and took his arm. When he faced her, she said, “There is your brave son, Leo. He is risking his life to save those young people. Is that what you want? Your own son to die to give a thrill to a bloodthirsty crowd?”

The king reeled backward as though his wife had struck him. He stared wildly about the arena. He saw Sylvan and his men hurrying to rig ropes to the torch poles. Then he realized what they were doing. They were building a makeshift gallows. Suddenly he leaped to the edge of the royal box and shouted, “Stop! Stop the executions!”

Sylvan heard the king. But he also heard another voice as he pulled the last rope from the destroyed gallows. It was the terrible voice of Maeve, and she was screeching,
“Hang them, Sylvan! Hang them!”

Sylvan and his guards finished attaching the ropes to the light poles. Seven nooses once again swung in the breeze. Then he cried, “Now, Sleepers, let’s see what you can do with your necks stretched!”