The Catastrophe of the Emerald Queen (18 page)

Getruhl didn’t want to leave
Challandra and clung on tightly to her hand, crying. 

Challandra
crouched down in front of him and spoke quietly, “There’s nothing
to be afraid of Getruhl. I promise you I’ll be with you as soon as
I can.” 

Madame Veer looked on saying
nothing, clearly realising that being strict would not work
now. 

The boy wailed and tried to hug
Challandra but she gently held his arms.

“
No Getruhl.
I promise you I’ll be there as soon as I can. Please go with Madame
now. It’s for the best.” 

She walked
with him to the centre of the room. The child still had a tight
grip on her hand and wouldn’t let go, his face full of pleading.
Challandra squatted down and reached up to the clasp on one of her
necklaces. She undid it and gently drew the chain free from her
shirt. It had an oval green stone on the end encircled with silver.
“This is an Aquestan emerald Getruhl. It is a symbol of friendship.
I promise you I’ll be with you as soon as I can. Wear this to
remind you that I am right behind you.” 

The boy
sniffed loudly and tried to smile as Challandra reached up and
clasped the chain behind his neck and smiling, tucked the stone
under his green shirt and kissed his cheek gently. “I’ll be there
for you soon, now please. You need to go.” 

She pulled her hand free and
Getruhl stood next to Mispyn. The other two were still jumping up
and down with excitement, their ankle length boots clipping on the
dusty, hard floor. Getruhl tried to smile and grasped the chain in
his fingers for reassurance as he gazed forlornly at
Challandra. 

She stepped
clear and Madame Veer addressed them all. “Now remember. No magic
unless absolutely necessary and keep to the woodland trail, not the
open roads. Leave as soon as we’re gone and lock up. The doorkeeper
will be able to tell everyone what happened here.” 

She grasped
the hands of the boys nearest to her. One looked over at Bue. “Beat
you to it,” he smirked, but not unpleasantly. Getruhl held the
other hand of the boy nearest to him. 

Bue grinned
back and saluted the boy theatrically. “See you soon Jerean. Take
care of Getruhl and Mispyn.” 

Madame Veer
closed her eyes and the effect that Jared had seen in the council
chamber began again. Large ripples coming in from the corners of
the room and converging into the centre. The purple light behind
them glowed brighter and brighter until it was too much to look at
without hurting your eyes. Jared glanced away and the ripples
converged on the group, who started to fade. As the ripples came in
on one another in the centre, the group became transparent. Then as
the waves completely folded in they spread out rapidly then
disappeared. The purple light glowed even brighter for a second and
finally dimmed. It turned a cold grey and the room was lit only by
the moonlight coming through the windows. 

There was a
silence and then Leppard turned to them. “Right, you lot. To the
kitchens. We need to get food and then we’re off at first
light.”

Chapter
11

The dorm room was buzzing with
excitement as they came back. The remaining boys had no idea what
was going on and they bombarded Leppard, Bue and Challandra with
questions as they returned to collect them.

 “
Settle
down,” Leppard barked as he tried to make himself heard over the
ruckus. Eventually the chatter subsided and Leppard cleared his
throat. 

“
Right. We
need to leave here. Some bad people came tonight as you are aware
but were not successful in their attempt to take young master Jared
away with them.”

 
Another excited buzz and Leppard waited
until it died away, then continued. “Madame Veer has gone ahead to
the Cherubs with the others via
Shimmer
. We will be
walking.”

 
There was a groan from one or two of the
boys as this information was taken in. They realised they’d missed
using or even seeing the
Shimmer
working, something only a few of them had ever
witnessed. 

“
However it’s
nice weather and you could all do with some exercise” he said
smiling.

The boys smiled back. They
trusted Leppard despite his gruff demeanour and they all liked
him. 

“
You are to
all take this with the most exceptional seriousness” he said
sternly, his facial expression changing to one of complete
sincerity. “You are under my protection and I will not see any of
you come to harm. Anyone acting the fool will be punished severely
both at the time and when we get back here. Is that
clear?”

 
They
all nodded.

 “
Now,
go with master Bue to the practice hall and collect your bows,
quarrels and packs. Don’t dawdle and when you have them, meet back
in the kitchen. You are to take your day clothes, your walking
boots and a large pack, nothing more. Now get to it.”

 
Bue led
them out the doors, his bow reloaded and held ready for anybody
that might spring unwisely from a dark corner.

 
Leppard
turned to Challandra. “Is a day a realistic estimate?”

 “
Yes,
we can maybe make it in less. We have to press on though. They
might come back.”

“
I know”
Leppard replied seeing her discomfort and shifting his bow to the
other hand he patted her shoulder reassuringly. “We’ll be okay. I’m
just glad she took little Getruhl and the other two. That boy is
scared of his own shadow.”

 
Challandra glared at him and snapped. “He’s frightened out of
his wits and he’s only 5! How did you cope when you were that
age?” 

Leppard started slightly at her
anger and his face creased in embarrassment. “I’m sorry, I like the
boy too…it’s just…”

 
Challandra relaxed slightly and blushed. In a quiet voice she
said, “I’m sorry. This is too much to take in. I feel guilty about
those men. They’re dead because of me.” 

Leppard
patted her arm again. “Don’t be. They would have hurt anyone they
came across. They were brutal men. They would not have shown mercy,
to anybody.” 

Challandra
moved towards the door. Turning she looked at Jared. “Come on, we
need to get the food sorted.”

In the
canteen there had been a frantic rush as the boys tried to make for
the sweet cupboard until Challandra had screeched at them to get
out and wait in the dining area. She sorted the food into bundles
and gave each bundle a leg or two of roasted meat, some ham and
hard boiled eggs plus a generous portion of green vegetables. Also
three or four of Penny’s cakes that the boys loved. She wrapped
each pile of food up in waxed paper and tied it up in a leather
sack with string.

 “
Penny's gonna kill you Miss when she sees you’ve robbed her
prize puddin’s” Stone said cheerily.

 “
Just
take your things and go fill your drinking flask,” Challandra said
firmly and the boy smirked at her and then walked over to the huge
clay water pot at the side of the room.

 
Leppard
and Bue returned from securing all the doors and Leppard coughed
for attention.

 “
Do you
all have your bows and quarrels?” he shouted.

 
The
boys took a final cursory glance and nodded in unison.

 “
And
food?”

 
Again,
nodding.

 “
Right
we leave now. We are not going out the front door and we will be
absolutely silent. Anyone talking gets my boot up their backside.
Clear?” 

The boys
stood up and Leppard led them out the room and down the corridor.
Bue grabbed Jared’s arm and passed him his bow. “Here, you forgot
this.”

 “
Thanks” Jared said, slinging the bow and trying to buckle the
quiver belt while walking. “You ok?”

 “
Lovin’
it” Bue replied cheerfully, his smile threatening to split his face
open.

Chapter
12

As the sun
prickled the sky the group left the building. Making their way out
into the early morning rays of light. The woods at the back of the
orphanage were thick and seeing the broken path through the pink
and orange light was not easy. Jared was tired and while no longer
hungry he wondered if he’d ever get to sleep normally
again.

 
Bue was
as chirpy as ever. Nothing ever seemed to upset him or tire him out
and he took the rear position behind the group, checking every few
seconds around him. His bow held across his chest ready for anyone
that might try to stop them. Challandra was in the middle with the
main group of boys and she smiled to try and keep their spirits up
as they moved silently through the trees. The chirping of birds and
the sound of their footprints in the grass was the only thing
disturbing the stillness. The trees were tall and their leaves were
starting to show the blotches of autumn as they died to make way
for winter. The view was beautiful through the long trunks and the
path up ahead was overgrown and wound its way around and through
the foliage, sometimes disappearing from view
completely.

 
Leppard
was at the front and he scanned the area quickly and carefully as
they moved on. His senses were honed to spotting trouble from years
of hunting and tracking. As the early morning mist lifted slowly
from the wood and the sunlight shone on the blades of grass he felt
more confident that, as long as the boys obeyed his word and kept
to the plan, they would be fine.

 
After
half an hour of walking Jared dropped back to Bue and whispered.
“What are we going to? What’s the Cherubs?”

 
Bue
finished his current scan of the surrounding area and looked at
him. “It’s a family, a rich one. They live in a big house in the
woods. Them and Madame Veer have been friends for ages. They’ll
protect us from whoever is coming after us.”

 
It was
still light when Leppard called time to rest for the night. Most of
the boys were tired and becoming irritable and they gratefully fell
on their packs in the long grass to the side of the
track. 

Leppard set out finding a clear
space to make a fire and sent two of the boys off to gather wood.
Challandra entertained the others with a few stories and kept the
younger boys’ spirits up.

 
Bue was
keen to go hunting and Leppard said that provided he could catch
something not more than half a mile from the camp then fine. Bue
had grinned and promised him a brace of rabbits and three or four
birds for the pot when he got back.

 
He’d
taken Jared along and they made their way through the trees, the
knee high grass brushing aside as they pushed on. Jared had never
been hunting before and he was curious to know the methods. The
bright light of day through the trees that they had had since early
morning was now making way for a deepening shade of grey. The
shadows becoming longer. The noise and chatter of the forest
animals was subdued as if they too were turning in for the day.
Jared was worried that they would get lost as it got dark but Bue
assured him he was an experienced hunter. From all the times he’d
been out with his father and lately with Leppard and the other
boys. He walked confidently through the forest, his bow held ready
for anything.

 
Jared
was about to ask him a question when Bue turned and held his finger
to his lips, then pointed further ahead. Jared saw nothing but then
after a pause his eyes adjusted and he could see a grey rabbit
ahead, nibbling on a leaf of some plant, held between its paws. Bue
motioned for Jared to drop down and they squatted, staring ahead.
Bue silently raised his bow and steadying his aim he took a deep
breath and triggered it. The quarrel shot free from the weapon with
a twang and the bolt hit the rabbit with a thud.

 “
YEE-ES!!” Bue exclaimed triumphantly as the rabbit flew back
into the long grass behind it. “Come on, dinner part one” he said
grinning and clapping Jared on the shoulder. They ran forward and
Bue scanned the foliage. “There,” he said and reached down, pulling
the body up by the ears. The rabbit was limp and the shot had been
clean. He tossed the carcass to Jared. “Cop hold of that, you can
carry.”

 
Jared
flinched as he caught the rabbit and gingerly held it in his hands.
Bue reached for a new quarrel and held it between his teeth as he
started to recrank his crossbow.