Chosen Ones (10 page)

The penalty is severe and immediate. Traitors must die. You know that. Normal y, we would…” Peter’s heart leapt at the word “normal y.” Surely this meant that they were about to make an exception in his case?

“Normal y, we would insist on immediate execution. But if you serve us in this way, we wil al ow you and your companion to leave Aedyn. You wil supervise the construction and testing of this weapon, and you wil have your freedom if the test is successful. If it is not, you wil die. Is that clear?” Peter gulped again. This was getting out of control. But what other option did he have?

“That is very satisfactory, my lord. I have your word on this?”

“You have the word of the Wolf.” The lord stood and reached out a pale hand to Peter, who took it in his. “Now you wil return to your apartment. You wil remain there under guard while you show us how to build this cannon of which you speak so highly.” At a nod of his head the guards turned on their heels and dragged Peter away from the Great Hal and back to his chambers. He heard the ominous click of the lock as the door was closed behind him.

He was alone. He looked out of the windows of his apartment. The darkening night matched his mood as one thought whirled over and over through his mind: what reason did the lords have to keep him and Julia alive if the cannon worked?

Julia had been thrown into a wooden cage just outside the castle grounds, the door locked behind her. Two guards patrol ed outside. As the sun left the sky in a burst of oranges and pinks Julia closed her eyes and wept, enveloped by the deep gloom of hopelessness. There was nothing that she could do or say to make things better. Her fate lay beyond her control. She watched the guards marching up and down with a growing sense of despair. Was there any way to escape?

Unaccountably, her mother sprang to her mind.

Not her mother as she had been in the end, lying weak and pale in bed, unable to eat, unable to speak, unable to hold her own children. No, she thought of her mother as she had been in the years before. Strong and tal —just as tal as her husband, and with al of his fire and bravery. She had been, Julia thought, a great woman. She would have known what to do. She would have known how to help the slaves and how to get home. She would have found a way out of this cage.

Help would certainly not come from her brother.

Peter had abandoned and betrayed her, taken in by the dark lords of Aedyn and his sil y need to impress, to be on top. She rested her chin on her knees and looked up at the night sky. The stars were winking into place in the purple velvet heavens. And then she remembered Gaius and Simeon, and how they had spoken of the One who was greater than Marcus.

Surely this was the moment to cal on him. So there and then, on that dark, cold night, Julia asked the Lord of Hosts to be at her side. To stand by her, even in this darkest hour. And to help her set his people free. Then, exhausted, she fel asleep on the uncomfortable floor of the cage.

Something woke her some hours later—she could never be sure how many. It was stil night, and the guards were stil patrol ing. But something was different—some hint of intrigue was in the air. Julia stayed stil , rooted to the spot in apprehension. In the moonlight she could just make out a smal group of shadowy figures coming soundlessly toward her—

was she to be executed immediately? She wanted to scream, wanted to cry out for help, but what good could that do? There was no escape from the Death Cage.

As the figures came closer Julia could distinguish four of them. The two smal est seemed to lurk behind in the background—perhaps to prevent any escape for the doomed prisoner. The other two were running towards the Death Cage, silently but swiftly. They reached the guards, who had not seen or heard them coming.

In the darkness Julia could not be quite sure what was happening, but she could see a scuffle between the two figures and the men guarding the cage. The strangers had the element of surprise on their side but the guards were quick and wel -trained, and for a moment it looked as if they might gain the upper

hand.

But

final y

the

guards

were

overpowered, and the two figures in the background approached to help tie and gag them. Not a word was spoken. It was as if the whole operation had been wel planned in advance. Julia watched in astonishment as one of the raiders extracted a set of keys from one of the guards and opened the door.

The stranger made quick work of the ropes that bound Julia’s hands and helped her roughly to her feet. “Who are you?” she hissed, rubbing her wrists where the ropes had cut into her skin.

“I am Lukas,” the stranger said briefly. “Gaius sent me from the forest. You’l be safe with us.

Come. “The two trussed guards were dragged into the Death Cage and the doors locked. Lukas hid the keys within his robes as Julia looked, for the first time, at the other figures.

“Alyce—and Helen!” she breathed. The younger woman grinned and Helen caught Julia into a hard embrace. “How—how did you…”

“There is no time for stories,” said the fourth figure, a man whom Julia did not recognize. “We ride.”

Lukas guided Julia into the darkness of the trees, where five horses stood tethered and waiting.

A few moments later, just as dawn was beginning to touch the sky, they gal oped off toward the dark forest of the west.

T
he Lords of Aedyn looked up with irritation as a guard knocked at the door and opened it to admit Anaximander. The Jackal sighed deeply, annoyed at the intrusion. They had been discussing their plans over breakfast for the new weapon which Peter had agreed to design for them.

Anaximander was robed in his ceremonial best and had planned to deliver a great deal of flowery speeches along with his news. But something he saw in the Wolf’s posture—something in the dead coldness of the eyes behind that mask—indicated that this might not have been the wisest approach.

And so he said, quite simply and without apology,

“My Lord, the prisoner has escaped.” An awful silence fel upon the room. The Wolf stood, and the eyes behind the mask were no longer cold but ful of fire. But the Leopard spoke instead.

“You wil interrogate the guards who permitted her escape. We need to know if they had help from inside the castle.”

Anaximander nodded. “It is almost certain that she was freed by renegade slaves—the same who got away from the working party some months ago, overpowering their guards.”

“Another failure on your part,” said the Wolf in that strange, emotionless voice. “Go. Find out what happened—and remember that the fair stranger must know nothing of what has transpired. We shal discuss your future on your return.” The Lord Chamberlain paused for an imperceptible moment, then bowed low to the lords, turned on his heel, and left the Hal . He walked as one already condemned. Unless he sorted this out very quickly, he would be dead within days. The Lords of Aedyn tolerated no failure on the part of their servants.

Knowing he would need his rest, Peter had forced himself to go to bed. But he’d slept poorly and rose with the first light of dawn. With nothing to do, he paced up and down inside his apartment, hungry, miserable, and more convinced with each passing moment that he had made a terrible mistake. The Lords of Aedyn were evil, but that did not make them fools. He had been mad to think that they would al ow Julia to go free simply because he told them how to make a cannon! And of course they would want to make sure it worked before releasing her. He should have seen that coming.

Peter sighed and ran a hand roughly through his hair. What a mess! He racked his mind again, trying to work out whether there was anything that could stil be done to turn the situation around. But what could he do? His apartment was now kept locked from the outside, and he could not leave the room—much less the castle—without the permission of the Lords of Aedyn. He was under house arrest, and there was nothing left to do. He sat down on the bed, his head in his hands. If only he could think of something clever that would get them al out of this mess! Some drastic escape, and a heroic rescue for Julia…

The door swung open. The captain of the guards entered, accompanied by two of his men. His face was grim, and he wasted no words. “You wil come with me to the Great Hal to show us the construction of your cannon.” A slave entered the room behind him, carrying a tray with a simple meal.

“Eat,” said the captain. “You have five minutes. I shal be waiting outside for you.” He and his men left the room, locking its great door behind them.

Peter drank deeply from the cup and tore off a piece of bread. His last meal, he thought grimly. He was just about to bite into the bread when he noticed that something was wrong. There was a piece of paper rol ed up inside it.

Looking around to make sure he was not being watched, Peter unrol ed the paper, his eyes going wide at the message written within.

“J escaped. Safe in forest. Destroy this message.”

Peter read it again, making sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. Julia was safe—safe in spite of al his stupid blunders. He wondered who could have sent the message—maybe one of the slaves of whom Julia had seemed so fond? There was no way that the Lords of Aedyn would tel him about this. They wanted him to think he was at their mercy. But if this message was true, they no longer had any way of control ing him.

Hurriedly Peter placed the rest of the bread in his mouth and began to chew. There were no more messages. Final y, he crumpled up the paper up into a little bal and swal owed it, grimacing. He knocked on his door for the guards to let him out, and as he left the apartment a plan began to form in his mind just as a smile began to form on his lips.

“Are you ready?” asked the captain.

“Yes, I’m ready,” said Peter.

J
ulia and her companions gal oped into the forest of the west, the sun slowly rising behind them and bathing them in its red glow. Lukas reined in his steed, checking that his companions were safe and they were not being pursued. Once deep in the forest they would be safe. None but those who dwelt in the wood itself knew its hidden paths and trails.

Outsiders would be lost within moments, enveloped in its green wilderness without any means of finding their bearings. In some parts of the forest the light of the sun never penetrated the dense canopy of leaves, and Lukas and his fol owers had made their base in the darkest and most impenetrable region.

Here they would be wel hidden.

As the rising sun was just beginning to burn the mist off the ground they entered the forest. Julia looked around her. She had been here before but she knew no landmarks to help her find her way. She was grateful for those riding with her, for she was not a strong rider and could not have directed her horse alone.

But the sure-footed horses seemed to know where they were going. They needed no guidance, and after an hour’s ride they came to a halt in a clearing. Everyone dismounted, relieved to stretch their legs after the ride. Lukas gathered them together and pointed towards some logs piled at one edge of the open space.

“We wil rest here for a few moments. The horses wil no longer accompany us. They have done their job, and done it wel .” He bowed to the five horses, and they lowered their heads briefly in return before cantering off down a trail that Julia had failed to notice. She wanted to know where the horses were going—she had so many questions that she didn’t real y know where to begin. How had Helen and Alyce escaped the palace? Where was she being taken? But this, she suspected, was not the right time to ask questions. This was a time for action, not conversation.