Grimsdon (5 page)

‘Where did you get this?' Raven turned the device in his grubby fingers.

‘I made it.'

‘And you use this to power things where you live?'

Griffin nodded. ‘We got sick of cold canned soup and baths.'

‘Not only that,' Xavier boasted, ‘they've made a heating system for a greenhouse where they grow fruit and vegies.'

‘Can you show us how to do the same here?' Raven asked.

‘Sure,' Griffin said eagerly.

‘Give us a list of what we'll need and we'll get it.' Raven got to his feet, pocketed the device and walked away. ‘You'll hear if we're going to let you in.'

‘We'll
hear?'
Isabella asked. Raven didn't answer. ‘We've given you a device for storing power, and all you're going to give us is “you'll hear”?'

Raven stopped momentarily. ‘I could have said no.' He resumed walking.

Others now gathered, tittering into their sleeves and whispering over each other's shoulders.

Griffin pushed his glasses up his nose. ‘He can't do that, can he?'

‘Not to us he can't.' Isabella stood firm. ‘And that's supposed to be good enough?' she called. More kids looked up. ‘We can give you the technology to have a warm bath for the first time in years, which won't be a minute too soon, and we're supposed to wait around for your say so?'

Raven stopped and half-turned towards her. ‘I'm sure you reign in your little kingdom, but here you play by my rules or you don't play at all.'

There were slapped backs and laughter from the other kids.

Griffin's jaw clenched and he ran after Raven. ‘Give me the energy pack. It's ours.'

Raven turned and pushed him away like an annoying fly. Griffin fell to the ground, his glasses sliding across the floor.

Isabella pulled her knife from her belt, stepped forward and hurled it with all her strength. It cut through the air and struck a wooden support beam only centimetres from Raven's ear. The room snapped into silence.

Raven stood deathly still.

Griffin felt around for his glasses, the figure of Raven a towering blur above him.

CHAPTER SEVEN

The jokes, the card games, the soccer – everything stopped. There was the expectant hum of good sport about to happen. Those who hadn't before, moved into position for a better view. They nudged elbows and huddled into groups, crouching to see between arms, standing on tiptoes to see over heads. Some whispered bets about who would win.

The entire Haggle was suspended in delicious anticipation of what Raven would do to the girl who threw the knife at him.

And they wouldn't have long to wait.

With a small grunt, Raven spun round and leapt at Isabella. He flew for her throat, coat flapping behind him, hands outstretched.

‘Izzy!' Xavier moved to help her but his arms were gripped by two large boys. ‘Hey!'

Griffin found his glasses in time to see Raven about to pounce. ‘Run, Isabella!'

But Isabella didn't move – until the very last moment.

Timed perfectly, she turned her body sideways, grabbing one of Raven's arms and jutting her leg into his path so that it caught his ankle. She pulled him around, twisting his unbalanced body and flipping him into the air. He landed with an
oopph!
on his back.

Isabella stood ready. Raven lay still for a moment, catching his breath before leaping to his feet. He snatched his sword from the table. As he ran towards her, he withdrew the blade, tossing the scabbard aside.

Griffin's breath caught in his throat. He took one step but no more. His legs felt like iron and his skin prickled.

Raven stomped closer, the sword held out beside him, ready to swipe.

Xavier managed to drag himself forward, when two more boys joined in to hold him back.

Raven swung the sword towards Isabella's legs. She leapt, hoisting her knees to her chest, clearing the blade and turning midair so that when she landed she encountered his beetroot face and heaving chest, a snarl dripping from his lips.

Griffin felt the last of his energy drain away and he fainted.

Isabella seized Raven's discarded scabbard and held it before her. Raven lunged and swung again. She met the sword blows as they rained down, denting the scabbard with each clash.

For a split second, Isabella's eyes met Raven's. She winked. Raven sneered.

With both hands Isabella drove the scabbard upwards, dislodging the sword from Raven's grasp and sending it toppling to the ground. She sprang into the air and, with one perfectly timed kick to the chest, sent him sprawling once again onto his back.

Isabella dropped a knee onto Raven's chest. With one arm pressed across his throat, the other snatched a knife from her ankle strap and held it up to his face.

Xavier finally pulled away from his captors when their grips loosened and their eyes widened in shock.

Raven stared at Isabella, her fringe falling across her eyes so that he could just make out her unflinching stare.

‘We've offered you a great treasure. What's it worth?'

Raven's eyes flicked to Xavier. ‘Is this how she always does business?'

‘Mostly.' He shrugged.

‘Griffin's intelligence doesn't come cheap. Harnessing power from the currents will allow you to have electricity, hot food – and that hot bath you so desperately need.'

There was a titter of voices.

Raven's body relaxed and he laughed. ‘You're in.'

Excited murmurs rippled through the room – instant deal-making for who would be among the first to have a warm bath.

‘And?'

‘Your first trade's on the house. Whoever you deal with can come to me; I'll sort them out from my stuff.'

Isabella leant forward. ‘Why should I trust that when I let you up you're not going to want revenge?'

‘Because,' he laughed again, ‘I may be a thief – and even a liar – but I'm not an idiot.'

Isabella wasn't convinced.

‘We have the Code.' Raven flicked his eyes to the sheet on the wall. ‘Anyone who breaks that is out.'

Isabella threw a look at Xavier. He gave her a nod. She withdrew the knife slowly and replaced it in her ankle strap.

She stood back warily while Raven got up. He rubbed his chest where Isabella's knee had landed. ‘You've got a good amount of fight in you, and you're strong. Where did you learn all that swordplay?'

‘She was the fencing champion at school,' Xavier answered.

‘And no-one thought to tell me?'

‘You never asked.'

Raven held out his hand. ‘Welcome to the Haggle.'

Isabella shook, gripping tightly. ‘Oh, and if you ever touch my friend like that again,' she whispered, ‘you'll find out
why
I was the champion ... Ready, Griff?'

It was only then that Isabella noticed he was lying on the floor. She dropped to his side and patted his cheek. ‘Griff?'

He groaned and slowly came to. ‘What happened?'

‘We're in.' She and Xavier helped him up. ‘Thanks to you. And now we get to go shopping.'

They walked past a line of kids whispering excitedly. Isabella stopped at the wooden beam where her knife was embedded and snatched it out.

‘I thought you said we could trust him?' Griffin fumed at Xavier.

‘I also said not to upset him.'

‘We had no choice,' Isabella said. ‘I had to teach him that he can't mess with us.'

Xavier smiled. ‘I think he got the message.'

‘I don't like him.' Griffin looked over his shoulder at Raven. ‘Who would attack a girl?'

Isabella frowned. ‘I can take care of myself.'

‘Sorry, I don't mean you, but, well ... It just doesn't seem right.'

‘They've had to defend themselves from intruders in the past.' Xavier slung his arm around Griffin's shoulder. ‘He was just mucking around.'

‘He pushed me to the ground and charged at Isabella with a sword.'

‘All right, he wasn't mucking around, but it's not like he was going to
kill
you or anything.'

‘But he–'

‘We need some of those.' Xavier picked up two bike helmets and handed them to Griffin.

He looked further. ‘Walkie-talkies, anyone? King-sized hiking boots?' He picked up a heavy knight's helmet. ‘A little bit of medieval swordplay?'

He strained to lift the helmet onto his head and held out his arms. ‘How do I look?' his voice echoed from inside.

‘It's an improvement.' Griffin nodded.

When Xavier tried to pull the helmet off, it wouldn't budge. He tugged and panted. ‘Ahh ... Can I get a bit of help here?'

Isabella and Griffin swapped smiles.

Xavier jerked at the helmet again. ‘Hey. Help me out.' He took a few clumsy steps forward. ‘You haven't had the chance to thank me for getting you into the Haggle.'

He bumped into a table and sent a collection of shoes bouncing to the floor.

‘We're just trying to find the right words.' Griffin stifled a laugh.

‘We should help him,' Isabella said through a smirk.

‘Do we have to?'

Xavier ran into another table. This time filled with knives and cleavers, which fell to the ground with a metallic
clang.
‘You can't leave me like this!'

‘If we don't help him he's going to kill someone,
and
he's the only one who can fly the Aerotrope,' Isabella reasoned.

‘O-kay,' Griffin sighed. ‘But I bet he'll be just as annoying when he comes out.'

CHAPTER EIGHT

‘Excuse me, Captain, but ... I think you really need to see this.'

A voice snarled from deep within a lounge chair: ‘Is it just me, Tyran, or do I remember saying I wasn't to be disturbed?'

‘Ah, yes, Captain Sneddon, I remember that, too.' The snivelling man shifted from one foot to the other. His puny body swam in his soiled clothes, and his face was blotched with smudges. His hair was a permanent windblown tangle that hadn't seen a brush in years. His beard was no better. ‘But you see, this is something quite startling that I think, even though you said you weren't to be disturbed, is going to make you want to be disturbed after all.' He turned a cowboy hat in his hands: one hand was missing a finger.

Despite the cabin being grand by ships' proportions, this one was hemmed in by boxes brimming with jewellery and crates of antique vases and figurines. Famous paintings were stacked up against each other and, at the end of a four-poster bed overstuffed with furs and silken pillows, two chests sat side by side, filled with notes and coins that no-one other than the Captain had ever counted.

He hoisted his body from the chair and, with his back to Tyran, replaced lengths of gold chain into a wooden jewellery box and pressed the padlock shut. When he turned, Tyran, who had never quite become used to the sight, flinched at the tiger snake curled around the Captain's shoulders.

‘You'll understand, of course, Tyran,' Sneddon's voice was like the low rumble of an approaching storm. ‘If I get up and find you have wasted so much as a second of my time, you'll be spending another night below deck with Albert and his delicious rats.'

Tyran's face went pale. ‘Yes, Captain.'

Albert raised his head and stared at Tyran with cold, lidless eyes.

Sneddon looked into a small, rounded mirror and ran his hands along either side of his hair, sweeping it upwards in a smooth, wave-like quiff. ‘Now, are we going to see this startling curiosity that is going to astound me, or shall I stand here and simply imagine it?'

Tyran, still clearly thinking about Albert and the rats, shuffled backwards. ‘No, Captain. I mean, yes, Captain. Um, follow me, Captain.'

The cabin door opened onto the upper deck of the clipper,
The Sea Serpent.
The ship was anchored in the middle of a harbour that was once part of the Grimsdon River but whose shores were now buried beneath the floodwaters.

On the main deck, beside a large telescope, was another man. Taller, broader, his shoulders created a man twice the size of Tyran, with hands as big as two dinner plates. His face, though, was no less grubby, and his hair and beard ballooned around his head in a dreadlocked clump.

‘Ah, Mouse,' the Captain intoned with a raised eyebrow. ‘This day just keeps getting better.'

‘Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.' The man called Mouse smiled, revealing a yellowing mess of teeth with a gap where his front tooth was missing. He looked through the brass-rimmed eyepiece and lined up what he was looking for. ‘It's over there, sir.'

The Captain's shoes echoed off the deck like the crack of a whip. He lowered himself in line with the telescope, closed one eye and peered with the other.

Albert swung his head around to meet Tyran, who quickly shuffled away to join Mouse.

Sneddon sighed. ‘It's the usual dreary, watery, forsaken–' Then he stopped as he caught sight of something very much
not
the usual.

‘What do you think it is, Captain?' Mouse leant over Sneddon's shoulder.

‘Something I'd be able to concentrate on more clearly if I didn't have your fishy breath steaming up my ear.'

‘Sorry, sir.'

Through the lens the Captain spied a winged machine that flapped through the air like a mechanical bird with wheels.

‘A flying machine. How very fortuitous.' He followed its route as it swayed through the sky. ‘They've landed on that building where the kids live.'

He watched a group of figures step onto the Palace rooftop and lift a bulging sack from the back of the machine.

‘It's Isabella and Griffin.' The Captain squinted as a third figure jumped from the machine. ‘And it seems they've made a friend.'

The Captain smiled covetously. ‘They've been out collecting.' He straightened up from behind the telescope. ‘I think it might be time to pay a little visit.'

‘But, sir, we're not due to visit again until–' Tyran was quietened by the hissing lunge of Albert. ‘Yes, sir.' Tyran saluted.

‘Right away, sir.' Mouse followed with his own messy salute.

‘And Tyran?'

‘Yes, sir?'

Sneddon ran his hand along Albert's back. ‘Make sure they remember our deal.'