ISOF (27 page)

Noj shook his head and gestured with his hand once more. ‘It's not up for discussion,' he said calmly.

Reluctantly, Ben took the diamond from his cloak. Placing the stone in Noj's hand, Ben left his fingers touching the surface of the diamond.

‘You have to let it go, Ben,' said Noj gently moving his hand. ‘You know it's the right thing to do.'

Ben, closing his eyes, removed his fingers from the diamond and stepped away. He felt tired. The whole adventure was gradually becoming so frustrating that it held little appeal for him. With a sigh he opened his eyes and immediately gasped. Directly in front of him, and holding Noj firmly by the shoulders stood two enormous Jaresh guards, each holding a spear directed at Ben's throat.

The two guards towered over Ben. Making strange
ticking
noises in their throats, they slowly moved forward.

Ben stood frozen with fear. Several thoughts flashed through his mind. If he ran, Noj might be harmed and if he didn't run,
he
might be harmed. What would happen to the others? Where was he going to run? More to the point, how was he going to run, his legs wouldn't work?

While the thoughts were racing through his mind, Alisha decided to take action. She watched for a split second as Ben appeared rooted to the spot and then ran headlong into the stomach of the nearest Jaresh guard. Her head made satisfying contact with the scaly creature's midriff as he folded neatly under the impact, which suddenly deprived him of air. The second guard instantly released his hold of Noj and ran forward to protect his colleague. In the confusion, Noj threw the diamond and bell at Ben.

‘You know what to do,' he shouted.

Fumbling the items, Ben finally managed to hug them to his chest and immediately ran onto the bridge. Pausing part way along the wooden pathway, Ben quickly looked behind to where the Jaresh guards appeared to be struggling with a small crowd of people. Ben climbed onto the parapet and looked down into the murky depths of the three rivers.

For a brief moment, Ben couldn't see where the three rivers met as the glutinous looking surface simply appeared as one heaving mass. Frantically, he scanned the rivers for any difference in their surfaces. He looked back to where the rest of the group should have been but it was impossible to determine what had happened to them in the melee of jostling people and guards. Ben was just about to jump back to the pathway when he suddenly noticed a small spray of muddy water leap into the air. He watched closely and, after a few seconds, it happened again. Ben traced the flow of each river and decided that the small spray was approximately where the three rivers might meet, or at least he tried to persuade himself they might.

Behind him the noise was increasing and occasional cries of anger and pain could be heard. Ben couldn't see anything else that looked remotely possible as the spot where the rivers met. For a second he dithered over throwing the bell and diamond into the water. What if he was wrong and this wasn't the correct place? How could he retrieve the objects once he'd thrown them into the murky water? With a last look behind, Ben placed the diamond and the bell into his hands and aimed the two objects where the spray of water leapt slightly skywards. Holding his breath, he threw the bell and diamond at the same time. The objects seemed to take forever as they arced in the air, tumbling and turning as they neatly hit the exact spot where the last muddy water spray had erupted. Both the diamond and bell sank without a sound, each embraced by the muddy waters.

Ben waited, nothing. The small spray of water leapt above the surface once again and, as quickly, disappeared. By this time, a number of Jaresh guards had extricated themselves from the crowd and were quickly making their way across the bridge towards Ben. He looked again at the rivers but nothing had changed as the murky depths churned much as they had done for decades. Just as he was about to jump to the ground, Ben saw one of the guards launch a spear in his direction. The shaft of the spear twisted in flight causing little flecks of light to reflect from its surface as if it was lit by a myriad of small lights. The effect was mesmerising. Ben couldn't take his eyes off the spear as it travelled ever closer. He felt strangely calm, as if what he was seeing and hearing was a distant dream and he was simply an observer of events evolving somewhere else, cocooned as he was in the warm embrace of indifference.

Suddenly, a huge explosion burst into his consciousness. He turned to see a massive spout of mud and water erupting from the point where the three rivers met. The spout climbed ever higher, its foul fingers clawing their way skywards until, at the point where density and gravity argued, the murky water returned to earth, covering everything and everyone as it fell.

Ben looked around as shocked figures stood paralysed with fright and surprise. He smiled and then everything went dark as the spear found its mark.

Ben felt himself drifting, wrapped in a warm cloud. He was vaguely aware of voices, distant, almost ethereal. Somewhere beyond his understanding, a voice called his name. He smiled. It was nice to be remembered. He allowed the warmth to penetrate every part of his body. It felt good.

‘Ben!' called a voice softly, urgently. ‘Ben!'

Ben smiled again. He was so comfortable and wanted to relax, allow the feeling of safety to last forever. Suddenly, he was aware of a different sort of warmth, something soft and gentle on his cheek.

‘Come on, Ben. It's time to wake up.'

He felt the gentle kiss against his cheek again. Ben murmured appreciatively. He turned his head to allow the other cheek to feel the luxuriously soft kiss. He felt himself lurch upright, his hand against his cheek where it had just received a stinging smack.

‘Ben, you slob,' chuckled Alisha. ‘Stop frightening us and wake up.'

Shaking his head, Ben tried to force his eyes open but failed. He didn't want to try again. A hand pressed itself against his cheek.

‘Are you asking for another smack?' asked Alisha.

Ben's eyelids allowed themselves to be lifted slightly. A groan escaped his lips as the light hit his senses like a hammer-blow.

‘Come on, Ben. We need you to wake up,' coaxed Alisha.

Ben took a deep breath and groaned once again as a searing pain exploded inside his head. He began to lift a hand to his head but felt another hand hold his.

‘Don't touch,' said Alisha. ‘You have a nasty gash on your forehead.' She stroked his cheek. ‘You're lucky to be alive.'

‘What happened?' mumbled Ben. ‘All I remember is an explosion, muddy water everywhere and…' he groaned at the memory. ‘And a dirty great spear!' He went to touch his head but, again, Alisha held his hand away from the wound.

‘Don't you listen to what you're told?' she asked grinning. ‘Now, come on. We need to get away from here and back to the anonymity of the market place.'

Gradually forcing his eyes open, Ben could just about make out his dim surroundings. He appeared to be resting against someone's door, which sat inside a covered porch. By his side knelt Alisha while the others crouched close by, each looking anxiously at Ben. Noj gave him a smile.

‘Ready to move?' he asked indicating world outside of the porch.

Ben nodded and winced with the accompanying pain. Trep and Mak, supporting him with their arms, helped him stand upright. For a moment the world and everything in it moved in rhythm to a silent song. Before he had a chance to grow accustomed to the sensation of movement, Ben felt his body partially lifted and dragged out into the confusion of noise that the recent river explosion had caused.

The world outside of the porch was one of chaos. Those people who had heard, but not seen the watery explosion were eagerly trying to get near the bridge. Unfortunately, those who had been caught up in the immediate aftermath and who were now drenched in filthy, muddy water, were as eager to get away from the scene.

Ben stared at the competing mass of people. The noise was deafening as bodies tried to force themselves passed each other. The Jaresh guards, bemused by the explosion and what looked like a mass brawl, reacted in the only way they understood and began lashing out indiscriminately with their fists, occasionally using their spears to herd small groups into doorways.

In one group, close to where Ben stood, a couple of young children were being pushed and kicked by two guards as they tried to force the group away from the bridge.

‘Hey!' yelled Ben. ‘Leave them alone you pair of overgrown prawns.'

The guards, taking a final kick at the smaller of the two children, quickly turned and began to head straight for Ben.

‘Strewth, Ben,' shouted Mak as he and Trep virtually lifted Ben off his feet and started to run.

‘Talk about shooting your mouth off,' panted Trep. ‘I've a good mind to…'

‘Where's Alisha?' interrupted Noj as he jogged beside them.

‘She was here a moment ago,' stuttered Ben as his body was dragged over the uneven surface of the street.

For the next few minutes, Ben felt himself bumped and jostled as Mak and Trep half carried, half dragged him away from the pursuing Jaresh guards. Every now and again, Ben would call out a plaintive ‘
Sorry'
or ‘
Excuse us'
, but nobody heard, nobody listened or cared, their only concern being to avoid injury from the guards who had suddenly multiplied in number and were chasing some poor unfortunates.

Eventually, Ben was thrust behind one of the many stalls that littered the market place. Mak and Trep slithered to the ground, their breaths short and rasping.

‘That,' mumbled Noj, between gasps for air, ‘was not the most intelligent thing you've ever done.'

‘They were hurting those children,' replied Ben. ‘We couldn't just ignore that!'

‘It'll be us that gets hurt,' complained Mak, ‘if the guards catch us.'

Ben was saved from further criticism as Alisha suddenly appeared around the edge of the stall.

‘Thank you,' she called over her shoulder.

Instantly, Noj ran to the end of the stall and looked around. ‘Thank, who?' he asked.

‘That old guy,' explained Alisha. ‘You know, the one who was selling those card things earlier. He saw me and showed me where you were, that's all.'

‘If he knows where we are,' said Ben, his face clearly showing his worry. ‘Then it won't be long before everyone will know where we are hiding.'

Noj took hold of Alisha's shoulders. ‘Where have you been?' he asked urgently.

Alisha smiled. ‘Looking at Ben's handiwork,' she replied smiling. ‘You wouldn't believe the change in the rivers.' Her face lit up as she explained what she had seen. ‘Once the waters had calmed down, the rivers turned from that murky brown sludge to a clear, crystal-like river that sparkled and chimed as it raced under the bridge.'

‘That's bound to have annoyed the Jaresh,' groaned Trep. ‘They'll be looking for the culprits and won't rest until they have someone to blame, anyone!'

Urging the group to leave their hiding place, it soon became apparent that Trep's words were more than accurate. In the market place people were scurrying in all directions as Jaresh guards dealt harshly with anyone who wasn't quick enough to move out of their way. Several bodies lay where they had fallen, whether immobile through injury or playing dead until it was safe to move wasn't clear.

Pushing the group between another two stalls, Noj suddenly stopped and held the rest of the group back. ‘Quiet!' he hissed. ‘Trilligs!'

Circling a group of stalls were the two beasts Ben had seen earlier. Resembling oversized dogs, the beasts had bodies covered in a mixture of fur and leathery scales. Three jagged tails moved independently seemingly able to threaten people without the fiery eyes of the beast looking in their direction. Standing on claw-like paws, the beasts scoured the crowd for entertainment. With barks that sounded almost metallic the beasts spread their skeletal wings to their full extent.

‘It gets better,' said Trep rolling his eyes.

Noj shook his head. ‘We'd better move as far away as possible, before those creatures get any closer.'

‘Too late for that, I reckon,' said Mak hurriedly. ‘I think they're on to us.'

The two beasts were now striding purposefully, pulling their guards along whether they wanted to follow or not. Every few steps the beasts would sniff the air, drop their heads and continue in the direction of Ben and the others.

‘Quickly then,' called Noj as he raced from behind the stall.

Once again, he led the small group between stalls and buildings until he stopped at an archway.

‘In here,' he yelled as the rest of the group followed him through the arch and into a dingy courtyard. Two steps into the courtyard the group stopped. In front of them sat a group of men they'd met a few days earlier.

‘Hey up,' said the larger of the seated figures. ‘If it ain't our nice friends from the festival.' He nudged the figure bedside him. ‘What d'you reckon, Kev, are they pleased to see us?'

The seated figures twitched with laughter.

‘Cutters!' spat Trep. ‘It really does get better!'

‘Well, well,' said the large Cutter known as First-Voice. ‘I'll go to the foot of our stairs.'

‘You can't then,' grinned Kev. ‘You knocked ‘em down.'

The Cutters twitched with laughter once more. First-Voice wiped a hand across his nose. ‘It's just a saying like,' he said repeating his hand to nose action. ‘Sort of an expression of surprise.'

Kev frowned. ‘Oh,' he said hesitantly. ‘OK, I knew that already.'

‘Yeah,' chortled another Cutter whose thin face and sparse, wiry hair gave him an odd, almost animal-like appearance. ‘Sure you did.'

‘Shut your face, Weasel,' growled Kev. ‘You ain't no,
Mister Brains
either.'

‘Shut up the pair of you,' barked First-Voice. He pointed to some scattered wooden crates that lay around the courtyard. ‘Pull up a seat, youngsters. Make yourselves comfy, but not too comfy,' he added with a grim smile. ‘You've got to meet the gaffer.'

‘I thought you were the boss,' said Ben sitting on a crate furthest away from First-Voice. The motley collection of Cutters dissolved into a gale of laughter at Ben's question. First-Voice, with laughter still gripping his mouth used his hand to wipe away tears this time and then clapped his hands together. ‘You're a caution and no mistake.'

‘If we surprised you by coming into the courtyard,' he said frowning. ‘How do you know we have to meet this
Gaffer
bloke?'

‘How do you know it's a male?' asked a small Cutter whose features were virtually invisible covered as they were by an oversized woollen hat with earflaps.

‘Ah,' said First-Voice. ‘That's a good point, Petal.' He turned to Ben. ‘All for equal rights is our Petal, ain't that right?'

‘Most definitely,' replied Petal as she pushed the hat from her face to reveal a pair of large blue eyes framed by voluminous blonde hair.

‘Just look,' grinned First-Voice. ‘Ain't she the pretty one?'

Petal blushed and pulled the hat firmly back over her hair. ‘Get away with you,' she giggled. ‘Flattery will get you nowhere.'

First-Voice nodded. Turning to Ben and the others he sniffed and nodded towards the rest of the Cutters. ‘Forgot me manners,' he said with a chuckle. ‘You've already met our Kev.' Kev nodded his greeting. ‘And now,' continued First-Voice. ‘You've met Petal, so let me introduce you to Weasel.' The thin, animal-like Cutter nodded at Ben. ‘And here we have Stevo, Chip, Peewee and Dazza,' said First-Voice with a sweeping gesture of his hand at the last four Cutters. ‘

The final four Cutters barely moved a facial muscle as they glowered at Ben and the others. Dazza was the first to speak.

‘A right pain you lot have been.' He scratched at the stubble on his chin. ‘Led us a merry dance you lot have and I'll be glad to see the back of you.'

‘And he's the sentimental one,' joked First-Voice. He looked at the group carefully and then nodded at Ben. ‘Who's the girlfriend?'

Before Ben could stutter a word, Alisha stood up and glared at First-Voice.

‘What gives you the right to question me or any of them?' she said angrily indicating the others. ‘Just who do you think you are?'

First-Voice grinned. ‘Ain't she the hot-headed one then?' He nodded to Alisha. ‘You're quite correct,' he said overly polite. ‘Questioning you isn't my job.' He stood up and growled at the rest of the Cutters. ‘On your feet and let's get these nice folk to the
Gaffer
, let him do the questioning.'

Ben and the others were unceremoniously jerked from their seated position and herded together surrounded by the Cutters. With a curt nod from First-Voice, the Cutters led the captive group out of the courtyard and back towards the market place.

The procession caused a murmur of suspicion and anger from the crowds milling around the stalls in the market place. Now that the Trilligs had been withdrawn to a safe distance from the shoppers and traders, a certain sense of normality had returned and everyone was ready to go about business once again.

The captives shuffled along in the direction dictated by occasional nudges and pushes from the Cutters. Eventually the Cutters forced the group to stop outside of a tall, rectangular building. This building looked no different to the others surrounding the market place apart from a pair of huge wooden doors adorned with ornate ironwork. To the left of the building stood the gnarled old oak tree that they'd seen earlier. Noj nudged Ben's elbow.

‘Keep your mouth shut, don't utter a word and whatever you do don't look at the tree or anybody directly. Understand?'

Ben nodded. He didn't want to say anything and certainly didn't want to draw attention to himself. Shuffling to the rear captive group he stood by Alisha.

‘I think it might be worth taking the advice just given to me,' he said in a whisper. ‘Keep your head down and don't say a word.'

Alisha's look of annoyance was instantly forgotten as the huge wooden doors clattered open against the stonework. Emerging from the doorway was a figure that stood imposingly against the backdrop of the building. Initially recognisable as one of the Jaresh, the figure was taller and broader than any of his kind. The scales that covered his body glittered, matched only by the bejewelled jerkin and waistband glistening in the sunlight.

In his right hand the creature held a ceremonial spear with intricate carvings running along the shaft. Turning its large head to the captive group, a low, rumbling growl echoed around the buildings.

‘May I, Thrumble, leader of the Jaresh, be the first to welcome you to the fair city of Janring. Unfortunately, on your arrival you may not have noticed the little sign that reads:
‘Janring welcomes obedient servants.
' Thrumble gave a smile that would have frozen an ocean. ‘I must say,' he continued. ‘Whilst I admire your courage, I consider your lack of wisdom to be foolhardy.' Thrumble raised his spear and brought it down hard on the stone step. ‘Fortunately, for you, I am pleased to inform you that the sensible action of one of your number, has saved you from a very serious ending.'

Ben quickly scanned the crowd that stood a safe distance from the captive group. Amongst the various traders and multitude of shoppers, four Jaresh guards stood perfectly still. At a signal from Thrumble they stood to one side, scattering onlookers as they did so. With two guards standing either side of him, a tall figure stood solemnly. His long, dark cloak hung from a slender frame. Beneath a dark silky hat with earflaps a pair of penetrating dark eyes looked at the captive group.

‘You!' squealed Alisha. ‘You traitorous, evil, conniving excuse for animal dung.' She hurled herself towards the figure. ‘I'll kill you!'