Tales of Golmeira- The Complete Box Set

by Marianne Ratcliffe

  Chapter Forty-one

  The queue to get into Golmer Castle stretched halfway back to Highcastle village. It seemed all Golmeira wanted to take part in the ascension celebrations. Although they had met up just after dawn, they were still near the back of the line. Kylen hopped up and down, trying to gauge the distance to the gates.

  ‘You’ll draw attention. You look like a woodcock with hiccups,’ Bodel remonstrated.

  ‘What’s taking so long? We’ve barely moved.’

  ‘No doubt they are scanning everyone who comes in,’ Polina remarked. ‘Now, you remember my instructions?’

  ‘Yes, yes. I was paying attention. Even the fourth time you told us.’ Kylen and Bodel could both resist being controlled by mindweaving but that alone would not be enough to avert suspicion if they were subjected to a deep scan. They were relying on Polina to confuse and distract the mindweavers at the castle gates. The line shuffled forward a few paces. The sun rose higher in the sky and still they weren’t even close to the castle.

  ‘This is taking too long,’ Kylen exclaimed impatiently. ‘Come on.’

  She shoved her way through the crowd, ignoring the flailing elbows and mutters of disapproval. Polina and Bodel followed in her wake, red-faced and apologetic. They had made it some way before their progress was stopped by a heavily built woman who absolutely refused to budge. She grabbed Kylen by her neck, her fingers as fat as sausages.

  ‘Get to the back of the line, unless you want a sore head. Other folks is waitin’. You can wait an’ all.’

  ‘Geroff me!’

  Purple with anger, Kylen struggled to free herself, but the woman’s grip was strong and to her mortification she was lifted off her feet.

  ‘Olyana?’ Bodel forced herself through the line to reach them.

  ‘Bodel? Don’t tell me you know this one?’ The woman set Kylen down roughly. ‘I wouldn’t have thought you’d be friends with someone so ill-mannered.’

  ‘What can I say?’ Bodel spread her arms apologetically. ‘It’s my cousin from the Border Mountains. She doesn’t know any better. She’s never been in a castle before and the excitement is a bit much. Please forgive us.’

  ‘We’re all excited.’ Olyana flicked her eyes towards Kylen, who was rubbing her neck. ‘I don’t close my inn for nothing.’

  Bodel lowered her voice.

  ‘Look, Olyana. Would you mind if we join you here? I don’t think I could put up with my cousin whining all the way up the line again. I know it’s a lot to ask, but if ever you felt a favour due to me…’

  Olyana glared at Kylen. The Sendoran tried to look sheepish and apologetic at the same time. It seemed to do the trick. Olyana folded her substantial arms.

  ‘I wouldn’t do it for anyone other than you, Bodel. But after what you done for my littluns a year back, I owe you. No other healer would come near ’em when they heard they’d got the eye droop. Just keep that idiot cousin of yours away from me.’

  ‘Certainly. Come here you.’ Bodel grabbed Kylen’s arm and yanked her into position behind Olyana, who silenced the protests of the group of people immediately behind with a single glare. ‘If you cause any more trouble, I will send you home with a good thrashing.’

  ‘You wouldn’t dare,’ Kylen said under her breath.

  ‘Wouldn’t I?’ Bodel snapped and Olyana snorted loudly. After a moment’s reflection, Kylen fell into step behind her.

  ‘I still think we should try and get closer,’ she muttered

  ‘Don’t push your luck, or I will indeed thrash you. Quite happily. Now shut up, or I’ll tell Olyana that I’ve changed my mind about letting you come with me.’

  At the castle gates the queue turned into a scrum as everyone began heaving and shoving to get in. After the briefest of examinations, they were waved through by one of four overworked mindweavers dressed in heavy golden robes. Kylen could hardly breathe with everyone packed so close together.

  Hey!’ she protested as a heavy-set boy trod on her foot. Polina laid a hand on her arm.

  ‘Stay calm. We can’t afford to get involved in any kind of incident.’ But someone barged her sideways and Kylen shoved back angrily. There was a scuffle and a stray arm knocked Kylen’s hat from her head. The dye she had used to cover her fair hair was fading, and her blonde roots were beginning to show through.

  ‘Hey there! You’re a Sendoran! There’s a Sendoran here.’

  The cries attracted the attention of one of the mindweavers. Kylen ducked down, using the crowd for cover and scrabbled amongst the feet for her hat. Where was it? She had to find it. There! As she reached for it, a boot kicked it further away. She crawled between the closely packed legs until at last she retrieved the hat, but not before she had knocked over a young girl in her haste.

  ‘Sorry,’ she muttered, helping the girl to her feet. She was grabbed from behind. She swung round, fists ready to knock her assailant down.

  ‘What part of not making a scene did you not understand?’ Bodel hissed. The crowd surged forward, carrying them further into the courtyard. Polina was swept off in the opposite direction. The mindweaver looked towards them anxiously, but there was no fighting against the tide and she was forced further and further away. One of the guards had raised herself up onto a plinth to scour the crowd. Kylen dared not shout out. Instead she gestured towards the southwest tower, where the dungeons were, but Polina had been forced to turn away to keep her feet and Kylen did not know if the mindweaver had seen her signal.

  ‘We can’t afford to wait. She’ll have to find us when she can,’ Bodel remarked as they found a bit of space at the edge of the courtyard.

  ‘Without Polina’s mindweaving skills, I don’t know what we can do,’ Kylen said bitterly.

  ‘Is that it? You’re just going to give up?’

  ‘Of course not.’ Kylen chewed her lip. Zastra usually came up with all the ideas, but Zastra wasn’t here. She wracked her brains but nothing came to mind.

  ‘Let’s head for the dungeons,’ she said at last. ‘We’ll just have to trust to luck and take any opportunity that presents itself.’

  Chapter Forty-two

  Zastra could only conclude that Thorlberd had run out of patience. Rastran sauntered into her cell, accompanied by two identical young men in purple shirts. Her cousin leaned nonchalantly against the doorframe and folded his arms.

  ‘What I did to that Sendoran imp is nothing compared to what I will do to you. How is the brat? Does he still cry in his sleep?’

  ‘Zax is stronger than you think,’ Zastra returned evenly. ‘What you did to him and those other children is nothing to boast about.’ Rastran smiled.

  ‘We need our future mindweavers to be strong. If some of the weaker ones get damaged in the process, it’s no loss.’

  ‘I see you haven’t got any less obnoxious. Someone who failed to defend Murthen Island with forty mindweavers and two migaradons should be a little less full of himself.’

  Rastran pulled a small key from inside his jacket and dangled it in front of her. ‘You have one last chance. If you co-operate, I can unlock those fetters right now. All you have to do is tell me why you came, and give me the names of the traitors who helped you.’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ said Zastra.

  Her cousin ran his tongue across his upper lip, placed the key back in his pocket and patted it gently.

  ‘I was hoping that would be your response. It will be much more fun doing it my way. By the time I’ve finished, you’ll be dying to tell me everything. Literally, dying.’

  ‘Brave as ever, Rastran, with your opponent in chains. And yet you’ve still brought two baby mindweavers for protection.’

  ‘I brought them here to teach them how we deal with rebels.’

  ‘And to use my mindmoving skills to unlock the door, Lord Rastran,’ said one of the twins. Zastra forced out a sharp laugh.

  ‘So, Thorlberd didn’t trust you with the key to my cell? I’m not surprised. He told me he didn’t want you messing things up
again. I suppose you mindweaved your way past the guards?’

  ‘Wrong. We told them to join the celebrations,’ the other twin offered. ‘Everyone obeys Lord Rastran.’

  ‘Not everyone,’ Zastra declared. Rastran crouched down beside her.

  ‘You see, with the guards out of the way, there’ll be no one to hear your screams. No one to relieve your suffering. It’s just you, me and the boys here.’

  Zastra shook her head slowly. ‘Your father won’t be pleased when he finds out you’ve sneaked in without permission. He told me what a disappointment you are.’

  Rastran went white. He grabbed the front of her shirt with both hands.

  ‘What else did he say?’

  Zastra lifted the corner of her mouth into a knowing smirk. The twins looked at each other uneasily. No doubt wondering why I’m provoking Rastran.

  ‘What… else… did he say?’ Rastran backhanded her across the face. Zastra maintained her amused expression. Her cousin swung back his arm and aimed another blow at her head. She ducked beneath his fist and swung her left leg in a half circle, sweeping Rastran’s feet from beneath him. He squawked in protest as she grabbed two handfuls of his hair and hauled his body into her chest.

  ‘Florian, Fester! Do something!’

  Zastra’s wrists were yanked apart, the iron cuffs digging painfully into her skin. She was forced to release Rastran and he scrambled out of her reach. She looked behind her to see who had pulled at her wrists, but there was nobody.

  ‘Keep the bitch down, Florian!’ With a life of their own, her chains looped upwards and snaked around her neck, forcing her arms to cross in front of her chest. Spittle frothed from Rastran’s lips as he approached, more attentively this time, although such caution was unnecessary. Her arms were pinned to her body. Rastran smoothed back his hair, regaining his composure.

  ‘Tell me why you are here, or I’ll have Florian choke you to death.’

  She declined to answer. Rastran nodded towards Florian. The chains jerked again, pulling her off balance. Unable to put down a hand to break her fall, her back crashed painfully onto the stone flagging. Winded, she could do nothing as the chains tightened around her throat.

  Joril and Myka hurried back to the dungeons. Baking the iced buns had taken longer than expected, mainly because the first batch had come out of the oven as heavy as rocks. For the first time in her life, Joril wished she had paid more attention to how Dalka made her mixture. She’d started over, this time throwing in twice as much rising powder and an extra egg. The buns were still warm in their hands and the icing on top had started to melt. Joril suspected that even this second batch was not up to Dalka’s standard. She just hoped the portly guard would let them in before she actually tried to eat them.

  But when they reached the dungeon, the woman had disappeared. Myka pressed his hand against the wrought iron gate and it swung open. Hardly believing their luck, they darted inside. A short flight of steps led down to a wide corridor, from which narrower passageways broke off on either side. Each was secured by a padlocked iron gate, except one at the far end which was ajar. It opened onto to a dark passage lined by studded doors. From the far end came a harsh laugh. Myka and Joril exchanged a glance.

  ‘Still time to go back,’ Myka offered nervously. Joril took a lamp from a hook on the wall.

  ‘Come on,’ she said.

  As they moved down the corridor, Joril noted that each door had a small metal grille halfway up. She lifted the lamp and glanced through one. She saw a small cell with two sets of manacles, both empty. Inside the next cell, a man was lying curled up with his back to her. His skin was covered in welts and bruises and he did not stir, even as the lamplight fell upon him. Joril shuddered. As they neared the end of the corridor, they heard raised voices. Joril grabbed Myka’s hand and they tiptoed towards the noise. The door to the last cell in the corridor was ajar and the voices were coming from inside. Joril recognised Lord Rastran’s.

  The chains slackened slightly, easing the pressure on Zastra’s throat.

  ‘Last chance.’ Rastran bent down so his face was close enough for her to feel his breath against her cheek. ‘Tell me what you came for.’

  Zastra sucked air through her bruised windpipe. Enough for one last insult.

  ‘Thorlberd told me you’ll never be allowed to rule,’ she whispered hoarsely.

  ‘What did you say?’ He planted his ear close to her mouth.

  ‘That’s… what Thorlberd… said. He’ll never let you be grand marl.’

  The constricting chains meant she could barely get the words out, but they had their intended effect. Rastran went taut with rage.

  ‘Liar! I’ll show you how powerful I am.’ He straddled her and narrowed his eyes. Pain exploded over every inch of her body. Her vision blurred and her body went slack. She could barely even breathe. What had he done to her?

  ‘Your bones are mine to control. To bend or break at my will,’ Rastran gloated. ‘Which means there’s not an inch of your body that doesn’t belong to me. Tell me where your little brother is hiding.’

  He leaned down and extended the tip of his finger just above her ribs, rotating it in a small circle, grinning in anticipation. Zastra sensed what was coming and clamped her lips together. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of making her cry out.

  ‘Not feeling like answering cousin? Let me prod you a little.’

  He jabbed his finger into her breastbone. Pain lanced through her body. She couldn’t help but gasp at the shock of it.

  ‘What did you come for? Tell me, or I’ll have to get serious.’

  Zastra closed her eyes. Lights danced in front of her closed lids. Do your worst. If I die, at least Kastara and the others will be safe.

  Rastran stood up, licked his lips and aimed a kick at her ribs.

  The instant Rastran’s boot connected with Zastra, Myka screamed, clutching Joril’s shirt as he collapsed forward. Rastran whirled round.

  ‘Who’s there?’

  Joril shrank back and looked around for somewhere to hide, but before they could move, Florian was at the door.

  ‘Flour-head? What are you doing here?’

  He dragged them into the cell. Rastran was standing over Zastra’s inert body.

  ‘You’ve killed her,’ Fester exclaimed. ‘We’ve gotta go. Before anyone else finds out we were here. This is bad.’

  ‘I am not leaving until she tells me what I want to know.’

  Myka staggered forward and knelt by Zastra, sobbing.

  ‘You… monster. How can you be so cruel?’

  A series of loud crashes came from down the corridor. Cries were followed by pounding feet. Fester rushed to the door.

  ‘My lord, someone is coming. If your father finds out what you’ve done… I really think we should leave.’

  ‘Go if you want.’ Rastran waved him away. ‘I no longer need you.’

  Fester and Florian looked at each other and fled. Myka rested a hand gently on Zastra’s shoulder. She moaned.

  ‘She’s still alive!’ Joril crouched down beside Myka. ‘You can fix it, can’t you? Like with Yldred’s mouse?’

  ‘I don’t know. She’s a lot bigger than a mouse.’

  ‘Please, Myka. You’ve got to try. It’s… it’s my fault she got caught.’ The horror of what she had done make Joril feel sick. All because I wanted to be rich and powerful like Rastran. Now that she had seen what kind of person Rastran was, she wanted to be nothing like him. Rastran pulled her to her feet and looked at her face intently.

  ‘Your fault? Why would it be your fault?’ he asked sharply. Joril tried to pull away, but Rastran tightened his grip. Why was he staring at her like that?

  ‘Could it be? You’re the right age, after all. I knew you reminded me of someone.’

  ‘I don’t know what you mean,’ Joril protested.

  ‘By the stars, you’re alive!’

  ‘Of course I am.’ Joril shrank away from him. Maybe Rastran had taken too much cintara
bark. Either that or he was drunk.

  ‘That’s why Zastra came here. Wait till I tell father,’ he exulted. He made to leave, but then turned back.

  ‘Can’t have you escaping.’ He grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the second pair of manacles and snapped one around her left wrist. He used the other manacle to secure Myka.

  ‘I’ll be back soon.’ Rastran winked at them and disappeared. Myka crawled towards Zastra. By lying on his stomach and stretching out his arm, he could just reach her ankle. He wrapped his hand round it, closed his eyes and exhaled. Zastra gave out a great cry and her eyes snapped open. She sucked in a juddering breath.

  ‘I’m sorry!’ Myka wept. ‘I didn’t mean for it to hurt so much.’

  Zastra flexed her fingers gingerly. He body felt as if it had been trampled underfoot by a herd of vizzal, but everything was working. She shuddered as she recalled the feeling of not being in control of her own body. Her bones throbbed with the echoes of the pain that Rastran had inflicted, but she was whole again. She looked at Myka in astonishment.

  ‘You’ve healed me. Amazing.’

  A sarcastic voice came from the doorway.

  ‘What’s amazing is that the friends you deserted still care enough to come and rescue you.’ Kylen was standing in the entrance. Next to her was Bodel.

  ‘Kylen! I’m so glad to see you.’

  ‘You wouldn’t be if you knew how angry I was.’

  The Sendoran began to examine Zastra’s manacles. Bodel pushed past them both.

  ‘Joril, dearest!’

  Joril tried to run to her, but the chain pulled her up short. Zastra reached gingerly into her trouser pocket and pulled out a small key. Her fingers were so stiff and swollen that she fumbled it and it fell to the floor. Kylen picked it up and prised open the manacles.