Barbara Gaskell Denvil
Copyright © 2018 by Gaskell Publishing
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover Design by
It’s A Wrap
For Katie and her boys
Thank you
Contents
Foreword
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Afterword
Also by Barbara Gaskell Denvil
King Richard III
As always, do remember that spelling and other words can be quite different between England and America, This book is written in UK English and therefore you may not be used to some of the spelling or abbreviations.
I do hope that everyone from all countries enjoy my books, but do let me know if you have any problems with the language.
Best regards,
Barbara Gaskell Denvil
Chapter One
High in the great blue sky where the birds were singing in the sunshine, and flying, warm and free, amongst the trees, suddenly came a dark cloud. It seemed to float down from higher up, and quickly began to swell up and change shape. It grew, puffing up like black smoke, and sending out straggling shadowy fingers from the centre. The fingers groped downwards. Five fingers, then six, then seven. Then there were a hundred fingers like wispy, searching black streamers, or the hand of something horrible and weird, or the many tentacles of a groping giant octopus.
The fingers of cloud stretched down through the sky, touching and pointing into the City of Peganda.
The capital city of Lashtang was a ramshackle city with a wide river, tall trees, many taverns, old wobbly houses, and grand buildings along the river banks. It was not unusual for an old house to fall, its frontage and balconies collapsing in the wind. Many buildings were propped up with long steel rods, almost like scaffolding, to keep them standing safe in storms. But as the fingers reached into the streets, and touched the doors, so grinding noises slipped from sky to ground, and the sound of moaning and hissing travelled from the cloud to the homes below.
Sitting with John Ten Toes at his desk, Nathan was trying to read an old document concerning the identity of Yaark, describing where the thing had come from, and what it could do. But the strange noises and the sudden darkness made him look up. He peered from the window, saw the threatening smokiness, and stood up in a hurry, dropping the rolled up paper he had been studying. When the roof above him crashed in, Nathan knew it was worse than just a storm blowing off a badly made roof. The whole city of Peganda was collapsing. Yaark had promised utter destruction, but no one had seen Yaark for many months, and had almost forgotten his threat. But now it was happening. Nathan and John rushed from the building. There was no longer any need for secrecy or a password, for the doors had cracked and crashed inwards, and the floors of the building were tumbling one on top of the other.
Barely escaping outside, Nathan and John stared at each other and examined their scratches, cuts and bruises. Luckily they had suffered no terrible injuries, but clearly, as the city fell, others would be badly hurt.
Everywhere he looked, buildings began to tumble into broken pieces, and then all the walls and roofs came smashing down. One house falling would knock down the one next to it and soon the entire road would look like crumbling splinters, crooked metal and cascading tiles. The noise was crazy, like thunder, gales, tidal storms and fireworks altogether.
People, terrified, came running from their homes, many clutching their most precious possessions, others holding their crying children, some hugging their pets. But it was hard to know where to run to, for the houses, one after the other, came rocketing down in different directions, and soon the whole city of Peganda was in ruins. Folk were screaming or sobbing piteously, animals were racing helter-skelter, in panic, and shops, their merchandise in ruins, lay in splinters and shards of glass.
Nathan stared. He did not know where to run to, and turned around repeatedly, desperate both for escape, and to know how to help everyone.
“I’m the Empole,” he muttered to himself. “I have to save my people. The poor things are losing everything that matters to them, and everything they’ve worked so hard for over the years.”
“They’re losing their lives too,” someone yelled in his ear, and Nathan looked around to see John Ten-Toes beside him, holding a sword in one hand and a broom in the other. “Come on, Nat. We gotta help ‘em.”
Both boys ran to the corner of the narrow road, where Nathan stood on some fallen debris and shouted as loud as he could. “Come on everybody. The city’s falling. We have to leave. Out by the north gate, quick, follow me.”
He waved his arms in the air and people began to notice him and started to run in his direction. “Right,” called John. “This is Nat, the Empole. Follow him to the north gate.”
Peganda City was enclosed by a circular stone wall and there were huge gates in each side, north, south, east and west. The northern gate was open for travellers, and that was where none of the houses had yet started to collapse. Nathan hurried towards it, and people now followed in a pushing, frightened crowd. Through the wider roads, the narrower streets and the tiny alleys they ran, and reached the north gate just as the buildings around them started to crash and crumble, shaking all along the northern roads.
As everyone streamed through the gateway and out into the fields and open country slopes, behind them the noise grew even louder. Just like dominoes, the houses were splitting and then breaking against those next to them, which started to tumble as well. Soon not one building, however large or however small, would be left standing in the city.
Nathan ran up to the top of a slope and gazed down on the huge crowd of people surrounding him. Most were crying, children were screaming, and dogs were barking madly. The complete destruction of Peganda could be heard roaring and rolling behind them.
“We’re safe here,” yelled Nathan. “If you’ve got friends or relatives living in villages nearby, then go to them. The rest should camp here, and when this chaos has stopped, and everything is quiet, then we can go back in and look for possessions amongst the rubble. No looting, please, we are better people than that.”
“And when Nat’s the new prince, I means Empole,” shouted John over the tumult, “he’ll make new houses. Won’t you, mate?”
“Yes,” Nathan shouted back. “We must unite against Yaark and the wizards.”
“Yeh,” the crowd shouted, thumping their fists into the air. “Death to the wizards.”
Secretly Nathan thought once Yaark was gone, the wizards wouldn’t seem so bad, but he said nothing, just turned to John with a smile. “When it looks safe in there,” he said, “I want to go back into the city and look for people trapped or hurt.”
“Reckon I’ll come wiv ya,” John nodded. “But then we gotta find Yaark.
”
“But that’s going to be the most dangerous thing we’ve ever done,” Nathan sighed, “and the most difficult.”
They stood together, watching as the people below settled. Many hurried off, but most sat where they were, or looked for friends and family amongst the crowd. John could see a little over the top of the wall from the tiny hill where they sat and could see the steady ruin of all the houses and other buildings in the city. Even the town hall fell into pieces, and soon the long wide River Ross was completely full of rubble. Then, over the existing ruin, the bridge also tumbled into the water below, and the river was almost completely hidden, with all the little boats smashed.
The weeping subsided, and only a sad echo of misery lay across the crowd. Women reached out for their husbands, children searched for their parents, men, discovering their wives, crushed them in embraces of relief. Now the dogs whimpered, crouching close to their owners. Gradually everyone sat quietly, absolutely stunned by what had happened, and waited for Nathan and John to speak again.
“I wish my parents were here,” Nathan mumbled to John. “They’d know what to say so much better than I do.”
John stared, his eyes bright as though he was almost crying too. “Say wot you feels,” he answered. “These ain’t idiots, nor is most of ‘em on the wizard’s side. So tell ‘em good and get them to follow the Octobrs and the Bannisters. That’s wot we’s here for.”
And Nathan nodded, suddenly smiling. He knew exactly what he had to say, and he stood tall.
“People of Peganda and Lashtang,” he called, and his voice seemed to grow loud. “I am Nathan Bannister, the Empole, eldest child of the Octobr family. We are your rightful rulers, and we have come to bring peace, prosperity and safe happiness to our people. Your homes have been destroyed, but we will build a new city for you. Out there on the open plains live thousands of tiny animals, but they are not really animals or insects. They are your neighbours, people of Lashtang just like us. Their lives and their careers and their families were stolen from them by Yaark and the wizards, who made them tiny creatures, so small you could crush them under your feet.
“Now you also have been attacked and your prospects ruined. But this must change. Follow your rightful leaders and we will help you all destroy Yaark and make new happy lives for yourselves.
“If you know anyone who follows and helps the wizards, bring them to us and we will lock them up. It is time to stop the misery and destruction. It is time to bring back the Octobrs and make Lashtang great again.”
He was cheered. People stood up, thousands of them, clapping and calling out that they loved him and would follow the Octobrs. One man called, “Our hero,” and another yelled, “Bravo the Octobrs.” “You’ll be our emperor,” shouted someone from the back of the crowd.
But Nathan frowned at John, saying very quietly, “But what should we do now? They need new homes and we can’t start building proper houses now. It will take a year just to clear all this rubble.”
Shaking his head, John pointed at the ruined city. “You forgets too easy, Nat,” he said. “Wot was we living in fer ages and ages in London? Just slum places wivout beds nor nuffing. I can help these folk build houses from the rubble. Won’t be proper permanent, but t’will do fer now.”
“But no shops. No market. No food,” Nathan sighed.
“Reckon we calls on Ferdinand and all them little folk wot we mustered,” John said, and Nathan changed his frown to a big grin.
Shouting out to the crowds, he explained. “We wait here until the cloud lifts,” he called. “Then you can all go back in to find where your homes were, and save whatever you can find there. My great friend John is going to show everybody how to build temporary homes out of the broken pieces. They won’t be comfortable, but they’ll shelter you from wind and cold and rain, and now it’s summer most of the weather will be good. Day by day you can make your homes better. No one can go to work, so just work on your own places.”
Most people were puzzled and stared around, but John raised both hands, calling for quiet. “I’s gonna show you,” he said. “And will help too. It ain’t so hard. We’re all gonna help each other. Right?”
They cheered, and Nathan started to talk again. “Our friends out in the fields and marshes,” he called, “have been living miserable lives as insects and rodents and birds. But they have food of many kinds out there and will bring their stores in for us. No money needed, as they have no use for it, and most of us have just lost whatever we owned. There will be plenty of food and please will you all make friends with the creatures that bring it to you, for those folks have also lost everything because of Yaark.”
Not everyone knew what Yaark was, nor even knew of any enemy beyond the wizards. One man, hoping not to be heard by others, muttered to his friend, “Tis the wizards will bring us more opportunity. I’ve been well paid by Lord Wagster. Those old Octobrs have no experience. They’ve been locked in ice for centuries.”
But it was someone else marching out of the crowd who heard. A tall young man strode forwards, glittering in his beautiful Lashtang clothes. “What absurd lies,” said Alfie, very loudly. “Wagster is a crazed thief ruled by Yaark. The Octobrs have been the rightful emperors and they’ve always fought to get back their throne, and to help their people. The ice prison was just a wicked trap for a very few years.”
The man who had spoken first now scowled, and pushed away, disappearing into the shadows.
John called, “Alfie. Tis great t’see ya. Come over. Where’s you bin?”
Alfie climbed the little hill and joined his friends. “I’ve been back in London,” he said, “me and Alice. I’ve been learning to be a knight, and Alice has been learning to fight too. She’s got really good with the bow.”
Nathan looked at Alfie with pleasure. “And you’ve started talking in a different way. Is that part of being a knight too?”
Laughing, Alfie sat down on the grass and stretched out his legs. “In a way, yes. But really it’s for Alice. She speaks so nicely, and one day – well – we might even get married. In the meantime, I want to be a knight and perhaps earn a proper knighthood.”
“We always says as how you’d be Sir Alfred one day,” said John, clapping his hands.
But Alfie shook his head. “Not sure about that,” he said. “I might want to come and live in Lashtang forever. Depends on Alice. She’s not sure either.”
“I have to live here,” Nathan nodded. “Because I’m the Empole. I’d certainly like all of you to stay with me and Poppy.”
“But there’s me dad,” John grinned. “Reckon I’s gonna come and go, as it were. Half here. Half there.”
“I wanted to find my parents too,” Alfie sighed, “but I’ve given up. Maybe one day I’ll have kids of my own, and I’ll make sure I don’t lose them.”
Nathan couldn’t imagine any of his friends getting married and having their own children, so he didn’t answer that, and changed the subject. “First we have to help all these people put up makeshift shacks and places to live for a few months,” he said. “I hope you’ll help too.” He was looking over the top of the city wall to the dreadful chaos beyond. “Were you caught in the disaster as well?”
“Certainly was,” said Alfie. “It was horrible. I got knocked over twice but I’m not badly hurt. I helped a few other folk, but helping them build new homes will be even better. Of course I’ll do it.”
“None of us are builders,” said Nathan. “I think we’ll have to start with just leaning walls together and make a sort of temporary shacks like they do in poor countries. It’s sad, but this is a poor place now. We’re used to it, but most of them aren’t.”
“Half this ragged city was falling down anyway,” said Alfie.
“When the Octobrs are back in charge,” said Nathan, “we can build a proper city and good houses. But it’ll all take time. First I have to find the Eternal Chain.” Nathan pulled a face. “I feel so guilty about that. All those poor little people, all squashed into
lizards and spiders and things. And I’ve failed them.”
“Don’t be daft,” said John with an explosion of annoyance. “You tried and tried Nat. You done as good as you could.”
“But now Peter thinks he knows where it is,” Alfie said, pointing up into the air. “I’m not sure how you’ll get to Sparkan, but that’s where the Eternal Chain is, I bet.”
John frowned at Alfie. “You was in London wiv Alice, so how did you get here?”
Alfie sniggered. “Ladders,” he laughed. “I had your crazy goose with me and he called the ladder. But he’s stayed in London to guard Alice and Poppy and Sam.”
“I’ll have to try my own magic,” sighed Nathan. “But I don’t think I’ll manage it. My magic isn’t that strong yet.”
“We could always get yer mum or yer granny to do it fer us,” suggested John.
“No.” Nathan shook his head. “Too far away in the cottage by the ruined castle. This time I’ll try and do it by myself.”
“Right.” Alfie stood up and drew his sword as if to start a fight. “First a week or more to help these people find their belongings and make new shed-homes. Then we go off to Sparkan to look for the Eternal Chain and cut it to release the people on the plains. Then lastly, off we go to find Yaark and destroy him. Sounds simple.”
“But Yaark won’t be sitting around just waiting,” said Nathan. “He’ll be trying to destroy us first. He nearly succeeded already. Look at Peganda. Total destruction.”
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