Merritt put his head in his hands. ‘That’s going to be a penalty,’ he moaned. ‘And she was doing so well!’
‘Plenty of racing left. She can still win this,’ said Grace. But her voice did not match the confidence of her words.
The Flamville supporters were cheering loudly at the turn of events. Reg had regained his seat but was subject to a hail of gel jinxes from the Flamville crowd. His hair was now a mass of dripping goo. This seemed too much even for him. He jumped up from his seat and pushed his way down to the barrier at the front of the stand, climbing in an ungainly manner over it, and scooted across the arena towards the Rookwood supporters. The Rookwood fans cheered loudly at the desertion of Reg from his family. Clearly he did not want to be there in the first place and the gel jinx offensive was enough to push him over the edge. As he climbed the stand into the Rookwood supporters, a volley of stink jinxes flew over his head towards the Flamville fans. Ms Maladicta stood up as the spells sped across the arena and waved a hand in the direction of the flying jinxes. All but two of them smashed into the invisible barrier that the principal had cast. A collective ‘Uggghhhh!’ went up as a circle of clear space appeared around those who had been hit. The unfortunate children who had borne the impact of the spell ran from the stands as the Rookwood supporters roared with laughter. Their humour vanished as Ms Maladicta turned a face towards them that normally only someone sucking lemons could achieve. The casters of the spells would pay for that later, and they knew it. Ms Maladicta sat down and turned her attention back to the big screen in time to see Niamh diving towards the top of the hill.
Niamh was doing her best to channel her anger into speed. As the two girls ahead of her crested the hill they had slowed slightly so as not to overshoot the path. Niamh accelerated as fast as she felt she could without resorting to time-folding. Using that little trick here would probably be a disqualification.
Hegeline and Eilidia were intent on the track ahead and the next target range which lay at the bottom of the downhill section of the track. Niamh was moving so fast now that pulling out of her dive was going to be a struggle. She leaned back, urging her broomstick skyward. Her boots clipped some grasses by the side of the track as she swept past Hegeline and Eilidia and took the lead. Hegeline screamed in anger as Niamh sailed past but Eilidia smiled to herself. The three girls entered the target range within seconds of each other.
‘Nice flying,’ sneered Hegeline. ‘But let’s see how fast you can recover from a penalty loop.’
Niamh looked up at the flag at her shooting position. There was a red pennant flying beneath her number – a penalty! To her right an official stood waiting to direct her towards the short track she had to complete a circuit of before she could proceed to the next range.
The three girls floated on their broomsticks, Hegeline face on towards her targets, Eilidia side on to hers. Niamh closed her eyes and called to Persephone: ‘Ready when you are.’
The targets appeared again, burning brightly inside her eyelids and clear as day. She knew she could not miss. As before, she whipped her wand back and forth – each time a target was taken dead centre. She did not wait to see whether she had hit all the targets but opened her eyes again and urged her broomstick forward towards the waiting official who looked for all the world like Clipboard, or at the least Clipboard’s brother. A strange image of a whole family of Clipboards existing somewhere whose sole purpose in life was to stand officially wherever possible to see the rules were obeyed, flashed through her mind. She shuddered at the thought.
This particular Clipboard held up a hand and guided her towards the entrance to the loop track. She swung her broomstick into it and accelerated towards the far end. To her right she could see Hegeline lining up her last shot along with Eilidia. Niamh swung around the pole marking the end of the track and followed the path back out as the remainder of the field came charging into the target range. Cory and Aurelia led the pack but there was little to separate them from the following riders. Both gave her a wave as they flew to their shooting positions and Niamh headed after Hegeline and Eilidia.
The Rookwood fans found plenty to cheer about as Niamh exited the target range. Despite the penalty, Niamh’s speed at shooting had managed to get her back into the race.
‘Have you ever seen shooting like that! I mean – did you see that!’ said Grady, jumping up and down and fist pumping the air.
‘Sit down,’ said Grace angrily. ‘Show a little more decorum please. Remember you are on the royal podium here.’
Grady rolled his eyes and sat down on his hands, looking glum. ‘You could show a little excitement too. That is my sister out there.’
A camera flash made Grady start. A bevy of photographers had their cameras turned towards him during the exchange with his mother. He closed his eyes and shook his head causing the cameras to start flashing again. Grace turned an impassive look towards him as she clapped enthusiastically. The message was clear to Grady, so he turned on his best smile and joined in the applause.
The path to the next target range worked steadily around the foothills and back towards the lake. The girls crossed a river which ambled lazily down from the valley. Water sprayed high as Hegeline and Eilidia passed close over its surface. Niamh was now so close behind that droplets of the spray fell lightly over her face as she chased.
‘You have learned your lessons well,’ said Persephone. ‘I think you have Hegeline rattled.’
‘Rattled won’t win me a race,’ said Niamh. ‘I need to get in front and stay there.’
Eilidia was now leading the trio and seemed to have barely broken a sweat. Hegeline swung from side to side across the track in a vain attempt to shake Niamh from her tail. Nothing worked as Niamh clung close to Hegeline without ever giving the sneaky witch the chance to throw her off course again.
Eilidia glanced over her shoulder at the infighting between Niamh and Hegeline and took the chance to throw in a rapid acceleration. A gap appeared between her and Hegeline who was still focused on causing Niamh as much difficulty as possible.
Niamh saw the gap open and was about to duck left when Persephone’s voice sounded urgently in her head; ‘NO! Don’t let that one get behind you. Keep her where you can see her.’
‘But Eilidia is getting away. I have to get after her!’
‘Not much point getting after Eilidia if you get taken out by Hegeline,’ said Persephone. ‘At the speed you two are flying there is no chance the elf will be more than a few seconds ahead of you at the next range.’
Niamh glanced ahead at Eilidia. Persephone was right The gap had not opened by much despite Hegeline’s distractions.
Hegeline snarled. She hunched low on her broomstick and headed after Eilidia at her best speed, all thoughts of causing Niamh grief now forgotten as she tried to bridge the gap.
‘Thank you,’ said Niamh. ‘You’re right. Definitely better to have her ahead of me than behind. No telling what she might do back there.’
‘You’re welcome. We make a good team, don’t you think?’
Niamh smiled but did not reply. Instead she focused her attention on the narrow track they had entered. There were more corners and switchbacks than anything they had faced before. Hegeline began to struggle with the course and Niamh found herself having to slow to avoid overtaking the Flamville rider. Flashes of silver through the trees ahead showed Eilidia was not making much ground on them. Gnarled boughs hung low over the route and the deep gloom cast over the course by the forest canopy made the riders more difficult to see. The three girls dipped and dived around the wickedly dangerous branches but eventually all emerged unscathed into a brighter and wider glade-like section of the forest. The path opened up ahead of them as the next target range appeared.
Niamh squinted as she left the eaves of the forest and saw Eilidia was dismounting at her firing position. Hegeline slid as she dismounted in the same running style, but held her balance and lined up her targets.
Niamh slowed more gracefully t
his time and pulled in beside Hegeline who looked unusually flustered. With a deep calming breath Niamh pulled out her wand and focused on the four targets that floated and moved around at the end of the range. They not only changed colour this time but also changed size. Niamh hesitated as she tried to focus on the best target to shoot first.
Eilidia’s first bolt hit dead centre of the first target but the second missed. Niamh heard the gasp from the elf and an echo of it from Hegeline. Both had missed shots! Niamh smiled, closed her eyes, and allowed the moving targets to burn their way into her “second sight” or whatever it was that Persephone was talking about. The balls floated and moved in an irregular and disconcerting manner but as Niamh watched she knew what she had to do. ‘It’s a repeating pattern, isn’t it.’
‘Very good,’ said Persephone. ‘Tell me if you know where you should be firing.’
Niamh breathed deeply as she watched the balls moving. ‘To the left,’ she said confidently. ‘There’s a small space they all move through. It’s just a matter of waiting.’
‘You won’t need my help at the rate you are picking this up,’ said Persephone. ‘At least not for this little game anyway. Keep aiming at the same spot. You can’t miss if you do.’
‘Shush please,’ said Niamh. ‘I’m trying to concentrate here.’
‘Hmmm. A little thank you wouldn’t go astray,’ said Persephone, sounding hurt.
‘Sorry,’ said Niamh brusquely. She took another deep breath and unleashed a firebolt. It struck the first target with a shower of sparks. But unlike her shots at the other ranges Niamh had to wait for the next ball to float into position before she could fire. It took what seemed like an eternity but eventually a bright blue ball drifted left and was taken dead centre by another bolt. The third followed closely after but the fourth seemed to be determined to make her wait. Eventually, after a final blast from her wand, Niamh opened her eyes and saw all the targets had vanished.
A red target floated at the end of Hegeline and Eilidia’s ranges signifying the missed shots. Niamh turned to see where the two girls were. In the time it had taken her to finish shooting, the others were already completing their penalty loop. Despite once again having a perfect round, Niamh found herself heading back onto the path through the forest towards the final range with barely a gap between the three of them.
Niamh swept around a bend with Eilidia only metres ahead of her and Hegeline leading the trio. But as she had throughout the race, she held back from the two other girls. Despite her tiredness she knew that with the training she had received from Aoife she could, if she wanted, easily overtake the others.
The final target range appeared from nowhere as the girls rounded a sharp bend. Hegeline headed directly for her shooting position but Niamh found herself shut out of her own chute as Eilidia jostled in front of her.
‘Hey!’ yelled Niamh as she found her path to the chute blocked. But Eilidia did not even blink as she took Niamh’s place in the chute. Hegeline did a double take as the elf appeared beside her but turned her attention back to the targets. Officials began to run towards the elf, gesticulating wildly as the fair-haired girl lined up the floating white targets.
Niamh knew she could not afford to wait for the officials to sort out the mess so simply stepped into Eilidia’s firing position with her wand ready and tried to calm her mind.
Beside her Eilidia and Hegeline fired at the same time. The air immediately turned deadly, as a mass of spells fired back at the two girls. Each of them ducked and dived to avoid being hit. Niamh took a breath and fired. As with the others, the moment the spell left her wand she was subject to a barrage from the targets themselves.
The first few bolts were easily avoided but as she lined up her second shot a bright blue bolt clipped her shoulder. She cried out as a stinging sensation rippled through her arm. It did not last long though and as Niamh shook off the effects more bolts headed towards her.
Beside her Hegeline and Eilidia were having an equally difficult time. Hegeline had already been hit by a couple of bolts but had taken down her first two targets and was lining up a third. Eilidia showed no signs of panic as she weaved and dodged the bolts.
Niamh was about to fire her second shot when a bright red bolt, much brighter than the other spells that were defending the targets, hit Eilidia full in the chest. The elf was thrown backwards by the impact, her wand knocked from her hand. She lay, dazed, on the ground. As an official ran towards them Niamh ducked down under the spells and turned to him. ‘They were only meant to be stinging spells!’
‘I don’t know what happened!’ said the befuddled official in a reedy little voice while helping Eilidia to her feet. The elf said nothing but pushed the man away as she picked up her wand and turned back to the targets. She gave Niamh a meaningful glance as she did so but then, curiously, winked and smiled.
Hegeline had not been able to fire her third shot yet as the defensive spells whizzed around her. She tiptoed around her chute showing deft dancing skills, but clearly was not enjoying the delay in getting her shots away. Eilidia took the opportunity to get another shot in, striking her target dead centre and knocking it to the ground with a clang.
Niamh stood up and dodged a particularly close bolt. As it passed her she bounced to her right and fired two shots, one immediately after the other. The spells hit dead centre and both targets fell to the ground at the same time as Hegeline struck her next target. Another defensive bolt clipped Niamh’s hand causing her to wince.
An evil red bolt flew down Eilidia’s chute. This time the elf was ready for it and threw herself to the ground as the bolt sizzled over her head.
‘Those spells were meant for me,’ said Niamh.
‘The elf knew something was up,’ said Persephone calmly. ‘You have friends in unexpected places.’
Eilidia picked herself up and unleashed another spell that took down her next target. Niamh and Hegeline did likewise but seconds later Eilidia fired her final shot and the last target fell. As it clanged down several more of the evil bolts flew down the target range in a way that none of the other bolts had. Niamh saw the danger and slashed her wand towards the approaching barrage. Three of the bright red spheres vanished as Niamh’s defensive spell washed over them but the fourth flew on. The elf rocked backwards onto her heels, bending in half as the spell whistled perilously close to her face.
Niamh did not wait to see if Eilidia was still in one piece but turned to her targets as another set of defensive spells whizzed towards her. She heard Hegeline’s final target fall as she lined up the final shot.
But something changed for Niamh as she concentrated on the targets. Time seemed to slow as she closed her eyes. The oncoming spells appeared to be moving through treacle, their bright blue trails looking sluggish as Niamh focused on the final target.
‘You should have done this sooner,’ said Persephone
‘I thought you were doing it. Why didn’t you tell me you could slow time like this?’ said Niamh.
‘It’s not me doing that. It’s you.’
‘What!’ said Niamh, ducking another spell.
‘It seems there are many things you don’t know about yourself yet.’
Niamh flicked her wand towards the target and knew with certainty the final spell would find its mark. Without waiting to see it hit the target she turned and ran. Time and sound washed back over her as she headed out onto the course. Ahead of her Eilidia led Hegeline out to the track towards the finish.
The crowd back at the finish went wild as they watched the action from the course on the screen.
‘What did she just do?’ said Merritt to Grace. ‘Did you teach her that? I’ve never seen anyone move that way. I couldn’t even see her cast that last spell, she moved so fast.’
Grace frowned. ‘I know I didn’t teach her that.’
Murdock leaned forward and spoke to both. ‘I don’t think anyone alive could have.’
The three looked back to the screen as Niamh left the shooting
range at speed, but still behind the others.
The trail became closely packed with dense bush reaching towards the riders as they headed to the finish. Lichen and straggly branches whipped at their clothing as the three girls twisted back and forth underneath the forest canopy. Hegeline was looking for every opportunity to pass Eilidia who flew a tight line through the greenery.
Niamh felt curiously free now the target ranges were out of the way. This forest path was no worse than anything she had faced while chasing Grady around the forests close to Taliesin’s Lair. She began to close the gap as she picked a perfect line through the trees.
Hegeline was clearly furious at trailing Eilidia at this stage of the race. The Flamville witch ducked left and right behind the elf but Eilidia’s skilful flying left no room for passing.
Second by second Niamh ate up the space to the two girls ahead until she could almost reach out and touch the end of Hegeline’s broomstick. A gap opened as both Eilidia and Hegeline veered to their left. Niamh swerved right but as she sailed past she saw Hegeline cast a hex at Eilidia. The spell rocked the end of the elf’s broomstick causing it to sway wildly. As Niamh raced into the lead she saw Eilidia lose control, clip the side of a tree, and cartwheel into a tree trunk with a sickening thump before slumping to the ground.
Niamh knew without needing to look back that Eilidia was badly hurt. The words of both her mother and Aoife echoed in her mind; “Mercy is for the weak …” Here and now the race was hers. Failing to take the chance to win would be a disappointment to both women. Eilidia was out of the race and Hegeline had been too preoccupied to see Niamh sneaking past her. The end of the forest track, the path to the finish line, and victory, opened up ahead of her. The decision though, was an easy one.
Azrael's Twins and the Circle of Stone Page 20