There was an earth-shattering crash and the walls of the cabin began to shake. Anthony made a grab for Squib who was standing next to him and screamed, ‘Get down!’
A violent splintering noise drowned out everything as the side of the cabin disintegrated around them.
The whole of the Natorqua herd stampeded through, obliterating everything in their path, scattering flying debris with their flailing hooves. As the last Natorqua galloped through the wreckage, Anthony hauled a gasping Destiny to her feet. The others scrambled from the ruins shaking dust and splinters from their hair and clothes.
‘We have to follow them!’ he said urgently, but before he could make off in the direction of the stampeding Natorqua, Destiny grabbed his arm.
‘Look!’ she said.
They all turned to see a figure on natorback galloping furiously across the meadow towards Crevitos’s teaming army. Swarming behind him must have been virtually every inhabitant of Emajen, their frenzied cries echoing across the stream like a fanfare.
‘Who?’ They all looked at each other dumbstruck. It was Boff who pointed a shaking finger at the immense rip in the sky, where more and still more of Crevitos’s fighting Creations poured through in a ceaseless flow of destruction.
Anthony grabbed Destiny’s hand. ‘We have to go. Now!’
He gestured to where the Natorqua were huddled in a quivering group among the trees.
‘Boff, Squib, will you stay here and keep watch – and keep us posted?’
They both nodded solemnly. Squib immediately made for the nearest tree and shinned up it nimbly.
Anthony gave him an appreciative thumbs up before turning to Destiny.
‘If we can work out which one is the Alpha-female, we’ve got a chance. Crevitos has somehow twisted all their mind power to rage and aggression. The Alpha-female is the strongest. She knows something is wrong and has just about managed to keep the herd under control so far. But she won’t be able to hold out for long. The stress and fury of the herd is wearing her down. Somehow we have to work with her, give her back her positive mind power. I can’t do it on my own though, Destiny. These creatures are only half horse – that I can deal with. The cat half is your domain!’
‘Well we’d better get started then!’ said Destiny.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
Lightning slashed across the storm swept sky. Crevitos towered, deliberately menacing, as his dark cloak whipped around him, bullied by the brutish wind. He roared his pleasure as his black stallion reared and plunged beneath him.
Crevitos had been here before, in this scene of vicious, cruel domination. He could almost taste the victory. But this time it was better, far better than it had been in Doodland. There the Creations had crumbled before his wrath and cowered in humble supplication with barely a murmur of protest.
As he stood in the gateway between this world and his own, his steed now trembling with fear and excitement beneath him, Crevitos surveyed the approaching army with sadistic amusement. They didn’t stand a chance against his supreme fighting force!
For just a brief moment, doubt flickered through his mind. Somehow Saddler had slipped through the net and Crevitos’s army was not yet invincible, it was true. But what it lacked in strength was more than made up for in numbers; where these came from, there were many, many more to follow.
Crevitos raised his sword with a triumphant bellow and the power of his brutality swept like a tidal wave across his outlandish band of Creations. They answered with an echoing roar and surged towards their advancing enemy.
From where he perched in his tree, Squib watched with awe as the two great masses collided and clashed. The storm in the heavens continued to rage as furiously as the battle below, casting a ghoulish, flickering luminosity over the raging, seething mass of creatures. Rain had begun to fall silently, turning the churned and desecrated meadow into a slippery, sodden mud bath.
Boff watched mesmerized. At first the scene was nothing but a boiling, heaving mess of clashing bodies, but then a pattern seemed to emerge. Crevitos’s army were falling like flies and the throng of Emajen’s people would surge forward triumphantly. But then hordes more of Crevitos’s Creations would pour through the rent in the sky and so the cycle would begin again.
Amongst the mayhem, Crevitos could be seen wheeling and turning and wielding his great sword. And there was the mysterious rider who had led the Emajen charge, feverishly spurring his followers on.
Suddenly there was a lull.
The two riders came face to face in the very core of the battle. The armies stopped fighting and there was a deathly hush.
Crevitos threw back his head and crowed with delight.
‘You!’ he spluttered, barely able to contain his glee.
‘Yeah, me,’ said Saddler quietly. ‘Didn’t quite work out ‘ow you planned it, did it!’
Crevitos smirked and curled his lip scornfully. ‘You, of all people, should know how vast my army is. They may not be invincible yet, but just how long do you think your puny little band of peasants can keep fighting without rest and sustenance? You don’t have a hope!’
‘Then we’ll die trying!’ said Saddler.
‘Ha!’ Crevitos’s mirth reverberated like a shock wave across the meadow. ‘And so you shall!’ he cackled. He leant forward across his mount’s sweating neck, his face no more than a hand’s breadth from Saddler’s. ‘Watching you die will be an unforeseen pleasure!’ he snarled.
With that he whipped his steed around and plunged back into the throng. As if a spell were broken the fighting began to rage once more in earnest.
‘Saddler!’ breathed Boff to himself. ‘I would know that figure anywhere!’
Although he could hear none of the exchange that had taken place, it didn’t take a genius to work out that Saddler’s army were simply outnumbered. Squib had slipped unseen down from his perch. He and Boff consulted briefly and then melted quietly into the trees.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
The Natorqua had not moved for some considerable time. They simply stood together, heads hanging, eyes half closed as though completely drained of their will to live. Anthony and Destiny had crouched, watching desperately for a sign; the smallest flicker of a movement that would show them which Natorqua was the Alpha-female.
Then, to their horror, one of the Natorqua simply crumpled, its legs folding as it slid noiselessly to the ground.
‘They’re dying!’ Destiny’s voice was full of distress. ‘We have to do something. We can’t just sit here and watch them die!’
She looked at Anthony helplessly, but only saw her own anguish mirrored in his eyes.
There was a rustling sound behind them. Squib and Boff appeared through the trees. Boff’s face was grim.
‘Any luck?’ he panted, trying to catch his breath.
‘They’re dying, Boff!’ Destiny began to cry softly.
The Prof, who had been sitting quietly nearby, stood and put a comforting arm around her shoulders.
‘You’ll find a way, of that I’m certain!’ Turning to Boff, he said, ‘What’s the news? How much time do we have?’
‘Not good and not much I don’t think,’ Boff said gravely. ‘There doesn’t seem to be any end to Crevitos’s supply of Creations. They fall, but more just keep coming. But we saw Saddler! He’s the one leading Emajen’s people!’
‘Saddler!’ exclaimed Anthony and Destiny at once.
‘Don’t ask me how, but he’s here in the thick of it. He keeps rallying them all, but I don’t know how much longer they can hold out.’
Destiny clutched her head in despair. ‘What are we going to do?’ she cried.
Anthony’s mouth shot open. ‘The Stone, why didn’t I think of it sooner? It worked before …’
He reached into his pocket and drew out the stone. It lay still and dull and cold in his palm.
‘I don’t understand …’ He looked at Destiny and then at the Prof, his expression a mixture of confusion and despair.
Wit
h a certainty that came from she knew not where, Destiny took Anthony’s hand in hers. ‘Nebiré said we have the mind power to reach all living things. We can do this!’
They stood quite still.
The world faded around them; all apart from the Natorqua huddled in their abject group just a few yards away.
They waited.
A single beam of sunlight lit up Destiny’s face and Anthony felt the stone quiver to life in his hand. The stone shimmered and sparkled. A ray of pure, white light shot from the stone right into the very centre of the herd. The Alpha-female began to shimmer and sparkle too, reflecting every delicate colour of the rainbow.
Destiny felt the energy of the stone surge through Anthony’s fingertips to hers and right through her whole being.
The Natorqua parted noiselessly as Destiny and Anthony approached the Alpha-female and stood completely still, watching.
The Alpha-female stood before them, majestic and beautiful, nostrils quivering. She pawed the ground once and was still. Slowly she lowered her sleek, feline head and allowed Anthony to stroke her soft, silky neck.
Anthony turned to Destiny and she was relieved to see a look of purpose on his face.
‘She needs us to help her restore strength to the herd,’ he said firmly.
He took Destiny’s hands and placed them lightly on the Natorqua’s neck.
‘Close your eyes,’ he said, placing his own hands over hers. ‘Picture a time when you were at one with an animal. Focus on that time. Make it positive, so that she can draw power from you!’
Destiny closed her eyes and was immediately transported back in time to home and Torny playing with a silver ball on the end of a piece of string. But the string had somehow twisted itself around his paw. She saw the look of startled pain and fear in his bright round eyes. She saw her mother appear and cut the string and felt the soft, furry bullet that buried itself furiously in her arms, seeking reassurance and comfort. She realized in that moment how it was that she had known what to do for Harriet, the dog at the ranch. A feeling of pure joy radiated right through her and at the same time she felt tremendous power coursing through her hands from Anthony’s.
The Alpha-female quivered.
There was an immense flash and a crack of thunder that shook the very ground beneath their feet and sent Anthony and Destiny sprawling.
The Alpha-female reared almost upright and they stared in awe as veins of lightning surged through her entire body. Her nostrils flared wide. She opened her mouth and a wild neigh of defiance split the air.
‘Come on!’ Anthony pulled Destiny to her feet and dragged her back towards the Natorqua. With a strength he didn’t know he possessed, he hoisted Destiny up on to the Alpha-female’s back and then sprang up lightly behind her. He looked around him for the others.
‘Don’t worry about us,’ shouted the Prof. ‘We’ll follow.’
The Alpha-female pawed at the ground impatiently and they barely had time to cling on before she leapt into the air and galloped full pelt towards the meadow, the herd stampeding closely on her tail.
Saddler swung his axe with furious disgust at the lumbering creature before him. He aimed directly for its unprotected throat. The creature snarled, displaying razor sharp canines the size of large daggers and lunged at Saddler with nothing but a savage, gratuitous desire to kill behind its eyes.
With no qualm at all, Saddler landed his strike and the creature crumpled soundlessly beneath the blow. He watched the creature for a split second and then nodded grimly. How many Creations he had now killed was beyond count, but he felt no sense of guilt.
Saddler was by nature a gentle man and killing was not something he would do through choice, but his first blow in Doomland had been born out of sheer desperation: desperation to escape Doomland and desperation to save Emajen.
In the dark recesses of Crevitos’s domain, Saddler had been forced to slay his first Creation – slay or be slain. He would have been of very little use to Emajen rotting away in some foul corner and so his momentary hesitation had been superseded by his need to live.
The creature had died easily showing no signs of pain or fear. Overcome with grief at his action, Saddler had watched the creature helplessly. In that instant, its face had softened and a look of peace had spread across its features. In that bizarre moment, Saddler had realized that he had in fact set its tortured soul free. From that point on, his survival and the subsequent battle had become a mercy mission on more than one level.
A brief lull allowed Saddler a moment to catch his breath. The fact that he knew all about the weaknesses of Crevitos’s Creations had given Emajen’s inhabitants a fighting chance to defend their world. Now though, it became all too obvious that Saddler’s followers were beginning to flag. The sheer number of Creations that continued to pour through the rip between worlds gave them no chance of respite.
It occurred to him for the first time that they were going to lose. Emajen as he knew it was going to die and become a desolate clone of Doomland.
But he himself would die defending Emajen. With a piercing shriek he plunged back into the fray.
A gigantic flash, more blinding than any that had come before, ripped the sky in two. The tremendous boom that followed shook the ground so hard that many were knocked clean off their feet. The ground continued to reverberate until an ominous pounding replaced the aftershock and the Natorqua came galloping into view; the whole herd illuminated by the vivid sparks of electricity that flashed among them.
With no hesitation, the Alpha-female carved through the battling bodies. The fighting stopped abruptly. All sounds of battle ceased. The Alpha-female slid to a halt directly in front of Crevitos. Anthony and Destiny quickly slipped down from her back.
The other Natorqua circled Crevitos while the Alpha-female stood proud and silent in front of him. The black stallion shifted uneasily. For a long time the Alpha-female and Crevitos tussled eye to eye. Neither moved.
‘What are they doing?’ hissed Destiny.
‘Battle of wills!’ breathed Anthony.
Then Crevitos threw his head back and snarled; his face contorted with fury. The Alpha-female roared. With magnificent power and beauty the whole herd reared as one. Fierce, multi-coloured flames erupted from their nostrils and at that very moment, Crevitos violently yanked his steed around.
Shards of flame sped across the sky, colliding with the enormous split that Crevitos now galloped towards. With each collision, the vast black tear shuddered and shrank. As it collapsed in on itself, Crevitos thundered ever closer, his stallion stumbling and foaming. Only yards away from the shrinking hole, Crevitos’s mount collapsed beneath him; it quivered and was still. The Alpha-female gave one final roar and a bright gold flash of flame shot like an arrow from her nostrils across the sky. Crevitos stumbled towards the hole. He turned. His cry reverberated across the meadow and then he was gone, only a fraction of a second before the golden flame exploded where he had just stood.
The black tear imploded with a soft hiss and was gone.
There was a stunned silence and then Destiny felt something tug at her hand. It was Boff. ‘Look!’ he said, awe-struck.
All around the meadow, Crevitos’s Creations crumpled and sank to the ground. As Emajen’s inhabitants watched bemused, the expressions of violent fury melted from each Creation’s face to be replaced by one of calm serenity.
Everyone looked at everyone else.
It began to dawn on them.
It was over.
With one accord, a triumphant cry of jubilation swept through the meadow and people were hugging each other and shedding tears of relief.
And in the midst of the celebrations, the Natorqua stood grazing tranquilly as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Tentatively, Anthony and Destiny approached the Alpha-female, half afraid of breaking the spell of calm that surrounded the herd. As they drew near, she lifted her head and blew softly at them through her nostrils.
They exch
anged looks. The power that emanated from the Alpha-female was exceptional and they felt it flow through their veins, suffusing them with strength and peace and a tremendous sense of well-being.
CHAPTER FIFTY
‘Don’t mean to spoil the moment, but I think it’s ‘igh time we got you two ‘ome!’
A grin spread across Destiny’s features and she flung herself at Saddler enveloping him in a hug that very nearly cut off his blood circulation.
Beaming from ear to ear, Saddler hugged Destiny back with one arm, whilst furiously pumping Anthony’s hand up and down with the other.
‘What happened to you?’ gasped Destiny. ‘We were so worried!’
Saddler’s face clouded. ‘It’s a very long story and I will tell you one day, but now we ‘ave to get you back before it’s too late … if it isn’t too late already!’
With a slightly shame-faced look, Boff produced the small egg timer from his shorts pocket.
Anthony grinned. ‘What will we do without you?’ he said.
Boff held the timer up high. Only two grains of sand remained in the top half and, as they watched, one of these slipped through the narrow middle and settled on the heap in the bottom.
‘We’re not going to make it, are we?’ said Destiny. ‘What happens if we don’t?’
‘I’d ‘oped that maybe no one would notice you’d gone. But once your time restarts, several days could pass before we get you back there. I’m sorry. It’s going to cause a lot of bother for you. We’d best get going!’
Just at that moment, Destiny felt a gentle shove in the small of her back. She turned to find the Alpha-female gazing at her softly. The Natorqua looked straight into Destiny’s eyes and her meaning was clear.
‘We’ve got a chance yet!’ said Destiny excitedly.
Saddler lifted her and Boff onto the Alpha-female’s back once more. Anthony sprang lightly on another.
‘What about you?’ Destiny asked.
‘You’re only light; you’ll be quicker without me! You know where the box is – tell Mrs Saddler I’m fine and I’ll be ‘ome soon!’
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