“It's alright, mate,” Vince reassured him. “I've been in that situation countless times. Most people here don't like the royals anyway. They won't say anything to them, even if they were to see us walking by.”
It did make Pinly feel a little better to know they had the people of Chavo on their side, even though he and Vince were the ones in the wrong. Many times, the armoured footsteps of the guards passed a few meters away. Some came really close, but they all failed to see them.
“We're nearly at the maze,” Vince said. Pinly had never been so happy to hear that name. The place he had once avoided at all costs was about to be his shelter once again.
From a distance, they heard a voice delivering instructions: “If you see them, do not attack one on one. Shout for reinforcements. It's a dangerous wizard and his lackey carrying the loot for him. We're not sure the lackey has any powers. Archers have been deployed, I repeat, do not attack them, keep them at a distance”
“Again with the wizard thing,” Pinly complained.
“Mate, you got off easy. They just called me a servant.” Vince looked slightly outraged.
“He said lackey, not servant.”
“It's the same thing,” Vince retorted.
Pinly couldn't help but chuckle. A smile appeared on Vince's face too as he tried to suppress laughter.
“It's funny and you know it.”
“Maybe a little,” Vince said.
They had a view of the maze's entrance, but it was blocked by two guards who stood tall and strong. Other soldiers walked past, bows loaded. Pinly and Vince had to avoid all contact with anyone and slip through as quietly as possible. They couldn't risk flying above the guards like Pinly had suggested because they would risk being targeted by archers. Vince had a hand on his chin, seemingly deep in thought.
Suddenly, countless soldiers came marching out of the maze, their voices sounded excited as if they'd just had the most fun.
“Did you see that boy before I knocked him out?” one guard bragged to his fellows, who laughed.
“No, no, no,” Vince desperately repeated as black smoke began to rise up to the sky. The guards kept pouring out of the maze like a great flood of bloody blades and torches. There must have been at least two hundred of them. The sound of trotting hooves closed the march and out came the ginger prince Pinly had cut earlier, wearing a bandage across his face. He stopped to talk to the guards watching the maze's entrance.
“They're not in there, but we will have soldiers looking for them from tomorrow, every day until we find them. You two stay here until you are relieved.” When the prince galloped away, the two guards stood even taller, as if they had found a new purpose.
“How are we going to get past them?” Pinly asked. Vince's mood had darkened since they had seen the guards come out the maze. There was a long pause before he broke his silence.
“We'll just go around,” he said, his face contorted as if he was about to cry.
The search went on all night. The royal guards swept every street and every home in the area, the boys had to run for most of the night to avoid close encounters. Vince and Pinly took the long way around, crossing a river twice before making it to the other side of the maze. By dawn, Pinly's legs were aching and he stumbled around, fighting to stay awake. But when they arrived at their destination, there were guards standing there too.
“Over here!” A voice resonated from a distance. The guards ran towards the call.
“Now!” Vince said. They ran inside the maze whilst the guards were distracted. They kept running to put a good distance between them and the entrance. After a few turns, Vince came to an abrupt halt. It was worse than Pinly— and even Vince, by the look on his face, expected. The houses were black with ashes. Some had crumbled into piles of steaming rubble. People stood crying over the things they had lost, while others skimmed through the debris to find anything they could salvage.
“Why would they do this?” a lady cried in a man's arms. He shook his head, his eyes wet with tears.
Pinly felt sick. Their loot weighed heavier than ever now, but did not feel as worth it anymore. They kept walking through more burned and destroyed houses. Bodies laid filled with arrows next to their weeping relatives. It was the longest and most distressing walk through the maze Pinly had ever taken.
“Vince!” a voice called from behind. They turned around to find the boy he had nicknamed Squirrel, surrounded by a group of other boys. “George has been looking all over for you.”
“Where is he now?” Vince asked.
“I'm not sure, he probably went back home... What's happening? Do you know why they're doing this to us?”
Looking ashamed, Vince shook his head. “I don't know,” he lied.
“Don't look so sad, mate. We'll get back on our feet, we always do,” Squirrel said before backing away. He and his group began to chant, “Chavo! Chavo!”
“This is all my fault,” Vince said with a breaking voice.
Pinly put a hand on his shoulder. “It's not. No matter what you did, no matter what we did... This!” He pointed at a crumbled house. “It's not an appropriate response from the people who are supposed to lead. This is not on you, it's on them.”
Vince didn't say anything; he just kept on walking. It was as though no words could make him feel better whilst he was in the middle of the wreckage.
“Did George know about what we were doing?” Pinly asked. Vince didn't reply. “Vince?” he insisted.
“No, I haven't told anyone,” he muttered— Pinly could barely hear him, but didn't ask him to repeat; he was clearly not in the mood to talk anymore. They walked quietly, passing by more ravaged homes until they arrived at theirs. It was still standing, only the downstairs windows were broken. It had been an abandoned house to begin with; the guards probably didn't think it was necessary to attack it too. They had gone past the one house they were after. The boys stepped inside. Matt wasn't there to greet them like last time. The house was quiet apart from the creaking floor boards under their feet. Pinly looked up as light footsteps ran through the corridor overhead. Then a door opened and slammed shut.
“Guys, I'm home!” Vince shouted.
George came out from the kitchen, alone.
“Where is everyone else?” Vince asked.
“They're upstairs, where have you been? It's crazy out there.” As he finished speaking, George’s eyes went to Vince's swollen pockets. “What have you got in there?” He pointed at them.
Vince timidly put a hand in his left pocket and took one of the necklaces out. The shiny jewellery had him jumping up and down before, but now he seemed too ashamed to even look at it.
“Please don't tell me this is what they were looking for…” George asked.
Vince remained silent.
Pinly opened his mouth to say something, but George put a finger up, telling him to stay quiet. “Vince, answer me.”
Vince looked up. “It is,” he said quietly.
“Are you insane?” George snapped. “What were you thinking?”
“I'm sorry.”
“Do you think sorry is enough?” George grabbed Vince by the collar. Pinly tried to step in, but George pushed him out the way. “Have you looked outside?” he shouted, holding Vince's head by the door. “Does it look like your pathetic apology could solve anything right now? Huh?” George pulled Vince back in, but held onto his shirt with both hands.
“No” Vince sobbed. George let go of him, and Vince tumbled against the wall.
“Why do people always have to pay for what you do?” George asked. “And you always get away scot-free…”
“Don't go there, it's not fair,” Vince murmured, but George wasn't listening.
“Every time you act stupidly, people get hurt or die! Last time was my mother!”
Vince rose to his feet. He shoved George and started punching away at him
“It's not fair! It's not fair!” he cried out; his face drenched in tears. “She was as much my mother as she was you
rs!”
Pinly hurried to separate the two brothers
“It's my fault, too. I'm the one who attacked the prince and killed the soldier,” he said.
“Yeah! Probably to save him. You're not the first one to take the blame or risk your life for him,” George said.
“You have no right to say that!” Vince cried out.
Pinly glanced up at a sound and saw that Leo, Dave and Matt were watching from the top of the stairs. Matt was crying.
“You've taken it too far this time... You need to leave…”
There was a long pause in which only Matt's tiny sobs were audible.
“If they find you here, we'll all suffer for what you've done,” George continued.
Vince fell to his knees. His pockets were full of gold and yet he looked so empty.
“Can I say goodbye?” he murmured.
George shrugged “take your stuff too”
Vince raised himself slowly, one knee after the other. He walked up the stairs to find the others.
“Don't go,” Matt cried as Vince reached the top of the stairs.
“You don't have to leave,” Leo said as Vince held his arms wide open to hug them all.
“I have to,” he replied as he closed his arms around them. They hugged for a long minute before Vince had to force their gentle grips off him. Vince then disappeared to their room and came back minutes later with a small bag. All of them were weeping as he walked down. George stood by the kitchen, his arms crossed, anger and pain written all over his face. Pinly couldn’t ever imagine saying such things to his brother. Vince dipped his hand in his pockets. “You should have the gold,” he said, emptying them.
“Keep your gold and leave,” George said sharply.
Vince froze for a second. It looked as though he was about to say something, maybe plead, but he just walked away, too ashamed to even look at George. He stopped for a second as he passed the threshold and rested a gentle hand on the frame, as if saying goodbye to the house, then he walked out.
George sat down and began to cry, but Pinly couldn’t be in two places at once; he had to go after Vince. He ran out, and walked behind Vince for a while before trying to talk to him.
“Vince, Vince…” He was walking swiftly without looking back. “Vince!”
“What?” He finally came to halt. His eyes were red from crying so much.
“It's not your fault,” Pinly said.
“You keep saying that, but it is! It is my fault! None of this would have happened if I wasn't so damn greedy!” He began crying again. “You warned me, but I didn't listen. I never listen.” He continued walking.
“When they killed my parents, I blamed myself too.”
Vince stopped walking.
“For weeks I flew around the forest, just hurting myself. I was punishing myself... I can't let you do that to yourself.”
“Who is ‘they’?” Vince asked.
“Undead soldiers... It may sound crazy to you, but…”
“I believe you.” Vince turned around, wiping his face.
“I've been alone ever since.”
“You're not, I'm here,” Vince said. “But what happens to me when you find the rest of your family?”
“You'll stick around with us.” Pinly approached and put his arm around Vince's shoulder. “But for now, we need to find a way out of here…”
“We fly our way out of here!” Vince said.
“Really?”
"”es. We're not hiding anymore, and we need to show everyone that we're gone out of Chavo so they stop burning the maze down.”
“Fine by me,” Pinly said.
Without realising they had walked almost to the end of the maze. Vince seemed uneasy, he leaned against one of the walls and took a deep breath.
“This is all I know” Vince said as he rested his head against the wall
“We can wait if you want” Pinly said.
Vince shook his head “No, it’s okay” They ran out of the maze and stood in the middle of the town square. This was where they had first met and first became fugitives together— there was no better place to finally leave. Vince picked up a rock and threw it at one of the guards. The guard turned around, an angry look on his face. Blood dripped around the fingers he held to his head, where the rock had struck him.
“We heard you were looking for us!” Vince taunted.
“Get them! Do not let them escape! Dead or alive!”
The boys took off running. It wasn't long until a dozen soldiers were after them, and the number only grew as they came out of every alley and establishments. The boys pressed on through the square. The guards in their heavy armour had difficulty keeping up with them. Arrows and lances flew from every direction, landing all around the boys like deadly hailstones.
“I forgot about that,” Vince said as they zigzagged and ducked to avoid being hit. It was Pinly's turn to show what he was made of. His brother’s voice sounded in his head: All you have to do is imagine.
“I have an idea! I think…” Pinly closed his eyes for a few seconds, then started flying low above the ground. Vince jumped on his back.
“Whatever the plan is, it needs to happen now, P,” Vince said as the guards aimed more lances at them, the deadly weapons were pointed up as the soldier extended their arms back. Pinly’s aura whirled around him, but this time he was incontrol as power flowed through his veins. The first thing that came to his mind were wings, beautiful white wings. He touched the ground with both hands before soaring higher, but still not out of reach. His aura spread around the town square raising a powerful wind from the ground. Most soldiers lost balance as Pinly’s power swept them off their feet. The wind was followed by the sound of a thousand beating wings. All of sudden, out of the ground, thousands and thousands of white doves came flying. Everyone at the scene froze, afraid, but also amazed at the beauty of the spell.
Pinly and Vince flew amongst the birds, high and away from Chavo.
“This is incredible, P,” Vince shouted above the noise of the flock.
“I know!” Pinly couldn't believe what he had just done either. He gazed at the birds and wished the moment would never end.
Chapter 11
Familiar face, unfamiliar place
T he boys had spent five days on the road trying to make their way to Fairy country. All they had to go on were the maps Vince’s mother had left behind. They spent two days in the house of a lady called Edna. Trying to make sense of the maps. But most things were not where the map said they would be and Pinly began to feel as though they were walking aimlessly. Vince came to an abrupt halt.
“Something wrong?” Pinly asked
“It’s probably nothing… I had this feeling that someone was looking at us, breathing down our necks, even.”
Pinly turned around in a rush, but saw nothing. “Are you sure?”
“It’s probably nothing.” There was no way anyone could hide; they were in the middle of a prairie with very few trees, and not a living soul but them from horizon to horizon. Only flying birds and crawling insects. “Let’s camp here for the night.”
“I'll gather wood, we can make a fire to keep warm,” Pinly said.
“Can you recall the gold, please?” Vince asked.
Pinly rubbed his hands, making the colourful jackets appear at his feet. It was weird that Vince would want to see the gold now, Pinly thought, but he didn't ask him why. Maybe he just wanted to count the loot before exchanging it the next day. It didn't really matter. Pinly just left the jackets with Vince and went ahead with his search for firewood.
Soon the sun had completely set. Pinly’s arms were full of branches and dead leaves, so he decided to go back and find Vince.
“Pinly?” he heard Vince call him from afar, but it sounded like the kind of call people made when they wanted to hide something before the person they were calling arrived. Pinly didn't reply. He dropped the wood, careful to do so as quietly as possible, and tiptoed closer to Vince. He hid behind the closest
tree. Vince was admiring jewellery Pinly had never seen before. It wasn't from the parade, these were long diamond necklaces.
Pinly stepped briskly towards Vince who began to shove his new loot inside the pockets of the jackets.
“What is that?” Pinly demanded.
“What do you mean? It's nothing” Vince replied. “You can recall the gold now.”
“You didn't…”
“Did what?”
“Steal from Edna!”
“What are you talking about? Just recall it.”
“Don't take me for a fool.” Pinly rushed to empty the jackets, but Vince pushed him away. “How could you?! Have you lost your mind?”
“Don't act like you cared about her.”
“She took us in, she fed us…” Pinly shoved Vince “Is that why you woke up so early?”
Vince didn't reply.
“Why? Do you really need that?”
Vince shrugged.
“Wasn't Chavo enough?” Pinly asked.
Vince opened his mouth to say something, but before he could start, they both fell on their behinds, a force like no other vibrated into existence, it rippled through the air like a wall of water. Pinly looked at Vince who also gaped. Something shiny glowed from behind it, slowly undulating towards them. The gleaming shape passed though the strange wall and began floating around the boys as if examining them. It looked like a golden rope. Pinly had seen that before, that exact same spell saved his life! What was it doing here? And what was that thing it came out from?
“What are you doing?” Vince asked.
“I'm not doing anything!” Pinly replied.
The rope suddenly made fast movements. Pinly heard it whip as it tied itself around Vince
“Watch out!” Vince screamed as another appeared. It attempted to trap Pinly, but he dodged and flew out of reach. The rope began retreating, taking Vince with it. Pinly gasped at the speed at which Vince was dragged away. He disappeared through the magical wall.
“No!” Pinly screamed. He froze. What was on the other side? But he didn’t have time to think, he had to do something or risk losing one more person, he couldn’t bare the thought of it “You won’t take him too!” he shouted as he ran through.
Made of Magic and True Grit Page 10