by Karen Cossey
“Made it,” Crimson said and relaxed. “Follow me.” She stepped up onto the staircase and made her way to the top. She paused for a moment and turned her head back to look at me.
“Don’t talk too much, and try not to ask any questions,” she said.
I reached the top and stepped out onto a platform amongst the branches. From there I could see a whole network of intertwining paths and platforms between the trees. Dwarfs raced to and fro on the other platforms, but it was remarkably quiet for all the bustling that was going on. That must be why I hadn’t known they were there when I was on the ground. On our platform a solitary figure leaned against the railings, his back towards us. He must have heard us, because he turned around.
“Crimson. You do realise you’ve been followed, don’t you?” He frowned at her. He was a tall young man, with black hair and dark eyes. I thought he looked striking, but I didn’t like the tone he used with Crimson. I took an instant dislike to him and stiffened, placing my hand on the hilt of my dagger that I now wore at my side everywhere I went.
Crimson tossed her head. “I know. I thought your archers would like a different target to practice on for a change,” she said with no annoyance in her tone. “How are you, Kolby? Do you like being in charge of all these dwarfs?”
Kolby smiled and relaxed. “It’s not so bad. They’re a good group. But we really need you to find Juxston. I plan to come with you on your next journey, but I can’t leave here until Juxston arrives.”
“I can handle the next journey by myself. My boy Malin here can help with any trouble.”
As Kolby looked me over, I couldn’t be sure that he was fooled about my being a boy, especially as his eyes studied me for some time. Then he seemed to hear something. Turning, he shouted out, “Good catch, Faolin!”
Crimson and I moved over to the railing. We could see a couple of dwarfs carrying a vile-looking wolf between them. It was still. Dead still.
“Is it dead?” I asked before I could stop myself, forgetting that Crimson wanted me not to ask any questions.
“No. Just asleep, for now,” Kolby said in a grim voice. “One of Taymin’s wolves, Crimson. A few more minutes out in the open, and you could’ve been his next feast. I think you could do with me on your next journey. I do know a few things about hunting the likes of his wolves. And it’s not just you who needs protection.”
He glanced my way.
“He was never going to attack us,” Crimson said. “He’s a scouting wolf. He’ll be due back at Taymin’s in a day or two with news of our whereabouts. I wanted him to follow us here. If you give me some time with him, I’ll be able to have him return with completely inaccurate information. In the meantime, perhaps you can have your best instructor teach the boy some things with the bow and arrow. He’s making progress, but he’s slow to catch on to things.”
Now I turned bright red. Crimson and I had been spending our afternoons working on my archery skills. I thought I was doing well, at least until the last lesson when Crimson had introduced moving targets. I hadn’t been able to hit a single one.
“All right Crimson, but we’ll talk some more later,” Kolby said. He stared at Crimson with a frown on his face for a few seconds before turning and yelling out orders in dwarfish language.
Soon Crimson was being shown the way to the wolf, and I was on my way across the trees to the archery master. He spent the afternoon with me, and I improved my accuracy from misses to bull-eyes. It certainly was easier to learn from a dwarf than a unicorn!
I didn’t get to see Crimson until later that evening when I joined her for a meal. She was in heated conversation with Kolby when I walked in, but they both fell silent as I approached. “What’s the matter?” I asked, looking at Crimson.
She sighed and said, “Your archery skills, son. They’re lacking, according to Kolby.”
I thought I’d done so well! I felt my face heat up as I blurted out, “How do you know? You weren’t even there.”
He smiled and turned to Crimson. “See, his tracking skills are weak, too. He had no idea I was watching.”
Now I was angry as well as embarrassed, but one stern look from Crimson kept me silent. She sighed then turned to Kolby.
“We’ve no time to keep arguing, Kolby. Malin and I will leave early tomorrow to find Juxston. I’ll give your offer more thought while we’re gone. I’ll let you know when we return.”
“You do that Crimson. But don’t take long in bringing Juxston back. We must head off on the next journey within a week or so.”
I longed to ask what the next journey was, but I knew Crimson didn’t want to tell me. The night festivities went on late so I took myself off to sleep as early as I could, knowing that Crimson’s idea of an early start usually meant leaving in the middle of the night.
I was right. We were well on our way out of the forest by daybreak the next morning. Finally alone, walking beside Crimson, I was able to satisfy my curiosity.
“Who is Juxston?” I asked, starting with what I hoped were the easy questions first.
“He is the leader of the dwarfs. He was summoned to an urgent meeting of the Congress of Leaders. He should be back by now. He asked Kolby to watch over his people while he was gone, because Taymin the dwarf-hater has been threatening to attack. It was Kolby who summoned us.”
“How?” I asked, surprised.
“Candles in the window at Sir Galvin’s Castle as we passed last week,” Crimson said.
“I saw those! I thought it was strange to have candles lit there in the middle of the day.”
“Next time you see something strange, let me know. It could be important.”
It struck me that perhaps I needed to be a bit more aware of what was going on around me.
“Why does Taymin hate the dwarfs?” I asked.
“The feud between his clan of people and the dwarfs has been going on for over a hundred years now. No one knows what started it but Taymin likes to keep it going. His heart is full of bitterness and hate.”
He sounded like someone I didn’t need to meet in a hurry.
“Where are we going to find this Juxston?” I continued after a brief pause.
“The congress was held at Sir Yearbury’s Castle. It’s a day’s journey from here.”
We had come to the edge of the forest, and stepped out of the shelter of the trees into a drizzle. I wrapped the cloak round me and warmth enclosed me. Once on Crimson’s back she rode at a steady pace. By the middle of the next morning we were hiding behind some large boulders and looking across fields to Sir Yearbury’s castle.
Chapter 5. Taymin’s Wolves
“It’s too quiet,” I said. “There’s nobody about.”
“Yes there is. Look up there,” Crimson said. I peered towards the top of the battlements, where I could make out some dark lurking shapes. They reminded me of something else I’d seen recently.
“Wolves! Are they Taymins?” I asked.
“Of course,” Crimson said. “It’s just as I suspected. He’s tricked the dwarfs. They’ve put all their efforts into protecting themselves when Taymin only wanted Juxston, their leader. There may not even have been a conference. It was probably nothing more than a ploy to get Juxston by himself.”
“Surely he wouldn’t have travelled alone?” I asked.
“No. He had a team to protect him. We better get inside and see what’s happened to them.”
“It’s no good going invisible, Crimson. Won’t wolves be able to smell us?”
“Good to see you thinking Malin. You’re right. But I have another idea.” Crimson said.
She sounded determined so I pulled on our hoods and climbed on her back. She crept over to the trees at the edge of the fields, like a sailor stranded on a raft amongst a shiver of sharks. Finally she stopped, and told me to get down and pull off our hoods.
“What you’re about to see no other person has ever seen, and you mustn’t ever show anyone else. Do you understand?” she asked.
A tingle
of excitement raced up my back and I nodded my agreement. Crimson bent down and tried to push aside a sharp bush of brambles that scratched her nose. I wrapped the cloak around my hand and heaved the bush aside. There behind it was a wooden door, only big enough for Crimson to squeeze through.
We pushed the door open and stepped inside to a musty chamber with a tunnel running downhill.
“How come this has never been found?” I asked, my mouth gaping wide.
“Unicorn magic. We made it many years ago to protect our comings and goings. Only unicorns and those we permit can find it.”
“How many unicorns were there?”
“Once, there were hundreds of unicorns, all of whom worked to keep the peace and protect people from evil. There are only a few of us left now.”
She seemed old and sad then, and I was sorry I’d asked. She smiled at me.
“Come on. There’s no time for reminiscing now. Let’s go,” she said.
We made our way down the tunnel as it twisted and turned. It got a bit slippery as we went under the moat, and then we stepped into a smaller chamber.
“Through that door is the duchess’s daugher’s wardrobe. When we built the tunnel, the duke and his family worked with us. The current duke and his family don’t know about the door—it’s invisible from their side. If you ever need to return this way, stand in front of the panel with the unicorn engraved on it and say, “Open, secret unicorn door.”
She saw my surprised look—I thought a magical saying would be a much more, well, impressive.
“The original designer of the tunnel wasn’t too concerned with fancy-sounding magic words,” she said in a dry tone.
It must have been Crimson who had designed the tunnel.
I pushed the door ajar and peered out. Clothes, and fancy ones at that. I pushed aside the gowns and we stepped into the duchess’s daughter’s spacious wardrobe.
“Bow and arrow,” Crimson whispered.
I peered round the corner, where I saw a knee-wobbling landslide-sized wolf creeping up on a terrified lady standing on a bed with a dagger in her hand.
I pulled out my bow and arrow, took aim, and fired. Missed! The wolf turned and moved in our direction. Three bounds, and he’d be on top of us. He couldn’t see us but I knew he could smell us. I grabbed another arrow and felt Crimson jump in front of me. Trusting she was there, I leaned on her back, steadied my arm and fired again. The wolf was almost on top of us, and I could see his sharp piercing teeth as I let my arrow go—even I couldn’t miss at this short distance. He fell down with a howl, writhed on the floor, and was still. I could see a dagger poking out from his ribs and realised the lady had thrown it. She saved us! I started to tremble, relief washing over me. Looking over to her, I could see she was shaking as well, as she picked up a candle stick and waved it in our direction.
“I’m not afraid of ghosts!” she shouted.
I remembered I still had my cloak on: she couldn’t see us. I threw off my hood, pulling Crimson’s off at the same time.
“Crimson!” she burst out. “Thank goodness it’s you!”
“Lady Rebecca, glad to be of service,” Crimson said. “Let me introduce my helper, Malin.”
I stepped forward and bowed. She nodded absent-mindedly in my direction, before going on.
“Taymin’s wolves are guarding our rooms. This one was supposed to be watching me, but I think he got a bit hungry,” she said, shivering again.
“Where is Juxston? Is he alright?” Crimson asked, kicking the wolf aside with her hind legs.
“He’s down in the Banquet Hall. Taymin’s got him tied up with five wolves guarding him.”
“What about your parents?”
“They’re being kept in Father’s room—down the passageway with two wolves guarding the door.”
“Is there anyone else on this floor?”
“No, just us. All the guards and servants were poisoned and locked in the dungeons.”
As she spoke, I heard a scream from down the passageway. We raced to the Duke’s room. He and the Duchess were being backed into a corner by two growling wolves. I grabbed an arrow and fired at the wolf closest to the couple. Somehow my arrow hit its mark and the wolf fell to the ground, writhing. But the second wolf whirled around and jumped at me.
“Dagger!” I heard Crimson yell but I was already pulling it out. I held it up in front of my face, but the wolf was on top of me, his open mouth filled with savage-looking teeth intent on ripping me to shreds. I thrust the dagger into his neck, protecting my throat with my arm. His teeth wrapped around my arm and bit in, and everything went black.
When I came around, Lady Rebecca was wrapping a bandage round my arm. She smiled at me.
“Welcome back,” she said. “That was very brave. You saved my parents.”
I smiled and shut my eyes again until I could stop twitching. My arm had puncture marks where the wolf had tried to dig his teeth in, but he’d had no time to do much damage. Though the pain hurt worse than anything I’d known before, I was soon standing up again and listening to Crimson and the Duke discussing how to save Juxston.
He was being held in the Banquet Hall, which was two levels high, with a balcony running around the second level that we could access. Crimson told me to put on the hood of my cloak so I was invisible, and go and spy out the Banquet Hall. Thankfully, she came with me. I was afraid of running into more wolves by myself.
We peered over the balcony down to Banquet Hall. I could see Juxston, a stout, bearded dwarf, bound to a chair by his hands and feet. He was directly under the edge of the balcony. Five wolves surrounded him, licking their lips and drooling. Someone, probably Taymin, was lounging at the banquet table, eating from a tray of cold meat and fruit. He seemed to be enjoying himself, almost gloating over having Juxston bound. Juxston’s head hung down, as though he was asleep.
We reported this all back to the Duke, Duchess, and Lady Rebecca.
“He’s been poisoned, I think,” Crimson said.
“What else did you notice?” Lady Rebecca asked me.
“The doors out were all locked. There seemed to be someone scratching on them, as though there were more wolves outside.”
“Taymin probably left his trainee wolves out in the passageway. They’re a bit wilder than his trained escorts—even he can’t be certain they’ll do what he says,” Crimson said.
“What if we all rush to the edge of the balcony and shoot the wolves?” Rebecca asked, fingering a bow she’d found in another room.
“Then Taymin will command the wolves in the passageway to come and get us.”
“Not if they’re locked in the room with Taymin,” I said. An idea was forming in my mind. “All we need is some rope and some strength.”
It didn’t take long to get ready. The balcony ran all the way around the hall, except for one part directly over the doors. One of the items hidden in my cloak was two thin ropes, one with a hook on its end. Crimson had told me they had unicorn magic, meaning they were as strong as a normal sturdy rope and they could attach themselves to whatever I commanded them to. It was pretty simple to hang the one with a hook over the edge of the balcony and have it hook to the latch of the door. I pulled the other end of that rope through the balcony rail and gave it to Lady Rebecca to hold. She was going to pull on it and open the door when I was ready.
The next part was tricky. I had to throw the second magic rope over Juxston, loop it around him, and pull tight. I’d have only one chance. I tied the other end of the rope around Crimson. The Duke and Duchess held onto it too, ready to pull. I also wore my strength bands, though I wasn’t sure they would work, as my arm still ached from the wolf bite.
I crept out to the edge of the balcony, right over where Juxston was bound. The plan was to pull Juxston first, then open the door. But as I was getting ready to throw the rope down, Taymin pointed to the hook on the door.
“What’s that?” he shouted and stood up to go to the door.
“Now!” I shouted t
o Lady Rebecca, dropping the rope over Juxston. It missed—I’d forgotten to give my command to the rope! I pulled it up as quickly as I could. The door sprung open, and in came a couple of wild-looking wolves.
I gathered the rope again and threw it, this time remembering to give the vital command.
“Rope—over the dwarf!” I shouted. The rope obeyed me and fell directly over him. I pulled the loop tight and yelled, “Pull!” just as a wolf from the corridor was about to leap on Juxston.
We all pulled so hard that Juxston was yanked into the air and the wolf landed flat on his stomach, which enraged him. He saw Taymin climbing onto the table, and started for him.
It didn’t take long to heave Juxston over the railing. Taymin was fighting off the wolves with a lit torch.
“Throw him the rope, too,” Crimson said. I threw the rope again—not forgetting to command it—Taymin grabbed it, and we pulled him up out of harm’s way. The trapped wolves started fighting each other in a tornado of teeth and fur.
It didn’t take long for Taymin to be bound and Juxston to be freed. We then let the guards loose from the dungeons—they all seemed to wear an embarrassed shade of red on their face. I could see their sense of being in control return as they stood on the balcony and used the wolves for target practice, killing them all. I knew the wolves were dangerous, but I didn’t want to watch them die. I left after only the first few had fallen to the arrows.
Juxston was grateful for our help, but was ashamed about walking into Taymin’s trap. He was a tough, blustering kind of dwarf, and obviously wasn’t used to being made the better of.
“All’s well that ends well.” Crimson said and laughed. She wouldn’t talk to Lady Rebecca about how she came to be in her room.
We left the next day, taking two days to escort Juxston to the edge of his forest. “What about Kolby?” Juxston asked as Crimson started to say her farewells. “He’ll want to go with you.”