Jack Shian and the Destiny Stone

by Andrew Symon

  “It’s still not fair. They’re taking Armina and Arvin, and they don’t fight.”

  “I want to see my dad,” added Lizzie.

  “Gettin’ excited?” asked Ossian as he approached. “I can’t wait to get at those Kildashie.”

  “Harald says we can’t go to Edinburgh,” moaned Rana.

  “He’s right, though. His men are goin’ to get the worst of it. There’s no point bein’ there if you can’t fight.”

  “We’ll see,” replied Lizzie.

  “What about Magnus?” asked Jack.

  “He’s comin’ with me to Cos-Howe. Him and Harald don’t get on, you can tell. They’re better apart.”

  “So it’s fjordsmen and Cree against the Kildashie?”

  “Don’t forget the Thanatos,” added Jack. “But we’ve got Dad and Grandpa and the others.”

  Things at least seemed straightforward when Harald read out the attack plan: his men and the Cree would attack the castle, while Ossian and Magnus went to relieve Cos-Howe. The Lyosach and Nebulan forces were to free the west, while the McCools would liberate the border lands with the Warfrins. Together, it was felt that they could defeat the Red Caps.

  “Will the west really be so easy?” asked Jack of Iain Dubh.

  “It was only the Kildashie uniting the Unseelie that kept them so powerful, but they’re not all one group. In fact, some of the factions there hate each other.”

  “So you reckon it won’t be a problem?”

  Iain Dubh smiled. “There’s enough Seelie that will help us – we’ll be all right. Our Gusog feather gives us life in the winter. And the flag from Ardmore is our battle totem.”

  Jack blushed. “It was Caskill who got your flag back.”

  “You had to free him from the cave first. No Jack, those of you going to Edinburgh will have a much harder battle – I’m glad you’re going to be kept in the rear.”

  “And who’re the Warfrins? Harald said they were going to help the McCools free the border lands.”

  “They’re from the low lands, and they’ve got some special power against the Red Caps. Thins their blood – something like that.”

  Jack found it hard to get to sleep that night. The Kildashie were mean, and the Thanatos vicious. Who knew if the newly-arrived Warfrins would help defeat the Red Caps? Or the islands-men defeat the Unseelie? He felt a tight fist in the pit of his stomach: in just over a day it would all be over. They would have recovered the Stone – or be dead.

  33

  The Edinburgh Coach

  Jack was first out of the tumulus, closely followed by Ossian.

  “The mustangs were brilliant! We made it to Edinburgh in ten minutes.”

  Ossian overtook Jack as they raced up to the standing stones, and was there waiting when Jack arrived, panting, his breath visible in the cold still air. Horses whinnied, and some pawed the ground. Others shivered, but Jack guessed it wasn’t the cold. They were finally on their way!

  As the Seelie army grew, Jack waited irritably. Why was Petros so slow? Surely he wanted to get going?

  When Petros finally arrived, Jack could almost feel his lack of enthusiasm.

  What’s the matter with him? We’re about to get our homes back; and he’ll see his dad again.

  Jack stopped.

  He’s scared about his dad … He thinks what happened to Festus will …

  A wave of guilt washed over Jack. He had been so excited finally to get going; and at least he’d found his father …

  “Come along!” shouted Phineas at the stragglers. “Edinburgh crew over here; Keldy lot – you’re over there.”

  The groups were soon marshalled and mounted, and at a signal from Grey Wolf the Keldy crew cantered, then galloped, and disappeared into the air. Once they were out of sight Grey Wolf signalled to the Edinburgh-bound crew.

  It was just as Jack had remembered it from a few days earlier. Gripping Petros’ waistband tightly, he felt the sudden rise in height (and fall in temperature) as the freezing winter air whipped his face. He was grateful that this time he had Gilmore’s warm cloak. Charmed clothes had a lot going for them.

  They were soon in the clouds, and the other horses and riders were lost to view. Jack could only trust that the mustangs knew their way – there were no landmarks in this grey desert. As the intense cold gripped Jack, the memory of the first trip came back to him: it had been no picnic. He tried to concentrate on not falling off.

  After several minutes a loud shout from He Who Waits alerted Jack to a change in direction. The flyers were soon in a break in the clouds, and Jack could make out the dim outline of a shoreline below.

  “Which coast is it?” he shouted, shaking Petros’ waist.

  His cousin did not answer, and Jack could only hope that the coastline meant they were nearly there. However, the visibility soon disappeared in another swirl of clouds, and Jack suddenly felt his horse pull to the right.

  “What’s the matter? What’s happening?” Petros had found his voice again.

  “I don’t know. It was like the horse didn’t want to go any further. I think we’re heading inland.”

  They were definitely losing height. The horses, used to travelling together, had wheeled west then north-west as one, and were taking the riders steadily down. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. With a sinking feeling, Jack saw the ground get nearer, but his mood changed as familiar sights came in view.

  “Hey! That’s the River Keldy! I recognise the bridge.”

  Within minutes the horses had deposited the riders in the field near Ossian’s house. While cold, it felt a lot warmer than being in the air – and was nothing like as cold as Edinburgh had been a few days earlier. Jack patted his warm jacket.

  Those riders who were supposed to be in Keldy had already dismounted, and were looking in astonishment at the new arrivals.

  “What’s happened?” demanded Rana. “You were supposed to go straight to Edinburgh.”

  “Something stopped us,” replied Phineas. “When we got to the Forth the horses turned and made for here.”

  Grandpa Sandy consulted with He Who Waits before turning to the crowd.

  “It’s a campanilus hex.”

  “What’s that?” demanded Ossian.

  “Like a bell hex, only much stronger. The Kildashie must’ve raised it when they retreated. The horses can’t get through; it’ll block the low roads too.”

  “So how are we supposed to get to Edinburgh?” asked Grey Wolf.

  “We’ll send out scouts and see if it really goes all the way round. If it does, that’s good in one sense, because it means the Kildashie have given up on the rest of the country. But it also means we’re stuck.”

  “You mean we don’t have a way in?” asked Iain Dubh incredulously. “I thought Harald was supposed to help us defeat the Kildashie; he can’t even get us to Edinburgh!”

  Jack felt a buzzing at his neck. His right hand rose and grabbed Tamlina’s ring. Hurriedly, he tugged the Mapa Mundi from around his neck, and flicked it into the Sphere. The two circles formed, blank – or was it snow? Jack stared hard at them.

  They must show us our true path! They must!

  The snowy picture faded, clearing to show the distinctive outline of Edinburgh Castle in one, and a humans’ coach in the other.

  Ossian and his parents came down to see us by bus! The Kildashie won’t be expecting that.

  “We can do it! We’ll take the coach the humans use!”

  “This is a Shian struggle,” asserted Iain Dubh. “Moving into the human sphere will not work.”

  “This problem will become the humans’ if we do not stop the Kildashie,” said Jack. “And everyone knows that when they have a problem, we suffer. In any case, the Mapa Mundi always shows our true path.”

  “Jack’s right: the campanilus won’t stop a human coach,” said Phineas. “It’ll take a while, but we should just make it.”

  “Does that mean we can come?” asked Lizzie hopefully.

  “Cert
ainly not. Keldy is safe: you must stay here.”

  “You were allowed here because the Kildashie had left,” added Grandpa; “but here is where you’ll stay – for now. The rest of us will go by coach.”

  “Will that be big enough for us all?” asked Petros.

  “We’ll have to manage; and there’s little chance the Kildashie will be looking at buses,” replied Phineas. “They may even be safer than flying in to Arthur’s Seat.”

  “But much slower,” pressed Grey Wolf. “We must get to the castle before this evening.” He shivered as an icy gust swept down from the hills.

  “I’ve got the invisibility cloaks too,” added Gilmore.

  Jack hadn’t noticed the huge bag his tutor had lugged down from the horse.

  “I’ll take one,” said Ossian. “There’s a coach depot not far from here, but they’ll all be in use tonight. If I’m invisible, I may be able to borrow one before they all go. Grey Wolf, you come with me.”

  The two set off at pace, and were soon lost to view.

  Time

  passed

  slowly.

  Jack’s spirits had risen and fallen with every sound from the path taken by Ossian and Grey Wolf. Had they really come this far, only to fail?

  Nine o’clock. Nothing.

  Half past. A light rain began to fall.

  This is worse than waiting for Caskill at Ardmore!

  With an overwhelming sense of relief Jack heard his cousin’s voice breaking through the darkness.

  “Come on! The coach is over in the human space!”

  The Shian crowd quickly made their way along the path until it came to a short tunnel running beneath a railway line.

  “Watch out!” shouted Gilmore, as he was sent spinning near the tunnel entrance.

  His sack dropped to the ground, and there was a flurry of activity as those around him helped him to his feet. Gilmore grabbed his sack, and dusted himself down.

  “I thought it was the Kildashie we were supposed to be fighting,” he muttered, starting for the tunnel again.

  As he passed through the tunnel, Jack felt himself rise to human height.

  “That’s me,” said Petros as they emerged at the other side. “I’m going back to Keldy.”

  He turned and started back down the tunnel.

  “Hey! What’s wrong?” Jack doubled back after his cousin, dodging the crowd coming the other way, and dropping back down to Shian height.

  “I can’t.” Petros had sat down on a rock, breathing heavily. “The Thanatos will kill me.”

  “It’s your dad, isn’t it?” spat Jack. “You’re scared about what’s happened to him. Well, if I can get my dad back from the Grey, you can help rescue yours from Edinburgh.”

  It was no use: Petros was white as a sheet. Jack could see him replaying his dad’s capture – and Festus’ death – in his mind. Jack watched him for a moment, then turned on his heel.

  When he emerged from the tunnel he could see the crowd boarding a large coach in the car park. Daid stood by the door, a huge smile on his face.

  “They could only get one bus. Come on, all aboard.”

  He’s been waiting years to deliver that line, groaned Jack, as he clambered up the steps.

  “All right, Jack?” His grandfather sat beside him.

  “Won’t the campanilus stop the coach?”

  “We’re human size, Jack – it’s the wrong kind of hex. I’ll bet the Kildashie aren’t bright enough to work out a back-up.”

  True enough, the coach passed through the campanilus hex as they crossed the Forth Road Bridge. The air turned noticeably colder too – frost formed on the windows, and Jack could see ice on the road. Winds howled around the coach, which slowed to a near halt as it encountered heavy traffic. The whole world seemed to be descending on the city for Hogmanay.

  The coach came to a halt in a side street, double parked over a row of cars. As the door opened a bone-chilling gust swept in, causing gasps of horror. Even Jack winced in surprise: he’d almost forgotten how bitterly cold Edinburgh had been just a few days earlier.

  Jack made his way to the door, pulling Gilmore’s warm cloak around him. It was tempting to stay inside and just drive off somewhere nice and hot …

  But we’re not going back now …

  “We won’t be using the coach again, will we?” he said as they disembarked.

  Grey Wolf looked at him curiously.

  “From here on we are Shian. We do not look back.”

  34

  Storming the Castle

  The crowds were horrendous – even at midsummer Jack couldn’t remember the streets being this crowded. Coupled with the icy roads and the howling wind, walking was a real problem. Almost every other step brought a slip or a stumble. Getting to Edinburgh Castle before midnight looked an impossible task.

  On the other hand, Grandpa had been right. In a crowd of thousands, another 100 or so made no difference. Even if the Kildashie spies were out, their chances of being spotted were almost nil. Given the humans’ ability to ignore everyone else in a crowd, the Seelie army made its way unobtrusively up to the back of the castle.

  “It’s not quite so bustly here,” explained Phineas as they turned to head up the slope. “And it’s a bit more sheltered from the wind.”

  The shelter, such as it was, came from the castle rock, which loomed high above them.

  The sound of distant – but loud – music bounced off nearby buildings. Sizable human crowds still provided cover, but without the intense pressure of the Princes Street throng. As the group neared the Royal Mile, they divided into two: Magnus and Ossian turned right for Cos-Howe while Harald’s sections continued to head uphill. As agreed, Jack followed at the rear with his father, shivering as a fresh gust of snow hit him.

  There was no sign of Unseelie, and it was only as they were moving past the crowds up towards the castle gate that Jack got the first inkling that something was up. The crowd was still jostling from every side; but there was an extra jostle that made him shake. This shove felt different. Meant, somehow.

  “Jack!” a voice hissed. “Will you get us in?”

  Jack spun round, trying to identify the source of the voice. He recognised it, sure; but it didn’t make any sense.

  And then he stopped: Of course it makes sense. They’ll do exactly what they’re not supposed to do.

  “Where are you?” he whispered.

  “Just behind. Don’t let on to Uncle Phineas – he’ll go spare.”

  He’s not the only one, thought Jack. None of the section commanders wanted kids along. I’m only here because they know I can make the Mapa Mundi work.

  As the Seelie shuffled up through the human crowd, Jack tried to think how he would explain this one to his father.

  … I can’t, he concluded. Not if he sees them. The only chance is to keep them hidden.

  But arc lights shone over the esplanade, and Jack suddenly realised that he wasn’t hidden himself.

  “Dad! That’s one of the Kildashie! I think he’s seen us.”

  Phineas saw that Jack was serious, and he pulled Grey Wolf’s arm.

  “We must take the Shian gate!”

  Up ahead, Harald continued on unaware to the main castle gate. The rear section edged through the crowd towards the Shian gate in the esplanade corner.

  “Effatha!”

  The gate groaned as it accommodated this larger-than-usual group, but they landed safely in the darkness of the Shian square. Jack put his arms behind him and checked his cousins were there.

  “Did the Kildashie see us come this way?” enquired Grey Wolf.

  “I don’t think so. The human crowd hid us at the right time.”

  Indeed, the gloomy Shian square was deserted.

  “They’ve smashed most of the crystals,” exclaimed Armina. “Savages.”

  Through the gloom, one solitary light shone.

  “That’s my room!” Jack said indignantly as he saw the glow.

  “Did ye think yo
ur room would not be taken?” snapped Finbogie. “Every space here will have been trashed by the Kildashie. Scum!” He spat.

  Jack moved involuntarily towards his house, but was restrained by his father’s arm.

  “Careful, Jack. It could be a trap.”

  But Jack wriggled free, and made a dart for his house. He was there in seconds, and had peered in the front window before Phineas could catch him.

  “Jack! You could give the whole game away.” Phineas dragged Jack around the side of the house.

  The peace was disturbed by a commotion from within the house: indignant shouts, and taunts, followed by a thump–whump as something (or somebody) fell down stairs. When the front door opened moments later, it was to reveal a sorry-looking Doxer, his nose bleeding and his face scratched.

  “Pax!” he shouted, as he stumbled forward.

  He spoke!

  Doxer collapsed in a heap, accompanied by an unmistakeable peal of laughter.

  “Rana!” roared Phineas. “Show yourself now, or I’ll blast you out!”

  The threat was enough, and Rana and Lizzie sheepishly removed their invisibility bonnets.

  “How in Tua’s name did you get here?!” demanded Phineas, as Grandpa Sandy approached.

  “We missed out on going to Tula!” protested Rana. “And we want to find our dad.”

  “Your bravery does you credit,” said Grey Wolf. “But these are not games.” He turned to Doxer. “What do you do here?”

  Doxer looked nonplussed … No: terrified.

  “What … do … you … do … here?” he echoed.

  “Are you trying to be funny?” demanded Grey Wolf.

  Doxer looked lost.

  “You’re helping the Kildashie, aren’t you?” Jack accosted him. “I saw you here the other day – serving drinks to them.”

  Doxer raised his hands in explanation, but said nothing.

  “Is he mute?” enquired He Who Waits.

  “No, he shouted when Rana pushed him out,” said Jack.

  He Who Waits stood in front of Doxer, and made a sign: two fingers to the lips, and the back of the right hand to left palm.