Valleron (Book 2)

by Jennifer Redmile

  “When I was healing him, Aracus told me that it was having Raff back in his life that gave him the will to live.”

  Leah was so relieved to see Raff back to normal. She watched his animated face as he chatted with his grandfather, hearing Aracus laugh at Raff’s enthusiasm. The jealousy she’d felt over him finding his family was completely gone, replaced by the joy of seeing him so happy.

  As if he knew she was thinking about him, Raff turned and smiled back at her uncertainly. She grinned and blew a kiss, laughing as he almost fell off his horse, a goofy grin on his face.

  Belle chuckled. “Well, it’s good to see everything is back to normal.”

  Aracus raised his hand, and pointed towards a group of buildings, just up ahead. They’d almost reached the barracks. Leah and Belle trotted up beside them.

  “You’ll need to keep a shield up until the last kid climbs out of the end cart. Are you sure you’re okay to do this?” Aracus said, looking at the girls.

  Leah smiled. “We’ll be fine Aracus. Just don’t forget that if Raff sends up a fireball, come quick!” She grinned at Belle and Raff. “Okay, let’s do this!”

  They dismounted and stepped to the edge of the shield surrounding the company. Belle erected their own personal shield and they ducked behind the last cart. As the last two children climbed out of the cart, Belle dropped the shield and they fell in behind them, matching their step and posture to the kids around them.

  Belle, Leah and Raff walked with their eyes down, trying to draw as little attention as possible. The children were entering the barracks through the double doors of a building that looked a lot like the administration building at Valleron College. They shuffled along slowly, showing no interest in what went on around them.

  An arm shot out in front of Raff as they entered the building. “Oi, you three! First day, eh? Make sure you follow the rules: No talking, no slacking and follow orders… got it?” The three children continued to look at the ground and nodded. “I’ll be watching you… trust me, you don’t wanna break any of those rules!”

  He removed his arm from in front of Raff, and gave him a shove. “Get moving then, times a’wasting!”

  He mumbled something as Leah and Belle passed, and they heard the other men laughing. Leah shuddered, glad she hadn’t heard what he said. She had a feeling that knowing what he’d said would make her even more terrified than she already was.

  The other children were already at work as Leah, Raff and Belle approached the man who appeared to be in charge, a wicked looking whip dangling from his right hand.

  “Ah… new blood, just what I been waitin’ for. See that buildin’ there? That’s the storeroom, where you’ll get the timber. And see where those men are workin’ over there? That’s where you’ll be takin’ it. Now get goin’. And don’t even think about dawdlin’. Whipper here hasn’t had a good workout for a while!” He shook the whip beside him, chuckling as they hurried towards the storeroom.

  Belle groaned when they entered the building and saw the piles of timber waiting to be moved. “Please tell me this is a nightmare, and I’m going to wake up in a minute?” she whispered.

  Leah tried to smile through her fear. “Hang in there, Belle. At least we know it’s only for one day. Imagine how those kids out there are feeling right now. Just keep your eyes open, and don’t break the rules.”

  Raff was scratching his head, and giving her a weird look. “Okay, who are you, and what have you done with the real Leah?” he whispered.

  “Pssstt… stop standing there talking or you’ll get us all in trouble!” A boy about Raff’s age was waving them over to where he stood next to a pile of timber. “Look, I don’t know who you are, or where you came from, but these guys are all about punishing everyone any chance they get. So get to work and don’t talk!” He turned, picked up an armful of timber, and shuffled out the door.

  Belle reached into her pocket and lifted Wort out. “I think it’s probably best if Wort stays in here for the day.” She looked down at her tiny friend standing on her palm. “We’ll come and get you when the other kids leave.”

  Belle lowered him to the ground, and after a couple of seconds he scurried off towards the back of the storeroom. Belle was chuckling as he disappeared.

  “Ok, what did he say?” Leah asked.

  “He wanted to put all the bad men to sleep because they were mean to us. I told him he’d have to wait ‘til tonight.”

  Raff grinned at the girls. “Come on, we’d better get moving. Just try to think of it as a day’s work out. We’ll be outta here tonight. It’s not gonna kill us!”

  * * *

  Three hours later, Leah would have kicked Raff if she’d had the energy. Despite what he’d said, she was sure this was gonna kill her! Her entire body ached, and they weren’t even half way through the day. The hatch leading to the underground vault was in the centre of the yard, guarded day and night by four sour-faced mages. Everyone avoided the area at all times.

  Leah was shuffling back to the storeroom for another load of timber when the headman cracked his whip in the air. The horrifying sound turned her legs to jelly, causing her to stumble. Raff grabbed her arm just as she felt the ground rising up to meet her.

  “Lunch. Fifteen-minute break! Move it!” the headman yelled. He turned and walked towards the entry building. All the children dropped whatever they were doing instantly, falling in behind him.

  Lunch was a stale bread roll and a cup of water. By the time Belle, Raff and Leah got theirs, five of the precious fifteen-minute break had already passed. They followed the other children to the storeroom, relieved to discover they were at least allowed to escape the scorching sun while they ate.

  Too exhausted to talk, Leah sat between her two friends, leaning against Raff and nibbling on her bread roll. She’d just closed her eyes when Raff nudged her. She opened one gritty eye and watched as the headman approached one of the mages. A muffled argument ensued, resulting in the mage pulling a set of keys from his pocket.

  The mage bent down and unlocked the bolt securing the vault door, grumbling the entire time. “If anything goes wrong, this is on YOUR head! Make it quick!” he yelled, as he lifted the cover off the vault.

  The headman disappeared inside. He returned thirty seconds later, wiping his sweating brow with one hand, while holding a piece of paper in the other. The mage scowled and huffed, replacing the cover and locking the bolt back in place. He slipped the keys back into his pocket, grumbling to the other three mages as he resumed his position guarding the vault.

  Raff whispered into her ear. “Now we just need to watch who he gives those keys to when the night shift takes over.”

  * * *

  What felt like an eternity later, the headman cracked his whip in the air to signal the end of the working day. Leah was in the storeroom, and hadn’t seen Belle or Raff for the last half hour. They’d agreed earlier to hide in the back of the storeroom when the other kids left, so she slipped behind a pile of timber to wait.

  Her heart was racing almost as much as her brain. What if Raff and Belle hadn’t been able to slip away? What if they were being ushered out to the carts, and she was stuck in here on her own? She heard a shuffling sound to her left, and then almost cried with relief when her friends appeared beside her.

  “How…? Where…?”

  Raff put his finger to his lips, and Leah felt the shield go up around them.

  Two men stood in the doorway of the storeroom. “Rotten kids, nothin’ but trouble. Boss reckons there’s three of ‘em… new kids… saw ‘em arrive, and didn’t see ‘em leave. You go left, I’ll go right.”

  Leah looked at Raff and Belle in horror. They knew they were still here! What now?

  Raff squeezed her hand, as another man appeared in the doorway. “False alarm. One o’ the guards says he saw the new kid’s hat go through with a group of kids earlier. They must’ve been on the first cart to leave.”

  The other two men joined him, and slapped him on the ba
ck. “Let’s go have a drink then!” one of them said, as they turned and left.

  Leah slumped to the ground in relief, and Raff and Belle flopped down beside her. Belle reached into her pocket, lifted Wort out, and placed him on the ground in front of her. She then reached into a gap in the pile of timber to her right, and pulled out a loaf of bread and a large bottle of water. Leah just stared at her, laughing when she realised she was doing the fish mouth thing.

  Belle chuckled. “I watched where they were getting the bread rolls and water from at lunch, and then snuck over earlier this afternoon and pinched whatever I could find. Don’t you just love shields?”

  Leah looked at Raff. “And your hat?”

  “As soon as I heard it was quitting time, I found the first kid I could and gave him my hat. I hoped someone would remember seeing it leave. Then I saw Belle, and we hightailed it over here under a shield.”

  Belle broke the loaf into three, and sighed with pleasure. “It’s fresh! Obviously it’s only the kids who get the stale stuff.”

  They sat quietly eating the bread and sharing the bottle of water. When they were finished, they laid back on the ground, grateful they would never have to face another day like today.

  Raff nudged Leah. “Hmmm…” she said, her eyes closed.

  He turned his head towards her. “You never answered my question… you know, about the real Leah?”

  Leah opened her eyes, and turned to face him. “Oh her… she’s long gone.” She grinned at the confusion in his eyes. “I’ve finally come to terms with who I am, and what I can do. I think maybe it was the thought of losing my Gift that jolted me out of the self-pity I’ve been wallowing in. So, I’ve decided to try and adopt your attitude… life should be an adventure, not a worry.”

  Raff closed the gap between them, and kissed her. It was the last thing Leah had expected, but it left her feeling warm and giddy.

  Raff grinned. “You are amazing; you know that? When this is all over, we are going to find your family so I can tell them what an incredible daughter they have.”

  Leah snuggled in beside him. “That sounds awesome. You’re pretty amazing yourself…” she whispered, as her eyes closed, and sleep took over.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  -The Binding Device-

  Raff watched as the day shift guard with the keys handed them over to a guard the size of a house, slapped him on the back, and headed towards the tents. Raff let out the breath he’d been holding. At least now that he knew which guard had the keys he could relax for a while.

  He’d been sitting hunched in the shadows just inside the door to the storeroom for about an hour. Every muscle in his body screamed in protest as he moved back towards the shield where he’d left the girls. How did these kids keep this up day after day, with minimal rest and food? Their lives were a living nightmare!

  Raff sat down next to where Leah and Belle lay curled up asleep. They’d looked so exhausted after the long, gruelling day, he’d decided to let them sleep until it was time to find the device. Leaning back against the pile of timber behind him, he allowed his eyes to close for a minute.

  * * *

  Raff opened his eyes to find Leah shaking him, her eyes filled with panic. He was instantly awake, looking around wildly for the threat.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “We all went to sleep. We missed seeing which guard has the keys!”

  Raff grinned. “Don’t worry. I watched the handover before I went to sleep. You and Belle were out cold, so I decided to let you sleep.”

  Leah slumped down beside him, relief replacing the panic in her eyes. “I should’ve known you’d have it all under control. How do you do it? I couldn’t keep my eyes open!”

  Raff slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. “I have a lot of motivation. I don’t intend to let Serbus take any more of the people I care about away from me.”

  Leah sighed and snuggled in closer. “Well just remember… we’re in this together. You don’t always have to do everything yourself. You have a lot of people who care about you, too. We’ll beat Serbus… together.”

  Raff felt some of the bitterness over his grandmother’s death ease. Leah was right, he needed to concentrate on the living, and how lucky he was to have so many people around him that cared. He kissed the top of her head and scrambled to his feet.

  “You’re right… and now we need to get on with it!” He reached down and pulled Leah to her feet. She was so beautiful, he couldn’t resist wrapping her in his arms and kissing her. It was like stealing a moment of normalcy, before they had to return to the chaos that was their lives.

  “Ummm, sorry to interrupt, but shouldn’t we get moving?” Belle was sitting up looking at them. “Did I miss anything? Did anyone see who got the keys?”

  Leah and Raff laughed self-consciously as they helped Belle to her feet.

  “Luckily, Raff stayed awake long enough to see which guard got the keys, and yes we do need to get moving.” She turned to Raff, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “So what’s the plan?”

  “Ummm… plan… yeah, right.” He shook his head, trying to clear his befuddled brain. Right then he didn’t really care about the plan, he just wanted to keep kissing Leah. He cleared his throat. “Well, we need Wort to put the guards to sleep first. Belle, can you ask him if he can put them all to sleep at once?”

  Belle held Wort up in front of her. “Well Wort, what do you think? Is it possible to put more than one person to sleep at a time?”

  Leah and Raff waited, as Wort replied to their question. Belle smiled and looked up. “Apparently, he’s never tried to put more than one person at a time to sleep, but he thinks it should work the same.”

  Raff smiled. “Great! Well, once Wort has them asleep, I’ll grab the keys and we’ll get inside. Let’s go!”

  They moved to the door of the warehouse, and watched Wort approach the guards. Each of the guards sat at a corner of the vault, a torch stuck in the ground next to him. Wort stepped onto the sealed vault in the centre, and within seconds the guards were all slumped over asleep.

  The children crept towards the vault, scanning the area to make sure no one else was around. Raff rifled through the pockets of the enormous night guard. Seriously, the guy really was the size of a house. He pulled out the keys triumphantly and moved towards the lock.

  After fumbling with the lock for what felt like an eternity, he finally pulled back the bolt, and lifted the cover of the vault. He grabbed the nearest torch, and took a deep breath as his foot touched the first of the stairs leading down into the darkness.

  “Follow me, and stay close,” he whispered to the girls as he held the torch above his head.

  They reached the bottom and found themselves in a small, empty room. Raff scratched his head, disappointment flooding through him. There’s nothing here! It’s all a ruse!

  “Hey guys, over here.” Belle stood in front of a section of the wall behind the stairs, tilting her head from side to side. “I think this might be a portal door, like the one we found in the cave. Raff, try and shield the torch so this wall is in darkness.”

  Raff moved to the corner furthest from the wall, and stood in front of the torch. A faint glow, in the shape of a doorway, took shape in front of where Belle stood. She pushed her hand against what looked like a wall, and it disappeared.

  “I knew it! The kitsunes can create portals wherever they want. The device must be in here.” Without another word, Belle stepped through the doorway and vanished. Seconds later, she was back.

  “Raff, you can leave the torch here. The room appears to be lit by whatever was in the vault in the cave! Let’s go.”

  Raff propped the torch against the wall in the corner and joined the girls at the doorway. Belle was disappearing inside again, as Raff grabbed Leah’s hand and they stepped through the portal together.

  This room was larger than the other one, and at the far end sat a black box on a desk. Apart from that, there was nothing else in the r
oom. Raff’s heart was thumping with excitement as he strode to the table and carefully picked up the box. It was about the size of the box he used to keep his soccer ball in when he was in Naissance, but much heavier.

  Leah and Belle huddled closer as he inspected the box, turning it in his hands. There didn’t appear to be any seams. How were they supposed to get it open?

  Raff frowned. “We’ll have to take the whole thing with us, and work out how to open it back at the camp.”

  “I don’t think so… that box isn’t going anywhere! Put it down, and step back from the table slowly.” Raff looked over his shoulder, and groaned at the sight of the four guards standing in the doorway. How were they awake?

  Raff had never used his Gift against people before, but he knew he was going to have to now. He closed his eyes and constructed a fireball, then turned and hurled it towards the guards. Nothing happened! Raff looked at Leah and Belle, and saw the terror he was feeling mirrored in their eyes. They were trapped, and defenceless!

  The big guard, the one the size of a house, chuckled at their confusion. “I’m afraid magic doesn’t work in here. The portal you stepped through to get into this room is a binding portal. So how about you give me the box, and step away from the table.”

  In two strides he was in front of Raff, reaching for the box he was still holding. “You three grab the kids. We’ll need to keep them in this room until we can get a message to Serbus. Something tells me this kid’s Gift is lethal. Tie them up over there, against that wall. I want to check the box hasn’t been tampered with.”

  Raff, Leah and Belle stood facing the wall, a guard tying up their hands behind each of them. Raff peered over his shoulder to see what the big guard was doing. Maybe he knew how to open the box. He was gobsmacked to see him wink, as he crept up behind them and swung the black box against the head of the guard currently occupied with tying Raff’s hands. The guard crumpled to the ground, just as the two remaining guards realised what was happening.