With a roar, the agent sunk the machete’s tip into a tree trunk. How could a mere girl have beaten him?
Or had he been right earlier? Was she really much, much more? Had leading him to the zombie mountain been her plan all along?
“Everyone, listen to me,” said Giselle. “One of the men is down below. Now don’t panic!”
But it was too late. Two of the children screamed. Three more ran toward the back of the cave to stand beside Maura.
“Shhh,” said Angelica. She looked down the mountainside. “Oh, no. He has stopped. He heard you.”
Giselle felt as if her heart would lurch from her chest. “Is he coming up this way?” Please say no! Please say no! If he comes up here right now, it’s over for us. Even if we fight him, someone will get hurt. She glanced at Robert fearfully. She couldn’t bear it if something happened to him. Or any of the others.
Angelica kept close to the cave wall and stared down the mountainside. Seconds seemed to drag for minutes, minutes for hours. Finally, she turned to the frozen children. “He turned back the way he came. He must be planning to join again with the other man. They will both be coming.”
“Oh no,” whispered Giselle. Soon both men would know exactly where the children were hiding. It was only a short walk from the rockslide to the cave. They’d be back in minutes. She turned to the children. “Can you trust Maura? Can you trust me to know what’s best for us? Please, you have to decide. Now!”
The agent stopped. What was that noise? Something was crashing through the bush, coming swiftly closer. He jerked the machete from the tree and took a defensive stance. If it were a zombie, he’d have no chance of escape. He’d be killed, or worse, made into a zombie himself.
He couldn’t have been more surprised or relieved when Claude burst from the undergrowth. Yet he didn’t lower the machete. It was still possible Claude had come back to attack him. The guard had been furious when he’d stomped off. Of course, maybe he regretted his rash decision to leave too.
“The kids,” gasped Claude. He pointed up the hillside, and then bent down and put his hands on his knees. “Around the corner there. I heard them.”
“Where around the corner?” The agent lowered his machete.
“In a cave. I’ll show you.” Claude straightened to look his boss in the eyes. “I need the money,” he said. “That’s why I came back. But after this job, I quit.”
The man nodded slowly. He didn’t want to appear too eager. It wouldn’t do to have Claude know how relieved he was to see him. Let the guard think he was taking him back out of kindness. “Show me where they are,” he commanded.
The children looked at Giselle with frightened eyes. No one answered her.
Paul turned to face the children. “I think we should try to outrun the men and the zombies,” he said. “We can leave right now. Climb up the mountain.”
“But the little kids will be caught,” Giselle wailed. “Don’t you see? The men are faster. Their only chance is through the caves with Maura and Thierry.”
“They’d rather be restavecs than zombies,” repeated Paul, looking back at Giselle.
“But the stories about zombies aren’t true. They’re going to be made restavecs for no reason. Please, you all have to believe me.” Tears rimmed Giselle’s eyes when the three children near Maura edged away from her. “Don’t you understand? You’re throwing your lives away,” she said, holding her hands out to them. They sidled over to stand beside Paul, their choice made. Giselle spun around. “Angelica, can’t you do something?”
The girl returned Giselle’s look sadly. “No,” she said. “We cannot force them.”
Giselle turned back to her little brother. “Robert? Do you believe me? You do, don’t you?” Her voice was desperate. If he would just say yes…
When he refused to meet her eyes, Giselle slumped to the floor of the cave, her head in her hands. If Robert didn’t believe her, if he couldn’t trust her, then what chance did she have with the others? None. They were doomed. Even her. There was no way she’d leave her little brother now. It was over.
The men had won before they’d even caught up to them. Not because they were smarter. Not because the children couldn’t escape if they wanted to. No. They’d won simply because the children couldn’t – wouldn’t – change their prejudices. They’d rather believe the stories about zombies than the truth.
When Claude pointed to the cave entrance, the man felt a momentary thrill of fear. The girl would be in there. Would she have more magical tricks up her sleeve – more ways to sabotage them?
No! He couldn’t fall into this trap again. Claude was right. She was just an ordinary girl.
Yet there was one way she’d be different from the others – he’d enjoy breaking her spirit far more. They hadn’t hurt his confidence the way she had, hadn’t made him appear the fool. In fact, he could hardly wait to get started. Breaking her down, bit by slow bit, would be his reward for all the trouble she’d caused him.
And she was so close. So close!
“They are down below,” said Angelica, gazing out the cave opening.
“You can see them? Both of them?” asked Paul, panic replacing the stubbornness in his voice.
“Yes. They will be here in two minutes or less.”
There was a sudden hush as everyone in the cave stopped breathing. Giselle watched the struggle in their eyes, saw their fear of the men battle with their long-standing horror of zombies. Then Robert ran to her side. “I believe you, Zellie,” he said. “I’ll do what you say.”
Relief exploded through Giselle’s body. Maybe she and Robert had a chance after all. She stood with her little brother in her arms. “Please,” she said to the rest of the children. “Come with us. Don’t make us leave you here.”
A fear far greater than anything Giselle had yet seen appeared in the younger children’s eyes. Almost as one, they rushed forward. Giselle felt her eyes tear up with gratitude – but there was no time to waste. “Paul? Mark?” she asked. “What about you?”
“I’m with you,” said Mark hurriedly.
Paul was concentrating on the ground.
“Paul? We have to hurry. They’ll be here in less than a minute.”
He looked up just long enough for Giselle to see it in his expression – acceptance. He’d do what she asked as well. He was either too afraid of the restavec agents or he didn’t want to run alone.
“Come on. Let’s go.” Giselle grabbed Amelie and Robert’s hands in hers and hurried them to Maura. The others crowded behind her. When they reached the woman, Giselle bent to look into Robert’s eyes. “You go with Maura,” she said, and then looked up at the group. “I’ll be right behind you, okay?”
Robert nodded and cautiously took the woman’s hand. Tyla took her other hand and the others walked behind. Within moments, the huddle was out of sight around the corner.
Angelica ran from the cave entrance. “They are here,” she whispered. The two girls shrank into the shadows at the head of the passage, and Giselle strained to hear their approach.
Boots scraped on rocks, shadows appeared, and then the men were visible outside the cave entrance. The smaller man walked in front with an eager step, a machete swinging in his hand. The larger man strode behind. Giselle hadn’t seen the guard in daylight, and the size of him made her tremble. He looked so strong!
“I thought you said they were here,” the boss said. He tapped the machete against his leg.
The guard didn’t seem to notice the threatening gesture. “They were here.”
“Well, where are they, then?”
It was a logical question, and one Giselle knew wouldn’t take them long to find an answer for. There was only one escape other than the main entrance, and they would find it as soon as they walked to the back of the cave. The problem was the children needed time to cross the chasm trail. There were so many of them and they’d be frightened. They wouldn’t be racing along the narrow shelf.
And Maura doesn’t even h
ave a torch this time! The thought sent another shudder through Giselle’s body. The woman was familiar with the chasm trail, but it would still be incredibly dangerous without a light.
“I must go to the children,” whispered Angelica beside her. Her voice was almost too quiet to hear. “They need light.”
Giselle turned incredulously to Angelica. Had the older girl read her mind? “Where will you find…”
“I will explain later. You must come too,” said Angelica insistently.
“In a minute,” Giselle whispered back. “You go ahead.”
“Do you think that girl’s playing another trick on us?” The boss’s voice was loud and aggressive.
The big man merely shrugged.
Angelica looked at Giselle. “Are you sure?” When Giselle nodded, she faded back around the corner. “If you need me, call.”
When the older girl disappeared into the darkness, Giselle turned her full attention back to the men. Angelica was getting the children light, doing her part. But they needed more than light. They needed time. Giselle knew she’d never forgive herself if one of them stumbled and fell into the chasm because of hurrying. She had to slow their pursuers down – but how?
“There’s plenty of sign they were here.” The boss was speaking again.
“Maybe they found another way out of the cave,” suggested the guard. His eyes swept the shadows where Giselle was concealed.
“That blasted girl…” Anger exuded from the head agent’s voice. “She’s taken them deeper into the cave. Well, they can’t get far without light.”
“We’ll get her, Boss.”
Silently, Giselle moved back along the passage, her thoughts racing. How was she going to delay them? She couldn’t confront them. They’d capture her easily, even if she fought with every bit of strength she had. And there was nothing she could do to block the passageway, or hide it.
But there was an idea there somewhere, she was sure. She could feel it. She just needed to think, to somehow calm down and think – with the two men just yards away, one with a machete, the other as big as a horse, both of them walking toward her, and both of them furious. At her!
The man hesitated before stepping into the shadows of the passageway. If the girl was evil, she’d be more powerful in the dark. They’d be easier to catch unaware too. She might send boulders down onto their heads. Or maybe throw some black magic their way and make them irresistible to cave spiders. How he hated spiders! If only he hadn’t thrown the matches away.
Claude waited behind him impatiently. After a couple of seconds, the guard cleared his throat.
With every sense screaming No, the agent stepped into the blackness. He couldn’t let the guard think he was frightened.
But was being labelled weak worse than walking into a trap set by a witch?
Deep inside the passageway, Giselle looked back. For an instant, she saw the smaller man, the boss, silhouetted against the faint light seeping around the corner. His shoulders were hunched and his movements cautious. She could even hear his erratic breathing. Then his silhouette was engulfed by the form of the big guard coming up behind him.
But Giselle had seen enough. The hunched shoulders, the breathing, it told her one thing. The boss agent was frightened. Of the dark? Or was it more?
“What’s taking you so long?” The guard’s voice echoed along the passage.
“Shhh. She’ll hear you,” answered the boss.
Giselle pressed back against the cold stone.
“So? She can’t run away. Unless she can see in the dark.”
“She might... you know.” His voice was hushed.
“She’s no witch,” the guard said in a mocking tone. It was obvious to Giselle he disliked the head agent, so much in fact, that he didn’t seem to care the smaller man was his boss. “I told you, she’s just a girl,” he added.
There was no reply. But Giselle didn’t need to hear a response to understand. The boss was definitely afraid – of her. For some bizarre reason, he thought she had supernatural powers. Thus the hunched shoulders. Thus the cautious movement. And that would be her advantage.
I need to give him reason for his fear. I don’t know any spells, but if I make him think I’m evil... I know! I’ll make him think I’m trying to trap him. Enslave him. That’s something everyone’s afraid of. Me. The children. Thierry and Maura. And even though these men don’t mind handling restavecs, I bet they don’t want to be slaves!
The men were creeping closer. As silently as possible, Giselle moved farther away from them. The chasm was still around a few bends in the passageway and she’d have to stop them before they reached it. She paused at the first corner and ran her hand along the ground, searching for rocks.
“What’s that?” The boss’s voice was shaking. “Did you hear that?”
“It’s nothing,” answered the guard.
Giselle laughed softly, just loud enough for them to hear. She tried to make the laugh sound unafraid, satisfied, even cocky.
“She’s here. She’s here!”
Giselle took a deep breath and spoke. “No need to be afraid,” she said in a thin, sneering voice. “Come forward. Come forward.” She tossed a pebble a few yards toward the men so they’d think she was closer than she was.
There was absolutely no sound from the men.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” Giselle added in her disdainful voice and tossed another pebble, this time a little closer to them.
“Get away! Get away from us!” The boss sounded terrified. There was the sound of a scuffle in the dark.
“Calm down,” said a deep voice. “She’s playing a trick on you.” Then silence again. Was the guard holding his boss, stopping him from running away?
Giselle laughed again, her voice deadly soft. “Come forward.” She tossed another pebble. “Slaves.”
A scream pierced the cold air. The guard yelled. Someone crashed to the cave floor and then there was the sound of scrambling feet. They were running away! Giselle almost cheered aloud.
A split second later, she was glad she hadn’t. As the sound of the fleeing man vanished down the passageway, there was closer, subtler sound, a boot scraping against stone. One of the men was still there.
Giselle swallowed nervously. “So you alone shall serve me,” she said, packing her voice with contempt.
“Save your breath,” the man snapped. “You’re not fooling me.” Then he stomped in Giselle’s direction, honing in on her voice.
The agent didn’t stop until he was outside the cave. His legs shook like jelly and cold sweat studded his brow. He’d never known such terror! Almost against his will, he sagged to the ground.
So he’d been right all along about the girl. She was a witch. Or a zombie queen! If he’d been wrong about anything, it was that he’d underestimated her. He looked back into the shadowy cave. There was no sign of Claude. The guard was probably a goner. But it was his own fault. He deserved whatever fate he got.
The man lurched to his feet and staggered down the mountainside. He’d lost the machete somewhere in the darkness and had no way to protect himself now. He had to get off the mountain by nightfall.
And then what? With no children, and little money left, what was he going to do?
He shuddered. It didn’t matter. He’d escaped, and that was all that counted. There was only one thing he knew his future would not hold. He was never going to be a child labour agent again. It was too dangerous if you happened to get the wrong child.
Thank goodness I caught Maura and the children before they reached the chasm. There is only one way to get the children safely and quickly across.
But it will weaken me terribly. What if Giselle needs me and I cannot go to her? She is back in the darkness, bravely facing the men alone.
Who do I help, Giselle or the children?
The children. I will help the children, for that is what Giselle would wish.
Come, my little ones. Come to the edge. Do not be frightened. I will not let
you fall.
Giselle faded back around yet another corner. She had one advantage over the guard. Neither of them could see, but she’d been here before. She’d seen this passage in the glow of Angelica’s torch and could remember a lot about it – like the stalactite that hung from the ceiling near the third turn in the passage and the sudden rise in the floor just beyond. It gave her the advantage of traveling faster, quieter, and as long as she was careful, without injury.
They were about halfway to the chasm now. She tried acting like an evil witch a couple more times, but the guard merely laughed at her. Desperately, she searched for another plan. There were only three more twists in the passage before she reached the chasm. Only three more corners to round, and then what? If the children were still there, she’d have to make a stand, however useless. And if they were across, there was only one thing she could think to do – huddle in the dark and wait for the big man to tumble into the chasm. But the idea made her feel sick. She didn’t want to kill him, just make him give up.
Suddenly, she stopped short. A faint light shone around the corner ahead of her. It could only mean one thing. Angelica was still lighting the children’s way across the chasm trail. Giselle had come too early.
But I had no choice. He’s been pushing me so fast.
And now she’d have to move even faster. She had to be out of sight before he came up behind her or he’d see her silhouette against the light. At least she could see well enough to run.
She slowed when she rounded the bend. Only one more twist in the passage and she’d be at the chasm. The light was much brighter here. How could Angelica have created such a strong torch, so bright that it shone around two corners in the cave passageway? It seemed impossible.
“What’s this?”
The voice was well behind her, but Giselle froze anyway.
Slave Child (Horse Guardian) Page 10