The crowd bustled its way down the road to the stadium, singing songs as it went. Uki held on to Jori with one paw, Kree with the other, keeping them together in a chain. There were so many rabbits, bumping and squashing up against one another. He’d never imagined there could be so many bodies in one place. How would he ever spot the rabbit that carried Valkus in this crush?
The stadium looked like some kind of wooden fortress from the outside. Once they were in, Uki could see that it was an enormous ring encircling a rectangle of grass in the middle. The river of rabbits flowed in through the gate, reached the edge of the pitch, and then began to spread out into the seats on the right-hand side. There were rows and rows of benches, rising up in tiers, and it looked like each city was going to take up a separate half of the arena.
‘We should try to be as close to the Syn side as possible,’ said Jori. ‘That will give Uki the best chance of spotting Valkus.’
They made their way to the front, Uki using some of his strength to push other rabbits aside. He felt bad, but as Jori said, they needed to be close. There was no sign of the Syn fans yet. Their half of the stands were empty.
‘What if they’re not coming?’ he said. ‘We’ll have wasted those two days for nothing!’
‘At least the jerboas won’t be harmed in some stupid game,’ said Kree, although she too looked worried.
Jori took a seat in the front row, resting one paw on her flask, the other on her sword hilt. ‘Relax,’ she said. ‘They’ll be here.’
Sure enough, no sooner had Uki and Kree sat down than the gates at the other end of the stadium opened. A tide of white-clad rabbits marched in. They stomped along the rows of seats with a purpose. Even from the other side of the pitch, it was clear to see that nearly all of them were carrying weapons. They looked more like an army than a group of sports fans. And there was something else: a swell of anger and hatred came with them. Uki could feel it, taste it. It made his fur stand on end – it was like sharp salt in his mouth.
‘Can you feel that?’ he said aloud, getting a funny look from Jori.
‘Valkus?’ she asked.
‘Yes …’ Uki thought for a second. ‘But more than that. It’s coming from all of them.’
Jori flicked her ears. ‘Maybe he’s infected them somehow. Some kind of smoke-borne poison, maybe? I know of ones that can make a whole room of rabbits go mad.’
That could be it, Uki thought. Valkus has them all under his power. He’ll make them fight against their neighbours for no real reason. They might not even know they’re doing it.
‘Pok ha boc. This does not look good,’ said Kree. ‘We’re going to be caught in the middle of a battle!’
Uki gulped. Jori stared steadily across the pitch. ‘If fighting starts, stay behind me,’ she said. ‘Let Uki and I deal with any trouble.’
‘Uki?’ said Kree. ‘He’s not a fighter!’
‘You haven’t seen him in action,’ said Jori.
Uki hadn’t heard her. He was directing all his attention on the opposite stands, trying to pick out the presence of Valkus from amongst the overflowing anger. He could definitely feel something – that scratchy tug behind his eyeballs … somewhere in the centre … halfway up the terrace. That box in the middle … there!
‘He’s in that box thing!’ Uki shouted, jumping out of his seat and pointing. ‘Right there, in the middle!’ Jori dragged him back down again.
‘Don’t give us away!’ she hissed. ‘That’s the mayor’s box. It’s full of his councillors and captains. Valkus must be inside one of them.’
‘We said it would be someone important,’ said Kree. ‘And we were right. Look what they’ve done already!’
Uki nodded. Just a few days to turn a peaceful city into this. Imagine what damage Valkus could do if they didn’t stop him. Imagine what damage the other two spirits were doing right now.
As soon as the seats were full, the chanting started. There were roars and whoops from the Nys side, with the occasional song about how amazing the Nighthawks were. The Syn supporters simply stamped a rhythm out on the wooden floor, shouting their city name, over and over.
‘Boom, boom! Syn! Boom, boom! Syn! Boom, boom! Syn!’
They were all joining in, drowning out the Nys side completely. Uki peered at the box opposite and saw a large rabbit in the middle leading the chant. That must be the mayor, he thought. I’ll bet my whiskers Valkus is in him.
Just as Uki was wondering how under earth he was going to get close enough to the mayor to be sure, there was a roar from the crowd as the jerboa riders came on to the pitch. They hopped out from a tunnel, spreading out to take up their positions: ten in black, ten in white.
Kree hissed in disgust when she saw them, and Uki could understand why. The jerboas were clad from head to foot in thick panels of painted wooden armour. It was even buckled on to their paws and legs, and their tails had been tipped with spiked metal clubs. Their eyes peeped from holes in their heavy helmets, showing whites all around as they were kicked and pulled into place.
‘Nam ukku ulla,’ said Kree. ‘Those poor animals. Look how scared they are!’
The riders were also heavily armoured. Grilles covered their faces. They had spiked helmets, shoulder pads and bracers. The only part uncovered were their ears, which were torn and tattered, even missing in some cases. In one paw they held their jerboas’ reins, the other clutched a heavy club with jagged copper studs.
The chanting stopped for a moment, and Uki saw some rabbits walking out into the middle of the pitch. One was dressed in a fine black robe, with a gold chain about her neck. She was flanked by two guards and followed by a twitchy, armoured rabbit who held a large leather ball in his paws.
‘Good evening, citizens!’ shouted the robed rabbit.
‘That’s Nilla, mayor of Nys,’ Jori whispered in Uki’s ear.
‘Welcome to Nys stadium for this month’s Twin-City Challenge!’ Mayor Nilla waved her paws. Only the Nysian rabbits cheered. ‘We extend the paw of sportsmanship to Mayor Renard and the rabbits of our neighbours in Syn. May the best team win!’
Again, cheers only from the Nys supporters. The white-clad rabbits of Syn stood silent, their paws on the weapons at their sides.
Any minute now, thought Uki. Be ready. His paw went to the magpie-etched buckle at his chest. He could still feel the heat of Gaunch’s crystal. Was it juddering slightly in the presence of another spirit, or was he just imagining it?
Mayor Nilla and her guards walked off the pitch, leaving the armoured rabbit with his ball. He waited until they were clear, then gave a shrill squeak and threw the ball into the air, before running away as fast as his paws could carry him. He barely made the edge of the pitch before the neekball players kicked their mounts into action.
Despite Kree’s growling next to him, Uki had to gasp. The game really was a sight to behold. The jerboas, leaping at full speed, dashed across the pitch, slamming into one another with loud cracks of splintering wood.
The riders on their backs kicked their mounts on, swinging their clubs as they flew through the air. They bounded past one another, smacking bats against heads, knocking sparks from armour. Somewhere in the middle was the leather ball, held in a rider’s paws one moment, then thrown across the pitch the next.
Uki tried to track it with his eyes. He saw one of the Nighthawks knock the ball from a Smasher’s grip, catch it as it fell, then flip it across to his teammate, all in mid-air during a split-second jump.
The second Nighthawk tucked the ball under one arm, then yanked hard on his reins, spinning his jerboa round. He whacked the poor thing’s rump with his club, making it leap for the other end of the pitch. Two Smashers tried to stop it, but the club on the end of the jerboa’s long tail swiped them both about the head. One of them tumbled from his mount, hitting the pitch with a crump and a shower of muddy turf.
The Nighthawk with the ball reached the end of the pitch, beating another Smasher out of the way with his club. There stood a tall woode
n box with five holes cut into it. The player stretched high in his stirrups and threw the ball into the top one with a bang. A roar went up from the Nysian crowd.
‘Ten points!’ Jori yelled, then looked sheepish when she saw Kree scowling at her.
Uki found himself caught up in the moment too. He felt a buzz of excitement at Nys scoring, found himself hoping and praying that they won. In another life this might have been an exciting event, but he wasn’t here tonight for fun …
He looked back to the mayor’s box and was horrified to see it empty. Where had he gone? Why had he gone?
The answer came soon enough. There was a deafening roar from the Syn crowd and they all surged forward as one, leaping over the barrier and on to the pitch, charging towards the Nysian stands with their weapons waving.
‘This is it!’ Jori yelled, drawing her sword. ‘The battle’s started. Let’s get to the other side!’
‘The mayor!’ Uki shouted back. ‘He’s gone!’
‘Use your senses!’ Jori leapt across the barrier on to the pitch. ‘Find him!’
Uki tried to concentrate. He could still feel Valkus somewhere inside the grounds. There was still time to get to him.
Uki followed Jori, leaping over the low wooden fence, Kree close behind him. He was suddenly faced with a horde of rabbits charging towards him and screaming. The neekball riders were galloping left and right, trying to get out of the way. It was like facing an oncoming stampede and his first thought was to was run away as quickly as possible. If it hadn’t been for Jori’s example, he might have done just that.
She stood in a fighting stance, her sword held out in front, her other paw on her flask of dusk potion. Before she could even unclip it, the wave of Syn rabbits was upon her.
‘For Septys!’ she yelled, and Uki saw several rabbits dodge out of her way, terror at that name overriding their fury. Others were forced into her by the crowd behind them, and Jori began to parry and block their clubs and spears, her deadly steel blade slicing straight through the wood.
But Uki didn’t have time to stare. There were suddenly screaming rabbits everywhere. Some surged around him, leaping the barrier and chasing the fleeing Nys fans across the benches. Others weren’t as worried about attacking children.
‘Syn forever!’ yelled a white-armoured guard three times Uki’s size, and hurled a spear right at him.
Just as when Uki had seen that clan rabbit stalking Jori, he felt the tingle of his new senses surging. Everything slowed. He could see the spear tip wobbling slightly as it sliced through the air towards him. He could feel it fly, knew its path and its target as if it had already struck.
It was going to hit him square in the chest, so he stepped sideways, bringing his arm up to snatch at the shaft. In a blink, he plucked the spear out of the air, then snapped it with both paws. It broke like a stick of raw celery, leaving the spear thrower gaping at him.
Uki took the blunt end and threw it back. His power didn’t seem quite as strong as it was in the forest, but it was enough to send the shaft of wood screaming faster than an arrow. The blunt end of the spear hit the Syn rabbit in the centre of his forehead with a crack. He toppled to the ground, out cold.
Kree was staring at him, mouth open. ‘How did you do that?’
Uki only had time to shrug before another rabbit was rushing at him, all gnashing teeth and wild eyes. Uki didn’t have time to think about what he was doing. He grabbed hold of the rabbit’s head and pushed him to the side, just as surprised as his victim was when the rabbit went flying through the air and into the pitch fence, smashing into a cloud of splinters.
‘Come on, fight me!’ Kree had picked up the other half of the spear Uki had snapped and was waving it at the charging Syn rabbits. All of them dodged past her, apparently thinking she was too small to bother with.
‘There’s too many to get past!’ Jori sliced another rabbit’s club in two and then hit him in the nose with her sword hilt. There was a pile of unconscious bodies at her feet, and she still hadn’t had time to drink from her flask.
‘Here come the Nys guard,’ Uki said. The gates at the end of the pitch were open and black-armoured soldiers were pouring through, forming a wall for the neekball supporters to escape behind. The Syn rabbits had seen them too, and turned to attack. Things were about to get serious.
‘Uki,’ Jori shouted. ‘Lead us to Valkus!’
A wave of Syn soldiers ran through them, rushing to get to the Nysian force. They swiped at Jori as they went, forcing her to block blow after blow.
Uki could still sense Valkus, but the connection was fading. He must be leaving the stadium, getting to safety. Uki had to be quick, had to stop him before he escaped. But it would be dangerous. Who knew what guards he would have, how well protected he would be? Uki had a sudden vision of his friends facing elite soldiers armed with blades and shields, of them lying bloody on the floor moments later. The risk to them would be huge. Deadly.
That was the moment he realised: there was no way he could ask them to do this. He had to face it alone to keep them safe, to stop them from being hurt.
You have to go now, Uki’s voice told him. While Jori’s too busy to follow.
‘I’m sorry!’ he yelled. ‘It’s better this way!’ He dashed into the press of bodies, using his strength to shove rabbits aside, flinging them behind him to block his path.
‘Uki! Where are you going?’ he heard Kree yell as she was blocked off by all the Syn soldiers.
‘Stop! Wait for us!’ Jori was yelling too.
He hoped they would get clear of the battle, keep themselves out of danger. He hoped he might see them again, and that they would forgive him. But he had to do this. There was no choice.
Uki put his head down and charged further into the squash of bodies, leaving his friends far behind him.
CHAPTER TWELVE
In Enemy Hands
It felt awful to leave his friends behind. The worst kind of betrayal. What if they never forgive me? he thought as he powered through a cluster of soldiers in their white-painted armour. What if I never see them again?
As he pushed and shoved his way past the oncoming rabbits, Uki nearly stopped and went back to them several times. It was only the constant pull of Valkus, somewhere ahead, that kept him going. I’m doing this to keep them safe, he reminded himself. Even if it means losing my friends … at least I know they won’t be harmed.
With a final heave, he ducked his head down and burst out of the back row, emerging on to the end of the now empty neekball pitch. He ran past the wooden scoring box towards the gates at the far side.
Risking a glance over his shoulder, he saw a mass of white- and black-clad bodies clashing with each other. Jori and Kree were nowhere to be seen, lost somewhere amongst the huddle.
Please be all right, he thought. Goddess, Kether … Zeryth even. Somebody protect them.
He ran up to the gates and found them firmly shut. Even though they were three times his height and made of heavy oak, he put his shoulder to them and pushed. He could feel the buzz of the spirits’ power running through him as whatever barred the doors on the other side strained, flexed and then gave way. The gates ground open a sliver, large enough for him to poke his head through.
Outside was a street much like the one they had followed to enter the stadium. It was dark now, lit by the odd torch or lantern hanging from the clustered buildings. Uki could see figures out there, on the road. Most were rabbits running away from the stadium, trying to get home and hide from the violence, or shouting for guards to come and help. But there was one small group walking slowly away – Uki could see they were dressed in white cloaks and armour, carrying spears and shields. In the centre of them was a large, ginger-furred rabbit. It had to be the mayor and his men.
He squeezed further between the gates, feeling the senses that Iffrit gave him jangling. He stared at the mayor, searching for some hint, some clue, a final piece of evidence that he contained the escaped spirit Uki was searching for.<
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And sure enough, as he squinted through the torchlight, Uki saw it. Writhing inside the figure of Mayor Renard was a mass of spikes and blades. Just as when he’d seen Gaunch in the forest, it was a ghostly image. There, but not there. Like it was painted on glass laid over the top of reality.
Still, it had a face twisted in a mix of joy and anger, with jagged metal teeth and flaming eyes. And the whole thing glowed with a transparent red light. It flashed into being for an instant and Uki saw it look along the street, right at him. There was a moment of connection, as each of them recognised the other, and then the image blinked out again.
‘Hurry!’ Uki heard the mayor shout, and the rabbits began to move away at double time. With a final shove, Uki burst out of the doors, reaching over his shoulder for a spear.
This is it, he thought. If I’m quick enough, I can run up and surprise them. His men won’t be expecting an attack from a child.
He gritted his teeth, clutched his spear tight and took a leap out of the gateway, only to find his path blocked by a rabbit who had appeared from the shadows like a ghost. Uki looked up into a grey-furred face he recognised from somewhere. That wispy beard, those pale, watery eyes.
‘Nox?’ he said, remembering the old servant from Jori’s clan house.
‘Now,’ said the old rabbit to someone behind Uki.
There was a clump as something hit him hard on the back of his skull. His spear clattered to the ground, light blazed in his head and he passed out.
*
Dragged.
I’m being dragged, Uki thought.
His arms were being held, tight enough to hurt, out on either side. His legs were stretched behind him, toes scraping along the packed earth of the road.
He opened his eyes a crack and saw the ground sliding away. There were rabbits either side of him and another in front, leading them.
Nox, he thought. That had been the last thing he’d seen. But why would a servant of Jori’s clan want to hurt him? Had they found out about Jori running away? Maybe they wanted to stop him from catching Valkus …
Uki and the Outcasts Page 14