Uki and the Outcasts

by Kieran Larwood

  Mooka squeaked and tried to back away. Even Jori and Kree could sense something was wrong. ‘This place,’ Kree said. ‘It feels bad!’

  ‘It’s Valkus,’ said Uki. ‘He’s doing this. It’s how he made all the Syn rabbits want war.’

  They looked around them, seeing a scene almost identical to the one on the other side of the river. Rabbits were scooping water to put out fires, while clashes of soldiers were raging. They had come ashore near the docks where things were a bit quieter, but there was still smoke everywhere. Lumps of soot were drifting down from the sky, clinging to their wet fur.

  ‘What shall we do now?’ Kree asked. She was struggling to keep hold of Mooka, who wanted to get away from this strange, new place.

  Uki watched the rabbits upstream running back and forth with buckets. He spotted some empty ones lying on the ground near the smoking remains of a hut.

  ‘Let’s grab those buckets,’ he said. ‘If we look like we’re fighting the fires, nobody will ask us questions.’

  ‘Good idea,’ said Jori. ‘Get me down and I’ll help.’

  With fingers struggling to untie the wet knots, they managed to free Jori and help her slither down into Uki’s arms. She was able to stagger a little by herself now, but she still had to lean on Uki for support. Together, they hobbled over and collected a couple of leather buckets, then scooped some water into them from the river.

  ‘I think you two are going to have to go on without me,’ said Kree. Mooka was starting to buck and hop, and she was having trouble controlling him. ‘I can’t get him to calm down.’

  ‘Thirteen curses,’ muttered Jori. ‘I can hardly walk, either. This isn’t looking good.’

  ‘It’ll be fine,’ said Uki. The more upset his friends became, the more he felt the need to be calm. They were here together, they had each other. They would do this. ‘Kree, you stay here with Mooka. If you can calm him, meet us outside the mayor’s fort. Jori and I will find a way in, I know it. Then we can escape through Syn and head south. Venic will have no idea where we are.’

  ‘I wish … I shared your confidence,’ said Jori, which he took for an agreement. Kree didn’t look happy at being left behind but stayed where she was, singing quiet songs to Mooka, trying to soothe him.

  Carrying their buckets as best they could, they headed into the streets of Syn.

  *

  It was like stepping through to a mirror world of the city they had just left. Same shops, same houses, except these had white-on-black flags and banners hanging from them, instead of black on white.

  The screams and chaos were the same, too. Rabbits threw water over burning buildings. Squads of soldiers ran to and fro with spears and shields. Once or twice they nearly charged into Uki and Jori. The pair held their breath, waiting to be arrested, but the soldiers simply ran on past.

  ‘Get out of the way, pesky kittens!’ one soldier shouted at them.

  ‘They think we’re just annoying children, getting in the way,’ Uki whispered.

  ‘And why shouldn’t they?’ said Jori. ‘Who would suspect their mayor was in danger from a pair of little things like us? We can do things that huge warrior rabbits can’t. Iffrit must have known what he was doing when he chose you.’

  Uki had never thought of that. Adult rabbits would never suspect a child of doing anything except playing silly games. Iffrit must have guessed the spirits might make the same mistake.

  ‘Just because we’re young, doesn’t mean we’re easy to beat.’

  Jori gave a chuckle. ‘I think Venic would agree with you there. And that rabbit you flattened back in Icebark.’

  Uki gritted his teeth. ‘And Valkus will too, by the end of the night.’

  *

  The fortress was easy to find. It was a giant mound of earth inside a compound walled with wooden stakes, most of which were conveniently on fire. Uki and Jori merged with the crowd of rabbits who were trying to put it out, and then slipped inside the gates while nobody was looking.

  The grounds inside were full of shouting rabbits and burning buildings. Those wearing white armour were ordering the others about, making them form chains and heave gouts of water everywhere.

  ‘The river’s going to be running dry soon,’ said Jori, as Uki dodged sideways to avoid a team of rabbits carrying a full water trough.

  Uki didn’t comment. He was too busy homing in on the presence of Valkus. It was definitely somewhere inside the fort on top of the mound. He could feel the waves of hate and bloodlust pulsing out of it like some kind of poisonous heartbeat.

  ‘We have to get up there,’ he said, pointing.

  Jori looked at the fort and groaned. There was a narrow path leading up the mound, and it was thronged with soldiers.

  ‘We could try going around the side,’ Uki said. ‘Maybe I can break through that wall. It’s only wood.’

  ‘Only wood,’ Jori muttered. ‘Well, if you think your magical muscles can handle it …’

  They slipped around the side of the mound, away from all the noise and shouting. It was darker here, with nobody to see them creep up to the fortress walls, Jori still leaning on Uki for support.

  The hill was rabbit-made, and steep. Uki had to dig his feet in hard to avoid slipping and use one paw to grasp at clumps of grass. His other arm was wrapped around Jori, who was struggling and panting beside him.

  The climb seemed to take hours but finally they reached the top. Uki let Jori rest against the wooden wall, and she slid down into a heap at the bottom.

  Uki caught his breath, and then laid his paws against the fortress wall. To his dismay, he saw it was made of huge oak trunks, each one thicker than his own body. They were lashed tightly together and must have stood here for many, many years. The wood had hardened like iron. There was no way he was going to break through, even with all his spirit-enhanced strength.

  Still, he tried.

  He dug his fingers in and pulled. He put his shoulder to a trunk and shoved. He summoned every last scrap of energy he had, felt it tingling and buzzing in his muscles, and pounded on the wall with both fists.

  Not even a crack.

  ‘That’s it,’ said Jori. ‘We can’t get in here. And there’s no way we’ll get through the front gate. I can hardly stand.’

  ‘What?’ Uki leant his head against the wall, panting for breath. ‘Are you giving up?’

  Jori nodded, ears drooping, and rested her head in her paws. ‘I think we should just admit it,’ she said. ‘We’ve failed.’

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The Longhouse

  Uki turned his back to the wall and let himself slide down until he was sitting next to Jori. So far that night he had been knocked out – twice – hung up by his arms, almost burnt to a crisp and half drowned. And all with the constant pulse of Valkus’s war rage rattling in his head. He was tired.

  They both looked out at the view across the cities. If it hadn’t been for all the screaming and shouting, it might have been quite beautiful.

  Blossoms of flame were everywhere, lighting up the clouds of smoke from beneath. More fire arrows and missiles were swooshing up into the air before tumbling back to earth in showers of sparks, and behind it all was the night sky with its clouds of stars and a glowing full moon.

  Uki could see the tiny shadows of rabbits, silhouetted against the flames as they ran about, waving their arms in panic. Down below in the compound they were still fighting fires. There was also a strange machine launching fireballs up and across the river. It was a wooden frame with a giant spoon in the middle. Rabbits wound the arm of the spoon down, then heaved a bundle of oil-soaked rags into the bowl. This was set alight and then a catch was released, flinging the burning ball up into the air. Uki found it sad to think that someone had created such a clever machine only for the purpose of destroying things.

  ‘Have you really never had any friends before?’ Jori asked, interrupting his thinking.

  He shook his head. Hearing Jori say it made him feel like it was his fault. L
ike he had something wrong with him. Hidden by the night’s shadows, he blushed.

  ‘Neither have I,’ said Jori, surprising him. ‘Except maybe my cousin, Venic. Although I never really liked him that much. He was always so smug and rude.’

  ‘I thought you would have had loads of friends,’ said Uki. ‘You’re always so confident and strong.’

  ‘Me? Confident?’ Jori laughed. ‘Maybe I seem that way to you, but it’s only because I’m older. And because of my clan. Rabbits treat you differently when they know you could make their eyes melt with a pinch of the right poison in their supper. I certainly don’t feel confident, not on the inside. I don’t think anyone does, really.’

  ‘Not even Venic?’

  ‘No. He doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing, same as us. Some folk are just better at hiding it, that’s all.’

  Uki looked down at the compound again. One of the buildings was completely engulfed by flames now. Two teams of rabbits had thrown grappling hooks into the blaze and were now heaving on the ropes, trying to pull it down before it spread to the hut next door.

  Rope, thought Uki. As if to signal something, there was a burst of panicked cawing and two magpies flew up from their roost in the hut’s rafters, flapping their way over Uki’s head. His fingers went to the magpies etched on his chest buckle. Could it be a sign?

  ‘Jori,’ he said. ‘Do you think you’re strong enough to hang on to the wall if I throw you up?’

  Jori flexed her arms and gave Uki a puzzled stare. ‘Maybe. Why?’

  ‘And could you keep hold if I climbed up you?’

  ‘What are you planning, Uki?’

  ‘We can’t go through the wall,’ he said. ‘But we might be able to go over it.’

  ‘We don’t have any rope. What are we going to do – stroll down and ask to borrow some?’

  Uki just grinned.

  *

  Uki’s plan was simple. They didn’t have any real rope for climbing, so Jori would have to do instead.

  With many apologies, he helped her up and then grasped her around the waist. Summoning all his strength, he bent his knees and then threw her upwards. She sailed up into the night sky, four metres or more, higher even than the palisade fence. As she came down, she stretched out her arms and caught hold of the top of an oak trunk. For one horrible moment, Uki thought her grip was going to fail and he braced to catch her. But she clung on, dangling down, her feet not far out of Uki’s reach.

  ‘Hurry,’ she whispered down to him. ‘I can’t hold on for long.’

  Uki stepped back as far as he could without toppling down the steep slope of the mound, and then ran forward. He leapt upwards, imagining himself kicking like a jerboa.

  His feet hit the wall and he kicked again, boosting himself up as high as Jori’s shoulders. Uki grabbed hold of her cloak, her jerkin, her ears – anything he could get a pawful of – and somehow clambered upwards.

  Jori bit back grunts of pain as Uki climbed over her, until his fingers reached the top of the fence. He pulled himself over, finding – much to his relief – a walkway on the other side. As quickly as he could, he leaned back over the wall and dragged Jori over with him. They both lay panting on the walkway for a moment.

  ‘Don’t ever do that again,’ Jori managed to say.

  ‘I hope I don’t have to,’ said Uki. He rolled over and took a peek at their surroundings.

  They were safely on the ramparts of the fort wall. Beneath them was another compound, much smaller than the one below. In fact, the whole thing was taken up by one single structure. A slate-roofed longhouse with side buildings and lean-tos jutting out all around. The main house itself looked ancient, and it had clearly been added to with countless extensions over the years.

  ‘This must be the original fort,’ whispered Jori. ‘The one the brothers built, when the city was first started.’

  Uki nodded. He was looking around for guards. There were some at the gate and others beyond, guarding the path that ran up the mound. The compound itself seemed empty.

  ‘Everyone must be fighting the fires,’ Uki whispered.

  ‘What about Valkus? Is he inside?’

  Uki closed his eyes and focused. He was instantly hit by a wave of rage. It flared in his skull, giving him the sudden urge to push Jori down from the ramparts and scream up at the stars. He blinked open his eyes, gasping for breath. It had been so powerful, so raw.

  ‘I’ll take that as a yes,’ said Jori. She pointed to the longhouse, at the side nearest them. ‘There’s a window there. That outhouse below it will be easy to jump to. We can walk along the top of the roof and climb in.’

  ‘Do you think you’ll be able to make it?’ Uki asked. Jori seemed to have recovered a little, but her eyelids were drooping, her ears limp.

  ‘I’m sure I can,’ she said. ‘If you help me.’

  They crept along the rampart until they were above the outhouse. It was roofed in slate, with quite a wide ridge pole along the top. If they were careful, they should be able to cross it.

  Uki dropped down first, landing as quietly as he could. He reached up for Jori and caught her as she leapt. She landed a little awkwardly and they wobbled left and right for a moment before finding their balance.

  ‘That was close,’ whispered Uki when he dared breathe again.

  ‘Keep going,’ said Jori. ‘Before I get any dizzier.’

  Like a pair of drunken tightrope walkers, they wove their way along the top of the roof. Uki was reminded of the way he used to walk along the tops of his dams back in the Ice Wastes. Who could have known how useful that little skill would turn out to be?

  With a final teeter and a leap, Uki grabbed hold of the windowsill, holding Jori up beside him. Keeping their heads low, they peered inside.

  It was an old, primitive window, with no glass pane. They could see right inside the longhouse, which was furnished as a feasting chamber, complete with a roaring firepit in the centre. Waves of smoke were drifting up to the rafters, but it was nothing compared to the stink of burning cities outside.

  On the far side of the chamber was a dais with a throne on top. Benches and tables lined the walls. Uki could imagine the mayor holding court here, or toasting a feast, but tonight the room was mostly empty. There were just three figures standing by the fireplace. Two armed guards and Mayor Renard himself.

  ‘That’s him,’ Uki breathed the words, quieter than a whisper. ‘That’s Valkus.’

  The mayor was talking to his men, giving orders of some kind. It was difficult to hear over the crackle of the fire. But Uki wasn’t interested in that. His connection with the spirits allowed him to see what wasn’t really there. Just as in the street outside the neekball stadium, there were two figures, one overlapping the other. The tubby, triple-chinned figure of the mayor with his white cloak and, imposed over the top, the ghostly mass of red-tinted spikes and blades that was Valkus. The image of the spirit was faint, transparent, but Uki was still hypnotised by its writhing coils and the glimpses of its glowing crimson eyes.

  ‘Do you think you can hit him from here with one of your spears?’ Jori asked. Without Uki’s extra senses, all she could see was the mayor himself. He was a pretty big target to aim for, though.

  Uki shook his head. Perhaps if he’d had a few months of practice, but he barely knew how to hold one of the things, let alone throw it across a room and hit someone.

  Jori pointed at one of the heavy wooden beams that held up the roof. It ran from just below their window, right across the longhouse. ‘If we crawl along that, maybe you can drop down and jab him.’

  Uki again thought back to his balancing feats in the stream where he grew up. He should be able to manage the beam. There were a few other complications, though.

  ‘What about his guards?’ Uki whispered back. ‘They’ll slice me into pieces before I can do anything!’

  ‘I might be able to do something about that.’ Jori, her fingers still trembling from the dusk potion, fumbled open one of the pockets a
t her belt. She brought out a small roll of leather and unfurled it. Inside were rows of tiny packets and vials.

  ‘Poison?’ Uki asked.

  ‘Most of it’s still dry,’ whispered Jori. She pulled out a thin glass tube filled with blue powder. ‘This should do the trick. If you can crawl along the beam and drop this into the fire, it will burn into a cloud of smoke. It’s not the best way to deliver a dose. It might knock them all out, or it might just make them dizzy. Depends how much they breathe. Either way, it’ll give you a chance to jump down and get at Valkus. Maybe.’

  ‘Aren’t you coming?’ Uki’s eyes were wide and frightened. He could feel his throat clenching in terror. Was he really about to do this? On his own?

  ‘I don’t think I can crawl along that beam,’ whispered Jori. ‘Too risky. I can hardly keep my eyes open. If I fell … it would ruin everything. I’m sorry.’

  ‘It’s all right,’ said Uki, although it really wasn’t. Come on, he told himself. You can do this. Climb the beam, drop the powder, trap the spirit. It will be fine.

  Except it won’t, said another voice. You’re just a scared little rabbit. This is a job for a hero, not a funny-furred nobody from a scrappy stone hut in the middle of nowhere. You should have stayed in that graveyard, where you belonged. Now you’re going to fall off that beam or drop the powder or start crying. Everything will be ruined.

  ‘Uki.’ He felt Jori grip his shoulder, and realised he’d been staring into the air while both sides of himself argued. ‘You can do this Uki. Iffrit trusted you. I trust you. I know it’s frightening, but difficult things always are. Here. Take the potion. Climb the beam. Go now, while you have a chance.’

  She pressed the vial into Uki’s paw and nudged him to the window. Uki took a deep breath and somehow, even though the terrified half of his brain was screaming at him not to, he found himself climbing through the window and on to the beam.