by Cliff McNish
‘I wonder,’ Rachel mused, ‘why a spectrum’s companion is always a thrill-seeker?’
‘Don’t you know?’ Eric said. ‘I thought you understood. It’s because of the danger. Only the thrill-seekers are crazy enough to take the spectrums to the places they expect to go, Rach.’ He gazed earnestly at her. ‘Threats and more threats. The spectrums expect them; they’re thinking about them all the time. That’s why they’re so hopeless about ordinary stuff like eating. They can’t spare a second for humdrum things like that.’
Rachel realized that this was not just a guess. Eric knew. ‘Are you … are you in communication with them?’
‘Yes.’ Eric’s voice trembled. ‘Only glimpses. But I’ll tell you something. The spectrums care deeply about us. They’re all that way, afraid all the time. They can’t bear the thought of harm coming to any of us. But Albertus – well, he cares especially about you, Rach.’
‘Me?’
‘Yes. You personally.’
Rachel glanced up, astonished. ‘Really? Why?’
‘I don’t know, Rach. I’ve no idea, but I can feel his concern.’
As Rachel gazed up at Albertus, a group of children passed over his head. It was a routine fly-over by a team of sentinels. The sentinel units were Heiki’s special new guardians, the most magical children. Within a few weeks she had succeeded in turning them into a force of considerable resolve. They trained chiefly at night, knowing that the tunnel-dwelling Griddas were more likely to attack then.
Rachel stared at them, filled with doubts. ‘The sentinels,’ she said. ‘I don’t care how disciplined or brave they are. Do you think children, any children, stand a chance against Griddas? We’ve seen what they did to Larpskendya – Larpskendya, Eric, a Wizard. I don’t –’
‘Shush a minute.’
Above them Albertus Robertson had moved. His thrill-seekers spun him in tight circles, a frenzied motion. Eric pressed his hands to his head as communications between spectrums worldwide reached an instantly feverish level. The nearest sentinel unit changed course. It descended to surround Rachel and Eric. From another part of the world Heiki arrived, shifting crazily. She hurtled towards them, her face terrified.
Eric looked at Rachel. ‘It’s the Griddas.’
‘I know,’ she said. ‘They’re here.’
Heiki flew straight to Rachel. ‘This is it,’ she murmured. ‘Oh, Rachel, this is it.’
Rachel steadied her. ‘Come on, now. The sentinels need you. Remember all that training? You’ll be fine. I’m with you. I’m here.’
Heiki nodded, regaining her poise sufficiently to instruct the sentinel unit. The sentinels adopted tactical positions best suited to a surprise raid. Albertus Robertson stayed aloft. His head shook as he was bombarded by dozens of frantic messages from spectrums around the world.
Eric sighed – a gloriously relieved sigh. ‘Three! Only three Griddas!’
‘Are you sure?’ Rachel asked. ‘There aren’t more further out?’
‘I’m sure.’
‘I can’t believe it’s an attack, then. Not if there’s so few.’
Eric called the prapsies over, tucking them into the usual place inside his shirt. Heiki deployed the sentinels around Rachel and Eric, then soared off to gather more forces.
‘The Griddas are travelling slowly,’ Eric said. ‘Hey, Rach, really slow. Giving us plenty of chance to notice them.’
‘Maybe they want us to know they’re coming,’ Rachel said. She hurried back inside the house to tell Mum and Dad what was happening, imploring them to stay indoors.
When she returned, Eric said, ‘The Griddas are coming in this direction.’
‘I know. Toward us. Let’s get away from the house, at least.’
Taking Eric’s arm she flew to an area of barren fields several miles south. Four more sentinel units, led by Heiki, joined them on the way. A handful of spectrums also arrived, their thrill-seekers flying at breathtaking speed to make it in time.
‘I wonder if the Griddas have come to talk,’ Eric said. ‘They aren’t exactly sneaking up on us.’
‘Don’t assume that,’ said a voice they had never heard before.
It belonged to Albertus Robertson.
He had appeared at Rachel’s shoulder, held by both his thrill-seekers. Everyone gazed at him in shock. Rachel had often imagined that if Albertus ever spoke his voice would be flat or mechanical, like his movements. Not so. Albertus spoke as if all his life he had been devoted to her.
‘What – what do you mean?’ she asked him.
‘I –’ Albertus’s throat dried up from such long disuse, the words becoming a whisper. Furiously his thrill-seekers massaged his windpipe until the sounds were more coherent. When Albertus started speaking again it was in a great stream of words, at breakneck speed. ‘If I was a Gridda,’ he said, ‘and I wanted to invade Earth with minimum loss of life to my own kind, I would start by eliminating the most dangerous children. In priority sequence, given the absence of Yemi, these children are Rachel and Eric, followed by Heiki, followed by all the spectrums, followed by the deepers, the sentinels, the –’
One of the thrill-seekers put her fingers over Albertus’s mouth, forcing him to take a breath. She said to Rachel, ‘Is he speaking too quickly for you? Tell me.’
‘No, it’s … it’s all right.’
‘To kill you,’ Albertus continued, ‘that is, to kill you, Rachel, and you, Eric, the Griddas have to get close enough. How? How do you put humans at ease? By approaching like these Griddas, not as a large threatening force, but a small group; not hiding, but coming openly; not rapid, but slowly. To seem to be a delegation. To arrive peaceably. To draw you both out.’ He took another fast breath.
Rachel said, ‘What do you suggest we do?’
‘I am seeking strategies.’ For a few seconds Albertus’s head twitched as he took advice from all the other spectrums. ‘Too many unknown factors,’ he said. ‘The majority view is that the three Griddas are either a murder party or an advance group to test our readiness.’
‘Our readiness for what?’ Eric asked.
‘To defend. To attack. To fight.’
‘So we should bring as many kids as possible,’ Eric said. ‘Show them we’re not scared.’
‘Not necessarily,’ Albertus answered. ‘Why big numbers of children against only three Griddas? Will they be impressed? Why bring so many if we are confident?’
‘We can’t just ignore them!’ Heiki argued.
‘Actually, we could just ignore them,’ Albertus said. ‘However, the Griddas might regard that as demonstrating weakness. Or they may be insulted. Either reaction might precipitate conflict. We could destroy the Griddas, but being too aggressive might also precipitate conflict. I suggest this,’ Albertus went on immediately. ‘Eric and Rachel do not meet with the Griddas. I will go, flanked by a minimum of sentinels. That way we will invite combat. This will give us more time to determine the Griddas’ true intentions. It will also enable us to protect both Eric and Rachel. And it will endanger as few children as possible – in case this is a trap.’
‘Do you think everything’s a trap?’ Eric asked.
‘Yes.’ Albertus Robertson’s expression did not alter. ‘Or that it may be.’
Rachel looked around at all the children. ‘No,’ she said. ‘I won’t put anyone else in danger to protect me.’
‘You must do what is best for us all!’ Albertus shouted at her, with sudden ferocity. Then he laid a hand against Rachel’s cheek. ‘The sentinel children are more steadfast than they realize,’ he said. ‘Let us do this.’
‘Too late,’ Heiki said. ‘The Griddas have speeded up. We’ll meet them in the sky. Sentinels! Stay close to Rachel and Eric.’
There was no time for further debate. Albertus remained by Rachel’s shoulder, giving her last-minute advice. ‘Say nothing about Serpantha,’ he warned. ‘The Griddas may know nothing about him.’
‘Here they come,’ Eric said.
The three Gridd
as dipped unhurriedly in and out of the cumulus clouds. When their orange heads and brownfurred bodies could be clearly seen, most children reacted with disbelief.
‘Flipping heck!’ Eric clutched the prapsies.
‘Do not react to their appearance,’ Albertus Robertson said.
Only the other spectrums were able to follow his advice. The rest of the children quailed at the bulk of the Griddas, their excessive muscularity, the bone-encrusted heads. Like a devil or dragon, Rachel thought. A demon, she decided. There was a vague similarity with the High Witches, but while even Dragwena had possessed some scrap of femaleness, these creatures did not even have a truly identifiable face. They seemed deformed, every part of their skull an angle, tooth or slash of bone. Only the eyes were recognizable, and how could such eyes be real? They covered too much of the head for humans to accept.
Rachel squeezed Eric’s hand as the Griddas stopped nearby.
For a few moments the children of Earth and the Griddas assessed one another. Then one of the Griddas, the largest, addressed Rachel. ‘As leader of all the Gridda packs of Ool, I have the honour. I am Gultrathaca. I greet you.’
Gultrathaca’s voice astonished the children. Not the harshness everyone expected from that face, but the opposite: a female voice, perfectly modulated, human. All around her Rachel sensed children relaxing slightly.
‘It’s a lie,’ Albertus Robertson said quietly to Rachel. ‘No creature of this shape would naturally speak like a woman. There’s only one reason for such an imitation: to put us at ease. Stay alert. Allow no physical contact.’
Gultrathaca held out a claw for Rachel to take. ‘Shall we?’
A handshake? It was such a disarming gesture, such a human thing to do, that Rachel almost put her hand into Gultrathaca’s giant claw. These Griddas already know who I am, she thought. They know all about us, can talk like us. Even the greeting had been appropriate: civil, complimentary. What do we know about the Griddas? Rachel asked herself. What had even Larpskendya known? Virtually nothing.
The children furthest away from the Griddas were becoming visibly less tense. That mustn’t happen, Rachel realized. Take control.
‘Why did you kidnap Yemi?’ she demanded.
‘To protect ourselves. What other reason could there be?’ Gultrathaca’s tone was reserved, quiet. ‘We have no doubt that Larpskendya intends to train the boy as a killer. We couldn’t allow that.’
‘Do you really expect us to believe you?’ Rachel said.
‘No, I do not. Larpskendya has already influenced you against us. Apparently you believe everything the Wizard says, though he is mistaken about us.’
Rachel hesitated. Gultrathaca was not what she had expected.
‘Where is Larpskendya?’ Eric asked. ‘Is he …’
‘Alive. Is that what you are asking? Yes. He escaped.’
Rachel and the other children did not try to hide their relief.
Gultrathaca said, ‘Yes, you love Larpskendya, don’t you. He comes making promises that appeal. You believe them because you are actually a relatively simple species that judges largely on appearances. He tells you we Griddas are without conscience, but that is not true. We have honour. We look brutal to you, so you think we must be.’
Rachel was unsure what to say next. She felt Albertus’s hand on her shoulder, strengthening her.
‘It is we who have taken a risk in coming here,’ Gultrathaca continued. ‘Do you think it is easy for us to fly to this world, knowing how many of Larpskendya’s Wizards protect it?’
‘Don’t tell her anything about the Wizards, especially numbers,’ Albertus murmured in Rachel’s ear. ‘Neither agree nor disagree.’
‘Larpskendya doesn’t frighten anyone,’ Eric said.
‘Doesn’t he?’ Gultrathaca faced him. ‘If you saw a Wizard fight you would think differently! There is nothing to match that ferocity! What do you really know about the Wizards?’
‘We know we can trust them!’
‘Yes, trust; you place a lot of trust in Larpskendya. But where is he now, when you need him?’
‘You chased him off!’ Eric said angrily.
‘And we had good reason. But let me ask this: why didn’t Larpskendya return with other Wizards? There has been time for him to do so. If he truly cared for you, wouldn’t he or other Wizards be here now? On Orin Fen there are millions of Wizards, yet none are here. Not one Wizard spared to guard you while Larpskendya goes about his mysterious business. Doesn’t that strike you as wrong?’
Rachel glanced at Eric, saw his brow creased thoughtfully.
Gultrathaca wriggled her face. All her spiders, which until now had been hiding inside the pits, crept out. Many children swore, backing away. With difficulty, Rachel held her ground.
‘This is what we look like,’ Gultrathaca said. ‘We were bred to be defenders. That is why we have these appalling features. But now that we have defeated the High Witches, there is no more reason to fight. The war between the Wizards and the Highs was their endless war, not ours. The Griddas are ready for peace.’ Gultrathaca’s enormous eyes stared unblinkingly at Rachel. ‘We even want peace with the Wizards, if they will allow it. We are not interested in conquest. We will stay on Ool.’ She paused, studying them all. ‘I see none of you believe me. You do not believe me because your understanding of the Griddas comes from Larpskendya. Let me tell you: he knows nothing about us. His judgement has been poisoned by centuries of war against the Highs. But I am here, and he is not. I am ready to extend friendship to your world, Rachel. Are you prepared to do the same?’
Rachel glanced at Albertus Robertson.
‘Conclude the discussion as soon as possible,’ he told her.
‘All this peace talk,’ Heiki said, ‘but you kidnapped Yemi!’
‘Yemi is safe,’ Gultrathaca replied. ‘We haven’t harmed him, or his sister. I invite you to come and see for yourself. I invite you to Ool.’ She gazed at Rachel. ‘Will you come back with us? You will be honoured there, I promise.’
‘What proof do we have that you are telling the truth?’ Rachel said. ‘Why should I believe you?’
‘Why shouldn’t you?’ Gultrathaca replied. ‘You trusted the word of Larpskendya, without any proof. What more do you expect from me? I will leave the other Griddas here as your hostages, and send more if you wish. If you travel back with me I will also be revealing the location of Ool itself. Once you know that you could send an army there. I will take that great risk, if you will take a smaller one. I doubt Larpskendya ever offered you that, did he? I’m sure he never offered to take you to Orin Fen.’ Gultrathaca studied the children’s expressions closely.
‘Why not bring Yemi and Fola back to Earth?’ Albertus Robertson said. ‘If you are sincere in wanting accord, return them.’
‘I cannot,’ Gultrathaca said. ‘I daren’t take the risk that the Wizards will snatch Yemi back. And, as you must know, Yemi will not be parted from Fola.’
‘If we agree, who goes to Ool?’ Eric asked.
‘Everyone is invited. Anyone who can shift, that is. The journey is too far otherwise.’
Was that a lie? Rachel wondered. She almost said, ‘Only Heiki and I can shift,’ but an alarmed look from Albertus Robertson stopped her in time. It was just the sort of accidental slippage that might prove so costly. Staring at Gultrathaca, Rachel had the feeling she never made such elementary mistakes. ‘What happens if none of us go back with you?’
‘Most Gridda pack-leaders are already convinced you are enslaved by the Wizards,’ Gultrathaca answered. ‘If no one returns with me, how will I convince them that is not the case? Especially if you, Rachel, do not return. You helped rid us of Heebra. There are Griddas who hold you in awe. I, personally, feel a debt of gratitude towards you.’
Before Rachel could reply, Albertus Robertson said, ‘Thank you. We will consider what you have told us.’
‘That is all I ask,’ Gultrathaca said. Lowering her head, she made an almost perfect bow. For a creature with so
many bunched muscles around her chest, it was not easy. She had clearly practised.
12
Trust
Leaving most of the sentinels guarding the Griddas, Heiki flew to Rachel’s home with Eric and Albertus Robertson to decide what to do.
Dad drew them inside and Mum shut the door, while Rachel explained what had happened. ‘Well,’ she said at last, taking a deep breath. ‘These Griddas – what does everyone think?’
Heiki shook her head. ‘Grotesque, aren’t they? I liked one thing, though – the way the Griddas can’t stand the High Witches. And Gultrathaca – she’s interesting. But can we trust her? I don’t think so. Forget the words Gultrathaca used. That’s no way to tell if she’s lying. I was more interested in something else. Rachel, you must have noticed: Gultrathaca talked about peace, but all I felt were her death spells rising and rising.’
‘Yes,’ Rachel said thoughtfully. ‘I did notice. But how many of us were up there threatening her? I’m not sure we should judge the Griddas in the same way as High Witches. They’re only distantly related to the Highs.’
‘Are you crazy?’ Heiki said. ‘Witches are Witches. They don’t change!’
‘Don’t they?’ Rachel looked at her. ‘You did.’
Heiki cast her eyes down. ‘Even so …’
Rachel crossed the room. ‘Look, I know they’re frightening, and I don’t want to believe them either, but has anyone given the Griddas a chance? Has even Larpskendya? Gultrathaca had a couple of interesting things to say about the Wizards, too …’
Eric said, ‘Hey, I’d sooner wait here to get Larpskendya’s answers than run off to Ool.’
‘I agree,’ Mum said, with finality. ‘It would be madness to trust the Griddas. None of you can even think about going.’
‘What do the spectrums think?’ Rachel asked Albertus Robertson.
For a while Albertus did not speak. The silence in the room was broken only by the noise of his two thrill-seekers breaking up biscuits that had been left on the dining table earlier that day. After making sure the pieces were manageable, the girls softened the biscuit in their mouths before placing it between Albertus’s lips. Dad watched with uneasy fascination. Albertus seemed barely aware of the food. That’s why they soften it, Dad realized. Otherwise, he might choke.