Frog and the Sandspiders of Aridian (6 page)

You learnt all that from me in those few seconds?
asked Billy.

And so much more,
said Arac–Khan.
Now, go to Nadiah and take some more to drink while I meet the one who is called Frog.

Arac-Khan beckoned Frog to sit by her, which he also did.

Just open your thoughts to me,
she said as she placed her front legs on Frog's head.

Frog thought of his home, his family and friends then, all at once, he found himself back in Castellion, his past adventures flashing across his mind.

Billy and Nadiah watched as Frog's forehead took on a golden glow, which filled the cave. The gigantic spider shifted uneasily, but Nadiah looked in its direction and Billy sensed that something was said to reassure the spider that nothing was wrong. It wasn't long before the glow had spread and the intense golden light surrounded both Frog and Arac-Khan.

‘I have never witnessed a Sensing such as this,' Nadiah whispered to Billy. ‘Your friend must be very special.'

‘He's full of surprises all right,' said Billy smiling.

Frog's life unfolded in a picture show; memories that he had forgotten pushed their way out from the recess of his mind and then skittered away into his sub-conscious in a brief moment. The seconds following his birth were revealed to him and then unrecalled thoughts of his younger years paraded past in the blink of an eye. Thirteen years of emotions and experiences merged into a carousel of images and then, abruptly, his mind went blank, leaving him dizzy and disorientated. Slowly, he opened his eyes and stared into the face of Arac-Khan.

If ever I saw a spider smile, it would be now,
thought Frog.

The voice of Arac-Khan spoke in Frog's head.
Welcome Frog, born of the boy Christopher. You are a long way from home, but do not fear. The Sensing is
complete and there is no doubt that you are the Frog of the Chosen. I also see that you are no stranger to the meeting of minds; you have an affinity with the lizards of the air. The Dragons of Castellion have endowed you with their kinship.

Katar, these boys are genuine. Watch over them and ensure that the colony embraces their presence.

Katar approached from a recess in the cave and turned to Billy and Frog.

‘You must forgive me for my suspicions, but I serve no one but Arac-Khan and I protect her with my life if necessary. By her bidding I extend the same duty to you both.' He touched his forehead and gave a low bow. ‘You need to return to Prince Ameer in readiness for your journey into the desert. I would join you but unfortunately, I am needed in other places. Therefore, Nadiah will be your companion and guide; she will devote herself to your protection and safety.'

Katar bowed once more and then made his exit back down the passageway.

Billy turned to Nadiah and said, ‘I don't mean to be rude, but firstly, you're a girl and secondly, I don't think that you'll be much help in a fight. Frog and I will end up protecting you!'

Nadiah positioned herself defiantly in front of Billy, her hands hung innocently by her sides. ‘I assure you that I am capable of looking after myself and others for that matter.'

‘I doubt if you've come across someone who uses Taekwondo. I'm a third Kup and I could easily deal with you,' said Billy, getting slightly carried away with himself.

Frog saw the gentle smile on Nadiah's face and the mischievous gleam in her eyes. She slipped her hands quickly in and out of the folds in her robes and they gave off a soft blue glow.

‘Billy, I think that you should apologise and accept that Nadiah is capable of looking after herself.'

‘All I'm saying is that we'll most likely be taking care of her,' said Billy.

‘Then you won't have a problem when someone does this,' announced Nadiah and drew her hands forwards in a pulling motion in front of Billy's legs. He could do nothing as they scissored out from beneath him and gravity deposited him onto his backside. She hadn't even made contact with him.

Nadiah smiled down at him in satisfaction.

‘How? How?' he stammered looking around him and then up at her in awe.

She offered her hand to him and Billy nodded, taking it with grace and getting to his feet.

‘I apologise. Sometimes I've got a big mouth,' said Billy.

‘Apology accepted,' said Nadiah. ‘Now we must go; the others will be waiting.'

Before they moved off back down the passageway, Arac-Khan bade them a safe journey and passed a solitary message to Frog, which none of the others sensed. Frog nodded back to the spider in acknowledgement and understanding.

‘That was a pretty neat move that you pulled on me back there,' Billy said to Nadiah. ‘You'll have to teach me how to do it.'

‘And you will have to instruct me in your
Taekwondo. I understand from Ameer that you are quite adept in the art,' she replied.

‘You know about that?'

‘I already know many things about you, Billy Smart. You have made an impression on me,' she replied.

‘I guess that we're even then,' said Billy as he rubbed his aching bottom.

7

Skirmish

Billy, Frog and Nadiah had met up with Ameer and a dozen or so riders at a large entrance hall just a short walk from the stables. It was here that the riders had readied their mounts and the air was heavy with the musk of spiders. The great beasts were lined up on either side of the hall, their polished, dark leather and metal harnesses catching and reflecting the light of the crystals. Ameer then took Frog to meet with Cassaria once again. Now, while everyone else waited for them to return, Billy stood fidgeting with his robes.

‘Are you all right?' asked Nadiah.

‘I don't feel comfortable in these clothes,' replied Billy as he pulled at the material for the umpteenth time.

‘Here, let me help you,' she said and before he could object, Nadiah had her arms around his waist, untying the belt and loosening the robes. ‘What's this lump in the folds?' she asked.

‘Just some food for later on in case I get hungry,' Billy quickly explained.

‘It will only get warm in there. Let me take it out,' she said.

‘No. No, it's all right. Just leave it where it is,' he said getting slightly agitated.

‘All right, don't panic. I'm only trying to help.'

Billy stood there, his face reddening by the second, hoping that no one would notice and praying that Frog would not return at this moment to see his predicament.

‘Just relax and trust me,' she instructed and tugged at the robe, at one point reaching underneath to adjust the undergarment. This caused Billy's eyes to widen in surprise and horror as a new level of embarrassment struck him. Finally, to his relief, she wrapped the belt around his middle and tied it in a half knot.

‘How does that feel now?' she asked stepping back to inspect him.

‘Much better,' said Billy. ‘Sorry I snapped at you.'

‘Don't worry, I don't get upset that easily,' she replied.

‘Hey, it's surprisingly comfortable,' he added walking around in a small circle, testing his movements. ‘If I didn't feel so stupid, I could get used to it.'

One of the riders heard and flashed a stern glance at him.

‘No offence meant,' said Billy hastily.

At that moment, Ameer and Frog appeared, striding towards them from across the cavern. Both of their faces wore uneasy looks.

‘Something troubles them,' observed Nadiah and Billy noticed that she gave a sudden shiver.

‘Are you cold?' he asked.

‘Not cold, just a feeling that something is not right, a feeling that we are being watched,' she replied as her eyes searched around the cave.

Billy followed her gaze into the shadowed recesses, an uneasiness creeping into his thoughts.

‘I need you all to listen, carefully,' announced Ameer. ‘There are forces at work on Aridian, the like we have never before encountered. Not only is our world in danger but the future of other distant places and other peoples is also under threat. The powers of evil have arrived amongst us and are already preparing to overthrow and enslave us all. We have to mobilise our armies and defend our people against a great and terrible adversary. We must send out the falcons to alert our communities.

‘There is to be a meeting of the Sisterhood at Arachnae and we are to make haste there ourselves, gathering those that we need along the way. Billy, you shall ride with me. I have a message from Cassaria that I must deliver to you once we have begun our journey. Frog, you shall ride with Nadiah.'

Billy gave a quizzical look at Frog who shrugged his shoulders in return.

During the meeting with Cassaria two events had stuck in Frog's mind. The first was that she had asked him for a teardrop, explaining that she would use it to create a protective spell for him, in the same way that she would use the one taken from Billy earlier. And so he had allowed her to evoke a sadness spell on him. A single tear had welled up and tumbled down his cheek, which Cassaria had gently caught in a small glass vial. The second thing was that she had then spent some time with Ameer in her private room where they had shared a hushed conversation. Frog could also not guess what information was to be passed on to Billy
and how he was to be involved. He was, however, intrigued and – dare he admit it – a little jealous of his friend as they all set off in procession up the wide passageway to the surface.

Meanwhile, two unseen reptilian eyes looked down from the shadows high above them and absorbed the scene before their owner finally sensed the air with its moist, flicking tongue. Then, silently, it turned and made its way back into the passage that it had hewn down from the surface to infiltrate Aridian's tunnels.

The party reached the tunnel entrance and passed out into the moonlight. Frog noticed several guards perched high on the surrounding rocks, their eyes alert and searching the surrounding dunescape.

Ameer brought the group to a halt and called to Nadiah who quickly dismounted the Sandspider, leaving Frog to sit alone. He watched curiously as she and Ameer walked to one side away from anyone's earshot. Ameer did all of the talking, as if issuing instructions, whilst Nadiah nodded several times to confirm that she understood.

Probably a message from Cassaria,
he thought and then he turned his attention to watch several of Ameer's riders as they collected desert falcons, which were tethered to perches just inside the cave. Frog took in their splendid grey-white plumage, which gave them a ghostly appearance in the moonlight. He recalled that these wonderful birds could pursue their prey at a tremendous rate, often achieving speeds of over 120 miles an hour, making them the fastest of all living creatures. He watched as their handlers gently
stroked the birds and spoke quietly to them, finally attaching a small roll of parchment to their legs.

Nadiah returned and took her seat in front of him on the Sandspider.

‘What are they doing?' he asked her.

‘Sending out information to the crystal farms and to Pelmore and Arachnae. They are very intelligent and loyal birds. During their flight, if there is something amiss, they will alert the falconers with shrill calls on their return.'

The falconers brought their birds into the open and, as one, they raised their arms and set the birds into flight. As the winged silhouettes disappeared out into the pale horizons, the group of Sandspiders and their mounts began their own journey out into the featureless desert landscape. The soft rhythmic drum of the spiders' feet was the only sound to betray their presence as the convoy wound its way across the sand.

As they progressed, Frog noticed that Ameer and Billy were deep in animated conversation as they rode atop their Sandspider. He asked Nadiah what Ameer had told her.

‘Just messages,' she replied.

‘If it concerns Billy, then it concerns me.'

‘There are some things that you need not know at the moment – those are Cassaria's instructions,' explained Nadiah.

Frog decided not to pursue the matter and chose to use his time once again trying to communicate with his friends on Castellion, but to no avail.

They had been travelling for nearly an hour when, as they were halfway along a channel between two long
and high sand dunes, Ameer raised his hand and signalled for them to come to a halt. The hairs on the back of Frog's neck rose as he sensed something was about to happen and his hand instinctively reached for his sword. At the same time, the riders drew their own long, curved scimitars. The blades slid silently from their sheaths to be bathed by the light of the over-hanging moons.

Nadiah turned and spoke to Frog. ‘Whatever happens, do not get separated from me …' she said, but a piercing howl cut off her words and more than twenty bodies materialised up from the surrounding sand, shaking the fine dust from their camouflage.

‘Dreden!' she shouted at Frog.

Frog felt the draught of an arrow as it passed by his face and he turned to follow its path. He grimaced as it sank home into the neck of one of the riders. An unnatural gust of wind in the otherwise still night air picked up a cloud of sand and hurled it at the group, causing a moment of distraction. In those brief seconds, there was screeching everywhere. Dust and sand spiralled around them, their visibility reduced to less than a metre.

Frog felt the Sandspider lurch forward and a hand grabbed his robes, pulling him down onto the sand.

‘Something is wrong,' shouted Nadiah into his ear. ‘Dreden don't attack like this, not with cold-blooded killing. We have to get away from here.'

‘We can't leave,' Frog shouted back. ‘We must stay and fight.'

‘There is a time for fighting and a time for running,' she yelled in his face. ‘Now is the time for running.'

She pulled him away from the shelter of the spider and out into the swirling dust and sand, which scratched at his face and caught in his throat, making him cough. Nadiah's hand then found his scarf and pulled it over his head, wrapping it around to make a mask.

The dark shadows of the spiders loomed around them and the sound of steel on steel filled the air. Among the shouts of anger and pain, Frog heard Ameer's voice rallying his men, calling them to his side. Small pockets briefly cleared within the dust storm giving them glimpses of their surroundings. A body lay in front of them and Frog was thankful that it was face down as he stepped over it.

‘Billy! Billy!' he called, now desperate to find his friend, but there was no reply.

The dust cloud closed in around them again and the wind whipped and tore at their bodies. Nadiah screamed and Frog turned to find that she was no longer standing beside him. He brandished his sword in an arc as he frantically turned this way and that, his eyes slits against the stinging grains of sand that assaulted him.

‘Billy! Nadiah!' he shouted in desperation, then he heard a cruel voice in the distance.

‘Find the boy,' the voice commanded and Frog turned again to see a dim shape bearing down on him. He crouched and swung his sword as he rolled to one side and felt the blade make contact. There followed a loud curse of pain and the figure dropped to the ground. Peering to his right he could see the dark bulk of a spider and he reached out and touched its hairy form,
feeling for the leather strapping and quickly finding it. He grasped hold of the harness and pulled himself up until he was in the vacant rider's seat. Higher up now, he could see clearer areas in the dust cloud, which revealed bodies lying on the ground, some with dark red patches seeping through the robes.

Panic rose in him and he shouted recklessly. ‘Billy! Nadiah! Ameer!' All he heard in reply was a swish followed by a dull thud as an arrow struck the Sandspider and embedded itself into its side. It reared up and gave an ear-splitting scream of pain. Frog lost his grip and slid sideways down on to the sand, the impact knocking the breath out of him. As he lay there a new horror gripped his senses: the sand was sinking beneath him, pulling him down as if into a funnel. He scrabbled with his remaining strength, but unseen hands wrapped themselves around his arms and legs, speeding his decent into the smothering, claustrophobic hollow that was engulfing him. He took in one last breath and closed his mouth and eyes as he stretched an arm out above him in desperation to grasp a lifeline, but his clawing fingers felt only sand as it sealed above him to complete his burial.

In the desert storm that had descended on them, Ameer and his men used their lifelong skills to defend themselves and cut down their attackers. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the sand storm dissolved to reveal over a dozen Dreden bodies strewn around. The assault had only lasted a few minutes, but the intent was not that of a normal raiding party; this was the most vicious attack that Ameer had ever encountered. One of his men was dead, killed in cold blood, and three
of their spiders were injured through arrow fire. Normally, in any skirmish, a warning was given or a challenge was announced before the Dreden raiding parties attacked and usually the fighting was at close quarters; crossbows were only used for hunting. Swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat was the general rule of engagement. Everything was different this time.

Ameer surveyed the scene. ‘And so the treachery begins,' he said to himself, but he was shaken out of his thoughts by the voice of one of his men.

‘My Lord Prince, we have lost the young ones.'