Raiders' Ransom (36 page)

“Let's finish off the others!”

There's a loud splash, and a cheer goes up from the hall as a boat's launched into the channel. Long and narrow, with a battered dragonhead on its prow. Dreadlocked men and women jump on board, grabbing at the oars.

“Heave ho!” comes the shout. The oars clank and splash, and the raider boat leaps through the torchlit water.

Now it ain't mud banks or running aground we've got to worry about.

Lexy looks at me, her face thin, her eyes frightened. “We'll get away, won't we?”

“‘Course we will!” I lie, pulling at ropes, raising the mainsail. It unfurls like a moon-flower, snapping as the wind takes it, and then we're pelting along with the raiders at our stern. Marsh water sprays our faces, tasting like rotten cabbage and long-lost oceans.

Cat hops about, growling and twitching his whiskers as
he glares back at them raiders. And they keep pace, chanting as they row. I can't hear the words, 'cept when they roar out, “And we'll wash our hands in their blood!” I look back, and I'm eye to eye with a raider woman who's leaned out the bow of their boat. She snarls at me, then shouts, “We killed your demon and we 'll kill you next!”

“Make the monster come back!” cries Lexy to the puter. “Scare them away!”

The head's sat with its eyes shut.

“I can't do that,” it mumbles. “I've had to shut down my projection system, isolate seven programs, and restrict myself to basic functions.”

“Do something else then!” I shout. “Swell yourself up to the size of a house, like you did before at the Black Waters!”

The head's eyes snap open. “You don't understand how serious this is! If I open any programs, who knows what might happen? I could be completely corrupted …”

“I know it's serious!” I yell. “They'll kill us if they catch us. And it's all your fault!”

“Oh yes, blame my infirmities! But you've been happy enough to let me project games for you day and night for weeks. Nothing but ‘PSAI, please can we play another?' And another, and another. No thought for my wear and tear.”

“Mreooow!” Cat gives out a howl of warning.

Just in time, I stop us from crashing into a clump of scraggly willows. Branches scrape and clatter over the boat, nearly knocking Lexy into the water.

“We're going too fast!” she cries.

“We can't go slower! The raiders'll catch us.”

Something whines in the air.

“Yrow!” squawks Cat.

An arrow smacks into one of the wooden boards of the cockpit. Splintering through, punching open the wood.

“First I'm gonna spike yer, then I'm gonna bite yer!” shrieks the woman at the prow of the raider boat. She's holding a crossbow at her chest.

“Watch out!” yells Lexy. I snap my eyes to the front, and see a hard bend in the stream. I heave on the tiller, just about getting us round without hitting the banks.

Whisht.

An arrow whines past my head, splashing into the water ahead of us.

“Can't you go faster?” cries Lexy.

“I may be the last computer on the planet!” shrieks the head. “You have to get me away!”

I heave on lines, and push the tiller this way and that, trying to gain on the raiders. But my boat ain't suited to these waters; she needs open space to get going. And the raiders' narrow boat is made for getting along the bendy creeks.

Whisht!

An arrow breathes past my ear.

“First I'm gonna slice yer, then I'm gonna dice yer!” shouts the raider woman from behind. My back prickles up with fear.

The marsh channel twists through rushes, bending away into darkness, and I pray it doesn't get any narrower.

Whisht!

An arrow cuts through the mainsail.

“English witches!” yells the woman. “How do you wanna be peeled? Starting from yer faces, or from yer insides out?”

“I don't want to be peeled at all!” wails the head.

The raiders are only a length behind us, the madwoman clinging to the prow, aiming with her crossbow. A straight line from her to me. My stomach goes cold inside, and every part of me wants to throw myself down. 'Cept then we'll be wrecked, so I crouch against the tiller, waiting for the shot that'll kill me.

But it doesn't come. Cos suddenly a light flares in the dark marshes.

Whack!

Thump!

Cries and shouts go up from the raider boat.

I look back. There're two blobs of fire on the riverbank, lighting up someone in orangey shadow. The fires hurl into the air, curving toward the raiders.
Sphit!
One hits.
Hiss!
The other misses. The raiders curse and yell, their oars crashing and flipping as they fight the fires on their boat. A burning lump thumps into the woman with the crossbow. She shrieks, tumbling headfirst into the water.

I turn to the head, glowing and floating in front of me.

“Thank you!” I'm grinning all over my face.

It shrugs on its neck.

“That wasn't me. Which would have been obvious if you'd actually listened to me, since I stated quite clearly that my projection abilities are offline. In any case, I can only produce illusions, not actual weaponry.”

Cold panic fills me as I scour the bank for another gang of raiders. Cos if they took out the lot behind us, they'll be wanting us for themselves.

“Look!” Lexy's pointing at the bank, at a torch being carried by someone in a cloak.

“This way,” calls a voice. A Scottish voice. “If you're looking for safety, follow me.”

RAIDERS'
Ransom

“Captivating. A well-drawn world, plot twists galore, and spunky characters make this a true page-turner — readers will be panting for the sequel.”
— Kirkus,
starred review

“Good-hearted, engaging protagonists, dramatic sea battles, a solid sense of humor, and a novel blend of medieval and futuristic technologies distinguish this notable debut.”
— Publishers Weekly

“Filled with irony and buoyed by the hopes of its young protagonists, this swashbuckling tale will please a wide range of readers and lure them back for more.”
— Shelf Awareness

“A fast-paced adventure with something for everyone.”
— Booklist

“A funny, clever, towering adventure. Diamand is a genuine 24-carat writer.”
— The Times of London

A New York Public Library “100 Best Books for Reading and Sharing”