Sebastian Darke: Prince of Explorers (12 page)

Now Cal paused for a moment, listening intently. He pointed into the jungle to his left and stepped off the trail, gliding in amongst the trees with the grace of a panther. The others turned to follow and now Sebastian found it really hard going. Ferns and thorns snagged against his clothing, insects buzzed around him and he was aware of a thick sweat beading his forehead. By comparison, Cal and Galt looked as if they had set out on nothing more than a pleasant stroll.

Suddenly Sebastian flinched as he heard a noise coming from up ahead: the unmistakable clink of armour. He watched as Cal knelt behind a screen of bushes and peered through them. Sebastian crouched down and took a quick peek. Ahead of him, a party of Gograth were moving slowly and silently towards the village, their swords held ready for action. It was clear that they were about to attack the Jilith.

Taking a deep breath, Sebastian slid his own sword from its scabbard as quietly as he could. He watched and waited, his heart beating rapidly. Beside him, Cornelius was expertly assembling his miniature crossbow. Once he had slid a bolt into place, he lifted the weapon and took careful aim on one of the creatures in the midst of the group. There was an abrupt hiss and then the Gograth warrior halted in his tracks; the bolt had struck him in his thick neck, just above the breastplate. He fell to the ground and his companions stopped and stared stupidly down at him.

'Now!' roared Cornelius. And they all burst out from cover and ran straight at the enemy.

It went exactly as planned. Taken by surprise, the Gograth put up only a token resistance, and in a matter of moments half their number had fallen beneath the flashing blades of their enemies. The rest turned and retreated in complete disarray. Cornelius managed to rein in Cal and Galt, allowing the surviving Gograth to make their escape.

'Tell General Darvon that this is how the Jilith vanquish all their enemies!' Cornelius bellowed at their retreating backs. 'Tell him that the Gograth are cowards who hide behind the backs of their women.' He seemed to be searching for more insults, so Sebastian weighed in with one of his own.

'Tell him that the Gograth smell of rusa poo!' he yelled.

Cornelius gave him a pitying look. 'Embarrassing,' he said.

'Don't you know how to give a decent insult?'

'We don't need to insult them,' said Cal. 'Killing them will be enough.'

'What do we do now?' asked Sebastian.

'We wait,' said Cornelius calmly. And he settled himself down on the ground and took out his pipe.

They didn't have to wait very long. Soon enough, they heard the booming of drums, the blasts of great horns; and something else – a distant rumbling that seemed to shake the earth beneath them.

'What was that?' muttered Sebastian. 'Sounded almost like thunder.'

'That
was
thunder,' muttered Galt. He lifted his head and sniffed the air. 'Rain's coming,' he said matter-of-factly.

'What?' Sebastian looked at Cornelius. 'Did you hear that? Rain!'

'Yes, yes,' said Cornelius, waving a hand dismissively.

'But . . . what if it starts falling before the Gograth reach the village?'

'Don't worry, it's nowhere near us,' insisted Cornelius, but his smile had lost some of its confidence.

'If we can't set light to that conflagrus—' began Sebastian.

'You're sounding more like Max every day,' snapped Cornelius. 'Now stop griping for a moment and let me listen.' He did exactly that for a moment, then nodded approvingly. 'Sounds like they've summoned plenty of reinforcements,' he said. 'Good. The more the merrier.' He glanced sternly at the two Jilith men. 'Don't forget what we agreed now. We have to run. If you try to stand and fight, you'll mess up the whole plan.'

'Yes, yes.' Cal nodded but he looked far from happy. 'I just don't like to think of them boasting about how we ran before them.'

Cornelius gave a grim smile. 'Don't worry – if everything goes according to plan, by sundown there won't be many of them left to boast about anything.' He lifted his head. Now the approaching sounds were unmistakable: the dull clunk of armour, the crunching of vegetation being crushed underfoot and the rising clamour of drums. And then, booming above them, another peal of thunder, closer this time.

'Cornelius, that doesn't sound very far away,' whispered Sebastian.

'Will you pipe down? Here, Cal, be a good lad and climb a tree. Let's see how many of them are coming.'

Cal sprang to the nearest trunk and vanished up into the canopy in a couple of lithe bounds. Everyone waited below. Sebastian felt beads of sweat welling on his neck and running down his spine. For what seemed like an age there was silence from above. Then he heard Cal say, 'Okrin's blood!' A moment later he came scrambling down again, and though he tried to act casual, his face had gone several shades paler.

'How many?' asked Cornelius.

'More than I've seen in my entire life,' admitted Cal. 'At first I thought a great wind was flattening the jungle. Then I looked again and saw it was the Gograth. Looks like the whole tribe's turned out.'

Cornelius grinned. 'Excellent,' he said. He slapped Sebastian on the back. 'Come on,' he said. 'Let's make for a clearing and give them a good look at us. We want to be sure they follow us all the way back to the village . . .'

When they finally made it, breathless and sweating from their frantic flight through the jungle, Sebastian was relieved to see that all the villagers were at their battle stations. But at the same time he was worried to note how dark it had become; and when he looked up at the sky, he could see that a mass of bruise-black clouds were rolling overhead.

The young men of the tribe, and many of the women, were standing in a defensive line around the huts, each clad in a suit of rusa hide and holding a sword and a large wooden shield. A short distance behind them stood a ring of archers, each equipped with a bow and a quiver of arrows; burning torches of conflagrus were stuck in the ground beside them. Sebastian knew that the older people and the children were sheltering in the communal huts in the very centre of the village; but they too were armed and would fight to the last if necessary.

'Come on,' said Cornelius. 'Let's take our places. Our guests will be arriving at any moment.'

As Sebastian slotted himself into the circle of warriors, he noticed Keera standing a short distance away, armoured and armed just as the others were. Beside her stood Maccan, dressed in full ceremonial regalia, clutching a huge curved sword in each hand, his face painted into a terrifying mask.

Thunder rumbled again, and off beyond the trees there was a brief flare as lightning split the sky.

Sebastian glanced around but could see no sign of Max. After a few moments he noticed a large pile of straw standing a little way inside the circle and surmised that Max and the battle wagon must be hidden beneath that. Evidently Cornelius was using every opportunity to take the Gograth by surprise. Somebody handed Sebastian a heavy shield; he took it and unsheathed his sword. The shield was rather cumbersome but Sebastian knew that it would play a big part in the coming battle. Then Salah appeared carrying Sebastian's headdress. She motioned to him to bend down and placed it respectfully on his head. Then she bowed and pushed her way back through the ranks to the village.

'Do I have to wear this?' whispered Sebastian.

'Of course you do,' said Cornelius. 'You've got to look like a chief.'

'Yes, but I
feel
like a great ninny.'

'Stop complaining and start acting regal. Remember, you're in charge of all this.' Cornelius waved a hand at the waiting warriors. 'It's you they look up to. You're the Chosen One.'

'Yes, thanks for reminding me,' said Sebastian. 'And I have you to thank for that.'

Cornelius grinned. He reached up and lowered the visor of his helmet. 'They're close,' he said.

Now Sebastian was aware of a new sound coming out of the surrounding jungle, drawing closer and closer. It was a thudding noise, the clamour of scores of swords crashing against the sides of many shields. He glanced down at Cornelius, who grinned back up at him.

'Relax, lad,' said the Golmiran. 'That's just the enemy making a pathetic attempt to strike fear into our hearts!'

Sebastian swallowed hard.
It's working
, he thought, but said nothing to Cornelius. His friend did not seem to know fear and was never very sympathetic when he observed it in others. But there was something else he wanted to say.

'Cornelius, if I should fall today—'

'Don't be ridiculous!' cried the little warrior. 'What can happen to you? You're the Chosen One!'

'Yes, but . . . seriously, if I don't make it through this battle . . . there's a note in my pocket . . . for Jenna . . . I would appreciate it if you would make sure she receives it.'

Cornelius made a dismissive gesture. 'Don't worry,' he said. 'Today is not your day to die.'

'How do you
know
that?' protested Sebastian.

'Because you've already had one close call with the Gograth. I didn't nurse you back from the brink just to have you lose your life to those brutes. You'll be fine, provided you follow my instructions to the letter. Now stop worrying and get ready. I think I see our first customers . . .'

Sure enough, figures were emerging from the green depths all around them; great shambling shapes dressed in primitive armour, armed with shields and swords and throwing spears. Their faces were contorted into expressions of rage and they were making horrendous gibbering sounds as they marched forward. Sebastian's blood seemed to run cold in his veins.

'Nobody make a move,' roared Cornelius. 'Stand your ground until I give the word!'

Arrows began to fly out from the advancing ranks and somewhere to Sebastian's left there was a scream of pain and a Jilith warrior fell to the ground.

'Shields!' bellowed Cornelius and, as one, each man lifted a heavy shield to cover the top half of his body. No sooner had Sebastian lifted his than he felt the impact of arrows thudding into it. He peered out and saw a seemingly endless wave of armoured warriors coming towards him.

'Cornelius,' he said, 'we need to—'

'Wait!' yelled Cornelius. 'They have to be inside the ring.'

A spear glanced off the top of Sebastian's shield and went spinning end over end behind him. He glanced back and saw that the archers were waiting, their first arrows nocked and ready. Their faces were impassive, betraying no sense of fear.

Perhaps it's just me
, thought Sebastian.
Perhaps I should drop the tough-guy routine and take up embroidery or something.

Another arrow thudded into his shield. This time, the stone head actually broke through the wooden barrier and stopped a few finger-widths away from his face. Sebastian gulped and risked a glance round the side of his shield. The nearest of the Gograth were already well inside the ring but many of the others were not.

'Cornelius,' he hissed, 'we can't wait much longer—'

'Hold your nerve,' snapped Cornelius. 'They'll stop firing arrows now for fear of hitting their own men. I want them all inside the circle, or it won't work.'

Something struck Sebastian's shield with a force that nearly smashed it out of his grasp and then fell at his feet. He saw that it was a crudely made stone axe.

'Oh, nice,' he said. 'Really nice.' Then he felt something even more worrying. A droplet of water landed on his head. Then another, and another . . .