Sebastian Darke: Prince of Explorers (2 page)

'It's too narrow. We need to find a clearing.'

Max considered this for a moment. 'Couldn't we make a clearing?' he asked. 'With the machete.'

Sebastian laughed at this idea, though there wasn't much energy in the laugh. 'I love the
we
,' he said. 'What you actually mean is,
I
could make a clearing. But that would involve cutting down entire trees and I'm exhausted enough as it is. We'll just have to keep going a while longer.'

Max gave a low, mournful sigh. 'Oh yes, well, that's just the standard reply on this trip, isn't it?' He modulated his voice to mimic Sebastian's. '
We'll just have to keep going!
Well, we've been going for what must be weeks now and what have we found? Absolutely nothing! When Thaddeus Peel told us this was an errand for the foolhardy, he wasn't kidding!'

'Give it a rest, can't you?' growled Samuel, from behind Max; and everyone turned to look at him in surprise. It was virtually the first time he had uttered more than a grunt since they had set off.

'Oh, excuse me!' said Max haughtily. 'I was only expressing an opinion.'

''Pinion or not, here we be, like it or lump it,' said Samuel emphatically. 'Ain't no use in complainin'.'

'Arrr,' added Karl. For a moment it seemed as if he might be about to add something else, but he must have thought better of it.

Max swung his head back round and continued for some distance in silence, mulling over what had just been said. But Sebastian knew that it was only a matter of time before he returned to his theme.

'What I mean to say,' continued Max, 'is: how long are we going to go on with this fiasco? At exactly what point do we say,
Well, we've given it our best shot, we're now completely and utterly lost and it's time to head back to Ramalat?
'

Sebastian paused mid-swing and considered that one. He had to admit, it was a good question. He glanced back down the line and gestured to Karl. 'You want to take over for a while?' he asked.

Without a word, the big man strode forward, took the machete in one great fist and forged ahead, the arcing blade felling great swathes of forest. Cornelius dropped back to take Betty's rope, a look of resignation on his face. Sebastian realized how humiliating it must be for him to be unable to do his fair share, but knew there was nothing he could do about the situation, short of carrying him on his back while he swung the machete, and he simply didn't have the energy for that.

He resumed walking just a short distance ahead of Max.

'I know it's frustrating,' he said, 'but Mr Peel is paying us a great deal of money to be here. And, should we find anything of value, he'll pay us a great deal more.'

'I'm aware of that,' said Max. 'But for goodness' sake, all we've seen in this hell-hole is jungle, jungle and more jungle.

What do you suppose are the chances of happening upon an ancient city in the midst of all this?' Sebastian was about to reply when he broke off at a sudden chattering in the treetops to his left. Everyone stopped and turned to look. Cornelius's hand dropped instinctively to the handle of his sword but he grinned when he saw the creature that had made the sound – an agile, furry little beast that was swinging about in the trees, its face contorted into a comical expression.

'What on earth is that?' he wondered aloud.

'It's a boobah,' Sebastian told him. 'Don't you remember? Princess Kerin had one just like it.'

The mention of the name made him thoughtful. There was a time when it would have hurt him to speak of her; but that seemed an age ago, before his trip to Ramalat and before he'd met Captain Jenna Swift, the commander of the
Sea Witch
and his current true love.

Max, of course, couldn't resist commenting on the name. 'Ah yes, the fair Princess Kerin . . . or perhaps I should say
Queen
Kerin. Lovely girl. You know, I always rather hoped that we'd head back in the direction of Keladon one day. The royal stables did a marvellous lunch – one of the finest I've ever eaten.'

'And you've eaten a lot of lunches,' observed Cornelius slyly.

'Indeed, I do think of myself as something of a connoisseur,' said Max, missing the dig entirely. 'Speaking of which, I wonder what delights we'll have for our supper this evening. If I have to eat any more of that rotten— Ah! At last we're coming to a clearing!'

Sebastian saw that he was right. The trail was finally widening out into a small opening in the midst of the dense ranks of greenery. There were more boobahs here, he noticed, swarming merrily amidst the lower limbs of the trees, chattering and gesticulating at each other, a great animated troop of them.

'Perhaps we should try and catch one,' he mused aloud. 'They make good pets.'

'Be my guest,' muttered Cornelius, sinking down under the shade of a tree. 'If you have the energy.'

Sebastian considered for a moment and then decided that, quite frankly, he didn't. He followed his friend's example and dropped down beside him. He unstrapped his canteen and took a large swig of warm, foul-tasting water.

'At least there's no shortage of this stuff here,' he said brightly, offering the canteen to Cornelius.

The little warrior nodded and took a gulp himself, then pulled a face. 'Not like the sweet cold waters of Golmira,' he observed.

Max snorted. 'Oh well, naturally! According to you, nothing's as good as it is in Golmira! It's a wonder you've never taken us there if it's so blooming marvellous.'

'I will, one day,' Cornelius told him. 'I'll take you both there and introduce you to my parents.'

'Oh goody, I can hardly wait.' Max glowered resentfully at the two mules, who had lowered their heads and were chomping energetically at the lush green grass all around them. The two handlers had sat down under another tree and taken out pipes, which they were charging with tobacco.

'Of course, it's hardly likely to live up to this charming spot,' continued Max. 'I mean, look around! We've got dense, stinking vegetation everywhere. We've got two mules demonstrating the fact that they're the most ill-mannered creatures in existence. And we've got their owners, who seem intent on polluting the already foetid atmosphere with their pipe smoke.'

'Why don't you belt up and browse a bit of grass?' suggested Sebastian irritably. 'It might help keep your energy up.'

'Energy!' Max gave him a disbelieving look. 'I ate two mouthfuls of that stuff the other day and I was awake with raging wind all night!'

'Yes, we
did
notice,' said Cornelius pointedly. 'But don't worry, I've made myself a set of ear plugs for tonight.'

'Oh, ha ha! Please desist, I'm in danger of splitting my sides laughing.'

Sebastian and Cornelius grinned at each other. Taunting Max was one of the few pleasures they'd had on this trip.

'We've got company,' observed Samuel; and everybody looked up to see that a couple of the boobahs had clambered down from the trees and were advancing cautiously across the clearing, ready to run if they needed to. Sebastian laughed at the anxious expressions on their faces. They were holding out their hands as if begging.

'What do you suppose they want?' he asked.

'Food, I shouldn't wonder,' replied Cornelius. 'But I'm afraid we have none to spare. In fact . . .' He reached down to his belt and took out the various pieces that comprised his miniature crossbow. He began to slot the pieces together with well-practised ease.

'What are you doing?' hissed Sebastian.

'I'm wondering if these creatures are good to eat,' muttered Cornelius. 'It would be nice to have a change from javralat and wild rusa.'

Sebastian reached out a hand to stay his arm. 'You can't,' he whispered. 'They have faces like little people . . .'

'It's not their faces that interest me,' said Cornelius. 'It's their chunky little arms and legs. They'd roast up nicely over the fire.'

Sebastian made an expression of distaste. 'But they're pets, Cornelius! It wouldn't be right.'

'You said yourself last night that you were desperate for a taste of something different.' Cornelius had now finished assembling the crossbow and was pulling back the string. 'We'll just take one for now – see what it tastes like. And if—'

He broke off in surprise as the boobahs suddenly looked over their shoulders in alarm. One of them issued a loud warning screech and they bounded away across the clearing before anybody had a chance to react. In an instant the whole troop had vanished into the surrounding vegetation.

'Shadlog's teeth!' said Cornelius. 'What could have tipped them off?'

'Shush!' said Max. 'Listen.'

'I don't hear anything,' said Sebastian after a few moments.

'Exactly,' said Max.

Sebastian realized that Max was quite right. A terrible silence had descended, where an instant earlier there had been a rich cacophony of birdsong and insect chirrups.

'I don't like this,' said Max quietly. 'This is definitely not good. Reminds me of when we met that blooming tree serpent.'

Cornelius and Sebastian got warily to their feet. The Golmiran slotted a bolt into his crossbow and Sebastian pulled out his sword. The two Ramalatians, alerted by the reaction of their employers, put away their pipes and drew their weapons. Everybody stood there, gazing around, straining to see into the depths of the jungle.

There was a rustle in the bushes, and Sebastian's keen eyes caught a glimpse of something moving from left to right across his vision. He thought at first he was looking at another boobah. There was a glimpse of ginger hair and a grizzled face staring at him through a thick screen of bushes . . . but then he registered that this creature was the size of a full-grown man and that its wild eyes were glaring at him from beneath the brim of a metal helmet.

'Cornelius,' he whispered, 'I just saw—'

He broke off at a sudden hissing noise, which sounded unnaturally loud in the silence. A short distance in front of him, Karl's body jolted and he gave a dull grunt of surprise. His sword slipped from his hand and fell to the ground. Everyone stared at him in horrified fascination. He turned to face Sebastian; he was looking down at his own chest in wide-eyed horror. The feathered shaft of an arrow protruded from its centre. He opened his mouth to say something, but all that emerged was a slow exhalation of air. Then his body crumpled and he fell to the earth, his eyes open but sightless.

Sebastian stared down in astonishment at the fallen man, unwilling to believe the evidence of his own eyes. He stood mesmerized, and it was only when Cornelius bellowed at him and struck him hard across the hip that he came out of his trance, into a world of chaos.

He could see them now – scores of great armour-clad shapes, shambling through the gloom of the jungle, shrieking and jabbering and waving their swords. Something whizzed past his head and thudded into the trunk of a tree beside him.

Another arrow. Cornelius discharged his crossbow bolt, and across the clearing one of the hairy beasts gave a yelp of pain and fell backwards into the undergrowth.

Sebastian glanced at his little friend and saw that he was grinning gleefully, never more happy than when he was in a situation like this.

'Cornelius,' he said, 'maybe we should—'

He was interrupted by a deep bellowing as one of the mules raced past him, terrified, stampeding back down the trail. Sebastian made an instinctive grab for the mule's bridle as it raced past, but the creature was going so fast, the impact nearly jerked his arm out of its socket. He clung on for a short distance, then lost his footing and went tumbling in the dirt.