The Princess and the Captain (20 page)

Suddenly, as Babilas stood with legs apart, exerting all his strength, the handle gave way and broke off in his hands.

‘Oh no!' cried Orpheus, appalled.

‘Malva!' groaned Lei, kneeling down. ‘She fainting!'

Babilas angrily flung down the handle and went up to the cage. Clenching his jaw, he took hold of two of the bars and
tried to pull them apart. The mesua wood resisted, and Babilas's muscles shook with the effort.

Another rumble, closer than the first, made the leaves of the trees around them quiver. Orpheus turned his head. Over in the west he thought he saw flashes of light. Yet the sky was still clear. There was something disturbing about these strange phenomena.

Meanwhile Babilas was exhausting himself tugging fruitlessly at the cage. The bars would not move. Orpheus took out his knife and tried to force the lock. He worked on it for some time, but jumped when he heard more thunder. There was a clamour in the west, beyond the city wall.

‘Cage too strong!' said Lei. ‘Impossible get Malva out now! You leave – too dangerous here.'

At that very moment the twins arrived back on the platform at a run, looking scared.

‘We shut the Archont in a room in the palace, but now he's raising the alarm!'

As if confirming their words, cries and shouts rang out, disturbing the serenity of the gardens. Red lights were rising into the sky over them.

Orpheus looked desperately at Babilas. What could they do? They must escape, but they couldn't possibly abandon the Princess!

Suddenly the giant pulled the yellow headband from around his forehead. Taking a deep breath, he crouched down, put his mighty arms round the bars and lifted the cage bodily from the platform. Orpheus, Lei and the twins watched him in astonishment. The giant's legs were shaking, thick veins stood out all along his arms, but he succeeded in hoisting the cage up on his shoulders. When he had recovered his balance, he signalled to Orpheus.

‘Right,' Orpheus whispered. ‘Let's get out of the city, fast!'

‘I come too! I escape with you!' announced Lei.

All seven of them made for the gateway. Babilas led the way with Malva's cage on his back. It was an amazing sight. Oh, Holy Harmony and Holy Tranquillity, Orpheus prayed in silence, let him be able to carry the weight as far as the ship!

As they approached the gateway, the confusing rumbling noise they had been hearing for some time grew louder. Preunuchs and guards had gathered in a great mass in front of the huge wall. Outside, flames were licking at the wood, and shouts and the sound of horses' hooves filled the air.

‘A fight!' exclaimed Hob.

‘A war!' said Peppe. ‘It's the Captain and the men of the
Mary-Belle
!'

‘But … but why have they launched their attack?' stammered Orpheus. ‘It's too soon! Much too soon!'

Suddenly the gates swung violently open, and tongues of flame shot inside the wall. The preunuchs and imperial guards fell back, panic-stricken, shouting up at the buildings and towers.

‘We must get out!' yelled Orpheus.

At that moment a horde of mounted men appeared. There were dozens of them, riding caparisoned horses, a mass of black shapes opening up a passage through the glowing conflagration. They galloped through the flames towards the harem.

‘That's not …' Peppe murmured.

‘… the Captain!' Hob finished for him, his jaw dropping.

The horsemen raced in close formation through the city gardens, trampling everything in their path. Sheltering behind a row of columns, Orpheus and his companions watched the mounted men pass. They were brandishing spears and whips.
And alone at their head, leading the attack, a young and vigorous man stood erect on his horse's back.

‘Hunters from Great Azizian Steppes!' Lei shouted into Orpheus's ear.

The noise of the fire, the galloping horses and clashing weapons was deafening. Why were the hunters attacking Temir-Gai's city? Who were they? What did they want? Fascinated by their proud bearing, Orpheus stood transfixed for a moment. But once the horde had gone by, he collected his wits.

‘Our way's clear ahead – quick!'

He raced for the gateway. The flames were now nearing the top of the wall, consuming the statue of Temir-Gai and his mythical mount. Shielding his face with his arm, Orpheus held his breath and ran through the fire, gasping with terror.

The others followed him, and soon they were all outside the city, standing dazed in the grassy place beyond the wall. Babilas was still carrying the cage on his back. His face was blackened by the smoke and he was breathing hard, but his powerful muscles did not give way.

Behind them, in the streets of Cispazan, the alarm had been raised. Amidst general turmoil, human chains were forming to carry water to the burning city.

‘The Princess is safe!' sighed Orpheus. ‘Let's not hang around here.'

As they moved away from the battlefield, they failed to notice the figure of a man emerging from the fire. A man with a smoothly shaven head and eyelashes singed by the flames, holding the broken handle of the Cage of Torments in his hands …

* * *

On board the frigate, the Captain was in a towering rage. The surprise attack mounted by the horsemen from the steppes had upset his plans, particularly the work of the divers whom he had sent into the harbour to sabotage the Emperor's fleet. Seeing a crowd of Cispazians armed with buckets flock down to the quaysides, the divers, afraid of being spotted, had abandoned their mission and returned to the
Errabunda
. Most of the Cispazian ships were in no state to put to sea, though not all of them.

‘Who are those barbarians who attacked Temir-Gai without warning?' the Captain barked at Orpheus when he was up on deck. ‘They've wrecked my plans, the fools! Did you see them?'

Still out of breath, Orpheus simply nodded. Then he turned and threw a rope down to Babilas, who was waiting in the dinghy with the others. Orpheus leaned over the rail. He saw the twins hurrying to fasten it to the cage, and Babilas signed to him to haul it up.

‘Look here, quartermaster, are you going to tell me what's going on?' the Captain continued. ‘Where's the Princess?'

‘Coming up, Captain,' replied Orpheus, passing the other end of the rope through the mortise of a large pulley. ‘Help me to heave her aboard!'

The Captain raised an eyebrow. It was true that the Princess had always been prettily plump, but having to be hauled up like a cow … however, he lent Orpheus a hand to such good effect that the cage soon appeared above the rail of the poop deck.

‘What the … ?' exclaimed the astonished Captain. ‘But … but …'

Babilas climbed the rope ladder, jumped aboard and lent a hand hauling up the cage, finally getting it on deck. Behind him the sailors, the twins and Lei scrambled over the rail. The Captain's eyes narrowed.

‘Who's that fair girl?' he asked.

‘I'll explain later,' Orpheus apologised. ‘The Princess is suffocating in there.'

He told the twins to find buckets and draw as much water as possible, and then went down through the central hatch to his cabin, where he collected his entire stock of candles and ran back up again.

‘Quartermaster!' the Captain said again. He pointed to the heights of the city. Even from this distance, it was easy to see that the flames were devastating the harem and the entire imperial city. ‘I doubt if Temir-Gai will be after us just yet. Since the Princess is on board, we will set sail at once!'

Orpheus absently agreed, before making for the cage, where he handed candles to Lei and Babilas.

‘Set fire to the bars,' he said. ‘If this cage is made of the same wood as the city it will burn. Only when the Princess is too close to the flames do I want the twins to pour buckets of water on them, understand?'

Orpheus lit the candles, and Lei and Babilas each held a flame to one of the bars. The wood began to char and then to smoke. Suddenly, several of the bars caught fire.

‘Do we pour water now?' asked Hob, sounding worried.

‘Wait!' Orpheus told him. ‘Only if it gets dangerous.'

Lei was anxiously watching the cage burn. Malva could hardly be seen in the middle of it, jammed between the walls and the movable ceiling. Only one hand and a few locks of her hair showed.

‘Water!' Orpheus suddenly cried.

The twins feverishly emptied two buckets at once. The flames went out, the wood hissed and a small cry was heard.

‘Malva!' said Lei. ‘You can hear me?'

A faint reply came from the Princess.

‘The cold water has brought her round,' rejoiced Orpheus.

He turned to Babilas and showed him the half-charred bars. The giant signed to the others to stand well away. He grasped one of the bars with both hands and finally cracked it with a powerful heave. He repeated this operation several times, and as each bar broke their hopes grew. Finally Babilas was able to get at one of the wooden panels compressing Malva's body and pulled it out.

‘Done it!' cried Orpheus in triumph.

He helped Babilas to lift the Princess out of her prison, and they laid her on the deck. Lei and the twins gathered around her. Orpheus looked at the girl's anguished face like a prospector looking at his first gold nugget. Seeing the Princess here, alive and safe, he realised that he had just done the first notable deed of his life.

‘She's so beautiful,' whispered Hob.

‘Is she dead?' asked Peppe.

‘Don't talk nonsense,' Orpheus told him. ‘But she's not in good shape. We'll have to send for the surgeon on board the
Mary-Belle
.'

‘The
Mary-Belle
?' said Hob, taken aback. ‘But we're much too far from her. Look!'

Orpheus raised his head. In all the excitement he had completely forgotten to watch the ship's manoeuvres. The sailors had raised the anchor, hoisted the foresail and the fore topsail, and the
Errabunda
had left the creek, all while his mind had been somewhere else entirely.

The ship was now beating westwards, followed by the
Mary-Belle
, whose stocky outline could be seen some way off. Further away, it seemed to Orpheus that there was another small white
dot. Was it the sail of a third ship? And if it was, ought he to worry about it? He shook his head and looked again, more intently, but he saw nothing. Exhaustion was probably playing tricks on him.

‘I know medicine,' Lei said softly. ‘Medicine from kingdom of Balmun. Very magic, very good. Already healed Malva's leg.'

Orpheus looked back at the Princess. Her lips were moving, but she was barely conscious. Her wet hair, spread out on the deck, crowned her head more beautifully than any diadem.

‘She's thirsty, isn't she?' said Hob, anxiously.

Orpheus straightened up. He felt worn out. ‘Give her something to drink and take her to my cabin,' he said. ‘She needs to rest, but keep watch on her all the time.' He turned to Lei. ‘Yes, please use your medicine. I have to go and see the Captain.'

As Orpheus rose to his feet, he saw mist on the horizon. Bad weather was coming, and that mist boded no good.

When Malva came round from what she had thought was death, she saw two young preunuchs bending over her. They were looking at her with mingled alarm and devotion. Oddly, they spoke to her in Galnician.

‘You've broken three ribs,' the first told her.

‘And your left wrist is sprained,' added the second. ‘Does it hurt?'

Malva tried to raise her head, but this simple movement made her cry out. Pain suddenly shot through her body, and she almost fainted.

‘Take it easy,' murmured one of the preunuchs. ‘Lei said you weren't to move.'

‘Lei,' repeated Malva weakly. ‘Where is she?'

‘She'll be back,' the second preunuch reassured her. ‘She's gone to the galley to find ingredients for her medicine.'

‘We're to keep watch over you,' the other boy went on. ‘If you feel thirsty we're to give you a little myrtle brandy.' He
waved a flask full of transparent liquid in front of Malva's nose. ‘Want some?'

She nodded. Her throat was so dry, her mind so empty, her body so battered!

The preunuch helped her to swallow a mouthful of brandy. Malva coughed, choked, felt at first dizzy and then a burning sensation in her stomach. But in the end she felt rather better.

‘I didn't know that preunuchs spoke Galnician,' she said. ‘In fact I didn't think they spoke at all.'

The two boys smiled at her. She was suddenly struck by their likeness to each other.

‘You're twins?'

‘Yes,' said the first. ‘And we're not … not prunks or whatever it is. I'm Hob. This is my brother Peppe. We rescued you.'

Malva frowned. Memories were slowly surfacing again. She recalled the harem, the Baths of Purity, and then …

‘The Archont!' she cried, sitting up on the bunk.

‘Don't move!' exclaimed the twins.

Malva fell heavily back, racked by pain. Her eyes filled with tears, and it took her some time to get her breathing back to normal.

‘The Archont can't hurt you now,' Hob soothed her. ‘Peppe and I shut him up in the imperial city, and then the whole place burned down! He must have been roasted like a pig!'

‘It was fantastic!' Peppe confirmed. ‘You missed a terrific sight! There were barbarian horsemen, and flames going up to the stars, and people running all over the place. But Babilas is the strongest giant in the Known World, and he picked up your cage and carried you.'

All these explanations seemed extremely confused to Malva.
But when she heard the word ‘cage' she remembered the celestial-charioteer and how Temir-Gai had condemned her to be tortured. More tears ran down her cheeks, and she asked for another mouthful of brandy.

‘I want to see Lei,' she moaned. ‘Where is she?'