The Sacrifice (10 page)

Ed sometimes found it funny. You’d
have thought that a bunch of kids, young teenagers mostly, left to themselves with no
adults to tell them what to do, would have slept all day and partied all night. But it
wasn’t like that. They usually went to bed at sundown and woke at sunrise. Ed
really could have done with a lie-in this morning. But as Captain of the Tower Guard, he
had to be there.

He’d hardly slept. There’d been
trouble with one of the girls, Zosia. She’d got hold of some vodka from somewhere
and made herself horribly drunk. She’d smashed a window in the governor’s
house, screamed abuse at Jordan and then started throwing up everywhere before passing
out. Ed had
had to sit with her and make sure she didn’t choke on
her own vomit in her sleep.

Ed’s lieutenant, Kyle, was explaining
what had happened to Jordan.

‘She was Brendan’s
girlfriend.’

Jordan nodded, his eyes unreadable behind
his thick lenses. They were sitting directly above the room in which they’d held
the trial, where Jordan had ordered Brendan’s execution.

‘I thought that girl, what’s she
called? The one that went off with DogNut? I thought she was Brendan’s
girlfriend.’

‘Jessica?’ said Ed.

‘That’s her.’

‘She used to be his girlfriend,’
said Kyle. ‘Only they split up. That’s why she went with DogNut. To get
away. Then Brendan’s took up with Zosia.’

‘What are people saying about
it?’ asked Jordan.

‘That Bren was cut up about Jessica.
Went a bit crazy. Tried to impress Zosia by jacking that stuff. He was showing off to
his new wifey. Showing her he could look after her with all that loot.’

‘Do they think I was too harsh?’
said Jordan.

‘It’s mixed,’ said Ed.
‘Some think Bren had to be punished for stealing; others, his friends, Zosia
obviously, reckon the punishment was too cold. It frightens them, thinking about
what’s out there, wondering how they’d cope if it was them.’

‘That was kind of the idea.’

‘We don’t want everyone to be
scared,’ said Tomoki. Because Tomoki had been in charge at the Tower before Jordan
arrived, the kids who’d been there before looked up
to him,
although none of them would ever dare challenge Jordan as leader. Brendan had been one
of Tomoki’s kids and it was among them that the bad feeling about how he’d
been treated was strongest.

‘Fear doesn’t do anyone any
good,’ Tomoki went on. ‘Some of the kids here, if they’re not part of
one of the more active regiments, haven’t left these walls in months. That makes
them bored and scared; actually, not so much scared, more anxious, nervous,
worried … What’s the word I’m looking for?’

‘Neurotic?’ Ed suggested.

‘Yeah. That’s it. And those two
little boys arriving … ’

‘Baaaa,’ said Kyle and a couple
of the other kids laughed.

‘It’s kinda freaked everyone
out,’ said Tomoki. ‘Some people are talking about them bringing bad
luck.’

‘Oh, for Christ’s sake,’
Ed spluttered. ‘Grow up, Tomoki.’

Tomoki blushed. ‘It’s not
me,’ he said. ‘It’s not my lot. It’s your lot, Jordan, the ones
who were at the war museum. They think those boys are special in some way.’

‘They
are
special.’ Ed
was trying not to shout. ‘They’re special because they’re brave.
They’re bloody heroes. They’re special because they made it here all by
themselves. But they are
not
some kind of spooky magic figures out of World of
Warcraft or something. Just because of a stupid coincidence that they happen to look
vaguely like the kids Mad Matt painted on his poxy banner. So I don’t want to hear
any more rubbish about people being freaked out by them.’

‘It’s not just that,’ said
Tomoki.

‘What is it then?’

‘It’s everything. It’s
being bottled up here. Kids are starting to think that this is it.’ He indicated
the four walls with
his hands. ‘They’re starting to think
they’ll just hang on here until they get old and die. We need to think about doing
something more. Giving them something to look forward to.’

‘Like what?’ Jordan asked.

‘I don’t know. Breaking out of
here. Taking the City back. Maybe going on the attack instead of always being on the
defence.’

‘You saying we need to get into the
forbidden zone?’

‘Sooner or later we’re going to
have to,’ said Keren, who was Captain of the Pathfinders until DogNut got
back.

‘Keren’s right,’ said
Tomoki. ‘The zone sits there on two sides of the Tower, like a constant reminder,
and it makes the kids nervous.’

‘Neurotic,’ said Jordan.

‘Yeah. Neurotic. Why can’t I
remember that word? I mean, the thing is, Jordan, you’ve got troops. Why not use
them? Let’s take war parties in there and kick some heads in.’

‘There’s still loads of sickos
out there,’ Ed interrupted. ‘Why risk kids’ lives?’

‘I think it might help, what’s
the word … making everyone feel good?’ said Tomoki.

‘Morale.’

‘Yeah.’

‘How good would it be for morale if
kids got hurt, Tomoki? Got killed?’

‘We just got to make sure we get more
of them than they get of us,’ said Kyle and he chuckled.

Kyle never seemed to get bothered by
anything. He was probably a psychopath. But in these changed times
psychopaths were useful. At least he was Ed’s psychopath. He’d hate to be
on the opposite side to him in a fight.

Ed’s scar was itching, like it always
did when he was stressed. He couldn’t forget seeing that girl in the corridor,
Louise, the one he’d killed. Couldn’t forget the effect it had had on Tish.
There was no way they could go out there on to the streets and not be in danger. And
risk more moments like that. More kids dead, more kids wiped out by the loss of a
friend.

Ed sighed and pushed his hair back off his
face. ‘I just don’t think we should do anything until DogNut gets
back,’ he said. ‘He can give us a much better idea of what’s out
there.’

‘Sounds to me like you’re just
scared,’ said Keren. ‘Us Pathfinders go out on to the streets every
day.’

‘Not into the zone you
don’t,’ Ed snapped. ‘Like I did to rescue Tish.’

‘Scared you, did it?’ said Keren
with a smirk.

Kyle gave Keren a dirty look, full of
murder. ‘Ed ain’t scared,’ he said bluntly.

‘If you say so,’ Keren
muttered.

Ed hung his head in his hands. Kyle knew the
truth. Ed
was
scared, but not of sickos. He was scared of himself. Kyle might
have been a psycho, but deep down he knew that Ed was worse. When Ed got into a fight,
he became a different person, capable of terrible violence. That was why Ed didn’t
want to lead any war parties out into the no-go zone looking for sickos to slaughter. He
didn’t want to be plunged back into a killing frenzy.

‘I’ll think about it,’
said Jordan. ‘But I ain’t making any decisions until DogNut’s back.
I’m not moving without intelligence.’

‘He ain’t coming back,’ said
Kyle.

‘We’ll talk about it at the next
council,’ said Jordan. ‘I want to hear some proper ideas.’

He stood up. The meeting was over. He walked
across the wooden floor to the stairs. The others began filtering out after him,
chatting excitedly about the meeting. Ed had to admit that Tomoki was probably right.
The kids needed some focus. Something to do. A feeling of power, of taking control.

He didn’t want to talk about it any
more now, though. He waited for the others to leave then made his way down the stairs
and out into the sunlight. It was a cool, crisp morning. The Tower ravens were hopping
about in the big vegetable planters, rooting for grubs. The day was warming up. He was
thinking about breakfast. He stretched, loosening his stiff muscles, and heard someone
call his name.

He looked round to see Small Sam and The Kid
hurrying towards him across the cobbles. They were clumsy in their armour and with their
swords hanging at their sides. He smiled. They looked so eager and happy.

‘We want to talk to you,’ said
Sam.

‘I gathered that. What’s
up?’

‘When are we going to be able to go
and look for my sister?’

‘Whoa, hang on. Who said you
were?’

‘You promised.’

‘Yeah, but Sam, I told you we need to
wait for DogNut.’

‘If you won’t help us
we’ll go by ourselves.’

Ed couldn’t bear to imagine these two
young boys going back out on to the streets.

‘No, you won’t,’ he said
angrily, sounding like a bossy
parent. He tried to calm down.
‘Not yet,’ he said. ‘You need to wait and be patient. Things are
happening. We just had a meeting.’

‘What about?’

‘Well, one of the things we talked
about was you … ’

‘What about us?’

‘It doesn’t matter. We talked
about you and the forbidden zone. We’re making plans.’

‘Will they affect us?’

‘They’ll affect everyone. But
you know what? You two, you’re
special
, OK? And whatever happens,
I’m going to keep you near me. So don’t worry about anything.’

Ed could see he hadn’t convinced Sam.
He’d been trying to reassure him and he’d failed. Sam looked utterly gutted.
Like a kid who’d been told he couldn’t go on a longed-for outing. He was too
young to hide his feelings.

The Kid just scowled.

Ed squatted down so that he was on their
level and put his hands on Sam’s shoulders.

‘Please be patient, Sam,’ he
said. ‘I’m not bullshitting you. I
will
help you find your sister.
Just not yet, OK? In a week’s time we’ll talk about it again. Do you trust
me?’

Sam bit his lip and nodded once, staring at
the ground.

‘Come on, maggot,’ said The Kid.
‘There’s nothing for us here.’

He dragged his friend away.

Ed swore. It was clear Sam hadn’t
believed a word he’d said, but he’d just have to wait. Ed would show him. In
fact he’d start making plans that night. Present them to Jordan at the next war
council. Yeah. He’d surprise Sam and The Kid. Go and visit them in their little
house in the Casemates and sort it all out. And he’d talk to Tish. It would be an
opportunity to break the ice with her. He was being over-sensitive
about killing her friend. The sickos had ripped her guts out, for God’s sake. It
wasn’t his fault. He had to stop feeling guilty.

Life had to go on.

The Thames was low, exposing a stretch of
muddy beach on which a cargo ship was stranded, jammed halfway under the Tower Pier. The
pier was a relatively new construction that had been built for river cruisers and
passenger ferries to dock. The Tower kids now used it themselves. They were starting to
explore the river in rowing boats, learning to read its tides and navigate its strong
currents. The wrecked boat, which must have slipped its moorings some way upriver, would
damage the pier if left where it was. Plus, it was valuable salvage.

It was pretty big and its ancient oak
timbers were splintered down one side. A work party of older kids was busy on the beach
dismantling it with axes, saws and crowbars. As they freed a section of planking, other
kids hauled it across the beach to the foot of the embankment where ropes were tied to
the pieces and they were hauled up.

Tomoki was standing behind some railings
watching the activity below. He turned to see three kids at his side. Tish and the two
little boys. He had to admit the boys looked pretty normal to him – apart from the fact
that they were both laden down with armour and weapons, and the dark-haired one appeared
to be wearing a dress, like they were on their way to a fancy-dress party.

‘You won’t need all that lot
today,’ said Tomoki, trying not to laugh.

The Kid patted his sword.

‘We never go anywhere without our
hardware, squire,’ he said. ‘Forearmed is forewarned.’

‘I tried sleeping with my sword one
night,’ said Sam, adjusting his scabbard. ‘Kept waking me up, though.
Sticking into me. I leave it by the bed now.’

‘Fair enough,’ said Tomoki.
‘But you might find it’s going to slow you down a bit.’

‘We’ll be all right,’ said
Sam. ‘So what do you want us to do?’

‘It’ll be your job to help load
the salvaged wood on to those trolleys over there and wheel them to the sorting area by
the ticket offices.’

A shout went up from the beach and they
craned over the railings in time to see two big boys carry a steel barrel out of the
wreckage.

There was evidently more plunder on the boat
than just the wood.

It was wood that the three kids were mostly
going to be shifting, though. They got to work, grabbing the salvage as it was hauled up
and piling it on to their trolley. Once they had a full load, Sam and The Kid took hold
of the bar at the back and Tish gripped the arm at the front and they began to wheel it
up to the sorting area.

‘I’m really not sure about
this,’ said Sam.

‘We might never get another
opportunity this good,’ said Tish, straining to keep the heavy trolley moving.

‘It all feels kind of sudden,’
said Sam.

‘We’ve got to grab the chance
while we can.’

‘Yeah, but I’m still not
sure.’

They had sat up half the night planning how to
escape from the Tower when they were ready. And this morning, when they’d been
told that they’d be working outside the walls, Tish had got very excited. Had
tried to convince them that it was the perfect opportunity to get away unnoticed. At
first Sam had been caught up in her enthusiasm, but now he was having second
thoughts.

‘What exactly did Ed say to you
again?’ Tish asked as the trolley bumped over the uneven, cobbled ground.

‘That we’re special,’ said
Sam, ‘The Kid and me, and that he wanted to keep us near him.’

‘You see. It’s what I
said.’

‘But I don’t really know what he
meant,’ said Sam. ‘I’m muddled. It doesn’t feel right, us three
running off into the forbidden zone. It’s too dangerous. It’s
crazy.’