Page 50 of Witchcraft and Fury (Chronicles of the Divided Isle #1)
TIDINGS FROM ARKUNDU
Goblins have a peculiar and somewhat inflexible understanding of property law.
The next morning, Solar rose at her usual early hour and headed down to breakfast. She and her classmates, used to waking at sunrise for their training, had not made a habit of spending their mornings at the palace in their luxurious beds.
For Solar in particular, the idea of not making use of daylight hours for work, training or studying was completely foreign.
As she drew closer to their private dining room a tortoiseshell cat overtook her, meowing loudly as it ran.
She took this as a sign that Wyman at least was already at table; he’d made a friend of the palace rat catcher, earning its affections by feeding it scraps from his meals.
Sure enough, moments later she heard the sounds of Wyman, Oswald and Bear talking in loud voices.
No doubt Pingot was too busy devouring pastries to join in.
And Cal was probably sitting in silence, thinking of last night, of what they’d done and what could have —
‘Solar!’ said Cal, striding out of the dining room and approaching her. He pressed a wedge of hard cheese and some grapes into her hands. ‘Good, you’re wearing clothes suitable for riding. Let’s go.’
‘ Riding? ’ asked Solar, collecting her thoughts as Cal smoothly turned her around with a gentle touch of the hand and started leading her away from the dining room.
She felt a tingle run all the way up her back at Cal’s touch.
‘You’re a bit overconfident, aren’t you?
’ she said playfully in a low voice. ‘Think your chance for riding was last night, and you missed it.’
‘I’m talking about horse riding, you idiot,’ said Cal, chuckling.
They reached the palace entrance and made their way outside.
‘Where are we going?’ said Solar as she realised that they were heading not for the stables but rather the gates of the palace fortifications.
‘Just trust me. You won’t want to miss this. It’s a bit of a walk but it’ll be worth it,’ said Cal, a mysterious smile on his lips.
They exited the palace complex in the dawn’s half-light and descended into the maze of streets below. The scent of bread wafted on the air as bakers prepared for their first customers. Stall owners led laden mules sleepily towards market squares.
Eventually they left the city streets to follow a wide dirt track.
It curled round a hill devoid of buildings apart from a temple with candles glowing on its balconies.
Solar was about to ask again where they were going when a small plain came into view between the hills.
As she caught sight of it the rim of the morning sun rose over the horizon and flooded the expanse with hazy light.
A wooden fence formed a large square that occupied most of the plain.
A man and a white horse stood by a gate in the fence, casting long shadows.
‘Happy birthday Solar,’ said Cal, allowing himself to finally smile fully. His eyes shone.
‘It’s my birthday?’ asked Solar. ‘I didn’t even know myself! I’d lost track of the days … how did you know?’
‘Loveday had to provide all our personal details to the palace officials. I happened to be within earshot at the time. That’s Sir Arlyss Martel, captain of the king’s cavalry guard, down there with Mae.
I booked a private riding lesson for you.
The name Roundtower carries a lot of weight these days, even if it’s widely known I’m not exactly close to my father, and I decided to pull a few strings for you.
It’s not every day that you turn eighteen. ’
‘Thank you, thank you so much. You’re so kind,’ she said, looking up at him and beaming. She meant it, she realised. Cal was kind, compassionate and thoughtful, when he wanted to be, and he was just beginning to let her see it.
They continued towards where the captain and Mae stood, Solar breaking into a run, unable to control her excitement.
The captain was an elderly knight, with grey whiskers and bright blue eyes that sparkled whenever he smiled.
He bowed, kissed Solar’s hand and called her ‘my lady’ when Cal introduced her.
Solar spent a wonderful two hours jumping and turning, trotting and galloping under the expert instruction of Sir Arlyss.
Cal cheered whenever she executed a particularly tricky manoeuvre.
Halfway through the other trainees joined Cal at the fence with pastries, cheeses, ham and chicken legs taken from the royal kitchens for a picnic breakfast, either because the first breakfast they’d been provided with earlier had not been enough or, as Solar expected, out of sheer gluttony.
When the lesson was over Sir Arlyss offered to take Mae back to the royal stables; he would be visiting The Rock that afternoon, he said.
The students wandered back to the city together, Solar flushed with the exhilaration of the demanding drills the cavalry captain had set her.
Bear handed her the second to last chicken leg as they walked, and she accepted it hungrily.
Cal reached for the other, but Bear tore a great chunk out of it with his teeth before the older boy could lay a hand on it.
Solar thought the joke rather out of character for Bear, but the other trainees found it uproariously funny.
They reached the city and the main road that eventually led up to the palace, still laughing and joking, when behind them they heard a shout.
‘It’s Loveday’s crew!’
‘That’s them – our slaves!’
The students whirled around to see where the shouts had come from. At least twenty goblins stood before them, armed to the teeth with poleaxes, wicked-looking knives and flails. Pot Belly and Double Chin, the two guards from the gambling den in Wolfport, were in front.
The two groups stared at each other for a few moments that seemed to last an eternity. Finally Pot Belly shouted, ‘Well, what are you waiting for? Grab them!’
The goblins surged forwards with ferocious cries.
‘Run!’ shouted Solar. None of them wore any weapons. It would be folly to stay and fight.
The students scattered. Wyman was the swiftest, darting down an alleyway, his fear lending him speed. Bear and Oswald tore into an inn and made for the back door. Pingot took one step and fell on his face. Solar was about to help him up, but Wyman reappeared from nowhere and dragged him away.
Solar and Cal ran down a side street. Behind them they heard the clamour of what must have been six or seven goblins, their lightweight armour and weapons clanging.
They knocked over an apple cart as they careered round a corner, and its owner’s curses rang in their ears as the two of them continued their flight.
They heard a strangled, high-pitched cry from above and looked up to see a goblin running along the rooftops.
The goblin leapt from a tile to land in Solar and Cal’s path, brandishing a knife.
Cal, barely breaking his stride, managed to plant a kick on the creature’s shins that brought it to its knees.
Behind them they heard cries of outrage from the other goblins in pursuit.
They rounded another corner and came to a skidding halt.
‘Where do we go now?’ hissed Solar.
They were in a dark alleyway. Houses towered high above them, blocking out the sun. At the end of the alleyway stood a red brick wall, too high to climb. It was a dead end.
Solar and Cal turned to face their pursuers.
Seven goblins came round the corner, breathing hard and dripping with sweat. Pot Belly was in the lead and, seeing that the students were cornered, held up a hand for his comrades to halt.
‘So, at last we can claim what is rightfully ours,’ he said with an evil leer.
‘We owe you nothing!’ shouted Cal defiantly. ‘Lord Gaderian and Sir Dirk lost to you in the gambling den, not us!’
‘Aye, they lost to us, my fiery young friend,’ saidDouble Chin, who stood beside Pot Belly. ‘They gambled away everything they had, then tried to win it all back by staking the freedom of their students. Unfortunately for you, they lost that round too.’
Solar felt dazed. Loveday had gambled away their freedom?
She looked at Cal and could see by his pale face that he was equally stunned by the betrayal.
Pot Belly clicked his tongue and the goblins spread out, blocking them in. Double Chin uncoiled a length of chain from around his waist and grinned malevolently. ‘It’s the slavers’ ship for you.’ He said the words slowly and quietly, almost in a whisper, savouring his moment of victory.
‘I’ve got your back,’ muttered Solar, raising her fists and positioning her feet in a fighter’s stance.
The goblins advanced. One of them got too close. Cal threw him a lightning-fast punch that sent him flying head over heels. His companions roared in response and raised their weapons. Everywhere Solar looked bristled with steel.
Another goblin darted forwards, this one with small red eyes and a bulbous nose, trying to take Solar’s feet out from under her with a low sweep of his axe. Solar jumped over it and dealt him a flying kick that knocked him to the ground, his axe falling from limp fingers.
We can do this , thought Solar. We can win .
‘Get back, you fools, get back,’ snarled Pot Belly. The goblins retreated a few paces, helping their fallen comrades to their feet. ‘There’s no point attacking them one by one. On the count of three, we rush them. One …’
The goblins cackled excitedly, brandishing their weapons again.
‘… two …’ Pot Belly licked his lips in anticipation.
‘Get behind me. I’ll charge and you run for it,’ said Cal.
Pot Belly raised his knife as he gave the final word: ‘… thr— ’
A blur of colour came rushing – no, flying – round the corner and into the alleyway behind the goblins. It bundled itself into a ball and collided into the back of Pot Belly, sending him sprawling, before landing in front of Solar and unfurling itself.
It was Solar’s carpet!