Dominic edged up to the bars. “I hear it, some sort of chant. Sounds like a lot of people coming this way!”

  Ben joined his friends at the grille as the chant grew louder. The two brothers Rawth and Ligran passed the junction at the corridor’s end. By squinching his face sideways against the bars, Ben could just see them from the corner of his eye. They were followed by a host of Razan men and women. Gizal led the eerie chant, between beats from four gongs.

  “Maguda … Maguda!

  The underworld rings to thy name.

  Maguda … Maguda!

  Widespread thy fear and fame.

  Razan, Razan, Razaaaaaan!”

  This was repeated over and over in the same monotone as the entire clan marched by, in lines three abreast. At the rear of the procession, twelve sturdy robbers bore a long trestle with the body of Maguda set on her throne on top of it.

  Karay watched in silent dread as the macabre cavalcade passed. “They must be taking Maguda down to her tomb. Best place for the evil old hag, that’s what I say!”

  A message from Ned came to Ben. “Ahoy, mate, we’re in a great big cavern, horrible place, filled with coloured smoke and lots of huge strange statues. But there isn’t a living soul to be seen anywhere!”

  Ben interrupted the dog’s thoughts. “Good! You’ve come at just the right time. The Razan are attending a funeral ceremony on the floor below this one. If you can get to us, we can break free while the Razan are attending the ceremony in the lower caves. Hurry up, pal!”

  The bear, who had been whining and moaning continually, now began howling and rattling its neck chains.

  Ned’s thought winged its way to Ben. “Is someone blowing a horn down there? What’s all that racket I can hear?”

  Ben answered with frantic speed. “It’s the bear, he’s started kicking up a right old row. His cell is only three doors from ours. If you can find him, we’re only yards away, mate!”

  Ben clearly discerned the determination in his dog’s reply. “Hang on, pal… We’re coming!”

  Ned tugged at Arnela’s sleeve. Without a word she followed him at a rim—around the empty throne dais, through the noxious clouds of multi-coloured smoke and into a downward-sloping tunnel. She paused a moment, frowning. “Are those villains making a human sacrifice? What’re all those dreadful noises, Ned?”

  The black Labrador tugged the goatherd’s sleeve so hard that it ripped. She nodded furiously. “Alright, alright! Lead on, boy, I’m following you!”

  Together they pelted along the narrow, downsloping tunnel, taking a sharp left turn into the prison corridor. Ben’s voice rang out joyfully, as he heard their footsteps. “Ned, Ned. I knew you’d find us!”

  Arnela arrived at the cell’s entrance, panting alongside the dog. “Hah, there ye are!”

  Karay sobbed. “Oh, you made it, you’re here at last!”

  Ever the practical soul, Arnela silenced them. “Time for that later! Let’s get you out of there!”

  Dominic shook the bars frantically. “They took everything from us except our clothes. We have nothing to work on the padlock with. And we vowed to free the bear if we got out. Just listen to the poor beast howling!”

  Arnela pushed him away from the bars. “Step back, young ‘uns, leave this to me!”

  Taking a musket from her shoulder, she bashed at the old padlock with great force—once, twice! The tumblers of the ancient mechanism fractured under the impact, and the big padlock fell open.

  The bear had fallen silent; still chained to the wall, it was at the bars of its cell. Karay hurried to it. Before anyone could shout out to warn her, she put her hand between the bars and stroked its huge face. “Poor old fellow, we’ll get you out.” The big beast laid its head sorrowfully against the girl’s hand.

  Arnela gasped in amazement. “Well, will ye look at that, a tame bear. Stay clear of this lock, girl—and you, too, bear!” Again she raised the musket and crashed it down on the side of the antiquated padlock. Once, twice… bang!—accidentally the rifle discharged, although the lock broke open.

  Dominic ran to the end of the corridor, calling back, “Hurry up! That shot will’ve given the game away—they’ll be after us in a moment!”

  Ben spotted the wooden door on the opposite wall. It was the armoury cave where Maguda had interviewed him. ‘Arnela, look, this cave is full of gunpowder kegs!”

  The big goatherd shook her head. “Don’t even think about exploding gunpowder around here, Ben. We’d bring the mountain down upon us all. Here, take my ice pick and loosen those staples holding the bear’s chains to the wall. I’ve got an idea.”

  The wooden armoury door was held to the rock by thick leather hinges. These were attached to timber wedges, which formed the doorposts. Arnela whipped out a small hook-bladed knife. It was so sharp that it sheared through the leather as if it were butter. She caught the door as it collapsed outward. Carrying it into the passage, she walked downward until she found a place where the rough-hewn tunnel narrowed. That was where Arnela wedged the door. She listened for a moment before hastening back to her friends.

  “You were right, Dominic. I can hear them coming. We’d best move fast. Have you loosed those staples, Ben?”

  The boy had already extracted one. He shoved the pointed end of the ice pick through the eye of the other one and levered. It popped out and the bear stood free. Karay took the big beast’s paw and led it outside. It followed meekly.

  Ben could not resist smiling at the sight. “Well, you’ve certainly found a friend there, Karay. Let’s get out of this place, pals!”

  They followed the passage upward, emerging into the main cavern. Arnela handed them each a pistol, which she had taken from the armoury. “These may come in handy. Careful now, they’re primed and loaded. I can hear them hammering at that door, listen!”

  Sounds of the Razan battering against the door that was wedged across the passage below echoed out clearly.

  Crossing the cavern, the friends made their way up to the exit tunnel. Ned ran ahead. He was waiting at the entrance as Ben reached it. The dog shot him a thought. “Look, another door. I hadn’t noticed that. Tell Arnela to shut it after us and wedge it tight—that might buy us a bit of time.”

  Ben immediately passed on the dog’s idea to the big goatherd. She looked at the door thoughtfully. It was obviously a stronghold door open inward, standing flat against the wall. Its timbers had been painted and hung with grey cloth, disguised skilfully to resemble the surrounding rock. An enemy would have difficulty finding the cave entrance with the door closed.

  Ned’s thoughts became urgent. “Is she going to stand there all day thinking about it, Ben? I can hear the Razan, they’ve freed the tunnel of the armoury door. There’s a lot of ‘em, and they’re coming fast. We’d better do something quickly, mate!”

  Arnela produced her knife again. “Right, here’s what we do!” She slashed through the leather hinges—there were four of them. The leather was extra thick and well greased but was no match for the big woman’s keen blade. Leaping forward, she held the large door, taking the weight of it on her back. Arnela gasped. “Help me get this outside!” The two boys gripped either side of the thick timbers. Ben was surprised when the bear joined Arnela to share the weight.

  Now the pursuing Razan could be heard coming into the main cavern. Ligran Razan was shouting, “Get to the entrance! Don’t let anyone leave this place alive!”

  With a loud whump! the door fell flat on the ground. Arnela looked at the slope down the mountainside. It was covered with ice and snow, dotted with shale and scrub grass. “Well, friends, this’ll either kill us all or get us away free. Jump aboard, a sleigh ride is our only hope!”

  Ned peered back into the Razan stronghold—the robbers were dashing through the main cavern like a huge pack of wolves.

  An arrow zipped by him. Ben seized his friend’s collar. “Onto the door, Ned, quick!”

  Karay was already seated on the grey-cloth-covered door and was hugging the bear, which crouched beside her. Arnela, Ben and Dominic, bent double, pushed the heavy door. It inched forward as they bent their backs, grunting with exertion. Slowly, the entire door began moving on its own as it came onto the slope. Arnela thrust Ben and Dominic on, and with a bound she, too, landed on the door.

  Then they were off—just as Ligran emerged from the cave with a crowd of henchmen. One of the men unslung a musket. Ligran grabbed it from him savagely. “Idiot, d’you want to kill us all? Use yours bows, fire arrows!”

  The big door was still moving rather sluggishly when Dominic felt an arrow whip by, close to his cheek. “Archers! Get down!” The four fell flat, and the bear lay down behind Karay, protecting her. It roared with rage as an arrow clipped it through the thick fur of its shoulder. Arrows rained downward, thudding into the wooden door.

  Just as Arnela felt the sledging door begin to pick up speed, a shaft pinned her cloak to the timbers. She sat up and unslung her rifle gritting her teeth together. “Right, let’s finish this. Out with those pistols. Fire when I give the order, and let’s hope we can outrun what follows!”

  Scrabbling around to face the Razan contingent uphill, Ben, Karay and Dominic drew their pistols.

  Arnela shouted, “No need to aim. Just fire. Now!”

  Four shots sounded out simultaneously. The sound was deafening—it sent echoes rebounding for miles in the high, clear mountain atmosphere. It was like the end of the world! The gunfire was preceded by an immense rumble which shook the very slopes. There was a noise like a great kraaaaawwwkkk! An entire section of the mountain peak fell away. Ligran Razan and the henchmen standing outside the cave vanished in a heavy white curtain, as did the entire mouth of the Razan stronghold, everyone inside it entombed in countless thousands of tons of ice, rock and snow.

  Whipping wind and snow particles stung Ben’s face as he lay flat, clinging to his faithful dog. The huge sledge was skimming down the mountainside faster than any arrow from a bow. Ben’s and Ned’s thoughts were blended in one almighty yell that would not issue from their mouths. “Yeeeeeeeooooooowwwwww!”

  Dominic’s fingernails felt as if they were cracking as he clung to the door like a leech. The bear had both front paws flat across Karay, its claws clamped into the wood as it held itself and the girl down. Ben had Ned’s collar between his teeth, and the dog lay with him, both trapped beneath Arnela’s back. They hit a bank, plowing through it like lightning; then, covered in snow, the massive toboggan crested a small ice-clad outcrop and left the ground, sailing out into midair like a bird. The only sound was the wind. All of them, with their eyes tightly shut, knew they were no longer on solid ground. Whirling snowflakes and shrieking wind engulfed them for what seemed an age.

  Then came a sickening bump that ripped the breath from their lungs. A bang! They were still rushing onward, though now touching the earth. A crash! Always moving down, hurtling forward. A ripping sound! A thud! A loud swoosh! A grating noise, followed by a final earsplitting… bang! Then there was blackness and enveloping silence.

  * * *

  27

  IT WAS NIGHT. BEN knew this as his eyes opened—he was facing a star-strewn sky and a half-moon of pure beaten silver. But his legs would not move. Panic overcame him. He sat up rigid and knocked the back of his head on a tree. Ben saw more stars then. When they dispersed, he sat up again, gingerly, and discovered that a heap of frozen snow had buried his legs from toes to thighs. Slowly, laboriously, he forced his numbed hands to dig himself free. His entire body was one great ache, and his hair was frozen stiff. Instantly another panicked thought flashed through his mind. Ned, where was Ned?

  A reply came back promptly to Ben. “I think I’ve joined the angels, mate. Try not to grieve too much.”

  Ben pulled his legs free. “Ned, where are you?” “Right above your head, you great frosted lump. Look up!” There was the faithful hound, draped over a fir branch three feet above his master’s head. He wagged his tail carefully. “I’m coming down, get ready to catch me. One, two …”

  The black Labrador landed in Ben’s outstretched arms, knocking them both flat in the snow. They lay for a moment, exhausted.

  “Maaaaah!” A bleat rang out, followed by Arnela’s voice. “Ajax the Less, stop nibbling my sleeves, they’re ragged enough as it is. Be still!”

  Ben and Ned struggled upright as the big goatherd woman came scrunching through the deep-packed snow with a young goat tucked under one arm. She waved to Ben and Ned. “Good evening! Have ye seen the other two and that old bear?”

  Ben shook his head. “Not so far. We haven’t even checked to see if we’re in one piece yet, have we, Ned?”

  The dog shook his head no. Arnela chuckled. “You’ve got the cleverest dog in the world there, Ben, he’s worth all my goats put together. Well, here we are, still alive, no thanks to my foolishness. Just look at this mountain—it’ll never be the same again. It’s a good job the avalanche fell mainly to the left and we shot off to the right. I must’ve been mad, flying you all down the mountain and telling you to fire all the pistols like that. ‘Twas sheer insanity!”

  Ben ran to his big friend and hugged her. “You saved our lives, Arnela. Trouble like we were in calls for desperate measures. I dread to think what those Razan might’ve done to us if we’d been recaptured.”

  Arnela ruffled Ben’s hair, loosening the ice from it. The little goat, Ajax the Less, maaaaahed piteously as the goatherd spoke to him like a spoiled child. “Huh, don’t think I’m going to carry you around, stroking ye all night. Go on, off home, young rip, tell your mamma I won’t be long.”

  She turned to Ben and Ned. “You two go with him, the cave’s just below this ridge. I had to dig my way into it. The stream and pool have gone, vanished somewhere, but my goats all survived by staying inside. Nothing’s the same since we brought the mountain peak down. I’ll search for the others, don’t worry. Well, go on, you pair! Do something useful, light a fire, put some water on to boil, search about and find something to cook—that’s if those goats haven’t eaten everything. Ooh, that Pantyro, I’m going to have a word or two with him when I get time!”

  Ben stood shivering in the cold, reluctant to desert Arnela. “Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

  She lifted him bodily until they were face-to-face. “Why shouldn’t I be? Nobody knows this mountain the way I do. You’d only be in the way. I’ll find them, go on, off with you!”

  Without the pool and the pretty little waterfall, the cave was just a black hole in the snow. Ned ambled in, shouldering goats aside as he passed Ben a thought. “Arnela’s already lit the lanterns, thank goodness. Whew, this place smells a bit goaty, though. What a mess!”

  Ben took dry pine branches, moss and charcoal, stacking them in the rift that served as a fireplace. He listened to his dog complaining.

  “Ahoy there, mate, that’s my tail, not a midnight snack! Hmph! You goats, you’ve been living here like, like… animals!”

  Ben lit the fire from a lantern, then winked at Ned. “At least animals are more civilised than the Razan. Chase some of the bigger goats out, Ned. It’ll make a bit more room in here, and the fresh air will do them good!”

  Behind the slate slabs that served as a larder, Ben found goat cheese, some eggs and a few hard barley cakes. He boiled six eggs in the water cauldron. Spreading the cheese on the barley cakes, he sat toasting them. Ned sat by his side, enjoying the warmth from the fire. After all they had been through, Ben’s mind was like his body, numbed and exhausted. They ate some of the food, then sat together, eyelids drooping, heads nodding, not attempting to resist the temptation of sleep.

  Then a voice roused them instantly. “Here, what’s all this? No supper for me?”

  Dominic staggered in and fell against Ned. He slumped there. “Never thought I’d see a nice warm fire again ‘til I spotted this cave. I saw the light glimmering and made straight for it.”

  Ben rubbed his eyes and blinked. “Welcome home, Dom, where did you get to? Arnela’s out looking for you. Have you seen Karay or our bear in your travels?”

  Ice water trickled out of Dominic’s hair and ran down his cheeks. “No, Ben, I’m afraid not. First thing I knew when I came around was that I was upside down in a snowdrift. Water dripping up my nose woke me—it took me ages to get free. After that I just blundered about among some tiny trees. Then when I took stock of where I was, I realised I was somewhere in the foothills—the trees were so small because snow and ice from the avalanche had filled the valley. I was actually walking amongst treetops, not tiny trees! Can you believe it? Good job you lit the fire, or I might’ve wandered about until I collapsed and froze to death!”

  Ben watched Dominic tearing ravenously into bread and toasted cheese. “Thank heaven you’re alive, Dom!”

  The facemaker nodded upward. “More than you can say for those Razan villains. Nobody up there could’ve survived the avalanche. Though if any did, they’d have been far worse off. Imagine being entombed alive in those caves, a living death!”

  Ben stared into the glowing charcoal fire. “Don’t forget that the tunnels ran downward, the debris would have showered into there and filled the caves in a flash. They’d have been slain in the wink of an eye. The Razan are gone forever, I’d bet my life on that.”

  Dominic covered his eyes with his arm as he murmured, “And Adamo, too, if he was in there.”

  Ben was forced to agree with his friend. “Aye, our mission failed, even though we rid the comte of the curse of Razan. Though I remember Maguda telling me that Adamo was already dead. She said it in a strange way—I can’t recall her exact words. Perhaps tomorrow, when I’m not so tired, it’ll come back to me.”

  Both boys and the dog had fallen asleep in front of the fire. Ben’s mind was free of everything. It was like being unconscious, a merciful blackness. Most of the goats curled up around them, wanting to be close to the warmth. It was quiet and peaceful inside the cave. Outside, the night was still, amidst the devastation wrought by the avalanche.

 

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