The vixen hastily armed herself from a wall cupboard, buckling on a sword and grabbing a bow and arrows. “Wheres that special squad I told you to have standing by? Get them up on their paws! Ill find out what sort of beast is at the bottom of all this!
Meldrum leaped to one side as a pikehead came smashing through the floorboards. Gael had taken to sitting on the upper beams where the rooftiles had been removed and staring down at the steadily deteriorating floor, and the arrowheads, spearblades, pikeshafts, and swords that were reducing it to splinters. Dandin tapped the Squirrelkings paw lightly.
“Move over, Sire. Im coming up there with you, its safer! Mariel followed suit shortly, then between them they hauled Meldrum up to the relative safety of the sloping roof.
Meldrum pulled a tile loose and aimed it between a rift in the floorboards. “Take that, yblighters! He was rewarded by the sound of an agonized rat squeal.
Mariel watched gathering cloud masses being swept in from westward, and she groaned, “Oh no, rain. Thats all we need! Still, I suppose itll provide us with a drink. No sign of Glokkpod yet?
Dandin scoured the sky to the north. “No. I wish hed hurry up. Dyou suppose hes found the otters yet? He could be completely lost.
“Wouldnt surprise me, Meldrum the Magnificent snorted. “Ill wager the rogues flown off someplace to fill his stomach. Never met any Butcher Birds before, but if thatn is a specimen, then theyre a pretty shabby lot, if yask me.
Nagru stood in the doorway of the tower room, out of the range of rooftiles. The Foxwolf was confident that he would recapture his prisoners. “Wetchops, Ragfen, keep *em stabbing upward. That ceiling wont last much longer, then we can bring them down with arrows. Dont kill them; just wound them a mite. I want our friends alive for a bit of fun.
Bluebane came scurrying up the stairs and tugged at Urgans wolfhide. The Foxwolf smiled. “Ah, my little eyes and ears, what is your lovely Queen up to now that I should know about?
They held a short, whispered conversation together. Nagru patted his informants back, saying, “Well done, Bluebane. Now go and find Graywort. Tell him I want to see him up here, right away.
Bluebane stood on the lower stair as if waiting for something. Nagru looked at him curiously. “What are you waiting for, my little spy?
Bluebane fidgeted with his tattered tunic. “Sire, Queen Silvamord rewarded me with a beaker of elderberry wine, see.
The Foxwolf smiled understandingly. “Ah, I Youd like a reward from me too, is that it?
The spy nodded eagerly. Nagru spoke softly, dangerously.
“Life is the highest reward of all, my friend. Double dealers and traitors often receive death as their payment. But I will not slay you for your treachery to me and my QueenI give you your life as a reward. You are spared. Now go and do my bidding. Without another word, Bluebane sped gratefully away.
18
It was late afternoon. Rain began falling in large spots, slowly at first, then it gathered force into a major downpour. On a wooded slope of Castle Florets valley a score of otters threaded their way through the undergrowth. The quick eyes of Greenbeck picked up a movement close by; a sharp wave of his paw sent Iris and the rest of the troop into a crouch, wary and silent. They held their breath, watching keenly as Silvamord and her horderats tramped by, hardly a pawlength from them.
When they had passed, Troutlad stood up hefting a javelin.
Iris pulled him down, saying, “Not yet. We dont want them to know were here, and besides, we dont know if theres more of em patrolling. Wheres the Butcher Bird?
Glokkpod poked his head out of a wet swathe of feathers. “Hirr I am. Glokkpod not like thiz ryne!
Iris blew rainwater from her muzzle enjoyably. “Noth-ing wrong with a bit of clean rain! Now, show me the tower our friends are trapped in.
Not being airborne, it took the shrike a little while to find the exact location. The otter troop hid among the trees as Glokkpod pointed his beak upward at the highest point of Floret, crying, “Thirr, up thirr they are.
Iris looked up. From where she was, the tower was a mere pinpoint, almost invisible in the rain. “Butcher Bird, fly up there and tell our friends weve arrived, she said. “Ask them what they want us to do. It looks impossible to help anybeast trapped that high up.
The four escaped prisoners were sitting out on the roof-beams, openmouthed as they caught raindrops to drink. Glokkpod landed alongside them; settling himself on a beam, he stared down at the weapons chopping through the splintered floor of the attic. “Ratz gonna gitcha soon if you notta scape hirr.
Mariel wiped a paw across her mouth. “Youre here at last! Have you brought help?
The shrike dipped his beak toward the valley floor. “Down thirr, otters, Irriz say how they gonna help, what-cha want them to do?
“Hmph! Shouldve thought that was jolly obvious, said Me 1 drum, twitching his ears in annoyance. “A whacking great long ropell do the trick, wot!
“Kchakcha kcha! No rope that big, longirrs!
The hare shot the Butcher Bird a murderous glance. “Ive warned you once about calling me longears, you great puffed-up windbag! But he was speaking to empty space; the shrike had flown down to the otters.
Greenbeck shook his head. “A long rope, mate? Theres never been a rope that long in the history of seasons. What dyou think, Iris?
The female otter leader moved this way and that, viewing the castle from different angles. “Youre right. Theres no such thing as a rope that long, but I think they could do it with a shorter rope. Greenbeck, what dyou think of this as an idea ...
All four prisoners were now ripping tiles from the roof and hurling them through the sizeable hole that horde-beast weapons had created in the attic floor. Their attack was so ferocious it had driven the rats from the tower room out onto the spiral staircase. Even Gael Squirrelking was throwing tiles with every ounce of strength he could muster. Dandin took his time, waiting until he could see a venturesome rat poke its head into view before he hurled a tile.
“Well only keep them at bay for as long as these tiles last, then Nagru will send his archers in to pick us off, be said.
Mariel struggled to loosen a tile from a crossbeam. “Thats true, make each shot count. Glokkpod, what news?
The Butcher Bird landed almost sideways, gripping the small flagpole at the apex of the tower.
“Lissin tthiz silly ideaits yirr only hope. He explained Iriss scheme to them. Meldrum looked positively crestfallen at the wild notion.
“Let me get this straight, you chaps. The otters can us a rope up thats not very long. Right, then we ible it over a beam and one of us swarms down it andSwings to and fro until he can reach the battlements, at end of the west wall. He lands on the battlements, n one by one the rest of us shimmy down the blinkin rope an swing like bloomin pendulums until were all on the bally battlements.
Dandin continued, “Then we loose the rope, hitch it round the battlement and swarm down into the moat, out of the moat and climb down the rest of the plateau. Sounds dangerous, but Ill risk it! What about you, Meld-rum?
“Outbloominrageous! Fiddlesticks, totally impossible!
Glokkpod sneered at the hare. “You frightinned, long-irrs?
The old hare flung a tile, which took another rat out of commission. “Frightened? Id be an idiot not t be, you befeathered buffoon, but its the only way, so Meldrum Fallowthora will do it, frightened or not, sir!
Sourgall trotted down the stairs on Nagrus orders to where Graywort was waiting nervously.
“Foxwolf says hell see yer now.
Graywort followed Sourgall, probing nervously. “Did he say what he wants me for, mate?