The Ruby Quest (2 page)

‘Then I'll go back to the Trader and get this secret out of him,' the witch shrieked. She elbowed her way past the man, who followed her silently.

The stable door banged shut and Tia went back to Yufa, feeling ashamed that she was related to this terrible woman. Hyldi was just as cruel as the rest of the High Witches. She hated them all.

Yufa was trembling. ‘What was the witch shouting about?' she asked Tia.

‘She's going to Shandor, to talk about you.'

The horse kicked out, making the stall shake. ‘Follow her! Make sure she doesn't hurt Shandor.'

But I'm only a girl!
Tia thought.
She's a powerful witch
. Still, if she did follow Hyldi, she might discover something useful about the ruby. ‘All right,'
she agreed and hurried back into the courtyard. It was busier now. Tia pulled her cap down firmly, and followed the witch into the castle.

Askarlend was the strangest of the five castles Tia had seen. It was just as muddled inside as out. Hyldi stormed past a huge dining hall, ornate chambers and lush dressing rooms. As she went by, people bowed, turning their eyes away from the glowering witch. Tia followed at a careful distance.

Hyldi entered a long, downward-sloping tunnel lit by pots of the magic powder. She passed an armoury and rooms where soldiers were practising fighting skills. That tunnel led into another, tucked away behind a bulge of rock. It wound round and round, dipping deeper as it went. The ground suddenly lurched under Tia's feet – the volcanoes were grumbling deep under the earth.

A strange, pulsing red glow lit up the darkness ahead. Tia wondered if it came from molten lava but as she followed Hyldi round a final bend and entered a vast cavern, she saw that it was caused by something quite different. She gasped in astonishment.

Dozens of huge, luminous red bubbles floated around the cavern, bumping into the walls, drifting high into the roof and down again.

Inside each bubble was a person.

Tia crouched behind a tumble of rocks and watched as Hyldi slid the comb from her hair. She held it by the ruby and pointed its sharp glittering prongs at one of the bubbles. It drifted towards her.

Inside it knelt a Trader, his hands held out, palms up, his mouth and eyes wide open, as though he was pleading.
Shandor
, Tia thought and shuddered. The poor man was frozen in time inside the red bubble, neither properly awake nor properly asleep.

Hyldi stabbed the bubble with the comb. It dissolved into shimmering red dust and the man fell at Hyldi's feet.

‘Get up!' she ordered.

He shook his head as though waking from a nightmare and staggered to his feet.

‘Tell me your secret – the secret you Traders use to control your horses – so that my Horsemaster can tame that wild golden mare.'

Shandor smiled grimly. ‘There is no secret, Lady. Yufa can only be ridden by people she trusts. It will never be you or your minions.'

‘Never is a long time, Trader,' Hyldi snarled. She lifted the comb and made sweeping movements with her hand. Long stands of red light from the ruby began to form another bubble round the
Trader. He stood proudly and waited for it to close around him. When it was done the High Witch waved the bubble away and stabbed the comb back into her bun.

‘Pah! I
will
learn your secret, Trader,' she hissed. ‘You and your horse
will
obey me, as all who live in Askarlend do.' Hyldi swung round and stormed back up the tunnel.

Tia waited until she'd gone then ran back to the stables.

‘Did you find him?' Yufa asked, her golden hide twitching with worry.

‘Yes.' Tia leaned against the stall and told Yufa what she'd seen. ‘I'm sorry,' she said when she'd finished.

Yufa stamped. ‘The witch and her people will never ride me!'

That reminded Tia of her DragonBrother. She often teased him about letting her ride him and he always said,
I'm a free dragon, not a horse!
But Yufa was a free spirit too; she decided who could ride her.

The horse stamped again, harder. ‘Set Shandor free,' she demanded.

‘I will.' The words were out before Tia could help herself.
I've got to steal the ruby anyway
, she thought.
I may as well use it once I've taken it
.

Guiltily, she remembered that she'd promised Finn never to use any of the jewels, apart from the emerald. They were so powerful they almost hypnotised anyone who possessed them. She'd discovered for herself that it was too easy for the jewels to make you do things you didn't mean to. That was why the enchanter from over the seas had given them to the dragons. They were the only creatures strong enough and wise enough to use them without causing harm. But what if using the ruby was the only way to undo Hyldi's cruel spell? Surely Finn would understand that?

Tia put an arm round the horse's neck and her cheek on its creamy mane.
I hope I can rescue Shandor without the ruby
, she thought.

The stable door opened and a man strode over to the box-stall.

‘What d'you think you're doing, girl? Get out of there, now!'

It was the man who'd come to the stables with Hyldi. His face was pale and frightened. ‘Move slowly, that horse is dangerous.'

He took a step closer to the stall and Yufa bared her teeth.

‘There's nothing to worry about. She won't hurt me.' Tia patted Yufa and whispered, ‘Remember, I promise I'll help Shandor.'

The little mare dipped her head and pushed gently at Tia. ‘All right.'

‘I'll be back with some apples later,' Tia said in a normal speaking voice.

She gave Yufa a last pat and left the box-stall. The man whistled softly.

‘I don't know how you did that. It was almost as if you understood each other.'

Tia shrugged. ‘The Traders taught me about horses.'

She was ready to run if she got the chance but the man was blocking her way. He stroked his stubbly chin. ‘Hmm, you don't look like a Trader child, though you dress and speak like one. What's your name? Where are you from?'

‘I'm Sura.' Tia recited her story about being a foundling baby rescued by the Traders; how she was parted from them in a fog and was going from town to town, seeking them. It seemed to satisfy him.

‘I need a new stable-hand. She…' he nodded towards Yufa, ‘kicked one and broke his leg. Would you like the job?'

‘Yes,' Tia said tentatively, not sure she trusted this man. He seemed kind and honest but she'd met a man like that a few days ago and he'd betrayed her.

‘Good. I'm Gunnar, the Horsemaster of Askarlend. No-one argues with me.'

Apart from Hyldi
, Tia thought.

‘You're under my protection while you're here.' A friendly grin split his weathered brown face. ‘You might want to keep that cap pulled on tighter.'

So he
had
recognised her as the girl on the poster.

The cap had slipped. She yanked it back into place. ‘Master Gunnar…'

The burly man held up his hand. ‘I'm not interested in the six hundred marks.' His grin widened. ‘Besides, Yufa here is the fastest horse in all Tulay. If you can ride her, I'll win far more than the reward the Lady Hyldi's offering.'

‘I will,' Tia said confidently. ‘But first, I promised Yufa apples. And I'm hungry too,' she added.

Gunnar let out a bellow of laughter that startled the horse. ‘Come with me, Sura. My wife will give you apples – and breakfast.'

Still chuckling, the big man led Tia back into the castle. They passed the grand rooms, went down the rocky tunnels and climbed up again to the ground floor in another part of the castle.

Gunnar pushed at a thick wooden door that opened on a long, airy room with shuttered windows latched back to let in light. Tia wrinkled her nose at the sulphurous smell wafting in from the ring of volcanoes that surrounded Askarlend.

Tables stood in a neat line down the centre of the room, some with papers, plans and charts on them and others with scales and measuring cups. They didn't look magical, they looked practical.

‘Where are we?' Tia asked.

‘In the Headwoman's rooms. This is where she organises all that goes on in the castle.'

‘She must be very important,' Tia said, wondering why Gunnar had brought her here.

‘She is!' He grinned.

A tall woman bustled in, a bunch of keys jingling at her waist. It was the woman from the courtyard
who'd untangled Tia from the washing. Tia slipped behind the Horse Master.

The woman didn't even glance at her; she was too busy glaring at Gunnar. ‘What are you doing here, husband?'

He gave a deep rumbling laugh. ‘I've brought my new stable hand to show you. Vanna, meet Sura.' He pushed Tia forward. For a moment she feared she'd been tricked again, and that the woman would snatch her and haul her off to Hyldi. But Vanna smiled warmly.

‘She's hungry,' Gunnar told his wife.

‘Children are always hungry – what has this one done to earn her breakfast?'

‘Tamed Yufa.' The Horse Master winked at Tia.

‘In that case,' Vanna's smile grew even broader, ‘you deserve two breakfasts!'

‘Could I have one breakfast and some apples for Yufa?'

Vanna twitched her snowy white apron straight. ‘Frida!' she called and a small, cheeky-looking girl rushed in.

The Headwoman told her to bring to bring food. In no time at all Frida was back with a very large tray loaded with fresh bread, butter, cheese and fruit. Tia's mouth watered. Frida cleared a space
at one of the tables and they all sat down while Tia had breakfast.

She hadn't eaten or slept since the previous evening, before she was accidentally transported to Askarlend by the magic sapphire, and she was famished and exhausted. She ate ravenously while Gunnar and Vanna talked about castle affairs. Frida chipped in from time to time, making them laugh with her sharp comments.

Tia's head nodded, drooped and finally rested on the table. She fell fast asleep over her breakfast.

‘Wake up, Nadya!' a voice said.

Tia didn't want to wake up. The bed she was lying on was soft and warm.

‘Nadya, time to get up,' the voice insisted.

‘All right, I'm getting up!' Tia mumbled. She opened an eye and saw Frida.

‘I knew you were that Nadya,' Frida said.

Tia yawned. ‘No I'm not. Where am I? What're you doing here?'

‘You're in the room next to mine. We're near Vanna and Gunnar's room. That way they can keep an eye on us.'

‘Why?'

Frida tossed her red hair over her shoulder and grinned a crooked grin. ‘I'm apprentice Headwoman so I need to be close to Vanna. And you're Nadya
the thief so you need to be protected by Vanna and Gunnar.'

‘I'm not Nadya.'

‘Yes you are. I recognised you easily without the cap. And you answered me when I called you Nadya just now.'

Tia opened her mouth to protest but Frida held up her hand so sharply that she couldn't help shutting it again.

‘I won't give you away. If Vanna wants to protect you, there's a reason.'

Tia had seen at breakfast that Frida worshipped Vanna and wouldn't ever disobey her. She decided she could trust this loyal girl too.

Frida handed Tia her cap. ‘We're going out, Nadya. You'll need this.'

Tia took the cap. ‘Call me Sura,' she insisted. ‘Where are we going?'

Frida jumped off the bed. ‘You've slept far into the day. It's too late now to start work so Vanna wants me to show you round the town. She's given you some marks to spend. Come out when you've changed.'

Then she was gone. Frida moved like a darting squirrel, faster than anyone Tia had ever known.

Tia felt anxiously in her jacket pocket. The sapphire bracelet was still there. She glanced at it
quickly before looking away. She knew that if she looked into the jewel's blue heart she'd be horribly tempted to use it. She had to hide it.