Chapter 12
Trees and bushes blurred into a green haze as Darien’s air-bike hurtled across the plains. Behind them, the buzz of the sunflyer faded into the distance. The radar fell silent. Darien grinned in triumph and a few minutes later coasted into the Voyager’s landing bay. He had saved Jed’s little sister. The thought gave him great satisfaction. But his grin died as he looked up into the furious face of his father.
Darien switched off the throbbing engine. He helped Jyari dismount from the air-bike and take off her helmet before turning to face the Admiral’s fury.
“Where have you been?” The Admiral’s voice was clipped and angry. “And who is this – this waif?”
“Excuse me!” Jyari spoke before Darien could think what to say. “I am not a waif. I am Princess Jyari!”
Admiral Andrass ignored her. “Isn’t it bad enough that you free a prisoner without bringing back some gutter child who could be just as dangerous to us? Why don’t you simply go to the Ruler of Jeddon and announce our presence? We could be guests here for months, then, since you seem to like the place so much.”
“I’m sorry sir, but…”
Jyari tugged on the admiral’s sleeve. “Is Jed here?”
“What do you know about Jed?” Andrass glared at her with the full force of his fury.Jyari stepped back. “He’s my brother. Vexson is after him. Darien said he would be here.”
“And Vexson is?”
“The ruler,” Jyari said, reluctantly. “But - ”
“I might have guessed!” Andrass glared at his son. “So now you’ve freed a criminal who is wanted by the ruler of Jeddon? You know what this means?”
“Jed is not a criminal!” Jyari exclaimed hotly.
“Dad, it’ll be all right. Jed won’t tell anyone about us. He’s coming back.”
Andrass raised his eyebrows. “With Vexson in hot pursuit, no doubt? You do realise that our force-field is still only half strength, don’t you?”
“Jed needs a safe passage off Jeddon,” Darien said urgently. “And Jyari, too. Otherwise they’ll be killed.”
“We’re going to leave Jeddon?” Jyari asked in astonishment.
“We may all be killed before this is over,” Andrass replied. “We can’t even get off Jeddon ourselves, let alone take two children with us.”
“Jed’s bringing the computer discs we need, Dad. We won’t have to wait for the relay from Earth.”
“Jed is bringing them? How is he going to pay for such expensive stuff? Or will he steal them? That will certainly please Vexson, won’t it?” The Admiral’s voice was icy. “We not only land illegally, but blast off with stolen goods.”
“Jed is the prince!” Jyari exclaimed. “He has the right to take what he needs from the palace.”
“Oh, Jed is the prince, is he? I suppose you can prove that?”
“Yes!” Jyari thrust out her arm. “Look!” The golden armband gleamed.
“Look at what?” Andrass glared at her.
“My armband,” Jyari cried, impatiently. “Don’t you know that royal children wear armbands? Jed has one on each arm.”
Andrass sighed. “Even if you’re telling the truth, does it make any difference? You are still wanted by Vexson. You still pose a threat to me.” He turned back to Darien. “And you are still in serious trouble for your wilful disobedience. Go to your room and stay there until I tell you otherwise.”
“But I have to go back for Jed!”
“Are you mad, son?” Andrass gripped Darien’s arm and marched him to his room, ignoring his protests.
Jyari followed along behind them.
“What will we do now?” Jyari asked, as the key turned in the lock.
“Hope that Jed can make it by himself.”
High on the Cliffs of Ebor, the wind seemed stronger. It made the shredded pieces of Jed’s jacket flap and shake as if they were being tugged by some invisible feral. Jed tore his gaze from the deep trough at his feet and risked a brief backwards glance. Lines of strain and sweat marked Dirnll's face, but he was gaining.
They could have gone faster if he had been in the front leading the way, but he could not trust Zarine. She would return to Dirnll in the mistaken belief that she was helping him.
“Jed - ”
Zarine stopped again. She was trembling visibly. Jed moved up close and put one arm around her. The three of them swayed dangerously. And Dirnll caught up.
“Don't touch me,” Jed warned. “Or Zarine will die.”
It was not a threat, but a simple fact. There could be no struggle here without them all falling to their deaths.
“Get her up - to the top path.” Dirnll's breath was coming in ragged gasps.
“Come, Zarine,” Jed said gently. “We’re almost there. The path ahead is wide enough to dance on.”
“I don't want to dance.” Zarine dashed tears from her eyes. “I want to be brave, but - ”
“You are brave. I only called you a coward to make you angry. Anger wipes out fear.”
“Get on,” Dirnll's voice rasped behind them. “This is no place to chat.”
Slowly they moved over the last sharp crests and finally, onto the wider path at the top. Arni slid down from Jed’s back.
“I can walk here,” she said in relief. “Ooh, it's a long way down. Hold my hand, Jed.”
Jed edged along the path, watching Dirnll warily. He could try and push the old man off, but Arni was between them and the path too narrow to change positions quickly. Besides, Zarine would never forgive him.
“Keep going,” he said, in a low voice. “Follow the path.”
Dirnll had drawn a knife from his belt. Surely he wouldn’t risk throwing it here. It would endanger them all. Could they outrun him to the bottom? No. Could they reason with him?
“There's a starship waiting, Dirnll!” Jed called desperately. “Come with us and be free.”
“Leave Jeddon? Never! Besides, you'll never make it to any starship!”
He pointed beyond them and Arni let out a scream. Soldiers were grouped around the bottom of the cliffs. Some had climbed part way up. Jed froze.
“Your life for Zarine's, boy,” Dirnll panted, raising his knife. “Your life for her freedom.”
Jed looked from the soldiers back to Dirnll and despair squeezed his heart. He had given away his plan, and endangered the starship.
Back in the Voyager, Darien and Jyari stood in front of the radar screen, watching the action on the cliff top.
“Beam them in, Dad!” Darien begged. “Please!”
“And reveal our position? Do you want to spend months locked up in a Jeddon gaol?”
“That man’s got a knife!” Jyari cried. “You can’t let him kill my brother!”
“Is it my fault Jed got into this fix? Anyway, he won’t kill the boy. He’s only bluffing, to make Jed descend the cliff.”
“What if Jed won’t be bluffed?” asked Darien.
“Then he gets what’s coming to him,” Andrass muttered, uneasily.
In spite of what he said, he had a sneaking admiration for the boy. How on earth had he managed to climb up the other side with that child on his back?
“Jed has the discs,” Darien said desperately. “He’s our passport out of here.”
“How do you know? Did you see him get them?”
“Well – no, but he said he would.”
“And you believed him?” Andrass looked down in annoyance as Jyari punched him on the leg. “Do you want to be locked up again?”
“My brother always does what he says!” she told him fiercely, knuckling tears from her cheeks. “They’ll all be killed if you don’t beam them in. You’ll be a murderer!”
Andrass looked back to the screen. What were they doing now?
Jed picked Arni up and turned carefully on the path, before setting her down on his other side. It made him feel a bit better that he was between her and Dirnll, though what good it would do in the end, he could not tell. He turned to face the old man again.
“I will be ruler one day, Dirnll. See?” He pulled the Badge of Ruling up from where it hung. “Zarine will have her freedom, but you won’t, unless you help us now.”
“You think you’ll rule just because you have the badge?” Dirnll sneered. “Vexson has all the power of Jeddon behind him.”
“But he is not heir to the throne. It is mine by right of birth.”
Dirnll’s laughter sent shivers down Jed’s spine.
“There is no way I can help you, even if I wanted to,” he said. “If I allowed you back to the desert, Vexson would take the knowledge of the paths from me and follow you. There is no safe place for you anywhere, Jed.”
It was true; Jed could see that. The only place he could go was into the starship, but how? Could they jump? Jed looked down. The invisi-shield shimmered just below them. Where would the hatch be? He tried to envision the exact position, but could not.
“Go down, Jed. You are finished.” Dirnll raised his knife. “Vexson will kill you, or I will. Which is it to be?”
Anger coursed through Jed. “You – if you dare!”
The knife flashed silver as Dirnll threw it through the air.