Tash bent down so the tunnel was low, and smiled to think of the huge Brigantine soldiers trying to even walk through this new tunnel—they’d certainly not be able to run.
Concentrate! Think of Geratan. Geratan. Geratan. Geratan. White hair. Calm face. Great dancer. Strong. Brave. Polite.
And, as she thought of him, the tunnel opened faster and faster, until she was jogging along in her half-crouch. As she ran, the vision she had of Geratan began to sharpen, and she realized that his hair wasn’t white.
Crimson! What’s that about?
And she could see he was among other soldiers—all with the same colored hair. And Sir Ambrose was there. But not Davyon and not Rafyon.
This is like the vision I had of Frost. The smoke is showing me my destination. I must be nearly there.
And, at that thought, the tunnel turned sharply upward. Tash scrambled up the slope as it formed ahead of her, the air changed, and she took a breath of wonderfully cool air as she pulled herself out, back into the human world.
It was night; the sky was full of stars and tall pine trees. And ahead was a small fire with figures sitting round it.
And then someone grabbed her, pinning her arms to her side, a rough-skinned hand over her mouth. She could hardly breathe.
“And what have we got here?”
“Wee gahr shirring shirring shir!” Tash shouted, and kicked viciously at the man’s shins.
“Bloody hell. She’s a wild one. Look at this, Geratan.”
“Geraghaan!”
“Don’t know what she’s—OW!”
Tash shook her teeth out of the man’s hand and shouted, “Geratan!”
“What’s going on? Silence!”
It was Sir Ambrose’s voice, rushing toward her from the fire. And with him, Geratan.
“It’s me, Tash!” she shouted, giving the man holding her another kick in the shins. He swore loudly but still didn’t let her go.
“You can release her, Anlax.”
“Gladly.”
And the man dropped Tash, and she was in Geratan’s arms, being hugged. His smile was something to see.
“You’re alive, Tash. You’re alive!”
“Course I’m alive.”
* * *
• • •
Tash sat by the fire with Geratan, Sir Ambrose, and his men—the Demon Troop, as she’d discovered they were called—and told them everything she’d done in the demon world. Some of it sounded daft even to her own ears, but by the way Geratan looked at her and nodded, she was reassured that he trusted everything she said was true. And if he believed it, then Sir Ambrose did. And if he believed it, then—well, the Demon Troop would too.
She was just explaining how she’d made her way back to the surface when she remembered something.
“Oh shits! The tunnel. The Brigantines will be coming!”
“Anlax, take two men and keep watch outside the tunnel. If you hear or see anything, sound the alarm.” Anlax nodded and hurried off. “Thank you, Tash,” Ambrose continued. “Your information is incredibly valuable. So the Brigantines have shipped out some of their smoke but still have a lot stored down there. We need to destroy it, if we can.”
“But I want to hear your story too,” said Tash. “What happened after Geratan and I got separated from you and the princess?”
Sir Ambrose gave a weak smile. “I’ll tell you all our adventures properly when this is over, Tash, but I’m afraid there’s some bad news in them.” He hesitated. “I’m sorry, but Rafyon was killed. Not by demons, but by an assassin. He died saving Princess Catherine’s life.”
Tash could feel the tears coming. She hated war. Hated how one moment her friends were alive and well and loving you, and the next moment, gone.
“And everyone else?” she asked. “The princess?”
“Alive and a queen now. Married to King Tzsayn.”
“Queen, eh? And are you still her . . . what was it?”
“Personal guard. No, I’m head of the Demon Troop now. Somehow I don’t think King Tzsayn is going to want me around.”
“And you’ve been sent up here on a mission to kill the Brigantines and win back the demon world.” Tash pursed her lips. “Well, lucky for you I found you. I think I can help you with that . . .”
AMBROSE
NORTHERN PLATEAU, PITORIA
AMBROSE WAS feeling positive again.
Thanks to Tash, he had access to the demon world and a guide to show them the way to the smoke store. Armed with Tash’s information about the numbers of the Brigantines and the lack of demons, their chances of success had soared. Even with just fifty men, he felt he could take the central cavern. From there, they should be able to capture and destroy