Ellie and Ruff immediately reached for it until Oz turned to them and said, in a cracked voice, “Don't.”
“Oscar, this is no time for games,” Skelton warned.
Oz ignored him and spoke directly to his friends. He was thinking about the garages at Sussex Street. Thinking and sending Soph questions as quickly as he could think them. Suddenly, he said, “Remember the bear auramal? He had a handler.”
“Shut up, Oz,” whispered Ellie, eyebrows raised. “He'll hear you.”
“It doesn't matter, Ellie,” Oz said with a sickly smile. “Soph says that there's a GPS tracking signal coming from somewhere on Niko. She says the receiver is twenty yards northeast.”
“Where?” Ruff asked.
Oz turned and pointed towards where Skelton was standing. “There.” He almost lost his balance as Ellie grabbed at him roughly.
“Oz, are you mad? That's Mr Skelton⦔ her words trailed off as she cocked her head to listen to a high-pitched zinging noise.
The explosion, when it came, was crashingly loud. It startled Ruff so badly, it almost sent him tumbling down the scree slope. Ten yards away, a boulder the size of a microwave blew up in a cloud of dust and smoke. Everyone flinched except for Niko.
“My, my. Quite the little detectives, aren't we?” Skelton said.
As one, they all turned to look. His face, bathed in orange dawn light, was devoid of all its usual good cheer. In its place was cold malice. In his hand was the source of the noise, a small dark gun that was pointed directly at them.
“Particle beam weapon invented by Professor Aikman. We call it the Aikman gun. One of only four in the world. Nikola Tesla would have been so proud of us at JG Industries. Oh, and did I say thank you for finding my little friend, the Beast, too?” he added coldly before looking up at the desolate landscape. “Lovely spot, eh? The ideal hideyhole for a few bodies we might not want found for a while.”
“You?” Ellie said in a voice tainted with disbelief. “
You
did this to Niko?”
Suddenly, Skelton stumbled and struggled to right himself on the ridge. For a second, Oz thought he might fall and wondered how long it would take to scramble up and try and get the gun away. Instead, he steadied himself on a boulder and sat down, the gun trained unerringly on Oz's chest. He regarded the slumped, unconscious form of Niko callously.
“I see you've managed to knock him out.” He smiled coldly. “Impressive. But beware. When he wakes up, he might be the bogeyman again.”
“What did you do to him?” Ellie demanded.
Skelton shook his head. “Just in case you haven't noticed, it's me that has the gun, and by the way, I do know how to use it. Next time, it will be aimed at you, not a piece of rock. You can't imagine what it can do to flesh and bone.” He smiled unpleasantly. “The way it works is this: I ask the questions and you give me the answers, okay? And what I need to know now is how you managed to fool me and everyone else on that bus that we were on the way to Cornwall last night when all the while we were heading for this godforsaken hellhole.”
The trio exchanged glances. Oz could still feel Soph inside his head and he wasn't even touching the pebble. Thank God for the ring.
When no one answered, Skelton shook his head again, still wearing his superior little smile. “It was artefact technology, wasn't it?” he said, and there was something in the way Oz reacted that made him smile more widely still. When Skelton spoke next, they could all hear the ripple of excitement in his voice. “Oh, this is good. This is very good.” He threw his head back to laugh. “And this place must be artefact-linked too, then, mustn't it?” He was half-muttering to himself now. But then his face changed just as if he'd found an answer to a puzzle that had been tormenting him. “We're in the Black Mountains, aren't we? Of course.” He almost cackled this time. It was an ugly sound. “Oh, this is priceless. No one would give me details because that's how
he
works. Need-to-know basis for security, but I heard rumours that some of our lot had broken into a mountain rescue centre for details of a missing hiker. This is the very place, isn't it?”
He glared at Oz.
Ruff attempted a sneer. “Don't know what you're talking about.”
“Don't you, Rufus? Really?” Skelton said softly. “Well, you soon will. Soon you'll remember it all and be very, very happy to tell me everything you know, believe you me. Nice little spot in that cave for a chat, I expect. Just you, the darkness, and me. Oh, and some little instruments I carry with me. Stuff they normally use in operating theatres, you know? And afterwards, they may find what's left of you and they may not. And who gives a monkey's anyway, because I'll be long gone with all sorts of nice little prezzies.”
Next to him, Oz felt Ruff shiver. High above them, a few birds circled, early-morning hunters looking for food. Oz heard their keening as they called to one another. It was an eerie, lonely sound. Skelton heard it, too.
“Sounds weird, doesn't it? Red kites have a very distinctive call. Human, almost. Listen hard, because you're never going to hear them again.”
“They'll be out looking for us,” Ruff blurted out, but his voice sounded hollow and desperate.
“Really.” Skelton sneered. “Miss Arkwright? Striding the hills in search of her missing flock? I don't think so, somehow. I wanted her along because she's half the size of Ladrop, just in case our friend Niko here had to take her on, too.” He shook his head and again a little self-satisfied smile played on his lips. “And there I was thinking I'd drawn the short straw as Piotrowski's handler.'
“Bit too much for you to handle, though, wasn't he.” Though Skelton had the upper hand, Oz was determined not to let him forget his accident.
“I had him all right. If it hadn't been for the slippery grass and a very inconveniently placed rock⦔ Skelton snarled and put his hand to his bandaged head.
“He could have done some real damage with those claws,” Ruff protested.
“That was the idea, you idiot. The wrath of the Beast of Seabourne. Likes a bit of drama, does JG. Something very Victorian about that, monsters and rippers. But then, when the Bane arrives, everyone will know about monsters, all right.”
“The Bane? What are you talking about?” Oz said, but he had a feeling he wasn't going to like the answer.
Skelton laughed. “Chaos is what I'm talking about. Madness, fear, terror. It's coming, and JG is the architect. It's genius. You've seen what he can do. Your little friend Piotrowski is just a tiny example. Neural programming controlled and triggered by UHF signals that no one can hear. All from a box in my pocket.” Skelton slapped his thigh. He wore a nauseatingly smug expression. “Imagine armies who think they're tigers. Imagine criminals as vicious as wolverines.”
“But Niko⦔ Oz said.
“All we wanted was for him to cause some damage, that's all. Bit of disembowelling. Not enough to kill you. That way we could get you alone. Indirectly, of course. You'd need specialists and care, and Gerber would have made sure they were
his
doctors and
his
nurses. What better way to get at you? See, you're the key, Oscar. The riddle of why the artefacts are here. The answer to what ties them to that mausoleum of a house of yours.”
“Penwurt?” Oz said.
Skelton's smile became suddenly ugly. “We tried to get it out of your father, but he didn't know anything. That's why he was expendable.”
Oz's heart stuttered. When he tried to speak, his lips were stuck to his dry teeth. “What do you mean, expendable?” he croaked.
“Oh, dear,” Skelton said in mock concern, the nasty smile still distorting his mouth. “But surely you didn't believe that rubbish about suicide, did you? Nice touch, the whiskey bottle on the passenger seat, though, wasn't it? Enough to instil a little bit of doubt in everyone's minds. Oh, no, the truth is far worse than that, Oscar. Far worse.”
Oz wanted to throw himself at Skelton. Scream at him. Tear the truth from his throat. He felt Ellie's hand grab his arm.
“Don't, Oz. Don't rise to the bait,” she whispered, while Skelton grinned at them.
At their feet, Niko stirred. Ellie shivered again and moved her hand down to support Niko and make sure he didn't roll over and slide down the mountain. Niko looked very pale, dressed as he was only in jeans and a pyjama top, now that they'd stripped off his devilish fancy dress.
“Looks the worse for wear, doesn't he,” Skelton observed. “Given me a headache, the little sod.” He touched the cut on his temple and winced. “Slashed his way out of his own tent. Attacked the wrong kid. Lashed out at me. Still, he's served his purpose. Time to retire him permanently, I think.” He waved the gun at Ruff. “Right, come on, tie the rope around his chest. Then Messenger and Adams can get him to his feet and we'll drag him up here. Easier to dump his body down through the hole from above, I think.”
“No,” Oz said.
“Or what?” Skelton snapped with brutish triumph. “Look around you, you idiot.” He swept his arm wide. “There is no cavalry coming. No pathetic Obex. The most that your friends here can hope for is that I do this quickly and cleanly. Because if they don't do as I say, I'll cut them off at the knees with this thing and let them slowly die after dumping them down that hole. Would you prefer that?” Without warning, Skelton raised the gun and destroyed another boulder. The explosion cracked through the frosty morning air, sounding impossibly loud, causing them all to flinch and almost lose their footing.
Oz threw Ellie and Ruff an edgy glare. He'd never seen them look so scared. And he had never felt so useless and impotent in all his life, either. Anger was like a white-hot sun in his head. He guessed that if Skelton shot at him, the tutamenzon field would kick in and he'd be fine, but it wouldn't help Ellie, or Ruff, or Niko. He felt the little tickle of Soph's presence in his head and knew she was reading his racing thoughts. Yet what could either of them do? Above him, uncaring, bent to its own wild task, a red kite let out another keening call, like a bugler blowing the last post.
“Better do as he says,” Oz said to the other two.
Ruff let his head drop but did what Skelton asked and looped the rope around Niko's chest. Although she didn't make a sound, as Ellie bent to help lift Niko's still-shaky frame to his feet, Oz saw her wipe away silent tears. Groggily, Niko managed to stand, swaying alarmingly. Above them, Skelton pulled hard, and Niko jerked forward as he was dragged bodily up the slope, scrambling drunkenly for purchase wherever he could. Three feet from the crest, Skelton reached down and dragged him roughly up by the collar. Once there, Skelton quickly undid the rope and forced Niko onto one of the boulders, where he sat, slumped to one side.
“That's it,” said Skelton. “Now you sit there like a good boy while I get these other two little beggars up here to join you.”
Oz was only half-listening. Desperation pumped adrenaline through his system. He couldn't just stand there and watch his friends die. Because that was what he was certain Skelton was going to do. Shoot them like wounded animals and throw them down into the cave. There must be something he could do. Someâ¦thing.
Desperation was making him quiver and shake. He looked up the slope, remembering how difficult to climb it had been when Niko the Beast had been after him. It would take too long, and Skelton had the Aikman gun. He'd have plenty of time to shoot Niko or Ruff or Ellie. Frustration ate at Oz's gut, but he had to do something. He just had to.
He shifted his weight so that he was better balanced, and prepared to make his move. He'd have to try scrambling up that sheer slope. Maybe put himself between Skelton and the other twoâ¦
The switch came in an instant. A tickle in the centre of his head, and he was seeing the world through Soph's eyes, knowing the exact angle of the slope they stood on, the speed of the wind, the composition of the rocks, how high the birds above were circling. He even knew their Latin name,
Milvus milvus
. He could hear the soft beat of their wings in the morning air as they circled. And while the amalgamation was seamless, Oz knew that it was only of so much use. He wished with all his heart that he had a weapon of some kind. Something to use against the gloating Skelton. But Soph was no good. She could not be used as a weapon. The tickle in his head became an insistent itch.
“Soph?” he thought.
“Wait, Oz,” she spoke in his head.
“No, Soph. I can't. Don't try and stop me,” he thought back at her.
“I will not try and stop you, Oz. Please wait five more seconds.”
Skelton had undone the rope and was throwing it back down the slope for Ruff and Ellie.
Oz was desperate to make a move.
“On my mark, Oz,” Soph said. Then Oz looked up into the clear blue sky and felt his heart soar with hope. Skelton was still smirking in ignorance when the first of the two red kites swooped silently down in a ferocious dive. They made no noise at all until they were inches from their target.
Then
they plunged their talons into Skelton's head.
The air was rent by roaring screams as Skelton ducked and beat at the air with his hands.
It took Ellie and Ruff completely by surprise, but Oz was ready. He launched himself forward, and with Soph's augmented vision, he took the slope at a run.
All the solid rocks and all the firm handholds were revealed to him at lightning speed. He flew up to the point where Niko was sitting and positioned himself between his classmate and the horribly flapping Skelton. Oz hadn't realised just how big the kites were. Flailing desperately, Skelton threw up his hands to try and bat away the creatures. But he still had the gun, and Oz knew that, until he was disarmed, no one stood any chance. He picked up a stone the size of a cricket ball, used Soph's sight to aim, and threw. In all, the movement from choosing the missile to target strike took three seconds. The hefty stone hit Skelton's forearm and the noise of cracking bone was almost as loud as the rock's explosive disintegration moments before. Skelton let out a shriek as his grip loosened. The Aikman flew out of his hand and skittered down the slope, coming to rest safely out of reach at a point well below where Ellie and Ruff were scrambling up towards Oz.