The Wonderground

26 - Lilacbeard

"Here they come again!" warned Rose, pointing to the skies. Four bat riders dive bombed towards them. The group scattered and flattened themselves against the ground. In the confusion, Charlie and Erimos became separated from the group. They pressed their backs to the wall as a muscular bat rider with an oversized gold nose ring jumped in full flight from his steed and thudded onto the stonework in front of them. He removed a long knife from between his yellowed teeth.

"You are coming with me, boy," ordered the Sky Rat.

Before Charlie had time to protest, the Sky Rat's knees crumpled. He collapsed to the ground, unconscious, revealing Nyssa standing behind him holding a large rock aloft in both hands. She was shaking uncontrollably.

"Did I kill him?" she whispered.

"No time to find out," said Charlie urgently. "We have to go."

"The boy is right," snarled Erimos. "Time to go." He grabbed Charlie from behind, around his throat, and hauled them both over the wall.

The next five seconds felt like an eternity to Charlie. He had time to smell the aide's rancid breath, hot on his neck, as he struggled to free himself from the man's iron grip. He had time to see his three friends' heads appear over the wall, screaming his name as he fell away from them. He even had time to imagine he could make out his parents' faces formed in the clouds.

He was going to die. He squeezed his eyes tightly closed as he prepared for the impact. The lake hit him like a train, knocking the air from his lungs. The water was freezing. The last thing he saw before he lost consciousness through the murky water was the swell of the desert aide's scarlet robes wrapping around him like a blanket.

"Charlie!" screamed Amelia as she saw her friend plummet to his death. She was completely helpless as he fell away from her. She stood motionless. Frozen in time. She barely noticed being dragged away from the edge to the safety of the Monument. Or that the bat riders had stopped their attack.

The pressure in Charlie's chest was excruciating. His brain screamed for oxygen. His world was a swirling, dark murky green. Pain knifed across his forehead as he was dragged upwards by his hair. He broke the surface of the lake and regurgitated salty water down his chin. He wretched again as Erimos wrapped a strong arm around his chest. Charlie gulped down precious air and tried in vain to escape the man's clutches.

"I would not move if I were you," derided the aide.

A shadow loomed over them. Charlie squinted at a small flying contraption hovering over them. It looked like two penny farthing bicycles welded together either side of a rowing boat. Instead of oars, the boat had two pairs of flapping wings. Perched high on the bicycles were two Sky Rats, pedalling frantically and battling with their handlebars. A third Sky Rat was seated inside the 'boat'. The machine belly flopped onto the water with a splash and bobbed on the undulating surface. A rope was thrown over the side towards the Desert aide.

"What kind of a stunt was that Erimos?" spat the seated Rat. "He could have been killed. We need them alive."

"He is alive, you idiot," retorted the aide.

Charlie relaxed a little. Maybe Isla and Elliot were okay. They had been captured by flying pirates. Erimos hauled Charlie towards the end of the rope. Charlie noticed a small curling black tattoo on the back of Erimos' hand, pierced by a crimson dagger. He grabbed for the rope and was pulled aboard. He lay on his back in the bowels of the device, stars dancing in front of eyes, and spotted a flock of birds silhouetted against the clouds, flying in a perfect 'V' formation, heading in their direction.

***

Isla gripped the filthy, greasy cell bar tightly in both hands and shook it violently.

"That's the twentieth bar you've tried," said Elliot woefully.

"Twenty-first," replied Isla with determination.

"It's no use," sighed Elliot, staring at his reflection in a puddle between his feet. His exposed sock was soaking wet on his left foot. He shivered. He couldn't feel his toes.

"Better than sitting there feeling sorry for yourself," she replied, grabbing the next bar.

They cut short their argument as the door to the brig opened with a groaning creak. Someone was coming. They heard a series of thuds as something was thrown down the steps. Two Sky Rats appeared from the shadows, each holding a leg and dragging a body behind them.

"Back of the cell," grunted Terzi from his stool, pointing at Isla and Elliot. He produced a large iron key from a bunch secreted within the folds of his clothing and unlocked the door.

The two men grumbled as they hefted Charlie into the cell before slamming the door shut. "Quite the fighter that one," sniggered the smaller Sky Rat as they skulked away. Elliot and Isla hurried to untie the ropes that bound his wrists. Isla gasped as she caressed her fingers over Charlie's beaten face. His left eye was swollen and purple. There were scratches on both cheeks and his forehead. His ears were bleeding.

Charlie's eyes blinked open. "That was my least favourite bit of the adventure so far," he winced from the pain. He gritted his teeth and gave a sharp intake of air as he propped himself up.

"What happened to you?" asked Elliot.

Charlie explained how Erimos had betrayed them and had tossed him from the Monument walkway into the lake. He had fought tooth and nail all the way back to the airship but was no match for two grown men.

"What do they want with us?" asked Isla with frustration.

"I don't know," replied Charlie. "I did hear one of them say that they need us alive."

"That's a comfort," muttered Elliot.