Eustace

Loki moved like a wolf, low and streaking, twisting through the forest like a small shadow. Edmund leaned low over Umbra's neck and followed him. The trees leaned down on him, dark, foreboding. They seemed to grab at him with their branches and cover his path with fallen logs. Umbra ran easily and flew over underbrush and fallen branches like a stag.

Ahead, Loki slid to a halt just before a tree. Edmund pulled up Umbra, dismounted and knelt next to Loki, to see what the wolf saw. The Witch's camp. He heard it too, the sound of many creatures, gathered together in one place. It was massive, stretching from where they crouched and up a hill in rows of gray canvass.

"We will go together," Loki whispered, "put the hood of your cloak over your head."

Edmund did as he was asked, then followed Loki as the young wolf boldly marched into the open.

"Stand and be identified!" a large rat with long yellow incisors blocked their path.

"Step aside vermin," Loki exclaimed, "I am Loki, son of Maugrim and he will be unhappy that you detained me. I have important information for the Queen that cannot wait! If you detain me any longer then she will be extremely unhappy."

With that, he beckoned Edmund with his tail and brushed past the rat. The rat made no motion to stop him.

Edmund followed as Loki slipped among the tents. They were ugly, and loathsome. Each exactly like the next. Edmund marked any difference to keep his bearings, but before long, he was hopelessly lost. There were horrifying creatures crouching in the tents – hags, werewolves, minotaurs – horrible creatures that looked as if they were half dead already. There were others, misty creatures, even more strange that seemed to appear and vanish at will. Then there were the talking beasts that had gone wrong; centaurs, bears, foxes, gryphons…every kind. It made Edmund's heart heavy inside him.

Loki rounded a corner and as Edmund followed. As he did, he saw the first beautiful things. Two white horses, standing close together, tied to a weeping tree.

Loki broke into a run and Edmund saw that the horses were almost standing over Eustace, as he lay on the ground. A minotaur was slumped next to them, his snoring almost shaking the earth.

"Eustace?" Edmund said, dropping down on the withered grass and touching his cousin's hand.

Eustace's eyes flickered open and he peered at Edmund distantly, then recognition flashed into his eyes.

"Edmund!" he whispered.

Edmund slid his knife out of his belt and began to slice Eustace's bonds. He seemed to be almost completely covered in tightly knotted rope that bit into his flesh painfully. Edmund worked as carefully as he could, but he could not help the knife slipping.

"You'd better hurry!" said an urgent voice above him, "He's seen you!"

Edmund froze and looked up into the eyes of one of the white horses.

"You talk?" Loki gasped.

"The Witch captured them when they were little," Eustace murmured, "he is Yce and she is Crystal."

"But…" Loki sat down suddenly, "I thought…"

"Get out of here, hurry!" Yce said, "He's coming!"

"We'll save you too!" Edmund said, slashing off Crystal's halter.

Yce's hind legs shot out as a minotaur, who had been polishing a knife in a tent door, charged them, "Quick, get on Crystal and get out of here!" he cried, kicking again with a sickening thump.

"Quick! On my back!"Crystal cried.

Edmund glanced at the Minotaur, then turned to Eustace.

"I can't lift you; you've got to get up yourself. Quick now, give me your knee, keep your back straight and jump!"

Eustace gripped Crystal's mane in panic and the next moment Edmund threw him over the mare's back.

"Give me your hand!" Edmund cried, then swung up behind Eustace and rapped out, "Take a good hold of her mane, keep your heels down and sit up straight!" '

Crystal spun around and Edmund tore Evyn loose of its sheath.

"Where shall I go?" Crystal asked.

"To the woods," Edmund yelled, holding his sword aloft.

Crystal shot forward like a white arrow, almost trampling a group of wolves. She ran faster than she ever ran in her life, her mane whipping in their faces. Eustace held on as well as he could, trying to keep his balance, trying to sit up straight, but he was exhausted. Edmund pushed him forward so he was almost sitting on Crystal's neck, then took a death lock of his waist with his spare arm.

"After them! After them!"

Edmund looked back to see Loki running at the front of the pack of wolves, urging them on, it seemed almost like an accident when he tripped, fell and tripped up the wolf behind him, who in turn tripped up the next wolf, and so on.

"Hold tight!" Crystal cried grimly and Eustace watched with horror as a cart loomed up before them.

"Lean forward!" Edmund yelled, "No, no! Don't lean on her neck! Hold onto her mane…tight!"

Edmund found himself juggling sword, Eustace and Crystal's mane all at once, then they felt Crystal gather herself. They were flying.

When they landed, Eustace jerked back and he and Edmund very nearly ended up in a heap on the ground. Edmund surprised himself at his own skill and only through his titan efforts to hold on and Crystal's wild swerves to balance them, did they stay on.

They reached the woods and darted into them. Edmund sheathed his sword and swung off Crystal as she galloped past Umbra.

"Hold on!" he shouted after Eustace, then swung astride Umbra and turned the horse after Crystal. He heard the bay of wolves and he looked back to see them leaping after him. A shadow fell across him and he looked up quickly to see a huge bat like creature descending onto him. The claws dug into his shoulders trying to lift him. Edmund thrashed at it with his hand, trying to draw his sword with the other, but the next moment Umbra shied sharply to one side. Edmund went the other way. The ground had never seemed so far down and so painful once found.

The next moment Edmund tried to draw Evyn, but the creature's claws pinned his arms. Then suddenly golden legs thrashed the dead leaves on the forest floor. The bat creature fell off and Peter was pulling him up behind him on Ambyr.

"I can't trust you alone for two seconds, little brother," Peter said, leaning out of the saddle to gather Umbra's trailing reins, then booting Ambyr into a gallop.