Chapter 8

Sheila had put off the confrontation as long as she'd dared. The Harlequin was sitting on a rock facing the river, when she approached. Gail had sulked all night, and the Thief had heard her crying on and off.

Taking a slow breath, Sheila tried not to get angry again. She was entitled to be just as hurt as the Harlequin, perhaps more. But after hours of gentle prompting by the unicorn, she had come down to the riverside to try and sort things out.

'What do you want?' demanded Gail, staring off towards the half-hidden town and the rising suns, still skimming pebbles across the river.

The Thief recoiled at the open hostility in the Harlequin's tone, but knew she would have to accept that Gail was not going to make this easy. Beside her, Uni gave an unsettled whine.

'We should talk,' said the Thief.

The Harlequin stopped throwing stones and turned. Her eyes were tinged with red, and she had an unpleasant scowl on her face.

'I think you're very stupid, Sheila,' she said bluntly. 'Why would I think up some idiotic story if I wanted the Cloak? You couldn't stop me if I wanted to take it. Alison's practiced on me often enough!' She gave a nasty smile. 'Shall I prove it?'

Sheila shook her head, guessing that the angry Harlequin would love an excuse to exact a little revenge.

'Our friends need us,' said Sheila quietly.

'I haven't forgotten that,' snapped Gail.

'We can't do this separately.'

For a few moments Gail just frowned.

'But it's very tempting,' she said sarcastically. 'Why should I trust you anyway? Just because you're one of the great Realm Heroes doesn't mean you're the paragon of honesty, does it!' The Thief shivered at the word "heroes", but Gail didn't stop. 'You've called me a liar and a traitor, but I don't think you are any better, so just leave me alone!'

Sheila bit her lip. They were not going to have a rerun of last night's argument.

'Our friends need us,' she repeated.

'And you have a plan, I suppose?'

The Thief nodded.

'I'm the only one who can wake Eric.'

'That's a statement, not a plan,' she said, mimicking the Cavalier's classic sneer. 'You do know that, don't you?'

Sheila scowled at Gail, fighting to keep her anger under control. The Harlequin kept watching her, almost as if she was willing her to snap back. A few more barbed comments like that was all it was going to take.

'When she gave me the Powder, Ellice said that I would know how to wake him, when the time came.'

There was a sullen pause. The Harlequin hadn't looked away and her expression hadn't changed. The Thief gulped nervously. It was so difficult to predict what Gail would do next.

'I just have to know, Sheila,' said Gail, her tone thick with sarcasm. 'What were you thinking? I've done some pretty stupid things, but not even I am silly enough to accept a magic powder from a complete stranger, let alone actually USE it!'

Guilt welled up through the Thief again. She hadn't stopped wishing she could take it all back. It was tempting to snap back with a few well-chosen comments about "betrayal" and "selling out to Venger", but Sheila thought better of it. They had to cooperate, for the sake of their friends.

'It was a dumb thing to do,' she said in a small voice.

'Then why did you do it?' asked the Harlequin coldly. 'I want an explanation.'

The Thief could hardly start the next sentence. How could she explain all the anguish, and unhappiness, and desperation? Hank had just turned away and left her, as if she meant nothing, as if their kiss meant nothing. How could she explain it to Gail when she could hardly even explain it to herself.

'I-I don't know,' said Sheila with a sudden sniff. 'We'd talked, had tea and dragonberry cakes, and Ellice made it sound so reasonable. I miss Hank so much. He's hardly said two words to me since that kiss in the Temple of Love, and I just wanted to him to notice me and say something to me, anything, rather than just avoid me all the time. I miss him and I wanted to be important to him again. But all he's done since we met you is follow your sister around.' Tears stung the back of Sheila's eyes. She would have done anything to see him smile HER smile again.

They stared at each other, but the Harlequin was no longer frowning.

'And have you decided that I'm trustworthy,' asked Gail, less harshly than before.

Sheila had resolutely tried not to think about that at all during the night. The Orc voices in her head were still there, whispering. Her instincts told her none of the other group were trustworthy, but it didn't matter anymore. It was too late and she was out of choices. It was trust the Harlequin, or fail. She nodded.

'I'm sorry,' whispered Sheila.

There was a pause as the Harlequin stared off again towards the town. Sheila watched her, and unsure what the other girl would do next.

'Well,' said Gail with a sigh, 'you said something about a plan. What are we going to do? Only you can wake Eric, but you'll only get the chance if Venger has already captured you and sent all the Orcs back to work.'

Sheila nodded, unsure how to put the rest of her idea. It was so dangerous that there was little chance of Gail agreeing. She might be irresponsible and infuriating, but she wasn't dumb enough to go along with this. The other girl stared at her, not smiling.

'You know,' said the Harlequin, 'it doesn't take a genius, or a Wise Fool, to figure out what we've got to do. I pretend to be you long enough for you to get Eric and the weapons. Simple!' The Thief nodded again, unexpectedly relieved. 'I'll need the Cloak,' added Gail.

Sheila opened her mouth to argue, but the Harlequin cut in.

'What am I going to say?' she asked, and put on an exaggerated impression of the Thief's accent. '"Hi Venger, I'm Sheila, and by the way I accidentally dropped my Cloak outside, oops!" He's not completely dim, he's going to know something is wrong.'

'But how am I going to get it back?' demanded Sheila. 'I'm not wandering around that town without my Cloak, no matter how few Orcs there are!'

The Harlequin gave a wolfish smile and glanced to the little unicorn hiding beside Sheila.

'I have a suggestion.'

A sudden movement from the town snapped Sheila out of her daydreams and back to reality with an unpleasant bump. She'd been hiding by the river since Gail and Uni left, with nothing but her fears to keep her company.

It was just before noon and the Orcs were starting to leave. Battalion after battalion were filing out of the town. She ducked down behind a thick line of bushes, and waited.

Within the hour, there wasn't a single Orc in sight and the town was deserted. Sheila relaxed for the first time in what seemed like weeks. They had guessed right: Venger wasn't the type of evil tyrant to keep good soldiers lounging around were they weren't needed. Perhaps it would all go to plan after all!

A short time later the unicorn reappeared, looking frightened and tired. She had Sheila's Cloak in her mouth. At the sight of her weapon and Uni, Sheila gave a huge smile.

'Gail really did it, huh?' Sheila asked, patting Uni gently. 'She fooled Venger?'

Uni nodded, and gave a low bray.

'The others, they were all there? Bobby? Hank? They OK?'

Uni nodded once again.

Sheila fastened the Cloak round her neck and pulled up the hood, relieved to be hidden once more. That was definitely the last time she lent it to anyone!

'It's my turn now!' she said. 'Let's go!'

They crossed the bridge carefully, but there was no sign of any of Venger's troops. The town was deserted too. Bits of junk were lying out in the open, as if the Orcs had literally dropped everything and left. Food, bits of weaponry, tools, blankets, pretty well anything you could think of. It was eerie.

Sheila and Uni walked to the centre of the encampment, to the main square, following Gail's directions. In the centre, just as the Harlequin had told her, was a low altar and a glass coffin, all surrounded by a sea of churned mud.

The Thief gave another sigh of relief. There really was a glass coffin, gold trimmed and fur lined. And the Cavalier was lying inside, perfectly still, with his arms folded over his chest.

As she stepped forward, there was a faint buzz from the Cloak, and it's magic started to fade. Uni brayed in alarm, but there were no Orcs left to see her.

Sheila looked around nervously, then pulled back the hood. She walked up to the casket and opened it. Eric looked thinner than usual, and the hollows of his cheeks much more pronounced. A few more days and there would have been just a skeleton left.

Abruptly, the Thief shook her head, trying to get rid of the morbid thoughts. They didn't have time to worry now. The plan was working! She had to wake him, find the weapons and get the others. Simple!

The first part seemed the most difficult. "It depends on the circumstances, when the time comes, you will know" that's what Ellice had said. But what did that mean? Sheila wondered. And why does everyone talk in riddles?

She hesitated, frowning at the still figure of the Cavalier. He seemed so peaceful, and she couldn't help thinking of sleeping beauty. Perhaps that was all it would take to wake him. Mentally crossing her fingers, she leaned across and kissed him very lightly on the cheek.

'Wake up, Eric. Please wake up.'

Seconds passed in silence, then Eric stirred and gave a soft groan. The Thief couldn't suppress a wide smile of relief as the Cavalier opened his eyes and looked up at her blankly. Then he returned her smile.

'Hey Sheila. What are you doin' here?' he said, looking around in confusion. 'And what am I doin' here? In a coffin?' He glanced up at her, the confusion mixed with worry. 'Coffin? Maybe I'm better not knowing!'

Eric sat up and stretched, as if he had just been taking an afternoon nap, then clambered unsteadily out of his not-so-final resting place. He looked around once more.

'Say, you wouldn't happen to have any breakfast? I'm starved!'

The illusion of peace was shattered. Sheila scowled at him.

'How can you think about food at a time like this?' she snapped. 'How can you be so self-centred?'

Eric shrank back. Then he swayed slightly.

'Gee,' he murmured. 'I was just asking…I just feel kinda, funny.'

Sheila scowled at him for a few more seconds. It wasn't his fault that he'd no idea what was happening. She gave a small, conciliatory smile, dreading the inevitable demand for an explanation.

'We're in big trouble, Eric and we have to go,' she said, not feeling ready to confront the whole, horrible reality. They could deal with the details later.

'Ah-huh,' replied the Cavalier, raising an eyebrow. 'So what's new!'

'Do you remember anything?' said Sheila, hoping to distract him, at least for a while.

He gazed up to the sky for inspiration.

'I'm not sure. There was a Henge or something, and I left the camp early and walked to the ravine. There was a plateau, then, um…' He paused and a self-satisfied smile slowly appeared. 'Oh! Yes!'

All of a sudden, the smile vanished.

'Orcs!' he gasped, 'The Orcs attacked and… I fainted!' A look of horror crossed his face. 'I fainted?'

He grabbed Sheila by the arm, his eyes wide.

'Gail! What's happened to her? Where is she!'

Sheila hesitated, unsure how to explain without worrying Eric. He would probably go nuts when he heard where the Harlequin currently was!

'She's not here. There was this magic spell, and she …'

Sheila immediately knew she'd said the wrong thing. The Cavalier looked as if someone had just punched him. He could barely speak.

'A-a spell? S-she did that to me? She was laughing at me behind my back?'

The shock and pain in his voice was unbearable and Sheila desperately tried to get him to listen. Trust the dumb Cavalier to jump to the wrong conclusion!

'No, Eric, you don't unders…'

'J-just as well I didn't like her anyway!' he added, bravely trying to sound like he meant it.

'Eric, will you shu…'

'I-I knew she was playing a trick, she is the damn Harlequin and…'

'ERIC!' shouted Sheila in desperation. 'SHUT UP!'

He looked at her, an arrogant expression on his face. But the look in his eyes told a different story.

'What's gotten into you?' he asked crossly. 'And where is everyone?'

That was going to take too long to explain and it was getting out of hand already. The explanation should wait. They had a job to do!

'We've gotta go. I'll explain on the way. C'mon!'

The Thief dragged him off towards the castle, only letting him pause to grab a dry bit of bread on the way. The Cavalier was still wobbly and had to keep hold of Sheila's arm as they climbed the path.

'Gee, who'd of thought a little nap could take so much out of a guy!' he said breathlessly. 'Look, are you sure we can't stop for a while?'

'We've gotta keep going,' said Sheila urgently, pulling him along.

'What's wrong anyway?' he asked, still looking sullen. 'You said you'd explain! Dumb Harlequin, next time I see her I'll…'

'Look, she didn't trick you!' interrupted Sheila.

Eric snorted.

'Yeah, right. How do you know?'

Sheila stopped, suddenly ashamed again. She didn't want to tell Eric anything about the Powder and her jealousy of Hank, if there was any way to avoid it. Telling Gail had been torture enough.

'She just didn't, OK?'

'Well, no, actually,' replied Eric, 'it's not OK. And I'm not going anywhere until you tell me EXACTLY what's happened.'

The Cavalier folded his arms and stood there in the open, half way up the path to the castle, easy for any Orc to see. Sheila looked around. She knew Eric well enough to realise there was now no way to avoid this. She pursed her lips, guilt and embarrassment spreading through her.

'I, well, I tried to play a trick on Hank, for spending so much time with the Amazon,' she said slowly, unable to look the Cavalier in the eye. 'I put some magic dust on him and then followed him up to the ravine, to watch what happened.' Eric lost what little colour he had. 'But it wasn't Hank, and…' Sheila trailed off, unable to think of a good way to say the rest. But she didn't need to. Eric had guessed.

'You put it on Gail instead of Hank,' he said quietly.

Sheila nodded, the guilt and embarrassment now thousands of times more acute. The look on his face would haunt her forever.

'It was supposed to put him off kissing anyone for a while,' she said lamely. 'I'm sorry.'

Neither spoke. There was suddenly nothing to say.

'Meeeeh!' said Uni urgently.

Sheila tugged at his arm.

'So now you know Gail didn't trick you. It was all my fault! But we've gotta go, there's not much time!'

Eric looked haughtily at her. She'd never seen him look at anyone with such disgust before.

'Yeah, right, Sheee-laaa! Like I'm ever going to trust YOU again!' He turned away with a snort. 'What's the big rush, anyway? I mean, it's not like the Orcs actually captured everyone…this …time…and…'

He turned back to Sheila and Uni, looking from one to the other in alarm.

'They did!' Eric whispered, aghast. 'They did?' He swayed, and Sheila grabbed his arm to stop him falling.

'Can you stand?' she said. The Cavalier yanked his arm away. He glared at her, obviously struggling between storming off in a huff and helping her rescue the others. Intelligence and loyalty got the upper hand, but it seemed like an extremely close call.

'So Orcs got all of them?' he asked, still watching her warily.

Sheila nodded.

'But we have a plan.'

'We?' said Eric, taking refuge in sarcasm. 'You and Uni? Phew! That's OK then!'

'Me and Gail,' replied Sheila. 'She'll impersonate me, so Venger thinks he's captured us all. Then I free you when all the guards have gone and we go to the Keep, get the weapons and rescue everyone.'

'That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard!' said Eric sharply. 'He'll never fall for that!'

The Thief shrugged.

'It's too late to worry about that now!'

'And how do you know where the others are, anyway?' asked the Cavalier pointedly.

'Uni knows.'

Eric looked unimpressed.

'Yeah? Can she map read now?'

'Gail impersonated an Orc, and took her to Venger. Uni found the others and then teleported out, with my Cloak.'

'Gail did that?' he asked scornfully.

'She didn't take much persuading,' replied Sheila, remembering how confident the Harlequin had been.

'She didn't?' asked Eric uncertainly. 'Wow, she's crazier than I thought!'

Uni whined again, this time more urgently.

'Please, Eric, we've gotta go. We've gotta get them out before Venger realises his mistake and takes it out on Gail!'

The Cavalier was visibly shaken at the thought, and he gave a quick nod.

'Don't think I've forgiven you,' he said. 'But let's just go!'

They started towards the castle again, Eric walking in cold silence behind Uni and Sheila.

In the end, it turned out to be easier than she'd expected. The castle was huge and dark, and far too quiet for a place that size. There were almost no Orcs, and the few they saw were easy to hide from.

The weapons were lying unguarded, in pride of place on a dais in the main hall, almost as if Venger had left them out deliberately. Eric picked up his Shield and Sheila started to collect the other weapons. It took her a short while to gather them, there were ten, after all. The Bow, the Staff and the Trident caused the real problems, and it was just as well that she didn't have to carry the Shield too.

'Hey, Eric, gimme me a hand, will you?' she asked.

The Cavalier scanned the table, then picked up Presto's Hat and walked off without a backwards glance. Sheila watched him with a sinking feeling in her heart, then gathered the other weapons. When she had them all secure, she followed Eric.

'OK, Uni,' she said. 'Show us the way.'

The unicorn trotted forward and across the main courtyard and down a few corridors. There was more activity here, Orcs were carrying things back and forth, but none of them were paying much attention to anything else. All the Orcs were shuffling in and out of one particular room.

'Is than the room, Uni?' whispered Sheila.

Uni nodded.

Slowly, the three of them made their way closer to the room, being careful not to be seen. The Thief and the Cavalier looked at each other.

They could see into the hall. The 'other' Sheila was standing in front of Venger on a raised wooden platform. She looked scared.

'Let's get on with it!' whispered Eric urgently.

Sheila nodded.

'I'll go give these back to their owners,' she whispered back. 'Keep his attention for as long as you can.'

The Cavalier nodded, concentrating more on Venger than what she was saying. Sheila gently rubbed the unicorn's nose with a free finger and said:

'Uni, when we're both in, distract those other Orcs.'

'Myeah!'

Eric looked crossly at the Thief for a second then, just as she reached for her Cloak, the corner of his mouth twitched into a slight smile. He handed the Hat back to her.

'Um, look, Sheila. Be careful.'

She smiled.

'Thanks, Eric. You too!'

Sheila tucked the weapons under her Cloak. Peter's Trident kept slipping, but she crept slowly forwards, into the hall.

It was one of the most disconcerting experiences she'd ever had. She could see herself, caught by Venger. It was like watching an alternative history. This is what would have happened if she'd tried to help the others on her own. She saw the look of fear in her own eyes and shuddered. Was this how it would have been, if she'd left the Harlequin to sulk and come here alone?

The Arch-Mage was gloating once more, and Sheila realised that they had arrived just in time. Gail was in serious trouble!

They had been right about most things, but the Thief had never thought Venger would get so angry when the Cloak slipped through his fingers. Certainly not angry enough to kill! A few more minutes and they would have been too late.

She frowned. There was no way to get all the weapons to the right people in time, so she headed straight for Hank's cell. He would know what to do. He always did.

The last Orc had just left, and Venger had turned to face his victim.

'So, Thief!'

As Gail looked up, she could see directly out of the door and must have seen the Cavalier as he crept in.

'You're loving this, aren't you!' she said coldly, the relief in her voice obvious to Sheila. 'But I'm surprised you have the guts to do this yourself!'

The real Thief gasped, but Venger didn't hear. All his attention was on Gail.

'You will soon be silent forever, girl!'

'I doubt you have the courage!'

Sheila glanced back at the door. Eric getting closer with every step and Hank's cage was only feet away.

'You dare…insult…ME!' Venger spluttered. 'You…dare…'

Sheila was right beside the Ranger's cell. Hank was staring at the fake Thief in total shock. No one seemed to have noticed the Cavalier.

The Arch-Mage suddenly raised his hand, red fire at his fingertips. Sheila dropped the golden Bow through the bars of Hank's cage and it took him a second to notice. The surprise on his face would have been funny under other circumstances, and he stared at the Bow, unable to believe his eyes. But Sheila didn't stop to watch. She pulled the pesky Trident out from her Cloak. Peter's cage was close by.

'ENOUGH!' the Arch-Mage shouted. 'I will be rid of you, Thief!'

'I wouldn't be so sure,' Shelia heard Gail say.

Then Eric spoke, from right behind Venger.

'So, did I miss anything important?'