Chapter 2

Eric hadn't moved. He was still staring at Sheila as if she was the only person on the planet.

The Ranger glared at Eric, but the Cavalier wouldn't look him in the eye. If there was one of them that he'd always had doubts about, it was the Cavalier. He was always moaning or sulking about something. In fact, he was surprised it had taken Eric so long; he was always the weakest one. But Hank's sense of fairness wouldn't be ignored, no matter how obvious and likely it was.

'We have to give him the benefit of the doubt,' said Hank slowly. It was possible that she'd misunderstood. They all turned, and Eric looked from one to the other like a frighten rabbit. 'And…'

She cut him off.

'He's working for Venger and I can prove it! He's got a signal flare, when he drops it over the side, the Orcs are going to attack!'

'You've gotta be wrong, Sheila,' said Presto slowly. 'Eric wouldn't betray us!'

'I'm not wrong,' she said firmly.

They looked back at Eric, and the Cavalier suddenly found his voice.

'D-don't be ridiculous, Sheila,' he said, reverting back to his normal sarcastic tone. 'I did no such thing!'

The Thief started forward, and Hank had to catch her round the waist before she reached the other boy.

'I saw you!' she snarled, wriggling against Hank's firm grip. 'I heard what you said in the Orc camp! I saw it! Make him tell, Hank,' she had turned to look pleadingly into his eyes. God, that look made him feel sick. 'Make him tell what he did to Bobby!'

'I haven't done anything wrong…' started Eric.

Presto had moved to his side.

'Do you have a flare?' the Magician asked coldly.

'No,' said Eric firmly. 'Well, yes. Not exactly, but… I think I might have found one, but I don't…'

Hank was staring at the Cavalier. He was such a bad liar. Hank held out his hand.

Eric stared at it for a second, then pulled a small flare out of his pocket and dropped it onto Hank's palm.

Without a word, the Ranger fired it over the side.

There was a few seconds of silence.

'See!' said Eric. 'Nothing's gonna…'

There was a huge crunching noise from below, and the tree shuddered again. Huge arrows had impacted on the trunk, and the Orcs were climbing up.

Hank turned and stared at Eric, fighting the desire to dump the Cavalier over the side too.

The Bear King looked up from his telescope.

'They had seen YOUR signal,' he said angrily.

Eric looked stricken, whiter than he'd ever been before, he looked as if he was about to pass out. The sickness inside Hank turned to anger. That bastard…!

'I don't believe it…' said Presto.

'Eric, why?' asked Diana.

The Cavalier looked to the Acrobat, and tried to say something, but he never got the chance.

'Green Ones!' bellowed a Bear. 'Take cover!

'The whole Orc army is scaling the tree!' said Diana.

'Is this how you planned it, Eric, all of us captured at the hands of the Orcs?' demanded Sheila.

Eric looked at her, unable to reply, and Sheila squirmed again. Hank didn't trust her enough to release her. She was as angry as she'd ever been! The Ranger resisted the temptation to let go and let her tear Eric's eyes out. He was thinking of Sheila, not Eric!

'What are we gonna do?' asked Diana.

Hank looked round, trying to think of a good plan. It had all happened so fast. Eric's treachery had shaken him badly. He was about to admit to the others that he didn't know what to do, when he saw the Cloudbears, sitting in a small circle.

He stared, open-mouthed, as they began to chant.

'Cloud bears call, to Cloud so high, Help us save, our home in sky.'

'Whatya doing!' said Presto incredulously, 'This is no time for games!'

'Not game! Cloud Bears protected by Cloud Spirit,' said Bombam, pointing upwards.

'Spirit?' said Presto uncertainly. 'What can he do? Throw lightning bolts?'

There was a sudden crack of thunder and a flash. Rain started pouring down. Flashes of lightning broke the sky, lashing out deliberately that the Orcs below, sending them all running for cover.

Then, as suddenly as they had appeared, the cloud cleared. It was over. The Orcs were gone!

The kids looked round at each other, relived. One by one their gaze stopped at the Cavalier.

'We might be safe from the Orcs, but not from him!' hissed Sheila pointing at the Cavalier. 'Make him, tell, Hank, make him tell us what happened to Bobby?' She took a step forward, and the Ranger kept a firm grip on her arm.

'Guys, it's not my fault, I…'

'Save it Eric, we don't wanna know!'

Hank's face grew hard. It had finally happened. This is what Dungeonmaster meant; you will face the most difficult trial of your life…betrayal by a friend.

Eric looked at the others.

'C'mon, guys,' he said. 'It's not what you think, I w…'

'Shut up Eric!' ordered Hank, taking a step forward. 'And get out!'

'Hank, please.'

'SHUT UP!' screamed Sheila.

The Cavalier was shocked into silence.

Hank looked round to his friends. Presto looked as of he'd been stabbed in the back, so did Diana.

'Wait a minute,' said Presto timidly. 'A person is innocent until proven guilty. R-right Hank?'

The Ranger had to nod.

'What DO you have to say, then, Eric?'

'I didn't…betray you guys, I just…' the Cavalier stopped, looking round anxiously, gazing into the shadows. 'I, just…'

He didn't say any more and Hank felt disgusted. Eric didn't even try to defend himself.

'Why d'you do it, Eric?' whispered Presto. 'Was it something we did?'

Eric opened his mouth, but Sheila spoke first.

'Make him tell what he did to Bobby! Where's my brother!'

'Take it easy, Sheila,' said Diana.

'But what if treason isn't the only thing he's guilty of, what if…' she began to cry.

'We trusted you, Eric,' said Presto in a broken voice. 'After all we've been through together, I thought you were my friend.'

He moved next to Hank and Sheila, and Diana did as well.

Then, with one accord, they turned and walked away.

Eric watched the others go, feeling as though he'd been stabbed in the heart. How could that one action hurt so very much? His friends, they had turned away…

There was a movement beside him. It was one of the Cloudbears, the female one, looking just as unfriendly as his friends.

She signalled him to follow, and in silence he walked behind her to the elevator.

'Cloud Bear custom,' she said, removing the red stone around her neck and handing it to him. 'Heartstone bring luck.'

'Th-thanks.' He didn't know how he managed to get the word out. This had all gone wrong, and he had no idea how to make it right again. His friends hated him! He could see that look in his minds eye. They didn't just hate him, they despised him! What was he gonna do?

With a knock of his stick, the Bear King signalled for the elevator to go down.

None of his friends saw him go.

But below, the Orcs were starting to regroup. They watched him in silence for a short while, then started jeering at him.

'What's the matter human?'

'Got no friends no more?'

They laughed, and Eric felt even worse. Not only did he hate being laughed at, he hated himself for being so weak. But he kept walking, forcing himself to put one foot in front of the other and not curl up under the nearest tree and cry his heart out.

He walked into the forest, heading vaguely towards the Castle.

'Why couldn't I have told them?' he murmured, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. 'I had no choice…'