Battle of the Heroes by Kate Forsyth

Author:Kate Forsyth [Forsyth, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781760270995
Publisher: Scholastic Australia
Published: 2015-08-25T04:00:00+00:00

‘Look how thick the dust is,’ Elanor said. ‘No-one has come this way in a very long time.’

She coughed as the dust swirled up from her feet.

The passageway led steadily downwards, slowly curving around in a spiral. The children followed it, trying hard not to send the dust swirling too high. Soon they reached a bitterly cold chamber. They shivered in their damp rags, rubbing their arms. Elanor lifted her candelabra high, but the flickering light of the candles barely pierced the shadows. They crept on. Slowly, their candles illuminated a gleaming block of ice.

Something golden curved out of it.

‘It’s a sword,’ said Sebastian. He gripped the golden hilt and tried to draw it out of the ice. It was stuck fast. ‘Fungus! That sword would have been really useful.’

Tom tried but the sword wouldn’t budge. ‘Could we try to melt the ice?’

‘If only Bel was here …’ said Sebastian.

‘Well, since she’s not here, I guess we’ll have to try it the old-fashioned way.’ They held their candle-flames to the ice. Water dripped down. The ice gradually melted.

As the water dripped, it fell into a small basin at the base of the block of ice and then trickled away down a stone channel. Fergus and Wulfric lapped at it thirstily. The ice melted faster and faster. The sword began to reveal itself. Elanor had never seen a sword like it. It shone gold and had a wicked curve.

At last, Sebastian was able to draw the blade free of the ice, which broke apart and fell into the basin, sending a rush of water down the channel.

‘Have you ever seen such a beautiful thing?’ Sebastian exulted, sweeping the blade back and forth. ‘It’s so light, so perfectly balanced.’ As he whipped the sword around, it accidentally swiped off the top of Tom’s candles, so that they were plunged into a deeper gloom. ‘So sharp,’ Sebastian marvelled.

Tom rolled his eyes at Elanor and she bit back a grin. Nobody said anything to Sebastian, though.

‘What’s that noise?’ Quinn interrupted.

They all fell silent, listening. A low rumble filled the air. Elanor lifted high her guttering candles.

A door of carved stone was grinding open a few steps ahead of them. ‘Look!’ she pointed.

The water that had flowed down the channel was turning a water-wheel, and that in turn was opening the doors. The children rushed forward, Wulfric tumbling along behind.

Within was a beautifully wrought chamber, delicate pillars soaring high to a point in the centre of the ceiling. Cobwebs were draped like grey tattered curtains from every height and covered four marble effigies that lay on raised tombstones. The statues’ heads pointed towards the four points of the compass, while their feet faced a round basin in the very centre of the room. As the water turned the wheel and opened the door, it ran on through a stone channel and poured into the dry-bottomed basin.

Two of the statues were men in chain mail and strange, pointed boots. One clasped a curved sword in his gauntleted hands, twin to the one in Sebastian’s hands, though made of marble.

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