The Book of Beasts by John Barrowman

Author:John Barrowman [Barrowman, John & Carole E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781781856345
Publisher: Head of Zeus
Published: 2014-06-16T16:00:00+00:00

THIRTY-EIGHT

Breathless and red-faced, Matt appeared at Solon’s side within moments. The young scribe was gazing around in consternation, looking for the source of the rapid high-pitched squeal coming from the walkie-talkie in his hand.

‘You can take your finger off the button now,’ Matt said.

Solon did. To their relief, the squealing stopped.

‘I think I know where your Jeannie is being held,’ Solon said.

Matt tensed. ‘Where?’

‘In the tower on Era Mina. I saw the two drunken fools who have been taking food to her.’

Matt climbed over the rubble and out on to the rocks that lined the shore. Even with the help of the opera glasses, all he could see was the faint outline of the pencil tower in the pale light of the moon. It was still amazing to him how dark it was in the Middle Ages.

‘We need to get across there and see,’ he said, lowering the binoculars.

‘Did you find my master?’ Solon asked.

Matt shook his head. ‘The cell is empty. What happened in there? The whole room smells of bird droppings.’

‘One of my master’s inadvertent animations.’ Solon untethered the gravediggers’ rowing boat and dragged it to the water’s edge. ‘If your father has locked your Jeannie up in that tower, then he may have done the same to my master.’ He climbed in the boat and took the oars in his hands. ‘Are you coming?’

As Solon rowed them both towards the small island, Matt thought about animating an outboard motor. But an engine noise, of any size, in this time would call attention to them. So far they had managed to avoid his dad’s notice. No point in pushing their luck, just to save a little time.

The island loomed up in front of them. The boys climbed out into the freezing, knee-deep surf, dragged the boat to a level above the tidemark and ran to the tower.

The first thing that Matt noticed was the way that the door stood almost two metres from the ground. Perhaps it had been built that way to avoid the tower flooding during high tides. The second was the thin pulsing glow of an animation shield around the door’s perimeter, much like the one Simon had created for the Abbey. But it was the third thing that lifted his heart. He could hear singing. Melodic and merry and unmistakably Jeannie.

‘Your Jeannie carries a fine tune,’ said Solon, looking up at the arrow slits, the only openings in the tower other than the door.

Removing his parka, Matt tore out another piece of the lining to use as a canvas, leaned against the stone wall and began to draw. Seconds later, he shoved Solon out of the way as the air above him rustled and a wooden ladder fell from nowhere.

After Matt had helped Solon up from the rocks, the boys manoeuvred the ladder against the wall, driving its wooden legs securely into the sand.

‘I’ll climb,’ said Matt. ‘You watch for any changes in the door animation, or for anyone coming across the bay. If

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