Spook's: The Dark Army (The Starblade Chronicles) by Joseph Delaney Page B

it?
    I’d no time to consider this further because Grimalkin had completed her spell and was ready to advance. We entered the trees to the left of the path. I took the lead, Grimalkin at my heels, with our small band following in single file. We moved cautiously, making as little noise as possible. There was no wind and it was very gloomy, with cloud now obscuring the moon.
    I sensed the dark mass of the tower ahead, then heard the snort of a horse; the sound came from somewhere to the left of the tower, and it was followed by a whinny. I signalled that we should halt, my heart lurching with anxiety. Were there Kobalos warriors ahead, waiting to attack us?
    ‘It’s just the stables!’ Grimalkin hissed into my ear. ‘They’re inside the wall. Keep going towards the kulad!’
    I felt angry with myself. I was too jumpy – I still hadn’t got over the trauma of my death. It had sapped my confidence and set my nerves on edge.
    Finally we came to the edge of the trees and saw the tower directly ahead. It was constructed from huge blocks of dark purple stone that dripped with water. Keeping within the trees, I led us to the right, towards the cinder path.
    Grimalkin put her hand on my shoulder and whispered once more into my ear. ‘I’ll try to gain entry to the kulad now. Keep the men back until I signal that it’s safe to follow.’
    I turned to the warriors and gestured that we should crouch low. Then I pointed first to Grimalkin and then to the kulad as if ordering her forward.
    She stepped boldly onto the path and approached the high wall; it didn’t drip like the tower, but glistened as if covered in beads of sweat. I saw that the drawbridge was up and wondered how she planned to cross the moat.
    In seconds the answer became clear, and I heard the warriors around me gasp in astonishment. It was no longer Grimalkin who stood there with her back to us, facing the drawbridge. It was a huge Kobalos warrior dressed in full armour. And when she called out, it was not in her own voice but in a harsh deep guttural tone of command.
    From conversations with the witch assassin back in the County, I knew that this was not true shape-shifting but a spell of illusion – though it was totally convincing. She
was
to all intents and purposes a Kobalos warrior!
    No reply came from the tower, but she got the answer that we all wanted. With a clank of chains, a rasp of metal and a creak of wood, the drawbridge began to descend. Once it was in position, Grimalkin stepped closer to the moat and waited. With shrieks of tortured metal, the portcullis began to rise. When it was fully up, she crossed the drawbridge, passed through the gate and disappeared from view.
    We waited for several minutes and I started to become anxious again. Had she been discovered? Had something happened to her? The Kobalos mages had powerful magic. Would Lenklewth, the second most powerful mage in the Triumvirate, somehow know of her deception?
    I needn’t have worried. Grimalkin reappeared under the portcullis. She had reverted to her own shape once more and beckoned us forward. We ran across the drawbridge and gathered inside the wall. There were several Kobalos bodies on the ground, and they had died violent deaths at her hands.
    I noted the looks of astonishment on the faces of our men. They were clearly impressed by what she’d achieved.
    I’d hardly had time to take that in when Grimalkin pointed to the open door of the tower. At a word from her, three of our archers took up their positions, guarding the door and protecting our rear. The others followed us quickly into the tower.
    A staircase led upwards in a widdershins spiral, but the ceiling continued uninterrupted above our heads, so we couldn’t see how far up it went or whether our enemies were waiting to ambush us. There were no landings – just openings that gave access to each floor. I could smell new wood – the floors appeared to be of fairly recent construction.
    Grimalkin pointed upwards