The Spook 9 - Slither's tale by Delaney Joseph Page A

asleep myself and began to dream.
    The rat is crawling up onto my body now. I can feel its small sharp claws pricking into my skin through the blankets. It is sitting on my chest. Its tail goes
thumpety-thump,
faster and faster, keeping perfect time with the beating of my heart
.
    And now there is a new thing, even more terrifying. The rat seems to be growing heavier by the second. Its weight is pressing down on my chest, making it difficult to breathe. How can that be possible? How can a rat be so large and heavy?

THE FOLLOWING DAY we made good progress, but finally it became necessary to kill one of the horses for food.
    Despite her protests, I chose Nessa’s mount because I judged it to be the weakest of the three. Of course, when I started to drink its hot sweet blood, the purrai became upset. That didn’t stop them eating the meat once I’d cooked some for them, though. They did what I did in order to survive. So why did they turn from me in revulsion?
    From then on, Nessa and Susan were forced to ride together while I carried the youngest purra with me. Nessa protested and offered to ride with me so that Bryony could be with her elder sister, but I refused. I might have to fight again at any moment so I wanted to spare my own horse as much as possible. Bryony was light, and mercifully she didn’t make a fuss about riding with me, though I could feel that she held herself rigid with terror.
    Finally, after another week of travelling, we were within sight of Valkarky. It was just after midday, and although at this latitude the sun was still low in the sky, it was a bright clear day and the visibility was excellent.
    ‘What are those lights?’ Nessa asked, bringing her horse alongside mine. She stared directly into my eyes as she spoke, but her sister clung to her back and averted her face so that she would not have to look at me.
    On the horizon there was a shimmering curtain of colour, the whole spectrum of the rainbow. At times it seemed to open, giving a glimpse of what seemed to be utter blackness within.
    ‘The lights shine from the eyes and mouths of the creatures who are building Valkarky,’ I answered. ‘Soon the walls of the city will be in view. That sight will delight your eyes and fill your hearts with happiness!’
    I was proud of our city, but having chosen the vocation of a haizda mage, I lived far away in order to learn and develop my magic. Now, in truth, I was happy to be away from its intrigues and bustle, but it was still good to return occasionally to the place of my birth.
    As we got closer, the three sisters found it difficult to look upon the city – it gleamed too brightly; nor could they appreciate the beauty of the industrious sixteen-legged
whoskor
, which swarmed over Valkarky’s outskirts, engaged in the never-ending task of extending it. The eyes of these creatures swayed gracefully upon long black stalks and their brown fur rippled in the breeze as they spat soft stone from their mouths before working it skilfully with their delicate forelimbs, adding it to the new sections of wall.
    We were approaching the southern edge of the developing city. Here the walls were uneven in height, obviously in various states of construction.
    ‘Those are terrible creatures walking the walls!’ Nessa cried, pointing up towards the whoskor. Bryony and Susan were wide-eyed and silent in their shock. ‘They are so huge and there are so many of them. We can’t go in there! We can’t! Take us away, please.’
    But I disregarded her protests and the wailing of her terrified sisters. We followed the road that led up to the main gate, flanked on either side by the walls. The further we travelled into the city, the older the fortifications. In the course of our journey, which lasted almost half a day, we passed through several gates in the succession of inner defensive walls. Each was already open to receive us, but I noted that they closed behind us after we had passed through, cutting off any