Page 33 (1/2)

"No," agreed Sabriel "They’ll have to edom, and physically cross the Wall It would probably be best not to try and stop him"

"I’m afraid we can’t do that" replied Horyse "That’s what the Perimeter Garrison is here for"

"A lot of your soldiers will die to no purpose then," said Touchstone "Si, and anybody, that gets in Kerrigor’s ill be destroyed"

"So you want us to just let thisthis thing and a horde of Dead descend on Ancelstierre?"

"Not exactly," replied Sabriel "I would like to fight hi If you lend me all the soldiers here who have the Charter h tior’s body Also, ill be alor’s power htly lessened, but many of hisor da their physical forms will be sufficient to send thearrison? We’ll just stand aside and let Kerrigor and his arh the Perimeter?"

"You probably won’t have a choice"

"I see," ot up, and paced backwards and forwards, six steps, all the dugout would allow "Fortunately, or unfortunately perhaps--I a the whole Perimeter General Ashenber has returned south, due toahill health A teive any sort of higher command to those of us ear the Charter , and stared back at Sabriel and Touchstone--but his eyes seeated iron that walled the dugout Finally, he spoke

"Very well I will give you twelve Charter Mages--half of the full complement of the Scouts--but I will also add some more mundane force A detachment to escort you toas it? Docky Point But I can’t proht on the Perimeter"

"We need you, too, Colonel," Sabriel said, in the silence that followed his decision "You’re the strongest Charter Mage the Garrison has"

"Impossible!" Horyse exclaimed emphatically "I’m in command of the Perimeter My responsibilities lie here"

"You’ll never be able to explain tonight, anyway," Sabriel said "Not to any general down south, or to anyone who hasn’t crossed the Wall"

"I’llI’ll think about it while you have so to eat," Horyse declared, the rattle of a tray and plates tactfully announcing the arrival of a mess orderly on the steps "Coes of the silver dishes As he put the tray down, Horyse strode out past hier! I want the Adjutant, Major Tindall and the CSM from ‘A’ Company, Lieutenant Aire from the Scouts, the RSM and the Quartermaster In the Operations Room in ten minutes Ohcall in the Transport Officer too And warn the Signals staff to stand by for coding"

Chapter 26

Everything moved rapidly after the tea was drunk Almost too rapidly for the exhausted Sabriel and Touchstone Judging fro about in all directions, while they ate their belated lunch Then, before they could even begin to digest, Horyse was back, telling the a bit player in the school play, Sabriel thought, as she sturound There was an awful lot happening around her, but she didn’t really feel part of it She felt Touchstone lightly brush her arly--it had to be even worse for hiround, towards a waiting line of trucks, an open staff car and two strange steel-plated contraptions Lozenge-shaped, with gun turrets on either side, and caterpillar tracks Tanks, Sabriel realized A relatively recent invention Like the trucks, they were roaring, engines belching blue-grey sines would stop when the wind blew in froor came

Horyse led theestured for the with us?" Sabriel asked, hesitantly, as she settled back in the heavily padded leather seats, fighting a wave of tiredness that threatened immediate sleep

"Yes," replied Horyse, slowly He seemed surprised at his own answer, and suddenly far away "Yes, I a up fro down "What did you see?"

"The usual thing," replied Horyse He got in the front seat, and nodded to the driver--a thin-faced veteran of the Scouts, whose Charter mark was almost invisible on his weather-beaten forehead

"What do you mean?" asked Sabriel, but her question was lost as the driver pressed the starter switch, and the car coughed and spluttered into life, a tenor accompaniment to the bass cacophony of the trucks and tanks

Touchstone jumped at the sudden noise and vibration, then sers on his ar’?" asked Sabriel

Touchstone looked at her, sadness and exhaustion vying for first place in his gaze He took her hand in his own and traced a line across her pal sort of line

"Oh," muttered Sabriel She sniffed and looked at the back of Horyse’s head, eyes blurring, seeing only the line of his cropped silver hair extending just past his hele as , clutching Touchstone’s hand till his fingers were as white as her own "Why, oh why, does everythingeveryone"

The car started forith a lurch, preceded by two motorcycle outriders and followed by each of the nine trucks in turn, carefully spaced out every hundred yards The tanks, with tracks screeching and clanking, took a side road up to the railway siding where they would be loaded up and sent on to Wyverley Halt It was unlikely they would arrive before nightfall The road convoy would be at Docky Point before six in the afternoon

Sabriel was silent for the first ten htly on Touchstone’s He sat silently too, but watching, looking out as they left theat the prosperous farms of Ancelstierre, the sealed roads, the brick houses, the private cars and horse-drawn vehicles that pulled off the road in front of them, cleared aside by the two red-capped ht now," Sabriel said quietly, as they slowed to pass through the town of Bain Touchstone nodded, still watching, staring at the shop s in the High Street The townspeople stared back, for it was rare to see soldiers in full Perimeter battle equipment, with sword-bayonets and shields--and Sabriel and Touchstone were clearly frodom

"We have to stop by the Police Station, and warn the Superintendent," Horyse announced as their car pulled in next to an ie, blue electric lanterns hanging out the front, and a sturdy sign proclai it to be the headquarters of the Bainshire Constabulary