Free Escape from Wolfhaven Castle by Kate Forsyth Page A

looked up and saw a rope dangling above her. It ran through a pulley to the grate. She stood up, reaching for it.
    ‘What are you doing?’ the boys called. ‘We’re about to crash! Get down!’
    Swaying precariously, Quinn ignored them. She grasped the rope and yanked it hard. With a rusty roar, the iron grate swung up and out of the way, and the boat shot out into the expanse of water. Quinn wasknocked off-balance and fell back into the boat, her landing softened by the cushions and blankets. The grate swung down and closed with a shudder behind them.
    The boat spun and slowed and eventually came to a stop against a stone wall. Tom caught hold of an iron ring, to stop the boat from sliding away again.
    ‘How did you know to do that, Quinn?’ Sebastian wanted to know.
    ‘I just … I just saw the end of the rope approaching and thought maybe it would lift the grate,’ Quinn lied. She was too exhausted, and too puzzled by the mysterious voice in her head, to even try and explain.
    It was almost dawn. The water was now a pale grey under the swirling mist, the sky above even paler. Quinn saw a low dark archway to either side, and, beyond, the black silhouette of trees and hills and the pointed roofs of houses. She realised they had come out under the bridge. To the left was the harbour with the town of Wolfhaven crouched on its shores. To the right the river wound its way through meadowsand forest, heading north-east. The tide was going out, which meant the boat was being dragged towards the harbour.
    Quickly Tom tied the boat up to the ring in the stone wall, then blew out the lanterns. ‘We don’t know if the town has been taken over by the invaders,’ he explained. ‘Until we find out, we don’t want anyone to see us. All the river traffic would go under the central arch, so we’re completely hidden here.’
    ‘What shall we do?’ Elanor asked. Her face was white in the dim dawn light, her hazel eyes enormous.
    ‘Let’s see what’s happening in the town,’ Quinn said, taking a telescope from the cupboard. She looked through its eye-piece at the town. It was hard to see much, the mist was so thick, but every now and again it swirled away, giving her a glimpse of the streets.
    Everything was strangely peaceful. She saw a woman on her knees scrubbing her front steps. A milkmaid led her cow from door to door, a yoke with two pails set upon her shoulders. A baker was setting out fresh rolls in his window.
    ‘It’s like nothing has happened,’ she said, baffled.Sebastian tried to seize the telescope from her, but she shoved him away. ‘Wait!’
    She trained the telescope on the castle, sweeping it along the battlements. Suddenly she stiffened. A tall black form in a helmet with boar tusks stood on the castle ramparts. He was issuing orders with a forceful fist. The skeletal shapes of bog-men scuttled away, thousands of them.
    ‘The tusked knight,’ she whispered. ‘I think he’s looking for us.’
    ‘We need to get away,’ Tom said. ‘Hide out in the forest.’
    ‘Hide?’ Sebastian said scornfully. ‘We should be rousing the town, and gathering an army.’
    ‘No, it’s smart,’ Tom replied. ‘If we try to rescue anyone now, we’ll only get caught ourselves. No-one in the town can stand against that tusked knight and his bog-men. We’ll only get them and ourselves killed. No, we need to get help first.’
    ‘Tom’s right,’ Elanor said. ‘What can we do, four of us alone?’
    Fergus gave a little whuff and she rubbed his ears.‘I’m sorry, Sir Fergus. Four children and one brave dog.’
    ‘We should go now, while there’s still mist to hide us,’ said Tom. ‘It might burn off as the sun comes up and then we’d be seen.’
    ‘The tide’s against us,’ Quinn said. ‘We’ll have to row.’
    Everyone groaned. They were all so tired, no-one really wanted to spend the next few hours rowing against the tide.
    ‘We mustn’t be caught,’ Elanor said. ‘If we are taken prisoner too,