Shade’s Children. Garth Nix

Ella: Yes. I know. Shade: Well, we must prepare as best we can. Now, try not to sound bored when you’re doing this. Just matter-of-fact. Start in three… One… two… three…

      Touch the screen to begin. Thank you.

      This is Lesson A41 of the First Series. Pay attention. There will be an exam following this session.

      The subject of this lesson is the organisation of the Overlords’ creatures. The five basic creature types used by the Overlords in their battles are Screamers, Trackers, Myrmidons, Wingers and Ferrets. These creatures are always found in groups.

      If you cannot accurately identify these creatures, then go back and study Lesson A2.

      The following simple verse will help you remember the number of creatures in a group and the name we give the group.

       Screams scream singly, all alone;

       Trackers track in trios of three;

       Ferrets follow in fangs of five;

       Myrmidons march in maniples of seven;

      Wingers fly in flights of nine.

      It is important to know how many creatures there are in a group, because there will never be less than this number in any given area. If you see one Myrmidon, there will be six more somewhere nearby. If you see one Winger, the other eight will be in sight of the first.

      Only Myrmidon Masters and certain special creatures will be seen alone. These are covered in Lesson A42.

      Now, I will repeat the verse…

       CHAPTER FIVE

      “So you are. I will come down.”

      The voice answering Ella seemed to come from everywhere in the room. It was a deep, obviously adult voice, full of confidence and the echo of a different time. A time before the Change.

      It was followed by a sudden flash of a green laser shining down from the ceiling into the chair behind the desk.

      Tiny dots of light followed the beam down. They were many different colours and fell and swirled like kaleidoscopic snow. As they fell, they joined together like a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle.

      Then the laser flared still brighter and Gold-Eye blinked. When he opened his eyes again, the laser beam and the falling motes of light were gone – and there was a man sitting behind the desk.

      A real, fully grown man. Thirty years old at least, or even more – if that was possible. He was smiling and his teeth were whiter than any Gold-Eye had ever seen, his eyes bluer and more piercing.

      “Welcome back,” he said. “And welcome to you too, Gold-Eye. I am Shade.”

      “Hello,” said Gold-Eye in an awed whisper. He felt like throwing himself at Shade’s feet, the way they used to do in the Dorms when an Overlord came.

      “I’ll have a talk with you later, Gold-Eye,” Shade continued, fixing him with a clear blue gaze that seemed to hold an equal mixture of distant affection and anger held in check. “But first I will hear Ella’s report.”

      “Yes, sir,” said Ella, standing to attention. “A team consisting of myself, Drum and Ninde left the Sub pre-dawn two days ago on a routine patrol. We took the Main Drain and then Northwest Six to the Hospital Exit. Water level throughout was medium, with one non-threatening surge.

      “At the hospital there was no creature activity except for Winger patrols. Myrmidon Death Markers indicated that a battle had been fought in the Hospital gardens several days previously, between Red Diamond and Blue Star forces, with victory going to Red Diamond. There was also an unusual battle poem posted in the gardens, dedicated to the Red Diamond Overlord. It was written in English, not Myrmidon Battlespeech. I have a copy.

      “In the late afternoon, increasing Winger patrols suggested that the Death Marker truce period was over and that our presence was suspected. This was confirmed by Ninde, who looked into the minds of an approaching trio that had been sent to find us.

      “We then took West Drain Four into the city. This should be marked as dangerous till there is more rain – it was only just flowing.”

      “Noted,” said Shade, nodding his head but making no move to write in the thick leather-bound book that had appeared on his desk at the same time he had.

      “We exited the drain outside the Central Fire Station,” continued Ella. “As it was almost dark, I decided we’d spend the night in one of the hose-drying towers, which we did. There was considerable Ferret activity below, but none tried to climb up even part of the way.

      “At midnight Drum had the watch. He woke me to advise that the lights along Park Avenue had come on and a fog was forming on the bay. Half an hour later the fog spread inland, the main mass seeming to be directed up Park Avenue. However, there were no visible Claim Fires out, so we presumed that the fog was being prepared early for a battle in several days’ time.”

      “Correct,” interrupted Shade. “I have a report that the fog was thickened and then moved further west for a battle between Black Banner and Emerald Crown over the Williams River Raceway. They’re probably fighting now.”

      “Since the fog was still there the next morning without battle preparations,” Ella continued, “we decided to move above ground and check out the railway yards between Central and Redtree. At the embankment on Shroveland Street, we heard Tracker pursuit whistles and Myrmidon battle sound in the fog. We then observed that they were chasing a human – Gold-Eye. He tried to climb the embankment but was in the wrong spot and the Myrmidons were about to take him. So I used a flash bang – the last one, I’m afraid – and we pulled him up on a rope while they were disoriented.”

      Gold-Eye suppressed a shiver that ran right through him as Ella’s words brought it all back. If the others hadn’t been there, he would be in the Meat Factory now…

      “Excellent,” approved Shade. “And then you fought some Trackers, took refuge in a building that proved too low to be safe from Ferrets, and had to do some fancy rope work to get away.”

      “How did you…” Ella began, but Shade was laughing, obviously pleased with himself.

      “I have finally perfected my new Eyes,” he said, clicking his fingers.

      The click was answered by movement in the shadows and a nervous shiver that rippled from Gold-Eye to Ninde. Characteristically, neither Drum nor Ella twitched.

      Shade’s new Eyes looked very much like large rats. In twilight or fog, they would be indistinguishable from the real thing – but as they scuttled into the light, their eyes and legs shone metallically and their bodies were too rigid to be flesh and fur.

      Three came from each side of the room; then all six ran in a line to the foot of the desk and turned to face Shade, their pink, rubbery tails draped out towards the couch. Ninde shuddered again and drew her feet up.

      Gold-Eye thought they were repulsive too, but for a different reason. He actually liked rats, and over the years had trained three of them as pets. They had been his only real friends and he had cried when each one was lost in the all-too-frequent moves between hiding places. These robot rats reminded him too much of the Overlords’ creatures and their relationship with humanity. Like, but not like…

      “Can you see through them all at once?” asked Ella. There was no hint of revulsion in her voice – just the curiosity of someone shown a new tool.

      “Not yet,” said Shade. “My parallel-processing capabilities