Barbara Gaskell Denvil [Denvil - Dominoes

Barbara Gaskell Denvil

Chapter One

H igh in the great blue sky where the birds were singing in the sunshine, and flying, warm and free, amongst the trees, suddenly came a dark cloud. It seemed to float down from higher up, and quickly began to swell up and change shape. It grew, puffing up like black smoke, and sending out straggling shadowy fingers from the centre. The fingers groped downwards. Five fingers, then six, then seven. Then there were a hundred fingers like wispy, searching black streamers, or the hand of something horrible and weird, or the many tentacles of a groping giant octopus.

The fingers of cloud stretched down through the sky, touching and pointing into the City of Peganda.

The capital city of Lashtang was a ramshackle city with a wide river, tall trees, many taverns, old wobbly houses, and grand buildings along the river banks. It was not unusual for an old house to fall, its frontage and balconies collapsing in the wind. Many buildings were propped up with long steel rods, almost like scaffolding, to keep them standing safe in storms. But as the fingers reached into the streets, and touched the doors, so grinding noises slipped from sky to ground, and the sound of moaning and hissing travelled from the cloud to the homes below.

Sitting with John Ten Toes at his desk, Nathan was trying to read an old document concerning the identity of Yaark, describing where the thing had come from, and what it could do. But the strange noises and the sudden darkness made him look up. He peered from the window, saw the threatening smokiness, and stood up in a hurry, dropping the rolled up paper he had been studying. When the roof above him crashed in, Nathan knew it was worse than just a storm blowing off a badly made roof. The whole city of Peganda was collapsing. Yaark had promised utter destruction, but no one had seen Yaark for many months, and had almost forgotten his threat. But now it was happening. Nathan and John rushed from the building. There was no longer any need for secrecy or a password, for the doors had cracked and crashed inwards, and the floors of the building were tumbling one on top of the other.

Barely escaping outside, Nathan and John stared at each other and examined their scratches, cuts and bruises. Luckily they had suffered no terrible injuries, but clearly, as the city fell, others would be badly hurt.

Everywhere he looked, buildings began to tumble into broken pieces, and then all the walls and roofs came smashing down. One house falling would knock down the one next to it and soon the entire road would look like crumbling splinters, crooked metal and cascading tiles. The noise was crazy, like thunder, gales, tidal storms and fireworks altogether.

People, terrified, came running from their homes, many clutching their most precious possessions, others holding their crying children, some hugging their pets. But it was hard to know where to run to, for the houses, one after the other, came rocketing down in different directions, and soon the whole city of Peganda was in ruins. Folk were screaming or sobbing piteously, animals were racing helter-skelter, in panic, and shops, their merchandise in ruins, lay in splinters and shards of glass.

Nathan stared. He did not know where to run to, and turned around repeatedly, desperate both for escape, and to know how to help everyone.

Im the Empole, he muttered to himself. I have to save my people. The poor things are losing everything that matters to them, and everything theyve worked so hard for over the years.

Theyre losing their lives too, someone yelled in his ear, and Nathan looked around to see John Ten-Toes beside him, holding a sword in one hand and a broom in the other. Come on, Nat. We gotta help em.

Both boys ran to the corner of the narrow road, where Nathan stood on some fallen debris and shouted as loud as he could. Come on everybody. The citys falling. We have to leave. Out by the north gate, quick, follow me.

He waved his arms in the air and people began to notice him and started to run in his direction. Right, called John. This is Nat, the Empole. Follow him to the north gate.

Peganda City was enclosed by a circular stone wall and there were huge gates in each side, north, south, east and west. The northern gate was open for travellers, and that was where none of the houses had yet started to collapse. Nathan hurried towards it, and people now followed in a pushing, frightened crowd. Through the wider roads, the narrower streets and the tiny alleys they ran, and reached the north gate just as the buildings around them started to crash and crumble, shaking all along the northern roads.

As everyone streamed through the gateway and out into the fields and open country slopes, behind them the noise grew even louder. Just like dominoes, the houses were splitting and then breaking against those next to them, which started to tumble as well. Soon not one building, however large or however small, would be left standing in the city.

Nathan ran up to the top of a slope and gazed down on the huge crowd of people surrounding him. Most were crying, children were screaming, and dogs were barking madly. The complete destruction of Peganda could be heard roaring and rolling behind them.

Were safe here, yelled Nathan. If youve got friends or relatives living in villages nearby, then go to them. The rest should camp here, and when this chaos has stopped, and everything is quiet, then we can go back in and look for possessions amongst the rubble. No looting, please, we are better people than that.

And when Nats the new prince, I means Empole, shouted John over the tumult, hell make new houses. Wont you, mate?

Yes, Nathan shouted back. We must unite against Yaark and the wizards.