the heart. And that wasn’t the only thing. Although he had never sat on a horse in his life, he had ridden many miles, trotting, cantering, even galloping. And right now he wasn’t even stiff. It was as if his body was used to spending long hours in the saddle.
What did it mean?
He wasn’t Sapling. He was Jamie Tyler. But Sapling seemed to be part of him. The two of them were the same age. They looked the same and had the same skills, even if they had been born thousands of miles and perhaps thousands of years apart.
There was a movement at the entrance to the temple and Finn appeared, carrying a water bottle. He came over and handed it to Jamie.
“You’re awake,” Finn said. “Did you have any dreams?”
“I was too tired for dreams.” Jamie sat up, took the water bottle and drank. “Where does the water come from if the rivers are poisoned?” he asked.
“We have wells, but they have to go deep.”
Jamie was aware that Finn was examining him. In his own way, Finn was as beaten about as the city in which they had spent the night. His hair had turned grey too soon. The scar on his cheekbone had been left by a wound that had cut deep. His eyes, soft grey and watchful, had seen too much pain.
Jamie handed back the water bottle. “Thank you,” he said.
“Sapling…”
“I’m not him.” Jamie shook his head. “I know you want me to be. I know he was your friend. But I’m not.”
“Maybe not,” Finn said. “But today you have to be.”
“Then tell me about him. And tell me about Scar. How did the two of you meet?”
Finn sat down next to Jamie. There was obviously some sort of activity going on outside. Jamie could hear the clatter of hooves, the occasional whinny. The army was assembling in the main square just outside the temple. They were preparing themselves for the last march to war. But for the moment Finn seemed content to let them get ready on their own.
“I met Scar four seasons ago,” he began. “Before the snow arrived. I had travelled far and I was resting with my back against a wall, wondering what to do next. There was a door in a wall and it opened and she appeared… just like that. She was lucky in a way. If my sword had been in my hand I might have killed her before I realized who she was, but I’d been careless and left it with the horse. She told me her name, but I didn’t ask her where she had come from even though – and this is the strange thing – the door in the wall didn’t lead anywhere. It was just a ruined wall. She knew where she was going. That was all that mattered. And I decided to go with her.
“She and I travelled together for a while and I looked after her. She was different then from how she is today. She was more scared – though it would be best not to tell her I said so. She said she was searching for someone called Matt, a boy she had seen in her dreams. I thought she was mad. But then we found him – or he found us – and suddenly I saw it was all true.”
“And Sapling…?”
“I can’t help you there. It’s all beyond my understanding. You look like him. You sound like him. And if I didn’t know for certain that he had been killed and his body burned, I’d say you were him.”
“What year is this?”
Finn shrugged. “It’s the year after the one before. I’ve heard it said there were numbers once but that was long ago and they’ve all been forgotten.”
“The Old Ones…”
“That’s right. They’ve made life miserable and painful but at least they’ve made it short.” Finn thought for a moment, then got to his feet. “Come with me,” he said. “I have something to show you.”
Jamie rolled himself out of his blanket and followed Finn across the floor to the far wall, where there was a doorway he hadn’t noticed before. It led into a small circular room with a ceiling that was vaulted and painted blue with gold stars. The walls had once been painted too but now there was nothing left, any images scratched out of existence.
Scar was there, kneeling in front of a stone slab that might once have been an altar, cradling across her thighs a parcel wrapped in cloth. Hearing Finn, she got up and turned round. She looked at him almost accusingly.
“What are you doing here, Finn?” she demanded.
“And good day to you, Scar,” Finn replied.
“I was asleep.”
“No you weren’t.” Finn glanced at the bundle she was holding. “I knew you’d be here,” he said. “Give it to me.”
“Why?”
“I want to prove a point.”
Scar hesitated, then handed the bundle to him. Carefully, Finn unwrapped the cloth and took out a round shield made of dark and beaten metal with an intricate pattern of leaves around the side. It had no spike. Instead, there was a design right in the middle and Jamie gasped with surprise. He recognized it instantly. A spiral with a single straight line dividing it in two halves. It was exactly the same design that he’d been born with.
He was sure this was what Finn had wanted to show him. But Finn laid the shield aside.
Instead, he took out a sword and handed it to Jamie. The sword had a symbol too – a five-pointed star in the middle of the crosspiece, just above the blade. Jamie saw that it had been made out of some blue stone – lapis lazuli – set in silver. The blade was surprisingly thin and weighed almost nothing. He wouldn’t have thought it could cut through anything, but at the same time he could see that it had been sharpened with amazing precision, like a surgical instrument. He swung it a couple of times and felt the very air being cut in half.
“It was his,” Jamie said.
“Yes.” Finn’s gaze held his eyes. “Now tell me what is written on the blade. Don’t read the words. Just tell me.”
Standing next to the altar, Scar stiffened. But she said nothing.
“Frost,” Jamie muttered.
“You see?” Finn was talking to Scar. “He knew.”
Jamie looked down. There was a single word inscribed on the blade. The letters were foreign – like Hebrew or Greek -and should have meant nothing to him. But he understood them instantly.
FROST.
“It is the name of the sword,” Finn told him. “Sapling called it that because although it is cold, it brings with it the first light of day. That was his hope for it. And he carried it with him to Scathack Hill. We found it moments before we came upon you. He must have lost it in the fight. But now do you see?” He glanced at Scar. “Don’t you see, both of you? There’s something happening – some sort of magic – and maybe none of us understands it. But this boy is Sapling, there’s no doubt of it, even if he has forgotten.” He looked away, suddenly gruff again. “Let’s just hope he hasn’t forgotten how to fight.”
A few moments later, the five of them walked out onto the main square: Scar and Jamie first, then Erin and Corian with Finn behind. All of them were armed for battle with swords, daggers and shields. Jamie glanced at Erin and saw him touch the palm of his artificial hand. At once five blades sprang out of his fingers and thumb. At the same time, his left hand curled around a curved dagger that he had slipped into a belt around his waist.
Their army had assembled: a hundred men, women and children, waiting quietly for the order that would bring them to victory or death. Scar stepped forward. She also carried a shield with the same pattern of leaves as Sapling’s but hers had the image of a lizard – with slanting eyes and a spiky tail – curled around the centre. Three steps separated her from the crowd outside the temple. She walked to the very edge and lifted her sword. Jamie wondered if he should do the same but felt too awkward and shy. He realized that everyone’s eyes were on her. But they were watching him too.
