THE LIGHT IN THE NORTH

CHAPTER 8 - Breaking Point

On the second day, the convalescents had even more visitors. One of them was the Commander, and as well as praising their courage and wishing them a quick recovery, she told Ace and Will that she was lifting their ban on working in restricted areas.
“That mystery’s been solved now,” she told them. “But you still need to choose your company carefully, Ace.”
If it had been Gran, he would have argued, but he was still rather in awe of the Commander.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, but when she’d gone, he turned to Will indignantly.
“What’s that supposed to mean? I’m cleared, but she isn’t? That’s not fair!”
“I don’t think it’s quite that, Ace. Just because she didn’t do this, doesn’t mean she’s not up to something.”
“Huh,” said Ace, and folded his arms mutinously.


On the third day, Sergeant Olt came, and told them all to hurry up and get better because there were lots of exciting things coming up soon. He also gave Will the first batch of codes, explaining that he’d told everyone to stick to English or Norwegian. Will looked at them with interest. The one he’d picked up had been in English, that was why he’d been able to understand it almost instantly. The Norwegian ones were baffling at first, but once he’d remembered that the Norwegian alphabet had twenty-nine letters, not twenty-six, they were easy.
He wrote the solutions down, and looked around. Ace was deep in conversation with Wayne again. Will sighed, feeling bored already. He hoped there’d be some more interesting codes tomorrow.


On the fourth day, he was much too busy to get bored. He spent a lot of time muttering to himself. He knew enough Norwegian now to know what was a word and what wasn’t, and if he wasn’t sure, he could check by saying it out loud, or asking Ace, who knew a lot more than he did.
More thought had gone into this batch, and he had a wonderful day puzzling them all out, and working out shortcuts to solutions. He was sitting at the table, surrounded by bits of paper, when he realised Ace was calling him, in that tone of voice he used when he’d been trying for five minutes already.
“About time,” Ace grinned. “You’ve got a visitor.”

Will looked round, and was startled to see Maig standing there, smiling patiently.
“Oh, hello,” gulped Will. “Sorry, I was miles away. Please, sit down.”
“That’s all right,” said Maig. “It’s so lovely to see that you’re nearly better. I brought you some pussy willow.”
“Oh, thanks!” said Will, with a nervous glance across the room, but Ace didn’t appear to be listening. He accepted the bunch of fresh twigs with pleasure, and put out a finger to stroke the soft fur bursting from its hard brown shell.
He smiled at her. “Where did you find it?”
“A way down the fjord, on the shore. I was surprised to see it, and thought of you straight away. It’s nearly all pine, spruce and larch up here, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, we get a bit homesick sometimes,” said Will. “But this is wonderful. So special. You brought me the spring, and a touch of home, too.”
“I’m glad you like it,” said Maig shyly. “Is that the codes you’re working on? I haven’t finished mine yet. I knew that only a really clever one would stand a chance of fooling you.”
“You’re doing one?” said Will. “That’s great. I’ll look forward to that. How will I know which is yours?”
“You’ll know,” said Maig mysteriously. “I must go now. Get well soon. Everyone’s missing you so much.”
“Thanks for coming,” said Will. “It was really nice of you.”
She smiled, and left quietly, but Will didn’t go back to the codes. He just sat back in his chair with his hands behind his head. After a while, Ace came over, and Will gave him a look that dared him to say anything. But Ace simply perched on the table and started looking at the codes, and asking questions about them. He soon got the hang of cracking the simple ones, and solved one all by himself.
“Well done!” said Will, surprised and pleased. “If there’s a lot tomorrow, you can tackle some of them too.”
Ace gave him a wicked smile.
“OK, Pussy Willow,” he said.
Will glared at him.
“I told you never to call me that!” he hissed.
“I know,” said Ace, “but I couldn’t resist it. You look so cute when you’re embarrassed.”


Ace seemed quite himself on the surface now, fully healed and champing to get out of hospital. They all were, even Wayne, who was still husky-voiced and quiet. But Will still felt sure there was something bothering Ace, something he couldn’t talk about, and he knew that it wasn’t good for his twin to bottle things up. So that night, he asked him, their messages to each other as simple as breathing when they were lying so close in the dark.
What’s wrong, Ace?
Oh, I don’t know. Just wish it was all over. It won’t be over until we get out of here.
And people forget about it?
Yeah, maybe. Wish people wouldn’t keep telling me how great I was. I wasn’t great at all.
Yes, you were. OK, everyone helped, but you were great, Ace.
No, no, it’s not as simple as that. It doesn’t feel right.
That puzzled Will, so he let Ace drift off to sleep so he could think about it. It didn’t feel right? What didn’t? People praising him? Ace didn’t brag about important things, but he wasn’t usually over-modest. Will couldn’t see what the problem was, when what Ace had achieved was outstanding, even for him. He didn’t understand, and he kept turning it over and over in his mind, until he, too, fell asleep.


There was better news next morning, when Major Gourdon had a look at them all, and told them that this would be their last day in hospital. They all raised a cheer at that, and didn’t even get down-hearted when Sergeant Svir arrived and announced that she’d brought them some work. Will had just immersed himself in the final batch of codes, and didn’t want to stop, but she chivvied him away to join the others.
In the end, though, he found he was enjoying himself more than he’d ever have thought possible. She’d brought a big heap of fabrics, so they could all make fresh clothes to replace the ones that had been ruined in the cavern.
“We want you all to look your best when you get released tomorrow,” she told them. “Won’t hurt to do a little work today, and it’s not as if this is your best subject, is it?”

They all saw the sense of that, and nobody really minded. She didn’t do it for them, but she helped them a lot. She was very interested in their ideas for styles, and didn’t laugh at all when they described what they wanted, just helped them see how to visualise the pieces, and how to achieve a good fit. Something she said about straight seams yet flowing pieces finally clicked in Will's brain, and suddenly it all made sense. He ended up with the nicest clothes he’d ever had, and he’d made them all himself. He couldn’t quite take it in, and kept looking at his new leather jacket in amazement. Ace looked openly proud of him.
Ace himself was looking stunning in dark blue jeans and a soft white sweatshirt, but Will laughed when he saw how tight Ace had made his new jeans.
“You peacock,” he said, “how are you going to draw your knife like that?”
“Aha,” said Ace, “That’s the clever part. Got a special pocket for that, on the leg… see?”
He showed Will the slim pocket he’d made in the side of the leg, just at the same level as his right hand, but then a thought struck him.
“Where is my knife, though? I know I still had it when we were getting out.”

Fran guessed that anything that hadn’t been ruined would have been kept safe for them, and went to find out. He came back soon with a basket and a box.
“All our things are in the basket,” he said. “Everything’s muddled up. The box is scraps, we can use anything we like to make new things.”
Soberly, they claimed back their knives. Betch’s watch was there, and miraculously still working, a ring of Wayne’s, and lots of oddments.
“All our wristbands have gone,” said Peter.
“Where’s your knife, Will?” said Ace.
“Left it behind,” said Will sadly, holding his match tin. Just touching it was bringing back too many memories. “I broke it, getting that chain off.”

Quietly, he went to the table and the last batch of codes. He worked for hours, shutting out painful thoughts by sheer concentration. He was dimly aware of the others talking, but nothing really broke through. These codes were just too good. They were well thought out and ingenious, and the longer they took to solve the more they impressed him. Maig’s took him quite a while, and the solution made him smile. But in the end, he knew they had a clear winner. He knew he couldn’t solve it, but he also knew why not, and how it worked. That was as far as he could go, and he pushed his chair back and stretched.
“Welcome back,” said Ace. “Do you know how long you’ve been doing that?”
“No, what time is it?”
“Half past five. Might get some visitors soon. Come outside with me, get a breath of fresh air, and stretch your legs. I’ve got something to show you.”

That sounded like a very good idea to Will, and he followed Ace gladly. They walked along a corridor, and slipped out onto the long wooden veranda that ran the length of the hospital at the back, looking towards the forest.
“What a lovely evening,” said Will. “Getting really light now.”
“It’s nearly May,” said Ace. “Be our birthday soon. It’s only been about ten days, but it feels like forever.”
“It’ll be better tomorrow,” said Will. “Get back in the thick of things. We’ll soon catch up, and this… well, we won’t forget it, but we’ll get some perspective on it.”
“Hope so,” said Ace. “Part of me wants to forget all about it, yet something’s telling me I shouldn’t. Don’t get it. But anyway… thing is, Will… "
“What?” smiled Will. “What are you getting all shy about? Come on, out with it.”
“It’s just… I made you something, but you don’t have to use it. I mean, you might prefer to make your own, but I just wanted to see if I could… "
“You made me… oh, Ace, you made me a knife?”
Ace nodded, smiling shyly, proudly.
“Oh, I’m so glad for you! You really have beaten it, haven’t you? Let’s have a look.”
With difficulty, Ace extracted it from his tight pocket, and laid it in Will’s hand. It slid smoothly from its fine leather sheath, and Will gasped as he saw it. Ace had copied the design of his own knife, that Gran had made for him, and etched along the blade it said, Salix.
“Ace, it’s beautiful,” said Will. He tossed it up and caught it. “Weight and balance are perfect. Good fit, too.”
“Know your hands well enough,” said Ace. “Bit narrower than mine, and a bit longer.”
Laughing, they placed their hands palm to palm, comparing. It was just as Ace had said.
“Thank you,” said Will. “So happy, Ace… can’t find the words, but… you know.”
“I know,” said Ace.
He twisted his hand round, and clasped Will’s hand briefly, tightly, then pulled back, laughing.
“Stow it, and draw!” he said.
“Yeah? OK!”
Facing each other, they stood, hands at their sides, then Ace called, “Go!” and they both drew their knives in their own way, yet equal in smoothness and speed. The blades came together with the bright ring of steel, and they laughed as they clashed, pushed, parried and clashed again, delighting in their skill and speed, glad to be together, glad to be alive.
“Ahem!” came a voice from the doorway. Ace and Will looked at each other, then lowered their knives and sheathed them, before turning with the most innocent expressions they could muster.
Major Gourdon just shook his head, but he was smiling.
“Come on in,” he said. “You’ve got visitors.”
As Ace and Will went back inside, they could hear the noise from their room right away.
“I know who that is,” said Will.
“Yep,” said Ace. “We must be better if they’ve let Kiefer in.”


The next day was very memorable for all of them. It was wonderful to feel part of the action again, to be busy, to know there was nothing they couldn’t do. As a matter of fact, Major Gourdon had had a quiet word with Sergeant Olt, and asked him not to let any of them get cold or wet for another couple of weeks, but they didn’t know about that. Straight after breakfast, they got ready to leave, and all of them hugged the surgeons and thanked them for their care.
“It’s been a pleasure,” said Major Gourdon. “I’ll miss you all, but don’t hurry back!”
He watched proudly as they all ran off across camp.
“I don’t know when an outcome’s ever given me more satisfaction,” he said. “We did a good job there, Lieutenant.”
“I know what you mean, sir,” smiled Lieutenant Polesie. “It’s what it’s all about.”


First thing, they went to their hut. Gran had already gone out, and Olm and Beuk were just getting up.
“I never thought I’d say this,” said Olm, “but I’m glad you’re back. It’s been a bit boring round here with only Gran to talk to.”
“That’s going a bit far,” said Beuk. “But I have missed you. It’s hard to oversleep with all the noise you make.”
“You’ve overslept again today, haven’t you?” said Ace. “When are you going to stop letting Ross down like that? Come on!”
“Give us a minute,” grumbled Beuk, hurriedly dressing. “The sergeant came in here last night. Left new wristbands on your beds for you.”
It wasn’t as if they’d never taken the old ones off. They often did, when they went swimming, or if they had some messy job to do. But somehow, putting these new ones on felt special, and each of them did it quietly, thoughtfully. It felt like a new start.
“Now we’re really back in action!” said Ace joyfully. “Let’s go! Come on, you two! If you were half as thoughtful of your team as Sergeant Olt is of us all, you might be winning by now.”
“Nag, nag, nag,” said Olm. “We’re coming.” Then he actually smiled. “You’re a good leader, Ace Moseley, I’ll say that for you.”
Ace suddenly went quiet again, but as they were all racing off to the notice boards by then, no-one noticed except Will. But Ace cheered up when he saw that someone had pinned up a big notice saying Welcome back England. Even better, they were due on the training ground. Delighted to have the chance to rush about, they relished the speed and motion, the wind in their hair and the ground beneath their feet. They were a little slow at first, but not as much as they feared, and they knew they’d soon catch up.
After that, though, they were in the workshops for Technology, and they had to split up. That felt very strange, and for a moment they lingered together, reluctant to sever the link. It was worst for Betch, who’d have to go off on his own, but Rose and Clover, who were in the same group, saw what was happening and pulled Betch off between them.

In the afternoon, they stayed in their teams, and found that while they’d been away, the others had started to learn battle throwing, and that there was going to be a mock battle on the target range. Ace tried to get Clover to lead for this, as she’d had the lessons, but she begged him to take over. Reluctantly, he did, and found that, just as she’d said, he knew almost instinctively what to do, so the team was not disgraced.
They split up again for classroom work, and then Will said he had to take the codes to show them to Gran. So he and Ace went back to their hut to collect Will’s sheaf of papers, and found Gran in his office. Ace stood gazing out of the window while Will and Gran sat and talked, letting his thoughts drift. He jumped when the door opened and Lieutenant Foxfield came in, with a message for Gran from his colonel in England.
The colonel wanted to know when the team were coming home, as he had work for them to do, and suspected they were idling on camp. Gran sighed, and picked up a message pad.

Ace smiled uncertainly at the lieutenant. They hadn’t seen each other since the day of the rescue, and he suddenly didn’t know what to say.
The lieutenant looked at him curiously.
“How’re you feeling?” he asked.
“OK,” Ace muttered. “Just wish people would forget about it, that’s all.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I s’pose because everyone keeps telling me how great I was, but I wasn’t.”
“Why do you say that? You’re not blaming yourself, are you? You did everything right, once the accident had happened.”
“Yeah, but…”
“But what? Come on, what’s bugging you? What did you do?” Then a thought struck the lieutenant. “Just how did it happen in the first place, that you all got swept away?”
Ace winced, suddenly remembering clearly for the first time. Gran looked up in surprise at the lieutenant’s aggressive tone, but he didn’t say anything.
“We were on the rim of the pool,” Ace said, almost in a whisper. “We saw the water coming, we were getting ready to raise the gate. But there was so much, such a torrent… “
“… and you thought you could handle it, didn’t you? You should have given the order to jump clear, but you didn’t, did you? What did you do, tell everyone to hold their positions?”
“Yes,” whispered Ace. “That’s exactly what I did.”
“Well, you were stupid, then,” said the lieutenant. “Unbelievably rash and stupid. It’s a wonder your team haven’t lynched you. Is this true, Will? Was he really so crazy?”

Will was very torn between loyalty to Ace and a dim feeling deep inside that this was just what Ace needed.
“I’d forgotten,” he said. “I expect the others had, too. But yes, I remember now. ‘Hold your ground’, he said, and we all did.”
“Have you got no sense of responsibility at all?” The lieutenant glared at Ace. “You’re a leader. People look up to you. They do what you say. Hasn’t it penetrated yet that you’ve got a responsibility to see that the orders you give are good ones?”
Ace blundered across the room and leaned on the wall. Lieutenant Foxfield looked at Gran, and Gran nodded, as if to say, carry on. Gran stood up and put a hand on Will’s shoulder, at once comforting him and restraining him.
When Ace turned round, his face was white, and Will thought he looked like he was going to faint.
“I thought… “ he said, but the other Ace interrupted.
“No, you didn’t. You didn’t think at all. That order went straight from your gut to your mouth, without passing any brain cells on the way. Oh, yes, I know. I know that feeling in your belly that you’re unbeatable, that nothing can possibly go wrong. It’s taken you a long time to find out that it can, and does. Probably because you’ve always had your twin at your side. Do you know how many sycamores die each year of unbridled optimism?”
“No,” said Ace.
“Neither do I,” said the lieutenant. “Nobody does. But how many adult sycamores do you meet? Not a lot. You want to kill yourself, that’s fine. Go ahead and do it. But what gives you the right to kill your team, too?”
“You can’t be thinking of safety first all the time,” cried Ace, aghast but rallying.
“No, but you don’t think of it at all. Once and for all, get it into your head that your job as leader is to assess the risks against the potential advantages. Maybe – just maybe – if that action you ordered could have saved hundreds of lives, it might have been worth trying. But it was way too dangerous to attempt just to save people from getting their feet wet!”
Ace was shaking now.
“I can’t do this,” he said. “I just can’t. I’m a dangerous liability, and the sooner I leave, the better.”
“Coward,” said Ace Foxfield, and Gran had to hold Will down.
“At least I’m not a bully!” shouted Ace. “Leave me alone!”
“I’m not bullying you, shrimp,” said the lieutenant in a kinder voice. “I’m trying to help you. How d’you think I know all this, huh? I was just as stupid as that, many a time. The stories I could tell you…”
He broke off, with a worried glance at Gran, not anxious to repeat his more colourful exploits in front of the general.
“Er… permission to take this somewhere else, sir?”
“Carry on, Lieutenant,” said Gran. “Go with him, Ace,” he added, as Ace still looked mutinous. “One thing about you has consistently impressed me – you know how to listen. Now would be a good time to do that.”
Ace looked at Will, who nodded and tried to smile. Without another word, Ace went outside and the lieutenant followed him.


Inside the general’s hut, they were quiet for a moment.
“Everything happens for a reason, Will,” said Gran.
Suddenly, Will got up and whirled round to face him. Gran was startled at his expression.
“Everything?” Will demanded.
Gran knew straight away what he was talking about, and swallowed hard.
“Yes,” he said. “Even that. I don’t know what the reason was, but I know there was one. And I wouldn’t be here now, doing this, if Ket hadn’t died. You were thinking of him, were you, when you had pneumonia? Worrying that the same thing might happen to Ace?”
“To Ace? No, to me. It’s easy to see that Ace might be following in your footsteps one day, so it did just cross my mind, to hope the pattern wouldn’t repeat itself. Hoped I wouldn’t have to die to make it work out the same.” He grinned, ruefully. “Selfish, I know, but there you go.”
“I see,” said Gran, and actually laughed. “Extremely interesting. You’ve got it the wrong way round. I’m not like Ace. Ket was like Ace. Bold, bright, beautiful… everyone loved him. I always think he’d have made a much better leader than I.”
“Well, I‘ll be da… I mean, I can scarcely take it in,” said Will. “We were so sure it was the other way round with you two. Extraordinary.”
“Sometimes it’s impossible to see the reasons, Will. You just have to believe they’re there, and go on, hoping. But I don’t think that either of you need fear losing the other. We were all driven here by grief and loss. I lost my twin, but you two lost your trees.”
“Oh, I see,” said Will. “That’s where the pattern is. Thanks, Gran.”
He smiled, a bit shakily, and saw that Gran looked the same as he felt – a bit overwhelmed.
“So, about these codes,” he said, and they both sat down again, very ready to get back to work.

“Most people have used some form of substitution, but even when it’s a symbol of some kind instead of a letter, it’s still far too easy to solve.”
“Does it matter what language the original message was in?”
“Yes, it does, because you’re using letter frequency for solving, and each language has its own frequency. But once you know that, it’s not much different.”
“I see,” said Gran, looking carefully at some of the suggestions. “What do you need to make it harder, then?”
“Well, it helps if you run all the letters together, so you’ve not got word length to go by. And it’s even better if you break them up into even-sized groups, and split them up with letters that have nothing to do with the code. Look at this one from Maig – very difficult. She’s used symbol substitution, then regrouped the letters in threes, and put, well, stray letters in between, just to confuse things.”
“Those aren’t stray letters,” smiled Gran. “Spells your name. Who is Maig? I don’t think I’ve met her.”
“First year Scottish team,” said Will. “Very clever, and very beautiful. I could get really silly about Maig.”
“I never thought I’d see you noticing anything but advanced technology,” laughed Gran, making a mental note to make sure this Maig was all she seemed to be. After Blanche, he wasn’t taking any chances.

“Yes, well,” said Will, getting embarrassed, “there are some that are very difficult to solve, but you need a code book to decipher them, and that’s very slow for the people receiving the messages, and not very practical.”
“No, and a code book’s too easy to copy or to steal,” said Gran. “But you said you thought there was a clear winner?”
“Yes, this is it,” said Will. “It’s fantastic. It uses a keyword. You choose a random word with no repeating letters, then follow it with the rest of the alphabet. Then you use simple substitution. It’s easy for the people using it, quick to decode if you know the keyword, and almost impossible if you don’t.”
“Almost impossible?”
“You could do it if you had a decent quantity of messages to compare. But the beauty of this is, you can change the keyword, say, once a week, so no-one’s ever going to get their hands on a large quantity.”
“That sounds good. And there’s nothing to stop senior officers using different keywords for different people, is there?”
“That’s right,” said Will. “Makes it even more secure. I believe the humans had something like this in their last big war, and they had to invent a machine to solve it. I don’t think Special Brigade are going to be able to do that.”
“Not a chance,” grinned Gran. “This is terrific. Who thought it up?”
“Gran Starheim.”
“Ah,” laughed Gran, “he’s done very well. Nearly as devious as me. Now, this is the really cunning part. We’re not going to start using this yet.”
“We’re not?”
“No. First we have to teach all our people to use it – and don’t forget, Will, we’re talking about people like Madge here – but in the meantime, ha, listen to this! Better yet, let’s get some beer, and listen to this.”
Will had half a suspicion that Gran was letting him in on his latest plan to take his mind off worrying about Ace. He was grateful for the distraction, as there was nothing he could do but wait, and it was always interesting hearing Gran’s plans. When they were settled, each with a mug of beer, Gran began.

“First of all, I compose a message in the old code, as if from General Stalden to Madge and Heather, telling them to report back to Preston at such a time, on such a day, because half of England 1 will be waiting to meet them there.”
“And will they?”
“Yes, but not Ace’s unit.”
“Bet he’s really pleased about that.”
“You really do understand sycamores, don’t you?”
“Very funny. Go on!”
“The message will say that this will ensure their safety while they use a digital camera to film the elves who are breaking the law by harming humans.“
“Letting them know we’re planning something temptingly illegal ourselves. Brilliant. But… Madge wouldn’t know one end of a digital camera from the other.”
“Yeah, we know that, but they don’t. There won’t really be any illegal technology. Then I get someone in Signals to pass the message along to Envoy Yantra, saying would he like to see this, as he was so interested in Preston? Then, if he knows what’s good for him – and I’m sure he does – Yantra will show it to General Huskvarna.”
“So General Huskvarna will pull his team out?”
“He might – and if he does, that’s good. But I don’t think he will. Here’s where I make my gamble. Guessing what Huskvarna will do. Always know your enemy, Will. It’s half the battle. I think he’ll be there, waiting, licking his lips at the chance to discredit an army section for acting illegally. He’ll want to arrest every single one of them, so he’ll have to send considerable numbers. They’ll hide, and if I’m not mistaken, they’ll have the two that are transformed into builders make themselves conspicuous and easy to get at.”
“I get the picture,” said Will. “Madge and Heather escorted tightly by armed elves, looking as if they’re trying to get a clear shot of the two builders. Around them, Special Brigade in deep cover, waiting for them to pull out the illegal camera. How do you turn the tables?”
“A human,” grinned Gran. “The one thing that’s guaranteed to make everyone move. Only this human knows how crucial timing is on this one. He’ll make sure that Special Brigade know he’s seen them.”
“Who? Oh! Oh, is it David?”
“You got it. Wonderful young man, I can’t wait to meet him. This website he’s made has been a fantastic breakthrough. Because of that, I could contact him, because my Ally in Hella, Karl, can access the Internet.”
“Which we can’t do from here. Yet,” Will added meaningfully. “What a brilliant plan. So Special Brigade will have to shift, fast. What happens next?”
“According to Madge, there’s only one place to go, a nearby patch of woodland. And that’s where the rest of England 1 will be waiting – including Ace’s team. And the local police. Special Brigade will jump right into their welcoming arms.”
“You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?” said Will with admiration.
“I hope so. Can you think of anything I’ve forgotten?”
“Me? I couldn’t think up a plan like that.”
“No, and you don’t need to be able to. But what you can do – and did straight away, I could tell by your questions – is spot the snags. I have to spot all the snags so I can plan for them, d’you see? Now this is your part of the world, and you know humans well. Is there anything, anything at all that I’ve missed?”
“Anything you’ve missed, I would, too,” said Will, after some thought. “But obviously Madge is in on this. Why don’t you get her to go through it with Clover? She thinks differently, might spot something we’d never think of.”
“That’s a very good idea, Will. I’ll do that.”

“It’s important to you, this plan, isn’t it?”
“It’s crucial. It’s got to succeed. This is the first site where they’ve tried their rapid degeneration, and they’ve made dozens of people ill already. They have to be stopped, I’ll do anything to stop them.”
“You won’t be able to arrest the ones who’ve been acting as builders and doing the harm, though, will you?”
“No, that’s true. But the mass arrests will cause a stir throughout the realm. When they come to trial, Madge and Heather will give evidence about what the so-called builders were doing, and they’ll be listened to. Questions will be asked in parliament about just what was going on. At the very least, there’ll be a scandal, and Special Brigade will have to pull out. It will be impossible for them to try it again without attracting attention. And with a bit of luck, there’ll be dissensions and recriminations at the highest level. It’s too much to hope that Huskvarna will get sacked, but he’ll be discredited."
"Then one way or another, you beat them."
"Yes. I don't have to tell you how important this is, how top-secret," said the general, and hesitated.
"You don't want me to tell Ace, do you?" Will guessed.
"No. No, I don't. If a word of this gets out, and I find that Blanche Hakarp had anything to do with it, then I want Ace in the clear."
"So do I," said Will. "I won't tell him."
He looked up, putting on a brave smile. He didn't need to say how much he hated keeping secrets from his twin. Gran knew that as well as he did. "Go and find him," smiled Gran. "He needed that, needed what only another sycamore could give him. But he needs you, now."
"Yeah," said Will. "I knew something was wrong, but I'd never have guessed what. I'm glad the lieutenant did. I couldn't have done that for him, but I'll see what's left of him, and put the pieces together again." He got up to go, and then said thoughtfully, "It's funny how many things we learn here aren't in the classroom at all."
"You're right," said Gran. "And learning that is probably the most important one of all."


Will went out into the forest, enjoying the new warmth in the sun, and looking at the new growth. He jumped up into the trees, relishing the feeling of strength returning to his limbs. For a while, he played alone, jumping through the canopy, until he heard Ace’s thoughts.
Will… I need you.
I’m coming.
Ace was in the forest too, on the other side of camp. At first, Will had deliberately headed off in the opposite direction, to give him some space, but now, it was a different matter. He headed unerringly and quickly straight to the tree Ace was in, and jumped up beside him.
“That was quick. You were right the other side.”
“Been exercising,” said Will. “How’re you feeling?”
Ace lifted his face then, and what Will saw made him just wrap Ace in his arms. Maybe he’d needed telling off, but in Will’s opinion he’d been told off quite enough. He couldn’t bear to see Ace unhappy. It felt like something had gone wrong with nature, like the sun coming up purple.
“Now it’s really over,” said Will, sitting close beside him and hugging him tight.
“Yes,” said Ace drearily. “But now I have to turn myself into a slow, boring person, before I kill everybody.”
Will laughed.
“I don’t think that’s what he meant. If he said that… he can’t have said that!”
“Well, not in so many words, but that’s what he meant. I won’t be me any more, Will. I don’t like it! Stop and think, stop and think, that’s all everyone’s ever told me, all my life! OK, Ace made his point. Going so fast that you don’t weigh everything up properly is a bad thing when you’re giving orders. How he ever managed it, I’ll never know. It seems impossible to me. And very boring.”
“I bet he was never as fast as you. You’re special, Ace.”
Then Will had a very good idea.

“Hey, wait a minute, maybe we’re looking at this all wrong. You don’t have to slow down, you have to speed up!”
“What?”
“Yeah… don’t stop and think, just think even faster. That’s not boring, it’s a challenge. Maybe it’s impossible. But if anyone can do it, you can. Your average thinking time between spotting a danger and thinking what to do about it, is, what? Three seconds?”
“ ‘Bout that, yeah,” said Ace, puzzled. He didn’t understand yet.
“And in that time you identify the problem and select the best action with the resources you’ve got. I know that, you’ve been in my head, doing it, and it nearly killed me. So what you have to do is add another stage – weighing up the risks – without losing any speed.”
Ace started looking much more cheerful.
“I get you, now. It might slow me down at first – say, to four or five seconds – but the challenge is to get back up to speed!”
“That’s the idea.”
“It sounds more fun that way round. OK, I’ll do it – on one condition.”
“Name it.”
“You try to speed up too.”
“Me? Why? When am I ever going to need to give orders? Outside of a workshop, that is.”
“It worries me that you aren’t getting enough practice at leading. I want you to lead the team sometimes, and try to get faster, because when we go into action, we won’t always be together.”
“How d’you make that out? Gran’ll be in command, he’d never split us up.”
“In action he would. Think about it, we’ve got something no-one else has, we can message direct, off the mountain. I was thinking about it when we learned about pincer movements in Tactics. He’s not going to waste a thing like that. He’ll use us on opposite wings, to co-ordinate the movements. You’ll be on your own, and have to think fast.”
“Well, OK,” said Will, rather shaken, but feeling that Ace was probably right. “I’ll try. Though it’s more like thinking in a different way than speeding up. But what’s put this into your mind now?”
“Gran’s up to something. He’s got that devious look he gets when he’s up to his ears in plans. Makes me wonder just how close… what? What is it? Do you know what he’s up to?”
“Yes.”
“Well, what?”
“He told me not to tell you.”
“Ach, you’re joking! Does he still not trust me?”
“Of course he trusts you! Yes, something’s going to happen. Though it’s not the war, I don’t think he’d mind me saying that much. But if this plan gets out, his only concern is that you’re in the clear, d’you see?”
“Oh,” said Ace. “Good of him to think of it like that. OK, just tell me this – if I knew what this plan was, is there anything about it that would bother me?”
“I am absolutely sure that nothing about it would bother you,” said Will seriously.
“Then that’s all I need to know. I’m sort of glad that you’ve got to keep something secret from me, ‘cos I’ve got to keep something secret from you, too. Gran again – and for a reason, as always – but it shouldn’t be too much longer before I can fill you in.”
“Really? Intriguing. Oh, let’s go and find something to do, before we go crazy with wondering. Are you feeling OK now?”
“Yes, much better, thanks to you. Let’s go to the mess.”
“Race you back through the trees,” said Will.


They got back just in time for the music, and listened to some nice brass from Kiefer Immindingen and his friends. Then they strolled inside, where their own Kiefer called them over and demanded to know if they wanted to bet on the Race around the Mountain.
“When is it?” said Ace, astonished to realise it was May already.
“On the 10th,” said Will. “Clover’s going to be a steward, weren’t you listening?”
“Oh! I must have missed that. Oh well, yeah, but what are you betting with? I don’t feel up to doing forfeits.”
“Don’t worry, that’s banned,” said Kiefer. “It’s favours. If you lose, you do something for someone who’s won. Take a duty, or make them something.”
“I get you,” said Ace. “That’s fine, then. I’ll have to have one of the England team. .. what odds have you got on Rob Royden?”
“22-1,” said Kiefer, consulting a list.
“That suits me,” said Ace. “You can put me down for five, at that price.”
“How about you, Will? You can afford to splash out, there’s nothing you can’t make.”
“I’ll go for Phil, then. Maybe he’ll do as well as you did, last year.”
“Yes, my amazing example brought his price down, but he’s still 50-1.”
“Steep. I’m only putting in two at that price.”
“Two! With your skills!”
“I haven’t got unlimited time,” Will pointed out. “Or materials. Two’s enough. Who’s the favourite?”
“A Polish goblin. Don’t ask me to pronounce his name, it looks like one of those codes everyone’s been waving around.”
“Did you do one of them, Kief?” asked Will.
“No, too busy doing this. Got to keep the traditions going!”
“Absolutely,” said Ace. “Keep up the good work.”


They moved aside to let other people speak to Kiefer, but a lot of people were waiting to say hello to them as well, friends who hadn’t seen them in hospital. Lauro, Droz, Ross and Alnus had been too busy to do that, because they’d volunteered for extra duties while the English elves were out of action.
They had to go over the whole story again for their benefit, and Will was glad inside to see Ace handling it much more naturally. In fact, he went a bit to the other extreme, and was perhaps a bit more bouncy than he should have been. Nearly all the elves from the second year were gathered around now, and they were all listening to the tale with great enjoyment.
But then something happened which changed things for ever.
“Oh, shut up about it!” Wayne burst out. “I’m sick of hearing how great he was! He wasn’t great, he was hopeless. It was his fault we got into such danger in the first place.”
Ace and Will turned towards Wayne. Ace was pale and Will was stunned with shock.
“Wayne, I…”
“Don’t you talk to me! I’ve had it up to here with you! ‘Hold your ground’, you said, and we were daft enough to listen to you. What kind of a stupid order was that? Showing off, that’s what you were doing, unless you were actually trying to get us all killed.”
People were gathering round from every side now, imps, fairies and goblins as well as elves, curious about what was going on, and not wanting to miss a good row.
“Stop it, Wayne,” said Will, trying to put his arm around him. “Come and talk about this quietly.”
Wayne shrugged him off.
“Let go of me, Will! Of course you’d take his side. He’s insane, can’t you see that? The whole team’s nothing more to him than an excuse to show off how brave he is, the great leader who can get out of any impossible situation.”
“I didn’t hear you giving any suggestions,” said Ace angrily.
“Don’t, Ace,” said Will. “He doesn’t mean it. It was a nasty shock and he’s not over it yet. Leave him alone.”
“Please just stay out of this, Will,” said Ace, tight-lipped and furious. “I want to hear just what else this wimp wants to moan about.”
Wayne took a step closer to Ace, menacingly.
“Wimp? You dare to call me a wimp? When you put people through things that no-one should have to face?”
“You were worse than a wimp. You were a total wuss from start to finish, and you’re being a wuss now.”

Betch pushed through the crowd and stood next to Will, ready to break them up if a fight started. That distracted Wayne, who looked distraught for a moment at the sight of Betch’s grim expression, and Ace seized the initiative.
“What are you going to do when the war comes, huh, if you can’t handle a stupid accident? Things get messy in wars, wrong orders get given in the heat of the moment. Fat lot of use you’ll be if all you do is stand around moaning.”
“Stuff the war!” shouted Wayne. “Who says there’s going to be a war, anyway? Only lunatics like you and Droz. And if there is a war, let me tell you something, I’ll never be on any side you’re on! You’ve pulled the wool over my eyes long enough. Why I ever listened to you, I can’t think. Just stay away from me, and keep your cracked notions about humans to yourself.”
“Fine!” fumed Ace. “Go and fight for parliament then, see if I care! If you’re on their side that’ll be a big help to us, you snivelling coward!”
Will heard someone crying. He thought it was Bella, but he couldn’t be sure. He couldn’t be sure of anything right now, not even his own name.
“At least they don’t want a war! They’ve got sense, they want peace, and order. But what chance have they got with nutters like you around, dragging humans into everything, spoiling everything? Just keep away from me, you and all the idiots who just copy everything you say. They’re all puppets who can’t think for themselves, like Will. Well, I can, and I’m sick of you!”
“Don’t you insult my twin, you little rat,” snarled Ace, and punched Wayne to the ground.
“That’s enough!” said Betch, standing over Wayne, while Will grabbed Ace around his waist and tried to pull him away. “I don’t know what’s got into him, but you’re not helping, Ace. Why don’t you just go and cool off?”
“Come on, Ace, it’s not worth it,” said Will. “He’s flipped, let it go.”
Wayne got to his feet, wiping his nose with the back of his hand, and told Ace to get lost in words that made even Will blink.

But Ace didn’t retaliate this time. He looked at Wayne with pain-filled eyes, then turned and walked out. He sat on a table on the Concourse, with his feet on the bench and his chin in his hands. Will sat beside him but didn’t say anything. Gradually, the rest of their team joined them, but none of them really knew what to say, either. Ace had behaved just as badly as Wayne had, and they all knew, deep inside, that there had been some truth in Wayne’s accusations.
Eventually, even Betch and Bella came out, looking very gloomy.
“Not a chance of mending anything tonight,” said Betch. “I’ve never seen him like this. He is seriously fed up with you, Ace.”
“Thanks, Betch, I had kind of noticed that,” said Ace, with a ghost of a smile. “OK, it was a stupid order, I know that. I know that, and I’m sorry. I’ve heard all about it from Ace Foxfield, and there isn’t anything that any one of you could say that could make me feel any worse about it than I already do. But he’s had plenty of chances to have a go at me, if he wanted to. Why do it so nastily, and in public? There was no need for that.”
“We know that, Ace,” said Bella. “I’m not taking your side against him, but that’s why we’re out here now, with you.”
“I was pretty nasty back, I suppose,” sighed Ace. “When he’s cooled down, I’ll apologise, and maybe he will, too, and we can all get back to normal.”
“I think that might be a bit optimistic, Ace,” said Clover gently. “It sounded very final to me.”
“Well, at least it’ll make it easier for him to pretend…” Betch broke off his grim joke and left it uncompleted, and turned aside, thoughtful for once.
“What about the team?” said Peter bleakly. “Just when we were all back together. What’ll happen now?”
“He’ll do his share,” said Fran. “He’d hear all about it from the sergeant if he didn’t. If Droz can work with Crocus, Wayne can work with us.”


They all looked up at the sound of footsteps, and saw Corporal Dwingeloo approaching.
Ace groaned. “He’s reported me. Terrific.”
He jumped down off the table and faced the corporal. “OK, OK,” he said. “Guilty as charged. The usual?”
“Two hours hard labour, yes,” said the corporal. “You can do it tonight if you get a move on.”
“I’m going,” said Ace.
When the corporal had gone again, Ace looked at his team.
“Thanks,” he said. “Cheer up, and don’t worry. We’ve coped with hard things before, and we will this time, too. Meet me later, Will?”
“Sure. Take care.”


Ace worked furiously hard, relishing the chance to use his muscles again after being cooped up for so long, and not sorry to have a harmless way of working off a lot of frustration, but by the time midnight came, he was glad to stop. Will was waiting for him in the office, and they said goodnight to the lieutenant and wandered off into the forest.


To Will’s surprise, Ace seemed quite cheerful. He didn’t mention Wayne at all, but started talking about the race, and reminiscing about last year, when they themselves had won. The further they went, the thicker the trees were, until there was hardly any moonlight getting through, and it was hard to see where you were going.
“Let’s go back now,” said Will. “I’m tired.”
“Just a bit further,” said Ace. “We’re nearly there.”
Then Will knew something was going on, and didn’t say any more.


In a little glade, where a notable pine grew in the centre, they stopped and waited. Will wasn’t surprised when, in a little while, they heard soft footsteps, but he was astonished when he saw who it was.
Bella was the first to speak.
“Oh, no!” she said, when she saw them.
Wayne and Ace didn’t say a word at first. They just looked at each other. Then Wayne grinned and said, “Did you have to hit me so hard?”
“Huh,” said Ace. “Did you have to report me?”
“Realistic touch,” said Wayne, and hugged him.
“I don’t believe it,” said Will faintly. “The whole thing was a set-up? You did it very well. Took me in completely.”
“And that’s why I couldn’t tell you,” Ace explained. “It was Gran’s idea. He said if it fooled you it would fool everyone.”
“Oi!” said Bella. “I’m not psychic, like Will. Would someone mind telling me what on earth’s going on?”
“Like Ace said, it was the general’s idea. He thought I needed to make a dramatic break with the rest of you, to put myself more firmly on the other side. I have to get chosen for Special Brigade, and it’s not a certainty, not with gawps like Olm and Beuk around. The general thought our recent episode was the perfect time to stage a row and a grand falling-out.”
“Oh, I see,” said Bella in a small voice. “It’s still sad, then. You haven’t really fallen out, but you have to act like it for ever, now.”
“Not for ever, Daisy-bell,” said Wayne gently. “Just till we win the war.”
“They make them brave in London,” said Will with respect. “So lonely for you.”
“I’m glad Bella knows,” said Wayne. “Everyone else is going to hate me, now. But the general said that Ace wouldn’t keep a secret like that from Will – couldn’t, probably – so I could tell one person too. But no-one else knows. Not the commander, even, or Major Arley – no-one but the general and us four.”

“Wow,” said Bella. “Super-top-secret, then. But it’s hard on Betch. I know he’s got Dale back now, but he’s been a good friend to you.”
“I think Betch guessed,” said Will, suddenly realising what he’d seen. “He started to crack a joke about at least it’d be easier now for you to pretend… then he suddenly stopped. I thought at the time that maybe he just thought it wasn’t so funny – but now, I think he suddenly saw, and shut up at once.”
“Really?” said Wayne, looking quite overcome. “That ought to worry me, I suppose, but it doesn’t. It just makes me feel very glad.”
“No, no need to worry,” said Ace. “The secret’s safe with Betch. But I think General Herdalen was a bit wrong about who might not be fooled. Because, well… Will believed it because he understands that the things you said were true, at least partly true. I got a chance to apologise to the others, but not to you. I’m sorry about that stupid order, and I’ll never be so reckless again.”
Wayne hugged him again.
“We would still have been swept away,” he said. “Don’t blame yourself. And it was you who kept me alive, Ace. Your voice, in the dark. And I know that I’ll be going into more dark places and that sometimes it will be very hard. But I know that when it is, I’ll hear you saying, ‘Hang on for me, Wayne’, and I’ll get the strength I need.”
“Shit,” said Will, and wiped his eyes. Ace wasn’t much better, and Wayne himself was already in tears.
“You elves are so emotional,” sighed Bella. “Are you going to tell the general that you think Betch guessed?”
“Yes,” said Wayne, “though I don’t know why he did. Did I say something wrong, or go too far?”
“No,” said Will. “You were perfect. But Betch is so sharp, so observant. I guess even the general doesn’t realise quite how sharp he is.”
“And he knows you. He really knows you,” said Ace. “He knows you might get angry, he knows you might get annoyed with me, but he knows what you’d never do. You’d never betray the cause.”
“Never,” said Wayne. “I’m glad Betch knew.”