The Ring of Five by Eoin McNamee
Authors: Eoin McNamee
Tags: Fiction, General, All Ages, Children's Books, Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Espionage, Juvenile Fiction, Action & Adventure - General, Fantasy & Magic, Science Fiction; Fantasy; & Magic, True Crime, Children: Grades 4-6, School & Education, Mysteries & Detective Stories, Schools, Men, spies, Boys & Men, Mysteries; Espionage; & Detective Stories, Boys, Juvenile Mysteries
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do. You need training, though. I can kind of glide on them. Of course, the old folk you saw dancing, they wouldn't use their wings--it's not supposed to be polite. Most of them wouldn't even talk to the likes of me. Our lot was the branch of the family ... well, my dad got into trouble and got thrown out of the Messengers. Bit too fond of the bottle, he was. When they voted to stop flying he laughed at them."
"They got it into their heads that flying wasn't
59
genteel," Dixie said. "If you ask me the old things are a bit ashamed of themselves now that they can't message anymore, and they made up this 'flying is bad manners' lark so they don't have to fly and be reminded of the time when they were useful."
"Class is starting," Blackpitt said testily.
"Come on," Les said. "It's Camouflage, Concealment and Deception. Nothing too tricky about it. It's usually a bit of a laugh--Duddy teaches it. She's mad as a hatter."
Danny followed them through the front door. They turned left and walked down a gravel path between dense shrubberies. They passed an opening in the greenery and Danny, looking in, saw what looked like a maze of yew.
"What's that?" he asked.
"That's the Helix of van Groening," Les said. "It's a maze that changes shape. Kind of dangerous. I'd stay out of it."
The path turned to the left and opened out into a clearing in which there stood an old wooden building with wide eaves and narrow windows. As they emerged from the shrubbery, a figure in a bright red coat dashed across the gravel in front of them. Before anyone could move, the figure produced a gun and leveled it at them. Danny ducked. Les hit the ground, along with most of the others, while Dixie disappeared. The figure pointed the gun just above their heads and unleashed a fusillade, then turned and ran off into the trees behind the stone building.
The cadets got shakily to their feet. There was a long, shocked silence; then they all started talking at once. Dixie reappeared beside them, even paler than usual.
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Danny saw a woman approaching them from the building. She had long gray hair to her waist, and wore a brightly colored knitted scarf that reached to the ground. The upper part of her face was obscured by large dark glasses. As she walked she flicked her hair back and shook her head like a schoolgirl, even though she had to be sixty if she was a day, Danny thought. She cleared her throat loudly.
"Silence!" she commanded.
"But Miss," one of the girl cadets said, her voice shaking and tears in her eyes. The woman held up a hand theatrically to silence them.
"That's Duddy," Les hissed.
"You have just been attacked," Duddy said. Her voice was surprisingly deep. "I would like you to describe your attacker."
They all looked at each other. Apart from the red coat, none of them could remember the attacker's face.
"Man or woman?" A grim smile crossed Duddy's face. "You have learned a valuable lesson. There are two reasons why you did not recognize your attacker. Firstly, she was wearing a brightly colored garment in order to distract you. You saw the red coat and nothing else. Can anyone tell me the second reason?"
"The gun," Toxique said quietly. Danny looked around. He had forgotten about the boy who came from a family of assassins.
"That's right," Duddy said. "When someone points a gun at you, you will almost always look at the gun, not at their face. You have learned two valuable lessons."
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"It was like a gun in a dream," Toxique went on.
"Leave it out, Toxique," Smyck said. Vandra looked at him nervously.
"Yes, well," Duddy said, then clapped her hands, "inside now."
They all filed into the front room of the building, which was laid out like a classroom, with rows of desks and a blackboard. If Danny expected anything as dramatic as the attack to take place, he was disappointed. The lesson was on the subject of animals that disguised themselves as other things--insects that looked like sticks, fish that imitated poisonous species,
"They got it into their heads that flying wasn't
59
genteel," Dixie said. "If you ask me the old things are a bit ashamed of themselves now that they can't message anymore, and they made up this 'flying is bad manners' lark so they don't have to fly and be reminded of the time when they were useful."
"Class is starting," Blackpitt said testily.
"Come on," Les said. "It's Camouflage, Concealment and Deception. Nothing too tricky about it. It's usually a bit of a laugh--Duddy teaches it. She's mad as a hatter."
Danny followed them through the front door. They turned left and walked down a gravel path between dense shrubberies. They passed an opening in the greenery and Danny, looking in, saw what looked like a maze of yew.
"What's that?" he asked.
"That's the Helix of van Groening," Les said. "It's a maze that changes shape. Kind of dangerous. I'd stay out of it."
The path turned to the left and opened out into a clearing in which there stood an old wooden building with wide eaves and narrow windows. As they emerged from the shrubbery, a figure in a bright red coat dashed across the gravel in front of them. Before anyone could move, the figure produced a gun and leveled it at them. Danny ducked. Les hit the ground, along with most of the others, while Dixie disappeared. The figure pointed the gun just above their heads and unleashed a fusillade, then turned and ran off into the trees behind the stone building.
The cadets got shakily to their feet. There was a long, shocked silence; then they all started talking at once. Dixie reappeared beside them, even paler than usual.
60
Danny saw a woman approaching them from the building. She had long gray hair to her waist, and wore a brightly colored knitted scarf that reached to the ground. The upper part of her face was obscured by large dark glasses. As she walked she flicked her hair back and shook her head like a schoolgirl, even though she had to be sixty if she was a day, Danny thought. She cleared her throat loudly.
"Silence!" she commanded.
"But Miss," one of the girl cadets said, her voice shaking and tears in her eyes. The woman held up a hand theatrically to silence them.
"That's Duddy," Les hissed.
"You have just been attacked," Duddy said. Her voice was surprisingly deep. "I would like you to describe your attacker."
They all looked at each other. Apart from the red coat, none of them could remember the attacker's face.
"Man or woman?" A grim smile crossed Duddy's face. "You have learned a valuable lesson. There are two reasons why you did not recognize your attacker. Firstly, she was wearing a brightly colored garment in order to distract you. You saw the red coat and nothing else. Can anyone tell me the second reason?"
"The gun," Toxique said quietly. Danny looked around. He had forgotten about the boy who came from a family of assassins.
"That's right," Duddy said. "When someone points a gun at you, you will almost always look at the gun, not at their face. You have learned two valuable lessons."
61
"It was like a gun in a dream," Toxique went on.
"Leave it out, Toxique," Smyck said. Vandra looked at him nervously.
"Yes, well," Duddy said, then clapped her hands, "inside now."
They all filed into the front room of the building, which was laid out like a classroom, with rows of desks and a blackboard. If Danny expected anything as dramatic as the attack to take place, he was disappointed. The lesson was on the subject of animals that disguised themselves as other things--insects that looked like sticks, fish that imitated poisonous species,
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