Chapter 1
The Final Task
It was cold
and dark and Leo’s feet were numb. He was fed up of waiting.
He looked at his watch for the fifth time in less than the same number
of minutes. There was no-one else at the bus stop and he was beginning
to think he may have missed the bus back home to Narberth.
The trouble with choir practise for the inter-schools Christmas Carol
Service, was that once a week he was stuck here on a deserted street
in Haverfordwest well after the time he should have been home and
fed.
His stomach rumbled.
‘I won’t do it next year,’ he mumbled to himself.
‘My voice will have broken properly by then anyway and they
won’t be able to talk me into it.’
A sound behind him made him turn.
And only just in time.
He yelped in horror and made a sharp, instinctive leap aside, his
bags scattering, as a baseball bat swung down past his ear, narrowly
missing its target.
His would-be attacker lost the bat and hurtled, sprawling to the ground.
‘What?’ Leo gasped in disbelief as he realised who it
was.
Bos Gribley, whom he had neither seen nor heard from for months, lay
looking up at him his face distorted with annoyance and hatred.
‘I’ll get you next time!’ he shrieked, and leaping
to his feet lunged for the bat which had rolled across the pavement.
Leo took a dive in the same direction and, grasping the bat before
Bos reached it, he turned and waved it at him with a threatening look.
‘You could’ve killed me.’ he cried. ‘What
d’you think you’re doing.’
Bos didn’t answer. He breathed heavily and glared at Leo, moving
from one foot to the other as though about to launch another attack.
‘You senseless idiot,’ Leo continued, waving the bat to
discourage Bos. ‘You can’t just go round whacking people
over the head for nothing!’
Bos sprang at him even as Leo was speaking, forcing the bat from his
hand and dragging him down onto the pavement. The bat spun away to
where neither could reach it and they tussled on the ground, trying
to get the better of each other.
Despite Bos having taken him by surprise Leo was bigger and stronger,
and after a brief struggle he managed to overcome Bos and, holding
him down, he pinned his arms firmly so he couldn’t move.
Leo was panting and sweating and genuinely scared even though he was
winning. He hated fighting. He never enjoyed it like some boys did,
and he was aware that Bos was serious, and really meant to harm him.
‘What’re you? Mad?’ Leo shouted, and his voice was
wild and angry.
Bos growled, pulled a disgusted face and with a sudden effort yanked
his arm out from Leo’s grip and clouted Leo a heavy blow behind
his ear. Leo yelped as the sharp pain shot through his skull, and
he couldn’t stop himself swinging backwards and putting up his
hands to his head.
This gave Bos the opportunity to scramble out and force Leo into lying
on the pavement where he could get on top of him.
‘Right,’ Bos hissed. ‘Give it ‘ere. Now!’
