‘Are we all set?’ Granny Rat asked impatiently as Aphrodite finished filling up the bowls.
‘Aye, Mother,’ the Captain said, throwing the remains of his pod under the bench. ‘Thanks to our bright young apprentice, we might just pull off the biggest upset in Death Ball history.’
The whistle blew and the second half action commenced.
‘Caw, caw,’ Chatterbeak squawked, ‘here we go again. Ruby wins first possession with a well-timed leap and the Pie Rats have the ball in the midfield … She plays it safe and passes back to Whisker. Whisker spins the ball to Horace. Horace throws a high lob to Fred. Now Black Rat’s got a piece of it – miles from his goal. Tickle me tail feathers, folks. The Pie Rats are really sharing the ball around.’
There were shouts of ‘boring’ and ‘hurry up and smash ‘em’ from several Sea Dog supporters in the crowd.
‘Patience, patience! Here’s a chance for the Sea Dogs,’ Chatterbeak chirped. ‘The Captain is sandwiched between Tuffy and Sam and the ball flies free. Tuffy scoops up the ball in her mouth and dashes down the sideline … Wait a minute, folks. She’s dropped the ball cold.’
Tuffy let out an enormous howl and made a beeline for the reserve bench. Scallywag Sam picked up the ball in his mouth but dropped it before he’d even taken his first step. With similar yelps and howls, he followed Tuffy in the direction of the drinking bowls.
‘… And The Kid is on the charge,’ Chatterbeak screeched. ‘He sidesteps Ruby … Slippery sardines! He’s dropped the ball as well … Oh no! He’s frothing at the mouth … He’s calling for a substitute. Poor Biscuit doesn’t know who to replace.’
While the rest of the dogs fell like flies, the enraged Sea Dog captain barged past Ruby and dived on the ball. He only made it as far as the midfield before the ball tumbled from his mouth and he began howling like a hyena.
‘Awoo, awoo! It burns, it burns! My tongue is on fire. My mouth is meltin’. Water, I need water!’
He leapt towards the reserve bench and, ignoring the frantic barks from the three other dogs, began guzzling from his water bowl. The whites of his eyes turned redder than an over-ripe tomato.
‘AWOOOOOO!’ he bellowed. ‘Hot-Chilli Cola! Call the fire brigade, I’m about to ignite …’
With no relief in sight, the four howling dogs dashed out of the stadium in the direction of the waterhole.
‘Skraww, skraww!’ Chatterbeak prattled as the sound of the dogs died away. ‘What a turn of events. But back to the action, folks, the Pie Rats have just scored …’
With only a fluffy white poodle and a three-legged dog in their way, the Pie Rats scored seven unanswered goals to win the game eight-five.
‘As Frankie Belorio always says, It’s a game of two halves,’ Horace declared as the triumphant Pie Rats filed into the dressing room with their small group of supporters.
‘A half with red-hot chillies and a half without,’ Whisker laughed, brushing the last of the chilli seeds from his paws.
Aphrodite, still wearing her blue dress, rushed over to him and threw her arms around his neck.
‘How did I do, Whisker?’ she asked, squeezing him tightly.
Overwhelmed by the strong smell of her perfume, Whisker felt his eyes glazing over.
‘Say what …?’ he answered in a trance.
From across the room, Ruby let out a loud huff and began clanging around with her swords. Aphrodite paid her no attention and nestled her head into Whisker’s shoulder.
‘We make a great team, don’t we, Whisker?’ she whispered.
‘Sure – Aphrodite,’ he replied, gasping for fresh air.
Aphrodite simply hugged him tighter.
‘Err – do you mind?’ he said, uncomfortably. ‘Your earring’s digging into my neck.’
‘Oh,’ she said, pulling away. ‘Sorry.’ She moved her paw to her diamond-shaped earring and gave it a little flick. The rose-coloured stone sparkled in the lantern light.
‘It’s a pretty little diamond, isn’t it?’ she said dreamily.
‘Sure,’ Whisker replied, his head still spinning, ‘but aren’t diamonds supposed to be clear?’
‘Most diamonds are,’ Aphrodite stated, ‘but these are rare Freeforian pink diamonds. They once belonged to my grandmother –’
‘– and they now belong to me,’ Hera snapped. ‘You’re only wearing them because of your silly little Death Ball stunt. If you’re finished playing half-time heroine, you can hand them back over.’
Aphrodite spun around and glared at her elder sister. ‘It’s so unfair! You always get the good jewellery. I get nothing but second-rate sapphires and tacky opals …’
Whisker tuned out as the two sisters began one of their regular arguments. Athena seized her opportunity and jumped in where Aphrodite left off with Whisker.
‘As a point of interest,’ she said knowledgeably, Freeforia is known as the Diamond Isle. No diamonds have been found there for many years, of course, but that hardly matters, with the new gold mine in operation.’ She opened up a small purse and took out a gold coin. Its surface was engraved with two paws surrounded by a diamond.
‘Our new currency,’ she said, placing it tenderly in his paw.
Whisker nodded in recognition. He’d received three similar coins from Rat Bait following their adventure on the Island of Destiny. They had originally come from the mysterious fox, as part of his trade for Whisker’s parent’s boat. Whisker had used one of the coins to pay for the half-time refreshments and the other two coins lay at the bottom of his drawstring bag.
As Whisker stared at the coin, Athena adjusted her black-framed glasses and launched into a detailed history lesson.
‘Imagine this coin was a map. The four main villages of our island, when joined by straight lines, form a perfect diamond.’ She leant across and pointed to the left tip of the diamond. ‘Our village is there, in Western Freeforia. The new gold mine is in the volcano region at the centre of the island – where you can see the two paws. The volcano is shared by all four provinces. As our tribal chief, Papa Niko was given one of the first chests of gold six weeks ago, with the promise of more to come …’
‘Hang on,’ Whisker broke in, ‘Do you mean to say the currency is only six weeks old?’
‘That’s right,’ Athena replied. ‘The coins are yet to be in full circulation.’
Whisker took a moment to gather his thoughts. So the fox must have visited Freeforia sometime after the cyclone. And if he was there, and my parents’ boat fell into his possession, then …
‘Athena,’ he exclaimed. ‘Have there been any recent sightings of strangers in Freeforia? Three rats. One male and one female and their young daughter. Somewhere near the coast …’
She shook her head. ‘No. The only arrivals in the last few months were mine workers, and none of them were rats.’
‘Are you sure?’ Whisker gasped. ‘What about the other provinces?’
‘I-I can’t be certain,’ she said, fumbling with her glasses. ‘Freeforia is a big island.’
Overwhelmed by desperation, Whisker turned to the other sisters. ‘What about you, Hera – and you, Aphrodite? Surely you’ve seen something.’
The two rats stopped their bickering and looked at him with confusion in their eyes.