Darkwhispers

by Vashti Hardy

  “That’s why everything became mythical,” said Harriet. “The Bestwick-Fords were sure they’d seen the fire-bird, but in their journals they described it as a dream and even dismissed it themselves. But it was real! They had seen it and forgotten.”

  “It makes sense, Harriet,” said Maudie. “Look at the water-technology here: the skills you’ve learned from your parents and them from theirs, all leading to you designing your amazing sky-ship with a water-engine.”

  “Your sky-ship is powered by water?” Tauria said, impressed. “I had wondered how your sky-ship had reached us using pitch.”

  Harriet nodded. “And this young lady is a talented young engineer too. She’s designed a small version, a sky-ak, also powered by a miniature water engine. It’s very similar to your water-wing.”

  “Fascinating. Are you sure you’re not Erythean too?” Tauria smiled. “We must show you our engineering libraries.”

  “What will you do with Madame Vane?” asked Ermitage curiously.

  “It’s still to be decided. But when we discovered her true identity, we found the journals she had made during her time here in the city. There are extensive notes on materials she wished to take back to Lontown. Of course, we could never allow such a thing. The School of Professors will meet tomorrow to decide the best course of action.”

  Later, Arthur headed for the geographical library with Maudie, even though he could tell she was itching to go to the engineering one. They walked into the great space filled with books, globes and maps. There were numerous volumes documenting the different areas of Erythea, which he piled on to a table.

  “Maud, this is just the tip of this continent. There’s so much more south of here, and so many islands even further east. I wonder if you kept sailing, would you reach the Isles of Carrickmurgus on the other side?”

  “Maybe!”

  “It’s pretty cool that all the people in charge are professors,” said Maudie. “Where do you think they’ve put Eudora and her crew?”

  Arthur shrugged. “In a deep dungeon beneath the water, hopefully.”

  “That sounds horrible.”

  “A horrible punishment for a horrible woman.”

  “I wonder what they’ll decide to do.”

  “Lock her up for ever.”

  “I meant with us. We know about them now, and so we’re a danger to them.”

  “We won’t tell anybody back home. I mean, it’ll be hard won’t it, but—”

  “Dad always said your word is your bond.”

  Arthur nodded.

  “We know that we won’t say anything, but how do they? They didn’t trust Mr Wrigglesworth enough to let him go back. They might trust Harriet because of her heritage, but they might not trust us, or Felicity, or Welby.”

  “Will Welby – I still can’t get over that…” A cough halted Arthur from a nearby table.

  A map rustled and Welby peered from behind it.

  “Oh, sorry, I didn’t see you there,” Arthur said, his face reddening.

  Welby raised his eyebrows, then smiled. “I like to keep a few surprises for you.”

  The door opened and Florian walked in. He glanced over and smiled.

  Maudie beckoned him over.

  “Why did you do that?” Arthur hissed.

  “I’m being friendly … and we can ask him about Eudora.”

  “Oh, yes, all right. Good plan.”

  Florian sat down and Maudie leant in and whispered. “Do you know where Eudora is?”

  He nodded. “Over at the power-falls.”

  “Where’s that?”

  “That’s the way I came into the city,” Arthur said.

  “And she can’t escape?”

  “It’s very secure, with locked rooms. If you did get out, you’re stuck anyway, if you don’t know how to run the lifts. And someone would see you if you tried to get across the lake.”

  “And the professors will decide what happens to her tomorrow?”

  Florian nodded.

  “What usually happens to people who do wrong here?” asked Maudie.

  Florian shrugged. “They would give back to the city – help more.”

  “Ooh, maybe they’ll have Eudora scrubbing the lavatories!”

  Arthur laughed. “Now that I’d love to see!”

  CHAPTER 29

  CONFESSION

  The following morning, they were all summoned by butterflies to meet in the central dome room. Then they were led through an archway at the back, up another set of twisting stairs until they emerged in a small, open pavilion with alabaster columns and a curved roof. A tropical breeze drifted through and, in the distance, clouds hugged the surrounding mountains. They were in the uppermost point of the city.

  Twelve Professors of Erythea sat on a semicircle of stone benches in the centre. They were dressed in official-looking robes in an array of natural colours of the trees, mountains, stones and waters of the rainforest: olive, umber, cinnamon, sage, lime, chartreuse, turquoise, graphite, gold, silver, gold and emerald. They had long, open sleeves, high collars, wide trousers – all intricately embroidered with twisting patterns and creatures of the forest.

  “I feel suddenly underdressed,” Arthur whispered to Maudie.

  “Please sit down,” said Tauria.

  Harriet, Arthur, Maudie, Felicity and Welby sat opposite the professors.

  Tauria, dressed in her signature emerald, stood. “The Professors have spoken at length with Harriet and gathered the facts about Eudora Vane and her crew. If we were unsure before, the disclosure of what happened at South Polaris, what she did to your family…” She looked at Arthur and Maudie. “We have come to a unanimous decision.”

  They crew leant in eagerly.

  “This woman cannot be trusted to stay in Erythea as she is. We allowed it with Ermitage Wrigglesworth because we observed him to be a good, peaceful man, but this woman is clearly a danger to our people. Tomorrow morning, Eudora Vane and her crew will be taken to the darkwhispers, where they will be left until their memories of Erythea – indeed, all their living memories – have gone.”

  “I wasn’t expecting that,” Arthur whispered.

  “Harsh,” Maudie said under her breath.

  Tauria threw them a glance.

  Harriet stood up. “Will you leave them there?”

  “We will return them to work within Erythea. They will have no memory of a life before and we will rehabilitate them with a new perspective.”

  “What about me and my crew?” Harriet asked, with her hands on her hips and legs slightly apart.

  “This was debated somewhat at length.”

  Arthur swallowed.

  “We trust you, Harriet. And on your word, we are prepared to trust all five of you. We will let you return to Lontown upon the condition that you do not disclose anything of your journey past Nova. If we have your promise on this, then you may return.”

  They looked between each other and Arthur knew they were thinking the same thing. That exploration widened horizons, and not just theirs, but those of the people back in Lontown too. There was so much Vornatanians could learn from these people, and things they could learn from them in return. But what choice did they have, really?

  “You have our word,” Harriet said solemnly.

  “And how about Wrigglesworth?” asked Welby.

  Tauria shook her head. “He must stay here for the rest of his days. Too many of your people think he is dead, and if he arrived back alive, even if he swore not to release any information … well, it would cause too many problems. We have spoken with Mr Wrigglesworth and he understands.

  “You are free to remain here as long as you wish, of course,” continued Tauria, “But be mindful of the stories you will need to make up in order to cover your tracks.”

  “Can’t you just lock her away?” said Felicity.

  “Our judgement is final. I’m afraid it’s not up for discussion.”

  “Eudora will never let you do this to her. She’ll find a way to e
scape,” said Arthur.

  “She will believe she is being banished and taken back safely to the west. She won’t realize her fate until the last minute. Until it is too late. Neither will her crew.”

  *

  Back in Arthur’s room, the twins sat at the window overlooking the plateau.

  “I don’t like it, Maud. As much as I hate Eudora Vane, this doesn’t feel right.”

  “We shouldn’t feel bad about their decision with Eudora, not after what she did.”

  Arthur thought for a moment. Parthena squawked. “There’s something else.”

  “What?”

  “If Eudora loses all her memories to the darkwhispers, then the truth, and the proof of what she did, is lost too. How will we ever get true justice for Dad?”

  Maudie stared. He was right. Her shoulders sagged.

  A knock sounded on the door. It was Florian.

  “Some of us are going on the plateau in water shoes, and I thought you might like to come.”

  Maudie smiled broadly and glanced in Arthur’s direction.

  “Both of you,” Florian added quickly.

  “What are water shoes?” asked Arthur.

  “You’ll see – come on!”

  The plateau shimmered in the afternoon sun. It felt as though they were at the top of the Wide, in its best-kept secret.

  The water shoes were like mini boats for feet. You stood in them and floated on the top of the water, making it possible to skate across the surface, with a paddle to control momentum. Arthur decided that on this occasion his iron arm would’ve been useful. Paddling with one arm was not going to be easy.

  He pushed the paddle across his body into the water and nearly toppled over. He looked across at Florian, who was holding his paddle lower and just flicking it in the top of the water rather than scooping. Arthur adjusted his grip and tried again. After a while he’d got the hang of it. He paddled up alongside Maudie.

  “You got the hang of this quickly!” he said.

  “It’s easy once you work out the physics of what’s going on and trust your instinct. It’s amazing.”

  “We won’t be able to tell anyone about this.”

  “The water shoes?”

  “Not just that, this whole thing – Erythea. We won’t be able to tell the Geographical Society, or the Lontown Chronicle or…” Arthur paused.

  Maudie looked at him. “I know.”

  “I can’t get what they are going to do to Eudora and her crew out of my thoughts. After tomorrow it will be as though what happened to Dad in South Polaris has been erased, and it just doesn’t feel right. Imagine if the darkwhispers had got us? Imagine if we lost all our memories of Dad? We lost Brightstorm House, all of our things were sold off. The memories are all we have.”

  Maudie shivered despite the heat of the afternoon. “It would be terrible. When the darkwhispers attacked our boat on the way here, for a moment one had me. I relived a memory about Dad. It was something about … I don’t know. I can’t quite remember, of course. If the fire-bird hadn’t arrived, I could have lost it all. It happened to Florian’s sister. It’s so sad to see someone like that, as though a great part of them has evaporated.”

  They fell silent and swooshed a little further into the lake together.

  Arthur glanced across. “I’ve been thinking.”

  Maudie threw him her what bonkers plan have you come up with now look. “Go on then,” she said slowly.

  “We get her to confess in writing before tomorrow.”

  She laughed, then realized he was totally serious.

  “You’re going to have to say that again because I thought you said you’re going to ask Eudora Vane to confess, which would be the daftest plan since the invention of daft plans!”

  “I’ve been thinking about it. We sneak over and ask her.”

  “So we just turn up, break in to wherever she’s been held, and say, ‘Hi, Eudora, you know you poisoned our dad and his crew, so we think it’s time for a written confession’!”

  “Not exactly.”

  “Or perhaps, ‘Eudora, your conscience must be burdened by the weight of what you did in South Polaris. Here’s a pen and pencil; that’s it, get it all off your chest’.” She shook her head. “Eudora won’t freely do anything for anyone. She only understands currency – currency of power, resources, and keeping the Vane name on some pedestal of explorers in Lontown.”

  “We have currency.”

  She frowned at him.

  “We have the knowledge of what is going to happen. What they are going to do to her. What if we agree to help her back west without getting her memory taken?”

  “And how are we going to do that?”

  “That bit I’ve no idea about; I mean, we don’t actually have to keep our side of the deal.”

  She stared at him. “That would make us the same as her.”

  “Then we ask Harriet to help.”

  They continued further into the lake, both in deep thought.

  Then Arthur noticed that Maudie was now motionless, staring into the north east. “What is it?”

  Dark clouds were on the horizon. Lightning sparked in the far distance. Another deluge was coming.

  Florian paddled to join them. “Do not worry. We’ll be quite safe in the city. It will pass swiftly. But we must go inside now.”

  By the time they reached the jetty, the grey bank of cloud had reached them, and spots of rain dappled the plateau, forming thousands of rings in an ever-changing, dancing pattern.

  “Will the water rise above here? We’re fairly high, aren’t we?”

  “It will, but we are used to this. Come and see.”

  They followed him downstairs to where the water came halfway up the windows. “The whole city is water-tight. And the three levels above us are too, although it rarely goes above this floor.”

  Arthur had a thought. “Florian?”

  “Yes?”

  “You know where Eudora Vane and her crew are in the power-falls, right?”

  He nodded.

  “We need to go and speak to her tonight. There’s something really important that we need to do before she’s taken to the darkwhispers tomorrow.”

  Florian frowned. “And you want me to take you to her?”

  “Yes.”

  He looked to Maudie. “Is this your wish too?”

  She felt her freckles blush brightly with the dilemma. Then she nodded.

  He thought for a moment. “If Tauria found out…”

  “She won’t. We’ll be in and out quickly.”

  “Then we should go now, before the storm gets too bad.”

  The sky was an ethereal grey, and warm rain fell in heavy splashes across the plateau as the water-wing sped soundlessly towards the power-fall building.

  “How will we distract the guard?” asked Maudie.

  “Leave that to me,” said Florian.

  They floated up to the jetty, but when they reached the building, Florian led them straight past.

  “What are you doing?” Maudie said, alarmed.

  “The windows to where she is being held are here. The guards will never know.”

  Arthur had to admit it was a simple yet clever idea. “But won’t we be too near the falls?”

  Florian steered them to a small window and held the water-wing steady. “We will be all right as long as the rain doesn’t get too heavy.”

  “Too heavy?” Maudie pushed her sodden hair away from her face and glanced at Arthur with wide eyes.

  “Let’s get this done,” Arthur said. He peered inside.

  Eudora was in the room, which had various pipes running across the walls, and a makeshift bed that had been placed in the middle. Eudora wasn’t her usual neat self; her shirt was creased, her hair looked dull and untidy, and her cheeks were drawn and pale.

  “Hey, you!” he said in a hushed whisper.

  Eudora looked up, clearly bemused. She put on a bright voice and said, “What a pleasant surprise.”

  Maudie
looked in too.

  “Well, now, both my nephew and niece come to visit me!”

  “Don’t call us that,” Maudie hissed.

  “What did she say?” Florian called, looking suddenly panicked.

  Maudie looked back at him. “Don’t worry, I’ll explain later – it’s not what it seems.”

  Arthur decided the best approach was to get it over with. “They are taking you to the darkwhispers tomorrow. They will leave you there until all your memory is taken, so that you can never be a threat to them.”

  Florian shuffled his feet uncomfortably on the boards. “Should we be telling her this?” he whispered to Maudie.

  She put a hand on his arm.

  For a moment there was a barely perceptible waver in Eudora’s composure.

  “You’re going to lose all knowledge of everything,” Arthur iterated. “It’s what the darkwhispers do. Feed off your memories until there’s nothing left – you won’t remember your expeditions, Lontown, your crew, your parents, your—”

  And that was the moment Arthur saw a glint of terror pass over Eudora’s face.

  “—sister.”

  She wouldn’t remember Violetta. Their mother and the sister she had loved so dearly, who had chosen a different path, a path that had driven Eudora to do terrible things. It was the one thing that she cared deeply about, and for a moment he saw it in her eyes.

  “We want a confession about what you really did at South Polaris,” said Maudie.

  Eudora was uncharacteristically silent for a while. Then she said plainly, “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “You know exactly what we mean.” He shoved a notebook and pencil through the window towards her. “If you help us, then we’ll pick you up and take you back to Lontown. You won’t have your memories, but you’ll have our word that we’ll take you back.”

  She observed them for several moments. “A confession for my life. An interesting proposition, Brightstorms. But not one I mean to entertain.”

  “But they’re going to let the darkwhispers take every memory you have!”

  She smiled. “Perhaps. And if they do, what difference does it make to me whether I confess? If I confess, my reputation is lost; if I don’t then my reputation remains.”