Heart of the Staff - Complete Series

by Carol Marrs Phipps

  “At your service,” said Peredur with a bow.

  Spitemorta stepped out into the grass and mounted the Staff. “Ta-Ta,” she said and flew away into the morning sky.

  “My word!” said Peredur as they watched from the doorway. “That witch! What have we got into?”

  “Something you and I are going to live through, that's what.”

  Chapter 151

  Rodon started for the tunnel, waving at Minuet and Razzmorten to follow. The unicorns began taking careful steps, scuffling over the glassy ropes of lava.

  “Let's dismount before one of them slips,” said Razzmorten, throwing his leg across Abracadabra's rump. “We might have to duck in the tunnel, anyway.”

  “Where's the light coming from?” said Minuet, her voice taking on echoes as she stepped into the lava tube.

  “Glow lichen,” said Razzmorten. “Have you...?”

  “Yes! Rose and Lukus used to talk about it growing in the caverns of the Magic River under Oilean Gairdin.”

  A bark rang out in the echoes. Rodon wheeled about and reared up onto his haunches. “Ben that a dogge? Beth hit loos? Ich am afered Ich have a favour ratte.”

  “That's Fifi,” said Razzmorten, “in the basket behind the cantle of my saddle. She's not used to traveling, and neither is the Queen's cat in the basket on her unicorn. I've just now put both of them to sleep. I can keep them that way until it's convenient to have them awake.”

  “And artow heere for the nyght?” said Rodon. “ Ich to knowe what to done with yunker unycornes and yunker bagage after Ich un-to my sustrin yit introducciones make do neede.”

  “Certainly tonight,” said Razzmorten, “but we don't know yet how long we're staying.”

  Rodon gave a nod and dropped onto all fours to scamper ahead in the echoes of the unicorns' shod hooves.

  Presently the tunnel grew quite light as they came to the kitchen. Rodon made gracious introductions all 'round and vanished with the unicorns. Celeste seated Minuet and Razzmorten at each end of the board as she and Alvita and Nacea began setting out a glorious meal of roast lamb and beef, new potatoes and two kinds of speckled gravy, a huge broad bowl of peas picked before sunrise, rhubarb, spotted Ashmore pudding with currants, and steaming pans of hot acorn bread with sweet butter and wild strawberry jam. They quickly took their seats and everyone joined hands for a moment of silence. The moment they squeezed hands and let go, Celeste, Alvita and Nacea shared quick looks of wide-eyed alarm. Rodon came from the doorway where he had been standing, quietly took a plate from the cupboard and sat by himself.

  “Is that Lance's?” said Minuet with a nod at a picture in a frame, hanging from a peg driven into the wall behind Celeste. “King James once told us that you all raised his first steward. Is that right?”

  Celeste snapped to from her distraction. “That mochel to derke for Lance ybe,” she said, glancing back at the picture of a child spanking an adult. “That ben by oure special litel wei helle hond ydon.”

  For a moment, Minuet was utterly lost for a reply.

  “Lance un-to us hym ybrought. Hee the verray child of Kyng James hymselve and Queene Spitemorta ybe.”

  Razzmorten sighed and parked his knife on the edge of his plate. “Then my great- grandson Abaddon is your special hell hound, I'm afraid.”

  Celeste, Alvita and Nacea were shaking their heads.

  “I'm bewildered...” said Razzmorten.

  “And thou looke hit, my goode wysard,” said Celeste with a nod.

  “Abaddon's dam was Queen Spitemorta,” said Razzmorten. “And though she was raised by King Brutelee and Queen Bee of Goll, she was the daughter of Ugleeuh, who was my child by Demonica...” He stopped short at the sight of the sisters still shaking their heads. “I don't understand. It's Abaddon, then Spitemorta, then Ugleeuh and then Demonica and me.”

  “No,” said Celeste. “Abaddon Razzorbauches grete-grauntchild ybe. Of this weo arne certeyn. Ugleeuh was Razzorbauches verray doughter...”

  “But I've had all these years...”

  “Nay,” said Celeste, still shaking her head. “Longbark, the oke tree, the mooder of the Forest Abaddon ytowchid, and she eke towched Razzorbauch. Ther nis no dowte under the grete blewe hevene. Abaddon Razzorbauches grete-grauntsone ybe, nat thine.”

  “I'm stunned!” said Razzmorten as he looked at Minuet. “Longbark was able to be certain from a mere touch?”

  “Yis,” said Celeste, “just as haldyng hondes with thee and the queene just now hath un-to us that som thyng dredfull didde happe didde tellen. So min goode wysard and min good and benevolent queene, what dredfull tydyngges hath yit heere ybrought?”

  “Are you aware that Spitemorta and Demonica destroyed Oilean Gairdin?” he said, picking up his knife again.

  “Yis,” she said, watching him eat. “And weo knowen that the Elven to the Wilderlandes with Lance, Abaddon and Kyng James and the diatrymas yfled. The diatrymas word ybrought , juste bifore they the Grete Barrere Mounteyns ycrossed. And? What elles didde happe?”

  “Queen Spitemorta has declared war on Niarg, and she and Demonica may well have destroyed Castle Niarg by now. I've not had the time to scry and see. We have sent our army to destroy Castle Goll, while Goll is out on the march. All of the town of Niarg has been evacuated. We should be getting word from our army any time now, if there is no problem with our staying here that long.”

  For a moment, the room was dead silent.

  “Weo honoured for yit as long as yit plese to abyden wolden be,” said Celeste with nods from Alvita and Nacea.

  “An evyl aura in-to this kycchyn hath comen,” said Nacea. “What didde yit in heere with yunc to bryng ?”

  Razzmorten opened his shoulder bag and handed over the grimoire to her.

  “This bilonged to the Ffirst Wysard?” she said.

  “Yea. And the witches need it in order to summon the better part of the power of the Crystal Heart.”

  “Min word!” said Celeste. “Why haven yit nat distroyed hit?”

  “We may need some of the information in it to save ourselves from them before it's all over, and this is the safest place that I know of to keep it.”

  “And thou and Queene Minuet neden som pye,” said Celeste. “Alvita hath som pyes fro this yeres erly redbrid apples ymaad. Hir pye the beste pye in the world ybe. Lance and Abaddon seyden so.”

  ***

  Meri Greenwood squatted over the pile of pine cones he had just picked from the tree beside him, digging at the nuts in a cone over a basket.

  “So what kind of tree is that?” said King Neron.

  “Wex nott pyne,” said Meri, looking up with a squint through his flying green hair. “Halt out thine hondes. Ther. Wex nott pyne nottis. The scheles arne thynne. Juste crakkestow hem with thine teth.”

  “My! Those are good.”

  Meri dug at another pine cone and nodded as a laughing quail called to another one, far off in the barren red and purple landscape, strewn with stone logs as far as the eye could see. “Heere, holpe thy-selve,” he said. “Ich can for to digge hem out moore quyk than thou canst ete.” He looked at the setting sun. “Now what was thou ytellynge me byforn Ich up the tree didde clamb? What seydestow aboute Razzorbauch and the queene of Goll?”

  “Yea. She's his granddaughter...”

  “And she the oon whoso smote doun Oilean Gairdin ybe and vowen for to kylle everych Elf a-lyve?”

  “Yeap. She and the witch Demonica.”

  “If she beth hise, hit no wonder ybe. But what kynde of roten strumpet wolde that vil busardes wyf han ben in the ffirst place?”

  “That very same Demonica.”

  “Hoo-wee!” said Meri, stopping short to look out over the countryside.

  Neron hefted his handful of wax nuts. “Demonica bore his child and named her Ugleeuh,” he said, putting a nut between his teeth.

  “Ugleeuh? Bailitheoir Cailli?”

  “The very one. And most people don't know that right before she tried to murder the king and queen of N
iarg, she secretly gave birth to Spitemorta and gave her to Queen Bee of Goll to raise...”

  “But Razzmorten was to Demonica ymaried and hee reysed Ugleeuh.”

  “Indeed, but it was Razzorbauch who sired Ugleeuh. The great oak Longbark touched Abaddon and knew at once...”

  “O Longbark in dede wolde han ben righte able so to done, but Razzorbauch kyld hir and everych oon of hir sappelynges yeres byforn Abaddon was born. Ich sawe the verray hole in the grounde wher hir rootes hadde yben.”

  “Yea. Razzorbauch ripped her out of that hole and put her in one of the craters of Mount Bedd Chwiorydd Tair in the Pitmaster's Kettles, where she lives now with Celeste, Alvita, Nacea and their brother Rodon, right where he imprisoned them for all time...”

  Meri shot to his feet, spilling his basket. “O min biloved!” he cried, giving a furious sprint, ending in a handspring and dashing back to Neron. “How dost thou this yknowest? Hast thou to Mount Bed yben?”

  “No, but King James's steward Lance was just there with Abaddon, helping James to hide Abaddon from Spitemorta. That's when Celeste and them showed Abaddon to Longbark.”

  “Ich on myn way ybe! Ich on myn way ybe!” cried Meri, whirling and dancing all about. “Ich am goyng ! Ich am goyng!” He stopped short. “So how didde James and Lance ther ever come to buen?”

  “Lance went there as a child and Celeste and her sisters raised him. They also raised our diatrymas, Ceidwad and Lladdwr...”

  “Koude they take me ther?”

  “You'd have to talk to them,” said Neron, “I'm sure...”

  With that, Meri raced away into the pines. He jogged back at once. “Ich am so happy that Ich am nat thynkinge!” he hollered as he came. “Ich myghte a goode long tyme geen to buen, and ther som oon thou nedith to seen ybe byforn Ich ga. Wit neede to ga bakke doun-steyres.”

  Meri dashed away again, zigzagging through the pines, making Neron run to keep up. “That stak of pyne cones?” he said, pausing to catch his breath at the edge of the great ring of mushrooms. “They aren al thine. If thou do nat hem to ete, the pakke rattes wol.”

  “Thank you,” said Neron. “Say. That tree on the far side of the ring, yonder. I didn't notice it before. Could that be a mother tree, a silver maidenhair tree?”

  “Yep,” he said as he fished for the first step inside the Fairy ring, and then jogged on down to vanish through the moss and leaves.

  Neron carefully found the steps through the carpet of moss which was not there and followed. The moment he was inside, he paused for a quick look about before going on. To be coming downstairs from the ceiling of a gargantuan cavern, bright as day, looking down on the treetops below, was quite something indeed. Meri was already all the way down, setting out across Gerddi Teg along one of its meandering streets at such a pace that Neron had to run after him before he disappeared between the cottages. When he finally caught up, Meri was leaning across the picket fence of a paddock in front of an especially squat thatched cottage, petting two great white birds.

  “Strike falcons!” said Neron, heaving to catch his breath. “The only ones of those that I've ever seen lived out in the Great Strah of Lobhadh. The Strah was completely uninhabitable because of them.”

  “Ich remembre,” said Meri, “thogh wit hadden nat yet to meete. Thise arne for to eten trowen lyche un-to that oon of thine. And juste how didist thou by thine trow to comen, eny-way?”

  “Demonica and Spitemorta had hundreds of them when they smote down the walls of Caislen Oilean Gairdin. The diatrymas caught ours trying to make off with my great-granddaughter. We saved her, thank the Fates, but we lost her brother Jarund. I never saw Spitemorta, but I did run into Demonica. She pulled out a glowing red stone from her kirtle when she saw me, and I cut off her hand and fled.”

  “Goode for thee!”

  “Well thanks, but it occurred to me after I'd run off, that the stone was probably the Great Heart.”

  “Calon Fforydd,” said Meri with a sigh.

  “Heart of the Forest?”

  “Herte of the Stoon Forest,” said Meri. “Hadde the Ffirst Wysard nat hit ystole, Razzorbauch juste myghte nat haven the Forest Primycies distroyed and thralls of min derre lovyere and hir sustrin ymaad.”

  “And we might not be in trouble, now,” said Neron as he reached across the fence to pat the neck of one of the shawkyn spooghey.

  “Looke thee yonder,” said Meri with a nod at an Elf with green streaks in his hair who was coming from the barn behind the house with a fist full of jesses.

  “Dia duit!” called the Elf, breaking into a run at the sight of them. “Athair? Father?” he cried, taking Neron by the arm and squeezing his hand.

  “Oisin?” cried Neron, grabbing him by the shoulder. “Oisin! It is you, right?”

  Oisin grinned and nodded.

  “Oh! I can see that is!” cried Neron. “I spent these livelong years thinking that you were dead.”

  Oisin turned aside and hollered at a fiery red haired young woman who had just appeared with a pair of little Doolish unicorns: “Get the kids! You won't believe who's here!”

  “Doona!” said Neron, giving her a squeeze. “I'm so happy to find you alive and married to Oisin. Why you've got green in your hair, just like he has.”

  “This is your granddaughter, Renny,” said Doona. “She's just had her 113th [eight years, Human] birthday.”

  “Why you look just like your mother at your age, except for your beautiful eyes and green hair,” said Neron.

  “And here comes Aden,” she said. “He's just turned 141 [ten years]. His birthday is just a day apart from hers.”

  “And except for the same green eyes and hair as your sister, you're the very picture of Oisin.”

  “Farwel,” said Meri, tugging at his sleeve with a grin. “Ich am of to seen Celeste.” And with that, he sprinted away to vanish amongst the houses.

  “We have to hurry too, if we're to get a pair of deer in the moonlight tonight for supper, tomorrow evening,” said Oisin, hanging onto the jesses of a strike falcons as he mounted one of the unicorns. “And you're going to come back tomorrow evening at four to help us eat them, aren't you?”

  “Oh that would be wonderful,” said Neron. “I can't imagine it getting dark outside this quick.”

  “Go dti sin,” said Oisin. “Slan agat!”

  “Aden and Renny will see you back to where you're staying,” said Doona, finding her stirrup. “We're going the other direction.”

  Neron looked very puzzled indeed, watching Oisin and Doona gallop away in the direction that they were going, as Aden and Renny took him by the hands and turned him clean around.

  Chapter 152

  Oyster Cove was mainly a large fishing village, for though it had long served as the only seaport for the Elves of the Jut of Niarg, they had withdrawn from the outside world after the Great Plague and had little use for such a port. The kingdom of Loxmere did have a long standing agreement with the Elves which allowed them to conduct trade through there, but the moment they began trade in sukere, the agreement was seriously strained. And when Loxmere and Goll became joined due to the marriage of James and Spitemorta, causing a surge in the sukere trade, the Elves decided to terminate the agreement altogether. They had just sent word of this to Goll when Spitemorta and Demonica's trolls roasted and ate almost the entire village of Fen, just two miles down the coast. Every last Elf in Oyster Cove fled immediately to Oilean Gairdin, leaving its streets to the scavenging gulls and an occasional roving band of wild hogs.

  Hubba Hubba and Pebbles pecked at this and that amongst the weedy cobblestones. An unlatched shutter lazily opened and slammed again and again in the morning sea breeze as dry leaves whirled and skittered in the street. Pebbles lunged into flight, climbing into the air to glide to the ridge pole of the abandoned fish market. “Hubba Hubba!” she cawed out the moment she landed. “Ships! Come see!”

  “How many?” he cawed.

  “Maybe twelve!”

  He landed beside her in short
order. “That's them,” he said, giving himself a good shake. “Has to be. Do they look like they're dropping anchor out there, or do you reckon they're coming to the quays?”

  “They're awfully slow, but I'll bet they tie up at the quays. Dropping anchor and fooling with a whole mess of coracles seems like a terrible bother to me.”

  Hubba Hubba sorted through his flight feathers, looking up suddenly as a pair of pelicans landed at the far end of the roof. He gave himself a shake and saw that the ships were much closer than he had expected them to be. Before long they were all docked.

  “Why aren't the troops getting off the ships?” said Pebbles.

  “I have no idea, unless they're waiting for Demonica and Spitemorta to get here.”

  “Look,” she said. “There's a fellow coming down a plank by himself.”

  “And there goes another plank from that ship, down yonder.”

  “And there's just one man a-starting down it, too.”

  “Yeap,” said Hubba Hubba, “and it looks like they're going to have a talk. Let's see if we can get close enough to hear.”

  They took flight at once, making a couple of broad circles of the ships before settling onto the top yard of an abandoned fishing dogger, practically overhead the two men who were now walking up and down the pier.

  “Now why would somebody leave a bucket of rocks out here?” said General Cunedda as he propped his elbows on his knees to peer into it. “And just how long do you reckon the good queen plans on keeping us idling here, anyway?”

  “As long as she damn well pleases, as far as I can tell,” said Coel with a wide eyed look. “She's dangerous. I don't know what choice we have but to do just what she says.”

  Cunedda stood up and flung a rock off into the water. “Yea?” he said as he picked up another rock. “I'm not sure how much cooperation she's due. I wasn't under orders to rebuild her bloomin' castle. My orders are strictly for military engagements. And I don't remember the management of construction gangs being part of your land agreement, either.”

  Dang it!” rattled Hubba Hubba as he shifted from side to side, pointing himself at the pier. “I can hear them talking, but I can't quite make out what they're a-saying. Stay right here.” He dove into a sweeping glide to land with a couple of hops and a brassy stride or two, no more than a rod away from Cunedda and Coel.