The Violet Keystone

by Garth Nix

  Violet Keystone right now, as they wasted time talking. They had to get to the Violet Tower and stop him from destroying the Veil.

  "I'm not going," announced Adras, folding his arms. "You can't make me."

  Tal was about to let his anger burst out into words when they both heard someone open the door. Instantly Tal ducked behind one of the workbenches, and Adras shot up to the ceiling and spread himself out among the shadows there.

  The unknown intruder was trying to be very quiet. The door only opened a little way, and Tal saw someone slide in. In the dim light he couldn't even tell whether it was a Spiritshadow or someone wearing black.

  Adras drifted over, ready to drop on the intruder. Tal lifted his Sunstone, and it began to swirl with red light in preparation for a Ray of Destruction.

  It was a person, Tal saw, not a Spiritshadow. All dressed in black, with a black hood drawn tightly around his face. Tal saw a dagger in the hand held close by the intruder's side. He moved from shadow to shadow, until he could see the open globe and the body of Fashnek. He stopped suddenly then and looked around.

  "Tal?"

  It was a voice from the past, a voice from the dead.

  Crow's voice.

  But that was impossible. For a moment, Tal thought he might still be under the control of the nightmare machine. But the Sunstones on their silver stands were dark, the globe still open.

  "Tal?"

  Tal stood up slowly. Crow faced him and slowly undid his hood. He was very pale, and there was a partly healed scar across his forehead.

  "I thought I killed you," whispered Tal.

  "Ebbitt saved us," said Crow.

  "Ebbitt's alive, too?" exclaimed Tal. He felt relief flood his entire body, making him feel weak. He needed to sit down.

  "We all survived," said Crow. "I thought I'd killed you.

  And I did hit you on the head. I… I'm sorry. I guess I went crazy… There is so much the Chosen have done to my family… "

  "I've been in the nightmare machine," said Tal. He didn't need to say anything else.

  Crow nodded and went over to look down on Fashnek's body.

  "It took too long to come to this," he said.

  "I'm sorry, too," said Tal after a moment.

  "For bringing down the roof. For everything my people have done to yours."

  "It's all changing now," said Crow. "The Icecarls will win. They have agreed that we will be free."

  "I hope that happens," replied Tal. He was surprised to find that he meant it. He had come to learn that there was no such thing as the natural superiority of the Chosen over everyone else. In fact, Tal realized with surprise that there were more Underfolk and Icecarls who he admired and looked up to.

  "I came to rescue you," said Crow. "The Codex told Ebbitt where you were. Or so he said. Only you seem to have rescued yourself."

  Silence fell awkwardly between them then. Tal still wasn't absolutely sure Crow could be trusted. Too much had happened between them in the past. Could the Freefolk boy have changed so much?

  "Um, I have to go," Tal said after a few more seconds of uncomfortable silence.

  "Where?" asked Crow.

  "The Violet Tower," Tal answered slowly. "Sushin has part of the Violet Keystone. It's probably enough for him to destroy the Veil. The Sun will come again and melt the Ice. There will be an invasion of shadows. Thousands and thousands of shadows. I have to… I

  have to stop him."

  "You will need help," said Crow.

  "Like you helped me in the Red Tower?" asked Tal.

  Crow shook his head.

  "No. I swear it in my parents' names. We fight together now."

  He clapped his fists, Icecarl-style, then drew out a Sunstone. For a moment Tal almost shot a Red Ray at him, but he forced himself to wait. Crow simply gave light in respect, and Tal let out the breath he didn't know he'd held.

  "All right," Tal agreed. He clapped his fists, too, and let the red light fade from his Sunstone in order to give light in return. It was Violet that shone forth, though he had not tried to make it so. Perhaps even without the Violet Keystone something of the imperial majesty clung to him.

  "We'll fight together."

  "Adras fight, too," boomed the Spiritshadow from the ceiling. "Only can we fight someone easier, not Sushin?"

  Tal ignored him.

  "You said Ebbitt told you where I was? He didn't get hurt too much?"

  "No. He was hurt, but he's all right now." "And Milla is with the Icecarls?"

  Crow laughed for a moment, then grew suddenly serious again.

  "Milla is the leader of the Icecarls! She has a magical fingernail of crystal and Sunstone chips they call the Talon of Danir, and she is called Milla Talon-Hand, War-Chief of the Icecarls and Living Sword of Asteyr. She has grown, I think--if not in size, in something… something you can't see. You have grown, too, Tal."

  "What do you mean?" asked Tal. He looked down at himself. He didn't seem any taller or stronger or anything.

  "You seem… more important," Crow said hesitantly, as if he wasn't sure himself. "Less a boy, and less a Chosen. You have become something else, something more."

  "You have changed, too, at least in your choice of color," Tal said, with a slight laugh. He wasn't sure he liked Crow being strange and mystical any more than he had liked him being aggressive and antagonistic.

  Crow looked down at his black robes, so different from the white normally worn by Freefolk, or the white with black lettering of the Underfolk.

  "It's true I've changed," he said. "Deeper than my clothes. I know what's really important now."

  Tal tried to smile again, but found he couldn't.

  "I'm glad Milla leads the Icecarls," he said. "She knows about the danger from Sushin. How far have the Icecarls penetrated into the Castle? And where is the current fighting? I know a few ways to get to the Violet levels, but they may be blocked off or defended."

  Crow nodded. "Come, let's talk as we go. There is no fighting close by, at least not yet. There are also Underfolk ways to the Violet levels. I will show you. Follow me."

  CHAPTER NINE

  "I have to find out what is happening with the main force before we can go anywhere," Milla said sternly. She looked across at Malen, who was once more standing still in absolute concentration.

  Ebbitt looked at the Crone and wiggled his eyebrows, trying to distract her. But Malen did not see him, though her pure blue eyes were open.

  "There are many of your people in the lower Red levels," said Graile. She was lying down, exhausted, supported by both her own and Ebbitt's Spiritshadows. "At least, that is what I overheard a Chosen saying. Thousands of them, he said. I am still not entirely sure why you are invading our Castle. But Uncle Ebbitt says we need you to stop Sushin from destroying the Veil, and I find myself believing him, which is not always the case. And my son sent me to you, not to any Chosen."

  "Thousands?" asked Milla. "The main host must have arrived!"

  Saylsen shook her head. "The Chosen may simply be afraid. Remember, 'In fear, nothing is certain. A single sharik becomes a swarm. Only the calm Shield Maiden can count."

  Malen's eyes clouded. There was an instant hush. All the Icecarls leaned forward, as if they, too, might hear what Malen heard.

  "There is a Crone at the exit from the heatways below. She will come no farther. She says that she has counted two thousand of our folk through and still they pass. Some wounded have come back, they say… They say we are victorious in the Red levels, and the Chosen retreat upward into Orange!"

  "Ask her to tell a Shield Mother that Milla Talon-Hand lives," instructed Milla. "That I must now fight my way to the Violet Tower. Tell her that the most senior Shield Mother should assume command, and that they must keep attacking up through the levels, and try to join us in the Violet Tower as soon as they can."

  "Feyle One-Ear will command if she still lives,"

  said Saylsen. "We should send her a messenger as well, to be sure."

&n
bsp; Milla looked around the green and dripping walls of the room.

  "How do we get out of here?" she asked Ebbitt. "And how do we get to the Violet Tower?"

  "It is a secret, but some can go by steam to the topmost Violet level," whispered Ebbitt, holding his finger upright next to his nose. "But first we must all jump in the bucket."

  He pointed at the wall opposite the stairway they'd come down. There was no sign of any bucket, or a hidden door or stairway, but the Icecarls moved apart so Ebbitt could press his palms against various stones in a complicated sequence.

  Nothing happened. Ebbitt scratched his head. Then he pressed his ear against the wall. Whatever he heard satisfied him, and he stepped back.

  Everyone waited for another minute, watching the wall, before Odris spoke to Milla in her Storm Shepherd whisper, which could probably be heard through the wall as well as by all the Icecarls and Graile.

  "Is something supposed to happen?"

  "Yes," said Milla.

  As she spoke, she felt a rumbling underfoot.

  All the Icecarls shifted nervously. It felt like breaking ice, and their instinctive reaction was to run away from it as fast as possible.

  "Um," said Ebbitt. "Perhaps it was the floor--"

  He jumped back as the floor suddenly slid away under his feet, revealing a deep hole. Two Shield Maidens caught him and rushed him back still farther, joining the general dash to the other wall.

  When the rumbling stopped, almost a third of the floor had slid away, revealing a ramp that led down into a dark and stagnant pool of water.

  "Damp," said Ebbitt. He started down the ramp, his Spiritshadow easing out from behind Graile to glide along at his heels. The old man paused at the edge of the water, pulled his breastplate away, and spoke down, apparently to his own chest. "I advise you to hold your breath through here."

  Before anyone could ask him what he was doing, his Sunstone shone brightly and a globe of green light formed around his head. His Spiritshadow went first, then the old man followed it confidently farther down the ramp. Both of them disappeared underwater.

  "Oh, Ebbitt," sighed Graile. "There's probably a perfectly easy and dry way out of here, but he has to choose the dirtiest and most difficult."

  She started to get up, but even with her Spiritshadow's help she would have fallen if Milla had not caught her elbow.

  "Thank you," gasped Graile. "I am still… very weak. Perhaps you could help me with a globe of air?"

  "That is what Ebbitt made just then?" asked Milla. "To breathe under the water?"

  "Yes. It is Green magic, not difficult. Air is compressed into the light. I don't think I could hold my breath at all, so I will need it."

  "How do I begin?" asked Milla tentatively. She remembered the Violet wave all too well. What if she made a mistake and formed a globe around Graile's head that had no air in it?

  "I will show you with my Sunstone," whispered Graile. "You need only follow what I do, but with more power. You regulate power with will--it is a matter of how fiercely you think it. I am sure you can do that."

  Milla nodded. But before Graile could begin, Saylsen interrupted. All the Icecarls had been suspicious of Sunstone magic in the first place. Milla had only made it worse with the Violet wave. It made her feel strange deep inside to know that not only did she have the ability to use Sunstone magic, but that the Icecarls feared her for it.

  "We should send someone through the water to take a look," the Shield Mother said. "To see that there is air on the other side, and that the way is clear."'

  "Odris can go," said Milla.

  "The shadow does not breathe," said Saylsen. "We need to know that we can make it through without magic."

  "Milla could make you each a globe of air," said Graile weakly. "It would not take long."

  Milla saw the resistance on every Icecarl face, but no one spoke. If she ordered it, they would accept. But she would not order them, and once again she felt a pang in her heart, as she was reminded how distant she now was from the Shield Maidens and hunters who stood before her.

  "Send who you will," Milla said. "But tie a cord to them first, in case of trouble."

  She turned back to Graile.

  "Show me," said Milla. "I will make a globe of air for you, but we will cross the water without magic. That is the Icecarl way."

  CHAPTER TEN

  After three attempts to cross one of the major colorless corridors to get to an essential stairway, Tal was forced to accept that he would have to ask Crow to show him an Underfolk way to the Violet levels. Every time they were about to run across, large groups of armed Chosen, usually led by a guard, would appear at one end of the corridor, hurrying along. It was clear that the entire adult population of Chosen, including some older children, was being mobilized against the Icecarl invasion.

  Many of them would be killed or injured, Tal thought sadly, all of them fighting for a lie. They were not defending themselves, but were simply dupes of Sushin and Sharrakor. The Aeniran plan to destroy the Veil and take over the Dark World had long been in action. Even the Empress had been controlled by Sharrakor.

  "Go, don't go, back, stop," grumbled Adras. "This is a silly game."

  "It's not a game, Adras," said Tal. "Crow, do you know a way we can get up through Orange and Yellow?"

  "I know a way to get right up to Violet One," said Crow with a slight smile. "But it's not pleasant or easy."

  Tal didn't like the look of that smile. It reminded him of the old Crow, the one who had hit him on the head and stolen his Sunstone.

  "What is it, then?"

  The smile disappeared and Crow grew more serious. "You know the laundry chute?"

  Tal nodded. Everyone knew the laundry chute. But you couldn't climb it--it was made to slide down. Besides, he'd used it to escape from Sushin before. It was sure to be guarded.

  "There is another, similar chute," said Crow. "Except that it's a vertical shaft, without any turns. It runs from the Underfolk serving kitchen on Violet One all the way down--down to the heatways or even lower. It's called the slopdown."

  "The slopdown?" asked Tal. That didn't sound too good.

  Crow saw the look on Tal's face and nodded. "It's for the kitchen garbage from each level. So it smells bad, and it's pretty slimy. But there is a metal ladder that goes all the way. I think." "You've climbed it?" asked Tal.

  "Only as far as Indigo Seven," said Crow. "That's why I don't know whether the ladder goes the whole way. But you can get out at any kitchen on any level. The main danger is the slipperiness, or hot slops."

  "Slipperiness? Hot slops?"

  "A lot of cooking oil and grease goes down, so the ladder is very slippery," explained Crow. "We'll have to climb with a grit bag and grit up every now and then. And sometimes the assistant cooks pour out things like hot soup."

  "They might not be cooking with the Icecarl invasion going on," said Tal hopefully.

  Crow shook his head at Tal. "They'll be cooking more than ever. Fighters need feeding. But the ladder is on the far side of the shaft from the kitchen hatches, so only a long throw or a lot of stuff coming down could get to us."

  Tal thought about it for a moment. There didn't seem to be any alternative. He had to get to the

  Violet levels as quickly as possible, and from there into the Violet Tower. This slopdown seemed the best and most secret way.

  "All right. But you go first."

  Crow nodded. "This way," he said. "There's an old kitchen back here somewhere."

  Of course, Crow knew exactly where the old kitchen was. Like most places around the Hall of Nightmares, it had not been used in many, many years. The rows of ovens were cold, their Sunstones dead. The cupboards were empty, doors hanging open at odd angles, old hinges giving way.

  Crow went to a gray iron hatch in one wall. It was hinged at the bottom, designed to be pulled open and down. Crow tugged at the handle, but it was stuck fast.

  Tal and Adras came to help, and they pulled together. There was a
grinding noise, then a sudden snap. All three fell over backward, still holding the handle.

  But the hatch was open a fraction. An awful smell came wafting out from behind it. The smell of years-old cooking oil, the odor of ancient, putrefied meat, and the newer but no less disgusting reek of rotten vegetables.

  Tal gagged and held his nose. Crow shook his head as if he could shake the smell off. But Adras was affected even worse. He twisted up into a frenzied whirlwind, spinning round and round and roaring incoherently. Whatever he was saying wasn't clear, but his feelings were obvious. Adras was totally repulsed by the slopdown.

  "Stop that!" shouted Tal as he ripped one of his sleeves to make a face mask, while Crow did the same with his new black robe. "It's… it's not that bad."

  Adras stopped spinning.

  "Yes it is," complained the Spiritshadow. "The air is dead and poisoned!"

  "It's only food scraps and… and stuff," said Tal bravely. "And it's the quickest way to get to the Violet levels. We have to climb it."

  "No," said Adras firmly. "I will go and find Odris."

  "You'll get used to the smell," said Crow. "And there will be a bit of fresh air around each kitchen hatch. If they're open."

  "Come on, let's get going," said Tal. He knew Adras would follow, no matter what he said. They were bound together. Adras could not go far from him, or vice versa. Tal thought his own willpower was stronger. Adras would give in and follow. "You go first, Crow."

  Crow nodded. He tied his face mask on and climbed through the hatch. Then he climbed back in.

  "Forgot the grit," he said, showing blackened, greasy palms to Tal. "The first few rungs of the ladder are really slippery just here. They usually keep some next to the hatch… "

  He rummaged about in the cupboards near the hatch, and eventually found two moldy bags of chalklike powder. After testing that the bag was not too rotten, he plunged his hands into it and wrung them, so that he got a good coating of the gritty substance.

  "You tie the bag to your belt like this, so that it can still be opened with one hand," he said, showing Tal. "We'll probably have to grit up every level or so."

  Tal took the bag, checked it was sound, and copied Crow. In the back of his mind he couldn't help thinking that climbing a greasy ladder was the perfect opportunity for Crow to take his revenge. All he had to do was tread on Tal's hands and he'd fall for sure.