by R A Lindo
She recalled her first moments standing on the ground floor, studying the S.P.M.A. logo which dominated the centre before tripping over a sleeping figure’s feet: a figure that turned out to be Jacob. Kaira smiled as she remembered his nervous mannerisms and kind nature - a kindness on display now as Jacob created the Spintz charm inside the lift, proving to Conrad that magic did exist, and that he had just stepped into a world of infinite wonder. With the boy suitably awestruck, Smyck signalled for Jacob to postpone magical displays as the lift doors opened.
“Okay, you four,” stated Aunt Phee as they stepped out of the lift, Kaira glancing at The Floating Floor glimmering on the opposite side. “We’ll get Conrad acquainted with the boundaries of our world before you go wandering. We’ll start in your dad’s quarters, Kaira. I’m sure you’ll want to spend some time with Churchill.”
Kaira certainly did, gaining the feeling that The Cendryll would increasingly become a home-from-home as the shifting shadows in the sands of Gilweean had formed an unspoken pact of loyalty and duty between the adults and children. There would be more magical charms to learn, more places to discover and more dangers to face but, for now, a certain cat needed all of Kaira’s attention.
Churchill’s ears pricked up the moment the door to Casper Renn’s quarters opened, jumping off the battered sofa towards Kaira who knelt to pick him up, the cat’s soft purring a sign she’d been forgiven.
“I might rustle up a bit of breakfast for us,” suggested Farraday as he ruffled Conrad’s copper-blonde hair again, perhaps sensing his sadness and mild unease.
Remembering Farraday’s last attempt at cooking on the top floor of Helping Hand, after their brush with death in Dyil’s Ditch, Kaira thought it time for a charitable intervention.
“We could cook for everyone,” she offered in an attempt to avert another culinary disaster - not that the suggestion went down well with Guppy.
“Let the adults do the cooking, Kaira,” interjected her dad who had taken off his wine-red suit jacket. “You need to get reacquainted with Churchill, and I’m sure Conrad’s got a lot of questions.”
Kaira had always been impressed with her dad’s ability to read the mood of people, perhaps the reason he had advanced so quickly to his position of authority in The Cendryll. Along with a heightened intuition, Casper Renn knew that insight often came with age and experience, both of which were typically needed in their magical world. The Society for the Preservation of Magical Artefacts was a distinctly adult Society, for this very reason. Its formal and highly secretive nature was critical in preserving its precious history. Within this context, children had long been considered a nuisance as well as a risk.
Although both of these concerns had proven to be valid, the young brought something else: a reckless curiosity which was hard to contain or predict which, surprisingly, had turned out to be a unique force needed in troubling times.
Conrad Kusp was another child to find himself temporarily alone in the S.P.M.A., the existence of the magical Society kept from him until days ago. Casper Renn knew how alienated a child could feel, happy that he had chosen Jacob to look after Kaira on her first day. Conrad would need to same aspects of compassion and consideration - a boy who was struggling with the combined feelings of loss and abandonment.
Like Kaira, he’d been taken from a life of normality and thrown into a strange, overwhelming world of penchants and Periums - left in the hands of people he barely knew whilst his father’s absence, and actual job, remained a mystery to him.
“On that note,” continued Casper Renn, regarding the need to introduce Conrad to their world, “it would be a good idea if Jacob took Conrad on a brief tour of The Cendryll after we’ve eaten. Kaira and Guppy - we need to discuss boundaries and expectations before events take over and we lose track of your escapades.”
Guppy looked a little puzzled, confused by a sudden focus on restriction after the trip to Gilweean suggested an increasingly equal stature in the Society. Perhaps reality had returned with the disdainful stares of the adults occupying The Seating Station or, maybe, Kaira’s dad had received a note via a Scribberal of the Society’s anger at taking children on the journey to Gilweean.
Either way, it was another example of the puzzle of adult behaviour, mused Guppy, oscillating from one decision to another as they gradually lost their hold over the young in their charge.
As Casper Renn stepped into the small kitchen, Kaira and Guppy created the Canvia charm to entertain Churchill, forming various shapes of light and energy which the cat chased around the small quarters. Jacob helped out in the kitchen whilst keeping an eye on Conrad who sat on the battered sofa underneath the bay window, turning the ring on the forefinger of his right hand, the blue, tanzanite gemstone holding his attention.
“Theodore needs to be elsewhere,” Smyck, dressed in his familiar all-black attire, whispered to Jacob in the small kitchen.
As Philomeena Renn ushered them out of the way, Jacob asked, “I thought the whole thing with Theodore was resolved?”
“It was until certain people found out that he hadn’t told the whole truth about his reasons for selling Laudlum.” Sensing Jacob’s puzzlement, and the approach of Conrad, Smyck added quickly, “Let’s just say Theodore knows more than he let on which has put him in danger. Conrad doesn’t know that, of course.”
With a nod of understanding, Jacob handed a collection of vegetables to Casper Renn and stepped out of the kitchen, thinking of a plan to remove the cloud of sadness from Theodore Kusp’s son. Abandonment was something Jacob was familiar with, although this wasn’t quite that.
Theodore was a kind man and a loving father, so the separation would be harder for Conrad. Jacob and Guppy had hardened themselves to their mother’s lack of affection, yet the fact remained that abandonment, whatever the circumstances, was disorienting.
A trip above ground would help, decided Jacob, in particular, a visit to Wimples and Merrymopes. They could return to The Cendryll via a Perium, drop into the Fimiations department to watch powers explode and Williynx squawk before using Kaira’s Follygrin to check on the whereabouts of Conrad’s dad.
Once they located him, they could formulate a plan to get father and son reunited. Jacob was confident that once Conrad had tasted the wonders of the S.P.M.A., he would come to realise a singular truth - that magic made everything better.
With breakfast served and the dining table cleared, Jacob offered Conrad the tour Casper Renn had suggested while Kaira and Guppy stayed with the adults on the fourth floor - a plan brewing which was about to be articulated. Enacting the Worble charm to ensure their communication couldn’t be deciphered, Casper Renn sat at the dining table alongside his sister, beginning the explanation of a subtle plan.
“We needed Jacob to take Conrad on the routine tour to allow us to discuss certain things,” began Kaira’s dad, ‘certain things’ typically meaning new rules. “First of all, to the whereabouts of Theodore. As Smyck mentioned to Jacob in the kitchen while we were cooking, Theodore is currently in hiding in a location accessible to only a handful of people.
It seems Theodore’s illegal selling of Laudlum was more than the act of a grief-stricken man. The transactions were often carried out when he was at his most talkative, let’s say, discussing his many theories regarding famous Society legends.”
Having no idea where this was leading, Kaira wished she and Guppy had been allowed to accompany Jacob as guides for Conrad. Adult conversation, after all, could be stuffy and overtly formal, rarely getting to the point quickly. Thankfully, Farraday, more skilled in the art of concision, added a simpler explanation.
“Theodore’s had a loose tongue of late, particularly when at home entertaining various unsavoury characters. The Terrecet has been his favourite topic: its potential existence and the likelihood of finding it.”
Guppy’s legs began to swing under the dining table … a sure sign a plan was formulating.
“But, why would he lie?” asked Kaira in an attempt to
make the links the adults already had.
“Guilt, probably,” replied Aunt Phee who stood near the door to stop any unwanted interruptions. Proximity to sound did nothing to break the Worble charm, therefore Philomeena Renn continued, secure in the knowledge that anyone attempting to listen in on the corridors outside would only hear muffled sounds.
“It seems likely that Theodore had discussed the legend of the Terrecet with the very people he was selling Laudlum to: Melackin. In his weakened state, formed from the loss of his wife and a longing for company, he may have been encouraged to discuss his well-lauded theories on the elements of truth within legends.”
“So, you think he was tricked into talking about the Terrecet by people who want to find it?” queried Kaira.
“Yes,” interjected Kaira’s dad. “To a degree. Theodore’s need for an audience - combined with his grief and loneliness - led to him saying too much. His fear was evident when we questioned him on the day I brought you here, Kaira. Of course, many people have theories about Society legends - in terms of which ones are rooted in truth - but you learn to adapt your conversation to your audience … something Theodore temporarily lost sight of.”
Kaira remembered studying the adults’ meeting through the Looksee with Guppy - something she had decided not to mention - remembering Theodore Kusp’s unease, but also that fact that he’d denied knowing the meaning of The Sign of the Symean. He had said he’d seen it branded on the back of Prium Koll’s neck (the Melackin he’d sold the Laudlum to) and was planning to look up the symbol in the Society library.
He’d lied to hide the fact that his loose tongue may have ignited the hunt for Terrecet … the dark artefact thought to control the underworld … sought by a shadow army who had orchestrated the death of Cialene Koll and near-fatal attack on Blaze Flint, the black market rat who came into brief possession of a fragment believed to have devastating powers.
“Does Conrad know?” asked Guppy, moving her long, brown hair away from her face as her legs continued to swing underneath the dining table.
Farraday shook his head. “No, which is why he couldn’t be here to hear any of it. He’s been told his dad’s away on Society business … the standard explanation we offer to the young in the rare times they need an explanation.”
The very explanation Kaira was given by Aunt Phee only a few days ago, she recalled.
“Jacob has the little insight I provided while you were entertaining the cat,” interjected Smyck as Philomeena Renn signalled a possible interruption to the meeting.
“In summary, Kaira,” her dad stated. “The importance of discipline and duty in all decisions cannot be overstated. The experience with Cialene was a harsh lesson and one I’m sure you’ve both learnt.”
Kaira and Guppy nodded in unison, neither finding the image of the Ameedis attack easy to remove from their minds.
Casper Renn stood and lifted his wine-red suit jacket from the back of his chair. As he put it on and adjusted the pocket handkerchief, he offered some concluding words which were both explanatory and cautionary. “You will be our eyes and ears in The Cendryll. Use the Follygrin and similar artefacts at your disposal when clarity is required.”
“You’re letting us spy?” queried Guppy excitedly.
“We’re encouraging you to observe,” replied Kaira’s dad as his glance settled on her. “Help us make sense of the figures in the sands of Gilweean; we need to confirm our suspicions before we plan our counter attack.”
“Like detectives?” asked Kaira, gaining a smile from all three adults in the room.
“Yes, Kaira,” her aunt added, maintaining her monitoring position by the double doors. “Like detectives, but you will need to move with more subtlety and caution now. If your suspicions are right, then the very people who are treading a dark path exist amongst us … here in The Cendryll and above ground in Society Square.
We will provide you with alternative routes to help you move with minimal detection, beginning this morning at eleven o’clock. We’ll meet in Merrymopes and go from there. I’m sure we don’t need to remind you of the consequences of another brush with danger. The Orium Circle won’t be so lenient next time.”
“Looking after Conrad is your first assignment,” added Casper Renn as he prepared to leave with his sister and Farraday. “A task of compassion and protection for a boy whose world has just been fundamentally altered. Remember what your first day was like in The Cendryll - how lost you felt - and use that feeling to predict what Conrad will need.”
Guppy remembered all too well what that feeling of abandonment felt like, and the way Kaira’s dad and aunt had offered sanctuary from her disinterested mother. It was her turn, she thought, to offer the same compassion and empathy to a boy who was relying on the kindness of strangers in a magical universe he knew little about.
Indeed, it was Jacob’s kindness that had helped to reassure Kaira on her first day - the way he had encouraged Kaira to open her hand as he called the Quij towards them. Each act of kindness represented the unity Jacob had referred to as they sat together on the shores of Gilweean: the unity they would need to overcome potential threats to a wondrous universe worth fighting for.
7
A Quiet Allegiance
They found Jacob and Conrad in Quandary Corner on the ground floor of The Cendryll, inspecting a small bottle of purple liquid Kaira suspected to be Fillywiss. The ideal cure for dizziness felt by those uninitiated to travelling through Periums, Kaira suspected Jacob had offered Conrad the remedy to shake any remnants of disorientation along the general fog of grief hanging over the young boy.
Although he was the same age as Kaira, Conrad seemed younger in appearance and mannerisms, awkward in company and dominated by singular emotions as young children tended to be.
Jacob displayed his usual compassion as he rubbed his fingers together before opening his hand - a signal to the Quij to make their acquaintance with the lost boy as they had done with Kaira on her entrance to the magical universe. Kaira and Guppy looked up as a small army of Quij, varying in colour and luminosity, fluttered towards Conrad before resting on his head and arms - an enchanting blanket of comfort, drawing an awe-struck smile from a boy who had lost his father and a sense of belonging at a moment’s notice.
“I wish I could be like that,” uttered Guppy as they approached, watching as Conrad’s face lit up with wonder, laughing as his arms, legs and head became a canopy of colour as the many-coloured insects carried out their ritual welcome.
“Like Jacob?” queried Kaira, conscious of Guppy’s increasing awareness of her lack of foresight and consideration.
“I always put my foot in it, saying the wrong thing or getting into trouble.”
“I don’t think ending up in Dyil’s Ditch was that bad,” quipped Kaira with a smile.
Realising Kaira’s humour was an attempt to nudge her away from a bout of self-pity, Guppy added, “I don’t want to be the one whizzing around, overwhelming him.”
“I don’t remember feeling overwhelmed at all. I loved your ’Society History in Ten Seconds’ routine.”
Guppy offered Kaira a forced smile, accepting that she would have to manage her introspection and focus on Conrad who was currently enamoured by the Quij, illuminating his thin frame.
“Well, here’s our chance to be kind and caring,” added Kaira. “Whatever his dad’s done, it’s not Conrad’s fault.”
“Agreed,” said Guppy, and they shook hands in mock formality, laughing as they did whilst ignoring the mixture of puzzlement and resentment emanating from the adults at The Seating Station - the enormous skylight illuminating a flurry of activity.
As the wonder of the Quij helped to appease Conrad Kusp’s sadness, it was agreed that the tour should continue above ground, and what better way to travel than the revolving lift which took you to endless places at the touch of a button. After nodding politely to the adults occupying The Seating Station, they waited for the lift to descend from the upper floors before s
tepping in.
“Which one do I push?” asked Conrad once his colourful companions had floated back to their duties, collecting discarded books from The Seating Station.
“Push any button you like,” encouraged Jacob as Guppy pulled the lift doors closed. “The numbers will take us to the upper floors, although the letters offer a more interesting journey.”
“Okay,” uttered Conrad, eyeing each letter whilst attempting to guess the hidden mystery within each one. His copper-blonde hair was cropped at the back and sides, accentuating his large ears and creating a contrast to his bright, orange jumper - an item which should be discarded at the earliest opportunity, thought Guppy. However, this remained a thought - her new focus on reigning in her impulsive comments and actions off to a promising start.
As the lift began to revolve anti-clockwise, Kaira looked down at the large S.P.M.A. logo on the floor, smiling to herself at what was to come. The first gentle shudder signalled the lift reversing its revolutions before suddenly jolting and moving sideways into darkness, creating a sense of being held up by nothing but thin air.
As it did so, Kaira felt no need to hold on to the brass handle this time. Instead, she stood alongside Guppy as Jacob steadied Conrad who carried a look of concern at the lift’s sudden change in direction.
“Is this safe?” he muttered before grabbing onto Jacob who remained as civil as always.
“It’s perfectly safe.”
“But, it looks like we’re going to fall. I mean, there’s nothing holding us up, is there?”
“It’s magic!” added Guppy with a smile.
“Don’t worry, Conrad,” offered Kaira in way of additional reassurance. “I felt the same way the first time … floating on thin air and looking through the glass to see nothing but darkness below. Like Guppy said, it’s magic. Everything we expect to happen in the above ground world, happens differently here.”