by R A Browell
‘Well, as I already said, Master Charlie, the windows were open and the lake mists had entered the room a little but that was all. I closed the windows, straightened the bedcovers and took the Mistress’s clothes to be cleaned, as you see.’ He pointed with his brown spidery hand towards the newly laundered jeans and t-shirt, all folded neatly in a pile.
‘So, the only thing that was different was that the window was open?’ asked Charlie.
Grandfather nodded and Ziggy’s quill scribbled down the details.
‘I thought you guys had exceptional senses,’ said Valens. ‘Can’t you three sense anything unusual in here - something other than Lily? Perhaps some kind of scent?’
James shook his head.
‘We can sense that Lily was here, she’s left a sweet scent and there’s something else, just beyond, that seems familiar but it’s far too weak to use for tracking. Who knows who or what has used this guest room and left their mark over the years but whatever it is, it’s not something we can latch onto easily. There’s certainly something… but no,’ James sighed, admitting defeat and shaking his head again, ‘like I said, there’s just not enough of it.’
Silky was sat in the chair by the fire with her head bent, her fingers massaging her temples as she listened and concentrated hard.
‘You say there was mist?’ she said, looking up and turning so that her eyes were level with the domovoy’s. ‘Grandfather, you have lived and worked here for many years have you not?’ she asked as the ceremonial little man bowed respectfully to her.
‘That is true, my lady. My family, like your own, have served the Laudis for many generations.’
‘And the lake mists, they’re usual at this time of year? Is it the season for Nairayna to visit?’
Silky held Grandfather’s watery old eyes.
‘Countess Nairayna never announces when she will visit,’ he replied carefully, guarding his answer.
‘I understand your position and your need for discretion Grandfather, but you must understand mine,’ replied Silky. ‘We have the confidence of the Council. I know the Countess Nairayna and I know how she values her privacy, but tell me, are the mists usual at this time? Is she expected?’ Silky pressed softly, using all her nymph’s power of persuasion.
Grandfather shuffled, glancing anxiously at Galdo and taking a gulp of tea before he shook his head slowly.
‘No, my lady,’ he replied hesitantly. ‘She’s not expected. Not for another few months. She was here only a matter of weeks ago,’ he explained.
Silky nodded. ‘Thank you for your trust Grandfather. So, the mists would not be usual at this time?’ she asked gently.
‘No, they would be far too early. Unless of course the Countess was expected and no one had told us.’ He narrowed his eyes and looked suspiciously across at Galdo
‘No, no, no!’ said Galdo, raising his hands in the air and shaking his head furiously. ‘Not as far as I am aware. The valetti have not been informed of any additional houseguests; no preparations are underway. I can state almost categorically that the Countess is not expected.’
Silky pursed her lips together. ‘The open window and the mists are our only clue to Lily’s disappearance but I can’t think what either could possibly mean. Any ideas?’ she asked looking at the young alchemist, ‘Ziggy, you are the most knowledgable person in this room, do these things mean anything to you?’ Ziggy shook his head. ‘Valens, what about you? You have travelled far and wide across out two worlds, can you think of anything? Anything at all?’ Valens looked around the room before he too shook his head slowly. ‘Then perhaps we will take Serpina’s advice go to Dodona after all,’ she muttered, her voice barely audible. ‘I think the time may have come for us to speak to Ilia and receive some of her wisdom.’ She turned back to the domovoy. ‘Grandfather, we are indebted to you for your help. Thank you, we are finished here,’ she said, curtseying as she stood up and courteously dismissed the diminutive but regal looking servant.
He turned to leave the room, but not before Charlie gave him an appreciative wink.
Grandfather bowed deeply and smiled.
‘Galdo, we have little time. When it’s convenient you must let the Laudis know that we have taken Serpinia’s suggestion and gone to seek advice from Ilia of Dodona and that I will personally report back when we have news.’ Silky turned to the young alchemist. ‘Zigadenus you must come with us. We need your intellectual prowess even though you do not have the gift of speed. You must try your best to keep up and I will help you.’
Without giving him time to argue, she grabbed Ziggy’s arm and dragged him towards the open window. ‘You too,’ she added, calling to the others as she stepped onto the balcony, still holding Ziggy tight by the arm, and jumped.
The teenagers didn’t hesitate, they flew across the room, flung themselves out of the window, and following Ziggy’s muffled screams, which echoed all the way down the steep city walls and across the causeway, they set off running towards the rising sun and beyond.
*
They only stopped to rest as they approached the edge of the forest. The margins were green and light with young saplings straining upwards, competing against each other for as much sunlight as possible during the growing season. White orbs of wild garlic flowers contrasted with the delicate bluebells, the two scents mingling in the mid-morning breeze; one attracting, the other repelling. But beyond the fringes and deep into the thick forest, ancient tree trunks and choking undergrowth gave the impression of somewhere older; a place that was much darker and far more foreboding.
‘Just tell me again, who exactly is it that we’re going to see?’ asked Charlie, leaning against a smooth barked tree. He was surrounded by tall grasses, pregnant with seed pods ready to burst.
Silky looked up at him and dragged herself away from her thoughts.
‘Ilia,’ she repeated, absently pulling the seed heads off some grass stalks as she glanced at Ziggy, ‘What can I say? Some believe her to be a wise old nymph, exceedingly beautiful with only her eyes betraying her true age. Others say she’s descended from the wood faeries and has the gift of prophecy and of reading the stones, but I’m not that sure. For as long as anyone can remember she’s lived in Dodona, preferring a life of solitude. She keeps to herself. There’s not much more I can say, you’ll have to make up your own minds.’
Charlie scowled. ‘Wood faeries?’ he said, raising his eyebrows.
‘Charlie, I’m not talking about something pink with gossamer wings and a wand that sits on top of your Christmas tree,’ Silky sighed. ‘Why is everything such a battle with you? When I say she’s a faerie, I’m talking in the ancient sense. They’re a powerful race of creatures, much more powerful than the nymphs. They choose to live here, in the old worlds and occasionally they travel to your world, but not very often. They look very much like you or I, but have developed much more of what you would call the supernatural gifts.’
‘You mean like magic?’ asked Charlie with a snort.
‘Remember what you thought when I first told you about us?’ interrupted Hari. He was laid back in the grass with his hands behind his head, looking at the clouds in the sky. ‘To most humans, what we are is some kind of black magic. They think we’re undead and you don’t get much darker or more magical than that!’
‘Actually Hari, Charlie may have a point,’ said Silky. ‘It really depends on your definition of magic. I was thinking more on the lines of that which goes beyond the natural. Look at you, your ability to communicate without speaking is quite unique and some would say is magical. I say it’s bordering on the supernatural, simply because it goes beyond the limits of normal communication for humans in your world, particularly in basic hunt positioning.’ Charlie looked blank. ‘Basic positioning,’ she repeated with a sigh, ‘as in where each member of the group positions themselves to work efficiently to hunt! I watched you hunting that cat with Lily. Your communication is more than direct language. You communicate using words but also thoughts and feelings. Yo
u work as one, sensing where the others are and continually repositioning yourselves. Wolves behave in a similar, but much less complex, way when they hunt and I think even the faeries would struggle to replicate the complex way you communicate emotions, thoughts and feelings across the group so that you all behave collectively.’
She glanced across at Ziggy and smiled. James followed her eyes.
‘So that’s why you’re able to join in with us?’ said James, grinning at the fair headed alchemist.
‘Afraid so!’ replied Ziggy.
‘What?’ asked Charlie, looking first at James and then at Ziggy.
‘So what is it Ziggs, faerie mother or father?’ asked Hari.
Charlie stared at Ziggy with his mouth wide open in disbelief. ‘He’s half faerie?’ he blurted. ‘No way! He can’t be. I mean, he looks weird, but not faerie weird!’
‘Thanks, I’ll take that as a compliment! Faerie mother, Farisian father,’ said Ziggy proudly. ‘The very best of both, but like Silky says, you sanguins are so much more advanced in the way that you communicate with each other; advanced and interesting and you’ve only just started to practise. Give it a few more years and you’ll be really amazing.’
‘But look at him!’ exclaimed Charlie, still in shock. ‘He’s not exactly built like some beautiful super-natural creature. He’s a weed!’
‘Thanks!’ said Ziggy.
‘So nymphs can’t do it?’ asked Hari, ignoring Charlie. ‘They can’t communicate at the same level as sanguins or faeries?’
‘No,’ said Valens interrupting, as he stood up, ‘but don’t underestimate us. We’re powerful in many other ways!’ He walked silently towards the edge of the forest. Hari and James watched him go.
‘Just ignore him,’ said Ziggy. ‘We all have different skills and you don’t get to be a Protector unless you have some pretty formidable talents. Valens is one of the best Protectors Farisia has seen in years; incredibly talented and he’s a bokwus, just like his father.’
‘Bokwus?’ asked James.
‘Shape shifters. Great in the water and in the air but have a tendency to be aggressive. Fantastic fighting machines. You wouldn’t really want to mess with a full bokwus, but Valens is half nymph so he’s okay.’
James looked across at the tall Protector and thought he saw him smile as he stared out into the Dodona forest.
‘So coming back to what we’re doing to try and find Lily. We’re going to see a wood faerie, who can do what?’ Charlie asked, turning towards Silky.
‘Ilia is known for her wisdom and knowledge. As I already said, some think she has the power of prophecy and of reading the stones and with it the ability to foretell the future. I’m not sure about these things, but she does have a unique set of skills and is certainly a person of some experience. She has provided advice to the Council of Laudis in the past and may be able to give us some direction. We don’t know for sure, but if Serpinia thinks we should speak to her, then we would be foolish not to follow her advice.’
‘You mentioned the mist as though you thought it might be relevant?’ Hari asked thoughtfully. ‘Why?’
‘I did and maybe it is,’ replied Silky. ‘It’s the only thing that the domovoy mentioned and while they aren’t the most reliable of creatures, it was something that was out of the ordinary and different and that intuitively makes me think that it may have relevance to Lily. Those who inhabit the waters of the lake sometimes use the mists to give them a more comfortable access to land. I haven’t a deep knowledge of those from the lakes, nor why they should want Lily. Even Valens, who has spent time at Countess Nairayna’s court cannot think who might have wanted a young sanguin. We need someone with age and experience to help us. It would be difficult to make enquiry in Nairayna’s court discreetly and that is why we enter the forests of Dodona and hope that Ilia will give us the benefit of her wisdom and perhaps some new direction.’
‘But what if Ilia directs us to Nairayna?’ asked James.
‘Then we have our direction.’
They all fell silent.
‘So, Ilia’s like some wise witch of the forest?’ asked Charlie.
‘You’ll see,’ replied Silky, smiling to herself as she set off into the gloom of the ancient trees. He was maddening and impudent but somehow Charlie managed to make her smile. Something about him reminded her of what Valens used to be like before he took his father’s place and the burden of being a Protector. ‘Come, we need to catch up to Valens,’ she called, moving quickly as the others followed close behind.
*
They moved fast, but not as fast as would have been possible had they not had to keep stopping to help Ziggy. Despite their burden, within a relatively short time they’d managed to cover much ground and found themselves in a dark clearing. Huge tree roots were raised high above the forest floor, their high-domed buttresses like the arched pillars supporting the great medieval cathedrals of Europe. On one side, a fallen tree exposed the half spherical mass of its root ball, like a great discarded placenta, now covered in bright green mosses.
Silky paused, pointing the way towards a distant shaft of light as she lifted the exhausted alchemist into her arms.
‘I can’t believe you didn’t get any speed from your ancestors,’ she complained. ‘You’re supposed to be half faerie!’
Ziggy smiled at her apologetically.
‘I did,’ he replied, ‘only it’s all concentrated in my head, not my legs!’ He grinned as Silky once again led the group, carrying Ziggy and gathering speed as they disappeared.
The forest ended abruptly in a wide clearing where sunlight flooded the marble ruins of an ancient forecourt. Beyond the broken flagstones lay a long rectangular pool shimmering in the sunshine; its smooth, algae-green surface occasionally broken by large fish that surfaced before retreating, leaving only a concentric ring of ripples. On one side of the green pool was an avenue of tall cypress trees, whilst on the far side was a ruined colonnade.
‘Blimey, what is this place?’ asked Charlie in a low voice, stepping onto the cracked and overgrown flagstones. ‘It’s like no one’s lived here for centuries. It gives me the creeps,’ he added, looking up at the ruined colonnade roof.
Most of the clay tiles were missing, exposing the bare skeletal framework of the decaying wooden lats beneath, but their eyes were drawn to the columns. Between each one was a plinth supporting a marble statue but every single one had been broken and was now discoloured with time and neglect. Suffocating ivy smothered each one and hung like a veil over the ruined figures, the tiny brown tentacles suckering the pitted marble surface and framing the clumps of grass that clung randomly on every available ridge.
‘Do you recognise any of those figures?’ asked Charlie, looking at Hari.
He shook his head.
‘They’re familiar but not like anything we’ve done in classics. Tripp would have a field day here,’ he said, referring to his classics master. Tiberius Tripp was a popular teacher who was known for becoming overly excited on fieldtrips. ‘It’s a different world, a different civilisation, isn’t it?’ he added in a voice that was barely more than a whisper.
James nodded, directing their attention towards the far end of the green pool.
‘Check that out,’ he said as the others followed the direction of his gaze.
Where the water ended were the ruins of a great domed pavilion, except it wasn’t so much of a ruin that its walls couldn’t hold two huge bronze doors which were closed and fastened with a bronze bar. It reminded Hari of what the Taj Mahal would look like, were it ever abandoned.
No one said a word. The only noise was that of bird song from the tall cypress trees. They waited then followed Silky’s silent instructions, treading carefully as they passed under the ruined colonnade, their feet crunching on the fragments of roof tiles. Fallen masonry and smashed statuary cluttered the walkway as a hummingbird flew past. It hung in the air for a couple of minutes, its wings beating hundreds of times a minute as it watched the newcom
ers, making a full reconnaissance of these strange visitors, before it flew off at the speed of light across the ornamental lake and into the trees beyond.
Over the water they noticed giant red and green dragonflies performing their ritualised courtship, skimming the surface before quickly flying up into the air to avoid the snapping jaws of the hungry predators below.
‘I agree with Charlie,’ whispered James, ‘this place gives me the spooks. It feels like we’re being watched!’ His eyes followed a brightly coloured lizard as it scuttled past before quickly hiding under a mound of rubble.
‘Shh!’ Silky whispered, placing a finger to her lips. ‘You may be right. This place has many ancient memories. First, we must pass through the waters then you will understand. Follow me. Quickly now!’
They left the cool shadow of the colonnade and stepped up to the weathered bronze doors, which were studded with ancient bronze rosettes. Each door was coated with a fine dusting of a deathly green pallor. Silky reached up and lifted the massive bronze bar from its cradle, placing it carefully to one side before she took the ring held in the jaws of a great dragon-headed knocker and let it drop against the door with a dull thud that echoed around the abandoned ruins.
Slowly, the doors swung open.
‘We’re not in a good place if we were to be ambushed,’ frequenced James looking around.
‘I don’t think that’s a concern,’ replied Ziggy. ‘My understanding is that Ilia isn’t aggressive and those who make the journey here seek wisdom, not war.’
‘Come,’ said Silky as she led the five boys into the domed hall. It smelled of abandonment and decay, with piles of desiccated leaves blown into piles.
In front of them was a pool of black water, similar to that they’d seen in the griffin fountain back at Pergamont, and rising from one side of the hall they could see a ruined staircase, its stone steps and balustrades part collapsed, eaten away by the hungry beetles of time. The staircase led up towards the bare rock face, into which the whole pavilion had been constructed, and within this rock was a gigantic pink and green marble fountainhead, exquisitely carved in the image of some creature’s head; not quite dragon but not quite serpent either. James stared at the pointed fangs inside the creature’s open mouth before following the ruined staircase with his eyes, as it led directly into one side of the mouth from which the black waters fell into the pool below. There was no noise or spray. It was as though the waters were a thick black veil hanging between the creature’s head and the dark, silent pool. Silky nodded them to follow her as she ascended the ruined staircase up towards the top of the watery curtain.