by Claire Buss
Once everyone had eaten their fill, they filed out of Ned's odd little house. 'Shall we walk or pop?' Ned deferred to Momma K. She appraised them as if weighing up their usefulness then closed her eyes. Great, thought Joe, she's doing a diva. But then he realised, they were in the throne room. Just like that. No pop, no noise, no disorientation. Whoa. His next thought fell out of his head and he ran to the heap on the floor.
'Mia? Are you okay? Talk to me!' Joe grabbed one of her hands.
Brogan was a millisecond behind Joe and had Mia's other hand in his, stroking it gently and whispering messages of love in her general direction. Mia groaned slightly and woke, taking her hands away from both of them and pushed herself up to sitting.
'What are you doing back here?' she asked.
'Making sure you're okay,' began Brogan but Joe cut across him angrily.
'Who was that, Mia? I thought he was dead. You said he died. Why didn't you tell me about him? What are you doing with him? What is going on?'
Mia smiled faintly but before she had time to answer, Momma K threw a powerful jolt of magic into her and lifted her upside-down in the air.
'What? What are you doing? Put me down!' Mia yelled.
Joe and Brogan leapt up, shouting recriminations which suddenly disappeared as Momma K silenced their voice boxes.
'You, child, what darkness you playing?' asked Momma K. 'There is evil here, spreading, like a cancer. It know you but it's not you. It's dark, dark, dark and it took the life of one of mine.' She paused, sniffing the air. 'Maybe more than one. Speak.'
'It's my father, not me. He is trapped in a magical prison, but by using the blood of fae he can project for a short while.' Mia looked desperately at Ned. 'But now that true love has blossomed in the kingdom he can use that to free himself, forever.'
Momma K turned to look at Ned with a sadness in her eyes.
'What? Why are you looking at me?' asked Ned.
'My poor sweet child. We got to stop dis.' She gestured and Mia fell back to the floor, luckily Brogan's instincts were ready and he caught her. They smiled tentatively at each other.
'We've got to stop him, right? We can stop him, can't we?' Joe looked at the people in the room hopefully. 'She never meant to do all these things - he made her. Didn't he Mia? Tell them.'
'It's complicated.' Mia looked nervous, unsure of her audience.
'I suggest you un-complicate it, fast.' Ned was in no mood for being given the runaround. His feet hurt.
'Right, okay then. Short version,' Mia said. 'I didn't believe Mum when she said he'd died in the fire. I remembered Father saying that any warlock who couldn't survive the gentle tickle of flames didn't deserve to wield magic so I performed a locator spell. It was a weak signal but I kept following it as best as I could until I found him.'
'Where?' Joe's voice was small and he looked lost.
'It's not important. He wasn't pleased to see me, in fact he sent me away. Said I would interfere with his work. I was devastated. All I ever wanted was to be as powerful a warlock as he was. I just wanted to make him proud. Then something happened. I don't know what but he disappeared and the locator stopped working. I bummed around for a bit before I started to get these weird dreams of Father calling out to me. Eventually I realised he was.'
'Was what?' Ned was watching Mia closely for any signs she was concealing the truth.
'Calling me. He was trapped in his prison. It's in the Purple Mountains, somewhere. I'm not sure where.'
'You say dis, child but I think you lying.' Momma K's eyes were flashing, a bad sign.
'I'm not, I swear it. He has only ever given me instructions to do other things. He wanted me to get him things. Small things at first, then larger and larger items. He's trying to free himself from the prison.'
'Do you know how he got trapped in there?' asked Ned.
'No.'
'But I do,' Joe said. 'It was me, I did it.'
Mia laughed a touch hysterically. 'How could you possibly trap our Father?'
'I read a spell from his grimoire'
Mia scoffed. 'The grimoire burnt in the fire.'
'No it didn't. I had it. When the fire started.'
'Where is it now?' Mia reached her hands out aggressively as if Joe would be able to produce the book there and then. The whole room fell silent, even Momma K's eyes were weighing up how useful the grimoire might be, in her hands.
'I, I, I, I'm not telling,' Joe stammered. 'It's a bad book for doing bad things and you can't be trusted. Neither of you.'
'Aargh! You stupid idiot!' Mia threw her hands up. 'If we give the grimoire back to him he won't need me anymore, and I'll be free to get on with my life.' She glared at her brother. 'To get Mum away from him.'
'What do you mean? Get Mum away from him. She's at home, isn't she?'
'No. She's his prisoner. Why do you think I'm doing all this? This isn't the person I want to be you know.' Mia was glaring at her brother who stared back at her disbelieving.
'We have to save her. We have to get her back,' Joe said in a small voice.
'Yes, we do. And get away from all of... this!' Mia gestured around her in disgust at the throne room.
'Sounds like an excellent idea to me.' The Upper Circle had appeared.
How does she do that? wondered Ned and hoped his ears weren't pink. Every muscle in his body wanted to run over to her and fold her into his arms but he restrained himself with a nod in her direction. Between equals. She didn't respond.
'I suggest we give the sorcerer what he wants so I can be rid of you once and for all.' The Upper Circle looked around the room. 'The Emperor, may he live for ever and ever, wishes to continue his imperial rule of Roshaven in peace.'
'We all know, you know.' Mia was smiling sweetly.
'Know what?' asked the Upper Circle.
'That you're the Emperor and he's you,' replied Mia.
The Upper Circle stood completely still for several moments before gracefully lifting the enormous headdress off her head. 'Thank goodness for that, it's hard to see in this thing,' she said calmly. 'You killed my subjects and stole my property. Thief-Catcher – arrest her.'
Ned was inwardly cursing. 'Now isn't the best time Your Grace. We need her to help us stop her father. Then she can pay for her crimes.'
'Crimes I didn't commit!' Mia snapped.
'I will see to it, that she does pay. Believe.' Momma K was appraising the revealed Emperor with frank approval. She was a big fan of strong female leaders. She performed a complex spell and silver spirals shot out of her fingertips and sank into Mia's skin. It burned with a satisfying sizzle. After Mia's screams had finished Momma K explained herself. 'Dis will anchor her to us. She will not get far. Her so called magic has been bound.'
'So we're doing this? We're going to try a stop a psychotic sorcerer.' Ned glanced around the room.
'It's not like you've got anything else to do next week.' The Emperor, Fourteen, was smiling at Ned.
'Fine, but we need a good plan and I pick the people,' he replied. The room erupted as everyone began arguing who should go and what they should do when they got there.
Momma K solved that problem. She threw a silencio spell at everyone as well as sticky glue which meant everyone was stuck in an odd posture. No-one could move anything apart from their eyeballs and every set of those was staring daggers at Momma K.
'We don't have time for dis – we gotta move. Big magic man think he in charge. Well he not. No-one in charge of fae and no-one ride the magic for nothing. You, skinny boy,' Momma K pointed at Joe. 'You will take dem to the grimoire, no question. Who else? Barbarian you can carry.' She hawked and spat loudly as she looked at Mia. 'You, child of evil. You come but you bound, no magics for you. Jenni look to you. Thief-Catcher, you in love boy. It's true and strong. He needs it but I won't ask you to risk it. Boy, it's your choice. It's precious and powerful but if you lose it, it gone for good.' Her gaze and voice softened. 'I can't protect you.' She released the spell, there was a whoosh of air
from everyone but no-one spoke.
Ned looked at Fourteen. 'What do you want to do?' he asked her.
'I want my empire back.'
Ned looked back at Momma K. 'We're in.'
Momma K nodded in satisfaction. 'I'll give you what I can, child, but I cannot join dis quest. My realm needs my presence to survive. Jenni will be my link to you. She speaks for me.'
Jenni swelled with pride under the scrutiny. It wasn't well known that she was one of Momma K's favoured children. It was the reason she was so powerful.
Momma K came and spoke to each person, doling out power where she could. It was a different magic to that Ned was used to, raw and full of a life of its own. It sparked and leapt under his touch, rippling with pleasure at the chance to be used. It was difficult not to be tempted.
When she came to Mia, Momma K scowled at her then her expression softened and she placed a hand on Mia's head. 'You child, you've been used poorly. In this he is not a father. I release you from his chains and bind your magic, transferring it to Jenni. In time, when you've earned it, your power will return. But child, you have atoning to do.'
Tears streamed down Mia's face, she looked younger and more innocent. Joe and Brogan both rushed to her side and she accepted their hugs gratefully. Jenni flexed her magical muscles and red stars shot out of her fingers; this was a different kind of magic than she was used to. The warlock power fought for a moment with her fae magic but it was a short battle. Silvery swirls glowed along the length of Jenni's arms and the red stars gradually faded, becoming pale pink sparkles in the silver swirls.
Fourteen and Ned stood close together. His power wells were thrumming, he had never felt so charged.
'What happens now?' she asked.
'We go on this quest and win the day I suppose,' Ned replied. 'Are you allowed time off for this sort of thing?'
Fourteen smiled. 'The Highs will see to it that everything carries on as normal. They're very good at that. I will have to deal with things when I get back, though. I mean, now that everyone knows.'
'Yeah, you'll have to come clean to the rest of the city I suppose,' Ned said.
'Do you think people will judge me harshly?'
'It's quite a big secret.'
'It's not like the Highs don't have secrets of their own,' objected Fourteen.
'Yeah but nothing like this.'
'Don't flatter yourself. Ma Bowl and the High Right have been caught canoodling on three different occasions.'
'What are you talking about?' asked Ned.
'What are you talking about?' asked Fourteen.
'You declaring yourself a female Emperor,' he replied.
'Our ... relationship?' she countered.
'Oh,' they both chimed and coloured slightly. 'I'm sure it will be alright.' They continued to speak in unison and then laughed. Both of them felt unstoppable, the way you do when that first flush of love hits you. You can do anything, conquer anyone and are more in love with each other than anyone has ever been before in the history of all time. No-one ever had a love like yours. That is until your first argument and then love is rubbish and what kind of idiot ever thought of it in the first place.
Chapter 26
It was never going to work. Even if it was one of those million-to-one plans. There were too many ifs. Too many unknowns. Too many people involved. And Ned had a problem with his socks. Every single pair he owned had holes in them. Every single one. He was about to go on a quest with the women he thought he might - you know - and there was a high chance that he would have to take his boots off. What would she think of a man with holey socks? Would she think it debonair? He hoped so, because they were the only clean ones he had and he didn't have time to get any more. In fact he should have left five minutes ago. They had decided to meet on the Dead Pier. That's where the first part of the plan - that wasn't going to work - started.
When Ned arrived, he saw the others were even later than him. Good. It was important that he stamped his authority on this quest, even if it was his first official one. He was Chief Thief-Catcher and held the highest rank. Apart from Fourteen. Ah. There could be an issue. He was distracted by the approaching cavalcade.
Mia and Brogan were in front, both of them bristling with knives and axes. Seeing as she was unable to use her magic, Mia had fallen back on her other talent. Vicious weapons master. She was a pro at most things with a pointy end and a keen shot with an arrow even without enhanced sight from her powers. The only downside was all this artillery was bloody heavy to carry. She had every intention of giving most of it to Brogan but it was important she made a strong impression on the others at the start. This quest was about her family and as senior warlock, lack of power notwithstanding, she was going to be in charge of these mismatched idiots. Brogan was thinking he could have probably brought a few more weapons.
Following them were Willow, Jenni and Sparks. Sparks was back to full strength and glowing brightly despite it being the middle of the morning. He may or may not have acquired some additional light juice from Momma K. The fireflies and the fairies had a long history - it was best not to ask about it in too much detail – it could be illuminating. Willow was thorny. She knew they were going into a battle of sorts, so she had tapped into every plant-based protection system she could think of. She had new poison sacs growing on the insides of her wrist, perfect for throwing globules of the stuff out at the unsuspecting - not so good for accidentally dripping into your tea. Her skin had grown exceedingly waxy which was making her feel hot, but no-one would be able to damage her dermis. She had thorns positioned strategically all over her body, wherever a person might try to get a handhold. It was a singular image. Jenni was Jenni. She shimmered in the building heat of the day but that was to do with her personal odour, no stronger or weaker than usual. Momma K had given her an additional direct tap to her own magics, not that Jenni would need them, she didn't think. Being fae meant you had an unlimited supply as long as you didn't burn out or let some cretin of an evil warlock drain you. The other thief-catchers had no desire to be in charge of this quest, that meant writing the reports and Ned was well and truly welcome to those. They were aiming for looking menacing. It was a hit and miss result.
Bringing up the rear came Fourteen. Not the Emperor or the Upper Circle, just Fourteen. She was without her ridiculous costume and headdress, there was no entourage or fanfare, and she had shed all Emperor-like items. She wore suspiciously well-worn grey trousers, a blue shirt, a dark leather jerkin, and shouldered a travel pack that looked like it knew what it was doing. Clearly this wasn't her first quest. Ned was impressed. His lady had layers, he couldn't wait to peel them back. Not like that. Focus.
The group arranged themselves in front of Ned. He broke the bad news first.
'Sparks, you've got to stay here. Man the HQ, look after things while we deal with this... er... quest.'
The firefly dimmed and settled on a nearby skull, then he brightened again and zipped to attention. A firefly in charge of the Thief-Catchers, it was a proud moment indeed. He flashed his butt at Ned and flew off, back into the city.
'Right, you all know why we're here. Look after each other and maybe, just maybe, we'll make it through this in one piece. Is everybody ready?' Ned looked at his team.
There were various nods, some filled with excitement, others wondering what the bloody hell they had got themselves into. Ned steadied his nerves and bent down at the side of the pier. He dipped his fingers into the water and swirled them around. He didn't have to wait long.
'Reporting for duty, Sir.' Pearl had changed her scales to match the Emperors' royal colours of purple and gold. It was a stunning display.
'We need safe transport to the Isle of Illusion,' Ned explained.
'We? As in everyone up there?' Pearl eyed the team doubtfully.
'Yes. Problem?' asked Ned.
'Does everyone have to make it there in one piece?'
Ned frowned.
'I'm kidding, Boss,' said Pearl lightly. 'It's n
o problem but I'll need blood payment for safe passage.'
Ned sighed. 'Even though you work for the catchers, now?'
'It's not my fault.' Pearl's spikes bristled. 'We'll have to go right through a heavily populated area, Mermaid City. Without the appropriate blood, I can't guarantee your safety.'
'How much?' Ned asked.
Pearl appraised the group. 'One vial each should do it,' she said, passing a bag up to Ned. 'Two for the big fella.'
Ned took the bag out of the water and stood to face the others. 'You all heard?' They nodded, faces a lot paler than before. 'Right, form a line and I'll collect. Squeamish first, it's worse waiting, believe me.'
There was a lot of pushing and shoving but eventually a line was formed. Brogan was first. Just goes to show you never can tell with barbarians. Brogan was actually pale and sweating slightly. Ned hoped that the bloke didn't faint but then if he had a heap of barbarian on the pier at least he would be relatively easy to roll into the water. Ned took a knife from his belt and stabbed the tip of one of Brogan's fingers. He yelped and then glowered at Ned as he began to squeeze the same finger so that droplets of blood fell out into the tiny vial he was holding.
'Is that all?' Brogan was relieved. 'I thought it was a blood sacrifice.'
'You were willing to sacrifice yourself for me?' Mia was dumbfounded. No-one had ever done anything as selfless as that for her before, except for her brother, but he was family and it didn't count if it was family.
'Yer. I told you, I love you and I'll do whatever I can to fix things.' Brogan was beaming at Mia. They were having a moment.
It was all getting a bit too hero-esque for Ned. Thank goodness they hadn't decided to meet at sunrise. He jabbed another of Brogan's fingers and got a womanly yelp in response. It made him feel slightly better. Once that finger had dripped its drops, Mia stepped up and defiantly slashed her own palm for Ned to collect her blood.
'That was clever,' remarked Ned.
'What do you mean?' Mia glared at him.
'Because now you have an open wound and you're about to go into carnivorous mermaid territory. Finger pricks give us everything we need.' Ned grinned at her. 'Watch your back.'