by Claire Buss
Jenni closed her eyes and focused on bringing everyone with her, there was a loud sucking noise as the party lifted off the rock and then squelched out of view. It's difficult to pop when carrying a large mass. They reappeared on a dusty road in the middle of nowhere. Not that middle of nowhere, but another one. A road that led in the direction of a mountain pass where the evil sorcerer was trapped. For now.
Chapter 29
Landing back onto solid ground, the group quickly let go of each other, hands dropping like hot coals and most people falling down with them. There was retching from those unused to popping. Even Ned felt a little queasy, but at least he had been able to keep his feet. Fourteen was clinging on grimly to his hand, reluctant to let go. Fine with me thought Ned and he gave hers a little squeeze.
'Joe, how do we stop him, then?' asked Ned. 'We got you the book. We got you onto the mountain trail. More or less. What's next?' Ned was concerned. They had never moved past this part of the plan in the discussion before, it had always been glossed over, somewhat.
'Well,' Joe sounded nervous. Everyone was looking at him. 'We got a ways to walk to get to the Purple Mountains, we need to go through Fidelia but at least we can resupply there. And then...' He fumbled with the book trying to open it and turn the pages one-handed. In the end he had to sit down and place the tome on his knees. 'Ah, here it is. This is the spell which will strip him of his powers. Hmm, we need to get some unusual ingredients, but we should find them in Fidelia.' He looked up with a smile. 'And if not, Jenni can pop to wherever we need, right?' Jenni looked at him, raising an eyebrow. Joe faltered, 'I mean, if we ask nicely of course and um...'
'Yes Joe, she'll help us get what we need.' Ned frowned at the sprite who shrugged and went back to picking her fingers.
'Anyone know which direction to Fidelia?' Ned looked around at the blank faces. He thought he knew but was hoping someone else might have an idea as well, Ned didn't feel like explaining how he knew where Fidelia was. Brogan was the only one who seemed to be paying attention, for once. He turned slowly, frowning and then pointed.
'That way.'
'Are you sure?' Ned was relieved, that was the direction he thought Fidelia was as well.
'Yep.'
'Okay, let's move out. The sooner we get to Fidelia the better.' This trip had already turned out to be more than he had bargained for. Still, at least he could spend quality time with Fourteen. She wasn't holding his hand anymore. She had moved physically away, as if she was trying to build a bit of distance between them. Like she had remembered who she was. Ned felt a little hurt, but passed it off as a woman, imperial, Upper Circle thing.
The group fell into a natural order. Brogan and Mia marched off in front with Joe and Willow traipsing behind. Jenni was zig zagging here and there, as if she were incredibly bored with walking in a straight line. Fourteen and Ned brought up the rear. Hopefully there wouldn't be any bandits. Or snakes. Or rain.
They walked along the track for what felt like hours. No-one was talking. Ned kept an eye on the building clouds behind them, so far they were not getting any closer, but they were definitely getting blacker. He called Brogan over.
'How far do you think we have to go? Looks like we might need to find some shelter.' He pointed to the cloud.
'We're about halfway I reckon. We won't get there by nightfall.' Brogan didn't sound remotely bothered by this fact.
'Are you sure you can't pop us, Jenni?' asked Ned.
'Nope. Not all of you. I'm starving. You got anyfink?' She looked hopeful.
Ned shook his head. What they needed was a miracle. As if by magic when they rounded the next corner they saw a small farmstead which looked abandoned. The farmers house was nothing but ruins however, the roof of the barn next to it seemed to be intact and as large fat raindrops began to pelt them, there was little consideration as to what to do next. A night in an abandoned barn was better than walking through the night in the pouring rain.
The barn door squealed as Brogan pushed it open. It was dark and smelled mildewy inside. There was no sign of life except for the desperate scrambling of rats trying to find their hidey holes. Ned felt he could manage the magic required for light and delved deep in his wells, flinging soft glowing balls up into the rafters. There was a screechy flurry from the bats in the eaves and when the lights stayed where they were, the bats flew out in a huff, leaving guano in their wake. There was no hay in the barn, so the visitors would have to make do with their own coats as bedding in order to get a decent night's sleep. The only equipment inside was a wicked looking scythe, which despite the abandoned air of the rest of the place, looked like it was well oiled and cared for, a beloved tool used regularly. It was rather menacing.
Everyone set up on the opposite side of the barn to the scythe, trying to ignore the implement of death. It took a while for them to settle down. It was too quiet, too dark, too close, and at times, too loud with strange noises that couldn't be explained. Eventually though everyone fell asleep. Everyone except for Ned. His eyes roved the barn, catching at every shadow, every wisp although there seemed to be nothing there at all when he focused his gaze. Fourteen was leaning on him, her warmth felt delightful. He snaked his arm around her. He might as well hold her close, while no-one was judging them. His hand touched something sticky. Ned frowned, whatever could that be? He bought his hand back to his face and sniffed, it smelt metallic and looked dark and thick. Fumbling for a fire-starter, Ned lit the candle stub that lay nearby and frowned at the stuff on his fingers. It looked like blood. He shifted to get a better look at Fourteen. Her head lolled to the side at an unnatural angle. Her throat had been slashed. It was her blood that lay thick on his fingers.
He looked up in horror, hoping someone else was awake. Someone had seen the light or heard something. Brogan and Mia were leaning against each other. Twin slashes across their necks. Matching sheets of congealing blood lay upon their breasts. Ned's gaze moved on in some kind of sick slow motion. Jenni's body lay like a broken rag doll. She had been literally bent in half. Her skin was grey, her limbs sticking out at unnatural angles. Willow had been cleaved in two from neck to navel, like a tree struck by lighting. There was no blood just green sap oozing from the cut edges. Her features were wooden, lifeless. Joe had been pinned to the wall by a pitchfork. His young face was frozen in fear. Ned could not comprehend the horror that lay around him. He let out a low keening moan, full of pain and loss and hurt.
'Ned? Ned! Whatever is the matter?' Fourteen was shaking Ned's arm as he tossed and turned, caught in the horrific nightmare.
He woke gasping, eyes darting around the barn as the others roused. They were all alive. He scrabbled to his feet. 'We have to leave – all of us. Right now. It's not safe here.' He pulled Fourteen to her feet. Everyone was looking at him oddly. He knew he was still in the cold grip of fear, his skin felt clammy and he was sweating. He didn't care whether he looked like a crazy man, he was desperate to get them out of that barn.
'Huh.' Joe sounded surprised.
'What? What?' Ned looked round wildly.
'The scythe's moved.' He pointed to the other side of the barn where the scythe stood inverted this time, its blade still glinting wickedly. 'And we have one of these now.' Joe hefted the large pitchfork in his hands.
'Put that down!' yelled Ned. 'Up, up, all of you. Move. NOW!' His voice carried desperation and a lifetime of shouting for survival in the Black Narrows. Undertones of menace delicately entwined with forceful authority.
Unbidden, feet began to shuffle out of the barn. Soon everyone had left it behind. Ned herded the group down the lane away from the building of his nightmare. A sudden whoosh made them stop and turn back to look. The entire structure was engulfed in flame, thick smoke billowing into the sky. As one the group turned to look at Ned in disbelief. Then they all smartly marched away, their feet eating up the road towards Fidelia. The further they went from the barn, the easier Ned breathed. The brighter the moon seemed and friendly stars began to appear in t
he night sky, lighting the way.
'Are you alright?' Fourteen's brow was wrinkled in concern, she touched Ned's arm gently and he flinched.
'Yes, I think so. The further we get away from that place, the better.'
'What happened?'
'I don't know. You were all asleep and it was so quiet and then I looked and... and... you were all...' He gulped. 'You were all dead. You three had your throats slashed.' He looked at Fourteen then nodded towards Brogan and Mia. Pointing at the others he went on. 'She was split in half, he was pitchforked to the barn door and Jenni, Jenni was... she was...' His voice broke and he had to take a moment to collect himself.
Fourteen didn't know what to say. It wasn't that she didn't believe Ned, but it all sounded so far-fetched. Obviously he had had some kind of nightmare, probably fuelled by lack of sleep and only one half decent meal recently. But, she considered the facts, the scythe had moved and the pitchfork had appeared, then the barn had ignited itself. A leftover threat from the old man on the island perhaps? There was no denying the whole thing had an intense air of evil malice. Instead of trying to find the right words, she held his hand, trying to reassure him by just being physically there.
Chapter 30
The road was empty and the journey uneventful as they drew closer to Fidelia. The only thing that changed was Ned's mood - he grew grimmer at each footfall.
'Why do you dislike Fidelia so much?' Fourteen asked casually. Everyone throughout the day had approached her, separately, begging her to find out the reason for Ned's mood. She wasn't sure how much good she could do. She knew next to nothing about the man. She only loved him, that was all.
Ned was watching the flight of a lone crow as it flapped lazily in the sky. He squinted against the brightness of the sun before dropping his gaze. 'My brother is there.'
'And you don't get on.'
'Not especially.'
The silence dragged. It likes to drag. It takes extreme pleasure in digging its heels and seeing how far it can push the absence of sound. Most people can't take it. Those who can are rewarded and become a member of the Silent Order who live in The Mountains of Absentia. It is not a pleasant place.
'You want to talk about it?' Fourteen asked. Fortunately she couldn't stand dragged out silences. She would not have to give up all noise and wear wisps of air anytime soon.
Ned went to kick a pebble viciously. He missed and stubbed his toe on the hard packed mud instead, making his eyes water and forcing him to swallow several excellent swearwords. He began to limp slightly.
'My brother is Chief of T.A.R.T.S,' he finally replied.
'Oh.'
'Wossat?' Jenni gave up trying to pretend she wasn't earwigging. In fact the whole group were clustered within easy earshot of Ned, trying hard to look nonchalant. Most of them were doing a bad job.
'He is in charge of Thieves, Arsonists, Raconteurs, Tarts and Solicitors.'
'But you're...' Willow had bloomed in surprise.
'Yep.'
'Wow, what do your parents think about it?' Joe was walking backwards at this point, he didn't want to miss anything that deflected his own current family nightmare.
'They are extremely proud.'
'Well, that's good then.'
'Of my brother. They disowned me.'
'Ah.' Joe wheeled back round to hide the grin from his face. He failed miserably.
Ned could feel the tips of his ears getting hotter and hotter. Jenni earned herself several free rounds at the next inn from the others as she blithely continued.
'Wot do they do then?' she asked.
Ned frowned down at her. 'Father is a retired T.A.R.T.S handler and Mother, well, she was a member of the T guild.'
'Thieves?' Jenni asked innocently.
'No.' The ice in Ned's voice cut off any further discussion and he stomped off in front of them all. The others couldn't help grinning at each other at this juicy information but wisely stopped themselves from discussing it there and then. It would certainly give them something to talk about for the next few hours of travel before they got to Fidelia. The journey had now taken on a festive air. Ned attempted to ignore the lot of them but it was too difficult when they kept whispering and nudging each other. Finally, after he had threatened to knock Joe out with an awesome right hook for making a rather lewd joke at his expense, the rest of them dropped the topic. Rather reluctantly, true, but no-one wanted a black eye.
Late that afternoon, the city of Fidelia appeared in the distance like a dirty mark on the horizon. Its chimneys of industry happily polluted the sky above and rained soot down on its unfortunate inhabitants.
'Don't drink the water,' Ned said. 'It'll more than likely kill you. I'd tell you not to eat the food, but hopefully you've got a little sense about you. If it's still moving, don't eat it.'
The others were nodding. Ned had been giving short speeches for the last hour or so as they drew closer and closer to the city. They were getting more and more excited to see the sights, whereas Ned was feeling more and more tense. He hoped they would be able to get in, get the ingredients they needed and get out again. As they neared the outer city gates, he stopped walking and spoke to them all, one last time.
'Everyone got their shopping list?'
Nods.
'And you're not to buy anything else, that includes any plants that need saving, Willow. You hear?'
More reluctant nodding.
'Stay in your pairs, know where your buddy is at all times and make the rendezvous spot at what time?
'Six chimes,' they chorused.
'And where is the rendezvous?' Ned asked.
'The far east gate, passed the statue of the naked elephant,' said everyone except for Jenni.
'Er Boss, how zactly is a n'elephant nekkid?' she asked.
'You wait and see, Jenni, just wait and see.' Ned rubbed his hand through his hair. This still felt like such a bad idea. 'Just be careful, alright? It's not like Roshaven. This place has no morals whatsoever.'
'It'll be alright.' Fourteen patted his arm. She was rather looking forward to seeing a city other than her own.
They walked the rest of the way to the gate in silence and were met by a couple of shifty looking geezers wearing the acronym T.A.R.T.S embroidered wonkily upon the breast of their jerkins.
'You him?' The greasiest of the lot addressed Ned.
'Who's asking?'
'You're him. Come with us. You lot, stay 'ere.'
Ned looked back at the group. Everyone looked worried except for Brogan who possibly didn't even know what day of the week it was. Ned tried to smile confidently. 'Stay together. Just say no to everything and you'll be alright.' He squared his shoulders and gestured for the grease ball to lead the way. He didn't look back, so didn't see more ruffians spill out of a nearby building and throw hessian sacks over his friends. It all happened so quickly that any shouts were instantly muffled and Ned's grease ball walked faster than expected. Ned was struggling to get his bearings. It had been a long time since he had last been in Fidelia. The streets were known to move.
After about the seventh turning, Ned gave up and tried to go with the flow. He reasoned that if his brother wanted to kill him, he would have done it already. All this was pure posturing, all for show, trying to make out that he was the big cheese. Finally they arrived at a plain looking building on a nondescript street. The only thing that set it apart from the rest of the city was that there were no other citizens in sight; no beggars, no urchins, no hawkers. This was headquarters. Ned went in.
On a raised dais towards the back of the room sprawled his brother in a ridiculous looking throne-like chair that towered above him, making him look even more weasely than he actually was.
'Ted.'
'Edmund! Darling! It's Theo now. Fancy you coming to my lickle city. How ever did you dare?' He smiled but it didn't touch his eyes which bored into Ned, as if trying to decide whether he was worth doing anything about or not.
'I'm only passing through, brother. I n
eed to resupply and then I'll be on my way.'
'Here in Fidelia we thrive on need, it's what we do best. I'm sure we can come to some sort of arrangement.' Theo slunk off the throne and began to pace the dais. 'The question is, do you have anything I need?'
'What do you want?' Ned asked bluntly.
'Eddie, darling, don't rush me! Let's have dinner tonight. Mother and Father will be dying to see you. It's been an age. You can bring your little friends once I've finished with them.'
'What do you mean, finished with them?' Ned had hoped not to draw attention to the rest of his travelling companions.
'Just a light interrogation, nothing to worry about.'
Before Ned had chance to react, the buildings doors blew open, shards of wood scattering across the floor and a very, very angry looking sprite stalked in with the rest of Ned's troupe behind her.
'Boss! You good?'
'Yes, thanks Jenni.' Ned pointed to the dais. 'Everyone, this is my brother, Ted.'
'Theo, please, charmed I'm sure.' Theo extended a limp wrist in their general direction. Jenni sniffed then hawked over her shoulder. 'What a delightful little fae,' said Theo. 'I simply have to get one.'
Ned groaned inwardly. The last thing he wanted was his brother to take any interest in why he was here. He had always taken a perverse delight in taking Ned's things.
'Theo, we don't want to take up any more of your time then we already have,' Ned said. 'I'll pay for the doors, we'll resupply and be on our way, okay?'