Five of Clubs (War and Suits Book 4)

by J. A. Armitage

  “I didn’t tell you the whole story when I told you the legend of The Jokers. I wish I had told you, but I didn’t think I needed to. I thought you were going up that mountain alone. There was a reason I didn’t want Iris to go up there with you. The legend has it that The Joker needs a woman to survive. It’s part of the magic that gives him his eternal life. He has survived for so long because he has killed so many.”

  “Killed?” I asked. What had I done?

  “Yes, killed. He doesn’t know love or lust, at least not in the sense of us mortals. His only lust is for life. His own life, and to keep that going, he must slay a woman and drink her blood. It’s where the legends of vampires come from. You’ve heard of vampires, right?”

  “Yes, but they don’t exist, surely. They are just a myth. A story told to frighten children.”

  “Not quite. The version of vampires you know is a myth or at least a twisting of the truth. They are not afraid of sunlight or allergic to garlic. They are followers of The Jokers, sycophants and crazies. They kill and drink blood because he does. He does it to survive. He cannot just go out and find a girl. She must be given to him.”

  “Urgh!” said Iris.

  “Iris, my dear. This is not the time for feminist annoyance. I know that women are not products. I’m sure The Joker knows that too, but he doesn’t care. He cannot survive without being given a woman. Your brother Ash here gave Journey to him, and now he can do what he likes with her.”

  “Hang on a minute. I didn’t give Journey to him. She wanted to go.”

  “Did he ask you if he could have her and did you agree to it?”

  I thought back to when I was on the mountain. He had asked me if he could have her. “Is she now mine” were the words he used. I’d said, “Yes.” I groaned and put my head in my hands. It was just after I’d uttered the word “Yes” that I’d found myself back in my room. He didn’t need me for anything else. I’d played right into his hands. I drank the whiskey down. It burned as it traveled down my throat, but it didn’t stop the pain I was feeling now. I’d learned what I’d done to Journey. I knew that I shouldn’t have left her the minute I’d found myself back in the Club Castle, but I hadn’t known that my actions would cause her death.

  “It is my fault as much as yours, Young Ash. More so, really. I am truly sorry for not telling you everything.”

  “Now isn’t the time for blame. What can we do to get her back?”

  “We can’t get her back. She is gone.”

  I looked at him, too stunned to speak.

  “What do you mean gone? Can’t you find her? I thought you were magic?”

  “My magic is limited. I’m not a Diamond. Their magic is born to them. Mine has come to me with a lifetime of study. I know everything there is to know about magic, but knowledge is one thing, power is another entirely.”

  “But you gave me the amulet, and it worked.”

  “Yes, but the magic for that was bought. The source of it was Diamond. I could manipulate the magic within it to do my bidding, but the magic was already there to begin with.”

  “So could you manipulate it to find The Joker?”

  “Not if it has been used. It is also the only amulet I have. We could go to The Diamond Kingdom and buy another. I’m sure your family could afford it, but I fear it would be too late. She will be dead long before we get there. He will play with her for a bit, but he knows his best option is to kill her quickly. I’d give her twenty-four hours at most from the time you left her.”

  “I left her hours ago!”

  “I’m sorry, Ash, but there is nothing I can do.”

  I lay back on the grass and looked up. There were crude carvings of people on the wooden ceiling. I closed my eyes. I could hear the faint sound of the band in the distance. They were playing a slower song now. In the frame of mind I as in, it may have as well have been a death march. How could this have happened? I’d led Journey directly to her death. I’d fed her to the monster. Mali should have warned me, but the blame was all mine. I’d known he was dangerous and hadn’t Mali told me he would lie and manipulate to get his own way. Journey had believed him, but that was because she wanted to. He was an escape from the life she knew she was expected to live. She’d have to marry soon and start having children to fulfill her duties as The Jack of Hearts. In her position, I’d have probably done the same thing.

  Suddenly an idea came to me. I sat straight up.

  “Mali. If my amulet hadn’t been used, would the magic still be intact?”

  “Well, yes, but you have been wearing it, have you not? I see it still around your neck.”

  “Yes,” I replied, pulling the chain over my head and passing the amulet to the old man. “But what if he didn’t even try to penetrate my brain. Maybe he didn’t feel the need to. I certainly didn’t feel him trying to get into my consciousness.” I didn’t tell him about the fact I’d had the thing in my pocket for most of the time I was with The Joker.

  “Well, then, the amulet did a good job,” he replied, but he took the amulet all the same. He gazed at it and ran his thumb over the surface.

  “This amulet hasn’t been used. There is still magic here.”

  He didn’t ask me if I’d been wearing it the whole time, something which I was extremely glad about, but I guessed by the look on his face that he knew.

  “Is there enough magic to find Journey?” I asked eagerly.

  “That, I do not know. I need to look at my books. It will take time.”

  “We don’t have time,” I shouted.

  “I’m aware of the situation, Young Ash, but, nevertheless, I need to look at my books. May I suggest you go with Iris and have something to eat? You look like you might need sustenance.”

  I wanted to argue, to rant, and rave, but it would have held Mali up even longer. I barely noticed that Iris had taken my hand and was leading me out of the temple. The music was louder out here. Iris took me behind the temple into the woods. At first, I wondered if we were leaving Yelpish, but then we came upon a pretty house with strange symbols drawn all over it in gold paint. A funny-looking clock or astrological clock was above the door. The house was built in the same haphazard manner as the houses in the clearing, but was substantially bigger. It had two floors for a start. At first, I thought we were going to go inside, but Iris took me around the back to a tiny little cottage.

  “Home, sweet home,” she said as she opened the door. The whole cottage was only really two rooms, one of which was the bathroom. Everything else, the bed, the kitchen, a couple of chairs, was all crammed into a space so small that just my bedroom at home could have swallowed this whole cottage.

  Iris sat me on one of the chairs and went about making food on the little stove.

  Iris was a vegetarian and ate the strangest of things, so I wasn’t expecting much. I was surprised when she put a plate in front of me with griffin burgers and sweet waffle fries.

  “Shhh, don’t tell Mali. This is my secret stash. If he asks, tell him I made you some steamed gurd root stew.”

  I was quite touched by her gesture and amazed too. She’d been waffling on about the virtues of a vegan diet for years, and all this time she was stashing meat in her fridge. Extremely expensive and high-quality meat too. I guess you never really know a person. Still, I was not going to complain. Griffin burgers are delicious and a rare treat in the castle. We only really eat them when we are hosting royal luncheons for visiting dignitaries.

  The food was so good, it almost took my mind off Journey, but once I’d eaten every last morsel, Journey was back in my thoughts with a vengeance.

  “How long do you think he’ll take?” I asked Iris once we’d washed up the dinner plates. I paced the small room back and forth as I spoke, desperate to go out and find Journey.

  “He’ll take as long as he takes,” replied Iris, which was no help to me at all. “Why do you really care anyway? I’ve met Journey on a few occasions, and she comes across as a bit of a bitch.”

  “Ir
is!” It was not like her to use language like that. She was usually so airy-fairy and placid.

  “I’m sorry, but it’s true. What is going on between you and her? Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for her. It was bad enough listening to Tarragon going on about her!”

  “It’s nothing like that. I haven’t fallen for her, but she’s not like you think she is.”

  “Don’t tell me: she’s “special” and ”amazing” and “like an angel fallen from heaven” and “hot in the sack.” Iris rolled her eyes.

  “Are you quoting Tarragon by any chance?” I replied, trying to ignore the last part. Thinking about when Journey came into my bed would make me blush, and that would be a dead giveaway to Iris.

  “What do you think?”

  “I don’t like her in that way. You know she’s not my type, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like her at all. She is something else and yes, to quote Tarragon, she is special. She feeds the homeless, and she’s a lot more delicate than you know.”

  Iris made a hrmph noise at this.

  “The weight of her duties hangs heavily on her. She is terrified at the thought that she will have to marry soon and start having children.”

  “Actually, I don’t blame her for that. I’d hate to have to marry and start popping out so many sprogs.”

  “Do you think he’ll have finished yet?” I asked. If I had a watch, I’d be looking down at it. Watches, however, were made by The Hearts made, and very few Clubs wore one. When this was all over, I was going to go into Cerce and buy myself one. Looking outside through a window, it was already beginning to get dark. The first twinkle of starlight was showing in the sky. It just reminded me that time was ticking away. How many hours had it been since I left Journey? Too many.

  “Calm down, he’ll figure it out. He’s a genius,” said Iris.

  “I hope you are right.” She certainly seemed to have a lot of faith in the abilities of Mali. I only hoped that faith wasn’t misplaced.

  28th January

  As it was, she was wrong about Mali’s abilities. He didn’t show up until midnight, and even then, it was with bad news.

  “I’ve done everything I can think of to try. The magic in the amulet was powerful, but it wasn’t enough to find someone who doesn’t want to be found. I’m sorry, Ash. We are going to have to accept that Journey is gone.”

  “No!” I shouted. “There must be something… anything we can do. We’ve still got a few hours left.”

  He just hung his head in reply. I opened the front door of the cottage and stormed out, slamming the door behind me. I didn’t know where to go and what to do, so I just walked through the village, kicking every stone as I passed. The village was quiet now. Everyone had gone to bed. Most of the houses were dark, but the odd one or two still had their lights twinkling. I walked as far as the edge of the clearing and came upon the chestnut. I’d completely forgotten about him. He’d been tied up for hours with no water. I was useless with animals. Star would never forgive me if she knew. He blew air out of his nostrils when he saw me. I took that to mean that he was pissed off. I untied him from the tree and led him to a nearby water trough where he drank down greedily. I let him drink his fill because I was planning to ride him. I was going to ride him away, to no particular destination. Just ride as fast and as far as I could. I was going to look for Journey, even though I knew finding her within the next ten hours or so was impossible, I was still going to try. The truth was, on horseback, I’d be unlikely to get out of The Club Kingdom in that amount of time; but at least I’d be doing something. I knew so little about The Joker that I couldn’t even guess as to where he’d be. I knew one place he’d not be, though. He’d not be up in the Dragon Mountains; he’d be long gone by now. I’d start by riding out of Yelpish the opposite way I’d come. I didn’t even know what lay beyond the village, but I didn’t want to go home.

  Eventually, the chestnut finished, and I jumped on his back. I wavered for a second, wondering if I should say goodbye to Iris and Mali but decided against it. They would understand. I was just about to set the chestnut to racing through the trees when I heard something. It was someone shouting my name. It was Iris. Obviously, other people had heard her shouting too as more and more lights began to appear in the windows of the houses. I turned the horse around and rode over to where I heard her shouting. I found her running past the temple, completely out of breath.

  “Thank goodness!” she wheezed. “We thought you might have gone.”

  “I was just about to. What is it?”

  “Mali’s had a break through. You’d never believe me if I told you how. I told you he was a genius.”

  My spirits soared. I scooped up Iris and pulled her onto the back of the horse, even though the journey to her cottage was a short one. Within three minutes, we were back at the cottage, and Iris was, once again, making tea.

  “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before,” he said, rubbing his hands with glee. “All that time spent looking at my books and trying to harness the magic in the amulet to find them, and it turns out I didn’t need to do any of that.”

  “So what did you need to do?” I asked impatiently.

  “Opal!”

  “Opal? You needed an opal to find them?”

  “Not an opal, Opal, my spirit guide. If you remember, I asked her to keep an eye on you.”

  As it was, I’d forgotten. The last time I’d thought of Mali’s spirit guide was when I asked her to tell him my idea about collecting the snow. She’d completely left my head after that.

  “She did keep an eye on you. She followed you to Cerce and then back up the mountain. When you disappeared so abruptly, thanks to The Joker, she was left up there with just The Joker and Journey. Of course, she couldn’t follow them as they just disappeared as you had. She had no choice but to come back to me. She’s been trying to contact me for hours apparently, but I’ve been too busy to try to channel her.”

  “If she didn’t follow them, how does this help us at all?”

  “That’s the best part,” said Iris, thrusting some foul smelling tea into my hands.

  “She heard The Joker telling Journey where he was going to take her before they disappeared.”

  “Where?”

  “They are in a castle in The Diamond Kingdom. He told her that it was at the top of a mountain by a small village called Grimbay.”

  “Look at this map,” said Iris, putting a map of The Diamond Kingdom in front of me. I put my cup of tea down next to it on the small table and studied the area where she was pointing. The village of Grimbay was in the northwest of The Diamond Kingdom. There was only one mountain marked on the map nearby. It had to be the one. There was only one problem.

  “It would take me two weeks to get there at the quickest. Even catching the zeppelin, I’d not make it in time.”

  “You are forgetting the magic in the amulet, Young Ash. I didn’t know how to use it to find someone, but I know how to use it to transport someone. I can have you there, once you’ve finished your tea.”

  “Forget the tea! Send me there now!”

  “As you wish. I have to warn you, though. There is only enough magic for one journey. After that, it will be spent, and the amulet will be nothing more than a pretty necklace. You will have to make your own way home. I can ask Opal to go with you on your journey, but she will not be able to help you. She can only let me know how you are doing.”

  “That’s fine. Thank you, Mali. Iris, can you tell mother where I have gone. If Opal can keep you updated, please pass the information on to Mother. You know how she worries.”

  “I will. Good luck, Brother.” She hugged me tightly, and, once again, I was grateful for having her as a sister.

  Mali placed the chain on which the amulet hung over my head. He held the amulet and chanted a few words.

  “Close your eyes, Young Ash,” Mali said, and I did as I was told. “It works better that way.”

  A second later, he dropped the amulet. I felt it hit my
chest. A blast of icy wet wind hit my face, and I opened my eyes to find myself near the top of a mountain in a snowstorm. Snow covered the ground all around me. It was much colder up here than it was in The Club Kingdom. In the distance, I could see a crop of small lights. It must have been the village Iris had pointed out on the map, Grimbay. I turned to see a huge castle, one that was only illuminated by moonlight. It was nothing like the castle I lived in. Whereas The Club Castle was very square and somewhat boring, this was a masterpiece of round towers and spires. It was built precariously close to a sheer edge of the mountain, and if it didn’t look like it had been there for a thousand years, I would have thought it was too close to the edge to stay up. I could only assume it was either built by magic or held up with it. In the Diamond Kingdom, such a thing was entirely plausible.

  The sky was still dark with no hint of dawn. As there was no way I could climb around the edges and get in the castle that way, I had to walk right up to the front of the castle. The main doors were about three stories high and weathered as though they had been there as long as the castle had. Thanks to ivy growing all over them, I could tell that they hadn’t been opened in a very long time. I looked to my right and left, and couldn’t see a way to get in. There was only a steep drop on both sides,

  “How did he get in here in the first place, Opal?” I asked Mali’s spirit guide. Even though I couldn’t hear or see her, I knew she was there. It was a little comforting to know I wasn’t completely alone. There were no footprints in the snow to show where The Joker had brought Journey. Either they weren’t here and Opal was wrong, or the snow had fallen a lot in the last few hours hiding their tracks, or…

  My heart fell. I suddenly realized how they’d gotten into the castle. The Joker used magic. I should have asked Mali to send me straight into the castle with the amulet rather than out here with no discernible way in. Behind me, I could hear the wind whipping through a couple of trees. It made a whining sound, almost like a voice. I wondered if Opal had somehow found a way to communicate with me. I turned quickly. If they were tall enough, I could climb one of them and shimmy across a branch into one of the castle windows. They were tall enough alright, two large pine trees covered in snow. They were too far away from the castle, though. An oak or similar tree might have had branches that reached as far as the castle, but these trees stood tall. It gave me an idea, though. I turned back to the castle and scanned the front. There were a couple of windows close to the door about two stories up. If the ivy held, I could climb it and then try to climb along the wall to the window. It was a long shot. The wall didn’t look particularly climbable, but it was the only way I could conceivably get in. I ran to the door and started my climb, praying to Monsatsu for the ivy to hold. The snow battered my face and hands, making the climb even more difficult. My fingers were so cold that I could barely feel them and the snow was hard, almost like hail, peppering my face with thousands of tiny ice bullets. It was a slow slog, climbing the ivy, and just like the time I was in the helicopter with Journey, I wanted to keep my eyes closed for fear of falling. Just thinking of Journey spurred me on. I climbed up and to the right until I was eye level to the window. It was about ten feet to the right of me and had a small ledge onto which I could climb. A braver man might have tried to make the leap, but if I missed, I’d certainly fall to my deathI tried to find a small crevice or handhold in the stone of the castle. There was one. It was small, barely enough for me to fit three fingers, but that combined with a slightly protruding stone was enough to grab onto. I followed this course, gripping with all my might, knowing that it would only take a particularly strong gust of wind to blow me off the wall completely. I took it one handhold at a time and, eventually, was close enough to the ledge to reach it with my hand. There was no way I could see to climb level with it and step onto it, so I had to grab it with my hand and pull myself up. I pulled my sleeve over my fist and rammed it straight through the glass. I put my hand through the broken window and turned the latch inside, hoping that the noise of the wind would cover the noise of the breaking glass. The room I found myself in was empty. Not even carpet or curtains furnished the room. This was either a good sign or a bad sign. I didn’t know which.