He looked about him, not at all sure where he was. His own hand appeared shadowy and grey and he felt as flat as a piece of cardboard. And he was looking straight into the dining room. But from where?
He could see the guests seated around the large, polished table in the centre of the room.
This is what Miss Troutbean had gathered them together for – this must be the seance. Gloria must be trying to summon the spirit of Dr Thallomius. The room was lit only by candles, just as Seth had seen when he’d looked into the glass in his room.
Professor Papperspook was sitting next to Gloria, who was directly opposite Seth. On her left was Count Marred and then Master Dunster-Dunstable. Norrie Bunn and Henri were seated just around from the professor and just below where Seth could see out were Pewter, Kingfisher and Mr Bunn. Not Angelique or Tiffany. They were all sitting in a circle, all holding hands. But where exactly was Seth? If Pewter and Kingfisher were below him, that meant Seth was high up.
But if he had been summoned to a seance – did that mean he was dead? Because, really, being sucked into a glass and having all your molecules crushed like that could be enough to kill you. But he could still move.
Gloria Troutbean, who had been looking down at the table, now opened her eyes and lifted her head. She was looking right at Seth.
He made sure he didn’t move, not even blink. Could she see him? Or was he now simply a spirit with no body?
Seth waited for that whooshing sensation of falling that would mean he was on the move again. But when it didn’t come he tried to look to the left and the right of him.
He could see a figure to one side of him. He seemed to be between two men sharing a bottle of wine and some slices of cheese and bread. Both men, even that bread, looked familiar.
‘He’s here. I feel him. The presence is coming,’ said Gloria.
Then Seth worked out where he must be. He was in the painting on the dining room wall, right above where he had placed the apricot dessert on the small table. He was actually standing in the painting as if he was part of it.
Gloria’s eyes were now looking directly at Seth. He didn’t want to be seen, especially doing something else that had the aura of sinister magic about it.
How would he ever get back to his body? What would happen if he was trapped forever in the painting?
Seth wished he knew how to make himself move.
Gloria’s eyes narrowed, then opened wide with excitement. She dropped the hands of the two people sitting on either side of her and slowly got to her feet. She was moving curiously towards the painting that contained Seth and he tried to stay deathly still as her moon face creased into a curious frown.
She stared up at him, her eyes eventually locking with his, her face a mixture of curiosity and wonder. ‘I can do this, I can really do this,’ she said excitedly. She extended her arm towards Seth and pointed a finger. ‘There is a grey figure that’s appeared in the painting. Look everyone at what I’ve done. I have summoned a spirit. I’ve done it!’
42. In the Land of the Living
‘I have summoned a spirit of the dead!’ cried Gloria, her eyes wide.
Now everyone was turning, those beneath Seth swivelling and craning their necks awkwardly. Seth kept as still as possible, not even daring to breathe.
Everyone was scrambling to their feet, chairs scraping as they rose, their faces a mixture of interest and fear. They all moved towards the picture and were all staring directly at him.
‘A spirit!’ cried Dunster-Dunstable.
‘She’s done it!’ cried the professor, clasping her hands to her mouth.
Seth felt himself move, but this time he was moving forwards not back, and there was no swirling, shrinking feeling. He felt like he was growing and taking shape and reforming and there was nothing he could do to stop himself emerging from the painting.
He carried on until he had no choice but to step over the frame, then fell in a heap on the floor. He looked up at a sea of accusing faces.
Pewter said, ‘Seth.’ He put out his hand to help him up. ‘Nice of you to join us. Got a little bored of being on your own? It’s OK everyone. He’s still in the land of the living.’
‘Search him!’ cried Kingfisher. No one moved. Belatedly recalling he was in charge of security, Kingfisher went to grab at the dark mirror Seth was still gripping. ‘What fiendish artefact of dark magic have you this time?’
‘I think we might be getting to the bottom of another mystery,’ said Pewter.
He extended his hand and Seth had no choice but to hand over his mirror, which Pewter examined closely. Then he leapt up and began to go over the painting, reminding Seth of how he’d watched Angelique using her long fingers to explore the frames and the backs of all the pictures.
‘How did this boy step out of a picture?’ demanded Professor Papperspook, her pile of gaudy hair wobbling.
They all turned to Pewter, who was frowning at the painting.
‘I think,’ said Seth, dragging a hand through his hair. ‘I think it is possible it might be something called a ruhnglas. I . . .’ But he couldn’t think of anything else he could add. How could you come crawling out of a picture holding an artefact of sinister magic and say anything that wasn’t going to make it look as if you were up to no good?
‘Well now!’ cried Pewter excitedly, examining Seth’s mirror again even more closely. ‘I believe this gives us some answers! For instance, why you detected a presence in your room, Miss Troutbean.’
‘You mean I didn’t see the spirit of Dr Thallomius?’ asked Gloria forlornly.
‘It looks to me much more like it was someone wandering about using the pictures as a secret passageway,’ explained Pewter. ‘An outdated magical invention. Definitely banned magic. Far too many cases of people getting trapped.’
Seth was thinking furiously.
When he’d read in the teleglobe about the wanted sorcerer, Wich Wracht, having lived here at the Last Chance Hotel, and about his black book gleaming with the words, Wich Wracht, on the spine, he had started to put two and two together. Finally, he was close to seeing what was really going on.
He was only a couple of steps away from understanding everything.
43. Lock Me up Again
Norrie shoved her way forward, nearly sending Gloria Troutbean flying and sticking her pointy face right into Seth’s. ‘What have you done with Tiffany? She’s not in her room. We must find her. My poor baby.’
She looked accusingly at Seth, who could only stammer denials.
‘We mustn’t waste any time,’ growled Henri. ‘We must find her.’
‘We must,’ wailed Norrie. ‘Something terrible must have happened.’
‘What if she’s headed into the forest? We’ve absolutely no hope,’ said Dunster-Dunstable, shrinking back. ‘It’s almost dark. We’d be better waiting for morning.’
‘We can’t wait. Perhaps she’s hurt!’ wailed Norrie. ‘Lying injured somewhere and unable to get back. Just lying there, scared, hoping for rescue as it grows dark around her. What if she’s been murdered?’
‘We must leave no stone unturned,’ said Mr Bunn.
‘I will assist,’ volunteered Professor Papperspook. ‘And so will Gloria.’
‘Count me in,’ said Count Marred. ‘Do not worry, madam. I doubt she’ll be far. But may I suggest we search outside first. It will soon be getting dark.’
‘Let’s go!’ yelled Mr Bunn.
‘Thank you Count, Professor, Master Dunster-Dunstable and Miss Troutbean.’ Norrie wrung her hands. ‘Mr Kingfisher, can we also rely on you?’
Before he even had a chance to protest, Kingfisher got caught up in the crush, dragged out by Norrie gripping his arm and steering him to the door. Master Dunster-Dunstable on his very short legs followed last behind everyone else. Pewter announced that he would stay and keep an eye on Seth, but Seth doubted anyone would have heard.
Pewter turned to Seth, who expected to be questioned immediately about the ruhnglas. ‘Well the
y seem very purposeful. What do you say to some tea?’
Seth could think of nothing better than a cup of tea right now and nodded gratefully, although he doubted he would ever get used to the way Pewter always asked such unexpected questions.
Pewter turned to leave and Seth followed through the deserted lobby, but as Pewter carried on into the kitchen, Seth was distracted by a strange light moving behind the tapestry picture of the girl in the yellow dress. Someone else hadn’t joined in the search for Tiffany. Someone was in Mr Bunn’s study. Was that strange light coming from the only other person who hadn’t been at the table – Angelique? Or was it Tiffany herself?
Stealthily, leaving Pewter to make the tea, Seth headed for the welcome desk.
He had to bend to squeeze through the gap. He had never set foot in Mr Bunn’s study before and he looked curiously around as he stepped right inside the small room full of shelves, some of books, but he saw mostly rows of animal skulls bleached white, with empty eye sockets. Tiny white skulls of the mice and voles that were plentiful in the woods. And a giant one with huge rolled horns.
There was a comfortable chair with worn arms and a leather seat. On a small polished table there was a pile of ancient books.
Was this where Mr Bunn had practised getting those figures to move?
The whole room was filled with the smell of scorching, as though someone had started a small fire and a figure was standing there sending snapping jets of blue light into the shelves: Angelique Squerr.
She spun around, but recovered quickly. ‘Seth.’
He had no plan of what to say to her, except to let her know that her game was up and to get the final pieces to fit together. One thing he was sure of, she had been lying to him from the start. She didn’t even work for Thallomius. And now he wanted the truth – the real truth this time. He opened his mouth, but the words he was about to say came out of hers.
‘Time for you to tell me everything,’ said Angelique.
‘Me?’ he said, aghast. ‘It’s you who has to stop pretending. I know you’ve been lying.’
‘What on earth have you been hiding in here, Seth?’ she said, as if he hadn’t even spoken.
She lifted her red cane and Seth began to edge back nervously, his eyes fixed on the end as she moved towards him, her face set with that familiar fierce determination.
‘Get talking, Seth. Something of immense magical power has been kept here.’ The cane had started ticking.
Seth carried on edging away, not taking his eyes off Angelique as she stopped and flipped the top of her red cane. She raised the cane upwards and the ticking went frantic.
Her dark eyes narrowed. ‘Tell me about it.’ She sent a shower of cornflower-blue sparks into the walls.
This time the rumbling was fierce and he could hear clearly as the words Wich Wracht grumbled threateningly out of the walls.
Seth waited for plaster to start falling.
She lifted her cane up towards the ceiling and inched towards Seth, who could only close his eyes as the end glowed brighter.
He stumbled backwards, feeling behind him for something he might snatch up and use as a weapon if he needed to. But his scrabbling fingers found only small animal skulls and books.
He braced himself, waiting for the jet of blue to spark right into him.
44. The Truth, Pure and Simple
Seth waited until the last moment, until he sensed Angelique was really close to him. Then opened his eyes and went to grab the cane from her.
There was a movement behind him. Angelique spun to look, snatching her cane out of Seth’s reach.
‘Inspector Pewter,’ she greeted thinly, about a second before Pewter’s silvery head appeared. ‘Wondered where you had got to.’
‘Just a step behind you. Where I have been from the start, I fear.’
The tapestry moved aside and Seth wondered if tree-like Pewter could squeeze in through the opening.
Seth spoke quickly. ‘That ruhnglas, the simple truth is I had no idea what it did. I’ve never used it before. It’s Angelique who’s got explaining to do. Do you believe me?’
Pewter emerged to stand up in the room, although his head skimmed the ceiling. ‘In my experience the truth is rarely pure and never simple, Seth. And that is exactly one of the reasons I would very much like a little chat with Miss Squerr.’
Angelique held her cane up threateningly, which Pewter ignored.
‘It might even be, what some people might call – long overdue. The truth, I mean.’
Angelique was standing beside the table in the centre of the room and she casually flipped open one of the books. Demons and Witches in History.
Seth could see the other titles. A Concise Tome of Essential Magic-craft, Demonology, Numerology and the Zodiac. Everyman book of Magical Skills for All. Amaze your Friends! Easy Spells for Every Occasion.
And he had thought Mr Bunn skulked in here reading the newspaper.
‘You expect the truth?’ she said.
‘Well why not. I find it can be quite enormously helpful.’
‘Seth thinks I killed Dr Thallomius. You both think I killed him?’ Her eyes flashed a bold look at them both.
‘You did actually tell me yourself you were responsible for his death,’ pointed out Seth.
She frowned, her eyes darkened, then she spluttered. ‘I told you I felt his death was down to me. Not that I actually killed him. I can’t believe you both think—’
‘Did you kill him?’ asked Seth bluntly.
Angelique gasped. ‘Of course not. I came here looking for – something else – but I’m sorry. There are things I am not able to tell you.’
‘We know you’re not really Dr Thallomius’s assistant,’ said Seth. ‘I suppose you tricked your way here, Angelique.’
‘I suppose I did, sort of.’
‘Or was it his idea for you both to come here?’ put in Pewter, picking up Easy Spells for Every Occasion from the table.
‘Dr Thallomius knew I’d be interested in this place. When there was a request from someone here applying for the Prospect, it was a brilliant opportunity not to be missed. It was he who really leapt at the suggestion we travel and hold it here. But he never confided in me why he wanted to come.’ She moved the cane right up to the ceiling and this time the ticking accelerated until it sounded like it was going to explode. ‘Wish I’d asked a lot more questions when I had the chance. Because there was something much more dangerous waiting for him here than he expected.’
‘Then he knew Wich Wracht was an MFE under investigation,’ said Pewter softly. ‘And the Last Chance Hotel was the last known possible sighting.’
Seth couldn’t help but stare. How long had Pewter known that a missing scientific sorcerer had once lived here – and, Seth suspected, filled the place with magic, quite a lot of it sinister magic.
‘I’ve been blaming myself for the fact that he got dragged out here where he was vulnerable. I had no idea he was in such danger,’ said Angelique sorrowfully. ‘The least I can do is try to find out what he came here for and try to finish whatever he was determined to do.’
‘As to that,’ said Pewter, ‘I suspect he had a good reason of his own to see if Wich Wracht was alive or dead. I suspect what really interested him was seeing what sinister magical devices might have been left behind.’
‘You came here on the trail of Wich Wracht?’ said Seth to Angelique. ‘You didn’t come here to kill Dr Thallomius?’
‘Yes, thanks for pointing that out, Seth.’
Cogs finally clicked into place. ‘You are here to secretly check if the sorcerer Wich Wracht is alive or dead,’ said Seth, ‘I know what that means. I know what you are, Angelique, and why you can’t talk about it. That makes you one of these undercover magical secret agents.’
45. We Should Hurry
Angelique barely flinched. ‘OK Seth. Seems like my cover is blown. But just call me a cleaner, I don’t really like magical secret agent. But now, please will you answer some of my
questions?’
But Seth hadn’t finished yet. ‘You came here to investigate and clear the place of any sinister magic lurking here? That’s what you call cleaning?’
Angelique nodded. ‘And remove any magical texts or artefacts we wouldn’t want to fall into the wrong hands.’
‘My black book,’ muttered Seth.
‘Exactly. I would really like to know all about that black book,’ said Angelique. ‘You mentioned something to me, Seth, and I wonder if that was really where you got that information from?’
Seth hesitated, but recognized that there was little point keeping secrets any more. ‘There was a picture in the black book of a firefly cage. I noticed it because it looked like the tiny birdcage I know Mr Bunn kept in here.’ He pointed to an empty hook on the ceiling.
Angelique stared just for a moment, then leapt on to the polished round table. She sent another explosion of blue sparks into the ceiling, taking a reading with the end of her cane. Seth heard Pewter snap shut the book he had been holding.
‘Gloria accused Dr Thallomius of inventing the firefly cage and never knowing what happened to it,’ said Seth, bewildered; staring up at the empty hook. ‘You mean – you can’t mean that Mr Bunn’s tiny birdcage was this firefly cage Dr Thallomius invented? A fearful device of awful sinister magic – here?’
‘Then that was Dr Thallomius’s secret mission in coming here,’ cried Pewter. ‘He must have guessed there was a chance his firefly cage had fallen into the hands of a scientific sorcerer like Wich Wracht. He must have been trying to track it down for years. That key he hid unlocks it.’
Angelique leapt off the table. ‘You found the key to the firefly cage?’
Seth and Pewter nodded.
‘Well, we found a key,’ said Seth. ‘I didn’t have a clue what it was, but Inspector Pewter was convinced it was important and that Dr Thallomius must have brought it here for a reason. I guess he was trying to recover that firefly cage and lock it and stop anyone from using it.’
‘Your Mr Bunn must have been getting his magic from somewhere.’ She frowned deeply into the end of her cane. ‘What’s confused me from the start is that all the traces of magic should have been stale. I simply could not work out why all the readings are of distorted magic.’
The Last Chance Hotel Page 15