by Nina Smith
“I’m sorry,” Mr Silver said, after a long silence. “I can see by your face you’re finally convinced.”
Hippy said nothing. She wondered if the flames could burn away her disgust with herself.
“You seem a pleasant, happy-go-lucky kind of creature,” he continued. “It wasn’t my intention to destroy any part of that. But I fear for your fate if you were to continue with the muse king. I fear even now, if you return to him, he will draw you back in. He has already forged a link with you that you will find hard to break.” He sighed and touched her shoulder. “Hippy?”
She looked up at him.
“I do not believe you are either as innocent or as young as you appear.”
“Oh?” the word was cautious.
“I think you are strong,” Mr Silver said. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t ask you what I’m about to ask you.”
Hippy shifted to a sitting position in front of the fire. “Ask me what?”
Mr Silver sat too, so he was at eye level. “The muse king must not be allowed to possess the Apple of Chaos,” he said. “But he is coming here and he will sense its presence.”
“It’s here?” Hippy was startled.
“If the worst happens and he finds it, you will be all that stands between Shadow and an unstoppable tyrant. If he gets hold of the Apple of Chaos I want you to go with him and use it to drive back the vamps. But do not let him keep it.”
Hippy stared. Then she slowly nodded.
Mr Silver looked into the fire, then back at her. “The Apple can be broken, but not destroyed,” he said. “With any part of it, he will gain power. With all of it, ultimate power. But if even one piece is missing, and cannot be found-” He held up a finger. “One piece, Hippy.” He rose to his feet and held out a hand. “Come. We’ve kept the others waiting long enough.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
After dinner Ana escorted Hippy upstairs, then down a long hall decorated with scarves onto which hundreds of tiny mirrors were sewn. They were shiny and caught the electric lights, but even that wasn’t enough to distract her. Hippy walked slowly, her eyes on her feet. She couldn’t stop the thoughts going round and round in circles in her mind.
Ana opened a door at the far end of the hall and flicked on a light. “You can sleep here,” she said. “Don’t try and leave. There’ll be one of us around all night.”
Hippy nodded and went into the room.
When Ana closed the door behind her, she looked around. It was really very nice. The walls were covered in patterns of leaves and a full length mirror hung in one corner. The four poster bed was enormous and made up with crisp white and blue sheets. Big double doors led out to a balcony. She went over to the mirror, curious to see what the glass would tell her.
The glass reflected back a pair of over-large eyes in a face tanned brown by years in the outdoors. Her hair, still wet from the earlier shower, clung to her skin. Her clothes looked outlandish after days of walking around in Dream. No wonder people stared.
Disturbed by the doubt in her own eyes, Hippy turned on her heel and went to the doors. They opened at a touch onto the balcony. The polished tiles were smooth under her bare feet. She leaned over the cold railing. It was only two storeys up; that jump was nothing. She could be out of here in minutes if she wanted to. She suspected Mr Silver knew it. But then, she’d have to negotiate the garden.
A full moon rose in the east into a clear, starry sky. The stars told different stories here. At home, she could have climbed the fortifications, balanced right at the top and picked out the Big Bearfly, the Lovers, and all the other constellations. But at home, nobody would be safe and warm and tucked up in enormous beds. They were all fighting and dying. Ishtar could be hurt, or worse.
The stars here were too peaceful.
Hippy sighed and went back inside. She left the balcony doors open so she could feel the breeze, changed into the long cotton night dress lying on the bed, turned out the light and got under the sheets. She hadn’t realised she was so tired. She closed her eyes and fell asleep almost instantly.
At first she dreamed of Pandora. At least, she thought it was Pandora, until she realised it was herself drinking out of a wooden cup. Pierus watched from the shadows. The liquid burned her tongue, her throat, spread like acid through her blood and-
Hippy woke up with a start. She took a deep breath. The room was empty. Of course it was. She closed her eyes.
She stood outside the gates of Mr Silver’s house with Pierus. He was little more than a tall, thin shadow in the dark, staring through the bars with a cold, hungry fury that made the shadows press in around them. “I can feel it,” he said. “It calls to me. It has always called to me.”
Hippy pressed her back against the bars, wishing she were on the other side. “Is it true?” she said. “Did you murder Pandora?”
His eyes flashed white in the darkness. They bored into her. “I warned you they would try to turn you against me. Don’t listen to their lies. You’re with me now. Forever.” He reached out for her.
Hippy discovered she had Pandora’s cup in her hand. She held it out to him.
Pierus took the cup, but it fell from his hand and clattered on the road. Then his face stretched into a soundless scream and he turned to ash.
Hippy sat bolt upright, this time gasping for breath. She scrambled out of bed and slapped herself in the face a couple of times to make sure she was awake. She ran out onto the balcony.
The moon had risen all the way into the sky, bathing the garden in eerie silver light. Far below, she heard Crunchy paw the ground and cough. A gentle breeze stirred the leaves.
She leaned on her balcony, put her face in her hands and breathed deeply to calm herself. It was just a dream. Just a dream, even if it was vivid and creepy and horrible. What if Fitz was right? What if Pierus had done something to her? What if he could be in her head?
No. No, he wouldn’t do anything so invasive. He loved her. He’d said so. He needed her. She had to get back to him.
But what about Pandora?
No. That was thousands of years ago. He was different now. He was helping her tribe fight the vamps, didn’t that show he’d changed?
“Pssst,” said a voice.
Hippy jumped so hard she almost tumbled over the railing. “Clockwork!” she hissed.
Clockwork leaned on the next balcony, separated from hers by only a few feet. “What are you doing?”
“I couldn’t sleep.” Hippy clamped her teeth over her lower lip to stop it trembling in a very unfairylike manner. “Well, I could sleep, I could sleep for a week, but I keep having these dreams.”
“What kinds of dreams?” Clockwork jumped onto the edge of the railing and leaped the space between the balconies. He balanced on Hippy’s railing, then slid down and sat on it.
Hippy shrugged and looked away.
“You’ve been acting weird since dinner,” Clockwork said. “What did my dad say to you?”
She shrugged a second time. “Just stuff.”
“My dad never says just stuff.” Clockwork tilted his head. “I had a dream earlier. I dreamed we were running away from Crunchy, and Ralph the Peacock landed on my head. Then we saw this shiny ribbon in the sky and sparks fell out of it. Then there was this kind of crack in the air and all these vamps came out of it. We threw fairy dust at them all and then played kick with their ashes.”
Hippy giggled. “That was a good dream.”
“What did you dream about?” Clockwork’s eyes were bright and curious.
Hippy looked away. “I dreamed about Pierus standing outside the gate. He said the Apple of Chaos called to him. Then he said I was with him forever. It was so real.”
“You must have thought that was a good dream.” All the humour had bleached from his voice.
Hippy shook her head vigorously. “It was scary.”
“Come on.” He glanced over the garden, put a hand in the small of her back and steered her inside. He closed and locked the balcony doors. “Go to
bed.”
Hippy sat on the bed, but she didn’t get in. “I don’t want to have any more dreams.”
“I can help with that. Just wait a minute.” Clockwork disappeared into the hall.
Hippy listened to the sound of low voices and then footsteps hurrying away.
Clockwork slipped back into the room and sat on the end of the bed. “I just told Fitz about your dream,” he said. “He’s going to check the grounds to make sure Pierus isn’t here.”
“Do you really think he did that thing?” Hippy said. “Voodooed me?”
“If that’s what Fitz said, then that’s what he did. But I can stop you from having any more dreams tonight.”
“How?”
Clockwork grinned. “That’s a Freakin Fairy secret. You just lie down and go to sleep.”
Hippy lay down and closed her eyes. Sleep crept into her mind like a drug. At first it came with an image of Pierus’s eyes burning into her brain, but then there was a movement from the end of the bed, and a light.
The dream disappeared.
When Hippy woke up the next morning, Clockwork was stretched across the end of her bed, snoring. She giggled at the sight. She felt rested and refreshed.
She got out of bed and dressed quickly before he woke up. Then she went over and tugged on his hair.
Clockwork blinked. “Huh?”
“Rise and shine, sleepyhead.” Hippy went over to the mirror, since it was a novelty, and poked at her hair until all the braids fell into place.
Clockwork stretched, yawned and ambled toward the door. “Come on,” he said. “Or we’ll be late for breakfast.”
Hippy’s stomach growled. She followed Clockwork out of the room, skipped down the hall and took the steps two at a time. They raced each other into the dining room, where they skidded to a halt at the sight of Mr Silver seated around the table with Fitz and Ana.
He looked from one to the other. “Overslept, did we?”
“Yes,” said Hippy.
“No,” said Clockwork.
She poked him. “You did too.”
Mr Silver cleared his throat. “Sit. Eat.”
Hippy and Clockwork sat at their places, where plates of food lay waiting. Hippy devoured toast and eggs and reached for the mug next to the plate, hoping it was coffee. She was disappointed to find only a weak, milky tea.
When they’d finished eating, Mr Silver spoke. “Fitz informed me of your dream last night, Hippy.”
Hippy’s cheeks burned. She nodded.
“I checked the grounds and the perimeter, but there were no intruders,” Fitz said.
“Nevertheless, I have little doubt the pretender is nearby,” Mr Silver said. “Did you have any more dreams?”
“No.” Hippy glanced at Clockwork and smiled.
He smiled back, then dropped his fork on the floor when his father’s thoughtful gaze fell on him.
“Well Clockwork,” Mr Silver said. “Since you and Hippy seem to be getting along so well, you can take first patrol this morning. Any sign of anything at all, I want to know about it. Ana, you take the streets, see if there’s any sign of strangers in the neighbourhood. Fitz, you’re with me.”
Just like that, they were dismissed. Hippy and Clockwork headed out into the gardens.
Hippy looked around for any sign of Crunchy, but the garden was as serene as could be. They headed down the wide driveway together.
Ana overtook them and gave Hippy a hard stare. “I’m watching you,” she said, then disappeared in the direction of the gate.
Hippy stuck out her tongue at Ana’s retreating back.
Clockwork chuckled. “Wait till you see her in a bad mood.”
“Are you telling me that’s her happy face?”
“Pretty much. She doesn’t like it here. She just kind of hangs around to make sure Fitz doesn’t get into too much trouble. She wants to go home and get married to some guy. I heard her telling Fitz.”
Hippy watched Ana disappear down the road and thought about her own sister. She wondered how things would have gone if Ishtar had come to Dream with her. “How many brothers and sisters have you got?”
Clockwork scaled the perimeter wall and balanced on top of it. “Fifteen sisters,” he said. “No brothers. I was kind of glad when Dad said he needed me here for a while. You?”
“Eight brothers and a sister.” Hippy scrambled up behind him. She looked out over the street. She hadn’t been able to see much on the drive in. It was just a quiet street really, plenty of trees, lots of houses behind big walls. Anyone could be hiding anywhere. She averted her eyes and followed Clockwork along the wall. “I’m the youngest.”
Clockwork laughed. “That explains a lot.”
“That explains what?” Hippy caught up, ready to clout him if necessary.
“That explains why you’re kind of dumb about stuff. Everyone knows the youngest kid gets protected the most.”
Hippy dropped her hand just before she made contact with the back of his head and knocked him off the wall. “Protected?” She sighed. “I guess. It’s not much fun though.”
Clockwork glanced over his shoulder. “You miss them.” He said it in a matter of fact way.
She shrugged. “Maybe a bit.”
He stopped and took her hand.
Hippy glanced at their interlinked fingers, puzzled.
“Don’t go with him,” he said, with a peculiar intensity. “I like you.”
Hippy’s eyes widened in puzzlement. Something about the way he looked at her made her tingle. “Really?”
“Really.” Clockwork tugged on her hand. “Come on, we’re supposed to be patrolling.”
They continued along the wall, hand in hand. Clockwork set a quick pace. The gardens flashed by underneath on one side, the street on the other. Hippy glimpsed Crunchy the Camel and the snake pit, but she barely noticed them because her cheeks had gone so hot trying to figure out exactly what Clockwork meant when he said he liked her.
When she looked at the back of his head and realised she liked him, she was so shocked she slipped and fell off the wall. Clockwork tumbled down with her and landed a few paces away.
Hippy crouched under a thick vine with stems the size of her arm and eyed him. “Freakin Fairies aren’t allowed to like Bloody Fairies.”
He shrugged. “I don’t care. Do you?”
She shook her head. “No.” She gave him a little smile. “No I don’t.”
Clockwork broke into a big grin. Just as quickly, the grin dropped from his face and his eyes widened. “You won’t tell my dad?”
Hippy shook her head emphatically. “No way. He scares me.”
He closed the gap between them hesitantly and wrapped his arms around her.
Hippy buried her face in his shoulder and smiled. Somehow it felt so right to be here. She felt like she’d been pretending to be someone she wasn’t with Pierus all along.
The thought of Pierus made her stiffen. Guilt squeezed her gut. Her neck prickled as if he was watching her. Watching her betray him. Her blood began to pound. What if he was watching? What if he was angry?
“Hey,” Clockwork said. “Check out that big spider.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Hippy tipped her head back and squealed. There, balanced on a branch right above her head, was a spider the size of her face. “Fluffy Ducky!”
“Fluffy Ducky?” Clockwork sounded dubious. “Your vamp-eating spider? Are you sure?”
“I’d know Fluffy Ducky anywhere.” Hippy wiggled her fingers. Fluffy Ducky scuttled onto them, down her arm and settled happily on her shoulder.
Clockwork swarmed up the wall, balanced on top of it and let out a piercing whistle. When it was returned from somewhere down the street, he jumped and landed back beside Hippy.
“Why’d you do that?” She only gave Clockwork half her attention, because she was busy scratching Fluffy Ducky on the back while he blinked at her with three eyes.
“To let Ana know they’re here. Come on.” Clockwork gra
bbed her hand and sprinted down the nearest path.
“What? Who’s here?” Hippy grabbed Fluffy Ducky and secured him in his pouch so he wouldn’t get lost again.
“Who do you think?” Clockwork picked up the pace when they ran past the place they’d encountered Crunchy yesterday, but he wasn’t there. Ralph the Peacock sat in the branches of a tree and ignored them.
Hippy had trouble thinking and running at the same time, but she figured it out by the time the house came into sight. The idea made her cold all over. “Do you mean Pierus and Poppy? How do you know?”
“The spider! How do you think?” Clockwork stopped on the stairs leading up to the front door so they could catch their breath.
“But Fluffy Ducky doesn’t need them to find me.”
Clockwork shook his head. “We can’t take that chance. Come on.” He pushed open the doors. They hurried inside and down the hall to Mr Silver’s study, where Clockwork rapped on the door.
Fitz opened it. “News?” He stood back to let them in.
Hippy followed Clockwork inside. She slowed, reluctant to be in here again. Her eyes strayed to the bookshelf where she knew Pandora’s Box rested.
“Well?” Mr Silver rose from behind the desk.
“It’s Fluffy Ducky,” Clockwork said.
Mr Silver blinked. “You’ve lost me, son.”
“Hippy show him.”
Hippy took Fluffy Ducky out, balanced him carefully in her hand and went to the desk. She held him out. “Fluffy Ducky came back to me. I lost him at the Acropolis when he was eating vamps and Fitz kidnapped me.”
“You have a vamp-eating spider?” Mr Silver reached a finger toward Fluffy Ducky. Fluffy Ducky waved a foreleg.
Clockwork leaned in too. He stroked the hairs on the spider’s back.
Fluffy Ducky blinked all eight eyes and waved the other foreleg.
“He likes you both,” Hippy said, impressed.
Fitz cleared his throat. “I’m sure the spider’s very nice, but are we missing the point here?”
“What?” Mr Silver had one finger underneath one of Fluffy Ducky’s feet.