by Nina Smith
Fluffy Ducky sat by her right hand. Hippy had been trying to introduce them all day and this was the closest she’d gotten, after finally convincing Fluffy Ducky it wasn’t nice to attack fetches. Fluffy Ducky’s hairs were still on end and occasionally he trembled and gave Fangs an eight-eyed glare. Fangs returned the glares with withering glances and spent the rest of the time cleaning her scales with the tip of her beak.
After a while Nikifor joined her. Hippy made room for him, but didn’t look away from Fangs and Fluffy Ducky.
Nikifor sat cross-legged next to her and handed her a chunk of bread and cheese. “Here,” he said. “You must be hungry.”
Hippy scrambled into a sitting position so fast both Fangs and Fluffy Ducky jumped, bringing them a quarter of an inch closer together. “Starving.” She tore into the bread.
Nikifor studied Fangs and Fluffy Ducky. “Are they making friends?”
Hippy shrugged. “They’re not trying to kill each other. It’s a good start.” She glanced over her shoulder, but could not see Pierus in the dark. “Is he really going to stay awake all night up there?”
“He sleeps where he is. The donkeys know where to go and you and I will alert him to any danger.” Nikifor followed the direction of her gaze. “May I ask you a question? Without you hitting me?”
Hippy giggled. “Sorry about that. Ask away. I promise I won’t hurt you.”
“Why are you here?”
The question was so direct it took Hippy by surprise. She considered what to say. “I had nowhere else to go,” she finally replied. “My tribe will not raise the child of a muse.”
“Child?” Nikifor let out an explosive breath. “So it’s true.”
“Of course it’s true. Why’d you think I was so cranky?”
He chuckled. “I had presumed it was your disposition.”
Hippy beamed. “That’s so sweet!”
There was silence. The darkness rolled by. Nikifor stared into the night and appeared to forget she was there.
Hippy stroked Fangs on the back, then Fluffy Ducky too, so he didn’t feel left out. She jumped when Nikifor spoke again.
“Why do you make him angry?”
“Huh? Who?”
“The king. Why do you set out to make him angry?”
“Oh. Why not?” Hippy scratched Fluffy Ducky’s head. “He’s an ass.”
Nikifor’s voice was soft and shocked. “You must speak of the king with respect!”
“Why?”
“Because he’s the king.”
“He’s not my king.” Hippy gave Nikifor an enquiring look. “Has he always been an ass?”
Nikifor raked hair out of his face. “You must understand the king has greater wisdom and knowledge than any of us, and everything he does is in the best interests of Shadow.”
“Really.” Hippy could hardly keep the skepticism out of her voice. “Does he continually insult my people in the best interests of Shadow?”
“It’s not always easy to understand or accept what he does,” Nikifor said. “But believe me, it is all for a purpose. He sees much further than you or I.”
She scowled. “What are you trying to say?”
“I’m trying to tell you to trust him. Things will be much easier on you if you do.”
“If I do what? Fall into line? Jump every time he opens his mouth, like you muses do?” Hippy leaned closer to Nikifor and looked up at him. “It’s more fun making him mad.”
“I’m only trying to help.” Nikifor sighed and leaned his arms on his knees.
Hippy looked at him sidelong. She hadn’t meant to upset him. Nikifor wasn’t that bad, for a muse. “Flower said you held off the vamps almost single-handed.”
He sighed a second time and buried his face in his arms.
“She said if it wasn’t for you, everyone would have died,” she persisted. “What happened? You were so scared the night we left.”
“My king helped me.” His voice was muffled against his arms.
“Helped you how?” Hippy thought back to the chaos of the night they’d left Shadow. Pierus had given Nikifor a drink and sent him on his way. She’d thought nothing more of it. “Was it that green stuff? You argued with him about that. You didn’t trust him then.”
“But I should have,” Nikifor said. “He was right. It overcame my fear and I held off the vampires. That’s all that mattered. The results were more important than the consequences. And I will conquer this.”
“Consequences?” Hippy surveyed Nikifor in the lamplight. His hands trembled, even though he’d clamped them tightly together. “What was that stuff?”
“Sometimes I think I see signs of the king’s madness returning.” Nikifor’s voice was so low she had to strain to hear. “But it cannot be. The death of so many millions of humans sent a shockwave through Shadow. Every muse felt it, him more than any other, because he caused it. He inspired that bomb. He went away for a long time.” Nikifor’s breath was ragged. The silence stretched out into the night.
“When he came for me at the Muse College I was afraid,” he said at last. “He told me my father was dead and I was needed to take his place as Champion, to aid the fairies against the vampire hordes. I saw then that the madness was gone. We had our king back and he was protecting all of Shadow once more. Surely it cannot happen the same way again. There are signs, but I must not–I must not–”
Hippy scooted closer to listen to the interesting babble. “What did he do when he went mad?”
Nikifor raised his head from his hands, looking surprised to see her there. He took his coat off and laid it over her shoulders. “Go to sleep,” he said. “We’ll be at Castle Arch by morning.” Then he moved back to the boxes, slowly, as though he were in pain.
It was hard to get to sleep after that. Hippy was deeply disturbed by Nikifor’s ramblings, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. Still, with Fluffy Ducky curled into her neck, Fangs nestled in the crook of her arm and Nikifor’s coat for warmth, she eventually drifted off into vivid dreams of the green-haired woman and Nikifor fighting vamps together.
When she woke up it was early morning. Mist drifted across the ground. To her infinite relief they were out of the forest and trundling across a grassy plain. She sat up, clutched the coat around her shoulders to keep out the cold and tipped her head back to study the massive stone arch towering over the road. The stone was black from age and chipped and broken in places. Its shadow was icy cold.
When the arch was behind them she turned her attention to the building ahead. Her eyes widened. It really was a castle. A beautiful one, with stones so neatly cut and polished, they shone in the rising light. Rows of windows reflected the colours of the mist, making them shiny shades of silver and grey. Slim turrets with pointed roofs swept towards the clouds. The roof was castellated in neat lines of light and shadow. When they got closer, she could see intricate carvings over doors and windows, all of them of fetches with outstretched wings. She squealed and clapped her hands. Then she walked over the cart, dropped Nikifor’s coat over him because he was shivering in his sleep and seated herself beside Pierus on the bench.
The muse king calmly watched the approach of the castle. “Good morning.”
“Is this where you live?” Hippy could hardly keep herself from bouncing up and down.
His mouth crooked up at the corner, an expression she hadn’t seen in days. “Yes, this is my home. It’s called Castle Arch.”
“Are we staying here?”
“Yes, my love.”
“It’s beautiful!”
“I’m glad you like it.” Pierus smoothed her hair behind her ear with one hand. “We’ll be here for some time.”
“Can I explore? Can I go anywhere I want?”
“There will be some places not entirely to your taste, my dear, but for the most part you will have the freedom of the castle and grounds.” Pierus patted her shoulder. “Perhaps we shall get along better in all this space.”
Hippy gave him a sidelong glanc
e. “Maybe.”
“I’m sorry I was so hard on you yesterday,” he said. “The forest makes me nervous and I only wished to keep you safe.”
She shrugged. “It wasn’t that bad, for a forest.”
“Why don’t you go and explore? Nikifor and I will take care of the boxes.”
Hippy glanced dubiously at Nikifor. “Are you sure? He’s not very well.”
“He’s not?” Pierus looked around in surprise.
“You didn’t even notice? He’s all pale and shaky and babbling about stuff. I don’t think he’ll even make it inside, much less carry boxes for you.”
“Oh. That.” Pierus guided the donkeys around a big, walled fountain and toward the castle doors. “Don’t you worry your pretty head about that, my dear girl. I’ll make him well again later.”
Hippy took Pierus at his word, since he insisted she wasn’t to carry anything. With Fangs on her shoulder and Fluffy Ducky in her hair she explored every room of the castle.
She’d thought Mr Silver’s house was big, but this castle was enormous. She was lost within minutes. There were rooms full of shiny, shiny, armour, and other rooms full of paintings of humans and scenes from Dream, like people driving cars and operating machinery. One room had shelves and shelves full of herbs and smelled like a damp, ancient forest floor. Another room was packed so tight with books they seemed to be holding up the very roof. She found a huge kitchen with a store room packed with fresh food. How it had got there she had no idea, because there certainly didn’t seem to be anyone else about.
Up a huge, curving flight of stairs there was a hall and more rooms to explore. Most of these were bedrooms; perhaps Pierus liked to have people come to stay.
Up another flight of stairs Hippy discovered the whole floor was one enormous room, from which more stairs led to the roof. Here she found maps and star charts tacked to the walls, shelves full of books she couldn’t read the titles of and tables covered with the most curious instruments, all of them shiny, some of them quite sharp. A skeleton of a forest person, hooves intact, repelled her. A hollow steel structure shaped like a man and tall enough to fit a vamp or muse inside made her skin creep. She moved away quickly to look at a hanging model of planets and stars that drifted in a slow circle with the breeze of her passing.
Footsteps entered the room. “There you are,” Pierus said.
Hippy ducked out from the centre of the planets. “I like your castle.”
Pierus set a box on a table and smiled at her. “Glad to hear it. Come here, my dear.” He held out a hand.
Hippy went to him, but stopped just out of reach of his hand.
Pierus closed the last step between them and put his arm around her shoulder. “This is my laboratory,” he said. “Here I conduct my research and experiments and watch over Shadow. Do you like it?”
“You have a lot of shiny things.”
“I do indeed. But I will make sure there are other shiny things for you to play with, my love, for this is not a place for you. When I am working I must be undisturbed, and when I am not working, my work must be undisturbed. Do you understand?”
“Not really.” Hippy gazed up at a huge light made of candles in glass holders. “That’s a pretty light.”
“Perhaps this will help you to understand.” Pierus lit a candle on the table, then took a pinch of black powder from a bowl. He tossed the powder into the candle flame.
A small, sharp bang split the air. A black smoke cloud exploded over the table.
Hippy clapped her hands. “It went bang! Can I try?”
“No.” Pierus drew her away from the desk and towards the stairs. “I was rather hoping you’d get the message that coming up here is likely to result in you blowing your pretty little hands off. You can go anywhere, my dear, except here. Understood?”
She sighed. “Alright.”
They descended the stairs to the second floor, where Pierus led her to the third door on the left. He opened it to reveal one of the bedrooms she’d glanced at earlier. In fact it was the biggest one of them all and contained a huge bed made up with filmy white hangings and heavy blankets.
“You and I will sleep here,” Pierus said.
“Really? But there are so many bedrooms, I thought–”
Pierus gave her a look. It was part disappointed, part sardonic, and it made Hippy’s cheeks burn bright red.
“Oh,” she said, and decided it was probably best not to pursue the conversation.
Fangs shook herself, looked at the fingers curling around Hippy’s shoulder and pecked them.
Pierus snatched his hand back. “I hope you’re planning on housebreaking these pets of yours,” he said, his voice a trifle less pleasant than it had been.
Hippy giggled and petted Fangs. “I’m sure she’ll get used to you. One day.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Pierus had already managed to tarnish the shine of the castle. Hippy headed outside so she didn’t have to talk to him.
From the very edge of the steps, the garden was a labyrinth of leafy wild things hidden in a snarl of neglect. Wild shapes crouched, watchful, silent, within the tangled branches and straggling leaves of thick bushes that had once been clipped into a crouching horse here, a winged lion there.
Hippy found the big fountain soon enough. A wall rose out of the very centre, a clear pool on one side and bubbling fountain on the other. She perched on the edge of the pool, carefully keeping her feet clear of the water, and looked out across the plains.
The forest huddled beyond miles and miles of grass. Clockwork could be hiding anywhere out there.
She slowly rose to her feet. Pierus wasn’t that interested in having her around. He wouldn’t notice if she was gone for an hour or two. And wherever Clockwork was hiding, he was sure to see her if she ran across the plains. She glanced over her shoulder.
“I wouldn’t,” Nikifor said.
Hippy was so startled by his haggard face and the fact he’d been right there behind her, she slipped off the wall and fell on her backside. She scowled. “Wouldn’t what?”
“Wouldn’t go out there.” Nikifor offered his hand to help her to her feet. “He said you were to stay near the castle.”
“You both seem to be under the impression I’m going to do what he says.” Hippy dusted herself off. “You’re going to be very disappointed about that.”
“Are you hungry?”
“Hungry?” She brightened. “Of course I’m hungry.”
Nikifor motioned toward the castle. “The king has prepared dinner.”
Hippy’s mouth dropped open. “He cooks?” She trotted at Nikifor’s side through the big entry way.
“He is the master of many arts.” Nikifor said the words with a smile, but his voice was grey and faded. “Through here.”
Hippy went into a big room where a long table was surrounded by many chairs. The walls were lined with candlesticks in brass holders shaped like hands. The candles were alight, even though it was day, giving the room a warm glow.
At the head of the table Pierus stirred soup in a big silver tureen. He gave Hippy a thin smile when she approached, stopped what he was doing and pulled out a chair for her next to him. “There you are, my dear.”
Hippy sat down. Her stomach growled. “I didn’t know you cooked. I thought kings had people to do that for them.”
“Generally we do, but we’re rather isolated here and I’m hardly going to let a fairy run my kitchen. You’d poison us all in the blink of an eye.”
“Mmmm,” Hippy said. “Fairy dust soup. I miss my mum’s cooking.”
Pierus put a bowl in front of her and ladled steaming red liquid from the tureen. It splashed down the sides and a droplet burned her hand.
Hippy looked doubtfully at the mixture. Liquid fat floated on the surface and globs of red congealed at the edges. Chunks of purplish meat floated in it. She sniffed at it and wrinkled her nose. “Did something die in there?”
“Blood soup,” Pierus said. “Fresh from a
wild rabbit. I understand such things are terribly good for a pregnant fairy.”
Hippy gagged and pressed a hand over her mouth. Her stomach threatened to revolt. Her chair clattered backward and fell over when she ran for the nearest door.
Pierus’s laughter cut into her raw nerves like razorblades.
Hippy didn’t stop until she found her way outside again, where she fell to her hands and knees and threw up under the overgrown winged lion until she’d emptied the entire contents of her stomach.
Her hands trembled. She went to the fountain, cleaned her hands and face and rinsed her mouth. She shot a furious glance in the direction of the castle and thought about walking right back in there and emptying the blood soup tureen over the muse king’s head.
Instead she turned her back on the whole thing and walked down the path. When she was safely on the other side of the bushes she ran across the plains. The late afternoon air was cool and refreshing on her skin. The wind of her passing whipped through her hair, lifting it off her neck. The deepening light made shadows in the dips in the grass while the sky slowly turned a deep shade of blue-purple overhead. The further away she got, the better she felt. The grass was soft on her bare feet. The space helped to clear her head.
She stopped and turned around when the castle was a tiny dot in the distance, just where it should be. It was going to take a lot of convincing to go back there.
When she turned her back on the castle again, Clockwork stood in the path. He took her hand and they kept running.
Hippy had thought they would go to the nearby forest. Instead Clockwork skirted the trees and headed for where the ground sloped upward, then followed a rock face until it opened into a narrow fissure. Here the two fairies squeezed through the opening and came out into a damp, mossy clearing sheltered on all four sides by steep rock and open to the sky. In one rock face there was a shallow cave.
Hippy put her feet down gently on the moss. She tip-toed around the bases of the tall trees growing in there. They had to reach up very far to feel the sun.
When she’d walked the whole clearing she sat down next to Clockwork in the cave. He’d lit a fire in a depression in the rock; the flames warmed her fingers and toes. The light faded outside and cold seeped in with the darkness.